Social network analysis

Social network analysis (SNA) is the process of investigating social structures through the use of network and graph theories. It characterizes networked structures in terms of nodes (individual actors, people, or things within the network) and the ties or edges (relationships or interactions) that connect them. Examples of social structures commonly visualized through social network analysis include social media networks, friendship and acquaintance networks, kinship, disease transmission,and sexual relationships. These networks are often visualized through sociograms in which nodes are represented as points and ties are represented as lines.

Social network analysis has emerged as a key technique in modern sociology. It has also gained a significant following in anthropology, biology, communication studies, economics, geography, history, information science, organizational studies, political science, social psychology, development studies, and sociolinguistics and is now commonly available as a consumer tool.

Cascade Range

The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades. The small part of the range in British Columbia is referred to as the Canadian Cascades or, locally, as the Cascade Mountains. The latter term is also sometimes used by Washington residents to refer to the Washington section of the Cascades in addition to North Cascades, the more usual U.S. term, as in North Cascades National Park. The highest peak in the range is Mount Rainier in Washington at 14,411 feet (4,392 m).

The Cascades are part of the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire, the ring of volcanoes and associated mountains around the Pacific Ocean. All of the eruptions in the contiguous United States over the last 200 years have been from Cascade volcanoes. The two most recent were Lassen Peak from 1914 to 1921 and a major eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Minor eruptions of Mount St. Helens have also occurred since, most recently from 2004-2008.

Cascade (computer virus)

The Cascade virus is a prominent computer virus that was a resident written in assembly, and it was widespread in the 1980s and early 1990s. It infected .COM files and had the effect of making text on the screen fall down and form a heap in the bottom of the screen. It was notable for using an encryption algorithm to avoid being detected. However one could see that infected files had their size increased by 1701 or 1704 bytes. In response, IBM developed its own anti-virus software.

The virus has a number of variants. Cascade-17Y4, which is reported to have originated in Yugoslavia is almost identical to the most common 1704 byte variant. One byte has been changed, probably due to a random "mutation". This, however, has resulted in a "bug" in the virus. Another mutated variant is also known - it infects the same file over and over.

References

Fax

Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device. The original document is scanned with a fax machine (or a telecopier), which processes the contents (text or images) as a single fixed graphic image, converting it into a bitmap, and then transmitting it through the telephone system in the form of audio-frequency tones. The receiving fax machine interprets the tones and reconstructs the image, printing a paper copy. Early systems used direct conversions of image darkness to audio tone in a continuous or analog manner. Since the 1980s, most machines modulate the transmitted audio frequencies using a digital representation of the page which is compressed to quickly transmit areas which are all-white or all-black.

History

Wire transmission

Scottish inventor Alexander Bain worked on chemical mechanical fax type devices and in 1846 was able to reproduce graphic signs in laboratory experiments. He received patent 9745 on May 27, 1843 for his "Electric Printing Telegraph."Frederick Bakewell made several improvements on Bain's design and demonstrated a telefax machine. The Pantelegraph was invented by the Italian physicist Giovanni Caselli. He introduced the first commercial telefax service between Paris and Lyon in 1865, some 11 years before the invention of the telephone.

Characters in Dragonriders of Pern

Characters in the Dragonriders of Pern series of science fiction novels by Anne McCaffrey.

8th Interval, 9th Pass

Major characters

AIVAS

An advanced computer called AIVAS (Artificial Intelligence Voice Address System). AIVAS was found by Jaxom, Jancis, and Piemur while they were excavating the city called Landing, the original settlement of the ancestors (the original colonists from Dragonsdawn), that had been buried in ash during a volcanic eruption. AIVAS has remained undisturbed since the events of Dragonsdawn some 2,500 years earlier and, in addition to holding a huge volume of stored information long since lost to the Pernese society, claims to be able to eliminate the threat of Thread forever. AIVAS reintroduced many technological advancements to the society. Some people, feeling AIVAS was a threat to their way of life, called it an "abomination," and tried to destroy it, but they were unsuccessful.

F'lar

F'lar is the weyrleader of Benden Weyr and the rider of bronze Mnementh.

FAX (TV series)

FAX was a Canadian daily entertainment news series, which aired on MuchMusic in the 1990s. The series aired both as a half-hour daily show and as short interstitial segments called RapidFAX. Its newer incarnation is MuchNews, which debuted in 2001.

Hosts of the show over the course of its run included Lance Chilton, Monika Deol and Rebecca Rankin, although regular MuchMusic VJs also occasionally served as substitute hosts. The series concentrated primarily on music news, but also covered some film and television news as well.