2

OVERVIEW

1. AMERICAN RENUNCIATION OF CITIZENSHIP (BY THE NUMBERS)

2. LIWC2015 AND CUSTOM DICTIONARIES

3. TAPPING TWITTER, FACEBOOK, FLICKR, WIKIPEDIA, AND REDDIT

4. THE “SEE YA!” DICTIONARY

5. LESSONS ABOUT CUSTOM SPATIAL-BASED DICTIONARY-MAKING

6. SPACE, PLACE, AND THE RENUNCIATION OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP (FROM SOCIAL MEDIA DATA SETS)

7. SOME FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

3

1. AMERICAN RENUNCIATION OF CITIZENSHIP (BY THE NUMBERS)

4

AMERICAN RENUNCIATION OF CITIZENSHIP (BY THE NUMBERS)• 3 – 9 MILLION NON-MILITARY AMERICANS LIVING ABROAD CURRENTLY (AS “EXPATS” IN THE “AMERICAN

DIASPORA”)

• APPLICATIONS FOR “CERTIFICATE OF LOSS OF NATIONALITY” IN 2015: 5,986 FOR RENUNCIATION AND

559 FOR RELINQUISHMENT (U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT)

• 3,046 IN Q3 OF 2016 VIA QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO’VE CHOSEN TO EXPATRIATE

(SECTION 6039G), INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (IRS) OF THE U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT

• 23,807 AND COUNTING ON FBI’S “NO-BUY LIST” FOR FOREARMS BECAUSE OF LOSS OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP

AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2013

5

LOSS OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP

VOLUNTARY

• RENUNCIATION OF CITIZENSHIP (SECTION

349(A)(5) OF THE IMMIGRATION AND

NATURALIZATION ACT]

• VOLUNTARY RELINQUISHMENT OF CITIZENSHIP

(SECTION 349(A)(1) OF IMMIGRATION AND

NATURALIZATION ACT]

INVOLUNTARY

• OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY

• NATURALIZATION IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY

• SERVING IN THE ARMED FORCES OF A FOREIGN

STATE WITH NON-HOSTILE RELATIONS WITH THE

U.S.

• TAKING ON NON-POLICY LEVEL EMPLOYMENT WITH

A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT, AND OTHERS

6

EXPRESSED REASONS FOR CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION…IN THE RESEARCH LITERATURE

• TAXATION (FOREIGN ACCOUNT TAX COMPLIANCE

ACT OR “FATCA”)

• “ACCIDENTAL AMERICAN” PHENOMENON

• THE ARGUMENT THAT A PERSON IS BORN ON

AMERICAN SOIL OR TO AMERICAN PARENTS AND

DIDN’T VOLITIONALLY CHOOSE U.S. CITIZENSHIP,

SO HE / SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY TAXES OR

FULFILL OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES OF

CITIZENSHIP

• DISAGREEMENT WITH U.S. GOVERNMENT

POLICIES OR DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED

LEADERSHIP OR IMAGE

• MARRIAGE, FAMILY, AND DUAL CITIZENSHIP

ISSUES

• SOME COUNTRIES DO NOT ALLOW DUAL

CITIZENSHIP, SO PEOPLE SOMETIMES HAVE TO

CHOOSE

7

EXPRESSED REASONS FOR CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION…IN THE RESEARCH LITERATURE (CONT.)

• WORK OPPORTUNITIES

• CHALLENGING AND IMPACTFUL WORK

• FAIR WAGES

• EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

• FREE PUBLIC UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN SOME

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES (LIKE GERMANY) IF THE

LEARNER MEETS PARTICULAR ACADEMIC

THRESHOLDS

• ABILITY TO STUDY WITH GLOBAL-LEVEL FACULTY

• LIFESTYLE PREFERENCES

• AVOIDANCE OF U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT

• FLEEING PERSECUTION AND BIAS

• MINORITY GROUPS (RACIAL, ETHNIC, RELIGIOUS,

GENDER IDENTITY, SEX, GENDER, CLASS, AGE, AND

OTHERS; VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF IDENTITY)

• POLITICAL PERSECUTION, AND OTHERS

• AND OTHER REASONS

8

BARRIERS TO CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION…IN THE RESEARCH LITERATURE

9

• SOCIAL PRESSURES: SELF-IDENTITY, SOCIAL GROUP

• COSTS: EXIT FEES, EXIT TAXES, LEGAL FEES, TRAVEL, AND OTHERS

• LOGISTICS: EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, HEALTHCARE, LANGUAGE, AND OTHERS

• LEGAL REQUIREMENTS: NEW CITIZENSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES, INALIENABLE RIGHTS RELINQUISHMENTS,

AND OTHERS

10

BIRTHRIGHT: BLOOD AND SOIL

• JUS SANGUINIS : CITIZENSHIP BY BLOOD (PARENTAGE)

• JUS SOLI : CITIZENSHIP BY SOIL (BIRTH WITHIN THE BORDERS OF THE U.S.)

