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Research Articles - Examples

Networks of Networks

 

Seo, H., & Thorson, S. (2012). Networks of networks: Changing patterns in country bandwidth and centrality in global information infrastructure, 2002-2010. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 345-358. 

 

Abstract: Linkages between countries have changed significantly as the global information infrastructure has evolved over the past decade. We argue that communication infrastructure and political processes evolve together, and in this study we attempt to measure key structural changes in bandwidth and the centrality of digital nodes in Middle East and North Africa. Using a combination of bandwidth metrics and centrality indicators, we demonstrate how global information infrastructure evolved between 2002 and 2010, and how several countries in the Middle East rose to prominence as good nodes mediating strong intraregional networks.

 

 

Social Media & Collective Action

 

Seo, H., Houston, J. B., Knight, L. T., Kennedy, E., & Inglish, A. (accepted for publication). Teens’ social media use and collective action. New Media & Society (Online First 2013).

 

Abstract: This research examined how social self-efficacy, collective self-esteem, and need to belong can be used to predict teens’ use of social media. The particular focus was on how these social psychological variables together with social media use account for variation in teens’ participation in a flash mob – an exemplar of 21st-century collective action. Empirical data come from a survey of teens in a major Midwestern city in the USA. Teens’ need to belong was positively associated with the amount of time they reported spending on social networking sites, even when controlling for gender, race, and household socio-economic status. Both teens’ social self-efficacy and time spent on YouTube were positively associated with their intention to participate in a flash mob in the future. These and other findings are discussed in the context of the role of social media in youth culture and collective action.

 

Social Media & Int'l Conflicts

 

Seo, H. (accepted for publication). Visual propaganda in the age of social media: Twitter images during 2012 Israeli-Hamas conflict. Visual Communication Quarterly.

 

Abstract: This study analyzed images posted to Twitter by the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas’ Alqassam Brigades during the November 2012 Gaza conflict to understand aspects of visual propaganda in the age of social media and online social networking. Content analysis was conducted to identify themes and frames prominently appearing in a total of 243 Twitter images posted by the two sides during a two-month period. Resistance and unity were the most prominent themes in the images posted by Israel and causalities of civilians and resistance were most prominent in Hamas-posted images. The majority of the Israeli images featured the analytical propaganda frame whereas the emotional propaganda frame was dominant in Hamas images.

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