Venue For Collaboration Research Articles

Transformer-Based Quantification of the Echo Chamber Effect in Online Communities

An Echo Chamber on social media refers to the environment where like-minded people hear the echo of each others' voices, opinions, or beliefs, which reinforce their own. Echo Chambers can turn social media platforms into collaborative venues that polarize and radicalize users rather than broadening their exposure to diverse information. Having a quantified metric for measuring the Echo Chamber effect can aid moderators and policymakers in tracking and mitigating online polarization and radicalization. Existing methods for Echo Chamber detection are either one-dimensional, only considering the network behavior of users while ignoring their semantic behavior, or require demanding supervised labeling, which is both expensive and less generalizable. This paper proposes a new metric to quantify the Echo Chamber effect using Transformer models for context-sensitive processing of natural language (NLP). Our metric quantifies (1) the effect of an Echo Chamber through the inverse effect of user diversity , and (2) polarization by means of user separability between two Echo Chambers in a topic. Leveraging this metric, we further propose an NLP-based embedding that represents the users' activity. Our model is simultaneously effective, computationally cheap, and unsupervised. As our method is unsupervised, it makes existing collaborative moderation efforts to thwart Echo Chamber effects more efficient by addressing the problem of identifying narrow information bases for algorithmic biases and misinformation detection. We run our analysis on three recent highly controversial political topics and a non-controversial topic: Russo-Ukrainian War, Abortion, Gun-Control, and SXSW music festival. Our results offer data-driven findings such as a higher Echo Chamber effect among Republicans over Democrats and diverse explicit support for Ukraine, especially among Democrats. We also observe a direct relationship between the Echo Chamber effect and polarization while observing that the low Echo Chamber effect for the Russo-Ukraine war is accompanied by a low polarization; and vice versa for Gun-Control.

Assessing Drivers of Sustained Engagement in Collaborative Governance Arrangements

Abstract The formal engagement of diverse stakeholder groups in policy design and implementation has become a mainstay governance strategy. While much has been learned about collaborative governance arrangements in terms of their structure, processes, and participant dynamics, one particularly salient dynamic has been relatively underexplored: the factors contributing to sustained participation in collaborative venues. Public administration and policy have developed a variety of conceptual theories which draw attention to interpersonal interactions and the ability of stakeholders to garner political wins as important contributing factors to sustained participation. In this paper, we test four theoretically rooted hypotheses to investigate stakeholder attendance in the collaborative governance case of an environmental justice council. We analyze council meeting minute data using computational text analysis tools and a Stochastic Actor-Oriented Model to assess: (i) conflict and concord, measured in terms of repeated (dis)agreement with others; and (ii) interest advancement, or the extent to which a stakeholder makes positive, neutral, and negative comments towards topics which become the council’s annual objectives in relation to an individual’s attendance. Our interpersonal interaction results show increased positive relationships are associated with increased attendance, and increased negative relationships are associated with decreased attendance, but, for both cases, only when interactions are repeated and not one-off. Our interest advancement results show: (1) an increase in supported annual objectives is associated with decreases in attendance for an individual stakeholder, but (2) increased oppositional and neutral annual topics are associated with a greater likelihood of attendance. This paper contributes to existing scholarship on collaborative governance by offering additional insights into individual factors associated with sustained engagement in the collaborative venue. Furthermore, the paper offers a generalizable methodological approach for analyzing these dynamics drawing on computational text analysis of meeting minute data.

How institutional logics shape the adoption of virtual reality in mental health care: A qualitative study.

To analyse institutional logics' role in adopting virtual reality in mental health care. Data were collected via qualitative, semi-structured interviews with four frontline staff and seven administrative and service staff, two focus group interviews with three frontline staff and four administrative and service staff, and via participant observation in meetings between stakeholders working on virtual reality. Data were collected from May 2021 to February 2022, analysed using thematic analysis, and theoretically driven by the framework of Institutional logics. We identified two different forms of institutional logics being drawn upon by frontline staff and administrative and service staff, respectively, when working with the adoption of virtual reality in mental health care. Frontline staff drew mainly on a Professional logic; administrative and service staff drew on a Diffusion logic. Each logic defined a unique focal point, causal pathway, and perceptions of a meaningful adoption process for virtual reality. By taking institutional logics as our theoretical and analytical point of departure, this study demonstrates how the meaning of virtual reality and its adoption in mental health care is grounded in multiple and sometimes conflicting institutional logics. Acknowledging the existence and influence of often multiple institutional logics in the adoption process is crucial to guide the future adoption of virtual reality in mental health care. Organising collaborative venues for stakeholders where their multiple institutional logics are made the subject of joint reflection is essential to counter frictions.