• NATURALIZATION: CITIZENSHIP BY PROCESS AND VETTING [THE CITIZENSHIP PROCESS FOR A FOREIGN

NATIONAL (BORN ABROAD AND ORIGINALLY A CITIZEN OF ANOTHER COUNTRY))

• APPLYING FOR A PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD / GREEN CARD

• LIVING IN THE U.S. WITHOUT COMMITTING CRIMES

• PASSING A CITIZENSHIP TEST

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SOME COMMON PATHS TO THE U.S. FROM ABROAD

• ARRIVING LEGALLY IN THE U.S. WITH THE PROPER VISAS AND OTHER PAPERWORK SUCH AS

• FOREIGN STUDENTS (1,043,839 IN 2015/2016 ACCORDING TO PROJECT ATLAS®)

• FOREIGN-BORN EMPLOYEES (65,000 H1B CAP PER YEAR, AND 20,000 EXTRA FOR “ALIENS WITH U.S. EARNED

MASTERS OR HIGHER DEGREE” ACCORDING TO REDBUS)

• SPOUSES OF AMERICAN CITIZENS

• MIGRANTS, AND OTHERS

12

SOME COMMON PATHS TO THE U.S. FROM ABROAD (CONT.)

• ARRIVING AS ASYLUM SEEKERS DUE TO INSTABILITY, CONFLICT, WAR, AND OTHER REASONS

• SUCH INDIVIDUALS MAY APPLY FROM ABROAD OR FROM STATESIDE IF THEY’VE ALREADY ARRIVED

• ARRIVING AS REFUGEES (DISPLACED PERSONS OR PEOPLE FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR COUNTRY DUE TO WAR,

PERSECUTION, NATURAL DISASTERS, STARVATION, DISEASE, OR OTHER REASONS), WITH THE FORMAL STATUS

OF “REFUGEE” AS RECOGNIZED BY THE RECEIVING COUNTRY

• APPROXIMATELY 3 MILLION REFUGEES HAVE SETTLED IN THE U.S. SINCE THE U.S. CONGRESS PASSED THE

REFUGEE ACT OF 1980 AND UNDER THE FEDERAL REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM (WITH FLUCTUATIONS OF

FEWER THAN 27,000 TO HIGHS OF 112,000 A YEAR, BETWEEN 1980 – 2016, ACCORDING TO PEW RESEARCH’S

“FACT TANK,” JAN. 30, 2017).

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SPACE, PLACE, AND SOCIAL MEDIA

• CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATOR CONNECTIONS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA TO MAINTAIN CONNECTIONS AND

ASSUAGE HOMESICKNESS

• NARROWCASTING (TO A SMALL DEFINED AUDIENCE) AND BROADCASTING (TO A BROAD AND PUBLIC AUDIENCE)

INFORMATION

• DATA LEAKAGE

• ABILITY TO GEOPARSE MESSAGING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

• GEOSPATIAL REFERENCES (THROUGH MOBILE DEVICES, APPS, AND “FOLK” CODING)

• “FOLK” REFERENCES TO PLACES

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TWO HYPOTHESES

• HYPOTHESIS 1: THERE ARE IDENTIFIABLE “BEATEN PATHS” THAT AMERICANS WHO RENOUNCE

CITIZENSHIP TAKE BASED ON KNOWN DESTINATIONS, FAMILY TIES, FRIEND TIES, WORK TIES, TOURISM,

TRAVEL ABROAD, LOCAL LANGUAGES, AND CULTURAL FEATURES OF PLACE

• HYPOTHESIS 2: VARIOUS LOCATIONS HAVE IDENTIFIABLE “ATTRACTIVE” AND “AVERSIVE” FORCES

RELATED TO BOTH “SENDING” AND “RECEIVING” PLACES

15

A

B

2. LIWC2015 AND CUSTOM DICTIONARIES

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INTRO: LIWC2015 AND BUILT-IN DICTIONARY• LIWC2015: PROCESSOR + DICTIONARY = RAW COUNTS OF TERMS (AND %S OF FREQUENCY COUNTS WITHIN

DOCUMENTS AND TEXT SETS)

• CLOSED-SOURCE, COMMERCIAL, PROPRIETARY, AND WELL DOCUMENTED

• DEVELOPED FROM EARLY-TO-MID 1990S FOR THE FIRST ITERATION AND EVOLVED AND REFINED SINCE

• BASELINED OFF MAJOR CORPORA OF VARIOUS TYPES

• 90 OUTPUT VARIABLES

• BUILT ON EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

• VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY MEASURES OF INSTRUMENT AVAILABLE

• ORIGINAL VERSION IN ENGLISH, OTHER VERSIONS AVAILABLE IN A HALF-DOZEN BASE LANGUAGES (DERIVED FROM THE

ENGLISH VERSION)

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INTRO: LIWC2015 AND BUILT-IN DICTIONARY (CONT.)

