Studying Structure and Dynamics of Large-Scale Socio-Cultural Systems:

Developing new measures, and as necessary, optimizing existing ones to analyze the structure and dynamics of large networks within a reasonable amount of time and developing approximation algorithms for network metrics that allow for estimating timeliness and fidelity.

Tackling the multi-layer bias problem of social media data to increase the value of these data for studying research questions of the "offline" world.

Developing visual analytics methods for network data that facilitate analytical reasoning by utilizing the human power to capture complex interrelations and revealing insights into human perception in the context of network drawings.

Developing stable methodological and theoretical foundations to apply network analysis methods to research problems in a very diverse array of scientific fields.

In the following you can find my current research projects.

Understanding, Detecting, and Mitigating Online Misogyny against Politically Active Women

Billions of people use social media every day. Many of them discuss political topics online. Radicalization, extreme speech, and in particular online misogyny against politically active women have become alarming negative features of online discussions. In this interdisciplinary project, we will employ mixed-methods approaches to three case studies in Germany, India, and Brazil to better understand the content and dynamics of online misogyny against politically active women and to develop methods for early identification of such emerging dynamics. We will collaborate with subject matter experts in India and Brazil as well as with media partners and affected female politicians. With citizen social science tools we will involve the general public in the process of identifying emerging campaigns of online misogyny against politically active women. This project will also develop policy briefs and regulatory approaches to address online misogyny.

Project Period: 2022-2025

Partner: » Prof. Dr. Janina Steinert (Department of Governance, TUM), Prof. Dr. Sahana Udupa (LMU)

Online Firestorms and Resentment Propagation

Dynamics, Predictability, and Mitigation on Social Media

In this project, we address the mathematical modeling of the formation and dynamics of opinions in large groups of interacting people on social media. Our primary objective is to understand the driving factors of social media group level phenomena that lead to negative dynamics and to offer approaches on how to detect, react to, and possibly mitigate these dynamics early on. The fundamental goal is to reveal the possible relationship between the simple "social forces" acting at individual level, being the "first principles" of social interaction or the game rules, and the potential emergence of a global behavior. » Read more

Project Period: 2019-2022

Partner: » Prof. Dr. Massimo Fornasier, Department of Mathematics, TUM

Online-Offline Spillovers

Potential Real-World Implications of Online Manipulation

This project analyzes the previously unexplored questions of whether people's online behavior spills over to their behavior in the offline world and what mediates the respective effects. Employing a two-stage experimental setup, we first use field experiments on social media for online manipulations of our study participants. Second, we study the potential spillovers to our participants' offline behavior in a laboratory setting. Specifically, we investigate whether attention from others on social media leads to a polarization of people's political opinions and erodes their commitment to truth. We hypothesize that the treatment group receiving a relatively high levels of attention on social media will show more polarized profiles of political opinions. » Read more

Project Period: 2019-2020

Partner: » Dr. Matthias Uhl, TUM School of Governance, TUM

Philipp Schwartz Initiative of the Humboldt Foundation

I am the host of TUM's successful proposal at the Philipp Schwartz Initiative of the Humboldt Foundation. We are funded to take in a threatened foreign researchers for two years who is seeking refuge in Germany because he is threatened by war and persecution in his homeland. » Read more

Project Period: 2017-2020

Critical Data Science for CSS

The collection and analysis of large amounts of data is affecting all areas of our lives. Critical Data Studies (CDS) explore the cultural, ethical and socio-technical challenges at the interface between computer science, social science and society. Central to our research is the understanding of data as a highly variable and fragile commodity. Data is not to be understood as something "given". Data is highly determined by many decisions made by software developer and system engineers. We try to follow the decisions around data genesis until their reuse in different contexts. » Read more

Project Period: 2017-

Partner: » Katja Mayer

Online Firestorms

Understanding Negative Word of Mouth Dynamics in Social Media Networks

An online firestorm is the sudden discharge of large quantities of messages containing negative word of mouth and complaint behavior against a person, company, or organization in social media networks. Our primary objective of this project is to understand the driving factors of social media group level phenomena that lead to online firestorms and to offer approaches on how to early detect these dynamics.

Project Period: 2014-2015

Big Data, Big Networks

Imagine 100 Billion Tweets and millions of newspaper articles stored on 200TB of hard drive space. In this project we develop approaches to handle and analyze these data in a computer cluster system (HPCC). We also extract and analyze networks with hundreds of millions of nodes.

