Suchergebnisse

The increasing relevance of social networking platforms is accompanied by a growing number of studies using digital trace data. However, most studies still lack further understanding of the data-generating process. This analytical gap can be directly attributed to the prevalence of quantitative approaches, as only qualitative work is able to generate these insights. The broad methodological toolset of Discourse Network Analysis addresses this shortcoming as it combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The present study therefore employs Discourse Network Analysis in order to (1) determine different user groups' varying role as senders and recipients of targeted online conversations, (2) identify and compare Twitter users' (simultaneous) reference to different forms of conversational Twitter content, and to (3) asses the motivation of @message authors to direct particular tweets at particular user groups. To this end, this study analyzes @messages during the BBC program 'Question Time' on 2nd of June 2017—the final media encounter of Prime Minister Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn in the context of the 2017 UK election campaign. We draw on the theoretical background of Maarten Hajer's discourse coalitions approach in order to investigate the preconditions for the formation of discourse coalitions in new and emerging virtual discourse arenas. Thus, our work not only mirrors the focus in existing literature on Twitter usage during high-profile political media events, but also emphasizes Twitter's unique features for interactive exchange. This article identifies different forms of meta-talk and policy issues, which vary in both their general popularity with Twitter users as well as their interconnectedness. Furthermore, our analysis uncovers the motivation behind the decisions of @message authors to send particular @messages to certain groups of Twitter users. Finally, we could establish that media events only temporarily affect the topical foci of @message authors.

Urban stakeholders face a diverse range of socio-economic, cultural, and technical challenges that each demand diverging and partially conflicting answers. In this context, local and regional public actors' capacity to smoothly govern decision- making processes is structurally limited. Rather typically, conflicts may occur between public administration and the business community or the civil society. Moreover, actors within public administration notoriously clash over priorities. In this paper, we address the case of decision blockades and non-action in urban development politics. More specifically, we advance a network analytical perspective to explore the dynamics that lead to a political deadlock and persistent non-action in the case of Deutz Harbour in Cologne, Germany. Our findings indicate that a distribution of power and a non-prioritisation of frames effectively hinder action towards decision-making.

Gegenwärtig wird soziale Netzwerkforschung aus den vielfältigsten Perspektiven und in den unterschiedlichsten Disziplinen betrieben. Dabei divergieren die Fragestellungen und Annahmen, sowie die methodischen Vorgehensweisen zum Teil deutlich. Die elf Beiträge dieses Symposiums umreißen aus ganz unterschiedlichen Fächern und Richtungen ihre Sichtweise auf Netzwerkforschung: Soziologie, Politikwissenschaft, Ethnologie, Geographie, Stadtforschung, Erziehungswissenschaft, Wirtschaftsinformatik und Computerlinguistik. Sie zeigen einerseits aktuelle Trends in der sozialen Netzwerkforschung auf und leuchten andererseits neben der disziplinären Pluralität auch die methodische und epistemologische Vielfalt der Forschung zu Netzwerken aus. Das Symposium hat seinen Ausgangspunkt in der Initiative Netzwerkforschung interdisziplinär. Diese will Vorteile wie Herausforderungen interdisziplinärer oder auch transdisziplinärer Netzwerkforschung diskutieren und entsprechende Kooperationen unterstützen. Social network research is currently pursued from a wide variety of perspectives and by very different disciplines. The assumptions and research questions, but also the methods deployed diverge considerably. This symposium comprises eleven contributions that sketch the approaches from different disciplines and directions: sociology, political science, anthropology, geography, urban research, education, computer science, and computer linguistics. They point to current trends in network research, as well as shedding light on the variety of disciplines, methods, and epistemological positions involved. The symposium springs from the Initiative Interdisciplinary Network Research. The initiative aims at discussing the advantages and challenges of network research between the disciplines, and at encouraging and supporting cooperation bridging these divides.