The next MeLCi Lab Talks event has Manuel Marques-Pita (Lusófona University, CICANT) as a guest, with the communication "Coherence and synergy in text-based online group conversations: evidence from school debates about the Covid-19 infodemic". The session will be held on July 23, at 4.30 pm (UTC+1), on Zoom (link here).
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Title: Coherence and synergy in text-based online group conversations: evidence from school debates about the Covid-19 infodemic.
Abstract: One of the hallmarks of both Communication Science and Sociology is their shared fascination with understanding how micro-level interactions can result in mesoscopic and emergent collective patterns. One of the main reasons for this fascination is the challenging problem of explaining and predicting such patterns from interaction rules. Solving this problem is critical in many domains –– one of them is networked human communication in the online information ecosystem. Complex communication dynamics shape public opinion, drive the evolution of communities bound by beliefs, influence democracies, and amplify hate. However, the mechanisms at work in these mass communication phenomena remain poorly understood. I will present recent, yet unpublished, work on six datasets I collected in online, computer-mediated school debates about the Covid-19 Infodemic. The analyses look at two dimensions of social conversation: (a) the nature and coherence of the dynamic flow of the topics discussed and (b) the group synergy attained during these conversations –– seen as the transfer of information between interlocutors. While I approach this research primarily from a Complex Systems and data-driven (quantitative) perspective, I hope to engage the audience in discussions about (a) this work's theoretical framing and contextualization as well (b) about interfacing with qualitative methods.
CV: Prof. Manuel Pita holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland, UK). He developed his doctoral dissertation in the Artificial Intelligence and Education group led by Prof. Helen G. Pain. After completing his PhD, Prof. Pita pursued postdoctoral training in (1) natural language processing (NLP) and automated diagnostic reasoning in intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) with Prof. Johanna Moore (University of Edinburgh, UK) and (2) in Complex Systems with Profs. Luis M. Rocha (Indiana University, USA) and Melanie Mitchell (Portland State University, USA). Prof. Pita's research is on understanding dynamics and control of complex networks –– initially in biochemical networks, esp. genetic regulation, and more recently to study communication in social networks. Prof. Pita is currently an Assistant Professor at Lusófona University, CICANT. He is also the principal investigator of a funded project that uses Artificial Intelligence, Data, and Network Science to study social conversation in communities of secondary school students online.
Chair: Maria José Brites