Research Online at MacEwan :: Browsing by Author "Boulianne, Shelley"

Browsing by Author "Boulianne, Shelley"

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2021 Canadian federal election, election report: Facebook use by political parties
(2022) Boulianne, Shelley; Stevens, Leanne; Mullin, Samantha; Rondeau, Caroline; El-hakim, Yaseen; Johal, Sunpreet; Mamo, Natalie
We coded Facebook posts from a four-week period beginning August 23, 2021 and ending September 20, 2021. A team of six coders were trained using a codebook that includes more than 300 variables. This report covers a handful of the variables. Coders were given a Facebook link, which they opened in one window. Then in another window, they went through an online questionnaire hosted by SoSciSurvey.
Age differences in online news consumption and political expression in the United States, United Kingdom, and France
(2021) Boulianne, Shelley; Shehata, Adam
Younger and older generations are differently motivated in relation to news consumption and online political expression. In this paper, we suggest that different modes of citizenship characterize younger and older generations. To test the differential role of political interest in news consumption and online political expression, we use a survey of 3,210 people from the United States, 3,043 from the United Kingdom, and 3,031 from France. Our findings suggest that young citizens are more frequent users of online news overall and that the rank order of different news activities replicates cross-nationally. The frequency of online political expression is negatively related to age, with older people less likely to post online. Age moderates the relationship between political interest and news consumption as well as news consumption and online political expression. The correlations of these sets of variables are stronger for younger respondents compared to older respondents. These findings hold across the three countries under study. We explain these patterns in terms of changing citizenship norms and discuss the implications for democracy.
Attachment to community and civic and political engagement: a case study of students
(2014) Boulianne, Shelley; Brailey, Michelle
Youth’s low level of civic and political engagement may detrimentally affect the health of communities and the democratic system. This paper examines the role of community attachment in explaining youth’s levels of civic and political engagement. This examination requires an evaluation of existing measures of community attachment and their relevance for understanding youth’s experiences. The paper uses a student sample, highlighting a group of youth who have a degree of variation in their experiences of community attachment. We find that subjective measures of community attachment are related to volunteering and voting, but the objective measure of community attachment, i.e., years of residence, affects voting and not volunteering. Different mechanisms explain civic engagement versus political engagement. As such, different strategies are required to combat low levels of civic versus political engagement.
Building faith in democracy: deliberative events, political trust and efficacy
(2018) Boulianne, Shelley
Governments have turned to public deliberation as a way to engage citizens in governance with the goal of rebuilding faith in government institutions and authority as well as to provide quality inputs into governance. This paper offers a systematic analysis of the literature on the effects of deliberative events on participants’ political efficacy and trust. The systematic review contextualizes the results from a six-day deliberative event. This case study is distinctive in highlighting the long-term impacts on participants’ political trust and efficacy as key outcomes of the deliberative process unfold, i.e., City Council receives then responds to the participants’ recommendations report. Using four-wave panel data spanning two and a half years and three public opinion polls (control groups), the study demonstrates that participants in deliberative events are more efficacious and trusting prior to and after the deliberative event. Despite the case study’s evidence and the systematic review of existing literature, questions remain about whether enhanced opportunities for citizen engagement in governance can ameliorate low levels of political trust and efficacy observed in western democracies.
Campaigns and conflict on social media: a literature snapshot
(2016) Boulianne, Shelley
This volume addresses whether social media use is more common among liberal or conservative citizens, candidates, and organizations; the level of negativity in social media discourse and the impact on attitudes; the existence of echo chambers of like-minded individuals and groups; the extent and nature of interactivity in social media; and whether social media will reinforce participation inequalities. In sum, the studies suggest that negativity and interactivity on social media are limited and mixed support for echo chambers. While social media mobilizes citizens, these citizens are those who already pre-disposed to engage in civic and political life.
Citizen panels and opinion polls: convergence and divergence in policy preferences
(2018) Boulianne, Shelley; Loptson, Kristjana; Kahane, David
Citizen panels offer an alternative venue for gathering input into the policy-making process. These deliberative exercises are intended to produce more thoughtful and informed inputs into the policymaking process, compared to public opinion polls. This paper highlights a six day deliberative event about energy and climate issues, tracking opinion changes before and after the deliberation, as well as six months after the deliberation. In two of the five policy domains, opinions change as a result of the deliberation and these changes endure six months after the deliberation. The tracking of opinions across the three points in time reveals a pattern of convergence between panelists’ views and poll results for three of the five policy domains. Panelists were overly optimistic about many of the policy options prior to deliberation, but became more critical of these policies post-deliberation, moving their opinions closer to those of poll respondents.
