Este trabalho apresenta um estudo qualitativo das equações diferenciais nãolineares que descrevem o sincronismo de fase nos PLLs de 3ª ordem que compõem redes OWMS de topologia mista, Estrela Simples e Cadeia Simples. O objetivo é determinar, através da Teoria de Bifurcações, os valores ou relações entre os parâmetros constitutivos da rede que permitam a existência e a estabilidade do estado síncrono, quando são aplicadas, no oscilador mestre, duas funções de excitação muito comuns na prática: o degrau e a rampa de fase. Na determinação da estabilidade dos pontos de equilíbrio, sob o ponto de vista de Lyapunov, a existência de pontos de equilíbrio não-hiperbólicos não permite uma aproximação linear e, nesses casos, é aplicado o Teorema da Variedade Central. Essa técnica de simplificação de sistemas dinâmicos permite fazer uma aproximação homeomórfica em torno desses pontos, preservando a orientação no espaço de fases e possibilitando determinar localmente suas estabilidades. / This work presents a qualitative study of the non-linear differential equations that describe the synchronous state in 3rd order PLLs that compose One-way masterslave time distribution networks with Single Star and Single Chain topologies. Using bifurcation theory, the dynamical behavior of third-order phase-locked loops employed to extract the syncronous state in each node is analyzed depending on constitutive node parameters when two usual inputs, the step and the ramp phase pertubations, are supposed to appear in the master node. When parameter combinations result in non hyperbolic synchronous states, from Lyapunov point of view, the linear approximation does not provide any information about the local behavior of the system. In this case, the center manifold theorem permits the construction of an equivalent vector field representing the asymptotic behavior of the original system in the neighborhood of these points. Thus, the local stability can be determined.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:38:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcos Kleber Soares Kunyosi.pdf: 2418852 bytes, checksum: ab6795f8d39445430da1eca23e865c56 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-09-11 / Instituto Presbiteriano Mackenzie / Recognition of patterns can be performed by using neural networks built with oscillators, like phase-locked loops (PLLs). These networks are modeled with differential equation systems and can be studied by using Dynamical System Theory, which is used in this work in order to investigate the dynamical behavior related to a synaptic configuration of a neural network. As a result of such an investigation, two methods (Brute Force and Algebric) that help to build neural networks formed by PLLs are presented. These methods aim to relate the synaptic configuration of the network to the corresponding basin of attraction of fixed points, which represent the stored patterns on the network. Also general properties of synaptic configuration are presented in order to generate other useful configurations. Then a model of an image recognition machine able to store in its memory a monochromatic image and able to determine if other image is similar to the memorized one is proposed. / Reconhecimento de padrões pode ser feito usando redes neurais construídas com osciladores, como malhas de sincronismo de fase (PLLs). Essas redes são modeladas por sistemas de equações diferenciais e podem ser estudas pela Teoria de Sistemas Dinâmicos, que é usada neste trabalho para investigar o comportamento dinâmico associado a uma configuração sináptica de uma rede neural. Como resultado dessa investigação, são apresentados dois métodos (Força Bruta e Algébrico) que auxiliam na construção de redes neurais formadas por PLLs. Esses métodos têm como objetivo relacionar a configuração sináptica da rede às respectivas bacias de atração de pontos atratores, os quais representam os padrões memorizados na rede. Também são apresentadas propriedades gerais da configuração sináptica que podem ser usadas para compor outras configurações de interesse. Por fim, é proposto um modelo de máquina reconhecedora de imagem capaz de armazenar em sua memória uma figura monocromática e determinar se uma imagem qualquer apresentada a ela é semelhante à memorizada.

The advanced stage of capitalism that we now live in has brought many changes to the way that society consumes and produces. One of the biggest shifts to the modern economy was the use of visual culture to distract, pacify, and exert power over the masses; a cultural change French theorist Guy Debord named the Society of the Spectacle. As a result, Debord and the Situationist International developed a movement of resistance to reclaim the territories of everyday life being eroded by the spectacle through separation and alienation. Since the term was coined the use of visual culture has accelerated and become even more pervasive in the postmodern world which led Jean Baudrillard to claim that the real has been replaced by simulation and hyperreality. This thesis explores this cultural shift to determine whether the practices of resistance theorized by Debord and the Situationists are still relevant as the reach of postmodernism increases. Link to associated video file: https://vimeo.com/64727252

This diploma thesis applies the principles of systemic thinking to the current web design process. It focuses on dealing with the issues related to conflicts and diversity of opinions among individual members of the team working on web design. In the theoretical part, this thesis deals with topic areas and activities relevant for modern approach to web design and the overall role of the user during the design process. In the practical part, the team responsible for web design is viewed as a soft complex system, to which Checklands soft system methodology is applied as a problem-solving tool.

