Issue networks on the Web: a proposal of components and characterization

Para muchos tipos de investigación en ciencias sociales, políticas o de mercado, existe la necesidad de obtener información sobre la opinión o la reacción pública ante determinados temas. La web es una fuente de información que puede ayudar a satisfacer esta necesidad, pero para conseguir este objetivo es necesario desarrollar conceptos y metodologías que nos permitan entender su funcionamiento y extraer las diferentes formas de conocimiento que contiene. En este artículo presentamos el concepto de “red temática”; y a través de una revisión teórica de los estudios de hiperenlaces, de los conceptos de tema y actor y del propio concepto de red temática, exponemos sus características, la problemática que resuelve y las posibilidades que ofrece a los estudios de opinión.Many types of research on Social Sciences, Political Sciences and Market Sciences present the need to obtain information about the opinion or public reaction to certain topics. The Web is a source of information which might help satisfying this need, but to achieve this goal it is necessary to develop concepts and methodologies allowing to understand how it works, and to extract the different forms of knowledge it contains. This article presents the concept of “issue network”, and through a theoretical revision of hyperlink studies, the concepts of “issue” and “actor” and the concept of issue network itself, we expose its characteristics, the problems it solves and the possibilities it offers to opinion studies

A Relational Hyperlink Analysis of an Online Social Movement

In this paper we propose relational hyperlink analysis (RHA) as a distinct approach for empirical social science research into hyperlink networks on the World Wide Web. We demonstrate this approach, which employs the ideas and techniques of social network analysis (in particular, exponential random graph modeling), in a study of the hyperlinking behaviors of Australian asylum advocacy groups. We show that compared with the commonly-used hyperlink counts regression approach, relational hyperlink analysis can lead to fundamentally different conclusions about the social processes underpinning hyperlinking behavior. In particular, in trying to understand why social ties are formed, counts regressions may over-estimate the role of actor attributes in the formation of hyperlinks when endogenous, purely structural network effects are not taken into account. Our analysis involves an innovative joint use of two software programs: VOSON, for the automated retrieval and processing of considerable quantities of hyperlink data, and LPNet, for the statistical modeling of social network data. Together, VOSON and LPNet enable new and unique research into social networks in the online world, and our paper highlights the importance of complementary research tools for social science research into the web

An Examination of Organizational Resources' Influence on the Hyperlink and Political Networks of Organizations

National housing social movement organizations transformed and publicly reconstructed their network structures online and offline during two different political environments (pre-housing bubble and post-housing bubble). This study investigates how this process takes place in a changing political environment. This study uses two different network types: an online hyperlink network and a network of co-participation in congressional hearings. Through a comparison of resources deployed and resulting social solidarities gathered and lost, this study found that during the United States economic recession during 2007–2010, network centrality has decreased in the hyperlink network where organizations have more agency. The majority of ties in the network of co-participation in congressional hearings were attributed to organizations of similar age and housing focus. Implications are discussed from theoretical, methodological, and practical points of view.ye

Community detection in civil society online networks: Theoretical guide and empirical assessment

Community detection is a fundamental challenge in the analysis of online networks. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding how to accomplish this task in a manner that acknowledges domain-specific, substantive social theory. We develop a typology of what social phenomena communities of hyperlinked actors may signify—topical similarities, ideological associations, strategic alliances, and potential user traffic—and offer recommendations for community detection grounded in these concepts. Testing procedures on a hyperlink network of the food safety movement, we demonstrate that the handling of tie directions and weights as well as algorithm choice influence which communities are ultimately detected in such a network

Political Public Relations in Advocacy: Building Online Influence and Social Capital

This article explores how political public relations activities support advocacy efforts and allow organizations to communicate and partner with other organizations and individuals to affect change. Our study examined the organizational relationships that engaged in political advocacy to defeat the 2012 Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). We argue that networked social capital provides a theoretical framework for broadening the study of relationships from a dyadic approach to one that encompasses the multitude of relationships necessary to bring about change. Structural hole theory was used to identify influential organizations based on their network position. Two methods including a hyperlink network analysis of organizational websites involved in the Internet Blackout and a semantic network analysis of the SOPA legislation media coverage revealed three findings: 1) diverse ties enhance political advocacy, 2) political public relations can enhance network positions of organizations, and 3) evidence shows that social media can be used strategically to capitalize on political activism

Advancing the New Communications Framework for HIV/AIDS: The Communicative Constitution of HIV/AIDS Networks in Tanzania’s HIV/AIDS NGO Sector

