Network Theory Perspective Research Articles

RELASI JEJARING AKTOR MASYARAKAT SUKU BUGIS SOPPENG DALAM TRADISI MENDIRIKAN RUMAH (MAPPATETTONG BOLA)

Every process and stage in phase of constructing of Indonesia’s vernacular architecture is required the role and contribution of individual or several actors so that procession of house construction can be built due to purposes. According to traditions and beliefs of the Bugis community, there are several actors who have different roles and responsibilities during the process of establishing a Buginese-house. This research aims to explore the influence of the actors’ role who are involved in the process of constructing a traditional Bugis house. Correlation and impact of one actor's involvement with other actors will be reviewed based on the perspective of the Actor Network Theory (ANT) by using descriptive qualitative method. The results revealed that there are 4 stages in the process of building Buginese-house namely the process of constructing a house frame (Mattibang Bola), the process of marking the center of the house (possi bola), the ritual of reading thanksgiving prayer (barzanji), and the process of establishing a house frame (Mappatettong Bola). Founded, Sanro Bola and Panre Bola, namely traditional leaders who have a mandate in the tradition of building houses, are actors who act as controlling actors and are very influential in maintaining the stability of a network in the process of building Buginese-house. Learning from the tradition of building a Buginese-house, the existence of traditional leaders is important, because it has a tradition-based on knowledge base, and this has become a mandate in regulating other actors in working.

A Framework for Intersection Traffic Safety Screening with the Implementation of Complex Network Theory

The traffic safety screening could provide guidance for determining the use of resources for traffic safety improvements and is critical for the traffic management. To account for the impacts of traffic safety and the effects of intersection as a node in the roadway network, a framework with six indicators and four strategies is proposed for intersection traffic safety screening. The traffic flow has been incorporated into the process of developing three indicators from the perspective of the complex network theory to measure the node importance. For the assessment of traffic safety, other than the observed and estimated crash frequency and modified time-to-collision, a distance that describes the nonlane-based movements has been proposed from the perspective of traffic safety. A multilayer entropy-weighted VIKOR (MEW-VIKOR) approach is proposed to compute the ranking results, and four strategies have been developed to better account for the effects of the six indicators simultaneously. A roadway network with 28 intersections in Shenzhen has been adopted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework for intersection traffic safety screening. The results indicate that the proposed framework with two layers could represent the features of traffic safety and the characteristics of node importance and satisfy the expectation from the public, government, and research institutes. With an appropriate threshold setting, the ranking results are consistent with the intersection safety investigation and contribute significantly to the reduction of false-positive and false-negative cases in identifying the black spot intersections.

Love spillover from a hotel sub-brand to its corporate brand: An associative network theory perspective

Although it has been a trend for hotel firms to develop sub-brands within their brand portfolios, a knowledge gap exists in explaining how to strengthen the relationships between sub-brands and their corporate brands. Therefore, based on the associative network theory, this study proposes and aims to examine a three-way interaction model of love spillover in a hotel brand portfolio. A total of 214 responses were collected from U.S. frequent travelers who had a membership with one of the five case hotel firms. Results of this study firstly found that hotel sub-brand love exerts positive effects on its corporate brand, demonstrating love spillover in a hotel brand portfolio. Second, involvement of the sub-brand could strengthen the love spillover. Third, membership satisfaction could further strengthen the moderating effect of involvement, thereby proving the proposed three-way interaction model.

The Digital Phenotyping Project: A Psychoanalytical and Network Theory Perspective.