M.A. / Conduct disorder is one of the most frequently diagnosed childhood disorders. The prevalence of this disorder has increased over the past few decades, which has ramifications for many facets of society, such as with families, justice systems, institutions involved with the rehabilitation of these children, and society as a whole. Conduct disorder has been found to be stable over time, and is therefore often associated with problems later in life such as violent crime, alcoholism, marital discord, and antisocial personality disorder. There have been many theories advanced for the aetiology of conduct disorder, but it is generally a bio-psychosocial model, rather than a single theory that receives the most attention when considering the development of this disorder. Included within such a model are variables such as a genetic component, neuropsychological factor, comorbid factor, socio-economic element, and a social learning component, that are involved with the development and maintenance of conduct disorder. One of the most consistently researched aspects involved within such models proposed for the aetiology of conduct disorder has been the role that certain parental styles have in the development of conduct disorder. Parental styles and the home environment have been consistently found to be a precursor of conduct disorder in foreign studies, however there is a lack of research within a South African context in this area. In order to establish whether there are specific styles of parenting related to conduct disorder in a South African sample, two measuring instruments were utilised, which were the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Family Environment Scale (FES). The PBI and FES were administered to two groups of adolescents (n=80): one group of males (n=40) diagnosed with conduct disorder, and one group of males (n=40) without a diagnosis of conduct disorder. These instruments were used in order to establish if there were any differences in the perceived style of parenting between the two groups. The study yielded results that are similar to those found in foreign based studies. It was found with the South African sample, that a parenting style characterised by a low amount of care on the part of the mother, and overprotection on the part of the father was found within the conduct disorder group. Together these form a Parenting style of `affectionless control'. These parents were found to exert a high amount of control over their children, have a low expressiveness of emotions and feelings, have a low involvement with their children, and were poor at supervising and monitoring their children. These results indicate that parental styles could be a precursor of conduct disorder within a South African context. The implications of these results are discussed as well as the limitations of the study. Recommendations for future research and possible applications of the results are delineated.

Bibliography: leaves 127-134 / Integrating psychology and spirituality to open up discussion on spiritual identity and its effects on the whole person was birthed in a counselling context, as individuals sought answers for various problems, having an effect on their psychological and spiritual well-being. The body, soul and spirit approach unfolded, as we explored their identity, more specifically, their spiritual identity, thus integrating psychology and spirituality. The aim was to explore how the discovery of their spiritual identity had an effect on them holistically. I chose a qualitative research design because my research questions required the collection and analysis of rich, in-depth data regarding participants’ psychological and spiritual journeys (Phipps, & Vorster, 2011; Ryan, 2006). My data collection method was twofold, using both in-depth interviews (narrative storytelling), as the initial stage for the individual to tell their story and the effects on their psychological and spiritual well-being, as well as semi-structured interviews (brainstorming), as the second stage in the research. The objective was to see what effects the problem had on them as a whole person. I used two stages of data analysis to reach this objective namely a collaborative deconstruction technique, together with the individual as the first stage and secondly a thematic analysis to interpret the main messages, patterns that repeated, as well as the highlights, having an effect on them as a whole. The results confirmed that individuals “discover” their spiritual identity when their self-identity reaches a limit of coping with problems and have more positive effects on them as whole persons. The significance of the research is that it has contributed to a more integrated counselling approach, within psychology, for counsellors and psychologists, to explore spiritual identity with the individual. Through the integration of seeing individuals as whole beings, including a spiritual dimension, awareness was created within the counselling context of the value of seeing individuals in a more integrative and holistic manner. Such a psycho-spiritual integrative approach is more relevant in the field of counselling in journeying with individuals in wholeness and affecting their dimensions of body, soul and spirit positively in the context of identity. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This thesis deals with the very topical issue in the sphere of the expert activity, which is requested by the general public at the same time. It sets a task of improvement, or better to saythe simplification in the approach to the appraising of real estate, with the aid of systemic methodology. There is as an example of the correct application of systemic methodology in the preparation of a sample expert opinion used in real estate (apartment house) located in Brno – Starý Lískovec. The property in question is appraised in accordance with the assignment by using the systemic approachonly after the evaluation of the current situation in appraising and discussing systemic methodology. A systemic approach to the appraising of aproperty is appropriately chosen largely because it better ensures the indispensable fact that, in the case of the expert opinion made by an expert, it is practically impossible to omit those important requisites which are inextricably linked to the expert opinion.

