Data Science
(2015 - Present)

Data Science Reveals US Higher Education and Student Loan Systems are Failing Students Who Need Them Most

Journal of Literacy and Technology
Volume 22, Number 1: Spring 2021

In partnership with ShapingEdu, data scientists from social impact start-up Omdena examined the root causes and key parameters of the student debt problem in the US, and then built an innovative tool to empower potential borrowers with customized information on the financial and personal impacts of their student loans. Working on a prompt by ShapingEdu, researchers used social science and data science to examine the issue, producing key insights around the parameters, demographics, and causes of student debt. Then they prototyped a solution.

University-Industry Programs as Platforms: A Case Study of Multi-Disciplinary Collaborative Network Development

Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2018

This paper shows how University-Industry (UI) liaisons can be studied in light of the emerging and insightful literature on platforms. Applying the concept of platforms to University-Industry programs, this paper describes one industry affiliate program and analyzes its synergistic impact on multidisciplinary involvement and collaboration network development. Insights and recommendations are made for catalyzing mutually beneficial collaborations through research themes as mechanisms for platform orchestration.

Socio-Computational Frameworks, Tools and Algorithms for Supporting Transparent Authorship in Social Media Knowledge Markets

Chapter in Transparency in Social Media - Tools, Methods and Algorithms for Mediating Online Interactions, Springer 2015

Proposes new methods for measuring, visualizing and modelling how opinion leaders and influential authors emerge in social media. Advances new approaches to theory based tools, algorithms, methods or visualization techniques that can help ordinary users better understand the origin and motivations of a given social media unit of content. Highlights the most important areas of research regarding the development of algorithms, tools and services for modeling social media authorship and reputation.

Russian Internet & Society
(2009-2014)

Civic Responsibility and Empowerment: Citizen Journalism in Russia

Chapter in Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives- Volume 2 (Global Crises and the Media), Peter Lang Publishing, 2014

The second volume of Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives offers an overview of key developments in citizen journalism since 2008, including the use of social media in crisis reporting. Examines new ideas, concepts and frameworks for the study of citizen journalism and evaluates current academic and journalistic debates regarding the growing significance of citizen journalism for globalising news cultures.

The Map and The Territory: Russian Social Media Networks and Society

Doctoral Dissertation, Columbia University School of Journalism, 2013

This dissertation uses Russian social media as a lens for exploring the historically, culturally, socially and politically situated relationship between individuals and online communication technologies. I propose a framework for comparative international analysis that leverages three interconnected elements – history, network structure and media ecology. On the basis of these three elements, this dissertation examines Russia’s social media ecology and its relationship to Russia’s broader socio-political environment, articulating the various factors that have influenced the specific network structure and nature of social media in Russia, its role within the broader online and traditional media ecologies, and its implications for Russian society and politics in general.

Blogging in Russia Is not Russian Blogging

Chapter in International Blogging Identity, Politics and Networked Publics, Peter Lang Publishing, 2009

Bloggers around the world produce material for local, national and international audiences, yet they are developing in ways that are distinct from the U.S. model. Through case studies of blogs written in English, Chinese, Arab, French, Russian, and Hebrew, this book explores the way blogging is being conceptualized in different cultural contexts. This book suggests a more nuanced approach to understanding how blogospheres serve communication needs, how they exist in relation to one another, where they exist apart as well as where they overlap, and how they interact with other forms of communication in the larger media landscape.

The RuNet - Lost in Translation

Russian Analytical Digest, Issue 69, 2009

This article argues for a socio-cultural analysis of the Russian Internet and social media landscape. I contend that the Russian Internet and social media landscape is unique, with features that are specific to Russia and distinct from their counterparts in the US or elsewhere. Russian Internet and social media use needs to be understood from within its own socio-cultural context – Western understandings of Internet use and social media categories do not necessarily translate to Russia. This article discusses some of the key variables – such as level and degree of penetration, style of use, areas of attention and social media categories – which are necessary for a nuanced understanding of the Russian Internet.

Social Networking on Runet: The View from a Moving Train

Digital Icons, Studies in Russian, Eurasian and Central European New Media, Issue 2, From Comrades to Classmates, Social Networks on the Russian Internet, 2009

Any discussion about the parameters of online social networking is like trying to describe a landscape from a moving train - the view keeps changing as one is attempting to grasp it. This article attempts to capture this shifting landscape by synthesizing data about the nature, parameters, and demographics of Russian social media use from four major sources into one relatively cohesive “snapshot” of a moment in time; in this case: Spring 2009.