Socinfo - teaching social network analysisKaty Pearce
Undergraduates are interested in social media careers, so an undergraduate social network analysis (SNA) course could appeal to them. NodeXL is a good platform for such a course since it provides a conceptual framework, access to social media APIs to overcome barriers, and low costs. The course should provide an organizing framework, peer learning in teams, accessible computer labs, step-by-step assignments, and applied learning through repetition of tasks like analyzing and visualizing hashtags and online communities.
This document discusses how memes and trolling can be used as tools of political suppression. It defines memes and trolling, noting that trolling aims to provoke emotional responses for amusement. While memes can enable political participation and subversion, their anonymous and spreadable nature also makes them effective tools for suppression. The document examines how an authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan used trolling and memes to attack citizens, leaving no recourse for those targeted.
The document discusses opportunities and challenges for studying vulnerable populations using computational social science methods in authoritarian states. While computational methods provide easier access to data and lower risks than traditional fieldwork, they also create new privacy and ethical issues. Analysis could potentially put people at risk of retaliation from authoritarian regimes. The document argues that given these challenges, researchers need to carefully consider how to protect vulnerable groups when using computational methods.
This document discusses the affordances and political uses of memes. It defines memes as digital items that are shared, imitated, and transformed online. Memes afford anonymity, reproduction, and competition which enables political subversion but also repression. Dictators stage political drama, control information flow, and use blackmail to undermine opponents while boasting support. Opposition memes exist but dictators currently have more resources in the "meme war". The document concludes that while memes empower political engagement, dictator affordances allow using memes to undermine dissent when power is unequal.
(1) The study examined gender inequality in internet use in Azerbaijan by analyzing survey data on socioeconomic factors influencing internet access and activities.
(2) Results showed that gender was the most important predictor of internet frequency and social media use, with men using the internet more often than women.
(3) However, the internet may reinforce Azerbaijan's culture of restricting women's public participation and maintaining family honor, presenting risks of cyberbullying and privacy violations that disproportionately impact women. Further research is needed on how sociocultural norms shape women's internet experiences.
This document discusses the ethical challenges faced by researchers conducting digital research in authoritarian states. It identifies issues around maintaining distance from subjects, developing trust, and protecting sources both online and offline. Specific challenges addressed include accessing authoritarian states as a researcher, establishing credibility with subjects, risks around privacy and surveillance, potential risks to subjects and researchers, issues of representativeness of samples, disclosure of information by subjects, power dynamics, and blurred boundaries between personal and professional relationships online. While the digital aspect can help with some challenges like access and building rapport, it also creates new risks around digital traces and surveillance. Researchers must be cautious about inferences from non-representative samples and reflexive about relationships and power dynamics online.
This document summarizes ICT ownership and usage trends in Azerbaijan from 2004-2012. It shows that:
1) Household PC and mobile phone ownership increased substantially over time, with mobile ownership reaching over 90% by 2012.
2) Internet usage also increased, with over 30% of households owning a PC with Internet access by 2012. Daily internet usage reached 22% by that year.
3) The top barriers to internet usage in Azerbaijan were lack of awareness about the internet's existence, lack of access due to age, poverty, rural location, and low education levels.
The document summarizes the strategies used by the Azerbaijani government to control dissent online while maintaining a facade of internet freedom. It discusses how the government, opposition, and independent networks operate online. The government leaves the internet nominally open but engages in surveillance, propaganda campaigns, trolling, censorship, and arresting online critics. Opposition networks organize in collectives, with affiliations, or independently. The government strategy undermines opposition but some adapt innovatively, though the government maintains control for now through fear and punishment of dissent.
This document summarizes a study analyzing Georgian citizens' attitudes toward elections based on 2010-2011 survey data. It finds that while post-Soviet citizens often view elections as corrupt and ineffective, Georgians may be less apathetic due to the country's recent history. The data shows most Georgians would vote and believe recent elections were at least somewhat fair, though many still perceive election administration as politically biased. The author concludes that with more election experience, Georgian democratic attitudes may continue to shift in a positive direction.
