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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

This paper challenges a common understanding, implicit in many governance studies, that once policy networks are in place, the form of governing that follows is network governing. It is argued that policy networks may be understood as a way of organizing stakeholders and only under specific conditions may the governing mode in which the networks operate be termed network governing. Consequently, policy networks may subsist under other governing modes, for example, under a hierarchical mode. The present study uses actor‐centred case studies in the area of Danish employment policy. Employment policy in Denmark is municipally implemented and the study found that the local governing mode was determined mainly by the municipality's approach to local co‐governing. Less important, but nevertheless significant, is the capacity and interest of key private actors. Thus it is argued that nationally mandated local policy networks are insufficient in themselves to assure network governing in all settings. The reasons hierarchical governing modes prevail over those of network governing are identified and discussed in terms of agency and structure.

In this paper two disparate areas of social science theory, actor-network theory and policy networks, will be brought to bear on the problem of explaining the rapid development of an area of medical science and health policy in the UK. There has been a surge of interest in the treatment and management of personality disorder from within both the psychiatric profession and government ministries, and particularly those personality disorders deemed to be severe or dangerous. This has resulted in the development of a new psychiatric classification, the 'dangerous and severe personality disorder' (DSPD), and the funding and development of a new service to deal with it. Major new mental health legislation has been set in train to provide legal backing for the pre-emptive detention of patients with such a diagnosis, despite widespread uncertainty over its status, reliability or predictive capability. In the process of presenting and analysing this development, actor-network theory and policy networks will themselves be reviewed and compared, and common and incompatible elements, foci and mechanisms identified.

Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) with similar goals are linked to one another through brokerage networks. Analysis of a network of 10 TANs devoted to environmental issues and economic reform, and consisting of 436 advocacy organisations in 75 countries, revealed the existence of two subnetworks whose members served in several capacities as brokers: 12 advocacy organisations, which belonged to four or more TANs; eight advocacy organisations associated with the federation, Friends of the Earth, which belonged to three or more TANs. The activities of members of these networks included participation in governance of TANs, development of long-term relationships with funders, and production of reports containing information and policy analysis. For less active organisations, members of these subnetworks provided information and, in some cases, access to funding. Adapted from the source document.

What are organizations? Where do they come from? How are they transformed and adapted to new situations? In the digital age and in the global network society, traditional theories of the organization can no longer answer these questions. Based on actor-network theory, this book explains organizations as flexible, open networks in which both human and non-human actors enter into socio-technical assemblies by constantly negotiating and re-negotiating programs of action. Organizations are not macro social structures or autonomous systems operating behind the backs of individuals. Instead, they are scalable actor-networks guided by network norms of connectivity, flow, communication, participation, authenticity, and flexibility.

Since 1918 The Netherlands has witnessed the founding of numerous
women′s organisations. The history, present situation and future
developments of Dutch women′s networks are analysed by means of network
theory. Women′s networks have been established to give women
professional and private support which they did not find in other social
and organisational circuits. Women′s networks are growing not only in
number, but also in size. With the aid of network theory three trends
are pointed out: (1) temporary support networks become real social
networks, (2) temporary issue and support networks are being created
within the broader framework of networks, (3) women′s networks are
turning into organisation networks. This higher degree of organisation
resembles the development of the role of trade unions in society. The
women′s movement seems to be moving in the same direction; therefore a
higher degree of organisation is a challenge for the future. First, in
order to become a major stakeholder for organisations the women′s
networks need to accept their mutual interdependence and should start
working according to the principles of partnership. They need to
co‐operate, and the forces within the women′s movement need to be
concentrated so that the entire movement can gain strength. Secondly,
the diversity of women′s organisations demands an internal reorientation
in order to survive the external and internal demands of the 1990s on
these networks.

The growth in studying complexity, governance, and networks is a noticeable fact. Complex public policy problems require productive collaborations among multiple actors from different sectors. Public, private, and not-for-profit organizations work through governance networks and collaborative governance to solve complex public policy problems. There is a strong interest in both the practice and theory of networks in public governance. This interest has given boost to the use of social network analysis (SNA) in studies on complex governance networks. This special issue of Complexity, Governance, & Networks, includes theoretically, conceptually, and analytically rigorous papers with social network analysis applications. The papers help our understanding in studying complex governance networks.

What are organizations? Where do they come from? How are they transformed and adapted to new situations? In the digital age and in the global network society, traditional theories of the organization can no longer answer these questions. Based on actor-network theory, this book explains organizations as flexible, open networks in which both human and non-human actors enter into socio-technical assemblies by constantly negotiating and re-negotiating programs of action. Organizations are not macro social structures or autonomous systems operating behind the backs of individuals. Instead, they are scalable actor-networks guided by network norms of connectivity, flow, communication, participation, authenticity, and flexibility.

To analyze social network data using standard statistical approaches is to risk incorrect inference. The dependencies among observations implied in a network conceptualization undermine standard assumptions of the usual general linear models. One of the most quickly expanding areas of social and policy network methodology is the development of statistical modeling approaches that can accommodate such dependent data. In this article, we review three network statistical methods commonly used in the current literature: quadratic assignment procedures, exponential random graph models (ERGMs), and stochastic actor‐oriented models. We focus most attention on ERGMs by providing an illustrative example of a model for a strategic information network within a local government. We draw inferences about the structural role played by individuals recognized as key innovators and conclude that such an approach has much to offer in analyzing the policy process.

AbstractWe consider three network disconnection problems in a centralized network where a source node provides service to the other nodes, called demand nodes. In network disconnection problems, each demand node gets a certain benefit when connected to a source node and a network attacker destroys edges to prevent demand nodes from achieving benefits. As destroying edges incurs expenses, an attacker considers the following three different strategies. The first is to maximize the sum of benefits of the disconnected nodes while keeping the total edge destruction cost no more than a given budget. The second is to minimize the total destruction cost needed to make a certain amount of benefits not accomplished. The last is to minimize the ratio of the total destruction cost to the benefits not accomplished. In this paper, we develop exact algorithms to solve the above three problems. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2007