A new method of observation is currently emerging in psychiatry, based on data collection and behavioral profiling of smartphone users. Numerical phenotyping is a paradigmatic example. This behavioral investigation method uses computerized measurement tools in order to collect characteristics of different psychiatric disorders. First, it is necessary to contextualize the emergence of these new methods and to question their promises and expectations. The international mental health research framework invites us to reflect on methodological issues and to draw conclusions from certain impasses related to the clinical complexity of this field. From this contextualization, the investigation method relating to digital phenotyping can be questioned in order to identify some of its potentials. These new methods are also an opportunity to test psychoanalysis. It is then necessary to identify the elements of fruitful analysis that clinical experience and research in psychoanalysis have been able to deploy regarding the challenges of digital technology. An analysis of this theme’s literature shows that psychoanalysis facilitates a reflection on the psychological effects related to digital methods. It also shows how it can profit from the research potential offered by new technical tools, considering the progress that has been made over the past 50 years. This cross-fertilization of the potentials and limitations of digital methods in mental health intervention in the context of theoretical issues at the international level invites us to take a resolutely non-reductionist position. In the field of research, psychoanalysis offers a specific perspective that can well be articulated to an epistemology of networks. Rather than aiming at a numerical phenotyping of patients according to the geneticists’ model, the case formulation method appears to be a serious prerequisite to give a limited and specific place to the integration of smartphones in clinical investigation.

An actor–network theory perspective for “Lean” interventions in manufacturing firms

PurposeThis paper tracks the network of actors participating in the initial implementation of a “Lean management” system, in order to identify associations between human and non-human participants conducive to successful adoption of the system.Design/methodology/approachThe perspective of actor–network theory (ANT) helps reveal the complex dynamics at play in a “Lean” intervention at a manufacturing firm. It allows to identify key actors (human and non-human), as well as the possible associations between them, and helps produce network diagrams to track the changes in actors' roles and in network coherence over time.FindingsThrough a network analysis, the study charts the complexity of the process of Lean intervention, by accounting for the distinct possibility that actors' roles may shift over time, as they engage and disengage with the proposed intervention, until they fully cohere into a new system. Based on this, it derives a conceptual model to describe relevant factors for successful implementation of Lean improvement projects.Originality/valueThe ANT perspective affords new insights into Lean Management systems implementation, by highlighting associations between human and non–human actors. This novel focus suggests corresponding management guidelines and reflective practices for successful intervention.

Analysis of the air cargo transport network using a complex network theory perspective

In this paper, we present a complex network analysis of the air transport network using the air cargo, instead of the passenger, perspective. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work where a global cargo network comprising passenger airlines, full-cargo airlines, and integrators’ capacity was studied. We used estimated yearly cargo capacity between airport pairs as input to the model. After assessing network characteristics of the sub-networks representing different carrier types, the full network was obtained as a super-imposition of the individual sub-networks. The resulting network has both small-world and scale-free characteristics. Its topological properties resulted in a higher flow imbalance and concentration with respect to its passenger counterpart, with a smaller characteristic path length and diameter. This result is consistent with the larger catchment area of cargo airports, which heavily rely on road feeder services for the ground leg. Finally, we showed how different attack strategies result in hubs of hub-and-spoke systems or airports behaving as bridges between communities being attacked first. We believe this work to be of relevance both for academics and for practitioners in an era where, due to the soaring of e-commerce and next day delivery, new players are entering the air cargo business and competition is constantly increasing.

Predicting Fan Behavior Through Egocentric Network Analysis: Examining Season-Ticket Holder Renewal

The purpose of this study is to utilize egocentric network analysis to predict repurchase behaviors for college football season-ticket holders. Using a research approach grounded in network theory, we included the relational and behavioral characteristics of sport fans in a binomial regression model to predict renewal decisions among college football season-ticket holders. More specifically, we developed a model that incorporates the egocentric network variables, past behavior, and behavioral intentions to empirically test which consumer characteristics predict future behavior. Building on previous research emphasizing the role of socializing agents and social connections in sport fan consumption, through the use of egocentric network analysis, we examined the effects of social structure and social context on repurchasing decisions. Moreover, the present study is positioned within the larger discourse on season-ticket holders, as we aimed to add a network theory perspective to the existing research on season-ticket holder churn and renewal.

Founder’s social ties, learning and entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition in China

ABSTRACT This study assesses the relationships among founder’s social ties, learning and entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition. Base on Social Network Theory and Entrepreneurial Learning Perspective, eight hypotheses are proposed. Using a sample of 200 new ventures in Chinese transitional economy, we find that both founders’ social ties (business ties, political ties) and entrepreneurial learning (experiential learning, cognitive learning) have positive impacts on entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition. We also examine whether entrepreneurial learning mediates the effects of social ties on entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition. The results show that cognitive learning positively mediates the relationship between social ties and entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition. However, the mediating role of experiential learning is partly supported.

