Suchergebnisse

The chapter explores how trading companies relied on global networks to ply their trade and secure the position far from British shores. The companies constituted a very fertile and durable global space for exchange and dissemination of commodities, information and ideas over large distances. To successfully do this, the forming and strengthening of networks with other numerous agents, companies, and English trading companies with knowledge of long distance extra-European trade became increasingly important. Between 1550–1750 new connections were formed to answer the changing political and commercial realities globally and domestically. England developed from a peripheral power in Europe to a country at the centre of a global commercial imperial web. Corporate interests spanned from America and the Caribbean to South-East Asia and from Russia to southern Africa. The early modern corporations were created by networks and would come to facilitate a space globally where new networks were formed and, in time, strengthen the corporations.

"Networks" published on by Oxford University Press.

The study of networks, including computer networks, social networks, and biological networks, has attracted enormous interest in recent years. The rise of the Internet and the wide availability of inexpensive computers have made it possible to gather and analyse network data on an unprecendented scale, and the development of new theoretical tools has allowed us to extract knowledge from networks of many different kinds. The study of networks is broadly interdisciplinary and developments have occurred in many fields, including mathematics, physics, computer and information sciences, biology, and the social science. This text brings together the most important breakthroughts in each of these fields and presents them in a unified fashion, highlighting the strong interconnections between work in different areas

AbstractIn light of the burgeoning literature in whole, goal-directed networks for managing wicked problems in public management, it is timely to examine the theoretical evolution that has both shaped and constrained our understanding of these networks. In this article, we argue that contemporary study of whole networks has been dominated by an internal theoretical lens aimed at understanding how internal characteristics influence network functioning and effectiveness. This perspective assumes networks operate in differentiated environments rather than emphasizing interdependence as part of a broader ecology—networks of networks. In this article, we draw from population ecology to introduce the concept of network domains and offer evidence drawn from a population of 60 health-oriented networks in three counties to illustrate domain level characteristics. Using an inductive mode of theorizing, we leverage insights from these domains to consider population dynamics and pose propositions for advancing a program of study into domain level characteristics that may shape and constrain whole networks and their members.

This deliverable describes the methodological approach for the network and stakeholder selection for setting up an online network of networks for the Forum and Observatory. The names of the stakeholders are on a protected online registry and can only be accessed by project partners with permission. The report examines five main features of RRI networks: the main actors, the theoretical structures, the funding sources, the dissemination structures, and the possibility of expanding RRI beyond the European context. Six main actor groups in RRI networks are distinguished: national governments; regional governments; international governmental organisations; civil society actors; businesses, scientific research projects, and policy researchers. Although RRI has emerged recently as a theoretical approach, the number of definitions of the concept has proliferated quite rapidly – as is shown in the discussion of RRI theories later in this deliverable. In terms of constructing a network, this raises something of a dilemma. At present, the main sources of funding for RRI networks and projects have been regional (i.e. EU) and national government funding bodies with some extra support from independent research bodies and foundations. Some RRI projects have succeeded in obtaining funding from businesses and private sources – obtaining such funding seems vital for the long term sustainability of the Forum and Observatory. Existing dissemination structures for RRI are the funding streams for RRI, in addition to online sources such as blogs and forums, and conferences. It is argued that such structures are potentially effective but need more co-ordination and a focus in an overarching structure to avoid fragmentation. Increasing attention is being paid to the possibility of expanding RRI beyond the European context – for example, through governance structures at the global level in the Progress project. Given that RRI is still an emergent concept and is not clearly defined [1] there is currently room to address a range of different conceptions from both within and beyond the European context – this is something that may need to be taken into account in the design of the forum.

Network Calculus is a theory aiming at computing worst-case bounds on performances in communication networks. The network is usually modelled by a digraph : the servers are located on the nodes and the flows must follow path in the digraph. There are constraints on the trafic curves (how much data have been through a given point since the activation of the network) and on the service curves (how much work each server may provide). To derive bounds on the worst-case performances, as the backlog or the end-to-end delay, these envelopes are combined thanks to tropical algebra operators: min, +, convolution. This thesis focuses on Network Calculus algorithmics, that is how effective is this formalism. This work led us to compare various models in the litterature, and to show expressiveness equivalence between Real-Time Calculus and Network Calculus. Then, we suggested a new (min, +) operator to compute performances bounds in networks with agregated flows and we studied feed-forward networks under blind multiplexing. We showed the difficulty to compute these bounds, but we gave an heuristic, which is polynomial for interesting cases. ; Le Network Calculus est une théorie visant à calculer des bornes pire-cas sur les performances des réseaux de communication. Le réseau est modélisé par un graphe orienté où les noeuds représentent des serveurs, et les flux traversant le réseau doivent suivre les arcs. S'ajoutent à cela des contraintes sur les courbes de trafic (la quantité de données passées par un point depuis la mise en route du réseau) et sur les courbes de service (la quantité de travail fournie par chaque serveur). Pour borner les performances pire-cas, comme la charge en différents points ou les délais de bout en bout, ces enveloppes sont combinées à l'aide d'opérateurs issus notamment des algèbres tropicales : min, +, convolution-(min, +). Cette thèse est centrée sur l'algorithmique du Network Calculus, à savoir comment rendre effectif ce formalisme. Ce travail nous a amené d'abord à comparer les variations présentes dans la littérature sur les modèles utilisés, révélant des équivalences d'expressivité comme entre le Real-Time Calculus et le Network Calculus. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons proposé un nouvel opérateur (min, +) pour traiter le calcul de performances en présence d'agrégation de flux, et nous avons étudié le cas des réseaux sans dépendances cycliques sur les flux et avec politique de service quelconque. Nous avons montré la difficulté algorithmique d'obtenir précisément les pires cas, mais nous avons aussi fourni une nouvelle heuristique pour les calculer. Elle s'avère de complexité polynomiale dans des cas intéressants.