Civic engagement in Canada: a critical analysis of social media, care for others, and gender on volunteering and donating
(2019) Friesen, Kelsey; Kurjata, Andie; Boulianne, Shelley
Canadians continually donate their time and money to charitable and non-profit organizations. Donating and volunteering are forms of civic engagement which many choose to engage in to improve the lives of others. Existing literature regarding civic engagement lacks focus on general volunteering and donating as opposed to event-specific volunteering and donating. We used Alberta survey data (n=1208) gathered by the University of Alberta\xe2\x80\x99s Population Research Laboratory to explore relationships between social media, care for others, and gender on civic engagement.
Climate change in the 2019 Canadian federal election
(2021) Boulianne, Shelley; Belland, Stephanie; Sleptcov, Nikita; Larsson, Anders Olof
In the weeks before the 2019 federal election, climate change strikes occurred in Canada and across the globe, which may have increased the salience of this policy issue. We use two data sources to examine the role of climate change in the 2019 federal election: a representative survey of 1500 Canadians and 2109 Facebook posts from the five major party leaders. After accounting for political ideology and region, we find that concern about climate change was a strong positive predictor of liberal support. We triangulate these findings by analyzing Facebook posts. We find that left-wing politicians were more likely to post about climate change and that posts about climate change received more likes, comments, and shares than other posts. This higher level of user engagement did not differ depending on which political party posted the climate change message. The combination of sources offers news insights into citizen-elite interactions and electoral outcomes. Climate change was important in the election, whether this importance was measured through survey data or user engagement with leaders’ climate change posts.
Climate denial in Canada and the United States
(2022) Boulianne, Shelley; Belland, Stephanie
One type of climate change denial is the belief that climate change is naturally occurring instead of human caused; this form of denial is known as attribution skepticism or soft denial. While considerable research has addressed outright climate change denial, little research has focused specifically on soft denial and its complex and politicized relationship with science. We examine this form of denial using original survey data collected in 2017 in the United States (n = 1510) and in 2019 in Canada (n = 1545). Contrary to expectations about the United States being more divided by political ideology on the topic of climate change, we find that – after accounting for trust in political leaders – Canadians’ views are driven more by ideological position than those of Americans. In the United States, climate denial is related to trust in President Trump as a source of information about climate change. The study of soft denial is important as it undermines the rationale for climate change solutions.
Comment signaler la désinformation sur les plateformes de médias sociaux
(2021) Friesen, Kelsey; Boulianne, Shelley; Belland, Stephanie
Ces infographies offrent des instructions étape par étape sur la façon de signaler des informations erronées sur Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Reddit, Snapchat, YouTube et TikTok. Cette infographie met également en évidence les principales conclusions d'une enquête dans quatre pays (États-Unis, Royaume-Uni, France, Canada) en février 2021.
Complicating the resilience model: a four-country study about misinformation
(2022) Boulianne, Shelley; Tenove, Chris; Buffie, Jordan
The resilience model to disinformation (Humprecht et al., 2020, 2021) suggests that countries will differ in exposure and reactions to disinformation due to their distinct media, economic, and political environments. In this model, higher media trust and the use of public service broadcasters are expected to build resilience to disinformation, while social media use and political polarization undermine resilience. To further test and develop the resilience model, we draw on a four-country (the US, Canada, the UK, and France) survey conducted in February 2021. We focus on three individual-level indicators of a lack of resilience: awareness of, exposure to, and sharing of misinformation. We find that social media use is associated with higher levels of all three measures, which is consistent with the resilience model. Social media use decreases resilience to misinformation. Contrary to the expectations of the resilience model, trust in national news media does not build resilience. Finally, we consider the use of public broadcasting media (BBC, France Télévisions, and CBC). The use of these sources does not build resilience in the short term. Moving forward, we suggest that awareness of, exposure to, and reactions to misinformation are best understood in terms of social media use and left–right ideology. Furthermore, instead of focusing on the US as the exceptional case of low resilience, we should consider the UK as the exceptional case of high resilience to misinformation. Finally, we identify potential avenues to further develop frameworks to understand and measure resilience to misinformation.
