scholarly journals How Events Enter (or Not) Data Sets: The Pitfalls and Guidelines of Using Newspapers in the Study of Conflict

2019 ◽  
pp. 004912411988245
Author(s):  
Leila Demarest ◽  
Arnim Langer

While conflict event data sets are increasingly used in contemporary conflict research, important concerns persist regarding the quality of the collected data. Such concerns are not necessarily new. Yet, because the methodological debate and evidence on potential errors remains scattered across different subdisciplines of social sciences, there is little consensus concerning proper reporting practices in codebooks, how best to deal with the different types of errors, and which types of errors should be prioritised. In this article, we introduce a new analytical framework—that is, the Total Event Error (TEE) framework—which aims to elucidate the methodological challenges and errors that may affect whether and how events are entered into conflict event data sets, drawing on different fields of study. Potential errors are diverse and may range from errors arising from the rationale of the media source (e.g., selection of certain types of events into the news) to errors occurring during the data collection process or the analysis phase. Based on the TEE framework, we propose a set of strategies to mitigate errors associated with the construction and use of conflict event data sets. We also identify a number of important avenues for future research concerning the methodology of creating conflict event data sets.

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Hackley ◽  
Amy Rungpaka Hackley

In the media convergence era, brands are embracing hybrid forms of advertising communication such as branded content, product placement and sponsored TV ‘pods’, brand blogs, shareable video, programmatic advertising, ‘native’ advertising and more, as alternatives to, and extensions of, traditional mass media advertising campaigns. In this article, we draw on Genette’s theory of transtextuality to reframe this phenomenon from a paratextual purview. We suggest that the analogy of the paratext articulates the iterative, ambiguous, participative and intertextual character of much contemporary brand communication. We describe extended examples of paratextual advertising and promotion that illustrate the fluid and mutually contingent relation of advertising text to paratext, and we outline an analytical framework for future research and practice.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422110216
Author(s):  
Scott Althaus ◽  
Buddy Peyton ◽  
Dan Shalmon

Understanding how useful any particular set of event data might be for conflict research requires appropriate methods for assessing validity when ground truth data about the population of interest do not exist. We argue that a total error framework can provide better leverage on these critical questions than previous methods have been able to deliver. We first define a total event data error approach for identifying 19 types of error that can affect the validity of event data. We then address the challenge of applying a total error framework when authoritative ground truth about the actual distribution of relevant events is lacking. We argue that carefully constructed gold standard datasets can effectively benchmark validity problems even in the absence of ground truth data about event populations. To illustrate the limitations of conventional strategies for validating event data, we present a case study of Boko Haram activity in Nigeria over a 3-month offensive in 2015 that compares events generated by six prominent event extraction pipelines—ACLED, SCAD, ICEWS, GDELT, PETRARCH, and the Cline Center’s SPEED project. We conclude that conventional ways of assessing validity in event data using only published datasets offer little insight into potential sources of error or bias. Finally, we illustrate the benefits of validating event data using a total error approach by showing how the gold standard approach used to validate SPEED data offers a clear and robust method for detecting and evaluating the severity of temporal errors in event data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Trøst Hansen ◽  
David Budtz Pedersen ◽  
Carmel Foley

The meetings industry, government bodies, and scholars within tourism studies have identified the need to understand the broader impact of business events. To succeed in this endeavor, we consider it necessary to develop analytical frameworks that are sensitive to the particularities of the analyzed event, sector, and stakeholder group. In this article we focus on the academic sector and offer two connected analyses. First is an empirically grounded typology of academic events. We identify four differentiating dimensions of academic events: size, academic focus, participants, and tradition, and based on these dimensions we develop a typology of academic events that includes: congress, specialty conference, symposium, and practitioners' meeting. Secondly, we outline the academic impact of attending these four types of events. For this purpose, the concept of credibility cycles is used as an analytical framework for examining academic impact. We suggest that academic events should be conceptualized and evaluated as open marketplaces that facilitate conversion of credibility. Data were obtained from interviews with 22 researchers at three Danish universities. The study concludes that there are significant differences between the events in terms of their academic impact. Moreover, the outcome for the individual scholar depends on the investment being made. Finally, the study calls for a future research agenda on beyond tourism benefits based on interdisciplinary collaborations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110252
Author(s):  
Sebastián Valenzuela ◽  
Daniel Halpern ◽  
Felipe Araneda

