Understanding Online Polarization Through Human-Agent Interaction in a Synthetic LLM-Based Social Network
Tim Donkers, Jürgen Ziegler
The rise of social media has fundamentally transformed how people engage in public discourse and form opinions. While these platforms offer unprecedented opportunities for democratic engagement, they have been implicated in increasing social polarization and the formation of ideological echo chambers. Previous research has primarily relied on observational studies of social media data or theoretical modeling approaches, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of how individuals respond to and are influenced by polarized online environments. Here we present a novel experimental framework for investigating polarization dynamics that allows human users to interact with LLM-based artificial agents in a controlled social network simulation. Through a user study with 122 participants, we demonstrate that this approach can successfully reproduce key characteristics of polarized online discourse while enabling precise manipulation of environmental factors. Our results provide empirical validation of theoretical predictions about online polarization, showing that polarized environments significantly increase perceived emotionality and group identity salience while reducing expressed uncertainty. These findings extend previous observational and theoretical work by providing causal evidence for how specific features of online environments influence user perceptions and behaviors. More broadly, this research introduces a powerful new methodology for studying social media dynamics, offering researchers unprecedented control over experimental conditions while maintaining ecological validity.
Potencialidades y limitaciones de la aplicación de la reconstrucción cráneo-facial en la investigación forense
Gustavo Faúndez Salinas
La evidencia en una investigación forense, exige el desarrollo y la aplicación de un análisis crítico de las imágenes, así como el estudio de su circulación y transformación.
Este trabajo plantea la necesidad de contextualizar el desarrollo histórico de la reconstrucción cráneo-facial, en el marco de las técnicas biométricas y de identificación facial y evaluar las posibilidades y limitaciones, que trae consigo su aplicación forense.
Se propone una puesta en contexto de las aplicaciones más recientes de la antropometría, así como la realización de un análisis de fortalezas, oportunidades, debilidades y amenazas, con el fin de alcanzar claridad, respecto de las condiciones en que resulta pertinente utilizarla y cuáles son profesionales forenses idóneos, a quienes solicitar su aplicación.
Finalmente, se concluye que, con el objeto de sacar el máximo provecho del empleo de la reconstrucción cráneo-facial forense, es necesario tener claros sus límites, contar con un perfil de los profesionales idóneos y moderar las expectativas respecto de sus alcances.
Criminal law and procedure, Medical legislation
African Women and the Law
Maria Rita Bartolomei
This case study relates to the Women and Law in Southern Africa – Zambia (WLSA – Zambia), an NGO with its headquarters in Lusaka. This organisation is engaged in fighting strenuously and successfully against discrimination, inequalities and gender violence, mainly resulting from the persistence of customary laws and its practices which sometimes jeopardises women and delays their empowerment and emancipation. Since in Zambia, as well as in many other African countries, land is still the primary source of wealth and livelihood, WLSA-Zambia and its members have been highlighting the significant legal, social and political problems caused by of gender inequalities in accessing land. Accordingly, they demand remedial legal reforms, develop citizens’ legal awareness and support women’s struggle to secure land rights. By presenting individual experiences and different viewpoints, and adopting a wealth of qualitative methodologies, my research work is a contribution, in anthropological perspective, to a better understanding of the multiple ways in which gender and law can interact.
Brief state of the art in social information mining: Practical application in analysis of trends in French legislative 2024
Jose A. Garcia Gutierrez
The analysis of social media information has undergone significant evolution in the last decade due to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art techniques in social media mining, with a practical application in analyzing trends in the 2024 French legislative elections. We leverage natural language processing (NLP) tools to gauge public opinion by extracting and analyzing comments and reactions from the AgoraVox platform. The study reveals that the National Rally party, led by Marine Le Pen, maintains a high level of engagement on social media, outperforming traditional parties. This trend is corroborated by user interactions, indicating a strong digital presence. The results highlight the utility of advanced AI models, such as transformers and large language models (LLMs), in capturing nuanced public sentiments and predicting political leanings, demonstrating their potential in real-time reputation management and crisis response.
