Networking: the "making of" social networks. A closer look at the process and antecedents of some resourcing-oriented behaviors in organizations.

Social networks are one of the “hot” themes in people’s life and contemporary social research. Considering our “embeddedness” in a thick web of social relations is a study perspective that could unveil a number of explanations of how people may manage their personal and social resources. Looking at people’s behaviors of building and managing their social networks, seems to be an effective way to find some possible rationalization about how to help people getting the best from their resources . The main aim of this dissertation is to give a closer look at the role of networking behaviors. Antecedents, motivations, different steps and measures about networking behaviors and outcomes are analyzed and discussed. Results seem to confirm, in a different setting and time perspective, that networking behaviors include different types and goals that change over time. Effects of networking behaviors seem to find empirical confirmation through social network analysis methods. Both personality and situational self-efficacy seem to predict networking behaviors. Different types of motivational drivers seem to be related to diverse networking behaviors.

Vulnerabilità sismica e riorganizzazione del sistema delle dotazioni pubbliche nel territorio Centese

Il Sisma dell’Emilia Romagna ha cambiato di colpo l’assetto territoriale, gli edifici e soprattutto le dotazioni territoriali. L’argomento della tesi di laurea si inserisce nell'ambito delle iniziative mirate a fare fronte all'evento sismico, in particolare riguarda la costruzione dello strumento del Piano dei Servizi del Comune di Cento, quale base conoscitiva e di lavoro per permettere all'amministrazione comunale di procedere all'aggiornamento dei propri strumenti urbanistici nella fase di redazione del Piano di Ricostruzione. Le dotazioni pubbliche sono state notevolmente modificate dall'evento sismico, sconvolgendo tutti i sistemi esistenti. La tesi di laurea, sviluppata in collaborazione con il comune di Cento e la Regione Emilia Romagna, ha come obiettivo l’analisi delle dotazioni territoriali al fine di studiare un piano urbanistico efficace e migliorativo, integrato nel Piano della Ricostruzione, strumento con il quale si può intervenire per ricreare spazi pubblici. Il progetto, che presenta aspetti sia di ricerca che operativi, si è sviluppato effettuando un analisi e un confronto, tra stato pre-sisma e stato post-sisma, di alcuni ambiti d’interesse pubblico: il servizio scolastico, le dotazioni sportive, il sistema del verde pubblico e il sistema della sosta. Si è proceduto con approfondimenti delle tematiche principali che tenessero conto dei principi qualitativi espressi nei piani dei Servizi così da ottenere una base conoscitiva più realistica e maggiormente rispondente alle esigenze della cittadinanza. Il lavoro ha permesso di operare secondo criteri di studio sperimentali, di tipo qualitativo, valutandone l’utilità nelle pianificazioni future del Comune a partire dal Piano della Ricostruzione e dalla redazione della Condizione Limite d’Emergenza. Infine le conoscenze acquisite sono state applicate in alcune aree di studio così da verificarne la possibilità di utilizzo. Si è valutata la complessità dei rapporti vigenti tra i vari sistemi delle dotazioni pubbliche superando il limite di una pianificazione unicamente settoriale.

Business analytics e risorse umane. Il caso dell'azienda CAE S.P.A.

La velocità di cambiamento che caratterizza il mercato ha posto l'attenzione di molte imprese alla Business Analysis. La raccolta, la gestione e l'analisi dei dati sta portando numerosi benefici in termini di efficienza e vantaggio competitivo. Questo è reso possibile dal supporto reale dei dati alla strategia aziendale. In questa tesi si propone un'applicazione della Business Analytics nell'ambito delle risorse umane. La valorizzazione del Capitale Intellettuale è fondamentale per il miglioramento della competitività dell'impresa, favorendo così la crescita e lo sviluppo dell'azienda. Le conoscenze e le competenze possono incidere sulla produttività, sulla capacità innovativa, sulle strategie e sulla propria reattività a comprendere le risorse e le potenzialità a disposizione e portano ad un aumento del vantaggio competitivo. Tramite la Social Network Analysis si possono studiare le relazioni aziendali per conoscere diversi aspetti della comunicazione interna nell'impresa. Uno di questi è il knowledge sharing, ovvero la condivisione della conoscenza e delle informazioni all'interno dell'organizzazione, tema di interesse nella letteratura per via delle potenzialità di crescita che derivano dal buon utilizzo di questa tecnica. L'analisi si è concentrata sulla mappatura e sullo studio del flusso di condivisione di due delle principali componenti della condivisione di conoscenza: sharing best prectices e sharing mistakes, nel caso specifico si è focalizzato lo studio sulla condivisione di miglioramenti di processo e di problematiche o errori. È stata posta una particolare attenzione anche alle relazioni informali all'interno dell'azienda, con l'obiettivo di individuare la correlazione tra i rapporti extra-professionali nel luogo di lavoro e la condivisione di informazioni e opportunità in un'impresa. L'analisi delle dinamiche comunicative e l'individuazione degli attori più centrali del flusso informativo, permettono di comprendere le opportunità di crescita e sviluppo della rete di condivisione. La valutazione delle relazioni e l’individuazione degli attori e delle connessioni chiave fornisce un quadro dettagliato della situazione all'interno dell'azienda.

Reti di partecipazione fra società di capitale in Italia: presenza di topologie caratterizzate da distribuzioni power law

Quando la probabilità di misurare un particolare valore di una certa quantità varia inversamente come potenza di tale valore, il quantitativo è detto come seguente una power-law, conosciuta anche come legge di Zipf o distribuzione di Pareto. Obiettivo di questa tesi sarà principalmente quello di verificare se il campione esteso di imprese segue la power-law (e se sì, in che limiti). A tale fine si configureranno i dati in un formato di rete monomodale, della quale si studieranno alcune macro-proprietà di struttura a livllo complessivo e con riferimento alle componenti (i singoli subnet distinti) di maggior dimensione. Successivamente si compiranno alcuni approfondimenti sulla struttura fine di alcuni subnet, essenzialmente rivolti ad evidenziare la potenza di unapproccio network-based, anche al fine di rivelare rilevanti proprietà nascoste del sistema economico soggiacente, sempre, ovviamente, nei limiti della modellizzazione adottata. In sintesi, ciò che questo lavoro intende ottenere è lo sviluppo di un approccio alternativo al trattamento dei big data a componente relazionale intrinseca (in questo caso le partecipazioni di capitale), verso la loro conversione in "big knowledge": da un insieme di dati cognitivamente inaccessibili, attraverso la strutturazione dell'informazione in modalità di rete, giungere ad una conoscenza sufficientemente chiara e giustificata.

The secret life of software applications

One of the most undervalued problems by smartphone users is the security of data on their mobile devices. Today smartphones and tablets are used to send messages and photos and especially to stay connected with social networks, forums and other platforms. These devices contain a lot of private information like passwords, phone numbers, private photos, emails, etc. and an attacker may choose to steal or destroy this information. The main topic of this thesis is the security of the applications present on the most popular stores (App Store for iOS and Play Store for Android) and of their mechanisms for the management of security. The analysis is focused on how the architecture of the two systems protects users from threats and highlights the real presence of malware and spyware in their respective application stores. The work described in subsequent chapters explains the study of the behavior of 50 Android applications and 50 iOS applications performed using network analysis software. Furthermore, this thesis presents some statistics about malware and spyware present on the respective stores and the permissions they require. At the end the reader will be able to understand how to recognize malicious applications and which of the two systems is more suitable for him. This is how this thesis is structured. The first chapter introduces the security mechanisms of the Android and iOS platform architectures and the security mechanisms of their respective application stores. The Second chapter explains the work done, what, why and how we have chosen the tools needed to complete our analysis. The third chapter discusses about the execution of tests, the protocol followed and the approach to assess the “level of danger” of each application that has been checked. The fourth chapter explains the results of the tests and introduces some statistics on the presence of malicious applications on Play Store and App Store. The fifth chapter is devoted to the study of the users, what they think about and how they might avoid malicious applications. The sixth chapter seeks to establish, following our methodology, what application store is safer. In the end, the seventh chapter concludes the thesis.

Il sistema della pesca nel lago di Galilea al tempo di Gesù. Indagine sulla base dei papiri documentari e dei dati archeologici e letterari.

