Cette thèse a pour objectif d’étudier la façon dont les individus vivent ensemble et développent des relations ancrées dans un contexte international. Ces espaces sont marqués par une densité importante de situations d’interaction au jour le jour, où l’imprévisibilité est constante. Observer l’évolution des acteurs dans ces situations problématiques où ils disposent de peu d’habitudes, de standards, de manières d’être et de faire prédéfinies, permet d’apprécier le développement de leurs compétences d’innovation et d’ajustement et notamment de suivre la constitution d’un ordre d’interaction. Pour cela, j’ai mené trois enquêtes ethnographiques comparatives dans trois résidences universitaires internationales : deux Maisons Internationales en France (Fondation Ulysse à la Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris) et aux États-Unis (l’International House) et une troisième dans une Graduate House au Canada. Ces trois terrains sont relativement similaires sur plusieurs points : la population y est constituée d'étudiants diplômés de licence de différents domaines d'études, avec une forte proportion d'étudiants étrangers et internationaux ; les conditions de vie sont également comparables (cuisines collectives et sanitaires, salles communes, organisation d'une vie communautaire [community life]). Par ailleurs, les deux premières maisons portent un programme institutionnel similaire, activant une idéologie internationaliste. Leur comparaison et celle avec la troisième résidence universitaire permettra de saisir différentes ingénieries institutionnelles, parties prenantes dans la production d’une normativité pratique. Après avoir présenté les terrains, les méthodes et l’objet d’étude (chapitre introductif), nous suivrons plusieurs questions qui ont émergé sur les terrains d’enquête : la temporalité des sociabilités au cours d’un séjour (chapitre 1) le passage de relations d’anonymes aux relations ancrées (chapitre 2), la coproduction d’un ordre d’interaction, d’une idioculture et d’un ordre social (chapitre 3), une réflexion autour des commérages (chapitre 4) et enfin une réflexion sur les ingénieries institutionnelles et leurs engagements dans les sociabilités des résidents et leur normativité pratique (chapitre 5). En somme, cette recherche contribue aux travaux en sociologie et en micropolitique des sociabilités, en sociologie des petits groupes, en sociologie des réseaux personnels et en sociologie de la communication. / My thesis aims to study how people live together and develop relationships in an international context. These situations are marked by the fact that nobody masters beforehand these collective settings; indeed, they are marked by interactional unpredictability. How do individuals manage to live together, when they share almost no common rules, and no pre-defined shared ways of being? How do they develop personal relationships, and end by building up affinity relationships? What kind of skills of understanding and evaluation, innovation and adjustment, do they have to activate? In order to get a better knowledge of such situations, since 2011, I have conducted three ethnographic fieldworks: two in International Houses in France (Fondation Ulysse at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris) and the United States, and a third one in a Graduate House in Canada. These three residences have relatively similar general settings: the population is graduate students from different fields of study, with a large proportion of foreign and international students, also the living conditions are comparable (collective kitchens and sanitary facilities, communal rooms, organization of a community life). In addition, the first two residences carry a similar institutional project, advocating an internationalist ideology. The comparison between these houses, and with the Canadian residence, will allow us to grasp the institutional engineerings and the practical normativity coproduced by current residents in each house. After introducing the fieldworks, the methods and the research questions (introductionnary chapter), we will study several questions which emerged from the surveys: the temporality of sociabilities during a stay in student residency (chapter 1), the passage of anonymous relationships to anchored relationships (chapter 2), the co-production of an order of interaction, of an idioculture and of a social order (chapter 3), a reflection on gossip (chapter 4) and finally a study on institutional engineering and their engagement towards residents’ sociabilities and their practical normativity (chapter 5). In sum, this research contributes to sociology and micropolitics of sociability, sociology of small groups, sociology of social networks, and sociology of communication.