The Social Impact of Generative AI: An Analysis on ChatGPT
Maria T. Baldassarre, Danilo Caivano, Berenice Fernandez Nieto
et al.
In recent months, the social impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gained considerable public interest, driven by the emergence of Generative AI models, ChatGPT in particular. The rapid development of these models has sparked heated discussions regarding their benefits, limitations, and associated risks. Generative models hold immense promise across multiple domains, such as healthcare, finance, and education, to cite a few, presenting diverse practical applications. Nevertheless, concerns about potential adverse effects have elicited divergent perspectives, ranging from privacy risks to escalating social inequality. This paper adopts a methodology to delve into the societal implications of Generative AI tools, focusing primarily on the case of ChatGPT. It evaluates the potential impact on several social sectors and illustrates the findings of a comprehensive literature review of both positive and negative effects, emerging trends, and areas of opportunity of Generative AI models. This analysis aims to facilitate an in-depth discussion by providing insights that can inspire policy, regulation, and responsible development practices to foster a human-centered AI.
Reranking Social Media Feeds: A Practical Guide for Field Experiments
Tiziano Piccardi, Martin Saveski, Chenyan Jia
et al.
Social media plays a central role in shaping public opinion and behavior, yet performing experiments on these platforms and, in particular, on feed algorithms is becoming increasingly challenging. This guide offers practical recommendations for researchers developing and deploying field experiments focused on real-time reranking of social media feeds. The article is organized around two contributions. First, we provide an overview of an experimental method using web browser extensions that intercepts and reranks content in real time, enabling naturalistic reranking field experiments. We then describe feed interventions and measurements that this paradigm enables on participants' actual feeds, without requiring the involvement of social media platforms. Second, we offer concrete technical recommendations for intercepting and reranking social media feeds with minimal user-facing delay, and provide an open-source implementation. This document aims to summarize lessons learned in running field experiments on social media, provide concrete implementation details, and foster the ecosystem of independent social media research. Finally, we release the source code that serves as a blueprint for implementing future feed-ranking experiments.
Community Detection for Heterogeneous Multiple Social Networks
Ziqing Zhu, Guan Yuan, Tao Zhou
et al.
The community plays a crucial role in understanding user behavior and network characteristics in social networks. Some users can use multiple social networks at once for a variety of objectives. These users are called overlapping users who bridge different social networks. Detecting communities across multiple social networks is vital for interaction mining, information diffusion, and behavior migration analysis among networks. This paper presents a community detection method based on nonnegative matrix tri-factorization for multiple heterogeneous social networks, which formulates a common consensus matrix to represent the global fused community. Specifically, the proposed method involves creating adjacency matrices based on network structure and content similarity, followed by alignment matrices which distinguish overlapping users in different social networks. With the generated alignment matrices, the method could enhance the fusion degree of the global community by detecting overlapping user communities across networks. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated with new metrics on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr datasets. The results of the experiments demonstrate its superior performance in terms of community quality and community fusion.
Myths about Health and Abortion Scale (MHAS): design and psychometric properties in a Chilean community population (Escala de Mitos sobre Salud y Aborto [EMSA]: diseño y propiedades psicométricas en población comunitaria chilena)
Beatriz Pérez, Carolina Alveal-Álamos
Abstract: Myths about health and abortion in Chile have been identified as a barrier to the implementation of Law 21.030 on the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy. However, no measure adapted to the Chilean socio-cultural reality with adequate psychometric properties would allow us to verify the extent of misinformation. This study aims to design and analyze the psychometric properties of the Myths About Health and Abortion Scale (MHAS) in a Chilean community population. This study presents a sample of 613 participants. We obtained a unidimensional 5-item scale by cross-validity (χ2 = 21.702; df = 4; p < .001); RMSEA = .085 (90% CI [.052, .122]); CFI = .993; TLI = .982; GFI = .995) with adequate reliability of scores in the study sample (Sub-sample 1, McDonald's omega = .871; Sub-sample 2, McDonald's omega = .842); and evidence of validity in relation to other variables (e.g., the MHAS correlates with Sexual Double Standard (r = .354; p < .001), and Group Dominance (r = .307; p < .001), for use on the Chilean population. The most uninformed participants have a low education level, are older, have a conservative ideological profile in terms of religion and politics, and have a higher agreement with sexual double standards and social domination. This new approach allows us to quantify the issue of stigmatization and decision-making faced by women contemplating abortion, as well as to expose the deliberate dissemination of misinformation as a political strategy to oppose permissive abortion legislation.
