Propagation in Networks: The impact of information processing at the actor level on system-wide propagation dynamics

This thesis addresses the analysis of system-wide dynamics of propagation in networks. In order to understand such system-wide dynamics of propagation, an emphasis should be placed on the critical mechanism by which propagation takes place between actors on a micro level. This thesis puts forward the information processing view of propagation, a framework in which describes this mechanism using three distinct sub-processes of propagation; Radiation, Transmission and Reception. Decomposing the propagation mechanism into these three sub-processes yields a more detailed and methodologically stronger model of propagation, the RTR-model of propagation, which is better suited for capturing the complexity of the propagation processes in practice.

Agent-based simulations adopting this model show that distinguishing the three sub-processes of propagation is critical in order to: 1) understand the effects of interventions in the propagation process, 2) incorporate the heterogeneous behavior of actors, and 3) understand the role of network structure in propagation.