Complicating the resilience model: a four‐country study about misinformation
(2022) Boulianne, Shelley; Tenove, Chris; Buffie, Jordan
The resilience model to disinformation (Humprecht et al., 2020, 2021) suggests that countries will differ in exposure and reactions to disinformation due to their distinct media, economic, and political environments. In this model, higher media trust and the use of public service broadcasters are expected to build resilience to disinformation, while social media use and political polarization undermine resilience. To further test and develop the resilience model, we draw on a four-country (the US, Canada, the UK, and France) survey conducted in February 2021. We focus on three individual-level indicators of a lack of resilience: awareness of, exposure to, and sharing of misinformation. We find that social media use is associated with higher levels of all three measures, which is consistent with the resilience model. Social media use decreases resilience to misinformation. Contrary to the expectations of the resilience model, trust in national news media does not build resilience. Finally, we consider the use of public broadcasting media (BBC, France Télévisions, and CBC). The use of these sources does not build resilience in the short term. Moving forward, we suggest that awareness of, exposure to, and reactions to misinformation are best understood in terms of social media use and left–right ideology. Furthermore, instead of focusing on the US as the exceptional case of low resilience, we should consider the UK as the exceptional case of high resilience to misinformation. Finally, we identify potential avenues to further develop frameworks to understand and measure resilience to misinformation.
Conspiracy beliefs, misinformation, social media platforms, and protest participation
(2022) Boulianne, Shelley; Lee, Sangwon
Protest has long been associated with left-wing actors and left-wing causes. However, right-wing actors also engage in protest. Are right-wing actors mobilized by the same factors as those actors on the left? This article uses cross-national survey data (i.e., US, UK, France, and Canada) gathered in February 2021 to assess the role of misinformation, conspiracy beliefs, and the use of different social media platforms in explaining participation in marches or demonstrations. We find that those who use Twitch or TikTok are twice as likely to participate in marches or demonstrations, compared to non-users, but the uses of these platforms are more highly related to participation in right-wing protests than left-wing protests. Exposure to misinformation on social media and beliefs in conspiracy theories also increase the likelihood of participating in protests. Our research makes several important contributions. First, we separate right-wing protest participation from left-wing protest participation, whereas existing scholarship tends to lump these together. Second, we offer new insights into the effects of conspiracy beliefs and misinformation on participation using cross-national data. Third, we examine the roles of emerging social media platforms such as Twitch and TikTok (as well as legacy platforms such as YouTube and Facebook) to better understand the differential roles that social media platforms play in protest participation.
Digital media and political consumerism in the United States, United Kingdom, and France
(2022) Boulianne, Shelley; Copeland, Lauren; Koc-Michalska, Karolina
Digital media use can connect citizens across geographic boundaries into coordinated action by distributing political information, enabling the formation of groups, and facilitating political talk. These activities can lead to political consumerism, which is an important and popular form of political participation that translates across geographic borders. This article uses original survey data (n = 9284) to examine the relationship between digital media use and political consumerism in the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Talking politics online, joining social groups on social media, and searching online for political information increase participation in political consumerism. However, the strength of these positive correlations differs by age, country, and mode of political consumerism. Joining social groups on social media has a much larger effect size on buycotting compared to boycotting. The findings imply that social groups are more salient in the mobilization process for buycotting campaigns compared to boycotting campaigns.
Does compassion go viral? Social media, caring, and the Fort McMurray wildfire
(2018) Boulianne, Shelley; Minaker, Joanne; Haney, Timothy
In May 2016, an enormous wildfire threatened the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta and forced the evacuation of all of the city’s residents. Outpourings of support teemed in from all across Canada and over the world, prompting the largest charitable response in Canadian Red Cross history. This paper examines Albertans’ response to the wildfire by exploring caring and helping behaviors as well as the role of social media in facilitating these remarkable charitable efforts. The paper uses mixed methods including an analysis of the most popular Tweets related to the wildfire and an Alberta survey collected months after the disaster. The analysis of tweets reveals that care, concern, and invitations to help were prominent in social media discourse about the wildfire. The analysis of survey data demonstrates that those who followed news about the wildfire on social media express higher overall levels of care and concern for those affected, which led to helping those impacted by the wildfire. The findings provide important insights about the role of social media in disaster relief and recovery as well as citizens’ civic engagement.
