Bahman Rabeie nia; Hussein Harsij
Abstract
The universalization of the use of virtual social networks has caused important changes in lifestyles, habits and social relationships and the relationship between people and governments. Social movements, as one of the methods of conveying demands and communication between people and the government, ...
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The universalization of the use of virtual social networks has caused important changes in lifestyles, habits and social relationships and the relationship between people and governments. Social movements, as one of the methods of conveying demands and communication between people and the government, are strongly affected by these changes. In the last two decades, the mobilization function of social networks has shown a new face of social movements all over the world. The aim of the current research is to explain this effect in the social movements of Iran between 2018 and 2018. The method of this research is descriptive-analytical and collected information using library sources, documents and secondary data. The findings of the research show that the use of social networks has played an effective and central role in facilitating the mobilization of resources for social movements. The major incidents investigated in the mentioned time period show that regardless of the reasons for the existence of social movements, with the control or lack of access to social networks, bringing the supporters of the movement to the stage is hindered, and with the passage of time, these protest movements suffer erosion and weakness.
Hossein Kermani; Amirali Tafreshi; Amir Mohammad Ghodsi; Alireza Bayat Makou; Ali Atash Zar
Abstract
Introduction:
The present study delves into the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on human life and social interactions, with a particular focus on Iran. The pandemic has substantially impacted various facets of human life, resulting in diminishing physical presence in the public sphere to avoid ...
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Introduction:
The present study delves into the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on human life and social interactions, with a particular focus on Iran. The pandemic has substantially impacted various facets of human life, resulting in diminishing physical presence in the public sphere to avoid getting infected with the virus, while increasing online interactions on social media platforms. The purposes of this research study include exploring the linguistic constructs developed on Twitter and Instagram in Farsi, during the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. The analysis is aimed towards providing a comprehensive comprehension of the underlying meanings constructed and negotiated in the early days of Iran's experience with the COVID-19 crisis, particularly in relation to the presence of power dynamics and hegemonic discourses.
Materials and Methods:
The aforementioned study implements mixed methodologies, featuring a combination of computational and traditional qualitative approaches, namely SOCIAL network analysis and qualitative content analysis, to elevate the depth and validity of the analysis. Specifically, these methods are used to investigate the social networking components and discussive content present within social media. The data collected in this study entails more than 4 million tweets and Instagram submissions from January 21, 2020, to April 29, 2020. The focus of the Twitter data analysis centered on the retweet network, which acted as the information dispersion network. Following data refinement, the retweet network was extracted, comprising more than 2.5 million tweets. Using a modularity-based community detection algorithm, clusters within the retweet network were identified. Five significant clusters, boasting volumes in excess of 4% of the total network, were identified. Each cluster incorporated a selection of individuals identified as the most influential according to the Pagerank index, indicating the highest tweet circulation in the entire network. A sample of 5056 tweets representing the total tweet population (7658) was randomly drawn, following which they were qualitatively annotated via content analysis to identify the underlying discourses. The agreement coefficient, based on Krippendorff's Alpha, was calculated to be 83%.
Discussion and Results
The findings of this research unveil a total of 71 micro-discourse constructs, clustered into 16 overarching macro-discourses, that were observed on both Twitter and Instagram during the initial days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. Furthermore, the most prevalent micro-discourse formats, sporting the highest frequency counts, were selected for further analysis, resulting in five dominant constructs on Twitter and Instagram each. The investigation of the selected discourses provided insights into their facets and their connection with power dynamics in Iran. Three of the predominant discourse formats were found to be shared between both platforms, with each host possessing
Conclusions
This study endeavored to discover and examine the discourses manufactured by Iranian users during the COVID-19 outbreak. The psychological dynamics of these users in the early phases of the pandemic were analyzed in light of Network Framing Theory and Foucault's Discourse Theory. The outcome presents a comprehensive picture of the network agency of Persian users on Twitter and Instagram. Users on Twitter predominantly held a conviction to accuse parties deemed responsible for the outbreak, such as negligence, faith-based assumptions, concealment, and misrepresentation. Meanwhile, Instagram users were positioned as afflicted, either undertaking health preventive measures or suffering the fear and hardships of COVID-19 conditions. This study illustrates that although internet-based networks have encroached on the primacy of conventional media as a leading framing agency, their features and systems still exert a significant influence. Each network highlights distinct frames, with specific content production dynamics, thereby producing diverse discourse constructs. This case study assessed the responses of users during the initial period of the crisis (short-term), but additional research can examine its implications in the medium and long term.
soha saleh; Alireza Haddadi
Abstract
The media, as a form of technology, has revived the age-old hope of bridging the nation-state gap by transforming societies into a society of virtual networks, and many believe that social networks such as Twitter have created a public sphere in the critique of political power. The present study, in ...
