An efficient air transport system is an important part of social and economic development of Southern African Development Community (SADC). Efficient intra-SADC air service connections enhance regional integration, access to the global economy, international tourism and contribute towards the vision to establish the African Economic Community by 2034. SADC, in July 1998, embarked on liberalisation of the regional civil aviation sector in order to enhance the efficiency of air transport services. In the United States of America and European Union, the liberalisation of air transport has transformed civil aviation networks. The fragmentation of air service connections on the intra-SADC network in the midst of the liberalisation process is symptomatic of a poor implementation strategy coupled with air transport market imperfections. The purpose of this thesis is to examine, understand and explain the factors that influence the disintegration of the intra-SADC air transport network .The aim is to identify how regional air transport services can be transformed to meet the social and economic demands of the region. This research adopts network theory, as the conceptual framework of the investigation. Assuming a graph approaching maximal connection as the sought after state of affairs for SADC; this study benchmarked the post liberalisation network structure to the regional economic communities of ASEAN and MERCOSUR. The aim of the benchmarking is to identify the extend of the differences in air transport network in those two regions, resulting from the policies adopted and to establish how the SADC policies may be improved and implemented more efficiently. The findings of the study are that, in comparison to the two developing regions, SADC’s liberalisation measures have failed. The study developed and evaluated an econometric model which analysed demand patterns on the intra-SADC passenger air transport network. Although low levels of passenger demand seem to characterise the majority of SADC city-pairs, the study identified nodes with sufficient demand to justify direct connections which would in turn reduce network fragmentation. This research also establishes that the absence of a realistic detailed roadmap, an ill-defined programme of action and inadequate resources contributed to the failure of SADC’s liberalisation strategy. In its final sections, this study proposes an ideal demand-driven network configuration and offers specific recommendations to SADC member states for that network to be functional. The proposed network improves network connectivity from the current poor levels, where a connectivity measure of 15% suggests underdevelopment, to levels over 40%. The study however, acknowledges that air transport liberalisation does not necessarily guarantee equitable distribution of network efficiency in developing regions. There are communities that cannot sustain commercially viable air service connections without economic subvention, probably in the form of the Public Service Obligation (PSO) programme adopted in the EU.

Professional burnout refers to the development of negative emotions, cynical thoughts, and physical and mental exhaustion as a response to stressors associated with one’s career. Within the teaching profession, professional burnout has been associated with an increase in teacher attrition. In an effort to promote a positive school environment where teachers feel supported and committed to the profession, many administrators have implemented structured collaborative opportunities within their buildings. While personal relationships within the school network can provide a mitigating effect against professional burnout, the possibility exists that teacher leaders can be overcentralized and negatively impacted by the maintained relationships. By potentially forcing centralization on critical team members and emphasizing them as the “go-to” person for collaboration, schools may be inadvertently putting their best at risk for burnout. Using a mixed-methods design, the following study investigates the perceived benefits and constraints of centrality within the school network on reported burnout. The social networks at four elementary schools were analyzed to determine the level of connectivity for each certified staff member. Participants were asked to identify the colleagues with whom they collaborate. Using Social Network Analysis, the level of centrality (as measured by number of network connections both received and directed) was calculated for each participant based on number of network ties both received and directed. Centrality scores were included with previously identified variables associated with teacher burnout including level of perceived stress, perception of school environment, principal support, and other demographic data in a series of hypothesis tests to assess the relationship between network connectivity and reported burnout. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with a selection of participants to further explore the impact of network connections on participant burnout. The results of this exploratory study found that not all collegial relationships are beneficial. A significant positive relationship between number of collaborative ties directed toward a teacher and their depersonalization score on the Maslach Burnout Inventory was identified, indicating that individuals who are frequently identified as a collaborator report higher burnout. The findings from this study produce a unique perspective on collaboration within the school network. As has been reported previously, level of connectivity within the school network as measured by the number of teachers one can identify as collaborators appears to mitigate (or not significantly increase) a teacher’s risk of professional burnout. However, being identified as a collaborator by a large number of teachers (in-degree) significantly increases one’s risk for depersonalization behaviors.

Collaborative innovation is an important mechanism for firms to exchange and acquire external knowledge. Through collaboration, innovators convene and form networks that, in return, help overcome the boundaries of knowledge transfer. To have a better understanding of actors’ collaborating behaviours in innovation networks, we identify three pairs of roles: 1) do actors make connections or bonds with their partners? 2) do actors exchange their knowledge with internal or external partners? 3) do actors absorb or distribute knowledge? We examine the distribution and evolution of actors’ roles from these three perspectives by using social network analysis. In this thesis, we use thousands of patent data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, to investigate the actors’ behaviours in the chemical industries of two Canadian regions, i.e. Montreal and Windsor-Sarnia. Based on the results of our analysis, Montreal, acting as a public-dominated region, shows a more complex distribution of roles, while Windsor-Sarnia with a private orientation indicates a simplex pattern. From the evolution perspective, the network of Montreal is more stable and diversified, with key actors being active in the local network for more extended periods. Unlike Montreal, Windsor-Sarnia faces a higher level of mobility and globalization.