A Network Theory of Patentability

Patent law is built upon a fundamental premise: only significant inventions receive patent protection while minor improvements remain in the public domain. This premise is indispensable for maintaining an optimal balance between incentivizing new innovation and providing public access to existing innovation. Despite its importance, the doctrine that performs this gate keeping role—non-obviousness—has long remained indeterminate and vague. Judicial opinions have struggled to articulate both what makes an invention significant (or non-obvious) and how to measure non-obviousness in specific cases. These difficulties are due in large part to the existence of two clashing theoretical frameworks, cognitive and economic, that have vied for prominence in justifying non-obviousness. Neither framework, however, has generated doctrinal tests that can be easily and consistently applied. This Article draws on a novel approach—network theory—to answer both the conceptual question (what is a non-obvious invention?) and the measurement question (how do we determine non-obviousness in specific cases?). First, it shows that what is missing in current conceptual definitions of non-obviousness is an underlying theory of innovation. It then supplies this missing piece. Building upon insights from network science, we model innovation as a process of search and recombination of existing knowledge. Distant searches that combine disparate or weakly-connected portions of social and information networks tend to produce high-impact new ideas that open novel innovation trajectories. Distant searches also tend to be costly and risky. In contrast, local searches tend to result in incremental innovation that is more routine, less costly and less risky. From a network theory perspective, then, the goal of non-obviousness should be to reward, and therefore to incentivize, those risky distant searches and recombinations that produce the most socially significant innovations. By emphasizing factors specific to the structure of innovation—namely the risks and costs of the search and recombination process—a network approach complements and deepens current economic understandings of non-obviousness. Second, based on our network theory of innovation, we develop an empirical, algorithmic measure of patentability—what we term a patent’s “network non-obviousness score (NNOS).” We harness data from U.S. patent records to calculate the distance between the technical knowledge areas recombined in any given invention (or patent), allowing us to assign each patent a specific NNOS. We propose a doctrinal framework that incorporates an invention’s NNOS to non-obviousness determinations both at the examination phase and during patent litigation. Our use of network science to develop a legal algorithm is a methodological innovation in law, with implications for broader debates about computational law. We illustrate how differences in algorithm design can lead to different non-obviousness outcomes, and discuss how to mitigate the negative impact of black box algorithms.

Multilayer Network from Multiple Entropies for Characterizing Gas-Liquid Nonlinear Flow Behavior

Characterizing nonlinear dynamic behaviors underlying multiphase flow has attracted considerable attention from the nonlinear research field. In this paper, the authors develop a novel multiple entropy-based multilayer network (MEMN) for exploring the complex gas-liquid two-phase flow. At first, we carry out the gas-liquid flow experiments to get the multichannel measurements. Then, MEMN is constructed based on the fusion of three nonlinear entropies, namely weighted permutation entropy (WPE), wavelet packet energy entropy (WPEE), and amplitude entropy (AE). For each derived projection network of MEMN, spectral radius and global clustering coefficient are both calculated and they allow effectively uncovering the nonlinear flow behaviors in the transition of different gas-liquid flow patterns. In addition, we perform wavelet time-frequency representation for the two typical flow patterns and the results support our findings well. All these demonstrate that our MEMN framework can effectively characterize the nonlinear evolution of gas-liquid flow from the perspective of complex network theory. And this also provides a novel idea for studying nonlinear complex systems from the observed multivariate time series.

Detecting Common Pathways and Key Molecules of Neurodegenerative Diseases from the Topology of Molecular Networks.