Dopo un’introduzione sull’economia nel mondo antico e nella Galilea, la tesi affronta una rappresentazione storica de “Il Mare di Galilea tra l’antichità e oggi” (cap. 3). Seguono i capitoli sulle “Tecniche e le attrezzature di pesca” (cap.4) e su “Città, villaggi e aree di pesca” (Cap. 5). Due capitoli riguardano più particolarmente l’attività economica in senso stretto: “L’organizzazione dell’attività” (cap. 6) e “Commercio ed esportazione” (cap. 7). Chiudono la tesi due capitoli di carattere più metodologico: una rappresentazione degli agenti sociali della pesca (“i pescatori”) condotta ispirandosi alla network Analysis e un’analisi antropologica del loro sistema di vita (capitolo finale).La tesi è basata essenzialmente su tre corpi di documentazione: papiri documentari, dati archeologici, fonti storiche e letterarie. Molti dei documenti reperiti, in lingua greca, non erano mai stati tradotti in lingue moderne.La tesi consta – oltre ai diversi capitoli – anche di un’appendice documentaria molto estesa

Analisi della rete di teleriscaldamento di Corticella in presenza di utenze attive

Oggetto di questa tesi è lo studio di una rete di teleriscaldamento (TLR) preesistente, la rete di Corticella (Bo) ipotizzando la presenza di sottostazioni di scambio termico attive. Inizialmente sono state presentate le sottostazioni di scambio termico sia tradizionali che attive. Nelle tradizionali ci si è soffermato sul tipo di regolazione che può avvenire. Per quanto riguarda le sottostazioni di scambio termico attive son stati esaminati i 4 layout che permettono uno scambio termico bidirezionale di energia termica. E’ stato presentato il software IHENA (intelligent Heat Energy Network Analysis) creato dal dipartimento di ingegneria industriale, che ha permesso di effettuare le simulazioni sulla rete analizzata. Viene mostrato l’algoritmo di Todini-Pilati generalizzato dall’utilizzo delle equazioni di Darcy-Weisbach su cui si basa il motore di calcolo. Inoltre vengono presentati i vari input che è necessario inserire per ottenere il calcolo della rete. Dopo nozioni di base relative al teleriscaldamento attivo e la presentazione del software utilizzato si è passati alla vera e propria analisi della rete di teleriscaldamento. Sono state effettuate varie simulazioni per vedere l’andamento della rete di Corticella sia considerandola passiva (come nella realtà) che ipotizzandola attiva tramite l’inserimento di sottostazioni di scambio termico ative. Le analisi condotte riguardano i seguenti punti. a) E’ stata presentata la rete di Corticella cosi come è andando a studiare quindi il caso base. b) Sono state svolte delle analisi per vedere come si comportava la rete nel caso in cui venivano variati dei parametri operativi come i carichi termici richiesti dalle utenze. c) Sono stati valutati i percorsi più critici. d) Si è condotta un analisi sulla regolazione al variare delle temperature esterne. Dopo l'analisi del caso base sono state introdotte delle sottostazioni di scambio termico attive, prima solo una, e poi varie lungo determinati percorsi. Le valutazioni effettuate mettevano in primo piano gli andamenti della temperatura nei percorsi, la potenza termica generata dalla sorgente, la temperatura di ritorno in centrale e se si verificano delle problematiche sugli scambiatori di calore. In queste simulazioni sono stati valutati tutti e quattro gli schemi utilizzabili. Infine è stata effettuata un analisi comparativa tra le varie soluzioni studiate per poter mettere a confronto i casi. In particolare anche qui si sono voluti confrontare i valori di potenza spesa per il pompaggio, temperatura di ritorno in centrale e potenza termica offerta dalla sorgente.

REGULATION OF WHOLE-BODY ENERGY HOMEOSTASIS WITH GROWTH HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY AND ENDURANCE EXERCISE

We hypothesized that network analysis is useful to expose coordination between whole body and myocellular levels of energy metabolism and can identify entities that underlie skeletal muscle's contribution to growth hormone-stimulated lipid handling and metabolic fitness. We assessed 112 metabolic parameters characterizing metabolic rate and substrate handling in tibialis anterior muscle and vascular compartment at rest, after a meal and exercise with growth hormone replacement therapy (GH-RT) of hypopituitary patients (n = 11). The topology of linear relationships (| r | ≥ 0.7, P ≤ 0.01) and mutual dependencies exposed the organization of metabolic relationships in three entities reflecting basal and exercise-induced metabolic rate, triglyceride handling, and substrate utilization in the pre- and postprandial state, respectively. GH-RT improved aerobic performance (+5%), lean-to-fat mass (+19%), and muscle area of tibialis anterior (+2%) but did not alter its mitochondrial and capillary content. Concomitantly, connectivity was established between myocellular parameters of mitochondrial lipid metabolism and meal-induced triglyceride handling in serum. This was mediated via the recruitment of transcripts of muscle lipid mobilization (LIPE, FABP3, and FABP4) and fatty acid-sensitive transcription factors (PPARA, PPARG) to the metabolic network. The interdependence of gene regulatory elements of muscle lipid metabolism reflected the norm in healthy subjects (n = 12) and distinguished the regulation of the mitochondrial respiration factor COX1 by GH and endurance exercise. Our observations validate the use of network analysis for systems medicine and highlight the notion that an improved stochiometry between muscle and whole body lipid metabolism, rather than alterations of single bottlenecks, contributes to GH-driven elevations in metabolic fitness.