Keywords: beliefs; voluntary termination of pregnancy; instrument; validity; reliability; misinformation.
Resumen: Los mitos sobre salud y aborto en Chile han sido identificados como una barrera para la implementación de la Ley 21.030 sobre Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo. No obstante, no existe una medida adaptada a la realidad sociocultural chilena con adecuadas propiedades psicométricas que nos permita constatar la extensión de la desinformación. Este estudio tiene como objetivo diseñar y analizar las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Mitos sobre Salud y Aborto (EMSA) en población comunitaria chilena. Este estudio presenta una muestra de 613 participantes. Como resultado obtuvimos una escala de 5 ítems unidimensional mediante validez cruzada (χ2 = 21,702; gl = 4; p < ,001; RMSEA = ,085 (IC 90% [,052 ,122]); CFI = ,993; TLI = ,982; GFI = ,995); con adecuada fiabilidad de las puntuaciones en la muestra de estudio (submuestra 1, Omega de McDonald = ,871; submuestra 2, Omega de McDonald = ,842); y evidencias de validez en relación con otras variables (p. ej., , EMSA correlaciona con Doble Moral Sexual (r = ,354; p < ,001), y Dominación Grupal (r = ,307; p < ,001) para su uso con población chilena. Las y los participantes más desinformados tienen un bajo nivel educativo, son mayores, un perfil ideológico conservador en lo religioso y lo político, y mayor acuerdo con el doble estándar sexual y la dominación social. Esta nueva herramienta nos brinda la posibilidad de medir una problemática implicada en la estigmatización y toma de decisión de las mujeres que se plantean el acceso al aborto; y de transparentar el uso de la desinformación como estrategia política para desincentivar políticas permisivas sobre el aborto.
Palabras clave: creencias; interrupción voluntaria del embarazo; instrumento; validez; fiabilidad; desinformación.
Resumo: Os mitos sobre saúde e aborto no Chile foram identificados como uma barreira à implementação da Lei 21.030 sobre a Interrupção Voluntária da Gravidez. No entanto, não existe uma medida adaptada à realidade sociocultural chilena com propriedades psicométricas adequadas que nos permita verificar a extensão da desinformação. Este estudo tem como objetivo desenhar e analisar as propriedades psicométricas da Escala de Mitos sobre Saúde e Aborto (EMSA) numa população comunitária chilena. Este estudo apresenta uma amostra de 613 participantes. Como resultado, obtivemos uma escala unidimensional de 5 itens, por validade cruzada (χ2 = 21,702; gl = 4; p < ,001; RMSEA = ,085 (IC 90% [,052 ,122]); CFI = ,993; TLI = ,982; GFI = 995); com fiabilidade adequada das pontuações na amostra do estudo (Subamostra 1, Omega de McDonald = ,871; Subamostra, Omega de McDonald = ,842); e evidência de validade em relação a outras variáveis (por exemplo, o EMSA correlaciona-se com a Moral Sexual Dupla (r = ,354; p < ,001), e a Dominância de Grupo (r = ,307; p < ,001), para uso com a população chilena. Os participantes mais desinformados têm um baixo nível de escolaridade, são mais velhos, têm um perfil ideológico conservador na religião e na política, e têm uma maior concordância com a dupla moral sexual e a dominação social. Esta nova ferramenta dános a possibilidade de medir um problema implicado na estigmatização e na tomada de decisão das mulheres que consideram aceder ao aborto; e de tornar transparente a utilização da desinformação como estratégia política para desencorajar políticas permissivas sobre o aborto.
