scholarly journals Conspiracy theories on Twitter: emerging motifs and temporal dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Batzdorfer ◽  
Holger Steinmetz ◽  
Marco Biella ◽  
Meysam Alizadeh
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Word Embeddings ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Additive Mixed Models ◽  
Nonlinear Trends

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an upsurge in the spread of diverse conspiracy theories (CTs) with real-life impact. However, the dynamics of user engagement remain under-researched. In the present study, we leverage Twitter data across 11 months in 2020 from the timelines of 109 CT posters and a comparison group (non-CT group) of equal size. Within this approach, we used word embeddings to distinguish non-CT content from CT-related content as well as analysed which element of CT content emerged in the pandemic. Subsequently, we applied time series analyses on the aggregate and individual level to investigate whether there is a difference between CT posters and non-CT posters in non-CT tweets as well as the temporal dynamics of CT tweets. In this regard, we provide a description of the aggregate and individual series, conducted a STL decomposition in trends, seasons, and errors, as well as an autocorrelation analysis, and applied generalised additive mixed models to analyse nonlinear trends and their differences across users. The narrative motifs, characterised by word embeddings, address pandemic-specific motifs alongside broader motifs and can be related to several psychological needs (epistemic, existential, or social). Overall, the comparison of the CT group and non-CT group showed a substantially higher level of overall COVID-19-related tweets in the non-CT group and higher level of random fluctuations. Focussing on conspiracy tweets, we found a slight positive trend but, more importantly, an increase in users in 2020. Moreover, the aggregate series of CT content revealed two breaks in 2020 and a significant albeit weak positive trend since June. On the individual level, the series showed strong differences in temporal dynamics and a high degree of randomness and day-specific sensitivity. The results stress the importance of Twitter as a means of communication during the pandemic and illustrate that these beliefs travel very fast and are quickly endorsed.

MDTP

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1289-1297
Author(s):  
Ziquan Fang ◽  
Lu Pan ◽  
Lu Chen ◽  
Yuntao Du ◽  
Yunjun Gao
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Feature Modeling ◽  
Traffic Prediction ◽  
Interactive System ◽  
Trajectory Data ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Prediction Approach

Traffic prediction has drawn increasing attention for its ubiquitous real-life applications in traffic management, urban computing, public safety, and so on. Recently, the availability of massive trajectory data and the success of deep learning motivate a plethora of deep traffic prediction studies. However, the existing neural-network-based approaches tend to ignore the correlations between multiple types of moving objects located in the same spatio-temporal traffic area, which is suboptimal for traffic prediction analytics. In this paper, we propose a multi-source deep traffic prediction framework over spatio-temporal trajectory data, termed as MDTP. The framework includes two phases: spatio-temporal feature modeling and multi-source bridging. We present an enhanced graph convolutional network (GCN) model combined with long short-term memory network (LSTM) to capture the spatial dependencies and temporal dynamics of traffic in the feature modeling phase. In the multi-source bridging phase, we propose two methods, Sum and Concat, to connect the learned features from different trajectory data sources. Extensive experiments on two real-life datasets show that MDTP i) has superior efficiency, compared with classical time-series methods, machine learning methods, and state-of-the-art neural-network-based approaches; ii) offers a significant performance improvement over the single-source traffic prediction approach; and iii) performs traffic predictions in seconds even on tens of millions of trajectory data. we develop MDTP + , a user-friendly interactive system to demonstrate traffic prediction analysis.

scholarly journals Who is Portrayed in Second Life: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? The Extent of Congruence Between Real Life and Virtual Identity

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadett Koles ◽  
Peter Nagy
Keyword(s):  
Second Life ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Virtual Identity ◽  
Digital Environments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Public Self Consciousness

Virtual social environments opened the door to individual experiences that may not be feasible or possible in real physical settings; in turn bringing to question the applicability of certain more traditional theories to digital environments. Addressing some of this gap in the available literature, in the current study, we compare virtual and real life identities simultaneously, as well as explore the impact of selfconsciousness on virtual identity. Our results indicate that while some of the overall trends are similar between identities constructed in the physical world and those constructed in virtual settings, different identity elements and dimensions tend to be emphasized to different degrees. Furthermore, we find evidence for the role of private in addition to public self-consciousness as influencing virtual existence. In other words, in addition to the general emphasis concerning the  role of socially influenced external elements in the formulation of virtual identities, the current study highlights the importance of more internalized and  individual level attitudes and perceptions, including one’s inner thoughts, emotions, and perspectives. Implications and future directions are discussed.

scholarly journals How Happy Are Equine Athletes? Stakeholder Perceptions of Equine Welfare Issues Associated with Equestrian Sport

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3228
Author(s):  
Tamzin Furtado ◽  
Liane Preshaw ◽  
Jo Hockenhull ◽  
Jennifer Wathan ◽  
Janet Douglas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Stakeholder Perceptions ◽  
General Management ◽  
Equestrian Sport ◽  
Group Sessions ◽  
Equine Welfare ◽  
And Training