The document is a table showing the percentage of individuals using mobile phones in various countries from 2000 to 2021. It shows that:
- Armenia has seen mobile phone usage increase from 1% in 2000 to 125% in 2021.
- Azerbaijan has increased from 5% in 2000 to 109% in 2021.
- Georgia has risen from 4% in 2000 to 102% in 2021.
The document summarizes trends in household technology ownership and internet usage in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia from 2004 to 2011 based on data from country-specific consumer behavior surveys. It shows that over this period:
1) Household PC ownership increased substantially in all three countries, reaching around 40% by 2011.
2) Mobile phone ownership reached over 80% by 2011 across the region.
3) Household internet access also grew significantly, nearly doubling between 2009 and 2011 to around 30-35% of households.
This document discusses social exclusion through lack of internet awareness, adoption and use in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. It finds that awareness, adoption and frequent use of the internet follows a process, with barriers increasing at each stage. Age, education level, economic wellbeing and living in urban areas determine progress through these stages. Survey results show that half or more of people in each country have not heard of the internet, and most of those aware do not use it regularly. Lack of internet access reinforces social exclusion, particularly for the less privileged. Further research is needed to understand barriers and potential interventions to increase internet inclusion.
The document summarizes internet usage trends in Azerbaijan from 2004-2011 based on data from the Caucasus Barometer surveys. Some key findings are:
- Household PC and mobile phone ownership increased substantially over time, with mobile ownership reaching over 90% by 2011.
- However, internet usage rates lagged behind, with only about a quarter of Azerbaijanis using the internet by 2011. Daily internet use was still only around 7%.
- Major barriers to internet adoption and use included lack of awareness, age, education, poverty, rural residence, and lack of English skills. Rural areas, poorer populations, and those with less education were least likely to use the internet frequently.
This document analyzes differences between mobile-only and PC-only internet users in Armenia based on a 2011 survey. It finds that mobile-only users tend to be younger, from more rural areas, and have lower incomes and education levels than PC users. PC users engage in more activities like search, messaging, downloading music, news and work. Both demographics and devices influence the types of activities people engage in. While mobile access is widespread, a digital divide still exists due to differences in online activities between user groups. Understanding these divides can help address gaps in digital skills and internet usage.
This document discusses how demographics and devices impact internet access and activities in Armenia. It finds that:
1. Those who only access the internet via mobile are generally older, less educated, and live in more rural areas compared to those who use computers.
2. Different internet activities are popular based on the device used, with social networking and videos more common on mobile, while search, games, and downloading music are more used on computers.
3. Both demographics and devices influence the "activity gap" - what people do online. Younger, more educated, urban users tend to do more activities on computers, while age, education level, and devices constrain mobile-only users. This shows that access
This document contains statistics about ICT (information and communications technology) adoption in Armenia from 2002 to 2011. It shows that the percentage of Armenian internet users increased from 19% in 2009 to 37% in 2011. Mobile phone adoption increased dramatically over this period as well, reaching 125% in 2011. Home computer ownership rose from 3% in 2002 to 39.5% in 2011, while home internet adoption increased from 4% to 35% over the same period. The top reasons cited for not going online included lack of a computer, lack of interest, and not needing to use the internet.
Georgian Women 2011: Early analysis from the 2011 Caucasus Barometer by Katy Pearce is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.katypearce.net.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.katypearce.net/cv/georgia.
This document compares Facebook and Odnoklassniki social network users in Armenia. It finds that the average age of Facebook users is slightly lower at 29.92 compared to 30.2 for Odnoklassniki. Most users of both networks live in Yerevan, but Odnoklassniki has more rural users. Facebook users on average have some university education while Odnoklassniki users have a high school education. Facebook users spend more time online per day and are more likely to access the internet via PC compared to Odnoklassniki users.
