Thematic Communities Research Articles

Communication work about chronic pain: A mixed methods application and extension of the integrative theory of communication work

ABSTRACT Guided by the integrative theory of communication work, we present a computational and qualitative analysis of Reddit comments authored by patient-users living with chronic overlapping pain conditions. We first employed computational text analysis to compress the data corpus via structural topic modeling. The community detection algorithm Louvain was employed to identify communities of topics within the data. Then, we extracted a subset of the data and performed a computer-aided qualitative thematic co-occurrence analysis. Topic modeling revealed 35 topics and five thematic communities. The qualitative analysis revealed that these topics mapped onto and extended the typology of communication work and contributing factors and identified co-occurrence patterns both among and across research questions. Our findings offer methodological, theoretical, and practical implications.

The importance of the language for the evolution of online communities: An analysis based on Twitter and Reddit

The study of Online Social Networks offers growing opportunities to examine a number of aspects of the real world and to better understand how human society works at scale. One crucial research direction, constantly evolving over time, concerns the language adopted by users and its impact on online communities. To provide a contribution in this setting, in this paper, we adopt a multi-relational model for social network and identify a new typology of relation, namely co-interest, as an explicit common declaration of engagement towards a given topic among pair of users. Thematic communities can be, hence, derived leveraging such relations. After that, exploiting Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning techniques, we identify and define suitable analysis metrics focusing on the characteristics of the language adopted in such communities. With the objective of analyzing how the adoption of different language may impact the formation of cohesive and strong communities, to make our study general, we consider two very popular and intrinsically different social platforms, namely Twitter and Reddit. The analysis carried out in this paper aims at comparing the two social media to find interesting and novel results about how their users compose textual comments and the corresponding impact on users’ interaction. Interestingly, the obtained results show that, although the main factor is related to the popularity of the user generating the content, the characteristics of the adopted language play a non negligible role in the formation of strong communities in social systems.

Comparative Analysis of the Audience of the Medical Organization's Communities in Social Networks and its Patients

Interaction with patients, the quality of communication with them by medical professionals affect the results of treatment. In the digital era, new formats and channels of interaction are emerging, which are successfully used by medical organizations in the process of communication with consumers of medical services – patients. Among a wide range of online tools, social networks have become a phenomenon. The subject of the study is the communication of a medical organization with patients in social networks. The purpose of this article is to analyze the audience of medical organization communities in social networks using the example of a specialized federal medical center in St. Petersburg to determine how the characteristics of the audience of social networks correspond to real patients of a medical institution. This study is based on the analysis of cancer incidence statistics in Russia, content analysis of the communities of a medical organization specializing in Oncology in social networks. Author studies the role of social networks and online interaction in the era of digitalization. Using methods of analysis and synthesis, content analysis, systematization, generalization, a judgment is formulated on the compliance of the audience of medical organization communities in social networks with the real characteristics of patients. It was revealed that the audience of thematic communities of a specialized medical center in social networks corresponds to the characteristics of real patients of the institution, as well as morbidity statistics in the country. The results of the study can be applied by medical organizations in the process of building a communication process with patients. The novelty, uniqueness of the work and the contribution of the author to the consideration of the question posed consists in conducting a comparative analysis of the demographic and geographical characteristics of real oncopatients and subscribers of thematic communities in social networks.

Artificial Intelligence

The article forms a matrix of the main propositions and markers of artificial intelligence in non-professional (philistine) discourses. The study is implemented on the Internet using special tools. The subject of the analysis is the search queries in the main ‘Google’ and ‘Yandex’ services, thematic communities, social networks and users’ comments. The definition of the matrix of non-professional stereotypical labeling of artificial intelligence as an actual developing technology allows us to see a picture of a new metaphysics. “Technological” metaphysics is inextricably linked with mythological thinking and significantly affects the absorption of scientific and technological developments. It also influences the constructive critical attitude towards the physical condition. The article substantiates that this modern technical mythology, which includes many speculative assumptions, has a double meaning: on the one hand, it “domesticates” technology, and on the other hand, it creates an insurmountable barrier for the convergence of spiritual and religious scope and the scientific worldview. The definition and subsequent refinement of the mythological matrix is necessary for the effective implementation of innovative programs, adjustment of those to the education system, constructive dialogue between the state, scientists, and users.

