| Unit name | Algorithmic and Economic Aspects of the Internet |
|---|---|
| Unit code | COMSM2006 |
| Credit points | 10 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Harrow |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Computer Science |
| Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
This unit will teach about the structure of the internet, its use in computer algorithms, and the economic issues it raises. Some of the specific topics are: Structure of social networks (small world networks, preferential attachment, power law degree distributions, clustering); Link analysis algorithms (google's PageRank and others, stopping link spam, finding clusters); Incentives (peer-to-peer networks, reputation mechanisms, recommendation systems, payment-based routing, ad auctions). We will review the necessary concepts in algorithms, game theory and linear algebra, but some knowledge of probability will be required.
50% of this unit is exam the other 50% is coursework.
N. Carr (2008) The Big Switch: Rewiring the world from Edison to Google. W.W. Norton & Co.
The Big Switch on sale at Amazon