Gegenstand der Arbeit ist die Untersuchung des Systems Verarbeitunganlage mit Methoden der Systemtheorie und die Formulierung wesentlicher Randbedingungen für die Neuentwicklung solcher Anlagen. Ausgangspunkt ist die Feststellung, dass sich die Konsumgüterproduktion in einem Umbruch befindet, der neue Anforderungen an Verarbeitungsanlagen stellt. Die Arbeit untersucht zunächst die aktuelle Situation der Konsumgüterproduktion und formuliert daraus in einem allgemeinen Lastenheft die grundlegenden, neuen Anforderungen an Verarbeitungsanlagen. Sie führt bekannte Lösungskonzepte für diese Probleme auf und stellt etablierte Systemmodelle der Verarbeitungstechnik vor. Es folgt eine Einführung in die Methodik der Systemtheorie sowie eine Betrachtung des Aufbaus und der Eigenschaften von Systemen. Auf dieser Grundlage wird anschließend ein systemtheoretischer Ansatz für Verarbeitungsanlagen erarbeitet, der Funktions-, Struktur- und Hierarchiemodelle umfasst und insbesondere auf die Flexibilität, Variabilität, Stabilität und Komplexität von Verarbeitungsanlagen eingeht. Mit Hilfe dieses Modells werden die eingangs beschriebenen Anforderungen an Verarbeitungsanlagen abstrahiert und auf diesem Wege Randbedingungen für die Neugestaltung von Verarbeitungsanalgen abgeleitet, die die Gestaltungsprinzipe Modularisierung, Miniaturisierung und Parallelisierung umfassen. Das Lösungskonzept wird abschließend einer einfachen, ökonomischen Bewertung unterzogen. Die Modelle und Thesen werden exemplarisch an einer Verpackungsanlage für Schokoladenprodukte veranschaulicht.:Aufgabenstellung Kurzreferat Abstract Inhaltsverzeichnis Formelzeichen Abkürzungen 1 Einleitung 1.1 Problemstellung 1.2 Zielstellung und Lösungsansatz 1.3 Aufbau der Arbeit 2 Die aktuelle Situation der Konsumgüterproduktion 2.1 Einführung – Produktionsformen der Konsumgüterproduktion 2.2 Die Situation der Nahrungsmittelindustrie 2.2.1 Marktstruktur 2.2.2 Forderungen der Verbraucher 2.3 Die Situation des Nahrungsmittel- und Verpackungsmaschinenbaus 2.4 Problemstellungen für die Konsumgüterproduktion 3 Stand der Wissenschaft und Technik 3.1 Lösungskonzepte des Maschinen- und Anlagenbaus 3.1.1 Einführung – Etablierte und neue Konzepte 3.1.2 Baukastensysteme und Modularisierung 3.1.3 Adaptive und selbstoptimierende Prozessregelung 3.1.4 Miniaturisierte Produktionssysteme 3.1.5 Parallele und vernetzte Stoffströme 3.2 Systembeschreibungen für Verarbeitungsanlagen 3.2.1 Einführung – Verarbeitungstechnik als Querschnittsdisziplin 3.2.2 Verarbeitungssystem als Blackbox 3.2.3 Funktionsstruktur von Verarbeitungssystemen 3.2.4 Die Wirkpaarung 3.2.5 Das Innermaschinelle Verfahren 3.2.6 Zuverlässigkeitsmodell für Verarbeitungsanlagen 4 Präzisierung der Aufgabenstellung 4.1 Allgemeines Lastenheft 4.2 Präzisierte Aufgabenstellung 4.3 Anwendungsbeispiel der Untersuchungen 5 Grundzüge des systemtheoretischen Ansatzes 5.1 Systemtheorie als Universalwissenschaft 5.2 Modellbildung mit Hilfe systemtheoretischer Methoden 5.3 Der Systembegriff 6 Aufbau und Eigenschaften von Systemen 6.1 Systemaufbau und Modelle 6.1.1 Funktion 6.1.2 Struktur 6.1.3 Hierarchie 6.2. Das Konzept des offenen Systems 6.2.1 Offene und geschlossene Systeme 6.2.2 Fließgleichgewicht und Äqui1nalität 6.2.3 Dynamische Strukturauffassung 6.3 Systemeigenschaften 6.3.1 Varietät 6.3.2 Stabilität 6.3.3 Komplexität 7 Systemmodelle für Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.1 Systemtheoretischer Ansatz für Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.1.1 Einführung neuer Begriffsdefnitionen 7.1.2 Ziel der Modellbildung 7.1.3 Formale Probleme der Modellbildung 7.1.4 Modellansatz 7.2 Systemmodelle für Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.2.1 Funktionsmodell 7.2.2 Ablaufstruktur des Aufgaben- und Funktionssystems 7.2.3 Aufbaustruktur der Wirkpaarung – Wirkpaarungsmodell 7.2.4 Aufbaustruktur des verarbeitungstechnischen Systems 7.2.5 Hierarchische Ordnung von Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.3 Verarbeitungsanlagen als offene Systeme 7.3.1 Gründe für ein offenes Systemkonzept 7.3.2 Gleichgewicht und Systemziel von Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.3.3 Dynamische Auffassung des Systems Verarbeitungsanlage 7.4 Systemverhalten von Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.4.1 Variabilität und Flexibilität von Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.4.2 Stabilität von Verarbeitungsprozessen 7.4.3 Komplexität von Verarbeitungsanlagen 8 Systemtheoretische Untersuchung des Standes der Technik des Verarbeitungsmaschinenbaus 9 Vorschläge zur Neugestaltung von Verarbeitungsanlagen 9.1 Systemtheoretische Untersuchung des allgemeinen Lastenheftes 9.1.1 Systemtheoretische Interpretation der Anforderungen 9.1.2 Resultierende systemtheoretische Fragestellung 9.2 Randbedingungen für die Neuentwicklung von Verarbeitungsanlagen 9.2.1 Vorüberlegungen 9.2.2 Grundkonzept 9.3 Gestaltungsprinzipe – Modularisierung, Miniaturisierung, Parallelisierung 9.4 Technologische Mittel zur Umsetzung 9.4.1 Plug&Produce-Module und Plattformbauweise 9.4.2 Adaptive Wirkpaarungen 9.4.3 Flexible Verkettung 9.4.4 Exemplarischer Vorschlag für das Anwendungsbeispiel 9.5 Allgemeines Pflichtenheft 10 Bewertung des Lösungskonzeptes 10.1 Ökonomische Bewertung 10.1.1 Die Produktion in der Ökonomie 10.1.2 Arbeit 10.1.3 Rohstoffe und Zwischenprodukte 10.1.4 Betriebsmittel 10.2 Bewertung im Bezug auf die Situation der Konsumgüterproduktion 11 Fazit 10.1 Zusammenfassung 10.2 Ausblick Eidesstattliche Erklärung Thesen Literaturverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Anhang / The object of the presented diploma thesis is the analysis of the system of manufacturing plants based on methods of sytem theory and the formulation of basic conditions for new developments of such plants. It is motivated by the diagnosis that the manufacturing industry stands at a point of fundamental change which requests plants of different characteristics as they usually have so far. Starting with an analysis of the current situation of consumer goods industry the thesis frames fundamental, new requirement specifications of manufacturing plants. It presents established concepts which may meet these requirements and gives a résumé of the state of the art of system modells in the field of manufacturing technology. An introduction into the methodes of system theory mentions the composition and characterisitcs of systems in general. Based on this considerations an approach in system theory for manufacturing plants is elaborated which comprises functional, structural and hierarchical models and especially goes into flexibility, variability, stability and complexity of manufacturing plants. These models serve for abstracting the requirements on manufacturing plants and for deducing principle conditions for new developments of manufacturing plants such as modularization, miniaturization and parallelization. A simple economic analysis finally assesses the outlined concept. All models and theses are illustrated by a wrapping plant for chocolate candies.:Aufgabenstellung Kurzreferat Abstract Inhaltsverzeichnis Formelzeichen Abkürzungen 1 Einleitung 1.1 Problemstellung 1.2 Zielstellung und Lösungsansatz 1.3 Aufbau der Arbeit 2 Die aktuelle Situation der Konsumgüterproduktion 2.1 Einführung – Produktionsformen der Konsumgüterproduktion 2.2 Die Situation der Nahrungsmittelindustrie 2.2.1 Marktstruktur 2.2.2 Forderungen der Verbraucher 2.3 Die Situation des Nahrungsmittel- und Verpackungsmaschinenbaus 2.4 Problemstellungen für die Konsumgüterproduktion 3 Stand der Wissenschaft und Technik 3.1 Lösungskonzepte des Maschinen- und Anlagenbaus 3.1.1 Einführung – Etablierte und neue Konzepte 3.1.2 Baukastensysteme und Modularisierung 3.1.3 Adaptive und selbstoptimierende Prozessregelung 3.1.4 Miniaturisierte Produktionssysteme 3.1.5 Parallele und vernetzte Stoffströme 3.2 Systembeschreibungen für Verarbeitungsanlagen 3.2.1 Einführung – Verarbeitungstechnik als Querschnittsdisziplin 3.2.2 Verarbeitungssystem als Blackbox 3.2.3 Funktionsstruktur von Verarbeitungssystemen 3.2.4 Die Wirkpaarung 3.2.5 Das Innermaschinelle Verfahren 3.2.6 Zuverlässigkeitsmodell für Verarbeitungsanlagen 4 Präzisierung der Aufgabenstellung 4.1 Allgemeines Lastenheft 4.2 Präzisierte Aufgabenstellung 4.3 Anwendungsbeispiel der Untersuchungen 5 Grundzüge des systemtheoretischen Ansatzes 5.1 Systemtheorie als Universalwissenschaft 5.2 Modellbildung mit Hilfe systemtheoretischer Methoden 5.3 Der Systembegriff 6 Aufbau und Eigenschaften von Systemen 