• FOUR SUMMARY LANGUAGE VARIABLES: ANALYTIC (FORMAL, LOGICAL, HIERARCHICAL), CLOUT (HIGH

EXPERTISE), AUTHENTIC (HONEST AND DISCLOSING, “PERSONAL, HUMBLE, AND VULNERABLE,” AND TONE

(>50 IS POSITIVE EMOTION, AND <50 IS “GREATER ANXIETY, SADNESS, OR HOSTILITY, AND =50 IS “A

LACK OF EMOTIONALITY OR DIFFERENT LEVELS OF AMBIVALENCE”

• STRUCTURAL COMPOSITION: WORD COUNT, WORDS PER SENTENCE, SIXLTR (WORDS LONGER THAN SIX

LETTERS), AND DIC (OR PERCENTAGE OF TARGET WORDS CAPTURED BY THE APPLIED DICTIONARY

WORDS)

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INTRO: LIWC2015 AND BUILT-IN DICTIONARY (CONT.)

• FUNCTION WORDS: PRONOUNS, ARTICLES, HELPING / AUXILIARY VERBS, AND OTHERS

• OTHERGRAM / OTHER GRAMMAR: VERBS (ACTION WORDS), ADJECTIVES (DESCRIPTIONS),

COMPARISONS, INTERROGATIVES (QUESTIONS), NUMBERS, AND QUANTIFIERS (MEASURE WORDS)

• PUNCTUATION MARKS: 12 CATEGORIES

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INTRO: LIWC2015 AND BUILT-IN DICTIONARY (CONT.)

• PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTS:

• AFFECT: POSITIVE EMOTIONS, NEGATIVE EMOTIONS, ANXIETY, ANGER, AND SADNESS

• SOCIAL: FAMILY, FRIENDS, MALE, AND FEMALE

• PERCEPTUAL PROCESSES: SEEING, HEARING, AND FEELING

• DRIVES: AFFILIATION, ACHIEVEMENT, POWER, REWARD, AND RISK

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INTRO: LIWC2015 AND BUILT-IN DICTIONARY (CONT.)

• PERCENTAGES OF HUMAN-BASED CONSTRUCTS:

• BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES: BODY, HEALTH, SEXUAL, AND INGESTION

• TIME ORIENTATION: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE FOCUS

• RELATIVITY: MOTION, SPACE, TIME

• PERSONAL CONCERNS: WORK, LEISURE, HOME, MONEY, RELIGION, AND DEATH

• INFORMAL LANGUAGE: SWEARING, NETSPEAK, ASSENT, NONFLUENCIES, AND FILLER WORDS

• COGNITIVE PROCESSES: INSIGHT, CAUSAL, DISCREPANCIES, TENTATIVENESS, CERTAINTY, AND

DIFFERENTIATION

21

LIWC2015 AND CUSTOM DICTIONARIES ENABLEMENT• LIWC2015: PROCESSOR + DICTIONARY = RAW COUNTS OF TERMS (AND %S OF FREQUENCY COUNTS

WITHIN DOCUMENTS AND TEXT SETS)

• HANDLES .PDF, .XLSX, .DOC, .DOCX, .CSV, .TXT, AND .RTF

• USES UTF-8 CHARSET AND ALL LANGUAGES REPRESENTABLE IN THAT CHARSET, BUT THERE HAS TO BE A BASE

LANGUAGE SET

• ABILITY TO CREATE CUSTOM DICTIONARIES TO RUN AGAINST TEXT SETS …

• TO MASS SCALE AND

• AT COMPUTATIONAL SPEEDS

22

EXTERNAL DICTIONARY FORMAT

• &

• 1 DIMENSIONA

• 2 DIMENSIONB

• 3 DIMENSIONC…

• 4 DIMENSIOND

• &

• WORD 1 3

• WORD 4

• WORD 2 4

• WORD 3

23

EXTERNAL DICTIONARY FORMAT (CONT.)

• DIMENSIONS ARE CREATED CONSTRUCTS

• THE CONSTRUCTS ARE SOMEWHAT CO-RELATED BASED ON THE TOPIC OF THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY

• CONSTRUCTS SHOULD BE IN PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION FOR CONSISTENCY

• FOR EVERY CONSTRUCT, A LIST OF RELATED WORDS, NAMES, PHRASES, LOCATIONS, NUMBERS, AND

SUCH, SHOULD BE IDENTIFIED

• THE INGESTION WORDS MAY BE “STEMS” WITHOUT PREFIXES, SUFFIXES, AND SUCH, BUT FOLLOWED BY AN

ASTERISK (*) TO ENABLE ANY COMBINATION OF LETTERS, NUMBERS, AND HYPHENS TO FOLLOW CONTIGUOUSLY

24

EXTERNAL DICTIONARY FORMAT (CONT.)

• WORDS THAT INSTANTIATE THE DIMENSIONS SHOULD BE IN ALPHABETIZED LISTING; NUMBERS OF THE

DIMENSIONS ASSIGNED TO THE RESPECTIVE WORDS SHOULD BE IN ASCENDING ORDER

• IDEA IS TO MAKE .DICS AS HUMAN-READABLE AS POSSIBLE

• IF THE DICTIONARY IS SHARED BROADLY, THEN OTHERS SHOULD KNOW WHAT THE DICTIONARY DOES AND

WHAT RESULTS MAY MEAN

25

EXTERNAL DICTIONARY FORMAT (CONT.)