abstract: Malicious hackers utilize the World Wide Web to share knowledge. Previous work has demonstrated that information mined from online hacking communities can be used as precursors to cyber-attacks. In a threatening scenario, where security alert systems are facing high false positive rates, understanding the people behind cyber incidents can help reduce the risk of attacks. However, the rapidly evolving nature of those communities leads to limitations still largely unexplored, such as: who are the skilled and influential individuals forming those groups, how they self-organize along the lines of technical expertise, how ideas propagate within them, and which internal patterns can signal imminent cyber offensives? In this dissertation, I have studied four key parts of this complex problem set. Initially, I leverage content, social network, and seniority analysis to mine key-hackers on darkweb forums, identifying skilled and influential individuals who are likely to succeed in their cybercriminal goals. Next, as hackers often use Web platforms to advertise and recruit collaborators, I analyze how social influence contributes to user engagement online. On social media, two time constraints are proposed to extend standard influence measures, which increases their correlation with adoption probability and consequently improves hashtag adoption prediction. On darkweb forums, the prediction of where and when hackers will post a message in the near future is accomplished by analyzing their recurrent interactions with other hackers. After that, I demonstrate how vendors of malware and malicious exploits organically form hidden organizations on darkweb marketplaces, obtaining significant consistency across the vendors’ communities extracted using the similarity of their products in different networks. Finally, I predict imminent cyber-attacks correlating malicious hacking activity on darkweb forums with real-world cyber incidents, evidencing how social indicators are crucial for the performance of the proposed model. This research is a hybrid of social network analysis (SNA), machine learning (ML), evolutionary computation (EC), and temporal logic (TL), presenting expressive contributions to empower cyber defense. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Computer Science 2020

abstract: People come together and form communities in cities across the world but the processes behind community formation are not well understood. Some researchers theorize that having populations with similar characteristics is important; others argue that the existence of public spaces for interaction is key. I use archaeological data collected over six seasons of field work and archival data from The Granada Relocation Center (Amache) National Historic Landmark, a World War II (WWII) Japanese American incarceration center in Southeastern Colorado, to demonstrate the role that participation in previous social communities has on the formation of new social networks. The concept of social cohesion acts as a framework for understanding how access to public spaces and participation in different types of social activities creates a sense of neighborhood community among a dislocated population. During WWII Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes on the West Coast to ten incarceration centers, disrupting existing communities and forcing the formation of new ones. Amache is one of ten incarceration centers which housed families and individuals. The site resembled an urban center with public facilities and residential areas that functioned as neighborhoods. Archival and archaeological data indicate that residents developed socially defined neighborhoods. Internees modified each neighborhood through the creation of landscape features and development of social activity which provided a venue for residents to interact and form a sense of community identity. Neighborhood residents clustered based on their affiliation to previous communities both in California and in the temporary detention centers. Clustering in demographically similar neighborhoods facilitated the development of new social interactions and led to the proliferation of landscape features and social events seen in the archaeological and archival record. I identify patterns of neighborhood interaction through an examination of the archaeological record and social network analysis using archival newspapers. Applying archaeological data in partnership with social network data illustrates the range of strategies used by incarcerees to create new communities and problematizes working with a single data source when attempting to identify socially defined neighborhoods. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2020

<p>Does increased participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) improve the democratic quality at intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)? Multilateral institutions and global governance mechanisms have emerged during the past few decades to tackle global challenges, such as climate change. However, policy making institutions such as IGOs are often viewed as lacking democratic legitimacy. The decision- making process remains tied to nation-states represented often by non-elected delegates, yet the decisions affect people who do not have a say in the process. One remedy proposed by global governance scholars to close such democratic deficit is to include a variety of stakeholders such as non-governmental actors. I challenge the conventional wisdom that assumes the democratic potential of these actors, and unpack the “blackbox” of NGOs to assess their internal politics.</p><p></p><div><p>To assess their role in global governance, we need to understand the substantive participation and patterns of interaction among the NGOs at the governance institutions. I construct a multilevel theoretical framework from a social network perspective to understand their participation and interaction. The theoretical framework is based on transnational social movement theory and social network theory.</p><p></p><div><p>I draw on the example of women’s groups working at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) annual conferences. Employing both quantitative statistical analysis and network analysis, I demonstrate an evident increase in women’s groups that participate substantively at the UNFCCC. How- ever, the growth is accompanied by inequality in participation. Not all groups that attend the UNFCCC participate in collective advocacy or network actively. The variation is associated with the capacity and social embeddedness of a given organization. Furthermore, the community working on women’s issues has become fragmented over- time. The fragmentation is a result of NGOs’ different strategies and understandings of their role in global climate governance. The institutional context of UNFCCC has also contributed to the fragmentation. Overall, these civil society actors contribute to the democratization of the UNFCCC process by adding new voices, establishing new issue linkages, and raising awareness for women’s rights and gender equality. At the same time, however, the internal inequality and the power imbalance could further exacerbate the democratic deficit in the global climate governance process.</p><p></p><div><p>I have independently collected data on over 800 actors at the UN climate conferences. I have also conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with civil society representatives at the UN climate change summits in 2017 and 2018. The findings contribute to the understanding of democratic legitimacy in global governance of large-scale, transnational challenges by analyzing both macro-level network relation- ships among actors and the micro-level mechanisms among network members.</p></div></div></div>

