Network science as a foundation for metrics, models and theories of large-scale pervasive systems

Network science is a discipline, a collection of tools, and a set of theories that allow for abstraction and flexibility in the analysis of sets of “things” and their relationships. The network analysis approach has been used to describe systems in a diverse set of domains, ranging from natural and biological phenomena to man-made constructs. The flexibility of network analysis allows us to model aspects of large-scale pervasive systems ranging from small-scale details to large-scale emergent phenomena. This is possible because network science lets us model with varying granularity three crucial aspects of large-scale pervasive systems: people, places, and technology