PhD Comprehensive Exam | Athira Satheesh Kumar, A coupled social-climate model linking rumor propagation and climate change

MS Teams (please email amgrad@uwaterloo.ca for the meeting link)

Candidate

Athira Satheesh Kumar | Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo

Title

A coupled social-climate model linking rumor propagation and climate change

Abstract

Rumors on social networking sites and apps can significantly influence the decision-making ability of individuals. Incorporating climate dynamics into the rumor propagation model helps us analyze how these rumors about climate change can impact people’s opinions on climate change when only two choices are available, either believe or reject the rumor. Examining the ability to make the right decision (reject the rumor) helps interpret their decision’s effect on climate change. Climate change and human attitude are interconnected, and analyzing this coupled behavior is unavoidable to comprehend the dynamics of climate change. In the light of these facts, a new model involving the rumor-climate dynamics is developed. The initial analysis is performed to understand how the emission levels and rumor propagation responds to each other. The model’s parameter analysis closely relates climate change and the rumor model. Believers and rejectors in a population determine the emission level, and changes in the emission level help individuals make decisions. We also found that having larger groups are beneficial in spreading rumors than having more groups.