Palavras-chave: crenças; interrupção voluntária da gravidez; instrumento; validade; confiabilidade; desinformação.
Investigation of the History of Political Changes and the Role of Taliban Rule in Khaled Hosseini's Novel: The Kite Runner
Ayat Kanaan, Maryam Abolghasemi, Ghodratollah Taheri
Afghanistan has witnessed several transformations throughout the last decades. These shifts, which have undeniably had a diverse array of undeniable repercussions on the Afghan community, encompass civil wars, armed conflicts, and the establishment of new governments with different ideological and political frameworks, particularly the emergence of the Taliban. The consequences of these developments are depicted in the literary works of contemporary Afghan authors. For example, Khaled Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner, portrays the intricate political system, the unstable society, and the destiny of those confined within it. The primary aim of this article is to investigate the political changes and the role of the Taliban government and its influence on the fate of Afghans, as depicted in this novel. As a realistic author, Khaled Hosseini has closely observed a broad spectrum of events and endeavoured to convey the social, economic, political, and cultural dysfunctions of his community through the characters and events of his works. The findings of this descriptive-analytical investigation reveal that the most evident and consequential political factors that impacted individual lives are racial and ethnic disparities, class-based discrimination, warfare and displacement, acts of murder and massacre, feelings of insecurity, migration, economic poverty, the deplorable condition of women and children, physical and mental illnesses, the implementation of repressive legislation, the erosion of human values, and cultural stagnation. These are the outcomes of political shifts that made the Afghans face serious challenges in life. The Kite Runner can be construed as an outline of the chronicle of modern Afghanistan, which depicts occurrences spanning decades in the country, commencing with the insurrection against Zahir Shah and concluding with the consequences of the September 11 attacks; the books is characterized by an impactful storytelling and plot.
GeoAI in Social Science
Wenwen Li
GeoAI, or geospatial artificial intelligence, is an exciting new area that leverages artificial intelligence (AI), geospatial big data, and massive computing power to solve problems with high automation and intelligence. This paper reviews the progress of AI in social science research, highlighting important advancements in using GeoAI to fill critical data and knowledge gaps. It also discusses the importance of breaking down data silos, accelerating convergence among GeoAI research methods, as well as moving GeoAI beyond geospatial benefits.
Corporate Social Responsibility through Collaboration in the Supply Chain: Insights into a More Sustainable Economy
Farhan Zeb Khaskhelly, Ali Raza, Hemal Azhar
et al.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore and analyze corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a helpful tool in solving significant societal concerns in countries where there is a greater desire for social and economic growth, such as Pakistan.
Methodology
In order to examine the current issues on supply chain collaboration for sustainability, this paper used a triangulation research method. In order to determine indicators in a CSR-intensive environment, data, and literature, the energy sector publications on EUR-Lex, international and European official papers, and the online site of the European Commission data sources were analyzed in this study. The indicators were divided into groups based on their sources (sets of standards and guidelines, council frameworks, document series, tools, and comprehensive legislation), as well as their intended uses (financial, social, and environmental).
Findings
The findings state that supply chain collaboration completely fulfills CSR for a viable economy. It focuses on three leading fashion brands and assesses their impact using open-source data, past research, and their official websites. It also highlights how, in comparison to global corporations, Pakistani business satisfies their corporate social responsibility.
Conclusion
It is concluded that a supply chain can help companies minimize the environmental impact of their supply chain processes. Further, CSR is a part of the supply chain that helps businesses determine their social and economic responsibilities by focusing on environmental aspects to add to a more sustainable economy.
