Search

The massive diffusion of social media has produced disintermediation and it has changed the way in which users inform themselves and participate in public debate. On the other hand, users show a tendency to interact with information that adheres to personal choices and previous opinions. This propensity is “exploited” by algorithms that manage and sort communication on social media, increasingly producing a polarized audience. The essay shows the outcomes of these dynamics by focusing on the communications structure related to the pandemic. In this sense, social media constitute a risk because they convey out-of-control access to unreliable information and because they can result in the absence of correct information, if not in a problem for democracy. On the technical level, at least three complex reticular structures are identified that evolve following different directions, emerged from three sequentially monitored lemmas (no-mask, covid-19, greenpass). Further considerations concern the increasingly dense interweaving between online communication and the genesis of protest movements with evanescent, single-issue structures.

This essay aims at showing the results of an analysis concerning communication on social networks by focusing on the collection of comments related to the pandemic. The analysis describes the structure of the communication, showing the presence of parallel communities and the different configuration of relational dynamics, selected contents, flows of communication, category of users and language. Complex network structures are identified branching from keywords like no-mask, covid-19, greenpass. Further attention is paid to the connection between online communication and the triggering of protests.

In recent years we have witnessed a growing concern in scientific research to understand and improve actionable analytics-driven decision processes, mostly focused on online data. Many researchers have focused their attention on computational and Information and Communications Technology issues in this matter. Only a small share of literature is concerned with how indicators can be improved by Big Data analytics. In this paper, we propose an innovative methodological approach to building indicators by combining Big Data analytics with the analysis of network patterns. Our study aims to define relational structures in a Big Data set, implementing measurements and clustering methods by Network Analysis in order to build decision-making indicators. We describe an audience model both to collect a large amount of online data from large online newspapers and to structure those in a relational form. By analysing readers’ comments, we can derive proxies of reliable indicators about specific topics discussed on an online newspaper blog. We show the effectiveness of such an approach in detecting and building indicators to support policy-makers in complex decision-making processes.

The paper highlights the dynamics related to the problem of the integration of immigrants in Europe, focusing on the spread of prejudices and on the multiple conditions of exclusion. The main aim refers to the effectiveness of integration policies implemented in Europe. For this purpose, data from different sources are analysed to measure the degree of hostility versus tolerance towards foreign immigrants, both through official data and with the analysis of online comments published on Twitter during the period of European elections.

[EN] This paper analyses the content of Twitter’s comments during the period covering the last European elections. "#immigrants" is the extraction’s keyword in different national languages. With the exception of English and French, whose extraction would be misleading, all of the other languages have been chosen to catch the geographical area of reference. We made sure to extract at least two sentences for each Welfare area. Once the data have been extracted, three different strategies have been used. The first one, dealing with both a qualitative and a quantitative assessment; the second one, analysing automatically the content of the top 10 extracted tweets during the reference period and the third one based on network analysis. Through a deep analysis of the content, three clusters have been identified: the first one dealing with the cultural risks of multiculturalism; the second one (social risks) dealing with the fear of migrants stealing job vacancies and the third one dealing with economic risks. A deep network analysis of Italian and Spanish contexts follows. What emerges is that: communication is extremely heterogeneous; in Italy there unique and duplicated edges prevails; in Spain there are more groups than in Italy, more themes covered and different kind of users and nets.

This study proposes an analysis on the theme of gender differences with respect to participation in political and social life. Specifically, it takes into account the findings of traditional, revisionist and radical studies, proposing an updated and gender sensitive interpretation. In this way, we can distinguish between cause, civic and campaign oriented forms of participation, selecting among the different types and classifications proposed by studies oriented to the analysis of female involvement. The hypotheses proposed refer to the possible effects of the availability of resources (time, money, education), socialization (children, marriage, religion, divorce), motivations (trust, self-direction, information) and values (materialist, solidal, liberalist ethics). Moreover, the dynamics linked to opportunities and contextual constraints are kept under control, specifically linked to welfare policies and availability of resources to guarantee equity. A further hypothesis concerns effects that discriminate not only with respect to gender but also with reference to the mechanisms of mobilization. The analyses, carried out with data from the wave 2018 of the European Social Survey, demonstrate the substantial validity of the hypotheses and, in particular, differences emerge with respect to the type of participation and strong impact of contextual dynamics. Finally, partial confirmations of differences in mobilisation mechanisms with respect to gender emerge., SocietàMutamentoPolitica, Vol 11, N° 22 (2020): che Genere di partecipazione?

