Untangling chaos in discussion forums: A temporal analysis of topic-relevant forum posts in MOOCs

2022 ◽  
Vol 178 ◽  
pp. 104402
Author(s):  
Bokai Yang ◽  
Hengtao Tang ◽  
Ling Hao ◽  
John R. Rose
Author(s):  
Maren Luebcke

During the last years, an increasing interest in online forums has been observed within different functional areas of society such as in the economic system or in politics. Here one is able to detect communicative processes which are lively, vibrant, and equipped with remarkable durability, on the one hand; yet, on the other hand, flame wars and shut-downs also occur. The question is what explains these differences in group success? This article provides a framework based on elements of Luhmanns's system theory to analyse online discussion groups. A research matrix is presented with four levels of observation and four levels of analysis. The value of this matrix is demonstrated with a systematic literature review. Here the most frequently cited articles analyzing online discussion forums are empirically reinterpreted. It is concluded that current research fails to (1) analyze online discourse under multiple aspects, (2) challenge temporal analysis, (3) integrate a thread-based analysis, and (4) focus on the relational aspects (e.g., actor or topic networks). Based on this literature review, a catalog of presumptions on how communication proceeds in online forums is presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-217
Author(s):  
Jianyuan Ni ◽  
Monica L. Bellon-Harn ◽  
Jiang Zhang ◽  
Yueqing Li ◽  
Vinaya Manchaiah

Objective The objective of the study was to examine specific patterns of Twitter usage using common reference to tinnitus. Method The study used cross-sectional analysis of data generated from Twitter data. Twitter content, language, reach, users, accounts, temporal trends, and social networks were examined. Results Around 70,000 tweets were identified and analyzed from May to October 2018. Of the 100 most active Twitter accounts, organizations owned 52%, individuals owned 44%, and 4% of the accounts were unknown. Commercial/for-profit and nonprofit organizations were the most common organization account owners (i.e., 26% and 16%, respectively). Seven unique tweets were identified with a reach of over 400 Twitter users. The greatest reach exceeded 2,000 users. Temporal analysis identified retweet outliers (> 200 retweets per hour) that corresponded to a widely publicized event involving the response of a Twitter user to another user's joke. Content analysis indicated that Twitter is a platform that primarily functions to advocate, share personal experiences, or share information about management of tinnitus rather than to provide social support and build relationships. Conclusions Twitter accounts owned by organizations outnumbered individual accounts, and commercial/for-profit user accounts were the most frequently active organization account type. Analyses of social media use can be helpful in discovering issues of interest to the tinnitus community as well as determining which users and organizations are dominating social network conversations.


2012 ◽  
pp. 83-118
Author(s):  
Caroline Sturdy Colls

Public impression of the Holocaust is unquestionably centred on knowledge about, and the image of, Auschwitz-Birkenau – the gas chambers, the crematoria, the systematic and industrialized killing of victims. Conversely, knowledge of the former extermination camp at Treblinka, which stands in stark contrast in terms of the visible evidence that survives pertaining to it, is less embedded in general public consciousness. As this paper argues, the contrasting level of knowledge about Auschwitz- Birkenau and Treblinka is centred upon the belief that physical evidence of the camps only survives when it is visible and above-ground. The perception of Treblinka as having been “destroyed” by the Nazis, and the belief that the bodies of all of the victims were cremated without trace, has resulted in a lack of investigation aimed at answering questions about the extent and nature of the camp, and the locations of mass graves and cremation pits. This paper discusses the evidence that demonstrates that traces of the camp do survive. It outlines how archival research and non-invasive archaeological survey has been used to re-evaluate the physical evidence pertaining to Treblinka in a way that respects Jewish Halacha Law. As well as facilitating spatial and temporal analysis of the former extermination camp, this survey has also revealed information about the cultural memory.


2009 ◽  
Vol 129 (10) ◽  
pp. 1778-1784
Author(s):  
Yasuaki Uehara ◽  
Keita Tanaka ◽  
Yoshinori Uchikawa ◽  
Bong-Soo Kim

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-303
Author(s):  
VALERIY BONDAREV

The theoretical and methodological basis of the systems hierarchical spatial and temporal analysis of a drainage basin, which addresses the problems of effective management in socio-natural systems of different ranks, is considered. It is proposed to distinguish 9 orders of forms that are relevant to the analysis of drainage basins, where the first level is represented by individual aggregates and particles, and the last - by basins of large and the largest rivers. As part of the allocation of geological, historical and modern time intervals, the specificity of the implementation of processes in basins of different scales from changing states, through functioning to evolution is demonstrated. The interrelation of conditions and factors that determine the processes occurring within the drainage basins is revealed. It is shown that a specific combination of conditions and factors that determine processes in the drainage basin is associated with the hierarchy of the objects under consideration, i.e. the choice of a spatial-temporal hierarchical level is crucial for the organization of study within drainage basins. At one hierarchical level, some phenomenon can be considered as a factor, and at another - as a condition. For example, tectonic processes can be considered as an active factor in the evolution of large river basins in the geological perspective, but for small drainage basin, this is already a conservative background condition. It is shown that at the historical time the anthropogenic factor often comes to the fore, with the appearance of which in the functioning of the drainage basin, there is a need to take into account the entire complex of socio-environmental problems that can affect the sustainable state of various territories, especially in the field of water and land use. Hierarchical levels of managing subjects are identified, which are primarily responsible for effective management at the appropriate hierarchical level of the organization of the socio-natural system within the catchment area, starting from an individual to humankind as a whole.


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