A geometrical approach to global pandemics

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Using the notion of effective distance in a globally connected world we take a geometric approach to the dynamic phenomena such as the global spread of emergent infectious diseases. Using this method, complex spreading phenomena are mapped onto simple, familiar concentric waves. more...

SPaTo - Visual Explorer

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In this project, we develop a new visualization method in which the node positions are precisely based on network properties. Typically, networks are reduced to their minimum spanning tree to obtain a planar subgraph, but here we propose to use the shortest-path tree of some specified node instead. This way we do not only obtain a graph that is embeddable in 2-D space but also provides a canonical distance between each node and the (selected) root node that can be used to determine node positions in the layout, namely the shortest-path distance. more...

A local perspective of network resilience to real-world disasters

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In April 2010, a volcanic ash cloud obstructed large parts of the European air space and caused many airport closures and flight cancellations. Although this “defect” in the aviation system was regionally confined, it caused percussions around the globe. Taking a local perspective, we are developing new methods to quantify the impact of real-world attacks and failures in complex networks. page2_sidebar_2more...

Dynamics of Vaccination with Imperfect Knowledge

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A high enough vaccine coverage level can eradicate a disease from a population. However, if individuals believe there is any risk associated with the vaccine, vaccination decisions driven by rational self-interest can keep the overall vaccination below this level. Interestingly, limiting the amount of information about the disease dynamics that individuals possess can make eradication of the disease more likely. page2_sidebar_2more...

Tour de Sys: The Traveler's View of a Network

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Tomography is a procedure long used in the biological and physical sciences to study an object by producing images of many thin slices of it, rather than trying to study a picture of the entire object all at one. In this project, we apply this idea to complex networks. Using shortest-path trees to organize the network into a series of slices allows us to measure global properties of the system conditioned on location. page2_sidebar_2more...

Community Structure in Multi-Scale Transportation Networks

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Large scale communities and their geographical boundaries are key determinants of various human mediated spatially extended dynamical phenomena. The geographic spread of emergent human infectious diseases such as SARS (severe acute respiratory system) and seasonal and pandemic influenza A are prime examples. page2_sidebar_2more...

Travel Bugs, Geocaching and European Traffic Networks

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In this project we investigate the behavior of over 900,000 travel bugs. These tagged items play a role in a popular international game known as geocaching (see e.g. www.geocaching.com), a modern type of GPS treasure hunt. Travel bugs travel long distances across political, national and regional boundaries and their position is known with very high precision. page2_sidebar_2more...

Impact of Social Heterogeneities in Epidemic Outbreaks

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Typical epidemiological models rest on two key assumptions: That a population is well mixed and that transmission is triggered by a population-averaged contact rate. However, experimental evidence shows that contact rates vary substantially, and it has been shown that this variability can change the dynamics of a disease. page2_sidebar_2more...

Panic Reactions and Global Disease Dynamics

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When a disease is spreading through a population, a single person can certainly safe herself from getting infected by running away from affected areas. However, when a large part of the population is responding to a forthcoming disease by changing their dispersal behavior, the disease spread can be severely impacted, leading to qualitatively different dynamics. page2_sidebar_2more...