@Barros_heritage@mfi@sociology@politicalscience
🤔 Is there really a need to define such an open term (beyond giving broad indications of its general function in the sociological discourse) ? It will always have blurred limits (when it comes to determining whether someone is acting or being "acted"), and when we try to give a strict definition, it will always enforce strong ontologies with very cumbersome consequences.
@Barros_heritage@mfi@sociology@politicalscience
For instance, one might consider the #ANT definition a fancy but sterile metaphysical move that will hinder sociological work ;-) (haha sorry for the provocation)
An alternative strategy would be to merely distanciate yourself from conceptual connotations, depending on the object you want to build ("actor" vs "agent", or "subject", or "stakeholder", or "individual", etc...) without closing the meaning with an determinate definition.
🔔 Update 🔔 Curious about my tech tools and workflow? I've updated and greatly expanded the annotated list of favorite open source tools on my website: https://seanfobbe.com/code/
Includes both general tools (browser, e-mail, OS, editor) and data science specific tools (R, R packages, reproducible science).
Parking machines that stop working in Russia because their foreign software is no longer being updated or terminated at the end of its license as a result of sanctions may sound inconsequential, but expect there to be similar issues causing more serious disruptions elsewhere.
This particular disruptive impact of the sanctions takes effect with a delay but should not be underestimated, if only for the security issues resulting from the suspension of software updates. See also the article by @fa_burkhardt and me for SAIS Review of International Affairs.
Do you need data related to #covid19 for your research? 👀📚 Look no further! 👇
Our #PanDDemiC portal has been filled with new datasets, varying from citizens' attitudes on the #pandemic to its impact on migration, labor and municipalities. ✅
Interesting PhD position at the University of Amsterdam to work with Gulnaz Sibgatullina, e.g. addressing how digital media platforms facilitate the dissemination of anti-imperial discourses (country focus within Central Asia/Russia/Eastern Europe open)
Great follow up from The Insider on recent SovFed statements about more aggressive measures to restrict VPNs that enable circumventing censorship in Russia (again illustrating SovFed is not the place where to expect tech expertise...).
Worth translating if you're interested in the topic of VPNs in Russia.
@Marielle_W@politicalscience I‘d say the government is already successful. No ordinary person without a foreign credit card can be expected to juggle services and protocols, hoping his traffic is obsfucated enough to pass through DPI unnoticed
@lokshin@politicalscience Absolutely, especially if we consider data security along with whether users are able to access blocked resources (emphasis in much of Western assessments is on the latter)
How to cooperate as member state at the European level, while maintaining its national #legitimacy during crises? 🤔
John Erik Fossum, Chris Lord, and Arto Väisänen, our partners at ARENA Centre for European Studies, explored complex multi-level emergency governance configurations that emerged during the #pandemic.
For the offline component of the 4th edition of our teaching partnership, the Digital Constitutionalism Network is in Padova this week with brilliant students from University of Padova, Dublin City University and University of Bremen
The intensive week of lectures and group work in Padova builds upon the virtual component before the summer. To learn more about the Blended Intensive Programme coordinated by the Digital Constitutionalism Network, check out the blog post on the virtual part.
The BIP is organised by Claudia Padovani, Andrea Pettrachin, Edoardo Celeste and Dennis Redeker with contributions by various members of the Digital Constitutionalism Network, including Mauro Santaniello and Marianne Franklin
Forscher: Verbot der "Artgemeinschaft" war "absolut überfällig"
RBB-Interview mit Christoph Schulze vom Moses Mendelssohn Zentrum (#MMZ) Potsdam
"Das Bundesinnenministerium hat mit der 'Artgemeinschaft' wieder eine rechtsextreme Gruppierung verboten. Rechtsextremismusforscher Christoph Schulze erklärt, was es mit der Gruppierung auf sich hat. Er bezeichnet sie als hart antisemitisch und betont: 'Das sind nicht nur Spinner.'"
Time for the Fall of the Google Empire (or at least major regs).
This DOJ case will be critical to going after other Big Tech.
"Google has worked tirelessly over the last 20 years to ensure its search engine is the default option for a host of mobile devices, wireless carriers and web browsers. The company has done this despite knowing it risked creating a monopoly--U.S. DOJ."
The #PanDDemiC portal is updated with new resources! 📢
Several projects, like our sister @horizoneu projects LEGITIMULT and ROBUST are added and useful datasets to learn more about human rights, conflict and policies related to #covid.