• IN .DIC FORMAT (AS A TEXT FILE)

• SIMPLE TO UPDATE, ONCE INITIAL DRAFT CREATED

• OPEN .DIC FILE, ADD NEW INFORMATION, RE-LOAD IN LIWC2015, AND RUN

• DOCUMENT THE CHANGE(S) SOMEWHERE

• CAN INCLUDE A README FILE WITH THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY

• CAN DOCUMENT WITHIN THE DICTIONARY IN A HUMAN-READABLE WAY BY WRITING NOTES IN THE DIMENSION AREA

(BUT WITHOUT ATTRIBUTING ANY RELATED WORDS TO THAT DIMENSION), SO THE DOCUMENTATION RIDES WITH THE

TOOL

26

3. TAPPING TWITTER, FACEBOOK, FLICKR, WIKIPEDIA, AND REDDIT

27

28

FIVE UNSTRUCTURED MIXED-MEDIA DATA SETS • FIVE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM TYPES: MICROBLOGGING SITE, SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE, IMAGE-(AND

VIDEO) SHARING SITE, CROWD-SOURCED ENCYCLOPEDIA, AND NEWS SHARING AND DISCUSSION BOARD

SITE

• TWITTER TWEETSTREAMS

• FACEBOOK POST STREAMS

• FLICKR IMAGE SETS

• WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES

• REDDIT SUBREDDIT HEADINGS AND SELECTED THREADS

29

TWITTER, FACEBOOK, FLICKR, WIKIPEDIA, AND REDDIT

• USING “EXPAT” AND “CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION” AS TERMS TO IDENTIFY SOCIAL MEDIA USER

ACCOUNTS AND GROUPS

• EXTRACTING TEXT COMMUNICATIONS

• EXTRACTING DIGITAL IMAGES BASED ON FOLK (NON-EXPERT, AMATEUR)-APPLIED TAGS

30

DATA COLLECTION

• APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACES (API’S) ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, AND FLICKR

• NCAPTURE BROWSER ADD-ON (TO MICROSOFT’S INTERNET EXPLORER AND GOOGLE’S CHROME) FOR TWITTER

AND FACEBOOK DATA

• FLICKR DOWNLOADR BROWSER ADD-ON FOR FLICKR DATA

• MEDIAWIKI UNDERSTRUCTURE FOR WIKIPEDIA (ENABLING STRUCTURED DATA EXTRACTION)

• NODEXL FOR WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE NETWORK DATA

• MANUAL CAPTURE OF IDENTIFIED WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES

• MANUAL SUBREDDIT HEADING CAPTURE AND SUBTHREAD DOWNLOADS ON REDDIT DATA

31

DATA CODING

• GEOPARSING (MANUAL AND AUTOCODING, WITH NVIVO 11 PLUS)

• IMAGE CODING (MANUAL)

• EXPLORATION OF SENTIMENT (AUTOCODED WITH LIWC2015’S BUILT-IN DICTIONARY AND NVIVO 11 PLUS)

• EXPLORATION OF TARGET TERMS

32

4. THE “SEE YA!” DICTIONARY

33

SEVEN SECTIONS IN THE DICTIONARY

1. ORIGIN AND DESTINATION REGIONS OF THE WORLD

2. ORIGIN AND DESTINATION COUNTRIES (AND TERRITORIES)

3. ORIGIN AND DESTINATION STATES (PROVINCES)

4. ORIGIN AND DESTINATION CITIES

5. LOCATIONAL FEATURES OF NOTE

6. PERSONAL EXPERIENCED SENSES OF PLACES

7. RELATION OF EMOTIONS TO SPACES AND PLACES

34

FREQUENCIES OF CONSTRUCTS PER

SECTION IN THE SEE YA! DICTIONARY

1. REGIONS

2. COUNTRIES

3. STATES

4. CITIES

5. LOCATIONAL FEATURES

6. PERSONAL SENSES OF SPACES

7. EMOTIONS AND SPATIALITY

35

MOST INFORMATIVE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS … FOR THIS ISSUE-BASED DICTIONARY

1. REDDIT AND SUBREDDIT /R/IWANTOUT/THREAD/: ENGAGES RANGE OF RELATED ISSUES DIRECTLY;

ANONYMITY A BOON (WITHOUT SHARING OF “PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION” OR “PII”)

2. WIKIPEDIA: COLLATES FACTS

3. TWITTER: COLLATES SNIPPETS OF DISCUSSIONS

4. FACEBOOK: COLLATES SOME TEXTUAL DISCUSSIONS

5. FLICKR: OFFERS IMAGERY BUT WITH OFTEN HIGH-AMBIGUITY AND THE NEED FOR BEYOND-THE-

SURFACE INTERPRETATION

36

5. LESSONS ABOUT CUSTOM SPATIAL-BASED DICTIONARY-MAKING

37

WORK SEQUENCEBROAD LIT REVIEW

RESEARCH DESIGN

EXTRACTION OF TARGETED DATA

MANUAL AND COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSES OF DATA SETS