Management. Industrial management, Business
Deep Learning and Autonomous Vehicles: Strategic Themes, Applications, and Research Agenda Using SciMAT and Content-Centric Analysis, a Systematic Review
Fábio Eid Morooka, Adalberto Manoel Junior, Tiago F. A. C. Sigahi
et al.
Applications of deep learning (DL) in autonomous vehicle (AV) projects have gained increasing interest from both researchers and companies. This has caused a rapid expansion of scientific production on DL-AV in recent years, encouraging researchers to conduct systematic literature reviews (SLRs) to organize knowledge on the topic. However, a critical analysis of the existing SLRs on DL-AV reveals some methodological gaps, particularly regarding the use of bibliometric software, which are powerful tools for analyzing large amounts of data and for providing a holistic understanding on the structure of knowledge of a particular field. This study aims to identify the strategic themes and trends in DL-AV research using the Science Mapping Analysis Tool (SciMAT) and content analysis. Strategic diagrams and cluster networks were developed using SciMAT, allowing the identification of motor themes and research opportunities. The content analysis allowed categorization of the contribution of the academic literature on DL applications in AV project design; neural networks and AI models used in AVs; and transdisciplinary themes in DL-AV research, including energy, legislation, ethics, and cybersecurity. Potential research avenues are discussed for each of these categories. The findings presented in this study can benefit both experienced scholars who can gain access to condensed information about the literature on DL-AV and new researchers who may be attracted to topics related to technological development and other issues with social and environmental impacts.
Computer engineering. Computer hardware
The disempowerment of the judiciary in Syria since the March revolution of 2011 and the emergence of off-bench resistance to authoritarian rule: What role for women judges and prosecutors?
Monique Cardinal
The Arab uprisings of 2010-2011 generated a growing movement for change among the judicial corps throughout the Arab world. Judges and prosecutors created independent associations in Morocco, Mauritania, Yemen, Libya, Lebanon, and Tunisia to represent their interests and promote a better administration of justice. Since the March Revolution of 2011 in Syria, members of the judiciary also attempted to create their own association, but failed to do so. This article briefly outlines the demographics of the judicial corps after ten years of conflict in Syria. A noticeable change is the increase in the number of women in the judiciary and their promotion to positions of power. How have women judges and prosecutors used the greater authority granted to them? To the advantage of the regime, as a means for self-promotion or to better defend the rights of all? The second part of the article details the progressive disempowerment of the judiciary, the expansion of the criminal justice system and the creation of the Counterterrorism Court used by the regime to quash the popular uprising. In the final section, stories of off-bench resistance highlight efforts made by judges and prosecutors to defend their judicial autonomy and the basic human rights and freedoms of all Syrians.
Views and experience of breastfeeding in public: A qualitative systematic review
Aimee Grant, Bethan Pell, Lauren Copeland
et al.
Abstract Breastfeeding rates in many Global North countries are low. Qualitative research highlights that breastfeeding in public is a particular challenge, despite mothers often having the legal right to do so. To identify barriers and facilitators, we systematically searched the qualitative research from Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development countries relating to breastfeeding in public spaces from 2007 to 2021. Data were analysed using the Thematic Synthesis technique. The review was registered with PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42017081504). Database searching identified 3570 unique records. In total, 74 papers, theses, or book chapters, relating to 71 studies, were included, accounting for over 17,000 mothers. Overall, data quality was high. Our analysis identified that five core factors influenced mothers' thought processes and their breastfeeding in public behaviour: legal system; structural (in)equality; knowledge; beliefs and the social environment. Macro‐level factors relating to legislation and inequality urgently require redress if breastfeeding rates are to be increased. Widespread culture change is also required to enhance knowledge, change hostile beliefs and thus the social environment in which mother/infant dyads exist. In particular, the sexualisation of breasts, disgust narratives and lack of exposure among observers to baby‐led infant feeding patterns resulted in beliefs which created a stigmatising environment. In this context, many mothers felt unable to breastfeed in public; those who breastfed outside the home were usually highly self‐aware, attempting to reduce their exposure to conflict. Evidence‐based theoretically informed interventions to remove barriers to breastfeeding in public are urgently required.