6.1 Systemaufbau und Modelle 6.1.1 Funktion 6.1.2 Struktur 6.1.3 Hierarchie 6.2. Das Konzept des offenen Systems 6.2.1 Offene und geschlossene Systeme 6.2.2 Fließgleichgewicht und Äqui1nalität 6.2.3 Dynamische Strukturauffassung 6.3 Systemeigenschaften 6.3.1 Varietät 6.3.2 Stabilität 6.3.3 Komplexität 7 Systemmodelle für Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.1 Systemtheoretischer Ansatz für Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.1.1 Einführung neuer Begriffsdefnitionen 7.1.2 Ziel der Modellbildung 7.1.3 Formale Probleme der Modellbildung 7.1.4 Modellansatz 7.2 Systemmodelle für Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.2.1 Funktionsmodell 7.2.2 Ablaufstruktur des Aufgaben- und Funktionssystems 7.2.3 Aufbaustruktur der Wirkpaarung – Wirkpaarungsmodell 7.2.4 Aufbaustruktur des verarbeitungstechnischen Systems 7.2.5 Hierarchische Ordnung von Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.3 Verarbeitungsanlagen als offene Systeme 7.3.1 Gründe für ein offenes Systemkonzept 7.3.2 Gleichgewicht und Systemziel von Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.3.3 Dynamische Auffassung des Systems Verarbeitungsanlage 7.4 Systemverhalten von Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.4.1 Variabilität und Flexibilität von Verarbeitungsanlagen 7.4.2 Stabilität von Verarbeitungsprozessen 7.4.3 Komplexität von Verarbeitungsanlagen 8 Systemtheoretische Untersuchung des Standes der Technik des Verarbeitungsmaschinenbaus 9 Vorschläge zur Neugestaltung von Verarbeitungsanlagen 9.1 Systemtheoretische Untersuchung des allgemeinen Lastenheftes 9.1.1 Systemtheoretische Interpretation der Anforderungen 9.1.2 Resultierende systemtheoretische Fragestellung 9.2 Randbedingungen für die Neuentwicklung von Verarbeitungsanlagen 9.2.1 Vorüberlegungen 9.2.2 Grundkonzept 9.3 Gestaltungsprinzipe – Modularisierung, Miniaturisierung, Parallelisierung 9.4 Technologische Mittel zur Umsetzung 9.4.1 Plug&Produce-Module und Plattformbauweise 9.4.2 Adaptive Wirkpaarungen 9.4.3 Flexible Verkettung 9.4.4 Exemplarischer Vorschlag für das Anwendungsbeispiel 9.5 Allgemeines Pflichtenheft 10 Bewertung des Lösungskonzeptes 10.1 Ökonomische Bewertung 10.1.1 Die Produktion in der Ökonomie 10.1.2 Arbeit 10.1.3 Rohstoffe und Zwischenprodukte 10.1.4 Betriebsmittel 10.2 Bewertung im Bezug auf die Situation der Konsumgüterproduktion 11 Fazit 10.1 Zusammenfassung 10.2 Ausblick Eidesstattliche Erklärung Thesen Literaturverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Anhang

As spatial properties that systems theoretically have, Socio-Ecological Systems are characterized by dynamism and mobility, therefore, are subject to changes in the space they occupy in the biosphere. In land ecosystems, these changes are understood as processes of evolution over time, or the result of extreme natural events, or transformation of the natural space induced by human activities. These spatial changes produce effects on the land surface and groundwater of ecosystems colonized or penetrated by elements, individuals or populations belonging to other ecosystems. These are the so-called Transitional Spaces between ecosystems. Throughout the continuous geographical space, these spatial transitions affect human and not human ecosystems in different ways. Given their ambiguous characteristics and their indefinite temporal location between urban, rural or natural spaces, transition spaces deserve to be investigated in order to know their properties and functions within the cartography that represents complex socio-ecological systems. The research is conducted from a particular perspective of Political Ecology. For this I proceed to develop an epistemological exercise on the political ecology syntagma in order to approach its concept and object of study as a hybrid discipline between social sciences and natural sciences. Interdisciplinarity as a practice, a dialectic vision regarding anthropocentrism, environmental perception as a method for an ontology of human ecology, The ecosystem as a unit of spatial analysis. These would be some of the characteristics of my ecological-political perspective. But what does transitional space mean for political ecology and what does it add to its theory? The question led me to seek