Socinfo - teaching social network analysisKaty Pearce
Undergraduates are interested in social media careers, so an undergraduate social network analysis (SNA) course could appeal to them. NodeXL is a good platform for such a course since it provides a conceptual framework, access to social media APIs to overcome barriers, and low costs. The course should provide an organizing framework, peer learning in teams, accessible computer labs, step-by-step assignments, and applied learning through repetition of tasks like analyzing and visualizing hashtags and online communities.
This document discusses how memes and trolling can be used as tools of political suppression. It defines memes and trolling, noting that trolling aims to provoke emotional responses for amusement. While memes can enable political participation and subversion, their anonymous and spreadable nature also makes them effective tools for suppression. The document examines how an authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan used trolling and memes to attack citizens, leaving no recourse for those targeted.
The document discusses opportunities and challenges for studying vulnerable populations using computational social science methods in authoritarian states. While computational methods provide easier access to data and lower risks than traditional fieldwork, they also create new privacy and ethical issues. Analysis could potentially put people at risk of retaliation from authoritarian regimes. The document argues that given these challenges, researchers need to carefully consider how to protect vulnerable groups when using computational methods.
This document discusses the affordances and political uses of memes. It defines memes as digital items that are shared, imitated, and transformed online. Memes afford anonymity, reproduction, and competition which enables political subversion but also repression. Dictators stage political drama, control information flow, and use blackmail to undermine opponents while boasting support. Opposition memes exist but dictators currently have more resources in the "meme war". The document concludes that while memes empower political engagement, dictator affordances allow using memes to undermine dissent when power is unequal.
(1) The study examined gender inequality in internet use in Azerbaijan by analyzing survey data on socioeconomic factors influencing internet access and activities.
(2) Results showed that gender was the most important predictor of internet frequency and social media use, with men using the internet more often than women.
(3) However, the internet may reinforce Azerbaijan's culture of restricting women's public participation and maintaining family honor, presenting risks of cyberbullying and privacy violations that disproportionately impact women. Further research is needed on how sociocultural norms shape women's internet experiences.
This document discusses the ethical challenges faced by researchers conducting digital research in authoritarian states. It identifies issues around maintaining distance from subjects, developing trust, and protecting sources both online and offline. Specific challenges addressed include accessing authoritarian states as a researcher, establishing credibility with subjects, risks around privacy and surveillance, potential risks to subjects and researchers, issues of representativeness of samples, disclosure of information by subjects, power dynamics, and blurred boundaries between personal and professional relationships online. While the digital aspect can help with some challenges like access and building rapport, it also creates new risks around digital traces and surveillance. Researchers must be cautious about inferences from non-representative samples and reflexive about relationships and power dynamics online.
This document summarizes ICT ownership and usage trends in Azerbaijan from 2004-2012. It shows that:
1) Household PC and mobile phone ownership increased substantially over time, with mobile ownership reaching over 90% by 2012.
2) Internet usage also increased, with over 30% of households owning a PC with Internet access by 2012. Daily internet usage reached 22% by that year.
3) The top barriers to internet usage in Azerbaijan were lack of awareness about the internet's existence, lack of access due to age, poverty, rural location, and low education levels.
The document summarizes the strategies used by the Azerbaijani government to control dissent online while maintaining a facade of internet freedom. It discusses how the government, opposition, and independent networks operate online. The government leaves the internet nominally open but engages in surveillance, propaganda campaigns, trolling, censorship, and arresting online critics. Opposition networks organize in collectives, with affiliations, or independently. The government strategy undermines opposition but some adapt innovatively, though the government maintains control for now through fear and punishment of dissent.
This document summarizes a study analyzing Georgian citizens' attitudes toward elections based on 2010-2011 survey data. It finds that while post-Soviet citizens often view elections as corrupt and ineffective, Georgians may be less apathetic due to the country's recent history. The data shows most Georgians would vote and believe recent elections were at least somewhat fair, though many still perceive election administration as politically biased. The author concludes that with more election experience, Georgian democratic attitudes may continue to shift in a positive direction.