Project Period: 2014-2016

Partner: » LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Highly Configurable Software Systems

In highly configurable software systems the configuration space is too big for (re-)certifying every configuration in isolation. In this project, we combine software analysis with network analysis to detect which configuration options interact and which have local effects. Instead of analyzing a system as Linux and SELinux for every combination of configuration settings one by one (>10^2000 even considering compile-time configurations only), we analyze the effect of each configuration option once for the entire configuration space.

Project Period: 2014-2017

Partner: » Christian Kästner (CMU)

Multi-Model Run-Time Security Analysis

Our research focuses on creating the scientific foundations to support model-based run-time diagnosis and repair of security attacks. In the proposed research we develop a rigorous basis for composing software architectural models with organizational network models to provide much richer capabilities than is available from either in isolation. Network models complement architectural models in two ways: (a) to characterize the organizational context of a system, and (b) to detect anomalies through network representations of architectural behavior.

Project Period: 2014-2017

Partners: » David Garlan (CMU) » Bradley Schmerl (CMU)

From Sensors to Tweeters

A Sustainable Sociotechnical Approach for Detecting, Mitigating, and Building Resilience to Hazards

Decision making in disaster environments requires a sociotechnical approach that integrates the science of the natural physical environment with analysis of the interdependent conditions among technical, organizational, cultural, and socioeconomic sub-systems in any community which, when disrupted, escalate hazard events into disasters. We explore the process of building community resilience to hazards that involves geophysical, engineered, technical, computational, organizational, communication and socioeconomic systems.

Project Period: 2013-2015

Partners: » Pittsburgh University » Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution » Northwestern University

Multi-Source Assessment of State Stability

Our primary objective is to understand the way in which media - social and traditional - can be used to affect state stability or instability by states, individuals, groups and corporations. A secondary objective is to identify indicators in social media and traditional media that can be used as signals of changes in trust, norms, influence, lines of stability, and lines of alliance or competition that could predict state instability.

Project Period: 2013-2015

Partners: » Arizona State University » University of Massachusetts Lowell

Decomposing Network Algorithms

Composability of Big Data and Algorithms for Social Networks Analysis Metrics

A network of humans, organizations, etc. is modeled with a graph G = (N,E) by aggregation of observed interactions E between targeted entities N. Composing network analysis metrics by running modified algorithms on disjunct sub-graphs G1, G2, ... results in shorter calculation times by using less memory space.

Project Period: 2013-2014

Edge Analytics

Context-Aware Network Analysis in Resource-Constrained Environments

Current network analytics strategies are inappropriate for big data in resource-constrained environments. In this research project we deliver lightweight algorithms based on approximation, incremental update, and pre-calculation where possible. We develop a reference architecture and prototype implementation.

Project Period: 2012-2013

Partners: » Software Engineering Institute » Carnegie Mellon University

Modeling State Stability

A Structural Approach to the Incorporation of Cultural Knowledge in Adaptive Adversary Models

The overall goal of this multidisciplinary research is to develop grounded culturally sensitive theories & flexible, robust and scalable computational techniques for modeling and predicting the adaptive behavior of adversaries in asymmetric threat environments as well as dynamics in context of conflicts and revolutions (Arab Spring). » Read more

Project Period: 2008-2013

Partners: » Rhode Island College » East Carolina University

Serious Beats

The Question for Diversity within Social Networks and Online Social Games

In what ways do media and technology use - especially online social gaming - allow young people of foreign descent to understand cultural diversity and engage more fully in "mainstream" society? What aspects of media usage encourage these patterns? Action Research: An online social game where youngsters collaborate online across district borders to fulfill game requests is produced. We analyze the social networks of the players online but also offline by making use of interviews. » Read more

Project Period: 2010-2013

Partners: » University of Vienna » Vienna University of Technology » Rider University

Neighborhood Cultures

"...and in the end my street won't be the same"

An evaluation of the exhibition "2-3 street" by Jochen Gerz in Duisburg, Dortmund and Mülheim (European Capital of Culture: RUHR.2010). The aim of the project is to better understand the structure (composition) and the functionality (social support) of neighborhood networks as well as the impact of a cultural intervention. » Read more

Project Period: 2010-2012

Partner: » University of Hamburg

VIENA

Visual Enterprise Network Analytics

Visual Analytical approach towards Social Network Analysis, integrating the structural and process-oriented view on organizations, making it accessible for business affordances by Visual Analytics and Usability Engineering. » Read more

Project Period: 2009-2011

Partners: » Danube University Krems » Research Studios Austria FG » BOC Information Technologies Consulting AG