COREnet: the fusion of social network analysis and target audience analysis

The purpose of this capstone is to highlight and explain how the target audience analysis (TAA) process can be enhanced by incorporating aspects of influence theory, social movement theory (SMT) and social network analysis (SNA). While a large body of literature addresses influence theory, SMT and SNA, little has been written within military information support operations (MISO) doctrine recognizing SNA in the analytical process. This capstone creates a method to apply SNA, SMT, and influence theory to existing MISO doctrine while also developing a scalable web-based application that assists with visualizing and analyzing open source data to draw meaningful conclusions and assist decision making on given operational problem sets. The web-based interface, COREnet, is a high fidelity prototype derived completely from open- source technology. The examples utilized are from a 2006 data set of an Indonesian terrorist network to demonstrate how SNA can be fully integrated into the TAA process.http://archive.org/details/corenetfusionofs1094544638Major, United States ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

An emerging paradigm or just another trajectory? Understanding the nature of technological changes using engineering heuristics in the telecommunications switching industry

The theoretical literature on technological changes distinguishes between paradigmatic changes and changes in trajectories. Recently several scholars have performed empirical studies on the way technological trajectories evolve in specific industries, often by predominantly looking at the artifacts. Much less - if any - empirical work has been done on paradigmatic changes, even though these have a much more profound impact on today's industry. It follows from the theory that such studies would need to focus more on the knowledge level than on the artifact level, raising questions on how to operationalize such phenomena. This study aims to fill this gap by applying network-based methodologies to knowledge networks, represented here by patents and patent citations. The rich technological history of telecommunications switches shows how engineers in the post-war period were confronted with huge challenges to meet drastically changing demands. This historical background is a starting point for an in-depth analysis of patents, in search of information about technological direction, technical bottlenecks, and engineering heuristics. We aim to identify when such changes took place over the seven different generations of technological advances this industry has seen. In this way we can easily recognize genuine paradigmatic changes compared to more regular changes in trajectory.technological trajectories; patents; network analysis; telecommunication manufacturing industry

Understanding The Influence Of Participants\u27 Preferences On The Affiliation Network Of Churches Using Agent-based Modeling

As the affiliation network of churches may potentially benefit public health, the impact of participants’ preferences on the affiliation network bears further study. This paper attempts to use agent-based modeling techniques associated with geographic information to study the affiliation network between churches and participants. Using churches in ZIP Code 30318 in Atlanta in Georgia, this study specifies the preferences of participants as personal radii and choice patterns. Results suggest (1) personal radii of participants are positively related to the size of affiliation network and the centralities of churches; (2) the change of choice pattern of participants can lead to a sharp reduction in size of the affiliation network of churches; (3) The centralities of churches among the affiliation network are corresponding to population density of census tracts. Findings can be used to understand the formulation of affiliation network of churches and their relationship with participants’ preferences

The Role of Business and Social Ties in Organizational Knowledge Sharing:A Case Study of a Financial Institution

This thesis is built on the assumption that organizations are in important respect social networks whereby knowledge is socially constructed and shared. Social network analysis (SNA) was employed to investigate the strength of inter-unit ties among twenty two units within a financial organization. The association of these ties with the sharing of different types of knowledge was measured by a specifically created and developed web survey that was provided to twenty two units in the organization. Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure (MRQAP) was used to examine two main questions and hypothesis. First and foremost, was to determine if there were associations between the strength of business and social ties and the sharing of different types of knowledge, i.e. public (noncodified vs. codified) and private (noncodified vs. codified). Second, to establish which of the two dimensions of strength -- closeness of a relationship, or the frequency of interaction - served as a stronger predictor for sharing of the four different kinds of knowledge the thesis delineated. Results showed that the strength of the business relationships rather than the strength of the social relationships contributed most significantly to the sharing of public and private knowledge in this organization. Specifically, the frequency of business interactions predicted the sharing of public noncodified knowledge, while the closeness of the business relationship predicted the sharing of private noncodified knowledge and the sharing of public codified knowledge. Curiously, neither business nor social ties predicted the sharing of private codified knowledge. The results also indicated that closeness of ties is a stronger predictor for sharing of more kinds of knowledge than frequency of interaction. By using new variable configuration and dichotomies for tie strength and knowledge types, the thesis generated new insights concerning the effects of tie strength on knowledge sharing

Network design guidance for the Global Special Operations Forces network

The current national security strategy calls for an increased reliance on relationships with diverse partners to address the challenges of the contemporary security environment. United States Special Operations Command is confronting these challenges with a Global Special Operations Forces (SOF) Network (GSN). The question is this: how should SOF develop social networks in support of the GSN? This study employs a mixed-methods research design to create a process model of social network design to aid SOF in the development of the GSN. The model consists of five composite factors: expertise (E), sensemaking (S), connection (C), action (A) and narrative (N). These five factors are interconnected and form a process model called E-SCAN. The model is offered as a guide to assist SOF personnel in developing their social networks and building out the GSN.http://archive.org/details/networkdesigngui1094544614Outstanding ThesisMajor, United States ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