IEEE ComSoc Corporate Program

Discoveries, inventions, and research studies of scientists and engineers in both academia and industry have shaped the technology roadmaps of companies in the telecommunications industry. IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) provides the platform and venues for collaboration and networking among global technical communities in telecommunications, which are critical for moving technology forward in our industry. It is for this reason that ComSoc has created the IEEE ComSoc Corporate Program. In this month President's Page, I am pleased to introduce Dr. Cynthia Sikora, the ComSoc Industry Outreach & Technical Activities Director, to share with us the IEEE ComSoc Corporate Program.

CSE 2023 Annual Meeting: Reflecting on Community: Opening Borders in Scholarly Publishing

The 2023 CSE Annual Meeting will take place April 29–May 2 in Toronto, Ontario. An exciting destination for attendees, the city of Toronto offers a variety of attractions, collaborative venues, multicultural communities, and culinary experiences. This year’s meeting will be a fully in-person event. We are excited to return to an in-person format in 2023 and will be offering multiple short courses, roundtable discussions, poster presentations, and networking options. Opportunities to attend CSE events virtually will be available during the CSE Fall Virtual Symposium and the CSE Webinar and Connect events throughout the year. As Program Co-Chairs, we are thrilled not only about the destination of this year’s meeting but also about the scope of content currently being developed. The scholarly publishing industry has experienced rapid evolution in recent years. As we look to the future, the resources of CSE continue to be invaluable to scientific communication education, networking, and engagement. The theme for the 2023 annual meeting is “Reflecting on Community: Opening Borders in Scholarly Publishing.” Part of our inspiration for this theme comes from the city of Toronto itself. The charming location boasts an inspiring motto: “Diversity Our Strength.” The CSE Program Committee has been working with individuals who submitted session proposals and moderators to develop an excellent slate of educational sessions around this theme. The program for the annual meeting will cover topics such as open access; managing society and publishing relationships; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; ethics and research integrity; as well as other critical topics […]

10th International Conference on Inverse Problems in Engineering ICIPE 22

May 15-19, 2022 Francavilla al Mare (Chieti), ITALY Introduction This Proceedings of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains a subset of papers presented at the 10th International Conference on Inverse Problems in Engineering (ICIPE), hosted by the Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics, University of L’Aquila, Italy, and held in Francavilla al Mare (Chieti), May 15 – 19, 2022.Due to Coronavirus emergency and to protect the health and safety to all our participants, the 10th Edition, scheduled during May 18-21, 2020, and then May 16-20, 2021, was postponed to May 15-19, 2022, and termed as ICIPE 22.Since the first ICIPE in 1993, this conference has served as the main international venue for collaboration and interaction between applied mathematicians who develop inverse analysis tools, and engineers who use these tools in many different disciplines of science such as manufacturing and machining processes, medical imaging, oil exploration, radar, sonar and seismology, space applications, non-destructive testing and so on. The 2022 meeting continued this tradition, with more than 50 delegates from many sub-disciplines of engineering, science, and applied mathematics. The number of participants was lower than the standard number of 80 – 120 due to both covid travel restrictions in some Asian and American countries and conflict in Ukraine.List of Dedication, References, Organizing Committee, Local Committee, Scientific Committee, List of Registrants, Sponsors and Logos are available in this pdf.

MPA-FishMApp – A Citizen Science App That Simplifies Monitoring of Coral Reef Fish Density and Biomass in Marine Protected Areas

Monitoring changes in fish density and biomass inside marine protected areas (MPAs) through fish visual census (FVC) can determine if MPAs are achieving their goal of promoting fish population recovery. Simplified FVC methods have been developed for citizen scientists to enable them to monitor fish populations in MPAs. However, MPA monitoring programs led by local stakeholders remain rare and difficult to sustain due to technical barriers related to FVC data management. Here, we describe and evaluate a novel online app called MPA-FishMApp, which we developed to help stakeholders of MPAs that protect coral reefs in the Philippines efficiently store, analyze, and visualize FVC data. MPA-FishMApp is coupled to a simplified FVC method wherein the observer records only 21 reef fish species groups during surveys. The app provides a simple data entry interface, cloud storage, and algorithms to estimate fish density and biomass. Spatial and temporal trends in fish density and biomass can be instantaneously visualized in the app based on relative importance to fisheries. Field testing suggested that the MPA-FishMApp methodology (simplified FVC and app) is sensitive enough to detect qualitative patterns showing differences in density and biomass that may develop between MPAs and fished sites, especially in fishes that are highly important to fisheries. However, users must have sufficient training and experience in simplified FVC to produce reliable data. MPA-FishMApp may help reverse the lack of monitoring in MPAs across the Philippines and offers an accessible, transparent, and auditable venue for collaboration between citizen scientists and professional scientists.