The document is a table showing the percentage of individuals using mobile phones in various countries from 2000 to 2021. It shows that:
- Armenia has seen mobile phone usage increase from 1% in 2000 to 125% in 2021.
- Azerbaijan has increased from 5% in 2000 to 109% in 2021.
- Georgia has risen from 4% in 2000 to 102% in 2021.
The document summarizes trends in household technology ownership and internet usage in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia from 2004 to 2011 based on data from country-specific consumer behavior surveys. It shows that over this period:
1) Household PC ownership increased substantially in all three countries, reaching around 40% by 2011.
2) Mobile phone ownership reached over 80% by 2011 across the region.
3) Household internet access also grew significantly, nearly doubling between 2009 and 2011 to around 30-35% of households.
This document discusses social exclusion through lack of internet awareness, adoption and use in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. It finds that awareness, adoption and frequent use of the internet follows a process, with barriers increasing at each stage. Age, education level, economic wellbeing and living in urban areas determine progress through these stages. Survey results show that half or more of people in each country have not heard of the internet, and most of those aware do not use it regularly. Lack of internet access reinforces social exclusion, particularly for the less privileged. Further research is needed to understand barriers and potential interventions to increase internet inclusion.
The document summarizes internet usage trends in Azerbaijan from 2004-2011 based on data from the Caucasus Barometer surveys. Some key findings are:
- Household PC and mobile phone ownership increased substantially over time, with mobile ownership reaching over 90% by 2011.
- However, internet usage rates lagged behind, with only about a quarter of Azerbaijanis using the internet by 2011. Daily internet use was still only around 7%.
- Major barriers to internet adoption and use included lack of awareness, age, education, poverty, rural residence, and lack of English skills. Rural areas, poorer populations, and those with less education were least likely to use the internet frequently.
This document analyzes differences between mobile-only and PC-only internet users in Armenia based on a 2011 survey. It finds that mobile-only users tend to be younger, from more rural areas, and have lower incomes and education levels than PC users. PC users engage in more activities like search, messaging, downloading music, news and work. Both demographics and devices influence the types of activities people engage in. While mobile access is widespread, a digital divide still exists due to differences in online activities between user groups. Understanding these divides can help address gaps in digital skills and internet usage.
This document discusses how demographics and devices impact internet access and activities in Armenia. It finds that:
1. Those who only access the internet via mobile are generally older, less educated, and live in more rural areas compared to those who use computers.
2. Different internet activities are popular based on the device used, with social networking and videos more common on mobile, while search, games, and downloading music are more used on computers.
3. Both demographics and devices influence the "activity gap" - what people do online. Younger, more educated, urban users tend to do more activities on computers, while age, education level, and devices constrain mobile-only users. This shows that access
This document contains statistics about ICT (information and communications technology) adoption in Armenia from 2002 to 2011. It shows that the percentage of Armenian internet users increased from 19% in 2009 to 37% in 2011. Mobile phone adoption increased dramatically over this period as well, reaching 125% in 2011. Home computer ownership rose from 3% in 2002 to 39.5% in 2011, while home internet adoption increased from 4% to 35% over the same period. The top reasons cited for not going online included lack of a computer, lack of interest, and not needing to use the internet.
Georgian Women 2011: Early analysis from the 2011 Caucasus Barometer by Katy Pearce is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.katypearce.net.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.katypearce.net/cv/georgia.
This document compares Facebook and Odnoklassniki social network users in Armenia. It finds that the average age of Facebook users is slightly lower at 29.92 compared to 30.2 for Odnoklassniki. Most users of both networks live in Yerevan, but Odnoklassniki has more rural users. Facebook users on average have some university education while Odnoklassniki users have a high school education. Facebook users spend more time online per day and are more likely to access the internet via PC compared to Odnoklassniki users.