Diversity networks in organisations: are they really (net)working for equality?

In recent years, the use of diversity networks in organisations has increased tremendously. Diversity networks, also referred to as ‘employee resource groups’ or ‘affinity networks’, are initiated to inform, support and advance employees with similar social identities. In many organisations, diversity networks are part of a larger diversity management agenda and an increasingly popular practice to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Accelerating Prototype-Based Drug Discovery using Conditional Diversity Networks

Designing a new drug is a lengthy and expensive process. As the space of potential molecules is very large (10^23-10^60), a common technique during drug discovery is to start from a molecule which already has some of the desired properties. An interdisciplinary team of scientists generates hypothesis about the required changes to the prototype. In this work, we develop an algorithmic unsupervised-approach that automatically generates potential drug molecules given a prototype drug. We show that the molecules generated by the system are valid molecules and significantly different from the prototype drug. Out of the compounds generated by the system, we identified 35 FDA-approved drugs. As an example, our system generated Isoniazid - one of the main drugs for Tuberculosis. The system is currently being deployed for use in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies to further analyze the additional generated molecules

Performance Analysis of the Differential Evolution and Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithms in Cooperative Wireless Communications

In this study, we evaluate the performance of differential evolution (DE) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms in free-space optical (FSO) and mobile radio communications systems. In particular, we obtain the optimal transmission distances for multiple-relay nodes in FSO communication systems and optimal relay locations in mobile radio communications systems for the cooperative-diversity networks, using both algorithms. We investigate the performance comparison of DE and PSO algorithms for the parallel decode-and-forward (DF) relaying. Then, we analyze the cost functions. Furthermore, we present the execution time and the stability of the DE and PSO algorithms

Central Decoding for Multiple Description Codes based on Domain Partitioning

Multiple Description Codes (MDC) can be used to trade redundancy against packet loss resistance for transmitting data over lossy diversity networks. In this work we focus on MD transform coding based on domain partitioning. Compared to Vaishampayan’s quantizer based MDC, domain based MD coding is a simple approach for generating different descriptions, by using different quantizers for each description. Commonly, only the highest rate quantizer is used for reconstruction. In this paper we investigate the benefit of using the lower rate quantizers to enhance the reconstruction quality at decoder side. The comparison is done on artificial source data and on image data.

Selective Combining for Hybrid Cooperative Networks

In this study, we consider the selective combining in hybrid cooperative networks (SCHCNs scheme) with one source node, one destination node and $N$ relay nodes. In the SCHCN scheme, each relay first adaptively chooses between amplify-and-forward protocol and decode-and-forward protocol on a per frame basis by examining the error-detecting code result, and $N_c$ ($1\leq N_c \leq N$) relays will be selected to forward their received signals to the destination. We first develop a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) threshold-based frame error rate (FER) approximation model. Then, the theoretical FER expressions for the SCHCN scheme are derived by utilizing the proposed SNR threshold-based FER approximation model. The analytical FER expressions are validated through simulation results.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures, IET Communications, 201

Diversity, Networks and Performance: An Empirical Analysis of Metropolitan Planning Organizations in the United States

Achieving network performance is a vital goal in response to the increase of inter-organizational networks public organizations involve. The primary aim of this research is to examine the factors that predict performance in public management networks by disentangling the idea that collaboration requires both diversity and unity. Drawing upon diversity theories, social capital theory and management literature as theoretical lenses, this dissertation serves to investigate the following questions: 1. What is the collaborative decision-making process in inter-organizational networks? 2. How does social capital mediate the relationship between network member diversity and performance? 3. How does network management strategy moderate the relationship between social capital and network performance? My dissertation answers these questions by examining Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in the United States, one of the regional transportation networks. MPOs are formal inter-organizational networks that go beyond informal and intra-organizational networks. The focus here is on collaborative decision-making activities by individuals (mostly top-level administrators) who represent organizations working across their boundaries. This dissertation provides an important evidence of the interactive effects between network management behaviors and structural properties of networks on performance; it also contributes to the existing knowledge of inter-organizational dynamics in transportation planning networks