Considerable research has been devoted to the formulation and solution of problems involving flow within connected networks. Independent of these surveys, an extensive body of knowledge has accumulated on the subject of queues, particularly in regard to stochastic flow through single-node servicing facilities. This text combines studies of connected networks with those of stochastic flow, providing a basis for understanding the general behavior and operation of communication networks in realistic situations. Author Leonard Kleinrock of the Computer Science Department at UCLA created the basic principle of packet switching, the technology underpinning the Internet. In this text, he develops a queuing theory model of communications nets. Its networks are channel-capacity limited; consequently, the measure of performance is taken to be the average delay encountered by a message in passing through the net. Topics include questions pertaining to optimal channel capacity assignment, effect of priority and other queue disciplines, choice of routine procedure, fixed-cost restraint, and design of topological structures. Many separate facets are brought into focus in the concluding discussion of the simulation of communication nets, and six appendices offer valuable supplementary information.

Why the United States lags behind other industrialized countries in sharing the benefits of innovation with workers and how we can remedy the problem. The United States has too many low-quality, low-wage jobs. Every country has its share, but those in the United States are especially poorly paid and often without benefits. Meanwhile, overall productivity increases steadily and new technology has transformed large parts of the economy, enhancing the skills and paychecks of higher paid knowledge workers. What’s wrong with this picture? Why have so many workers benefited so little from decades of growth? The Work of the Future shows that technology is neither the problem nor the solution. We can build better jobs if we create institutions that leverage technological innovation and also support workers though long cycles of technological transformation. Building on findings from the multiyear MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future, the book argues that we must foster institutional innovations that complement technological change. Skills programs that emphasize work-based and hybrid learning (in person and online), for example, empower workers to become and remain productive in a continuously evolving workplace. Industries fueled by new technology that augments workers can supply good jobs, and federal investment in R&D can help make these industries worker-friendly. We must act to ensure that the labor market of the future offers benefits, opportunity, and a measure of economic security to all.