Network analysis report: final report

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#1

TheMasterNOT.JPG2737×1832 2.55 MB

Update: changed the semantics page as requested by Khatuna (see comments). Also added UNDP logo and made other minor changes.

Update 2: added a reference page. I consider this finished.

Here is the first attempt at the network analysis report. I tried to make it very short: only 561 words, aided by 8 sleek images.

The format lends itself to easily making a presentation. This is designed with UNDP employees in mind: maybe participating in a conference, or giving an internal presentation to the top brass.

Khatuna, @Lurglomond, @gazbee sorour, could you have a look and see if you like it? I may still make minor changes. Also you, @Noemi, @ArthurD and Inga – your input is welcome on this format.

file_fid:3326 -

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Long form ethnography report - final draft
#2

Thanks for keeping out perspective in mind!

Alberto, thank you very much for this! Looks great and easy to grasp. Just one thing that comes immediately to my mind for the audience that’s not so aware of tech slang: perhaps little bit simplify the Semantics page? :slight_smile: Many would not know what Ethnographic coding mean…and also, who can do the network analysis? can any member of the  network have access to the tool? [the answer might be already on the network, but pardon my ignorance] . From the management perspective, say for UNDP manager to be able to produce the network analysis independently would make a monitoring part very interesting, what do you think?

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#3

On it

Thanks for the feedback, Khatuna.

  • I can certainly add a bit of explanation to the Semantics page. 
  • You can perform the network analysis by yourselves, but that requires you teach yourselves a little bit of Tulip. @Benjamin Renoust has added links to Tulip files at the end of this post: this means that the files have already been built, so you don't need to re-run the scripts (though you can, there are also links to the code) and can start exploring the graphs right away. However, we are not going to make these files available for general download. When the exercise is finished, we will lock them. The reason is ethical: the Edgeryders-STF community has consented to their conversations being analyzed by UNDP and us for this specific purpose, and we would like some control on further uses. We can release pseudonymized data (identical networks, but no information on who is who), but that would mean doing extra work, so we are being a bit careful. 
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#4

Fair enough

On the second point -fair enough - fully agree on ethical part… I’m more or less aware of how this works after MN’s workshop and  thank you for that!  >what I actually meant is that it is excellent that network analysis tool is more or less easy to grasp for ordinary mortals who are e.g. project partners, who can use it as a monitoring tool, in addition to traditional reporting, which is remarkable in the context of how bureaucracies could establish connections with social networks.

#5

How do i make fonts all the same size ? :slight_smile:

Some of the text comes in larger font size when i post and how do I change it?

#6

Bug

It is a bug in the Rich Text Editor (documented here – will be solved within a few weeks).

 

The way to solve it is:

  1. Click the "edit" link under your comment's text. This lets you go back into the Rich Text Editor.
  2. Click on the "Switch to plain text editor" link below the text editor box. 
  3. You will notice that the larger text now is bracketed by gibberish like <span style = "...."> </span>. Erase all the gibberish.
  4. Click Save. I already fixed your comment for you.

The way to prevent it from happening is:

  1. Don't use the backspace key to join two paragraphs. 
  2. When you copy-paste something into the rich text editor, always use "Paste as plain text" (or, on Mac, "Paste and Match Style"). You can also use Edgeryders' rich text editor itself, just copy some text as normal, position the cursor where you want to paste it and click the  click on the icon to the left of the chain link icon in the toolbar. 
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#7

Semantics

How about this:

  • Ethnographic coding was applied to 161 posts and 782 comments. Coding is a standard ethnographic technique. It consists of reading all contributions and assigning relevant keywords to snippets of texts.
  • Such coding can be used to add semantic meaning to each individual connection in the network. 243 tags in 6 categories were identified as recurring all along the STF conversation.
  • If the conversation network is similar to a system of highways, semantic meaning can be thought of as the traffic actually riding on those highways. 
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#8

Thanks!

Looks great!

#9

Brilliant

@Alberto, this is first rate!  Well done to you and the team!

A few thoughts (not for the report, just of interest):

The insight on Armenia having a stronger connection with Egypt than Georgia is unexpected and fascinating.  Any additional insights on what is driving this?