КОММУНИКАТИВНО-ИНФОРМАЦИОННЫЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ ОЦЕНКИ СОЦИАЛЬНЫХ ПРОЦЕССОВ НА РЕГИОНАЛЬНОМ УРОВНЕ

The estimation of social processes at the regional level plays an important role in the region management, creating an information and analytical base for decisions making and correcting, identifying citizens’ problems and requests. According to the digitalization context, communication and information technologies are becoming core tools for such estimation implementation. They provide both communication and information exchange, and also they are a universal channel for receiving feedback. The purpose of the study is to analyze the applicability of the modern communication and information technologies usage for assessing social processes at the regional level. Based on theoretical analysis, organizational, legal and technological aspects studying of the problem, the authors come to the conclusion that the communication and information technologies usage, social media in particular, for interaction with region public authorities is an actual and effective way to ensure transparency and openness of public authorities to the society, the opportunity to ask questions and express their suggestions and comments, submit appeals and complaints, ensure receiving feedback from citizens on issues, directly related to their life and well-being. However, it is not possible to receive feedback only through official communication channels. In the context of the rapid digital transformation growth and the network society creation, opinions about the activities of regional authorities can also be found in various thematic communities that are not related to the region management. The authors justify the usefulness of communication and information technologies variety usage to estimate social processes at the regional level. The core thesis suggests that hidden knowledge about social processes taking place in communication and information technologies can be obtained through the analysis of the digital footprint of actors. Despite the completeness and reliability of the approach used, its main disadvantages are ambiguity of evaluative vocabulary; difficulty in estimation irony and sarcasm; difficulties with the analysis of the other text (symbolic and graphic images that replace the text); use of vocabulary resources. The practical usage of the obtained data can improve the efficiency of the decision-making process in the region management, organize a public contact between the authorities and the citizenship of the region, identify the most urgent and important problems and their possible solutions, and become an important tool for creating a positive public atmosphere and increasing confidence to the authorities.

Social Memory and Formation of Urban Identity of the Regional Capital City (on the Example of Saransk)

The subject of the study is the formation of urban identity based on group reflection on the past and present. The article summarizes the results of in-depth interviews with the experts and online observation of the thematic communities in the social network VKontakte, dedicated to the visual history of Saransk — the capital of the Republic of Mordovia and focusing on the late Soviet period as the era of its transformation into a major city, revealing the specific features of the social identity of the population of the republican capital, as well as the social functions of virtual urban communities as “assemblage points” of urban identity. Considering Saransk nostalgic communities in “new media” as a specific form of digitalization in modern “public history” and visualization of social memory, the author analyzes symbolic communication and manifestation of collective emotions of their members in modes of collective trauma and nostalgia. Author specifies the basic functions of nostalgic communities: the construction of cultural trauma of the social changes, promoting comprehension of responsibility for development of a city and stimulation of civil activity, formation of a complete image of a city in space and in time, identification of users with the generalized image of the city and urban community.

On the development of social media marketing in the field of publishing services

The article is devoted to the study of the development of social media marketing in the publishing business in the context of sanctions restrictions and the withdrawal from Russia of a number of information and communication platforms, which is a negative factor and led to an accelerated transformation of advertising campaigns in social networks. The author substantiates the relevance of marketing promotion tools in social networks in order to effectively interact with the audience, since social networks are currently among the growing segments of digital promotion. The article highlights the main advantages of social media marketing in the aspect of interactive communication with the target audience, thanks to which the company is able to achieve effective marketing activities, reach a new level of recognition and sales, increase competitiveness. The author notes that the most popular network in Russia has become Vkontakte as a priority social platform for business promotion, which makes it possible to inform and attract numerous audiences, which are also the target segment of various companies. The results of the study made it possible to determine the current methods of promoting the publishing house in the social network Vkontakte, in addition to the official page, such as: advertising in thematic communities, cross-marketing, targeting and collaboration with opinion leaders. The article outlines strategies for the development of targeted advertising by adjusting the publisher's advertising to competitors' subscribers, to groups with a theme for each publication, setting up advertising by interests, demographic characteristics and keywords. For the highest performance indicators of an advertising company, it is necessary to use a set of channels and communication tools in a social network.