Beliefs, social identity, and the view of opponents in Swedish carnivore management policy

In the policy sciences, the intractability of disputes in natural resource governance is commonly explained in terms of a “devil shift” between rival policy coalitions. In a devil shift, policy actors overestimate the power of their opponents and exaggerate the differences between their own and their opponents’ policy beliefs. While the devil shift is widely recognized in policy research, knowledge of its causes and solutions remains limited. Drawing insights from the advocacy coalition framework and social identity theory, we empirically explore beliefs and social identity as two potential drivers of the devil shift. Next, we investigate the potential of collaborative venues to decrease the devil shift over time. These assumptions are tested through statistical analyses of longitudinal survey data targeting actors involved in three policy subsystems within Swedish large carnivore management. Our evidence shows, first, that the devil shift is more pronounced if coalitions are defined by shared beliefs rather than by shared identity. Second, our study shows that participation in collaborative venues does not reduce the devil shift over time. We end by proposing methodological and theoretical steps to advance knowledge of the devil shift in contested policy subsystems.

Preface

R. M. Rachmat Sule1, Zulfakriza1*, David P. Sahara1, Fernando Lawrens H2, Rexha Verdhora Ry3Department of Geophysical Engineering, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia2Kyushu University, Japan, 3Australian National University, Australiaemail: seacg2018@gmail.comThis issue of Journal IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science contains the outstanding papers presented at Southeast Asian Conference on Geophysics (SEACG) 2018. The SEACG is the second event which was organized by Department of Geophysical Engineering, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). It was held for 3 days between 7 and 9 August, 2018 in Bali – a small beautiful island and a part of Indonesia archipelago.This conference provided a venue for collaboration, sharing and developing new ideas and technologies. The SEACG created an opportunity for academics, professionals, and students to promote and discuss the scientific results related to recent development in geophysical methods and related science. Topics to be during the conference including: (1) applied geophysics, (2) earthquake seismology and volcanology (3) environmental geophysics, (4) geophysical exploration for oil and gas, (5) applied geophysics for geothermal exploration, (6) seismic method for geothermal exploration, (7) gravity method, (8) rock physics, and (9) near surface geophysics.The main objective of this conference is to lead to develop new ideas and technologies in geophysical methods and related science. This year, our theme was “Geophysics: From Energy Sustainability to Geohazard and Infrastructure”, presented by the invited speakers. The invited speakers are Prof. Djoko Santoso (ITB), Prof. Sigit Sukmono (ITB), Prof. Phil Cummins (Australian National University), Prof. François Beauducel (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris), and Prof. Nanang T. Puspito (ITB).List of Photographs and Committees are available in this PDF.

9th International Conference on Inverse Problems in Engineering (ICIPE)

IntroductionThis proceedings of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains a subset of papers presented at the 9th International Symposium on Inverse Problems in Engineering (ICIPE), held at the University of Waterloo, May 23-26 2017. Since the first ICIPE in 1993, this conference has served as the main international venue for collaboration and interaction between mathematical theorists who develop inverse analysis tools, and engineers who use these tools to solve today’s problems. Our meeting continued this tradition, with 80 delegates from many sub-disciplines of engineering, science, and applied mathematics.The conference and its proceedings are dedicated to Professor Graham Gladwell, FRSC. Graham played a key role in establishing this conference series, and was cross-appointed between the Faculties of Mathematics and Engineering during his career at the University of Waterloo, exemplifying the fact that inverse analysis lies at the intersection of these two areas. Sadly, Graham passed away on March 11th, 2017, only two months before our conference. We honoured his memory and spirit throughout the conference.List of Dedication, Conference Organizers, Sponsors and Conference Participants are available in this Pdf.

Editorial Note

Editorial Note

The Lack of Alignment among Environmental Research Infrastructures May Impede Scientific Opportunities

Faced with growing stakeholder attention to climate change-related societal impacts, Environmental Research Infrastructures (ERIs) find it difficult to engage beyond their initial user base, which calls for an overarching governance scheme and transnational synergies. Forced by the enormity of tackling climate change, ERIs are indeed broaching collaborative venues, based on the assumption that no given institution can carry out this agenda alone. While strategic, this requires that ERIs address the complexities and barriers towards aligning multiple organizations, national resources and programmatic cultures, including science.

