Discover how the NG-RAN architecture is, and isn't, ready for the challenges introduced by 5G 5G Radio Access Network Architecture: The Dark Side of 5G explores foundational and advanced topics in Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture and why a re-thinking of that architecture is necessary to support new 5G requirements. The distinguished engineer and editor Sasha Sirotkin has included numerous works written by industry insiders with state of the art research at their disposal. The book explains the relevant standards and technologies from an academic perspective, but also explains why particular standards decisions were made and how a variety of NG-RAN architecture options could be deployed in real-life networks. All major standards and technologies associated with the NG-RAN architecture are discussed in this book, including 3GPP, O-RAN, Small Cell Forum, IEEE, and IETF. Readers will learn about how a re-design of the RAN architecture would ensure that 5G networks can deliver their promised throughput and low latency KPIs consistently and sustainably. The book is structured as follows: An overview of the market drivers of the NG-RAN architecture, like spectrum models, 5G-relevant regulatory considerations, and 5G radio interface technical requirements An overview of the 5G System, from the core network, to the RAN, to the radio interface protocols and physical layer, with emphasis on how these are different compared to 4G Release-15 RAN architectures defined in 3GPP, O-RAN, and Small Cell Forum RAN architecture evolution in Release-16 and Release-17 Enabling technologies, like virtualization, open source technologies, multi-access edge (MEC) computing, and operations, administration, and management (OAM) NG-RAN deployment considerations, objectives, and challenges, like costs, spectrum and radio propagation considerations, and coverage Perfect for network designers and operators who require a solid understanding of the NG-RAN architecture, 5G Radio Access Network Architecture also belongs on the bookshelves of network engineers who aim to increase their understanding of the standards and technologies relevant to the NG-RAN architecture.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 11th IFIP WG 10.3 International Conference on Network and Parallel Computing, NPC 2014, held in Ilan, Taiwan, in September 2014. The 42 full papers and 24 poster papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 196 submissions. They are organized in topical sections on systems, networks, and architectures, parallel and multi-core technologies, virtualization and cloud computing technologies, applications of parallel and distributed computing, and I/O, file systems, and data management.

This book presents the latest research advances in complex network structure analytics based on computational intelligence (CI) approaches, particularly evolutionary optimization. Most if not all network issues are actually optimization problems, which are mostly NP-hard and challenge conventional optimization techniques. To effectively and efficiently solve these hard optimization problems, CI based network structure analytics offer significant advantages over conventional network analytics techniques. Meanwhile, using CI techniques may facilitate smart decision making by providing multiple options to choose from, while conventional methods can only offer a decision maker a single suggestion. In addition, CI based network structure analytics can greatly facilitate network modeling and analysis. And employing CI techniques to resolve network issues is likely to inspire other fields of study such as recommender systems, system biology, etc., which will in turn expand CI’s scope and applications. As a comprehensive text, the book covers a range of key topics, including network community discovery, evolutionary optimization, network structure balance analytics, network robustness analytics, community-based personalized recommendation, influence maximization, and biological network alignment. Offering a rich blend of theory and practice, the book is suitable for students, researchers and practitioners interested in network analytics and computational intelligence, both as a textbook and as a reference work.

Introducing a handbook for gene regulatory network research using evolutionary computation, with applications for computer scientists, computational and system biologists This book is a step-by-step guideline for research in gene regulatory networks (GRN) using evolutionary computation (EC). The book is organized into four parts that deliver materials in a way equally attractive for a reader with training in computation or biology. Each of these sections, authored by well-known researchers and experienced practitioners, provides the relevant materials for the interested readers. The first part of this book contains an introductory background to the field. The second part presents the EC approaches for analysis and reconstruction of GRN from gene expression data. The third part of this book covers the contemporary advancements in the automatic construction of gene regulatory and reaction networks and gives direction and guidelines for future research. Finally, the last part of this book focuses on applications of GRNs with EC in other fields, such as design, engineering and robotics. • Provides a reference for current and future research in gene regulatory networks (GRN) using evolutionary computation (EC) • Covers sub-domains of GRN research using EC, such as expression profile analysis, reverse engineering, GRN evolution, applications • Contains useful contents for courses in gene regulatory networks, systems biology, computational biology, and synthetic biology • Delivers state-of-the-art research in genetic algorithms, genetic programming, and swarm intelligence Evolutionary Computation in Gene Regulatory Network Research is a reference for researchers and professionals in computer science, systems biology, and bioinformatics, as well as upper undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students. Hitoshi Iba is a Professor in the Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, at the University of Tokyo, Toyko, Japan. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation and the journal of Genetic Programming and Evolvable Machines. Nasimul Noman is a lecturer in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. From 2002 to 2012 he was a faculty member at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Noman is an Editor of the BioMed Research International journal. His research interests include computational biology, synthetic biology, and bioinformatics.

