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(1 - 8 of 8)
- Title
- Relationships Among Twitter Conversation Networks, Language Use, and Congressional Voting
- Creator
- Hemphill, Libby, Otterbacher, Jahna, Shapiro, Matthew A.
- Date
- 2012-12-20, 2012
- Description
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As Twitter becomes a more common means for officials to communicate with their constituents, it becomes more important that we understand just...
Show moreAs Twitter becomes a more common means for officials to communicate with their constituents, it becomes more important that we understand just how that communication relates to other political activities. Using data from 411 members of Congress' Twitter activity during the summer of 2011, we examine relationships among the resulting conversation networks, language use, and political behavior. The social networks that result from their communications have surprisingly low density and high diameter, indicating a level of independence that is surprising for a group so tightly connected offline. Our findings also indicate that officials frequently use Twitter to advertise their political positions and to provide information but rarely to request political action from their constituents or to recognize the good work of others. Our analysis suggests strong relationships between anti-social behaviors indicated by the loosely connected network and low incidence of pro-social conversations and polarized or extreme Congressional voting records.
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- Title
- Korea's Environmental Sustainability Leadership in East Asia and Beyond
- Creator
- Shapiro, Matthew A.
- Date
- 2013, 2009
- Title
- Challenge to the Pollution Haven Hypothesis: A Study of Northeast Asia and China
- Creator
- Shapiro, Matthew A.
- Date
- 2013, 2013
- Description
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This paper explores the phenomena of environmental coordination within Northeast Asia. I initially frame the discussion around claims that...
Show moreThis paper explores the phenomena of environmental coordination within Northeast Asia. I initially frame the discussion around claims that China is a pollution haven for its neighboring countries, and I look for evidence in the domestic and regional environmental institutions which challenge China’s pollution haven status. I find that that there is a science and technology-based epistemic community in Northeast Asia which provides an important theoretical response to counter the pollution haven hypothesis. As well, given its strong science and technological output, Japan is poised to assume leadership of the Northeast Asian environmental regime for at least the short- to medium-term.
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- Title
- IPRO 325: Bison Books
- Creator
- Chinzorig, Unubold, Johnson, Ashleigh, Kim, Hangyoung, Raymond, Lam, Lynch, Ryan, Popa, Ana, Rabindranath, Anjuli, Tejero, Carlos, Wade, Richard, Wagner, Zachery
- Date
- 2012-07-20, 2012-07-20
- Description
-
Sponsorship: Bison Gear and Engineering
- Title
- What's Congress Doing on Twitter?
- Creator
- Hemphill, Libby, Otterbacher, Jahna, Shapiro, Matthew A.
- Date
- 2013-10-23, 2012-10-23
- Description
-
As Twitter becomes a more common means for officials to communicate with their constituents, it becomes more important that we understand how...
Show moreAs Twitter becomes a more common means for officials to communicate with their constituents, it becomes more important that we understand how officials use these communication tools. Using data from 380 members of Congress’ Twitter activity during the winter of 2012, we find that officials frequently use Twitter to advertise their political positions and to provide information but rarely to request political action from their constituents or to recognize the good work of others. We highlight a number of differences in communication frequency between men and women, Senators and Representatives, Republicans and Democrats. We provide groundwork for future research examining the behavior of public officials online and testing the predictive power of officials’ social media behavior.
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- Title
- Doing What I Say: Connecting Congressional Social Media Behavior and Congressional Voting
- Creator
- Shapiro, Matthew A., Hemphill, Libby, Otterbacher, Jahna
- Date
- 2012-03-10, 2012-03-10
- Description
-
Public officials’ communication has been explored at length in terms of how such their statements are conveyed in the traditional media, but...
Show morePublic officials’ communication has been explored at length in terms of how such their statements are conveyed in the traditional media, but minimal research has been done to examine their communication via social media. This paper explores the kinds of statements U.S. officials are making on Twitter in terms of the actions they are trying to achieve. We then analyze the correlation between these statements, Congressional communication network structures, and voting behavior. Our analysis leverages over 29,000 tweets by members of Congress in conjunction with existing DW-NOMINATE voting behavior data. We find that pro-social and self-promoting statements correlate with Congressional voting records but that position within the Congressional communication network does not correlate with voting behavior.
Sponsorship: Social Networks Research Group at IIT, IIT Graduate College
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- Title
- Doing What Others Do: Norms, Science, and Collective Action on Global Warming
- Creator
- Shapiro, Matthew A.
- Date
- 2013, 2013
- Description
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Does rhetoric highlighting social norms or mentioning science in a communication affect individuals’ beliefs about global warming and / or...
Show moreDoes rhetoric highlighting social norms or mentioning science in a communication affect individuals’ beliefs about global warming and / or willingness to take action? We draw from framing theory and collective-interest models of action to motivate hypotheses that are tested in two large web-based survey-experiments using convenience samples. Our results show that attitudes about global warming, support for policies that would reduce carbon emissions, and behavioral intentions to take voluntary action are strongly affected by norm-based and science-based interventions. This has implications for information campaigns targeting voluntary efforts to promote lifestyle changes that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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- Title
- Completing the Puzzle: Comparable Community Determination for Illinois Municipalities
- Creator
- Ahrens, Aric G.
- Date
- 2012-07-16, 1998-05
- Description
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In the process of negotiating for new contracts, public safety (i.e. Police and Firefighters) employee unions and municipal managers compare...
Show moreIn the process of negotiating for new contracts, public safety (i.e. Police and Firefighters) employee unions and municipal managers compare the essential elements of their contract (i.e. wages) with those of other “comparable” municipalities. The wages, benefits and working conditions of other “comparable” municipalities are used to provide evidence supporting the positions taken on both sides of the negotiating table. The problem is that negotiating teams rarely employ a consistent and accurate method to determine which municipalities should be compared to their own. Negotiating teams make their own determinations of comparability, which must be defended should arbitration proceedings become necessary. However, most of the methods of comparability determination currently employed by negotiating teams are extremely simple and are lacking a sound analytical basis. These methods are inadequate in terms of accuracy, and would be difficult to defend in arbitration proceedings. The method outlined in the following report provides a sound analytical basis for comparability determination. The recommendation is to employ the use of Comparability Tables. Comparability Tables : The Tables provide a list of which communities are most comparable to each particular community, and how comparable they are. This solution is augmented by three supporting elements which help to address the weaknesses apparent in the Comparability Tables. The three supporting elements are a Dissimilarity Matrix, Factor Analytic Rankings, and Factor Analytic Tables. Dissimilarity Matrix : The Matrix provides a comparability determination for communities not listed on a particular community’s Comparability Table. Factor Analytic Rankings : The Rankings allow a determination of why two communities are or are not comparable. Factor Analytic Tables : The Tables allow a quick reference to the particular characteristics of each community. The Comparability Tables, along with the supporting elements, provide negotiating teams with a list of comparable communities that is more accurate and defensible than the lists provided by other methods. This method describes which communities are comparable, how comparable they are, and why they are comparable. Negotiating teams who employ this method of comparability determination can approach their negotiations confident that their choice of comparable communities is accurate and can stand up to an arbitrator’s inquiry.
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