We have developed a novel framework that can be applied for the analysis of signal transduction networks, both to facilitate reconstruction of the network structure and quantitatively characterize the interaction between network components. This approach, termed activation ratio analysis, involves the ratio between active and inactive forms of signaling intermediates at steady state. The activation ratio of an intermediate is shown to depend linearly upon the concentration of the activating enzyme. The slope of the line is defined as the activation factor, and is determined by the kinetic parameters of activation and inactivation. When activation ratios for simple signaling systems are considered, a set of rules develop that can be used to transform a set of experimental data to a proposed model network structure, with activation factors yielding a measure of activation potential between intermediates. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

by Adrian Segall. / Bibliography: leaf 29. / "May 1979." / Defense Advanced Projects Agency contract ONR/N00014-75-C-1183 Office of Naval Research contract ONR/N00014-77-C-0532

Dimitri P. Bertsekas, Eli M. Gafni, Robert G. Gallager. / Bibliography: p. 47. / "March 1981" / " ARPA Grant No. ONR-N00014-75-C-1183" "National Science Foundation Grant NSF/ECS 79-19880"

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, December 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

This research identifies and analyzes the breadth and depth of the network of non-profit environmental organizations, sportsmen-oriented conservation groups, county conservation districts and state parks that advocate for or against Marcellus Shale drilling within northeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania where drilling occurs. The purpose of this study is to identify where resources are being mobilized and where environmental activities that focus on Marcellus Shale issues are underrepresented in the state. Results show that the counties with a higher number of gas wells do not necessarily have a higher level of environmental advocacy and that a lack of resources is a common barrier to this type of work. Organizations are better connected locally within the northeast. Counties which need to bolster their Marcellus Shale advocacy efforts in the northeast include: Carbon, Pike, Potter, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wayne; and in the southwest: Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Somerset and Washington. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Graduate Center for Social and Public Policy / MA; / Thesis;

An efficient air transport system is an important part of social and economic development of Southern African Development Community (SADC). Efficient intra-SADC air service connections enhance regional integration, access to the global economy, international tourism and contribute towards the vision to establish the African Economic Community by 2034. SADC, in July 1998, embarked on liberalisation of the regional civil aviation sector in order to enhance the efficiency of air transport services. In the United States of America and European Union, the liberalisation of air transport has transformed civil aviation networks. The fragmentation of air service connections on the intra-SADC network in the midst of the liberalisation process is symptomatic of a poor implementation strategy coupled with air transport market imperfections. The purpose of this thesis is to examine, understand and explain the factors that influence the disintegration of the intra-SADC air transport network .The aim is to identify how regional air transport services can be transformed to meet the social and economic demands of the region. This research adopts network theory, as the conceptual framework of the investigation. Assuming a graph approaching maximal connection as the sought after state of affairs for SADC; this study benchmarked the post liberalisation network structure to the regional economic communities of ASEAN and MERCOSUR. The aim of the benchmarking is to identify the extend of the differences in air transport network in those two regions, resulting from the policies adopted and to establish how the SADC policies may be improved and implemented more efficiently. The findings of the study are that, in comparison to the two developing regions, SADC’s liberalisation measures have failed. The study developed and evaluated an econometric model which analysed demand patterns on the intra-SADC passenger air transport network. Although low levels of passenger demand seem to characterise the majority of SADC city-pairs, the study identified nodes with sufficient demand to justify direct connections which would in turn reduce network fragmentation. This research also establishes that the absence of a realistic detailed roadmap, an ill-defined programme of action and inadequate resources contributed to the failure of SADC’s liberalisation strategy. In its final sections, this study proposes an ideal demand-driven network configuration and offers specific recommendations to SADC member states for that network to be functional. The proposed network improves network connectivity from the current poor levels, where a connectivity measure of 15% suggests underdevelopment, to levels over 40%. The study however, acknowledges that air transport liberalisation does not necessarily guarantee equitable distribution of network efficiency in developing regions. There are communities that cannot sustain commercially viable air service connections without economic subvention, probably in the form of the Public Service Obligation (PSO) programme adopted in the EU.

In the area of information visualization social or biological networks are visualized ina way so that they can be explored easily and one can get more information about thestructure of the network out of it. The use of network centralities in the field of network analysis plays an importantrole when it comes to the rating of the relative importance of vertices within the networkstructure based on the neighborhood of them. Such a single network can be renderedeasily by the use of standard graph drawing algorithms. But it is not only the explorationof one centrality which is important. Furthermore, the comparison of two or more of themis important to get some further meaning out of it. When visualizing the comparisonof two or more network centralities we are facing new problems of how to visualizethem in a way to get out the most meaning of it. We want to be able to track all thechanges in the networks between two centralities as well as visualize the single networksas best as possible. In the life sciences centrality measures help scientists to understand theunderlying biological processes and have been successfully applied to different biologicalnetworks. The aim of the thesis is it to overcome those problems and to come up with a new solutionof how to visualize networks and its centralities. This thesis introduces a new way ofrendering networks including their centrality values along a circular view. Researches canthen be focused on the exploration of the centrality values including the network structure,without dealing with visual clutter or occlusions of nodes. Furthermore, filtering based instatistical data concerning the datasets and centrality values support this.