Southeast Asian Conference on Geophysics

PrefaceThis issue of Journal IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science contains the outstanding papers presented at Southeast Asian Conference on Geophysics (SEACG) 2016. The SEACG is the first event which was organized by Department of Geophysical Engineering, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung. It was held on August 31st until September 3rd, 2016 in Bali – a small beautiful island and a part of Indonesia archipelago.This conference provided a venue for collaboration, sharing and developing new ideas and technologies. The SEACG created an opportunity for academics, professionals, and students to promote and discuss the scientific results related to recent development in geophysical methods and related science. Topics to be during the conference including: (1) rock- and paleomagnetism; (2) near-surface geophysics; (3) geophysical approaches in hydrocarbon exploration; (4) geophysical approaches in geothermal exploration; (5) microseismic for new and renewable energy exploration; (6) environmental geophysics; (7) volcanology; (8) earthquake seismology; (9) exploration seismology; (10) current developments on potential method; (11) development and new approaches.The main objective of this conference is to lead to develop new ideas and technologies in geophysical methods and related science. This year, our theme was “Development of Geophysical Methods for Sustainable Energy and Environments”, presented by the invited speakers. The invited speakers are Prof. Jeannot Trampert (Univ. Utrecht), Prof. James M. Russell (Brown Univ.), Prof. Toshifumi Matsuoka (Kyoto University), Prof. Sri Widiyantoro (ITB). Prof. Djoko Santoso (ITB), Dr. Satria Bijaksana (ITB), and Dr. Haposan Napitupulu (Government).The organizing committee would like to thank the sponsors of this conference: Institute of Research and Community Services-ITB, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering ITB, The SATREPS Program of Gundih CCS Pilot Project. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all authors and presenters for their valuable research. We hope to see you again during the next event SEACG 2018 which will be held in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.List of CommitteeChairmanDr. rer. nat. M. Rachmat Sule Steering CommitteesDr. Andri Dian Nugraha Prof. Sri Widiyantoro, Ph.D. General Affair ManagerBilly Sugiartono Prabowo, M.T. Secretariat OfficerRexha Verdhora Ry, M.T. Treasurer and SponsorshipKatrine Siska, S.T. Widya Public Relation and InformationIr. Indra Gunawan, M.Sc. Fernando Lawrens, M.T. General SecretaryAnisa Agustina, M.T. Shindy Rosalia, M.T. Logistic and Field TripKadek H. Palgunadi, S.T. Irfan Aufa, S.T. DesignFadhilaz Diqdaya, S.T. Official TeamDadi Abdurahman, M.T. Dr. Zulfakriza Team of ReviewerDr. Tedi YudistiraInstitut Teknologi BandungDr. Hendra GrandisInstitut Teknologi BandungProf. Dr. Satria BijaksanaInstitut Teknologi BandungProf. Sri Widiyantoro, Ph.D.Institut Teknologi BandungProf. Dr. Ir. Djoko SantosoInstitut Teknologi BandungProf. Dr. Awali PriyonoInstitut Teknologi BandungProf. Dr. Nanang T PuspitoInstitut Teknologi BandungProf. Phil Cummins, Ph.D.Australian National UniversityEditorsDr. rer. nat. M. Rachmat SuleInstitut Teknologi BandungDr. Andri Dian NugrahaInstitut Teknologi BandungRexha Verdhora Ry, M.T.Institut Teknologi Bandung

Continued Growth for the Journal: Collaboration is the Key

Continued Growth for the Journal: Collaboration is the Key

Networking and Crisis Management Capacity: A Nested Analysis of Local-Level Collaboration in Sweden

Studies of how actors collaborate across organizational boundaries to prepare for and respond to extreme events have traditionally focused on describing network structure whereas fewer studies empirically investigate how network relationships influence crisis management capacities. Using survey data on crisis management work in Swedish municipalities, this study considers how the number of collaboration partners and venues for collaboration (networking) influence organizational goal attainment. Given managerial costs associated with increasingly complex collaboration networks, the study explores the diminishing returns hypothesis, which predicts a positive relationship between networking and goal attainment up to a certain point when payoffs do not increase. Results support a nonlinear relationship; networking at low levels had a positive effect on goal attainment whereas no relationship was found at moderate or high levels. To identify characteristics of collaboration conducive to performance, the study undertakes a comparative case study of two low-residual cases where the relationship between networking and performance follow the predicted nonlinear curve and one deviant case where high levels of networking had a positive effect on performance. The cases show that stable interpersonal relationships, clarification of the terms of collaboration, shared problem perceptions, and coordination of joint decision making constitute important assembly mechanisms for overcoming collective action problems.