DRAFT OF CUSTOM DICTIONARY

LIGHT PILOT TESTING

LIGHT REVISION

PUBLICATION AND SHARING

38

SEE YA! CUSTOM SPATIAL-BASED DICTIONARY

• 98.5 HOURS TO CREATE THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY AND TO DOCUMENT THE WORK; 5 HOURS FOR THIS

SLIDESHOW (= 103.5 HOURS)

• NAMED “SEE YA!” BECAUSE NO COOL ACRONYMS WERE AVAILABLE

• STILL NEED TO RUN .DIC THROUGH IN-DEPTH PILOT-TESTING

• INITIAL COMPARISONS OF DATA AGAINST GOVERNMENT AND JOURNALISTIC SOURCES

• NO TESTING WITH PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHERS, POLITICAL SCIENTISTS, AND SOCIOLOGISTS YET

• SOME TESTING FOR EXTRACTABLE INSIGHTS FROM SEE YA! DICTIONARY RUNS

39

SEE YA! CUSTOM SPATIAL-BASED DICTIONARY (CONT.)

• SOME INITIAL LIMITS ALREADY…

• LIMITED LOCATIONS

• NEED FOR MORE SPACE-BASED FEATURES

• STILL NEED TO REVISE

40

SOME TECHNOLOGIES USED

• NCAPTURE OF NVIVO 11 PLUS (BY QSR INTERNATIONAL)

• FLICKR DOWNLOADR (BY BRAIN.NO)

• NODEXL BASIC (NETWORK OVERVIEW, DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION FOR EXCEL) (BY SOCIAL MEDIA

RESEARCH FOUNDATION VIA CODEPLEX)

• MS WORD, MS VISIO, NOTEPAD, AND ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

• LIWC2015 (BY PENNEBAKER CONGLOMERATES, INC.)

41

EARLY LESSONS ABOUT CUSTOM SPATIAL-BASED DICTIONARY-MAKING

• READ BROADLY ABOUT THE ISSUE IN THE FORMAL AND THE GRAY LITERATURES.

• EXPLORE SOCIAL MEDIA AS BROADLY AS POSSIBLE.

• GO WITH TEXT-BASED SOCIAL DATA SETS TO BE AS INFORMATIVE AS POSSIBLE. BE COMFORTABLE WITH

NOISY DATA.

• USE GEOSPATIAL COORDINATES FOR MORE ACCURACY WHERE POSSIBLE.

42

EARLY LESSONS ABOUT CUSTOM SPATIAL-BASED DICTIONARY-MAKING (CONT.)

• CREATE THE SPATIAL-BASED DICTIONARY SO AS NOT TO “OVERFIT” TO THE DATA…TO ENSURE SOME

TRANSFERABILITY OF THE DICTIONARY.

• FOCUS ON HUMAN-RELEVANT PHENOMENA, AND STRIVE TO ANSWER RELEVANT RESEARCH QUESTIONS.

• CONSIDER OTHER APPLICATIONS OF THE DICTIONARY BEYOND THE CURRENT APPLICATION.

43

6. SPACE, PLACE, AND THE RENUNCIATION OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP (FROM SOCIAL MEDIA DATA SETS)

44

REVIEW OF TWO MAIN HYPOTHESES

• HYPOTHESIS 1: THERE ARE IDENTIFIABLE “BEATEN PATHS” THAT AMERICANS WHO RENOUNCE

CITIZENSHIP TAKE BASED ON KNOWN DESTINATIONS, FAMILY TIES, FRIEND TIES, WORK TIES, TOURISM,

TRAVEL ABROAD, LOCAL LANGUAGES, AND CULTURAL FEATURES OF PLACE

• HYPOTHESIS 2: VARIOUS LOCATIONS HAVE IDENTIFIABLE “ATTRACTIVE” AND “AVERSIVE” FORCES

RELATED TO BOTH “SENDING” AND “RECEIVING” PLACES

45

A

B

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

THE HYPOTHESES

HYPOTHESIS 1: “BEATEN PATHS”

• SOCIAL MEDIA DATA ARE TOO LIMITED TO MAP

“BEATEN PATHS” (EVEN THOUGH IT’S HIGHLY

LIKELY THESE PATHS STILL EXIST)

• COLLATING GOVERNMENT DATA SEEMS TO BE THE

MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET TO THIS “GROUND

TRUTH” …BUT SOCIAL MEDIA MAY ADD INSIGHTS

HYPOTHESIS 2: “ATTRACTIVE” AND “AVERSIVE” FORCES TO LOCATIONS

• THERE ARE “ATTRACTIVE” AND “AVERSIVE” FORCES

TO VARIOUS ORIGIN AND DESTINATION LOCATIONS

(“SENDING” AND “RECEIVING” LOCATIONS) …AND

EVERY MOVE IN ANY DIRECTION WILL CONSIST OF

TRADEOFFS

• THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY CAPTURES SOME

SENSES OF PLACE BUT REQUIRES COMPLEMENTARY

ANALYTICS…

46

A

B

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

USING A CUSTOM DICTIONARY

• NEED CAREFUL CURATION OF DATA SETS TO USE THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY EFFECTIVELY

• NEED CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY’S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