MotivationNeurodegenerative diseases (NDs), including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease, occur as a result of neurodegenerative processes. Thus, it has been increasingly appreciated that many neurodegenerative conditions overlap at multiple levels. However, traditional clinicopathological correlation approaches to better classify a disease have met with limited success. Discovering this overlap offers hope for therapeutic advances that could ameliorate many ND simultaneously. In parallel, in the last decade, systems biology approaches have become a reliable choice in complex disease analysis for gaining more delicate biological insights and have enabled the comprehension of the higher order functions of the biological systems.ResultsToward this orientation, we developed a systems biology approach for the identification of common links and pathways of ND, based on well-established and novel topological and functional measures. For this purpose, a molecular pathway network was constructed, using molecular interactions and relations of four main neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington's disease). Our analysis captured the overlapped subregions forming molecular subpathways fully enriched in these four NDs. Also, it exported molecules that act as bridges, hubs, and key players for neurodegeneration concerning either their topology or their functional role.ConclusionUnderstanding these common links and central topologies under the perspective of systems biology and network theory and greater insights are provided to uncover the complex neurodegeneration processes.

3.62 IRRITABILITY IN AN EMOTIONAL DYSREGULATION SAMPLE: A NETWORK APPROACH

Psychiatry is in crisis and in need of new paradigms. One of the most promising paradigm is the vision of mental disorders from network theory. The study of irritability has been gaining great importance in recent years trying to elucidate its nature, its association with other psychopathological symptoms, its association with different mental disorders, its global impact on the individual, and its relationship with health and social problems in the future, being that it is a symptom present in the majority of mental health disorders in children and adolescents. In this study, we analyzed from the perspective of network theory the interaction of different psychopathological dimensions (Children’s Depression Inventory [CDI], behavioral inhibition system [BIS]), sociodemographic variables (sex, age, socioeconomic status, manual dominance) and analog-visual scales (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]: General Condition, Sadness, Anxiety, Irritability, Susceptibility).

Silences, categories and black-boxes: Towards an analytics of the relations of power in planning regulation

Regulation is often considered as an arena of conflicts, where power is exercised by the state or developers. This article looks beyond this to consider how power operates in a distributed way through the relationships of the regulatory process. It develops a theoretical framing drawing on Foucauldian and Actor–Network Theory perspectives that emphasises the securing of consent, performativity and the interrelation of knowledge and power . Using research into the regulation of major renewable energy infrastructure, it develops an analytics of power looking at silences, categorisation and black-boxing. This shows how power is operationalised through regulatory practice, so that local communities’ concerns are only partially heard, differential attention is paid to project impacts and knowledge claims are selectively warranted as an evidence-base.

Exploring the fluctuant transmission characteristics of Air Quality Index based on time series network model

Abstract Although many works have focused on the issues related to Air Quality Index (AQI) from the perspective of statistics or economics, the dynamic and temporal characteristics of AQI time series remain unclear. The main reason is that AQI time series has both non-linearity and complexity, which cannot be characterized by conventional ways. The inherent transmission laws of AQI volatility are of great importance for environment monitoring and management system. Thus, this paper has endeavored to address the issue from the interdisciplinary perspective of complex network theory. First, we collect the annual and the total AQI data of three cities (Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou) in China from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. Then the coarse graining method is employed in combination with the theory of phase space reconstruction to convert AQI time series into complex network. The coarse graining method is used to transform yearly and total AQI time series into the corresponding symbol sequences. In accordance with the theory of phase space reconstruction, we adopt C C method and false nearest neighbor algorithm to estimate the optimal time delay and embedding dimension of AQI time series, respectively. The optimal time delay is integrated with the embedding dimension to map symbol sequences into AQI complex network. Based on complex network theory, we investigate the transmission of AQI fluctuation by the temporal characteristics and dynamics of yearly AQI networks (YAN) and total AQI networks (TAN), which include node strength, betweenness centrality and community structure. The empirical results show: (1) the AQI networks of various periods display small-world effect; (2) network evolution tends to be more complex and the modality in YAN has less alternative transformation paths than that in TAN; (3) the node strength and betweenness centrality in measuring the importance of nodes achieve a relative consistency; (4) the three cities have the same dominant fluctuation modalities both in YAN and in TAN; (5) the uneven distribution of transmission ability between clusters implies a preferential transmission whether in YAN or TAN. These findings not only help us to interpret the frequent volatility of AQI and control some extreme short-term AQI fluctuation, but also contribute to the reliability assessment of AQI and the prediction of AQI fluctuation. In summary, this paper not only reveals the temporal dynamic properties of AQI time series, but also provides some policy recommendations for environmental monitoring and management.