Defining the boundaries of tourism destinations has been long recognised as a problem in tourism research. The authors aim to define the spatial configuration of tourism areas including different destinations within a same region. Tourist mobility is employed as a methodological criterion to reveal the network relationships among destinations and explain how tourism areas are being shaped and reshaped. The study combines Network Analysis methods and multinomial logistic regression models, in an approach to processing the data of a sampling survey, carried out in Sicily. The results show that the network structures among destinations affect the shape and dimension of tourism areas. Useful evidence for the spatial planning of tourism regions and destination management strategies are derived.

In recent years, large volumes of data are generated by automatic extraction of information, innovative data mining, and predictive analytics. This paper proposes an innovative approach by combining Big Data with the analysis of relational structures in order to improve actionable analytics-driven decision patterns. From the website of one of the largest online Italian newspapers, interactions among users and their comments about a 2016 Italian constitutional review bill are organized in a Big Data audience model. Readers’ sentiments are measured and relational patterns are classified by descriptive measurements and clustering structures implemented in Network Analysis methods.

The structure of the M5s group in the Italian parliament has become more clearly defined during the eighteenth legislature, with the rise of identifiable leaders and the start of a process of internal segmentation. The study examines the process of vertical differentiation from 2013 to 2018, considering simultaneously the intra-group dynamics; the process of political personalisation in the media, and instrumental leadership, linked to the MPs’ work in Parliament. Focusing on the identification of relational dynamics, the analysis highlights a process of homogenisation in the group and the role of specific political resources in the pronouncements of the leadership.

This paper proposes an innovative methodological approach to measure sociometric status in small groups of pupils. Although it uses indirect data collected by interview, in this study the sociometric status is analysed by direct observation. This method is specifically suitable when the target population concerns pre-school children. Their cognitive competence, in fact, is not as well developed as their relational abilities. Hence, the indicators constructed are more reliable than the measures derived by the subjective perception of interviewed pupils. The Network Analysis methods allow for the definition of sociometric status by means of regular equivalence. Employing lambda sets and cliques, then, we specify further roles into distinctive small groups. The results show that sociometric status can be revealed by regular equivalence. Besides, the Network Analysis approach allows for the observation of further relational skills, not strictly associated with traditional social roles, detectable only through lambda sets and cliques.

This paper concerns network analysis (NA) methods employed to classify role profiles based on the measurement and the specification of linking structures among pupils in infant school. With this aim, we measure sociometric status by the direct observation of preschool children behaviours. The data have been collected by a longitudinal observational study. We follow the children in seven waves for 2 months. In this study, we measure relational skills of subjects applying three procedures: The regular equivalence is used to detect similar positions within the network, the lambda sets to observe the ability to be intermediary and the cliques to assess the propensity to belong to a group. Concerning each analytic dimension, the results show an increase of relational competence and an association with ego-network measures.

In recent years, we have witnessed an extraordinary growth in globally generated data. The automatic extraction of such extraordinary amount of data, together with innovative data mining and predictive analytics techniques, represents an innovative opportunity in supporting decision-making. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to explore the opportunity of integrating Big Data techniques with Network Analysis methods. In particular, our study employs descriptive measurements and clustering methods of Network Analysis in order to define relational structures within a Big Data set. We discuss a Big Data tool that collects and analyses information from user interactions with published news and comments about a case study related to a recent Italian constitutional review bill with important political implications.

This article aims to define tourism networks analyzing tourist mobility between destinations. The study adopts network analysis methods, testing a data processing strategy that combines descriptive measurements and clustering tools. A segmentation approach has been employed to investigate differences or similarities between the trip-related attributes of tourists within networks. Data are from a sampling survey carried out on tourists’ visit in Sicily. The results show that the tourist choice defined the role of a destination as “central” or “peripheral” within a network. Tourists build their own networks around nodal destinations, even if they are geographically distant. Thus, tourist mobility affects the shape, the dimension, and the structure of the networks, where tourists are different for characteristics, trip-related behaviors, and type of holiday chosen. The study provides some evidence that can be useful for planning tourism facilities, managing tourism routes, and defining destination management strategies.