• SOCIAL MEDIA CONTAINS MORE ABOUT MENTAL MODELS OF PLACES THAN INFORMATION ABOUT ACTUAL

PHYSICAL SPACES…

• WOULD BENEFIT FROM GAZETTEER (GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY) STANDARDS OF “N, F, T” OR PLACE NAME (N),

GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT (F), AND TYPE (T)

47

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION

• CITIZENSHIP AND ITS RENUNCIATION ARE DYNAMIC ISSUES INFORMED BY WHAT IS GOING ON IN

VARIOUS LOCALES AND THE MESSAGING IN MAINSTREAM AND SOCIAL MEDIA, AMONG OTHER FACTORS.

• CENTRAL ISSUES ARE NOT PHYSICAL SPACE-BASED PER SE BUT MORE ABOUT THE FOLLOWING FACTORS

IN POTENTIAL RECEIVING LOCALES:

• GOVERNMENT RULES (ABOUT ARRIVAL, ABOUT STAYING) AND GOVERNMENT ENFORCEMENT OF RULES

• AVAILABLE RESOURCES: EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION, AND SOCIAL SUPPORTS, AMONG OTHERS

• POLITICAL RECEPTION BY THE EXTANT POPULATIONS, AND OTHERS

48

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION (CONT.)

• IN GENERAL, POTENTIAL OR “WOULD-BE” AMERICAN EMIGRANTS AND ÉMIGRÉS DO NOT LOOK AT LOCATIONS

THROUGH A ROMANTIC OR “TOURISTIC” LENS. IMAGINATION AND HOPE LEAVEN THE PATH, BUT REALITY IS

CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.

• VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON THEIR OWN CALCULATIONS OF COST-BENEFITS, AND FROM THEIR

INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIORS, THERE MAY BE LARGE-SCALE SELF-EMERGENT PHENOMENA.

• SELF-DISCLOSURES OF SENSITIVE ISSUES FOR PEOPLE MAY BE SOMEWHAT MEDIATED BY APPARENT ANONYMITY ON

SOCIAL MEDIA.

49

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION (CONT.)

• SOCIAL MEDIA DOES NOT CONVEY AN IDENTIFIABLE SENSE OF

“BEATEN PATHS” BECAUSE VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA

PLATFORMS ATTRACT PARTICULAR DEMOGRAPHIC SLICES OF

THE POPULATION.

• THE SOCIALLY MEDIATED INTERACTIONS ARE LIMITED,

UTILITARIAN (ELICITING INFORMATION AND SUPPORT), AND

OFTEN STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL.

• ALSO, THE DATA COLLECTED FROM SOCIAL MEDIA ARE NOT AN

N=ALL, SO THE DATA ARE LIMITED AND NOT EVEN RANDOMLY

SCRAPED.

50

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION (CONT.)

• TRANSNATIONAL MIGRANTS WHO COMMUNICATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA BRING A MARKET OR BARTERING SENSE

OF THEIR OWN VALUE BASED ON THEIR EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCES, YOUTH, LANGUAGE CAPABILITIES,

RELATIVE WEALTH, SOCIAL TIES, AND OTHER FACTORS.

• SOME ONLINE COMMUNICATORS OFFER THEMSELVES UP FOR VARIOUS SORTS OF “PARTNERSHIPS” IF THEY CAN BE

SUPPORTED IN THEIR MOVE AND RESETTLEMENT. THIS MAY BE CODE FOR ALL SORTS OF TRANSACTIONAL

RELATIONSHIPS, INCLUDING ILLEGAL MARRIAGE FRAUD.

• CROSSING BORDERS IS NOT LOW-COST AND NEVER “FREE”.

• CROSSING BORDERS TAKES SOME PRE-PLANNING. IT WOULD BE HARD TO DO THIS HAPHAZARDLY, ALTHOUGH SOME

DO.

• IN MANY CASES, CROSSING BORDERS IS TEMPORARY; IN OTHERS, IT’S PERMANENT.

51

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION (CONT.)

• SOME PEOPLE USE RENUNCIATION OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP AS A RETIREMENT PLANNING TOOL, TO SAVE

MONEY WHILE ON A FIXED INCOME.

• THE SAVINGS COME FROM NOT HAVING TO PAY CERTAIN TAXES TO UNCLE SAM, BUT THOSE WHO MAKE THIS

TRADE ARE GIVING UP SOME BENEFITS (SUCH AS POROUS TRAVEL ACROSS U.S. BORDERS, VOTING RIGHTS, AND

OTHERS).