the integral concept of ecosystem and to support myself in the General Systems Theory to analyze the notions of boundary and external environment as part of the classic concept of system. At that point, the notion of transitional spaces emerges implicit when recognizing the dynamic spatiality of other existing systems. v Since the research is not linear but interdisciplinary and convergent, a brief anthology of geographic and socio-spatial political thought is presented in order to connect the issue of transitional spaces with the point of view of the social sciences. Various socio-geographical, deterministic, anthropocentric, Darwinian, Marxist, modernist theories give an overview of the issues related to space and nature. With the emergence of the spatial turn, new concerns for political sociology, geography and environmental sciences are explained by the phenomenon of urban growth at the global level. In the same way, I introduce the topic of ecological spaces, specifically the concept of Ecotone, the space of transition between diverse natural ecosystems. The use of the notion of ecotone is based precisely on the perspective of the concept of political ecology developed previously. This, in turn, will allow me to introduce the FLACAM methodology into the research, which among its components has the virtue of identifying and analyzing the spatial phenomenon of physical and social Interfaces, that is, spaces of transition within human ecosystems. Several graphics and charts show the potential properties and functions of different kind of existing interfaces and ecotones. My proposal converges in using these concepts as planning tools for transitional spaces identified as Rurban Regions and metropolitan areas. A final reflection on the need for spatial research on global urban expansion and the theoretical and pragmatic advantages of the concept of intermediate cities closes the main body of the investigation.

A backbone network is the central part of the communication network, which provides connectivity within the various systems across large distances. Disruptions in a backbone network would cause severe consequences which could manifest in the service outage on a large scale. Depending on the size and the importance of the network, its failure could leave a substantial impact on the area it is associated with. The failures of the network services could lead to a significant disturbance of human activities. Therefore, making backbone communication networks more resilient directly affects the resilience of the area. Contemporary urban and regional development overwhelmingly converges with the communication infrastructure expansion and their obvious mutual interconnections become more reciprocal. Spreading failures are of particular interest. They usually originate in a single network segment and then spread to the rest of network often causing a global collapse. Two types of spreading failures are given focus, namely: epidemics and cascading failures. How to make backbone networks more resilient against spreading failures? How to tune the topology or additionally protect nodes or links in order to mitigate an effect of the potential failure? Those are the main questions addressed in this thesis. First, the epidemic phenomena are discussed. The subjects of epidemic modeling and identification of the most influential spreaders are addressed using a proposed Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) system approach. Throughout the years, LTI system theory has been used mostly to describe electrical circuits and networks. LTI is suitable to characterize the behavior of the system consisting of numerous interconnected components. The results presented in this thesis show that the same mathematical toolbox could be used for the complex network analysis. Then, cascading failures are discussed. Like any system which can be modeled using an interdependence graph with limited capacity of either nodes or edges, backbone networks are prone to cascades. Numerical simulations are used to model such failures. The resilience of European National Research and Education Networks (NREN) is assessed, weak points and critical areas of the network are identified and the suggestions for its modification are proposed.