Understanding the emergence of a social enterprise by highly skilled migrants

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the emergence of a social enterprise by highly skilled members of a diaspora. While most literature has focused on government intervention for diaspora engagement and monetary remittance flows from migrants, less attention has been paid to the transfer of social remittances and social enterprises created by diasporas. Based on the concept of social remittances, social network theory and motivation perspectives, this study unpacks the emergence of a social enterprise by highly skilled migrants of a developing country.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines social enterprise emergence through an autoethnographic approach to describe and systematically analyze personal experience. This approach allows to understand cultural experience around the emergence of a social enterprise created by diverse members of a diaspora.FindingsFindings reveal that diaspora knowledge networks (DKNs) can emerge through the activation of a highly skilled diaspora network structure. Core diaspora members can activate a latent network of highly skilled migrants that wish to fulfill intrinsic motivations. Findings support the extend current understandings of social remittances by highly skilled migrants, who emerge as a transnational community that desires to stay connected to their country-of-origin and can support the emergence of a transnational network structure for development. The findings reveal that place attachment, sense of duty and well-being are key factors for highly skilled migrants to engage in DKNs.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to literature on networks and migrant-based organizational emergence by examining how and why highly skilled migrants from a developing country engage in the emergence of a DKN. Findings challenge previous views of government intervention and provides evidence on how the transmission of collective social remittances can flow trans-nationally, making highly skilled migrants effective agents of knowledge circulation and DKNs a vehicle for transmission. More specifically, the study provides evidence of the relevance of transnational features in the context of diaspora networks that lead to organizational emergence. It underscores the influence of interrelated motivations in diaspora engagement studies.

A social network theory perspective on how social ties influence perceived employability and job insecurity: evidence from school teachers

With the emergence of critical educational reforms and agentic career perspective, unemployment and job insecurity are considered a significant threat to school teachers in Pakistan. Drawing on the social network theory (SNT), this study attempts to investigate the effect of social network ties on perceived employability (PEM) and job insecurity (JIS) and how PEM mediates the association between social ties and job insecurity. Moreover, the current study pursues to assess the moderation effect of information sharing in the association between social network ties and PEM. Using the survey approach, we recruited teachers from government schools. The proposed model and relationships were validated through structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear regression. The findings revealed that strong tie is significantly related to PEM and JIS. Similarly, the weak tie is significantly related to PEM except for JIS. This study extends SNT by empirically establishing the influence of network characteristics (strong and weak ties) on PEM and JIS. This study helps school management and government policymakers to enhance teacher’s PEM and job security through networking and training opportunities. This research moreover guides government policymakers to formulate realistic education policies with the consensuses of school management. This practice will enhance teachers’ trust toward acceptance and implementation of educational policies. The present research successfully covers the gap by establishing the association of social network ties with PEM and JIS which was largely ignored in the literature on social employment management.

The Nature of Volatility Spillovers Across the International Capital Markets

This paper studies the nature of volatility spillovers across countries from the perspective of network theory and by relying on data of US-listed ETFs. I use a Lasso-related technique to estimate the International Volatility Network (IVN) where the nodes correspond to large-cap international stock markets while the links account for significant volatility lead-lags. Also included in the analysis is the International Trade Network (ITN), whose links measure bilateral export-import flows thus, capturing fundamental interconnections between countries. I find that the IVN and the ITN resemble each other closely pointing out that volatility does not disseminate randomly but tends to spread across fundamentally related economies. I also note that the amount of lagged volatility reactions in the IVN is consistent with the notion of gradual diffusion of information across investors who are subject to limited attention and home bias. I formally test this hypothesis by using as a direct proxy of investors’ attention the aggregate search frequency in Google. The empirical results support this intuition indicating that higher volatility surprises in key foreign markets predict higher domestic attention upon those markets in subsequent days. Once domestic attention is captured by such external shocks, it is contemporaneously transformed into higher domestic volatility.