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The media, as a form of technology, has revived the age-old hope of bridging the nation-state gap by transforming societies into a society of virtual networks, and many believe that social networks such as Twitter have created a public sphere in the critique of political power. The present study, in the paradigm of cognitive interdisciplinary sciences and using the method of computing social sciences, examines the social relations network available on Twitter of Iranian users and examines the realization of the public sphere. The conclusion of the present study is that although the Twitter platform has potentially enabled such a possibility, the observation of the activism of active actors indicates the immaturity of the public sphere in Iranian society and we can only speak of political homophobia within scattered communities. What can make a difference in this human space through the technology of the hole are the bridge users on Twitter and the liaisons between the ECO rooms, whose role in the events related to the martyrdom of Sardar Soleimani is clearly explained, and the pattern of its qualitative variables is included.
Hossein Kermani; Marziyeh Adham; Amirali Tafreshi
Abstract
This paper provides a comprehensive and reliable approach to doing social research on Persian Twitter. Twitter has been one of the most favorable social platforms in Iran for years. Despite such popularity, research on Twitter has not been grown as it is supposed to be. Therefore, we are trying to fill ...
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This paper provides a comprehensive and reliable approach to doing social research on Persian Twitter. Twitter has been one of the most favorable social platforms in Iran for years. Despite such popularity, research on Twitter has not been grown as it is supposed to be. Therefore, we are trying to fill this gap by suggesting a complete approach in this article. This approach is based on social network analysis, ethnographic content analysis, and social media critical discourse studies. Combining these methods, we are going beyond the limitations of current approaches which focus on either users or tweets. This approach provides researchers with a convenient method from the selection of gathering data strategy and time to statistical and final analysis. We suggest helpful and reliable concepts and tools to research on Twitter in each step. Moreover, we present a strategy to coding users’ demographic variables in addition to an approach to reach a close and valid reading of tweets. This approach could consist of a convenient basis for future studies.
Seyed Zia Hashemi; Mohammad Rahbari
Abstract
Development of online social networks in recent years and creation of more ease for accessing to these networks via smart phones, has influenced people’s culture especially young people who use these networks daily. Among these networks, Twitter has different role because its access is prohibited ...
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Development of online social networks in recent years and creation of more ease for accessing to these networks via smart phones, has influenced people’s culture especially young people who use these networks daily. Among these networks, Twitter has different role because its access is prohibited in Iran and also many of its users have anonymous activity in it. So it creates an environment that users can talk in it more freely or as Hirschi says, there is less social control on these users. The lower social control in Twitter, may increase the amount of vulgar contents in it. So, understanding the role of Twitter in using vulgar contents as an abnormal behavior, is important for assessing the normative effects of using Twitter on its users.In this study, the content of Tweeter, from 1388 to 1396, is analyzed by using keyword-based data mining and descriptive-statistical method. Findings from data mining on 82 million tweets show that users have increasingly tweeted vulgar contents in early years of using Twitter in Iran. However, since 1392, the rate of using these contents have been relatively constant, and only 3 to 4 percent of all tweets have had vulgar contents. Therefore, in contrary to the first hypothesis, Twitter has not eliminated the obscenity of vulgar content. The reason can be the development of new values in this virtual community and the increase of social control, which is the result of more tweeting with real names and badges.
Hosein Salimi; Peyman Vahabpour
Abstract
Twitter is a social media that provides widespread engagement and interaction possibilities. In the last decade, the media has attracted the attention of politicians, especially diplomats, and has become a platform for the reflection of their priorities, values, and ideas. The use of this infrastructure ...
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Twitter is a social media that provides widespread engagement and interaction possibilities. In the last decade, the media has attracted the attention of politicians, especially diplomats, and has become a platform for the reflection of their priorities, values, and ideas. The use of this infrastructure has created a new type of diplomacy called "Twiplomacy", and more than 92 percent of the member states of the United Nations have a user account and represent their identity and their country on Twitter. In Iran, politicians and diplomats have not been able to keep up with this trend to have an active presence. By using the Ontological Security Theory, this essay seeks to explore how Iranian officials, especially diplomats, can represent the identity and norms of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Twitter. The main question is how Iranian politicians narrate themselves on Twitter. In order to investigate this question, in addition to Twitter of Iran's Foreign Minister, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu's tweets were also considered as the main rivals of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ontological narration on foreign policy. Accordingly, the following criteria were summarized as Iran's foreign policy narratives: First, Iran as a security maker of the region; second, Iran as an economically developing state; third, Iran as a compliant with international obligations; and last, an independent Iran.