This contribution aims at analyzing voters’ characteristics and their preference motivations at the first Italian national primary elections in 2005 and the Sicilian regional primary elections in 2006. This analysis mainly focuses on gender differences and is based on a sample of face-to-face interviews. In 2005 the primary elections were called in order to select the centre-left coalition candidate for the following parliamentary elections, while the 2006 ones in order to choose the president of the Sicily region. Several differences between these two primary votes are to be detected, first of all the fact that the regional primaries were much more competitive. Both elections are analyzed by focusing on the voters’ propensity for political and civic involvement with a specific gender-oriented perspective. Political engagement’s mechanisms are reconstructed, allowing to single out different participatory profiles. Furthermore, voting motivation and priorities, cognitive dimensions as well as political communication tools employed by the candidates are considered in order to provide a more accurate explanation of voters’ behavior and attitudes.

This article is available on the website of the old publisher Franco Angeli ( http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/sommario.asp?IDRivista=152 )

This study shows the linkage between political and social participation, underlining the relevance of the motivational sphere. The aim is to evaluate politically relevant social capital by adopting a relational perspective and ego-network measures, so that we can understand the interdependence between cognitive maps, motivational factors and relational dimension, both in qualitative and quantitative dimensions.

Struttura del territorio e comportamento elettorale Primarie ed esito elettorale La funzione politica delle primarie: quale rilevanza? Misure sintetiche per l'analisi comparativa degli aggregati territoriali Le elezioni primarie nei comuni della Sicilia: la localizzazione del voto La relazione tra primarie ed elezioni regionali: il quoziente di ubicazione La territorializzazione della dinamica politica

The spatial distribution of tourists is uneven and it can include some areas at regional and/or sub-regional level. The social–economic and environmental impacts of tourism, are concentrated in different areas. Some recent contributions show the usefulness and the effectiveness of network analysis (NA) approach in revising the organization of tourist facilities and services. This paper proposes to apply methods borrowed from NA to map the spatial distribution of tourism mobility in Sicily. So, we analyze the network features of tourism in a multi-destinations net. By means of traditional measures of NA, we propose to measure the links among destinations. The study aims to connect destinations, represented as nodes, to define a territorial network of tourism demand. In the specific instance, the degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality are used to localize central areas and the main routes. We test survey data collected on a sample of tourists leaving from airports and ports of the main Sicilian cities, who visited two destinations at least. Then, we study tourism mobility on those areas selected by tourists. Finally, employing measures derived from NA, the work attempts to set out territorial networks. This approach could be useful to plane tourism development policies.

L’alto grado di mobilitazione è il vero elemento di novità e di interesse delle primarie dell’Unione. Se è vera l’ipotesi che esse abbiano coinvolto una quota di elettori, al di là delle capacità di mobilitazione delle strutture di partito e collaterali, è verosimile considerare l’elevata affluenza come espressione della volontà di ‘sentirsi parte’ di un progetto politico o quantomeno di manifestare approvazione verso questa nuova modalità di coinvolgimento. I non iscritti e i non attivisti hanno avuto, sicuramente, bisogno di un surplus di motivazione per sostenere i costi di una doppia partecipazione (alle primarie ed alle elezioni formali). Nell’incertezza sul grado di affluenza alle primarie del 16 ottobre e nella convinzione che queste avrebbero coinvolto soprattutto gli elettori più attivi e a diverso titolo impegnati politicamente, abbiamo predisposto un questionario da somministrare all’uscita del seggio elettorale, dopo avere espletato tutte le procedure di voto. Le dimensioni prese in considerazione si possono associare sulla base di due interessi conoscitivi fondamentali: uno, relativo alle dimensioni qualitative e quantitative della partecipazione; l’altro, relativo alle motivazioni soggettive ed al significato attribuito alle primarie. Scopo dell’indagine, con tutti i limiti derivanti da un progetto ambizioso e dall’utilizzo di una modalità di rilevazione poco controllabile, è stato quello di approfondire la conoscenza dei partecipanti alle primarie nazionali anche se, a giudizio di chi scrive, la tipologia di elettori emersa dal nostro lavoro di ricerca è, verosimilmente, solo in parte estensibile a primarie di livello inferiore dotate di una più elevata competitività, nella misura in cui sifronteggiano solo due candidati di peso più o meno pari. In questi casi, la motivazione a partecipare perde il contenuto solidaristico e le primarie recuperano il senso proprio di strumento di selezione del candidato.