In one way or another, we are all in this room responsible for having given to the notion of network an immense, and some could say, a hegemonic extension. Either because some of you have created the hardware or software infrastructure that has added digital networks to the already existing water, sewage, road, rail, telegraph, telephone networks, or because others, through media studies, sociology, history, political sciences, and even philosophy and brain science, have tried to capture what is so original in the new networky world generated by those new socio-technical assemblages. The reason I have welcomed the kind invitation of Professor Manuel Castells is that, because of the very extension of network (as a thing of the world as well as a concept), the time has come to check what it really means and maybe to shift somewhat its ambition and modify its real import. When a notion has become enshrined into a work of art like James Cameron's "Avatar" with the planet Pandora itself sprouting its billions of webby connections and the very notion of communication among the Na'vis and their creatures being materialized by a real plug-in of hair, tails, and manes, it might be time to stop and ask: "What have we done?"

Networks and Network Analysis for Defence and Security discusses relevant theoretical frameworks and applications of network analysis in support of the defence and security domains. This book details real world applications of network analysis to support defence and security. Shocks to regional, national and global systems stemming from natural hazards, acts of armed violence, terrorism and serious and organized crime have significant defence and security implications. Today, nations face an uncertain and complex security landscape in which threats impact/target the physical, social, economic and cyber domains. Threats to national security, such as that against critical infrastructures not only stem from man-made acts but also from natural hazards. Katrina (2005), Fukushima (2011) and Hurricane Sandy (2012) are examples highlighting the vulnerability of critical infrastructures to natural hazards and the crippling effect they have on the social and economic well-being of a community and a nation. With this dynamic and complex threat landscape, network analysis has emerged as a key enabler in supporting defence and security. With the advent of 'big data' and increasing processing power, network analysis can reveal insights with regards to structural and dynamic properties thereby facilitating greater understanding of complex networks, their entities, interdependencies, vulnerabilities to produce insights for creative solutions. This book will be well positioned to inform defence, security and intelligence professionals and researchers with regards to leading methodologies and approaches.

Role of Project On Monday, 1 September 2014, the Australian Capital Territory Internal Omnibus Network (ACTION) launched Network 14, promising more direct, more frequent and better alignment between weekday and weekend routes (ACTION, 2014c). The redesign also reduces services in the evenings and the inter-peak, but significantly increases those during weekends. This report evaluates Network 14 with reference to Network 12, and the public transport vision as set out in Transport for Canberra (ACT Government, 2012c). This takes place through a mixed methods approach, combining an analysis of community consultation as part of the network implementation, anecdotal evidence from Network 14 customer interface, and a detailed study of route coverage, resource allocation and patronage trends using ACTION's critical business systems, including HASTUS and netBI. Patronage trends formed the primary point of analysis, and were identified at various temporal scales, by suburb and district, at bus stations and corridors, as well as in particular scenarios where network planning principles could be tested. Such included the impact of adding routes, withdrawing routes, as well as the effects of introducing and discontinuing through-routing. Summary of Key Findings • An increased focus from an all-day to a peak-first network has not hurt patronage to the extent expected, but a continued trend in this direction is ill-advised • Investments in the weekend network have paid off, where patronage has increased by 10.2 percent • Through-routing does work, as evident by a 43 percent patronage increase seen when introduced, and a 30 percent patronage drop when discontinued • Effective information design is critical, as embodied by the success of Route 250 in generating 30 to 45 percent additional trips between Belconnen and Gungahlin town centres • A range of unexplained anomalies in patronage trends have been identified, including an imbalance of outbound and inbound trips, as well as origin and destination passengers Recommendations for ACTION The following recommendations are devised based on the discussion in Chapter 6: • Simplify the network- ­ Run less routes at a higher frequency ­ Layer routes onto corridors to improve effective frequency ­ Reduce the number of trip variants ­ Through-route all-day along the Blue and Red Rapid corridors, supplementing the trunks with additional services (Routes 300 and 200 respectively) during the peaks ­ Operate this weekday network at a reduced frequency on weekends • Improve information design- ­ Redesign timetables and destination signs on buses ­ Introduce frequent network branding incorporating frequency mapping ­ Rationalise routes and route numbers ­ Use NXTBUS to its full potential, for instance by displaying connection information in real time • Implement the bold reforms- ­ Argue the case that mass transit exists to serve the masses ­ Change community expectations by incorporating roads into any discussion of 'equity' in the provision of public transport ­ Redesign future networks without fear of community pressure ­ Challenge established work practices and refrain from predicting union reaction • Consider the benefits of franchising- ­ A new Transport for Canberra agency can set Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for operators, with penalties and incentives in place for meeting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ­ Franchising has cut costs around Australia whilst modernising work practices (TTF Australia, 2012) ­ Savings can be reinvested back into the network