The Near Fault Observatory community in Europe: a new resource for faulting and hazard studies

The Near Fault Observatories (NFOs) community is one of the European Plate Observing System (EPOS, http://www.epos-eu.org) Thematic Communities, today consisting of six research infrastructures that operate in regions characterised by high seismic hazard originating from different tectonic regimes. Earthquakes respond to complex natural systems whose mechanical properties evolve over time. Thus, in order to understand the multi-scale, physical/chemical processes responsible for the faulting that earthquakes occur on, it is required to consider phenomena that intersect different research fields, i.e., to put in place multidisciplinary monitoring. Hence, NFOs are grounded on modern and multidisciplinary infrastructures, collecting near fault high resolution raw data that allows generation of innovative scientific products. The NFOs usually complement regional backbone networks with a higher density distribution of seismic, geodetic, geochemical and other geophysical sensors, at surface and sometimes below grade. These dense and modern networks of multi-parametric sensors are sited at and around active faults, where moderate to large earthquakes have occurred in the past and are expected in the future. They continuously monitor the underlying Earth instability processes over a broad time interval. Data collected at each NFO results in an exceptionally high degree of knowledge of the geometry and parameters characterizing the local geological faults and their deformation pattern. The novel data produced by the NFO community is aggregated in EPOS and is made available to a diverse set of stakeholders through the NFO Federated Specific Data Gateway (FRIDGE). In the broader domain of the Solid Earth sciences, NFOs meet the growing expectations of the learning and communication sectors by hosting a large variety of scientific information about earthquakes as a natural phenomenon and a societal issue. It represents the EPOS concept and objective of aggregating and harmonising the European research infrastructures capabilities to facilitate broader scientific opportunity. The NFOs are at the cutting edge of network monitoring. They conduct multidisciplinary experiments for testing multi-sensor stations, as well as realise robust and ultra-low latency, transmission systems that can routinely accommodate temporary monitoring densification. The effort to continuously upgrade the technological efficiency of monitoring systems positions the NFO at the centre of marketing opportunities for the European enterprises devoted to new sensor technology. The NFOs constitute ideal test beds for generating expertise on data integration, creating tools for the next generation of multidisciplinary research, routine data analysis and data visualization. In particular focus is often on near-real time tools and triggering alarms at different levels are tested and implemented, strengthening the cooperation with the Agencies for risk management. NFOs have developed innovative operational actions such as the Testing Centre for Earthquake Early Warning and Source Characterisation (CREW) and detailed fast ground shaking and damage characterization. Complementing the recent growth of modern laboratory and computational models, the NFOs can provide interdisciplinary observations of comparable high resolution to describe the behaviour of fault slip over a vast range of spatial and temporal scales and aiding to provide more accurate earthquake hazard characterizations.

The relationship between universities and business: identification of thematic communities

This article analyses the link between universities and business from a neo-Schumpeterian evolutionary theory perspective. It aims to identify the thematic communities present in the literature that deals with the university-business relationship, highlighting the focuses of interest of this literature and currently emerging themes. Social network analysis and text mining tools are used for this purpose. The present contribution differs from other reviews by using large datasets, which made it possible to discern aggregate trends in scientific output. Six thematic communities were detected in the literature: technology parks, entrepreneurial university, triple helix, transfer channels, geographic perspective and open innovation. Once these communities were defined, the characteristics of each one were identified, along with their linkages, differences and limitations, with a view to gaining an understanding of the knowledge transfer processes.

Holy springs and wells of the leningrad region

According to the results of the analysis of search queries an interest in information about holy springs has been revealed. An overview of 45 springs of the Leningrad region, attributed to the saints, is presented. Their map has been compiled (M: 1:200000). With the period of the population's self-isolation regime, Internet search queries for natural holy springs are also increasing. Statistical analysis of posts of thematic communities of the VKontakte social network by the tool "Khitalama" testifies to the social demand for information about holy springs references. These data serve as a promising source of information about behavioral geography. It is proposed to improve the network of specially guarding natural territories by including holy springs in it as objects of health, ecological, educational and pilgrimage tourism. On the example of the Leningrad Region, the foundations for the creation of a unified geoinformation system of holy springs are laid.