Also, the northwest of the graphic on page nine has three standout keywords: cooperation, collective initiatives and common goals.  I would love to know a little more about the context of the reference.  Is there insufficient cooperation (you don’t often hear complaints about “too much cooperation” :slight_smile: or a lack of clarity on goals?

I understand that the conference touched upon how bureaucracies should interact with networks.

Perhaps in response to the above, UNDP should be setting up “change labs” – spaces to crate shared understanding between participants as a basis for common action.  Skills for the lab team to develop: ethnography, foresight, tactical design, new media.

This much for now…

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#10

Change labs - as the link between bureaucracies and networks?

George, loved your last point on ‘change labs’ , because if we look at the perspective of “what’s next” How can bureaucracies and  social networks work together in mutually reinforcing manner, what is required is a connecting link. In a very interesting conversation with Vinay at the final Futurespotters conference in Tbilisi this is the idea that resonated with me the most - that in partnership between multinationals and social networks there is no need to take over each other’s roles, but rather find the connecting link, which might as well be the ‘change labs’ you are describing. Any way to continue this brainstorming ?

#11

Fishtank

The change lab could quite easily be squeezed into the Fishtank concept.  Pitch it to Nils :slight_smile:

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#12

Well done to you guys

Well, the network report is only half of the story: the other half is the ethnography proper, that delves into content where the network stuff is more concerned with structure. Inga is working on it now, a draft should be out by Friday.

The fact that you, George, are looking at the network and asking questions about content brings contentedness to my heart, because it shows that you can indeed use algorithms on conversational data to surface questions that can then be answered by delving into the units of content highlighted by the algorithms. My vision for Edgeryders is to be a platform for collectively intelligent discussion, with a community that is good at scenario exploration and debate and tech to help lift the good bits from that conversation. This calls for qualitative data analysis (QDA, what Inga is doing) augmented by quantitative analysis (network stuff, what Ben has been doing). By the way, Khatuna, having your point of view downstream of Masters of Networks would be really good. :wink:

Also, I like the conversation below. Amazing!

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#13

Looking forward to the ethnography report

I like the vision for Edgeryders.  Linked to the conversation below, would it be possible to create a project/group in Armenian/Georgian alone?

#14

Yes, absolutely

Any node and any comment, including those you create for the first time, can have an Armenian language translation (Drupal calls “translation” a version of a node that is aware that more than one language is possible, even if that version is the original one). Proceed like this:

  1. go to the Projects page, accessible from the main menu. 
  2. Click on "create a project" or "create your own" (they are indifferent). This opens a project creation form.
  3. Scroll down to locate the Language drop down menu. Select the language you want.
  4. Continue to fill the required field of the project creation form, in the language you have chosen. 

The same procedure will work for any kind of content on Edgeryders (posts, wikis, comments…). More information on how to create and manage content on Edgeryders can be found on the User’s manual.

#15

We could as well do it together!

Why don’t we do it together? As a regional initiative?

#16

Expand Kolba?

The vision for Kolba is that it eventually becomes a regional/global lab… next stop Georgia?  We could provide the digital infrastructure for your change lab’s online community (i.e add Georgian as one of the site’s languages).  Your work with micro-narratives fits into this very well.  Joint pitch to the global innovation facility next year?

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#17

Why next year? :slight_smile:

And why not? and why next year?

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#18

Funding cycles

But I like where your mind is on this one… wish list for a change lab (please add): physical space (preferably near but not within the UNDP office); community manager (skills: new media and ethnography); online community (small funds to upgrade Kolba’s website to include Georgian); travel funds (for the lab team to get out and for the outside world to come to you); “office supplies” (sticky notes, IT, etc.).  Let’s Skype on how to pitch it to Nils et al.

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#19

Wish list continued

Skype call -yes! any time next Wednesday … to add to wish list - training/capacity building …

#20

looks great!

I have hardly any comments to the existing version, maybe just a minor stylistic one: it is not comfortable for me to read text on a black background. but maybe it is just me. Also, I am working on the ethnographic part - but I am afraid that I will be able to finish just by the next Friday. I will do my best though to do it asap.