• A COMMON NARRATIVE: AMERICAN RETIREES WANT ENGLISH SPEAKERS AND OTHER EXPATS NEARBY, WARM

LOCALES, A LOWER COST-OF-LIVING, AND EASY ACCESS BACK TO THE U.S.

52

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION (CONT.)

• ALSO, MANY RENOUNCE U.S. CITIZENSHIP IN A DE FACTO WAY, WITHOUT FORMALLY ANNOUNCING THIS.

• THEY MERELY LET THEIR CITIZENSHIP LAPSE BY MOVING ABROAD, AVOIDING CIVIC PARTICIPATION, NOT PAYING

TAXES, AND STAYING OFF-GRID.

• FORMALIZING CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION IS OFTEN DONE AS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT:

• TO AVOID FUTURE TAXATION FROM UNCLE SAM…

• TO AVOID LEGAL CHALLENGES WHEN LIVING AS A CITIZEN OF ANOTHER COUNTRY…

• TO ACQUIRE FULL LEGAL RIGHTS IN ANOTHER NATION-STATE WITHOUT CONTRADICTION / CONFLICT… ETC.

53

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION (CONT.)

• “MODERATORS” AND “ENABLERS” IN THIS SOCIO-POLITICAL (AND PERSONAL) SPACE INCLUDE LAWYERS,

INTERNATIONAL MOVERS, RELIGIOUS GROUPS, AND POLITICAL ACTIVIST GROUPS—ALONG WITH

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND OFFICES.

• SOME FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS CREATE WEBSITES TO LEAD THE DISGRUNTLED (WITH GREENBACKS) TO THEIR

OWN SHORES. (THIS “PASSPORTS FOR SALE” PHENOMENON HAPPENS TO BE A $2 BILLION INDUSTRY. THAT’S

$2 BILLION WITH A “B.”)

• THE PRESENCE OF AMERICAN EXPATS IN A COUNTRY MAY PROVIDE FODDER FOR IN-COUNTRY PROPAGANDA AS

WELL.

• THERE ARE A LOT OF INTERESTS REPRESENTED IN THE PHENOMENON OF PERMANENT MOVES ABROAD.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION (CONT.)

• SOCIAL MEDIA DATA DO SHOW PEOPLE IN VARIOUS STAGES: PRE-CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION, DURING

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION, AND POST-CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION, DEPENDING ON THE SOURCE.

• TRANSNATIONAL MIGRANTS’ SOCIO-TECHNICAL PRACTICES ARE NOT THAT OBVIOUS CURRENTLY, BUT A LOT

HAPPENS THOUGH THROUGH PRIVATE CHANNELS.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION (CONT.)

• SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS RELATED TO EXPATRIATION AND CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION ARE OFTEN QUITE

PAROCHIAL AND LOCAL, NOT GLOBAL AND NOT PARTICULARLY INTERNATIONAL.

• MOST HAVE A COMMERCIAL OR ECONOMIC OR FINANCIAL INTENT (SO BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES).

• THOSE WHO RUN PERSONAL SITES ARE APPARENTLY DEALING WITH THEIR OWN ISSUES.

• STUDYING THIS ISSUE MEANS DRAWING ON A VARIETY OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS OF VARIOUS TYPES:

MICROBLOGGING, SOCIAL NETWORKING, IMAGE-(AND VIDEO) SHARING, CROWD-SOURCED ENCYCLOPEDIA,

AND NEWS SHARING AND DISCUSSION BOARDS.

• RESEARCHERS HAVE TO GO WHERE THE INFORMATION IS.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CUSTOM DICTIONARY BUILDING FROM SOCIAL MEDIA DATA BASED ON A TARGET TOPIC-OF-INTEREST

• RESEARCH THE TARGET SUBJECT AREA WELL.

• CAPTURE A WIDE RANGE OF SOCIAL DATA SETS. CAPTURE TEXTUAL INFORMATION BUT ALSO IMAGERY

AND VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA.

• DISTILL THE DATA INTO RELATED DIMENSIONS RELATED TO THE TOPIC.

• WORK ON WAYS TO CODE IMAGE DATA FOR USABILITY WITH THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY. LIKEWISE, WORK ON

MULTIMEDIA DATA. (GET COMFORTABLE WITH AMBIGUITY. WORK AGAINST PURE SUBJECTIVE

INTERPRETATION, AND BACK-STOP ANALYSES WITH OBJECTIVE DATA WHENEVER POSSIBLE.)

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CUSTOM DICTIONARY BUILDING FROM SOCIAL MEDIA DATA BASED ON A TARGET TOPIC-OF-INTEREST (CONT.)

• FIND WORDS, PHRASES, SYMBOLS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND EMOTICONS, ETC. THAT INSTANTIATE THE

DIMENSIONS.

• THE DIMENSIONS MAY BE LIGHTLY OVERLAPPING AND NON-EXCLUSIVE BECAUSE IN-WORLD PHENOMENA CAN

BE COMPLEX.