Does Internet use affect engagement? A meta‐analysis of research
(2009) Boulianne, Shelley
Scholars disagree about the impact of the Internet on civic and political engagement. Some scholars argue that Internet use will contribute to civic decline, whereas other scholars view the Internet as having a role to play in re-invigorating civic life. This article assesses the hypothesis that Internet use will contribute to declines in civic life. This article also assesses whether Internet use has any significant effect on engagement. This paper employs a meta-analysis approach to current research in this area. In total, 38 studies with 166 effects are examined. The meta-data provide strong evidence against the Internet having a negative effect on engagement. However, the meta-data do not establish that Internet use will have a substantial impact on engagement. The effects of Internet use on engagement seem to increase non-monotonically across time and the effects are larger when online news is used to measure Internet use, compared to other measures.
Élection fédérale Canadienne 2021, rapport electoral: l'utilisation de Facebook par les parti politiques
(2022) Boulianne, Shelley; Stevens, Leanne; Mullin, Samantha; Rondeau, Caroline; El-hakim, Yaseen; Johal, Sunpreet; Mamo, Natalie
Nous avons codés les publications Facebook durant une période de quatre semaines, débutant le 23 Août et finissant le 20 Septembre 2021. Une équipe de six codeurs ont été entrainés pour utiliser le livre-code qui contient plus de 300 variables. Ce rapport électoral couvre certaines des variables retrouvées dans le livre-code. Les codeurs ont reçu le lien à une publication Facebook, qu’ils ouvraient dans une fenêtre. Dans une autre fenêtre, ils ont rempli le questionnaire en ligne administré par SoSciSurvey.
Engagement with candidate posts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook during the 2019 election
(2021) Boulianne, Shelley; Larsson, Anders Olof
Social media are critical tools offering connections between political actors, voters, and journalists. However, existing scholarship rarely assesses how user engagement differs by platform, content, and function of the post. We examine Facebook (n = 938), Instagram (n = 258), and Twitter (n = 1771) posts by the leaders of three major political parties in Canada during the 2019 Federal Election. Across all three platforms, Liberal Leader Trudeau’s posts receive the most engagement. On Twitter, attack posts receive slightly more engagement and interaction posts receive less engagement, compared with other platforms. While policy posts produce lower levels of engagement across platforms, Facebook is distinctive in yielding the lowest levels of user engagement on policy posts. In sum, our findings suggest that political leaders should tailor the content of their social media posts to different platforms.
Examining the gender effects of different incentive amounts in a web survey
(2013) Boulianne, Shelley
Researchers are struggling to determine effective methods to improve response rates to web surveys. This study presents the results of an experiment that varied the disbursement of an incentive in a web survey. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a $5 or a $10 prepaid incentive. In line with the social exchange theory of survey participation, no significant differences were found in response rate between the two conditions. However, the incentive amount interacted with gender. Specifically, women were more likely to respond to the survey when provided with a $5 incentive compared to a $10 incentive.
From online political posting to mansplaining: the gender gap and social media in political discussion
(2019) Koc-Michalska, Karolina; Schiffrin, Anya; Lopez, Anamaria; Boulianne, Shelley; Bimber, Bruce
The gender dynamics of political discussion are important. These dynamics shape who shares their political views and how they share their views and reactions to these views. Using representative survey data from the United States and the UK, we investigate how social media platforms shape the gender dynamics of political posting. We find that on Facebook, gender does not predict political posting, whereas on Twitter, the gender gap is more pronounced. We also examine the concept of “mansplaining”—a term used to describe a patronizing form of communication directed at women by men. Firstly, we find that posting about political issues to Twitter is more likely to result in being an explainee but also being an explainer of political issues. Furthermore, posting to Twitter increases the likelihood of men reporting having been accused of mansplaining and women reporting having experienced it. In general, more than half of the women say they have experienced mansplaining, especially those who are younger, well educated, and left-leaning. We argue that the possibility of being mansplained affects who is willing to post their opinions online, and as such, caution should be exercised when using digital trace data to represent public opinion.

Browsing by Author "Boulianne, Shelley"

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