Ideological and Temporal Components of Network Polarization in Online Political Participatory Media

Political polarization is traditionally analyzed through the ideological stances of groups and parties, but it also has a behavioral component that manifests in the interactions between individuals. We present an empirical analysis of the digital traces of politicians in politnetz.ch, a Swiss online platform focused on political activity, in which politicians interact by creating support links, comments, and likes. We analyze network polarization as the level of intra- party cohesion with respect to inter-party connectivity, finding that supports show a very strongly polarized structure with respect to party alignment. The analysis of this multiplex network shows that each layer of interaction contains relevant information, where comment groups follow topics related to Swiss politics. Our analysis reveals that polarization in the layer of likes evolves in time, increasing close to the federal elections of 2011. Furthermore, we analyze the internal social network of each party through metrics related to hierarchical structures, information efficiency, and social resilience. Our results suggest that the online social structure of a party is related to its ideology, and reveal that the degree of connectivity across two parties increases when they are close in the ideological space of a multi-party system.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures, Internet, Policy & Politics Conference, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, 25-26 September 201

Central Asia under the Influence of Russia and China: A political perspective from Kazakhstan

A new wave of geopolitical activity is emerging around the Central Asian Region (CAR) and a whole range of political instruments are employed to influence the Central Asian countries. the following paragraphs give a brief overview on the Chinese and Russian strategies in the different dimensions of their involvement in the Central Asian Region

Epistolary Journalism in the Modern Media Space

This article discusses the epistolary genre in modern journalism in media. It gives the definition of the presence and role of the epistolary genre in modern media space, as well as its genre and intrastructural characteristic. It also presents a ratio of changing volume of private letters to the journalistic epistolary in the historical development of the epistolary genre. Research was based on relevant examples of printed and electronic media of three countries – Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2010-2015. The paper provides the typology and systematization of epistolary journalism examples in modern print media in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus in 2010-2015. It considers the peculiarities of the epistolary journalism in conjunction with the nature of the publication – general interest, popular science or entertainment. It also identifies common trends in the development of epistolary journalism in the modern media, characterizes the trends of changing the nature of epistolary journalism according to the characteristics of modern media space and means of communication. The typology of the epistolary genre and its sub-genres distinguishes the following letter types:  by recipient, content, genre, form

Comprehensive Processing Technology Of Slags Of Phosphorus Industry To Produce Precipitated Silica And Rare-Earth Concentrate

The report presents a technological scheme of complex processing of man-made waste of phosphorus production - slag to produce highly dispersed silicon dioxide and a rare-earth metal concentrate. The technological parameters of each operation of the technology are chosen. Recovery of rare-earth metals from phosphorus slags during various operations was, %: leaching – 95.0; extraction - 90.2; stripping on the average ~ 93.2; the production of ∑ REM oxide concentrate is 93.9. The composition of some batches of "white soot" obtained during processing of the technological scheme is shown. Keywords: Phosphorus slag, Leaching, Extraction, Stripping, Rare-earth metals, White soot, concentrate of Σ REM oxid

Epistolary Journalism in the Modern Media Space

This article discusses the epistolary genre in modern journalism in media. It gives the definition of the presence and role of the epistolary genre in modern media space, as well as its genre and intrastructural characteristic. It also presents a ratio of changing volume of private letters to the journalistic epistolary in the historical development of the epistolary genre. Research was based on relevant examples of printed and electronic media of three countries – Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2010-2015. The paper provides the typology and systematization of epistolary journalism examples in modern print media in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus in 2010-2015. It considers the peculiarities of the epistolary journalism in conjunction with the nature of the publication – general interest, popular science or entertainment. It also identifies common trends in the development of epistolary journalism in the modern media, characterizes the trends of changing the nature of epistolary journalism according to the characteristics of modern media space and means of communication. The typology of the epistolary genre and its sub-genres distinguishes the following letter types:  by recipient, content, genre, form

Cross-Cultural Competence of Communicators as a Way to Create a Positive Eco-Informational Environment

This research is dedicated to the study of the essence of the phenomenon of cross-cultural competence, the acquisition of cross-cultural competence, which seems necessary in the context of globalisation. The aim of the article is a clarification of the definition of cross-cultural competence and description of its structure, types of knowledge (subject and procedural) in it, methods and strategies for its assimilation. A number of research methods were deployed to accomplish the objectives of the research – observation, survey, cognitive analysis, modelling, text information analysis method, linguo-ecological analysis, interview and sociolinguistic survey method. The research obtained the following scientific results: the definition of cross-cultural competence is given, its signs are revealed, types of knowledge are indicated in it, methods and strategies for mastering it as well as its frame model are presented. The novelty of the work lies in the development of the theoretical foundations of cross-cultural competence and studying the strategies and tactics for mastering it. The article deals with the problems of a new branch of knowledge ‒ ecolinguistics, one of the areas of which is translation and focus of attention on the negative aspects of intercultural communication. Theoretical significance to practical value is the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in the development of the theory of cross-cultural communication applied in the practice of cross-cultural teaching

Formation of a Global Intercultural Discourse of a Multicultural Person

The article discusses the problem of identifying a global intercultural discourse of communication participants, characterizes its parameters, and reviews strategies for its actualization. The purpose of the article is to build and justify a model of this discourse. The methods used in work include discourse analysis, modeling method (contrastive and comparative) analysis, transactional analysis, textual information analysis method, critical analysis, etc. Scientific results of the research: parameters of the global intercultural discourse are refined, its intercultural model is built, and discourses of the participants of intercultural communication are analyzed. The theoretical significance of the research lies in the development of a sample of global intercultural discourse that input in the theory of global discourse. The practical value of the work is that research results can be used both in the practice of intercultural communication and in the process of preparing monographs, textbooks, and training in the field of intercultural communication

COVID-19 Country Strategies Counteraction: A System Analysis Experience

Introduction. The article discusses the features of the regulation of counteraction measures in the initial period of the pandemic. When choosing the object of the study, the authors proceeded from the assumption that the effectiveness of responding to COVID-19 threats is related to the capabilities of public administration systems to be adaptive and respond promptly to changes in the situation. The authors focused on studying the process of adaptation of management systems to a new type of threat, for this purpose the situation in countries with maximum and minimum mortality rates was studied. Methods and materials. The methodology is based on the use of the Evidence-based policy principle, implemented through desk research and event analysis. The chosen methodology made it possible to identify a number of typical response strategies based on attempts of “suppression and deterrence”, “mitigation and struggle”, “support and assistance”, expressed in lockdowns of varying degrees of severity. Analysis. Typical measures in the political sphere include the creation of government crisis response headquarters and the development of national plans to combat the epidemic. Most of the damage received by States during the COVID-19 pandemic is due to underestimation of the situation and risks of biological safety, lack of experience in responding. Results. Conclusions were drawn about the economic and political consequences of the implementation of state strategies, their impact on national security. In particular, it was noted that administrative measures (China) give a quick effect with great complexity of implementation, but most states prefer to balance between the necessary restrictions and maintaining the viability of economies. As a result, the final conclusion was made that the practice of crisis management should become an integral part of government responses to shocks in the future