IT-Enabled Coordination In Electronic Markets: An Experimental Investigation Of The Effects Of Social Communication On Group Buyers

Coordination, and the mechanisms by which coordination occurs, represents a significant area of study for economic research, and information technology. Technology enhances communication in both speed and quantity of information and when aligned with appropriate tasks can improve decision-making and task performance. Examining the effect of technology based coordination mechanisms on market platforms provides insight into outcomes as represented by buyer surplus and task completion as well as behaviors, such as network structure and emotional attitudes in economic experiments. Drawing on theory from economics and information systems, larger buyer groups should be able to obtain better prices and extract higher surplus from sellers, and in the presence of higher levels of communication, buyers should be better able to coordinate their actions, yielding higher surpluses as predicted by countervailing power theory. However, increased communication, while allowing for more collaboration, requires increased coordination. Thus, while larger groups should get better outcomes the complexity of forming groups proves challenging. The increased levels of communication create noise which hinders the time it takes to complete tasks thereby suppressing buyer profits. Galbraith (1952) explained that increased cooperation among buyers would lower prices, but that these lower prices were found in the establishment of intermediaries, through countervailing power theory. However, individual consumers could never exercise this power, because coordination and communication costs were too high. This dissertation tests countervailing power theory under a specific economic market, group buying suited for interdependent tasks. An experimental simulation is created that tests the effects of different levels of communication and group size, and examines the results of buyer surplus and time to task completion as well as their interaction effects. The experiment also examines the structural nature of the group-buying network and analyzes the rich qualitative data for insight into the role of emotions in group buying. The results could be used to further design additional experimental simulations to tests these classic economic theories while provide insight into the design of electronic markets

NetCoMi: network construction and comparison for microbiome data in R

MOTIVATION Estimating microbial association networks from high-throughput sequencing data is a common exploratory data analysis approach aiming at understanding the complex interplay of microbial communities in their natural habitat. Statistical network estimation workflows comprise several analysis steps, including methods for zero handling, data normalization and computing microbial associations. Since microbial interactions are likely to change between conditions, e.g. between healthy individuals and patients, identifying network differences between groups is often an integral secondary analysis step. Thus far, however, no unifying computational tool is available that facilitates the whole analysis workflow of constructing, analysing and comparing microbial association networks from high-throughput sequencing data. RESULTS Here, we introduce NetCoMi (Network Construction and comparison for Microbiome data), an R package that integrates existing methods for each analysis step in a single reproducible computational workflow. The package offers functionality for constructing and analysing single microbial association networks as well as quantifying network differences. This enables insights into whether single taxa, groups of taxa or the overall network structure change between groups. NetCoMi also contains functionality for constructing differential networks, thus allowing to assess whether single pairs of taxa are differentially associated between two groups. Furthermore, NetCoMi facilitates the construction and analysis of dissimilarity networks of microbiome samples, enabling a high-level graphical summary of the heterogeneity of an entire microbiome sample collection. We illustrate NetCoMi's wide applicability using data sets from the GABRIELA study to compare microbial associations in settled dust from children's rooms between samples from two study centers (Ulm and Munich). AVAILABILITY R scripts used for producing the examples shown in this manuscript are provided as supplementary data. The NetCoMi package, together with a tutorial, is available at https://github.com/stefpeschel/NetCoMi. CONTACT Tel:+49 89 3187 43258; [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Briefings in Bioinformatics online

Foraging and Roosting Behaviors of Rafinesque\u27s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) at the Northern Edge of the Species Range

Bat populations in the eastern United States are currently declining at unprecedented rates as a result of habitat loss, commercial wind energy development, and white-nose syndrome. Effective conservation of these declining populations requires knowledge of several aspects of summer and winter ecology, including daytime habitat use (day-roost selection and social behaviors), nocturnal habitat use (foraging habitat selection, prey selection, and prey abundance), and winter hibernation (torpor) patterns. This dissertation addresses these questions for Rafinesque’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii), a species of conservation concern in the southeastern United States. Kentucky represents the northern edge of the range of Rafinesque’s big-eared bat, and summer and winter behaviors in Kentucky are likely to differ from what has been observed in southern portion of the range, where available habitats and climate are different. My research occurred in two study areas in Kentucky, Mammoth Cave National Park in central Kentucky, and the Ballard Wildlife Management areas in western Kentucky. This dissertation includes all of the work done in western Kentucky, where I radio-tagged 48 adult big-eared bats and documented daytime and nighttime habitat use. Also included is a portion of the work done in central Kentucky, focusing on hibernation patterns of 14 adult big-eared bats radio-tagged during the winter at Mammoth Cave. Data disseminated in this dissertation provide insights into the summer and winter ecology of Rafinesque’s big-eared bat in Kentucky, and can be used to manage populations threatened by habitat loss and white-nose syndrome