Network Position Advantage and Technological Innovation of China’s New Energy Vehicle Based on the Perspective of Network Theory

This paper attempts to explore the role of innovation networks in the new energy vehicle industry from the perspective of evolution, by integrating of the overall network and the entities’ microscopic features and designing relative variables. Based on market orientation theory social network analysis, the relationship between network location and technological niche and the role of the network relationship strength was examined through empirical data of China’s 2009–2017 patents for new energy vehicles. The results show that: (1) There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the central position and the technological niche “state” and “potential”; (2) There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the brokerage position and the entities’ technological niche “state”, and the inverted U-shaped relationship with the technological niche “potential” is not significant; (3) The overall relationship strength of the network modulates the inverted U relationship between the central location and the technological niche. This paper opens up new ideas for the research of the role of innovation networks. The research conclusions have important implications for the management practice of new energy vehicle industries in China through collaborative networks to achieve technological innovation.

A weighted director network analysis of the big four banks on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

Background: Company director networks have been studied for many countries, including South Africa, from the perspective of network theory. However, most studies of company director networks focus on the overall structure of the network, that is, by conducting a macro-level analysis. Aim: In this study, we conducted a node-level analysis to investigate whether the four major South African banks, namely, Barclays Africa Group Ltd (now ABSA Group Limited), Nedbank Group Ltd, Standard Bank Group Ltd and FirstRand Ltd, occupy central roles in the company director network on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Setting: Social networks provide a vital source of information and are therefore an important field of study in business. Methods: We use degree-, betweenness- and closeness centrality, as well as strength, and a force-directed layout to investigate whether these four banks occupy key positions in the company director network on the JSE. Results: We show that these four banks occupy central roles on the JSE. The direct connections of these companies are also identified, and findings are compared to some overseas studies. Conclusion: This study concludes that the said four major banks occupy key positions on the JSE.

Determinants of dynamic process of emerging ICT adoption in SMEs – actor network theory perspective

PurposeWhile traditional theories of information and communication technology (ICT) adoption have been deployed to study ICT adoption in the past, these theories considers ICT adoption as static and rely on conceptualising factors as variables and predicting their levels of outcome at a single decision stage. Although much has been credited to these theories, they have continuously ignored the fact that as decisions to adopt are made and challenged along the adoption process, such decision can be influenced by the same, different or combination of factors at different stages of the adoption process. This paper aims to examine ICT adoption from a dynamic process perspective and to explore the key determinants and how these differ from one stage of the adoption process to another.Design/methodology/approachQualitative method was adopted in this study. Both unstructured and semi-structured interviews were conducted in two separate stages using purposeful random sampling. Hybrid approach of thematic analysis was adopted in analysing the data.FindingsThis study develops a framework informed by actor network theory (ANT) concepts and finds that using ANT to examine the process of adoption helps to unveil the recursive nature of the process. The study reveals that the 14 determinants identified in this study influenced adoption at different stages. Factors such as ease of use, managerial time, customer focus and adoption influenced adoption at all the stages. This reveals that factors influencing ICT adoption are not static at one particular stage rather it may influence ICT adoption at different stages.Research limitations/implicationsQualitative research is often subjective and interpretive in nature, and one of the limitations is the sample used in this research. Considering the small number of interviews carried out in this study, the generalisation of finding and the framework remains to be established across a wider population. Therefore, the factors presented could be limited considering that a number of practitioners that are involved in establishing emerging ICT are numerous. Therefore, other factors are prevailing to other industries or sectors that may provide scholars another way of examining these factors. Also, the framework demonstrates that it is a valuable analytical tool for researchers to examine how and why different actors including small and medium enterprise (SME) managers act around emerging ICT.Originality/valueThis study develops a framework that revealed the interactive and recursive nature of ICT adoption and the determinants influencing the process of ICT adoption at different stages thereby advancing ICT adoption research. The study challenges researchers to always consider ICT adoption as dynamic and unpredictable instead of one-off action as factors influencing its adoption are not static rather; they vary from one stage to another.