Online Research Portal

A Web Portal is a website or service that offers a broad array of resources and online services, such as search engines, directories, news, e-mail, and online information. Portals have evolved to provide a customized gateway to Web information. This study aimed to develop an Online Research Portal. Specifically, it aimed to create an online repository of researches and articles, publish researches and articles online, manage web content, distribute content depending on the user privileges and access level, create a venue for collaboration with other research institutions, create linkages with other research institutions, access information while off-campus, and disseminate latest update on research. An Evolutionary Prototype Model was used to develop the system and a test case was used to test the functionality. The respondents of the study were the randomly selected 25 Faculty of ISAT U Miagao Campus as well as 5 IT Experts coming from different sectors, and the system was evaluated by the IT Experts and Faculty using ISO 9126 software quality characteristics such as functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, and portability. Mean and standard deviation were used as statistical tool for this study. The experts’ evaluation of the system based on ISO 9126 criteria is effective and the faculty evaluation is very effective. The overall result of the evaluation is very effective, and the system meets the criteria for software quality characteristics; therefore, it is recommended to be implemented.

Perceptions of Palliative Care in the NICU.

The American Academy of Pediatrics supports palliative care (PC) for all children with life-threatening illnesses. Thus, many neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients and their families could benefit from PC. Our study objective was to examine provision of PC as experienced by mothers and healthcare providers (HCPs) of NICU patients with life-threatening illnesses. Palliative care components explored included communication, choices, comfort, psychosocial and spiritual needs, and coordination of care. In this qualitative, descriptive study, we conducted semistructured interviews with mothers of infants with life-threatening illnesses and NICU HCPs who cared for these infants. Mothers selected HCPs who were key figures during their infant's NICU stay to participate. Interviews were transcribed and manually coded until themes emerged and theoretical saturation was achieved. Researchers reviewed charts for demographics and notes pertaining to PC. Triangulation of maternal interviews, HCP interviews, and chart notes was performed. Theoretical saturation was achieved after 12 interviews. Mothers identified 5 nurses and 1 physician to be interviewed. Five themes were identified following data analysis and triangulation: (1) communication, (2) privacy, (3) continuity of care and relationship building, (4) maternal knowledge seeking, and (5) emotional turmoil. Of domains of pediatric PC explored, participants emphasized transparent communication, family meetings as a venue for collaboration and shared decision making, the significance of psychosocial support for maternal emotional distress, and the importance of continuity of care across an often long and stressful hospitalization. Although mothers desired privacy, participants valued the security of the open-room NICU design. Future research should address components of PC that predominate in this specialized population.

A Society Apart: The Early Years of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers

This essay maps the first decade of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (SMPE) as it evolved from a small group of entrepreneurs into a major trade organization dominated by corporate engineers. The SMPE served as a venue for collaboration among the technology companies who sought to standardize the tools of the trade and later between the engineering community and the technicians and producers in Hollywood. In order to maintain significance, the SMPE changed its definition of a motion-picture engineer, including cinematographers, laboratory superintendents, and production managers among its ranks. This history reveals the incorporation of technological standardization and management into the Hollywood system.

How Policy Rules Shape the Structure and Performance of Collaborative Governance Arrangements

AbstractLocal food system governance increasingly occurs in collaborative venues at the local, state, and regional levels. Prominent examples of such are food policy councils (FPCs). FPCs take a systemic approach to improve local food systems by including diverse stakeholders to advise on policy development. The authors study public FPCs to understand how policies structure the stakeholder composition and goals of FPCs and how FPCs’ stakeholder composition facilitates and/or impedes performance. Data come from a content analysis of policies that mandate the structure and functions of public FPCs and interviews with FPC representatives. Findings indicate that FPCs connected to a broader array of food policy actors in their communities produce more diverse policy outputs, but this outcome is tempered by whether council members represent personal or organizational interests.

Sex, Drugs, and Kinesiology: A Useful Partnership for Sport’s Most Pressing Issues

From the gender controversy of South African runner Caster Semenya to the doping practices of disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong, recent sporting issues highlight kinesiology’s important role and responsibility to sport. Increasingly, sport organizations, such as the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and international federations, have turned to academics to help navigate their sport science issues. Such complex, cross-disciplinary problems require researchers versed in kinesiology’s sub-disciplines and familiar with problem-based inquiry. Though such cross-disciplinary practices are familiar to kinesiologists, their familiarity only indicates kinesiology’s potential impact on the major issues sport is currently addressing. Kinesiology must be a field comprised of scholars equally comfortable with empirical and humanistic research while at the same time applying their cross-disciplinary knowledge to some of sport’s most pressing issues. Kinesiology ought to consider more collaborative venues for scholars from across its sub-disciplines to work together on complex, cross-disciplinary research.