The digital world profoundly shapes how we work and consume and also how we play, socialize, create identities, and engage in politics and civic life. Indeed, we are so enmeshed in digital networks—from social media to cell phones—that it is hard to conceive of them from the outside or to imagine an alternative, let alone defy their seemingly inescapable power and logic. Yes, it is (sort of) possible to quit Facebook. But is it possible to disconnect from the digital network—and why might we want to? Off the Network is a fresh and authoritative examination of how the hidden logic of the Internet, social media, and the digital network is changing users’ understanding of the world—and why that should worry us. Ulises Ali Mejias also suggests how we might begin to rethink the logic of the network and question its ascendancy. Touted as consensual, inclusive, and pleasurable, the digital network is also, Mejias says, monopolizing and threatening in its capacity to determine, commodify, and commercialize so many aspects of our lives. He shows how the network broadens participation yet also exacerbates disparity—and how it excludes more of society than it includes. Uniquely, Mejias makes the case that it is not only necessary to challenge the privatized and commercialized modes of social and civic life offered by corporate-controlled spaces such as Facebook and Twitter, but that such confrontations can be mounted from both within and outside the network. The result is an uncompromising, sophisticated, and accessible critique of the digital world that increasingly dominates our lives.

This paper studies the interconnectedness of the global financial system and its susceptibility to shocks. A novel multilayer network framework is applied to link debt and equity exposures across countries. Use of this approach—that examines simultaneously multiple channels of transmission and their important higher order effects—shows that ignoring the heterogeneity of financial exposures, and simply aggregating all claims, as often done in other studies, can underestimate the extent and effects of financial contagion.The structure of the global financial network has changed since the global financial crisis, impacted by European bank’s deleveraging and higher corporate debt issuance. Still, we find that the structure of the system and contagion remain similar in that network is highly susceptible to shocks from central countries and those with large financial systems (e.g., the USA and the UK). While, individual European countries (excluding the UK) have relatively low impact on shock propagation, the network is highly susceptible to the shocks from the entire euro area. Another important development is the rising role of the Asian countries and the noticeable increase in network susceptibility to shocks from China and Hong Kong SAR economies.

The objective of the 2014 International Conference on Computer, Network Security and Communication Engineering (CNSCE2014) is to provide a platform for all researchers in the field of Computer, Network Security and Communication Engineering to share the most advanced knowledge from both academic and industrial world, to communicate with each other about their experience and most up-to-date research achievements, and to discuss issues and future prospects in these fields. As an international conference mixed with academia and industry, CNSCE2014 provides attendees not only the free exchange of ideas and challenges faced by these two key stakeholders and encourage future collaboration between members of these groups but also a good opportunity to make friends with scholars around the word. As the first session of the international conference on CNSCE, it covers topics related to Computer, Network Security and Communication Engineering. CNSCE2014 has attracted many scholars, researchers and practitioners in these fields from various countries. They take this chance to get together, sharing their latest research achievements with each other. It has also achieved great success by its unique characteristics and strong academic atmosphere as well as its authority.

Building on the historical analysis of organizations and theories that have influenced their development, Gianfranco Dioguardi provides an insightful exploration of the network enterprise and its evolution from the Medieval guilds to the present innovation clusters of Silicon Valley, the Research Triangle, Route 128, and other regions in the U.S and around the world. Providing in-depth analysis of production systems and the evolution of "lean manufacturing" principles, Dioguardi integrates history, sociology, management theory, and economics to explore the dynamics of organizations that operate as networks and interact with other firms along the supply chain and in complementary industries. In a technology-enabled environment, the boundaries between products and services and across enterprises become blurred--and create the context for entrepreneurship, innovation, and dissemination of knowledge. Several chapters are devoted to practical concerns of managing the network enterprise, with a particular interest in the ethical and cultural issues. Dioguardi concludes with discussion of the role of the network enterprise in new firm creation and economic growth.