Although health communication research on HIV/AIDS has acknowledged the work of HIV/AIDS non-governmental organizations (NGOs), we know little about how such NGOs are collaborating in their response to the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). UNAIDS estimated that over two-thirds of world-wide HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths take place in SSA and normative models have highlighted organizational collaborations as an important part of the response to public health risks and crises. This study advanced the New Communications Framework for HIV/AIDS by drawing on a constitutive model of communication to develop a discursive perspective on HIV/AIDS NGO collaborations. Analyses of interviews with 36 leaders of Tanzanian HIV/AIDS NGOs resulted in (a) networks of organizations of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and (b) networks expressing the following identities: as single entities that unify PLWHA organizations in/across administrative divisions, as structures for reaching grassroots PLWHA and facilitating their participation in decision-making forums at various scales, and as vehicles for various social impacts such as advocacy for PLWHA

Macro-Regional Patterns of CSO Affiliation/Participation within the UN-Civil-Society Framework: The Underrepresentation of the Developing World

The United Nations Integrated Civil Society database was utilized in empirical case studies of UN-affiliated civil society organizations (CSOs) in a spatial comparison as to whether they were headquartered in developed or developing nations. The purpose was to gauge plurality/proportionality in the representation of CSOs by world region within the UN-Economic and Social Council consultative status program. Findings indicate substantial variation in regional representation of CSOs within the UN consultative status framework with developed regions represented to a greater degree proportionate to their populations. Both Africa and Asia were underrepresented relative to their proportions of global population. The findings challenge perceptions that the UN relationship with civil society reflects regional pluralism as reflected via proportional representation

Examination of the Use of Online and Offline Networks by Housing Social Movement Organizations

Resource mobilization theory and political opportunity theory are often used to describe separate portions of social movements. This dissertation proposes a combined model of these two theoretical perspectives which describes how social movement organizations effectively engage in social marketing both online and offline. The field of social marketing highlights the utility of standard commercial marketing practices to achieve non-commercial goals. I argue that, while commercial marketing practices may benefit social movement organizations and are more cost effective given emerging technology, momentum for gathering resources, will be stifled unless a political opportunity presents itself. Guided by theory about the ways that political opportunities are translated into action by organizations, and momentum acquired through mobilizing resources, cycles of opportunity and resulting resource responses by housing social movement organizations are examined over time to present a case study for this theoretical model. The seemingly endless cycle of resource gathering underscores organizational mobilization of resources as a process rather than an outcome. My model outlines numerous forces that shape an organization’s ability to mobilize in two distinct ways, through resources deployed (online and offline) and resources gathered. Resources will be discussed in three categories: organizational characteristics, network structure/position, and media/Internet presence. The relative importance of these factors and this process are described at length in the review of theoretical literature and will be illustrated in the case study that I provide: the housing social movement. Data for this case study has been collected through hyperlink network analysis, general webometrics, and congressional archives. My research aims to provide suggestions for the strategic socio-technical networking and social marketing of social movement organizations

Blurred boundaries of journalism and NGOs in the civic space : an inter-organizational network analysis of sustainable development, human rights, and journalism organizations

Globalization has brought about notable changes in the international system by decentralizing the power of national political systems and by opening up opportunities for the rise of a global civil society. The power of civic actors, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), is growing due to the advancement of technological means to access information, share views, and mobilize action. The emergence of a global civil society has positive connotations in terms of introducing richness of information, providing multiple perspectives and interpretations on public affairs, and mobilizing grassroots activities. However, questions persist as to whether and how the current communication system, which is dominated primarily by so-called global media and rooted in Western news agencies, is capable of being transformed into a structure to support the free and frequent flow of relevant information across national boundaries. In light of the recent trend of NGOs producing and distributing information, this dissertation analyzes the structure of inter-organizational networks for sustainable development, human rights, and journalism organizations in order to examine the potential of these networks to complement the current structure of global communication, to analyze the diversity and direction of information flow, and to identify the factors that shape NGOs’ communication behaviors in terms of both their relationship with other international organizations and their use of interactive platforms for distributing information. When structures of the three issue-specific networks were compared, the sustainable development and human rights networks were more densely interconnected, and the journalism network showed a more centralized structure. The structure of the sustainable development network was more stable, with a higher number of reciprocal relationships among the organizations. In the sustainable development and human rights networks, organizations were found to establish formal relationships following the logic of resource dependence theory. An NGO’s use of social media for presentation of visual materials and a large number of subscribers to its informational materials were identified as contributing factors to its centrality in the network. These findings are discussed to speculate on the inter-organizational network of international organizations’ potential to build a global communication structure and to improve the ways that NGOs interact with other organizations.Journalis