Pediatrics, Gynecology and obstetrics
Problems of exercising the right of education in the conditions of the informational and digital reality and AI development
T.N. Balashova
Background. Currently, AI technologies and systems are being purposefully in-troduced into all spheres of society and the state, their influence is becoming more and more noticeable and tangible in the implementation of human rights, including basic social rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The systems of healthcare, education, social assistance and support are currently integrating the achievements of in-formation technologies and digitalization, striving to ensure a barrier-free environment and high-quality implementation of human rights in the social sphere. This largely actualized the problem of the study. The purpose of the study is to identify potential threats and risks that arise in the process of realizing the right to education in the conditions of information and digital reality and the development of artificial intelligence. Materials and methods. The research tasks set in the work were achieved through the analysis of the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the current international and Russian legislation in the field of regulation of digital technologies, the use of artificial intelligence. The funda-mental principles underlying the conducted research are the principle of a systematic ap-proach and dialectical interdependence. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was formed by such research methods as the synthesis of the general theory of securi-ty and modern theories, the analysis of social phenomena, as well as comparative legal, logical, formal legal methods. To solve the purpose of the research, a set of complementary scientific methods was used, such as: system and socio-cultural analysis, structural and functional method, analysis of documents and sources. Results. The article examines the potential and real threats and risks that citizens face when exercising their right to educa-tion, due to the new digital reality and the use of artificial intelligence technologies. Conclusions. The study of threats and risks arising in the process of realizing the right to education in the conditions of information and digital reality and the development of artifi-cial intelligence allows us to draw a number of conclusions. First, at present, digital tech-nologies reveal to humanity a huge potential of opportunities, including in the field of edu-cation. But, at the same time, they significantly change the fundamental principles of the activity of both the state and the individual, setting new tasks and challenges. The use of digital technologies not only provides a wide range of opportunities, provides freedom of action, thought, but also requires protection from cyber threats. Secondly, the use of digi-tal technologies in the field of education is associated with a number of risks, among which we can name digital inequality (digital divide), the risk of social stratification of society. The abuse of technologies can lead to bullying in cyberspace, criminal activity, extremism and terrorism. Teachers should prepare their students so they can face new risks. It is neces-sary to protect children from the potentially harmful effects of electronic content. The task of the state, in this case, is to develop a set of measures aimed at protecting children from digital arbitrariness in the global network and involvement in illegal activities, financial schemes or terrorism. Third, it is advisable to include provisions aimed at the sustainable development of the education system in the strategic documents regulating the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, while weighing potential threats and risks.
Zoning of radioactively contaminated territories after the Chornobyl accident
V. O. Kashparov, D. M. Holiaka, S. E. Levchuk
et al.
The radiological zoning of Chornobyl contaminated areas was one of the essential elements of social and radiation protection. The zoning was based on estimates of annual committed effective doses to members of the public and on the levels of radionuclide deposition density. In 1991, 86 settlements were classified as associated with the zone of unconditional (mandatory) resettlement, and 841 settlements were assigned to the zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement. The status of these settlements has been preserved until now. The assessments showed that as of 2022, for all settlements located outside the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone the radiological conditions do not exceed the current legislative criteria for inclusion in the zone of unconditional (mandatory) resettlement. It is also shown that in 2022, the zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement can be assigned for: only 38 settlements, according to the legislative criterion "90Sr density of contamination" and only 17 settlements, according to the legislative criterion "137Cs density of contamination". The work also indicates and analyses the provisions of current legislation that require clarification.
