Knowledge Matters™

This isn't a blog-post about explosives, although that might be interesting; rather it is a plug for the blogs of two people whose work I admire. It's no secret I am interested in network analysis and both these blogs have almost exclusive network analysis themes. The TNT bit stands for "The Network Thinker ", which is the blog of Dr Valdis Krebs - I wish I could be as creative with names. Connectedness is the blog of Dr Bruce Hoppe.

I particularly like Connectedness because of its exclusive network analysis theme. I just wish Bruce would blog a bit more. He's had a few interesting posts of late. Take a look at this post on centrality . Bruce correctly identifies centrality is important in every network; and lets be honest it's the property we are most fascinated with! I would caveat Bruce's observation by saying be careful with what type of centrality you are talking about. For example, in-degree centrality is about popularity and out-degree centrality is about activity - two very different things I suggest!

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On Friday the 4th of July 2008 I am once again running a half-day seminar called “Introducing Network Analysis as a Research Technique ”. This time the seminar will be followed in the afternoon by a practical workshop that builds on the mornings activities and introduces participants to UCINET and NetDraw .

The seminar and workshop are part of Canberra University’s Inter-University Research Workshop Program , and are aimed at new researchers. The workshop is also of use to anyone interested in network analysis, but is aimed at absolute beginners. Both the seminar and workshop are offered free of charge to research students and researchers from all institutions, but priority access will be given to students and staff from participating universities. Costs may apply to other participants. If you are interested and you are in Canberra on Friday the 4th of July 2008 you can register here . Further details about the seminar and workshop are below. ...

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Every now and then I come across an intriguing article that is also seminal to my interests and doctorate. Sociologica , which is the Italian Journal of Sociology, has just republished Harrison White's "Notes on the Constituents of Social Structure ". Harrison White is the Giddings Professor of Sociology at Columbia University, however his doctorate is in theoretical physics. White is very influential in network analysis and is sometimes credited with developing block-models - but I digress.

In this article White introduces the notion of a "catnet", where he brings together the ideas of categories and networks - hence catnet. The idea at the time was quite novel, yet now it seems obvious - people who are alike in some way will form networks (birds of a feather flock together). White's contribution was how to represent the various categories that might be found in a network. Further by bringing together network analysis and categories like race, gender, or education, he was able to show that categories are an artificial construct that aid understanding but of themselves are not sufficient. ...

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The United States Air Force lost a B2 Stealth Bomber valued at $US 1.4 billion because of a failure to transfer knowledge between pilots and maintenance technicians. The bomber crashed earlier this year at Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam. Apparently water distorted pre-flight readings in three of the plane's 24 sensors, making the aircraft's control computer force the B-2 to pitch up on takeoff, resulting in a stall and subsequent crash.

The official accident investigation found that the crash probably could have been avoided if knowledge of a technique to evaporate the moisture had been disseminated throughout the B-2 command. This technique was: ...

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actKM 08 will be held on the 14th and 15th of October 2008 at University House, the Australian National University, Canberra. The theme is 'Managing Knowledge for Competitive Advantage', which is hardly original, but the organising committee promise it will be highly participative and interactive. They are seeking submissions at the moment with a preference for interactive or experiential activities that engage conference participants in a learning or competitive environment.

I haven't made up my mind if I will attend actKM 08 because I've been asked to present a paper on network analysis to the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers (AIPIO) annual conference . This conference is at the Holiday Inn, Adelaide from the 14th to 16th of October 2008 inclusive, and the theme is ‘Improving Tradecraft'. At the moment I think I'll write a paper that compares the various network analysis tools on the market, highlights their strengths and weaknesses, and assesses their suitability for intelligence work. Even if I don't attend AIPIO 2008 the paper can be published in their peer-reviewed journal.

Assuming I attend the AIPIO conference I will head off to Hobart to attend the Australian Military Medicine Association's annual conference . ...

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