Human Networks in Business and Politics

The last decade has witnessed a vast activity devoted to the understanding of networked, distributed, systems. Such endeavors were focused both on social and on technological networks, as large scale networks arise both from the interconnectivity between individuals, between machines, between machines and individuals. Social capital appears from exchanges between individuals, unlike human capital - the knowledge and competences acquired by individuals. Using a similar logic, social networks and human networks could be understood as two different concepts. Through contributions coming from various social sciences, knowledge advancement in the study of networks has been oriented towards the study of static and dynamic topological properties of existing networks like topological distance and structure, growth models describing the evolution of complex networks, etc.

Our approach is focused on the human dimension of a topological node in a network, searching for answers that could allow us to better understand how attitudes, beliefs, influence, interest, power and lobby are mediated by a network distribution, at the first level. At a second level of analysis we are interested in understanding the way such issues emerge in business and politics, affecting performances of various organizations within an economic or political context. Whenever performance is affected, whether in a positive or negative way, we emphasize the effects various networked structures have on the security of an entity.

Modeling Human Networks

A network of humans is not always a complex object with thousand and thousands of nodes. While statistical tools can be useful in some cases of small networks, a better description of the person represented as a node is needed. Our research is focused on the metagraph objects and their use as a support tool when building human networks indicators. As an extension to this topic, our research interests are also directed towards survey techniques based on a network sampling methodology.

Network and Infospheres

Each node in a human network is endowed with information, knowledge and intelligence, self-generated or acquired. The flows of what we can basically call information define trust, reputation, and leadership within or between businesses, political organizations, countries or regions. The study of network based info-spheres can lead to a better understanding of the way processes of influence and lobby evolve and the way different human networks might interact.

Social and Human Networks in Cyberspace

Online social networks are a characteristic of today’s Internet development, virtual identities and real identities being coupled in ways that can affect the reputation and security of people, companies, and political entities alike. Securing the identity of an entity, its reputation and its level of trust, is an issue which travels between cyber and real spaces. Furthermore, anonymity is by no means an infallible solution. Tracing cyber-identities, monitoring Internet discussions, examining popularity and influence of a web log, are few of the issues that have gained our attention.