Search results for "network theory"
showing 10 items of 47 documents
Applying complexity science to air traffic management
2015
Versión aceptada obtenida del archivo digital en línea WestminsterResearch de la Universidad de Westminster. Complexity science is the multidisciplinary study of complex systems. Its marked network orientation lends itself well to transport contexts. Key features of complexity science are introduced and defined, with a specific focus on the application to air traffic management. An overview of complex network theory is presented, with examples of its corresponding metrics and multiple scales. Complexity science is starting to make important contributions to performance assessment and system design: selected, applied air traffic management case studies are explored. The important contexts of…
Ripensare gli oggetti, riprogettare la società
2021
The essay introduces a series of classical essays by Bruno Latour on design and techniques, showing the relationships between Actor Network Theory and semiotics. In particular, the theoretical convergences and problematic nodes on the methodological level concerning the application of certain semiotic notions, such as that of actant and that of enunciation, within Bruno Latour's anthropology are discussed.
Intermediate units and competence creation in the multinational firm: a network approach
2019
Multinational Corporations (MNCs) as economic and social actors have an enormous impact on the global economy. They have been acknowledged as the forefront of the technological and organizational developments (Lundan, 2018) while also presented as resource spoilers in other contexts (Narula, 2018). Currently, the economic environment MNCs face is determined by the fragmentation of the global production. Mainly, this is due to technological advances, the rise of emerging economies and liberalization policies (Narula, 2014) which have facilitated cross-border coordination of transactions (Kano, 2017). As a consequence, the MNC is assisting to the subsequent dispersion of its activities which …
A holistic perspective on the theoretical foundations for ICT4D research
2018
While many theories have guided research Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), we are yet to construct a clear and coherent narrative that would help us answer the question of how ICT fosters development in underdeveloped communities. In this paper, we argue that one of the main reasons for this is that our holistic understanding of ICT4D is seldom grounded in theories to understand the core areas that define the field, namely, ICT, Development, and, ‘4’ which are the transformative processes that link the two. Through a brief literature review, we list theories that have informed ICT4D research in each of these areas. We present examples of theories, namely, C…
Dominant and emerging approaches in the study of higher education policy change
2012
The purpose of the article is to analyse recent literature on higher education policy change. Based on the review, three different approaches are distinguished: structural, actor and agency. In the structural approach the dynamic of policy change originates in well-established structures. The actor approach focuses on either individual or institutional actors as the drivers of policy change. The agency approach understands higher education policy change as an interactive process between various actors and domains within transient structures. We will also present two emerging, alternative approaches: actor-network theory, which takes interaction as a starting point and proposes that no organ…
Statistically validated networks in bipartite complex systems.
2011
Many complex systems present an intrinsic bipartite nature and are often described and modeled in terms of networks [1-5]. Examples include movies and actors [1, 2, 4], authors and scientific papers [6-9], email accounts and emails [10], plants and animals that pollinate them [11, 12]. Bipartite networks are often very heterogeneous in the number of relationships that the elements of one set establish with the elements of the other set. When one constructs a projected network with nodes from only one set, the system heterogeneity makes it very difficult to identify preferential links between the elements. Here we introduce an unsupervised method to statistically validate each link of the pr…
‘Disorderly conduct’: on the unruly rules of public communication in social network sites
2013
In this article, we examine typical styles and practices of public communication on social network sites (SNSs) in order to confront the traditional concept of publics as machines for creating order. Through an ethnographic case study of the SNS Facebook, we show how indeterminacy, ambiguity and constant irritation, rather than arguments or reason, produce the communicative order. A decidedly disorderly style of communication and connectivity emerges. Indeterminacy, from our point of view, is a solution to the problem of speaking privately in public and to an indefinite audience. We use these findings to problematize the insights of network theory and Niklas Luhmann's systems theory that on…
The effect of fish life-history structures on the topologies of aquatic food webs
2021
Biological organisms can vastly change their ecological functionality due to changes in body size and diet across their life. Consequently, it has been increasingly recognized that to attain sufficient biological realism, food webs may need to include life-history structures. The objective of the work is to study theoretically whether and how the inclusion of life-history structures affects the food web topology. Topological research was done by applying network theory metrics for three different food web types with two different sizes that were generated by using the niche-model. The dynamical modeling was performed by using an allometric trophic network modeling approach. The different ty…
Explaining the internationalization of ibusiness firms
2015
Information and communication technologies have given rise to a new type of firm, the ibusiness firm. These firms offer a platform that allows users to interact with each other and generate value through user co-creation of content. Because of this, ibusiness firms face different challenges when they internationalize compared with traditional firms, even those online. In this article we extend existing internationalization theory to encompass this new type of organization. We theorize that because ibusiness firms produce value through the creation and coordination of a network of users, these firms tend to suffer greater liabilities of outsidership when expanding abroad and therefore concen…
The value of a network in the digital era: insights about Doctor Chat case study
2017
Networks are ubiquitous in our lives in their social, physical, and digital forms. A growing number of firms today rely entirely on networking and lack a physical location or material infrastructure; they are, so to speak, 'liquid'. Through a theoretical analysis and its application to the case of Doctor Chat mobile app, this paper aims to analyse the fundamental laws of networks and to answer the following questions: 1) are the traditional methods to estimate the network value still valid in the current digital age and in particular for mobile applications?; 2) how do the laws of networks work when networks expand? We conclude with some suggestions for a research agenda in order to inspire…