Universal Jurisdiction (UJ) emerged as a norm in international post-conflict justice after the Nuremberg Trials and is based on the principle that the nature of certain crimes is of greater importance than the nationality of the perpetrator, the location of the crime or any direct connection to the prosecuting state. This paper discusses the spread of UJ, which has been wide-ranging and consistent since the 1950s, and seeks answers to the question – why do some states adopt universal jurisdiction legislation while others do not? Through the novel use of Social Network Analysis (SNA) and application of diffusion theory (specifically emulation), the study tests the hypothesis that liberalist network ties influence a state’s willingness to adopt UJ legislation. This bivariate relationship is tested with a medium-n population of OECD states and the empirical results of the SNA reveal strong support for the hypothesis, findings that are determined to be statistically significant by the Pearson’s Chi-Square test. This study embodies an innovative methodological and theoretical approach to an important international post-conflict justice issue, and draws attention to the obstacles that often stand between victims and survivors of genocide and their day in court.  N.B The design of the Social Network Analysis maps and details in some tables mean that this paper is most optimally viewed in colour.

Previous literature on the social dynamics of network creation in enterprises has drawn a sharp division between the utility of personal and professional networks. This has been particularly marked in social network analysis of born-global SMEs operating in emerging markets and seeking to internationalise. Using the case study of International Housing Solutions (Pty) Ltd (IHS) – a born global SME with both a global and a regional network – this research creates a deeper and more nuanced understanding of what such networks look like, what human factors are key to their operation, and what the relative importance is of the personal and professional drivers of networking.The study employs a mixed-method research design including network mapping and both qualitative and quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses from 35 participants in the IHS network, providing both hard data and rich qualitative insights into the ingredients and processes required for effective networking in such an enterprise.The results provide robust evidence for crossover between professional and personal networking activities; both are equally relevant in enabling the born-global SME to grow networks, increase innovation and enter otherwise impenetrable markets. Though the weighting of networking attributes is marginally different – for personal networks, the key attributes are advice, trust, friendship and communication; for professional networks, knowledge and referrals – in practice, both the personal and the professional are assimilated into a single complex of network activity and cannot be viewed in isolation.The research thus contributes innovative findings to a hitherto under-researched aspect of networking in the born-global SME. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This dissertation suggests that network governance theory may have reached an impasse, and in order to pursue its advance, new methods need to be used. It tests the viability of actor-network theory on providing new insights on network governance, which could contribute to the strengthening of network governance theory. The author suggests that actor-network theory may offer both an epistemology and ontology that intents to not impose current definitions and divisions of traditional social science. By doing so, actor-network theory focuses on the performance of associations rather than on the traditional categories of structures, institutions, individuals or groups -- characteristic of most network governance studies. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Spatial and temporal patterns of urban vegetation have been widely studied since the mid-twentieth century, but these studies have focused mainly on northern hemisphere countries, and little research has been conducted in developing countries. Urban vegetation is characterized by the presence of species that are adapted to the particular environmental conditions of cities, and a high diversity of exotic species. This occurs due to a combination of factors: on one hand, it is possible to find wild vegetation (weeds) on abandoned lands or those with little intervention, as well as on walls and buildings. On the other hand, there is also an enormous variety of ornamental and mainly exotic species, which have been cultivated by humans. The processes of species selection performed individually or collectively are a major determinant of the diversity of urban vegetation and flora. Individual decisions relate to private spaces such as residential gardens whose owners manage the vegetation according to their preferences and interests. Collective decisions relate to public spaces, which, by their nature, are subject to the action of multiple stakeholders. At the collective level, decision-making occurs in the context of processes involving local governments, other state agencies, NGOs and various interest groups present in the city. Each of these actors has its own vision on the role of urban vegetation, their preferences and criteria for the selection and management. This study aims to investigate the processes of decision-making responsible for the current composition of the vegetation in public spaces of the Metropolitan Area of Santiago (MAS). Through this research is expected to identify the criteria for the selection of species to be planted in public spaces, the reasons that explain the predominance of certain species, and the difference between parks managed by different public agencies in MAS. The research assumes that the various public and private actors involved in the planting and management of vegetation in public spaces, act guided by criteria and preferences that are finally expressed in the observed patterns of urban vegetation. For this purpose, the conceptual framework of governance is used, understood as the process of decision-making concerning public affairs, which involves multiple agents or interests including government agencies, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups. The overarching objectives of this Thesis are: a) To contribute to the knowledge of interactions between governance system and urban vegetation patterns in metropolitan areas of developing countries, recognizing both social and environmental processes interacting. b) Contribute to urban planning and policies by generating knowledge relevant to decision- making regarding urban vegetation. A robust knowledge of the factors defining the composition and structure of urban vegetation is essential to design effective policies for increasing vegetation cover, with consequent environmental and social benefits.