Crosstalk between B lymphocytes, microbiota and the intestinal epithelium governs immunity versus metabolism in the gut

Using a systems biology approach, we discovered and dissected a three-way interaction between the immune system, the intestinal epithelium and the microbiota. We found that, in the absence of B cells, or of IgA, and in the presence of the microbiota, the intestinal epithelium launches its own protective mechanisms, upregulating interferon-inducible immune response pathways and simultaneously repressing Gata4-related metabolic functions. This shift in intestinal function leads to lipid malabsorption and decreased deposition of body fat. Network analysis revealed the presence of two interconnected epithelial-cell gene networks, one governing lipid metabolism and another regulating immunity, that were inversely expressed. Gene expression patterns in gut biopsies from individuals with common variable immunodeficiency or with HIV infection and intestinal malabsorption were very similar to those of the B cell-deficient mice, providing a possible explanation for a longstanding enigmatic association between immunodeficiency and defective lipid absorption in humans.

Transport of Hydraulic Fracturing Water and Wastes in the Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania

The development of the Marcellus Shale gas play in Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States has resulted in significant amounts of water and wastes transported by truck over roadways. This study used geographic information systems (GIS) to quantify truck travel distances via both the preferred routes (minimum distance while also favoring higher-order roads) as well as, where available, the likely actual distances for freshwater and waste transport between pertinent locations (e. g., gas wells, treatment facilities, freshwater sources). Results show that truck travel distances in the Susquehanna River Basin are greater than those used in prior life-cycle assessments of tight shale gas. When compared to likely actual transport distances, if policies were instituted to constrain truck travel to the closest destination and higher-order roads, transport mileage reductions of 40-80% could be realized. Using reasonable assumptions of current practices, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with water and waste hauling were calculated to be 70-157 MT CO2 eq per gas well. Furthermore, empty so-called backhaul trips, such as to freshwater withdrawal sites or returning from deep well injection sites, were found to increase emissions by an additional 30%, underscoring the importance of including return trips in the analysis. The results should inform future life-cycle assessments of tight shale gases in managed watersheds and help local and regional governments plan for impacts of transportation on local infrastructure. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Host-microbe interactions have shaped the genetic architecture of inflammatory bowel disease

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the two common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), affect over 2.5 million people of European ancestry, with rising prevalence in other populations. Genome-wide association studies and subsequent meta-analyses of these two diseases as separate phenotypes have implicated previously unsuspected mechanisms, such as autophagy, in their pathogenesis and showed that some IBD loci are shared with other inflammatory diseases. Here we expand on the knowledge of relevant pathways by undertaking a meta-analysis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis genome-wide association scans, followed by extensive validation of significant findings, with a combined total of more than 75,000 cases and controls. We identify 71 new associations, for a total of 163 IBD loci, that meet genome-wide significance thresholds. Most loci contribute to both phenotypes, and both directional (consistently favouring one allele over the course of human history) and balancing (favouring the retention of both alleles within populations) selection effects are evident. Many IBD loci are also implicated in other immune-mediated disorders, most notably with ankylosing spondylitis and psoriasis. We also observe considerable overlap between susceptibility loci for IBD and mycobacterial infection. Gene co-expression network analysis emphasizes this relationship, with pathways shared between host responses to mycobacteria and those predisposing to IBD.