Atomic physics. Constitution and properties of matter
Bayesian Inference of a Social Graph with Trace Feasibility Guarantees
Effrosyni Papanastasiou, Anastasios Giovanidis
Network inference is the process of deciding what is the true unknown graph underlying a set of interactions between nodes. There is a vast literature on the subject, but most known methods have an important drawback: the inferred graph is not guaranteed to explain every interaction from the input trace. We consider this an important issue since such inferred graph cannot be used as input for applications that require a reliable estimate of the true graph. On the other hand, a graph having trace feasibility guarantees can help us better understand the true (hidden) interactions that may have taken place between nodes of interest. The inference of such graph is the goal of this paper. Firstly, given an activity log from a social network, we introduce a set of constraints that take into consideration all the hidden paths that are possible between the nodes of the trace, given their timestamps of interaction. Then, we develop a nontrivial modification of the Expectation-Maximization algorithm by Newman [1], that we call Constrained-EM, which incorporates the constraints and a set of auxiliary variables into the inference process to guide it towards the feasibility of the trace. Experimental results on real-world data from Twitter confirm that Constrained-EM generates a posterior distribution of graphs that explains all the events observed in the trace while presenting the desired properties of a scale-free, small-world graph. Our method also outperforms established methods in terms of feasibility and quality of the inferred graph.
Social Bots and Social Media Manipulation in 2020: The Year in Review
Ho-Chun Herbert Chang, Emily Chen, Meiqing Zhang
et al.
The year 2020 will be remembered for two events of global significance: the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. In this chapter, we summarize recent studies using large public Twitter data sets on these issues. We have three primary objectives. First, we delineate epistemological and practical considerations when combining the traditions of computational research and social science research. A sensible balance should be struck when the stakes are high between advancing social theory and concrete, timely reporting of ongoing events. We additionally comment on the computational challenges of gleaning insight from large amounts of social media data. Second, we characterize the role of social bots in social media manipulation around the discourse on the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. Third, we compare results from 2020 to prior years to note that, although bot accounts still contribute to the emergence of echo-chambers, there is a transition from state-sponsored campaigns to domestically emergent sources of distortion. Furthermore, issues of public health can be confounded by political orientation, especially from localized communities of actors who spread misinformation. We conclude that automation and social media manipulation pose issues to a healthy and democratic discourse, precisely because they distort representation of pluralism within the public sphere.
Don Quixote de la Corte
Eyal Katvan, Boaz Shnoor
Serial litigants are a well-known phenomenon. This article deals with this phenomenon on two different levels using Israel as a test-case. First, we analyze the impact they have on the judicial system as a whole, and the institutional responses the judicial system uses in order to deal with serial litigants as well as the impact (both positive and negative) such serial litigants have on other litigants. Second, we analyze the personal motives of serial litigants and identify their common denominators, as well as what differentiates them. In this regard the article offers a unique approach by presenting the perspective of serial litigants and the human dimension behind their claims. We then show that serial litigants do not constitute a monolithic group, and suggest that courts have to take the differences between them into account. We further propose the formulation of systemic tools that take into account both the negative and the positive aspects of serial litigants in order to strike a proper balance between the optimal allocation of resources, and the right of access to justice.
FACILITATING CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION WITHIN MULTIDISCIPLINARY MEETINGS: GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR CHILD AND YOUTH CARE CENTRES
Jessica Johannisen, Carlien Van Wyk, Hannelie Yates
Legislation on both an international and national level advocates that all children have a right to participate in all matters affecting them. This article reflects an interest in children’s participation in the broad field of child protection, and specifically within the context of South African child and youth care centres. Against this contextual background, the article aims to introduce guiding principles that may stimulate ongoing conversation on the facilitation of children’s participation in a specific space of decision-making within child and youth care centres, namely multidisciplinary meetings. Guiding principles were derived from a comprehensive qualitative study in which individual semi-structured interviews and focus group groups were conducted to collect data from residential social workers, child and youth care workers, and children from child and youth care centres in the greater metropolitan area of Cape Town in South Africa.
Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology