Narrow Results

The objective of this study is to investigate a stochastic SIR epidemic model incorporating a mean-reverting Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process and individual heterogeneity. Initially, we establish the global existence and positivity of a solution within the model through the application of Lyapunov functions. Subsequently, we delve into the dynamical behavior of the SIR model. Our research reveals that increased noise intensity, a slower reversion rate, and positive individual behavior collaboratively contribute to the mitigation of infection outbreaks.

The epidemic spreading was explored on activity-driven networks (ADNs), accounting for the study of dynamics both on and of the ADN. By employing the susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model, two aspects were considered: (1) the infection rate of susceptible agent (depending on the number of its infected neighbors) evolves due to the temporal structure of ADN, rather than being a constant number; (2) the susceptible and infected agents generate unequal links while being activated, namely, the susceptible agent gets few contacts with others in order to protect itself. Results show that, in both cases, the larger epidemic threshold and smaller outbreak size were obtained.

In the course of individual consumption decision-making, the interaction between online product-attributes information propagation and face-to-face word-of-mouth (WOM) communication is an important influencing factor, and due to the heterogeneity of individuals and the involvement of enterprise, the interaction becomes more complicated. In this paper, we establish a multi-layer network model to explore the effect of individual and enterprise behaviors on the interaction between product-attributes information propagation and WOM communication, and derive mean-field equations to describe the dynamics process on complex social networks. We use analytical and numerical solutions of these equations to examine the threshold for the product-attributes information propagation and the WOM communication (both positive WOM and negative WOM). It also finds that individual behavior promotes both product-attributes information propagation and WOM communication, but the marginal utility of such promotion is diminishing; enterprise behavior promotes the communication of positive WOM and suppresses the communication of negative WOM.

Governments and global institutions are working to enhance economic development as a key for sustainability by including disadvantaged people (including the poor, women, youth, and illiterate) in the financial system. This paper uses the World Bank Global Findex Database (2014) for 1000 Palestinians to examine the influence of individual behavior on financial inclusion in Palestine. This study used empirical methods to determine whether individual socioeconomic characteristics influence financial inclusion in Palestine. The results indicated that females were less likely to be included in financial transactions, especially transactions involving borrowing and formal accounts. Further, we learned that borrowing behavior in Palestine leans toward informal sources. Formal institutions have made remarkable efforts to develop an inclusive financial infrastructure in Palestine. However, the country’s unstable political climate continues to impede economic stability and individuals’ motivation to use formal financial resources such as credit. More efforts to specifically encourage youth, the poor, and women to use formal banking could enhance their access to financial services. Adopting Islamic financial services, and online banking would also improve financial inclusion for all of Palestine’s citizens and drive sustainable development. Further, theoretical and empirical studies of Palestine’s economic development are recommended.

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• A Theoretical Model of Fairness
• Econometric Modeling Approaches
• Issues with the CHST Data Set
• Econometric Specifications
• The Mixing Proportions and the Posterior Type-Probabilities
• Conclusion
• References