The international governing body for equestrian sports, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), states that the welfare of the horse must be paramount and never subordinated to competitive or commercial influences. However, there is growing unease about welfare issues from both within and outside the sport. The aim of this study was to understand stakeholder perceptions of current welfare issues within equestrian sport, determine whether there is scope for change, and explore attitudes towards welfare assessment. Participants (n = 48) from equestrian sport (n = 38) and animal welfare research (n = 10) attended a workshop that included welfare-related presentations and focus group sessions. The focus group sessions were recorded, anonymised and analysed using thematic analysis. Conflict between the demands of competition and the needs of the horse was identified as a key welfare challenge. Although the physical health of equine athletes is closely monitored, horses’ psychological needs are sometimes overlooked. Participants recognised that improving competition practices may not be as impactful as improving the general management and training of horses. The term “quality of life” was considered preferable to “welfare”, which had negative connotations. Participants appreciated the idea of incorporating formal welfare assessments into their training and competition plans but stated that existing tools are rarely used and are not deemed feasible for real-life conditions.

scholarly journals Motivational Embodied Conversational Agent for Brain Injury Rehabilitation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Hocking ◽  
Anthony Maeder
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Conversational Agent ◽  
Injury Rehabilitation ◽  
Embodied Conversational Agent ◽  
Choice Making ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Beta Testing

The design and development of a motivational embodied conversational agent for brain injury rehabilitation is discussed. Results for initial prototype design and implementation, and alpha and beta testing phases are presented. Key aspects identified during development included supporting user engagement via personalization and choice-making; integrating behaviour change principles into dialogues; addressing clinical needs of cognitive fatigue and memory loss within conversation structure; and optimizing feasibility of use in a real-life clinical setting.

scholarly journals Frankly, We Do Give a Damn

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 816-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilad Feldman ◽  
Huiwen Lian ◽  
Michal Kosinski ◽  
David Stillwell
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Linguistic Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

There are two conflicting perspectives regarding the relationship between profanity and dishonesty. These two forms of norm-violating behavior share common causes and are often considered to be positively related. On the other hand, however, profanity is often used to express one’s genuine feelings and could therefore be negatively related to dishonesty. In three studies, we explored the relationship between profanity and honesty. We examined profanity and honesty first with profanity behavior and lying on a scale in the lab (Study 1; N = 276), then with a linguistic analysis of real-life social interactions on Facebook (Study 2; N = 73,789), and finally with profanity and integrity indexes for the aggregate level of U.S. states (Study 3; N = 50 states). We found a consistent positive relationship between profanity and honesty; profanity was associated with less lying and deception at the individual level and with higher integrity at the society level.

Lingering neighbourhood effects: A framework to account for residential histories and temporal dynamics

Urban Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M Miltenburg ◽  
Tom WG van der Meer
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Blind Spot ◽  
Neighbourhood Effects ◽  
Temporal Dimension ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Conventional Models ◽  
Total Body

The large and growing body of neighbourhood effect studies has almost exclusively neglected individuals’ particular residential histories. Yet, former residential neighbourhoods are likely to have lingering effects beyond those of the current one and are dependent on exposure times and number of moves. This paper tests to what extent this blind spot induced a misestimation of neighbourhood effects for individuals with differential residential histories. Ultimately, we develop a methodological framework for studying the temporal dynamics of neighbourhood effects, capable of dealing with residential histories (moving behaviour, the passage of time and temporal exposure to different neighbourhoods). We apply cross-classified multi-level models (residents nested in current and former neighbourhoods) to analyse longitudinal individual-level population data from Dutch Statistics, covering fine-grained measures of residential histories. Our systematic comparison to conventional models reveals the necessity of including a temporal dimension: our models reveal an overestimation of the effect of the current neighbourhood by 16–30%, and an underestimation of the total body of neighbourhood effects by at least 13–24%. Our results show that neighbourhood effects are lingering, long-lasting and structural and also cannot be confined to a single point in time.

Dilemmas of Distrust: Conspiracy Beliefs, Elite Rhetoric, and Motivated Reasoning

2021 ◽  
pp. 106591292110345
Author(s):  
Scott Radnitz
Keyword(s):  
Relative Weight ◽  
State Level ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
The Individual

Conspiracy theories are playing an increasingly prominent role worldwide in both political rhetoric and popular belief. Previous research has emphasized the individual-level factors behind conspiracy belief but paid less attention to the role of elite framing, while focusing mostly on domestic political contexts. This study assesses the relative weight of official conspiracy claims and motivated biases in producing conspiracy beliefs, in two countries where identities other than partisanship are salient: Georgia and Kazakhstan. I report the results of a survey experiment that depicts a possible conspiracy and varies the content of official claims and relevant contextual details. The results show that motivated reasoning stemming from state-level geopolitical identities is strongly associated with higher conspiracy belief, whereas official claims have little effect on people’s perceptions of conspiracy. Respondents who exhibit higher conspiracy ideation are more likely to perceive a conspiracy but do not weight motivated biases or official claims differently from people with lower conspiratorial predispositions. The findings indicate the importance of (geopolitical) identities in shaping conspiracy beliefs and highlight some of the constraints facing elites who seek to benefit from the use of conspiracy claims.