Transnational Access to Research Facilities: an EPOS service to promote multi‑domain Solid Earth Sciences in Europe

Transnational access (TNA) allows cross-border, short-term and frequently free-of-charge access to world-class research facilities, to foster collaborations and exchanges of experience. Specifically, TNA aims to encourage open science and innovation and to increase the efficient and effective use of scientific infrastructure. Within EPOS, the European Plate Observing System, the Volcano Observatories and Multi-scale Laboratories communities have offered TNA to their high-quality research facilities through national and European funding. This experience has allowed the definition, design, and testing of procedures and activities needed to provide transnational access inn the EPOS context. In this paper, the EPOS community describes the main objectives for the provision of transnational access in the EPOS framework, based on previous experiences. It includes practical procedures for managing transnational access from a legal, governance, and financial perspective, and proposes logistical and technical solutions to effectively execute transnational access activities. In addition, it provides an outlook on the inclusion of new thematic communities within the TNA framework, and addresses the challenges of providing market-driven access to industry.

Identifying scientific publications countrywide and measuring their open access: The case of the French Open Science Barometer (BSO)

Abstract We use several sources to collect and evaluate academic scientific publication on a country-wide scale, and we apply it to the case of France for the years 2015–2020, while presenting a more detailed analysis focused on the reference year 2019. These sources are diverse: databases available by subscription (Scopus, Web of Science) or open to the scientific community (Microsoft Academic Graph), the national open archive HAL, and databases serving thematic communities (ADS and PubMed). We show the contribution of the different sources to the final corpus. These results are then compared to those obtained with another approach, that of the French Open Science Barometer for monitoring open access at the national level. We show that both approaches provide a convergent estimate of the open access rate. We also present and discuss the definitions of the concepts used, and list the main difficulties encountered in processing the data. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the respective contributions of the main databases and their complementarity in the broad framework of a countrywide corpus. They also shed light on the calculation of open access rates and thus contribute to a better understanding of current developments in the field of open science.

Clustering Merchants and Accurate Marketing of Products Using the Segmentation Tree Vector Space Model

Using social commerce users as the data source, a reasonable and effective interest expression mechanism is used to construct an interest graph of sample users to achieve the purpose of clustering merchants and users as well as realizing accurate marketing of products. By introducing an improved vector space model, the segmentation tree vector space model, to express the interests of the target user group and, on this basis, using the complex network analysis tool Gephi to construct an interest graph, based on the user interest graph, we use Python to implement the K-means algorithm and the users of the sample set according to interest topics for community discovery. The experimental results show that the interests of the sample users are carefully divided, each user is divided into different thematic communities according to different interests, and the constructed interest graph is more satisfactory. The research design of the social commerce user interest mapping scheme is highly feasible, reasonable, and effective and provides new ideas for the research of interest graph, and the boundaries of thematic communities based on interests are clear.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF USING WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGY IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS

Introduction. The article examines the peculiarities of implementing Web 2.0 technology into the educational process, covers the advantages of certain web-services and electronic resources. It is noted that in the conditions of the information society there is a rapid development of software and hardware. Using services and electronic resources that support Web 2.0 technology, allows to diversify the educational process, make it more qualitative and interactive. The purpose of the article is to reveal specific features and benefits of online services and Web 2.0 electronic resources for organizing the educational process of a higher school. Results. It has been found that capabilities of Web 2.0 make it possible to create a modern educational environment, provide mixed and distance learning, and ensure creative application of acquired knowledge. This can be achieved thanks to various online services and electronic resources, which can be divided into several groups. It has been exposed that Web 2.0 technology is considered to be more a social innovation than a technological one. This is due to the possibility of creating thematic communities. It has also been revealed that virtual social networks, Google Classroom, Internet-blog, webinars, etc. are used to organize educational activities and communication between students and the teacher. It has been discovered that today's youth often stay in the virtual space of social networks, communicate, do educational tasks, etc. With that in view, there have been established the conditions that affect the effectiveness of the application of Web 2.0 technology in the educational process. Originality. The possibilities of virtual social networks, Google Classroom, Internet-blog, webinars and other services to organize the educational process in higher education have been identified. Conclusion. The implementation of Web 2.0 online resources and services allows to diversify the educational process, make it more interactive and interesting. The possibilities of Web 2.0 allow users to learn, exchange multimedia, increase social and informational competences. Working with Web 2.0 technology does not require special computer skills. The authors consider the usage of Web 3.0 technology in the educational process to be a promising direction of research.