DISSECTION OF STRESS RESPONSE NETWORKS REGULATING MULTIPLE STRESSES IN RICE

Important food crops like rice are constantly exposed to various stresses that can have devastating effect on their survival and productivity. Being sessile, these highly evolved organisms have developed elaborate molecular machineries to sense a mixture of stress signals and elicit a precise response to minimize the damage. However, recent discoveries revealed that the interplay of these stress regulatory and signaling molecules is highly complex and remains largely unknown. In this work, we conducted large scale analysis of differential gene expression using advanced computational methods to dissect regulation of stress response which is at the heart of all molecular changes leading to the observed phenotypic susceptibility. One of the most important stress conditions in terms of loss of productivity is drought. We performed genomic and proteomic analysis of epigenetic and miRNA mechanisms in regulation of drought responsive genes in rice and found subsets of genes with striking properties. Overexpressed genesets included higher number of epigenetic marks, miRNA targets and transcription factors which regulate drought tolerance. On the other hand, underexpressed genesets were poor in above features but were rich in number of metabolic genes with multiple co-expression partners contributing majorly towards drought resistance. Identification and characterization of the patterns exhibited by differentially expressed genes hold key to uncover the synergistic and antagonistic components of the cross talk between stress response mechanisms. We performed meta-analysis on drought and bacterial stresses in rice and Arabidopsis, and identified hundreds of shared genes. We found high level of conservation of gene expression between these stresses. Weighted co-expression network analysis detected two tight clusters of genes made up of master transcription factors and signaling genes showing strikingly opposite expression status. To comprehensively identify the shared stress responsive genes between multiple abiotic and biotic stresses in rice, we performed meta-analyses of microarray studies from seven different abiotic and six biotic stresses separately and found more than thirteen hundred shared stress responsive genes. Various machine learning techniques utilizing these genes classified the stresses into two major classes' namely abiotic and biotic stresses and multiple classes of individual stresses with high accuracy and identified the top genes showing distinct patterns of expression. Functional enrichment and co-expression network analysis revealed the different roles of plant hormones, transcription factors in conserved and non-conserved genesets in regulation of stress response.

Teachers' professional development in a community

The goal of this article was to study teachers' professional development related to web-based learning in the context of the teacher community. The object was to learn in what kind of networks teachers share the knowledge of web-based learning and what are the factors in the community that support or challenge teachers professional development of web-based learning. The findings of the study revealed that there are teachers who are especially active, called the central actors in this study, in the teacher community who collaborate and share knowledge of web-based learning. These central actors share both technical and pedagogical knowledge of web-based learning in networks that include both internal and external relations in the community and involve people, artefacts and a variety of media. Furthermore, the central actors appear to bridge different fields of teaching expertise in their community. According to the central actors' experiences the important factors that support teachers' professional development of web-based learning in the community are; the possibility to learn from colleagues and from everyday working practices, an emotionally safe atmosphere, the leader's personal support and community-level commitment. Also, the flexibility in work planning, challenging pupils, shared lessons with colleagues, training events in an authentic work environment and colleagues' professionalism are considered meaningful for professional development. As challenges, the knowledge sharing of web-based learning in the community needs mutual interests, transactive memory, time and facilities, peer support, a safe atmosphere and meaningful pedagogical practices. On the basis of the findings of the study it is suggested that by intensive collaboration related to web-based learning it may be possible to break the boundaries of individual teachership and create such sociocultural activities which support collaborative professional development in the teacher community. Teachers' in-service training programs should be more sensitive to the culture of teacher communities and teachers' reciprocal relations. Further, teacher trainers should design teachers' in-service training of web-based learning in co-evolution with supporting networks which include the media and artefacts as well as people.

Teachers' professional development in a community

The goal of this article was to study teachers' professional development related to web-based learning in the context of the teacher community. The object was to learn in what kind of networks teachers share the knowledge of web-based learning and what are the factors in the community that support or challenge teachers professional development of web-based learning. The findings of the study revealed that there are teachers who are especially active, called the central actors in this study, in the teacher community who collaborate and share knowledge of web-based learning. These central actors share both technical and pedagogical knowledge of web-based learning in networks that include both internal and external relations in the community and involve people, artefacts and a variety of media. Furthermore, the central actors appear to bridge different fields of teaching expertise in their community. According to the central actors' experiences the important factors that support teachers' professional development of web-based learning in the community are; the possibility to learn from colleagues and from everyday working practices, an emotionally safe atmosphere, the leader's personal support and community-level commitment. Also, the flexibility in work planning, challenging pupils, shared lessons with colleagues, training events in an authentic work environment and colleagues' professionalism are considered meaningful for professional development. As challenges, the knowledge sharing of web-based learning in the community needs mutual interests, transactive memory, time and facilities, peer support, a safe atmosphere and meaningful pedagogical practices. On the basis of the findings of the study it is suggested that by intensive collaboration related to web-based learning it may be possible to break the boundaries of individual teachership and create such sociocultural activities which support collaborative professional development in the teacher community. Teachers' in-service training programs should be more sensitive to the culture of teacher communities and teachers' reciprocal relations. Further, teacher trainers should design teachers' in-service training of web-based learning in co-evolution with supporting networks which include the media and artefacts as well as people.