Die Gepäckförderanlagen von Luftfahrt-Drehkreuzen wie Peking oder Dubai gehören mit etwa 100 km Förderstrecke und 10.000 Transporteinheiten heute zu den größten automatisierten Logistiksystemen. Die Professur für Technische Logistik der TU Dresden ist an ihrer Planung und Simulation beteiligt und entwickelt Werkzeuge für den Systementwurf. Der Beitrag stellt zuerst Gepäckförderanlagen und die Planungsaufgabe vor. Danach werden zwei innovative Konzepte für frühe Planungsstufen vorgestellt. Dabei wird das Anlagen-Layout in ein Knoten-Kanten-Modell überführt. So wird einerseits mit diskretisierten statistischen (Zeit-) Verteilungen das dynamische Anlagenverhalten schneller und ähnlich genau bewertet wie mit der Simulation. Andererseits werden statistische Maßzahlen aus der Theorie komplexer Netzwerke genutzt, um das Transportnetzwerk hinsichtlich Robustheit und Lastbalancierung zu optimieren. / Baggage handling systems of air hubs like Beijing or Dubai contain about 100 km of conveyor lines and 10,000 transport units. Thus they belong to today’s largest automated logistics systems. The Chair for Logistics Engineering at TU Dresden is involved in their planning and simulation and develops system design tools. The paper first introduces into the field and the design targets. Than two innovative concepts for early planning stages are presented which derive a node-link-model from the system’s layout. Now, the system dynamic is evaluated by means of time-discrete statistic distributions more rapidly and as exactly as by simulations. Besides, statistic measures from complex network theory are used to optimise the transport with respect to robustness and load balancing.

The rise of 'information disorder' that undermine Western political principles has become one of the key political concerns in current Europe and United States and led to searching for new solutions how to fight the spread of mis- and dis-information. While the nature of this danger is still subject to much debate, we can already observe a rise of new experts explaining the threat of information war and how to deal with it. This research looks at how this novel problematization of security affects the politics of security expertise. Or, who gains power in this 'battle for truth'? Building on sociological approaches in security studies, this thesis focuses on the Czech Republic as a country that has become very active in the fight against disinformation and analyses the network of actors recognized as providing security expertise on information warfare. Based on social network analysis, the research maps the structure of social relations among actors recognized as experts and points out the empowerment of think-tanks and journalists, who build their expertise by bringing together their social capital, bridging knowledge of Russian politics and the new media environment, and introducing new practices to make the society resilient towards information warfare.