Un-Meetings as tools for translational idea generation: A semantic content analysis of an Opioid Crisis Un-Meeting.

Team development and idea generation are key intertwined steps in translational science that need a framework to accommodate unstructured, participatory interactions. To this end, we introduced Un-Meetings to the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program, innovative events that facilitate cross-disciplinary idea generation and informal discussions between translational scientists, policy makers, community members, advocates, and public health professionals. Here we describe a mixed methods study to characterize the conceptual diversity and clusterization of ideas generated through an Opioid Crisis Un-Meeting. An Un-Meeting targeting translation science approaches to the opioid crisis were hosted at the University of Rochester Center for Leading Innovation and Collaboration (CLIC). We used semantic analysis and conceptual mapping of keywords to analyze how attendee-led idea generation sessions identified topics for breakout discussions. One hundred and two individuals from 40 institutions proposed 150 unique ideas that were grouped into 23 breakout sessions. Network analysis showed that diverse pools of experts were bridged by topics addressing the complexities of the opioid crisis. Two clusters emerged: (1) systems, contexts, and community engagement, and (2) technologies, innovations, and treatment advancements. The cross-disciplinary nature of topic areas that bridge across thematic communities provide opportunities for CTSA programs to engage and support development of diverse translational teams. Potential opportunities for team building include technological advancements of opioid prevention, treatment, surveillance, systems approaches, and studies focusing on special populations and health disparities. The analysis method here may be useful in identifying naturally emerging teams of experts and community gaps when addressing large problems.

Desenvolvimento e ciências ambientais: analisando as redes temáticas da agenda de pesquisa da área no Brasil

A emergência da questão ambiental na década de 1960 levou à compreensão dos efeitos globais das atividades humanas sobre o sistema terrestre, conduzindo os olhares para a questão dos modelos de desenvolvimento, em suas múltiplas dimensões. É nesse cenário que surgem as ciências ambientais, em busca de abordagens menos fragmentadas e mais integrativas, com um caráter marcadamente interdisciplinar. No Brasil, esse campo passa a se constituir na década de 1980, chegando ao seu grau mais alto de institucionalização em 2011, por meio da criação de uma nova área de avaliação no âmbito da pós-graduação. Neste artigo, apresentam-se resultados da pesquisa que teve como objetivo identificar as comunidades temáticas que constituem a agenda de pesquisa sobre a questão do desenvolvimento no âmbito das ciências ambientais brasileiras, voltando o foco da análise para a produção da pós-graduação, particularmente as teses e dissertações entre 1987 e 2017. Para tanto, utilizou-se a bibliometria relacional e a análise de redes de palavras-chave dos trabalhos como metodologia, a partir da identificação de 1061 teses e dissertações que utilizaram o termo desenvolvimento entre suas palavras-chave. Como resultados, identificou-se 41% das teses e dissertações no Nordeste, marcando uma forte concentração regional. Identificaram-se 10 comunidades temáticas, sendo as maiores as que tratam de políticas públicas, com recortes espacializados, com destaque para o rural e ênfase na dimensão institucional, e a com foco no turismo como agente do desenvolvimento local. As outras comunidades identificadas foram economia–tecnologia, socioambiental–impacto, agricultura–familiar, indicador–água, saúde–humano, resíduo–sólido, pesca–indústria e crédito–limpo. Aponta-se, assim, para a diversidade temática como uma importante componente do debate sobre desenvolvimento nas ciências ambientais, ao mesmo tempo em que se destaca a potência da bibliometria relacional e da análise de redes para compreensão da produção da ciência a partir de grandes repositórios documentais.