scholarly journals Exploring a pathway to radicalization: The effects of social exclusion and rejection sensitivity

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 1204-1229
Author(s):  
Emma A. Renström ◽  
Hanna Bäck ◽  
Holly M. Knapton
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Rejection Sensitivity ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Loss Model ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Main Effect

This article aims to explore if social exclusion can constitute a pathway to radicalization, and if individual level of sensitivity of rejection moderates the effect of social exclusion. Humans innately seek belonging and meaning, and strive for re-establishing a sense of value and belongingness if faced with social exclusion. One way to achieve this is by adherence to a new and inviting group. In four studies, we test to what extent individuals who face social exclusion adapt to a radical including group. In Studies 1 ( n = 104) and 2 ( n = 308), we use a social media-like paradigm to manipulate social exclusion. In Study 3 ( n = 1041), we use the so-called Cyberball paradigm, and in Study 4 ( n = 40) we use a real-life manipulation. All studies show that rejected individuals who are sensitive to rejection are more prone to identify with, engage with and endorse an extreme group. The results hold over both ideological (Studies 1–3) and non-ideological (Study 4) content. Only the last study showed a main effect of social exclusion. We discuss the results in reference to the significance loss model of radicalization.

scholarly journals Emotion and liking: how director emotional expression and knowledge of (dis)liking may impact adults’ ability to follow the instructions of an ignorant speaker

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Monk ◽  
Lauren Colbert ◽  
Gemma Darker ◽  
Jade Cowling ◽  
Bethany Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Target Object ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Object Selection ◽  
Knowledge And Beliefs ◽  
Correct Object ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Accuracy Rates

Abstract Background Theory of mind (ToM), the ability to understand that others have different knowledge and beliefs to ourselves, has been the subject of extensive research which suggests that we are not always efficient at taking another’s perspective, known as visual perspective taking (VPT). This has been studied extensively and a growing literature has explored the individual-level factors that may affect perspective taking (e.g. empathy and group membership). However, while emotion and (dis)liking are key aspects within everyday social interaction, research has not hitherto explored how these factors may impact ToM. Method A total of 164 participants took part in a modified director task (31 males (19%), M age = 20.65, SD age = 5.34), exploring how correct object selection may be impacted by another’s emotion (director facial emotion; neutral × happy × sad) and knowledge of their (dis)likes (i.e. director likes specific objects). Result When the director liked the target object or disliked the competitor object, accuracy rates were increased relative to when he disliked the target object or liked the competitor object. When the emotion shown by the director was incongruent with their stated (dis)liking of an object (e.g. happy when he disliked an object), accuracy rates were also increased. None of these effects were significant in the analysis of response time. These findings suggest that knowledge of liking may impact ToM use, as can emotional incongruency, perhaps by increasing the saliency of perspective differences between participant and director. Conclusion As well as contributing further to our understanding of real-life social interactions, these findings may have implications for ToM research, where it appears that more consideration of the target/director’s characteristics may be prudent.

scholarly journals High similarity between EEG from subcutaneous and proximate scalp electrodes in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 1451-1460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigge Weisdorf ◽  
Sirin W. Gangstad ◽  
Jonas Duun-Henriksen ◽  
Karina S. S. Mosholt ◽  
Troels W. Kjær
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Real Life ◽  
High Similarity ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Scalp Eeg ◽  
Eeg Recordings ◽  
The Impact

Subcutaneous recording using electroencephalography (EEG) has the potential to enable ultra-long-term epilepsy monitoring in real-life conditions because it allows the patient increased mobility and discreteness. This study is the first to compare physiological and epileptiform EEG signals from subcutaneous and scalp EEG recordings in epilepsy patients. Four patients with probable or definite temporal lobe epilepsy were monitored with simultaneous scalp and subcutaneous EEG recordings. EEG recordings were compared by correlation and time-frequency analysis across an array of clinically relevant waveforms and patterns. We found high similarity between the subcutaneous EEG channels and nearby temporal scalp channels for most investigated electroencephalographic events. In particular, the temporal dynamics of one typical temporal lobe seizure in one patient were similar in scalp and subcutaneous recordings in regard to frequency distribution and morphology. Signal similarity is strongly related to the distance between the subcutaneous and scalp electrodes. On the basis of these limited data, we conclude that subcutaneous EEG recordings are very similar to scalp recordings in both time and time-frequency domains, if the distance between them is small. As many electroencephalographic events are local/regional, the positioning of the subcutaneous electrodes should be considered carefully to reflect the relevant clinical question. The impact of implantation depth of the subcutaneous electrode on recording quality should be investigated further. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study is the first publication comparing the detection of clinically relevant, pathological EEG features from a subcutaneous recording system designed for out-patient ultra-long-term use to gold standard scalp EEG recordings. Our study shows that subcutaneous channels are very similar to comparable scalp channels, but also point out some issues yet to be resolved.

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