Despite widespread concern, research on the consequences of misinformation on people's attitudes is surprisingly scant. To fill in this gap, the current study examines the long-term relationship between misinformation and trust in the news media. Based on the reinforcing spirals model, we analyzed data from a three-wave panel survey collected in Chile between 2017 and 2019. We found a weak, over-time relationship between misinformation and media skepticism. Specifically, initial beliefs on factually dubious information were negatively correlated with subsequent levels of trust in the news media. Lower trust in the media, in turn, was related over time to higher levels of misinformation. However, we found no evidence of a reverse, parallel process where media trust shielded users against misinformation, further reinforcing trust in the news media. The lack of evidence of a downward spiral suggests that the corrosive effects of misinformation on attitudes toward the news media are less serious than originally suggested. We close with a discussion of directions for future research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232110317
Author(s):  
Tobias Polzer ◽  
Isabella M Nolte ◽  
Johann Seiwald

Gender budgeting calls for including a gender perspective at all levels of governmental budgetary processes. While the literature on gender budgeting is interdisciplinary and covers a wide geographical range, it remains fragmented. This study uses a literature review to examine the current discourse on gender budgeting and to elicit avenues for future research. Our review shows that studies focus either on emerging economies, such as India or South Africa, or on countries in Europe. Drawing on an analytical framework, we find that most studies scrutinize the ex ante stages of gender budgeting, whereas less is known about the concurrent and ex post stages. Moreover, because little is known about the outcome and impact of gender budgeting, governments do not know what instruments function best in different settings. Given their ex ante focus, most studies on gender budgeting often either remain descriptive or analyse secondary data. Despite scholars from different disciplines contributing to the field of gender budgeting, several ‘blank spots’ remain, particularly in public sector accounting. Points for practitioners While current gender budgeting projects tend to focus on the ex ante stage of gender budgeting, future practitioner attention needs to focus on the equally important concurrent and ex post stages, which have received less attention thus far. An increasing number of governments worldwide are implementing gender budgeting projects. Governments need to evaluate the outcome and impact of these projects in a timely fashion, aiming at reducing structural inequalities related to gender. Gender budgeting is willingly adopted in times of prosperity and stability or when the scope of projects appears manageable. To avoid negative impacts on their achievements, policy makers need to put gender budgeting on the political agenda and institutionalize it in times of instability and crisis.


2021 ◽  
pp. 216747952199839
Author(s):  
Dustin Hahn

Evolving media landscapes toward increasingly diverse and competitive environments in both traditional and new media requires producers regularly examine the quality of their productions. One growing line of research identifies the increasing presence and significance of statistics in sports media programming. This experiment measures the effect of statistics on enjoyment and perceived credibility by sport consumers while considering level of fanship, media source, and variations in placement within Instagram posts. Results uncover evidence that validates previous observations about statistics in media while contradicting others. Specifically, findings reveal that statistics enhance enjoyment and improve perceived credibility. Observations were consistent across fanship level. However, additional findings also suggest media source and placement of statistics influences both enjoyment and credibility as well. For both dependent variables, statistics in both the Instagram caption and image yielded significantly greater enjoyment and credibility than some other conditions including posts without statistics at all. The impact of these and other findings on sports media industry and scholarship, along with limitations and directions for future research, are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-52
Author(s):  
Sui He

Abstract Cognitive metaphor theory provides a systematic framework to better understand the working mechanism of metaphor. Its recent development further allows translation researchers to have a clearer insight into the movement of metaphor across languages and culture. Building on an empirical study, this paper examines the complementary relationship between two prominent cognitive metaphor theories – Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT), and discusses the practical contribution that this relationship could make to the existing research on metaphor translation. To construct a comparable basis for CMT and CBT, two parameters are adopted for data analysis, which is proven useful to serve the purpose. The two chosen parameters are: projection and provenance, denoting the content and the type of metaphor respectively. Metaphorical expressions analyzed in this paper are sourced from cosmology-themed articles published in Scientific American in 2017 and their Simplified Chinese translations published in Huanqiukexue. Findings show that delineated by the two parameters, CMT and CBT indeed share a complementary relationship owing to their different focuses and organizing mechanisms. Furthermore, the collaboration between CMT and CBT offers a well-rounded analytical framework for translation studies. In turn, the correlation between metaphor parameters and translation solutions provides detailed clues for studying metaphor across culture. Finally, the reflection of this dual-model parametric approach regarding its pros and cons is also shown to shed light on future research.