The critical turn of resilience: Mapping thematic communities and modes of critical scholarship

This paper explores the structures of the critical literature on resilience by mapping the ways in which critical trajectories developed and travelled across thematic communities. We use bibliometric analysis to examine 49 years of scholarship on resilience from international relations, geography, political ecology, and other social science disciplines that foremost focused on questions of power, inequality, and social justice. As a result, this paper delves into the composition of different types of critique mobilised in resilience scholarship and identifies the interdependencies between modes of critical thought and their degree of interdisciplinary connectivity.

Public procurement and innovation: a systematic literature review

AbstractPublic procurement and innovation is the subject of a growing body of literature. This article systematically reviews the existing research, documenting its evolution and highlighting dominant and overlooked themes. We find a dramatic increase in the number of journal publications on this topic since 2008, the existence of thematic communities within the literature, and a focus on empirical work. We analysed keywords and abstracts to identify the broad boundaries of research on public procurement and innovation as well as particular areas of focus in the literature. We found a variety of terms used to describe the application of public procurement as an innovation policy tool and a variety of thematic interests and theoretical foundations. We argue that this makes it challenging to consolidate the research on the topic. From a policy perspective, the geographical context of research is overwhelmingly concentrated in OECD and EU countries.

Eco-activism in social networks and consumption practices of megalopolises’ residents

Introduction. The increasing role of ecology in citizens’ daily occurrence is becoming a factor in changing consumer behavior. More and more people are interested in the eco-agenda, added to thematic communities in social networks, and guided by the self-restraint principles. Materials and Methods. Mixed data collection paradigm applied during the study. It includes analysis of both primary and secondary information. Primary information was collected using three methods: content analysis, online survey (quantitative strategy), and semi-formal interview (qualitative strategy). We applied both mathematical data processing and frame analysis of statements, as well as analysis of materials in the public domain. Residents of Russian megalopolises have become key objects; for collecting primary information – Ekaterinburg, for secondary information – Moscow and St. Petersburg, residents of Russia. Research results and discussion. Social networks with specific forms of user interaction have a mobilizing ability. Signing petitions, and mass cleaning of the surrounding area is not a rare phenomenon. The study analyzes the frames of active, moderate, and passive users of social networks. There is a difference in the level of inclusion of environmental practices in daily consumption for each of them. High mobility from passive users’ group to the moderate group was revealed. This is reflected in consumer practices such as refusing to buy, from plastic bags to personal cars. Conclusions. The study demonstrated the correlation between changing consumer values and their interest in focusing on green practices.

The Internet Community as a Phenomenon of Modern Network Culture (on the example of the KVN community in the social network VKontakte)

This paper discusses the characteristics and specific features of the Internet community ‘I love KVN’, whereas identifying user tokens in a network group are shown during their adaptation in the community. The author considers users’ techniques and virtual tools (audio recordings, video recordings, text publications, images, animated images, posters, polls, etc.). The Internet, as unique in terms of the its conditions and possibilities, makes it possible to study sociological phenomena that were not actualized or so accessible to empirical study in different environment of activity and interaction. This is relevant in the light of the rapid development of thematic communities on the VKontakte social network. According to the Levada Center analytical center, today about 72% of the population of the Russia use the Internet “daily or almost daily” and “several times a week”. At the same time, about 45% of citizens go online “several times a day”; these are, first of all, the youngest Russians under the age of 25 (87%). The focus of our consideration is the group on VKontakte “I love KVN”. KVN (The Club of Cheerful and Inventive) is one of the first projects that appeared on domestic television in the format of a humorous game, in which teams (educational institutions, universities, enterprises, cities and so on) compete in humorous answers to questions asked, improvisations on given topics, playing pre-prepared scenes. In the narrow sense, KVN is a competition in one’s own wit. The long-term history of the project (since 1961) and the relentless attention to the game from the mass audience determined in many respects the appearance of communities of lovers of intellectual humorous competitions on various types of venues. With the advent of social networks on the Internet, many KVN fans have joined together in a community that currently numbers approximately 670 thousand people.