1982 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Dorn ◽  
Nigel South

A review of the available empirical material bearing upon the question of alcohol advertising having ‘effects’ on the general level of consumption suggests that this question is insufficiently precise as a basis for research. Studies suggesting some relationship between advertising for particular brands or products and shifts in brand or product use are potentially more interesting, if considered from a point of view that recognises that such shifts may involve shifts in milieux, comparisons, styles and meanings associated with consumption. Future research should be attentive to such qualitative changes in drinking practices attendant upon advertising or preventive campaigns (as well as to quantitative changes). The authors suggest that such quantitative and qualitative changes in drinking practices of individuals and social groups need to be considered within the context of more general, ideological and economic, consequences of alcohol advertising. These consequences-including reinforcement of images about ‘social drinking,’ and shifting of consumers onto more profitable products-consolidate the profitability of the alcohol industry (a consideration more important to the industry than levels of consumption per se). A framework broader than that of ‘effects’ on individuals' levels of consumption is required if health educators are to learn anything from advertising.


Author(s):  
Andrea Wöhr ◽  
Marius Wuketich

AbstractIt is generally assumed that gamblers, and particularly people with gambling problems (PG), are affected by negative perception and stigmatisation. However, a systematic review of empirical studies investigating the perception of gamblers has not yet been carried out. This article therefore summarises empirical evidence on the perception of gamblers and provides directions for future research. A systematic literature review based on the relevant guidelines was carried out searching three databases. The databases Scopus, PubMed and BASE were used to cover social scientific knowledge, medical-psychological knowledge and grey literature. A total of 48 studies from 37 literature references was found. The perspective in these studies varies: Several studies focus on the perception of gamblers by the general population, by subpopulations (e. g. students or social workers), or by gamblers on themselves. The perspective on recreational gamblers is hardly an issue. A strong focus on persons with gambling problems is symptomatic of the gambling discourse. The analysis of the studies shows that gambling problems are thought to be rather concealable, whereas the negative effects on the concerned persons‘ lives are rated to be quite substantial. PG are described as “irresponsible” and “greedy” while they perceive themselves as “stupid” or “weak”. Only few examples of open discrimination are mentioned. Several studies however put emphasis on the stereotypical way in which PG are portrayed in the media, thus contributing to stigmatisation. Knowledge gaps include insights from longitudinal studies, the influence of respondents‘ age, culture and sex on their views, the relevance of the type of gambling a person is addicted to, and others. Further studies in these fields are needed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-233
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Bayer ◽  
John Page

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze the evolution of the marketing of paintings and related visual products from its nascent stages in England around 1700 to the development of the modern art market by 1900, with a brief discussion connecting to the present. Design/methodology/approach – Sources consist of a mixture of primary and secondary sources as well as a series of econometric and statistical analyses of specifically constructed and unique data sets that list nearly more than 50,000 different sales of paintings during this period. One set records sales of paintings at various English auction houses during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the second set consists of all purchases and sales of paintings recorded in the stock books of the late nineteenth-century London art dealer, Arthur Tooth, during the years of 1870/1871. The authors interpret the data under a commoditization model first introduced by Igor Kopytoff in 1986 that posits that markets and their participants evolve toward maximizing the efficiency of their exchange process within the prevailing exchange technology. Findings – We found that artists were largely responsible for a series of innovations in the art market that replaced the prevailing direct relationship between artists and patron with a modern market for which painters produced works on speculation to be sold by enterprising middlemen to an anonymous public. In this process, artists displayed a remarkable creativity and a seemingly instinctive understanding of the principles of competitive marketing that should dispel the erroneous but persistent notion that artistic genius and business savvy are incompatible. Research limitations/implications – A similar marketing analysis could be done of the development of the art markets of other leading countries, such as France, Italy and Holland, as well as the current developments of the art market. Practical implications – The same process of the development of the art market in England is now occurring in Latin America and China. Also, the commoditization process continues in the present, now using the Internet and worldwide art dealers. Originality/value – This is the first article to trace the historical development of the marketing of art in all of its components: artists, dealers, artist organizations, museums, curators, art critics, the media and art historians.


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