• INCLUDE REAL-WORLD NOISE, MISSPELLINGS, INFORMAL PLACE-REPRESENTATIONS, ETC.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CUSTOM DICTIONARY BUILDING FROM SOCIAL MEDIA DATA BASED ON A TARGET TOPIC-OF-INTEREST (CONT.)

• PILOT-TEST THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY AGAINST REAL-WORLD DATA SETS (NOT THE ONES USED FOR THE

DICTIONARY’S CREATION). AVOID OVERFIT.

• ALSO TEST THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY CAPABILITIES BY SEEING WHAT MAY BE UNDERSTOOD OF THE STUDIED

TOPIC BY USING ONLY THE INFORMATION FROM THE CUSTOM DICTIONARY.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CUSTOM DICTIONARY BUILDING FROM SOCIAL MEDIA DATA BASED ON A TARGET TOPIC-OF-INTEREST (CONT.)

• RUN THE DICTIONARY BY EXPERTS IN RELATED FIELDS IN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN IT.

• “SPATIALITY” AND “PLACE” ARE ELUSIVE AND IMPRECISE CONCEPTS ESPECIALLY IN EVERYDAY HUMAN USE.

• THERE HAVE TO BE WAYS TO INTEGRATE GEOLOCATIONAL COORDINATES / DEGREE DATA FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

INTO THE DICTIONARY FOR ANALYTICAL VALUE.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

CUSTOM DICTIONARY BUILDING FROM SOCIAL MEDIA DATA BASED ON A TARGET TOPIC-OF-INTEREST (CONT.)

• SEE IF THE DICTIONARY HAS VALUE WITHIN THE PLANNED USE.

• SEE IF THE DICTIONARY HAS VALUE OUTSIDE OF ITS INITIAL PLANNED USE.

• CONTINUE TO EVOLVE THE DICTIONARY WITH NEW INFORMATION. ITERATE. REITERATE. (BUT AVOID THE

INFINITE LOOP. SET A STANDARD AT WHICH A CUSTOM DICTIONARY REACHES “STATE,” AND TAKE A

BREATH.)

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7. SOME FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

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MORE NECESSARY WORK ON THE SEE YA!DICTIONARY

• ADDITIONAL WAYS TO PILOT-TEST AND REVISE THE SEE YA! DICTIONARY

• WAYS TO SHORE UP THE SEE YA! DICTIONARY

• WAYS TO CAPTURE INFORMATION THAT IS SUFFICIENTLY ACCURATE AND PRECISE TO MAP TO PHYSICAL SPACE

• CAPTURE OF INFORMATION FROM VIDEO-SHARING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, SMS, DIGITAL PINNING SITES,

AND OTHER DATA SOURCES

• WAYS TO BE PREDICTIVE AND ANTICIPATORY IN A CHAOTIC ENVIRONMENT THROUGH CAPTURED INFORMATION

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MORE NECESSARY WORK ON THE SEE YA!DICTIONARY (CONT.)

• WAYS TO VALIDATE/INVALIDATE THE SEE YA! DICTIONARY (WHICH IS AN UNDERPOWERED OR LOW-

POWER INSTRUMENT FOR THE DESIGNED OBJECTIVES)

• IT IS A COARSE AND HUMBLE DRAFT INSTRUMENT CURRENTLY

• IT IS UNABLE TO TRULY CAPTURE SUBTLE EFFECTS CURRENTLY

• IT IS TOO DEPENDENT ON WHAT EXISTS IN COMMUNICATIONS AND HAS TO BE UPDATED MANUALLY

• WAYS TO BUILD THIS SEE YA! DICTIONARY INTO A WORKFLOW THAT PROVIDES DEEPER RESEARCH

INSIGHTS

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

• ARE THERE WAYS TO IMPROVE THE FOCUS ON “SENDING” AND “RECEIVING” LOCALES?

• ARE THERE WAYS TO GET TO A CLOSER SPATIAL UNIT-OF-ANALYSIS THAN A CITY? IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE

MORE FINE-GRAINED IN TERMS OF LOCATION?

• ARE THERE WAYS TO ETHICALLY ELICIT INFORMATION FROM THOSE INTERESTED IN PERSONAL

RENUNCIATION OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP VIA SOCIAL MEDIA?

• THESE MIGHT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: FULL DISCLOSURES (NO FALSE FLAGS), INFORMED CONSENT,

RESEARCH VALUE, BENEFIT TO THE RESPONDENTS, SHARING OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS, PRIVACY

PROTECTIONS, AND OTHERS, ETC.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS (CONT.)

• ARE THERE WAYS TO CAPTURE “EVENTS” OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP RENUNCIATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA? WHAT

WOULD BE ACCURATE INDICATORS OF SUCH EVENTS?

• IS IT POSSIBLE TO OBSERVE INDIVIDUAL EVENTS? GROUP EVENTS?

• IF THERE IS A MASS MIGRATION TREND, ARE THERE WAYS TO KNOW? SOCIAL MEDIA INDICATORS TO FOCUS

ON?

• IS IT POSSIBLE TO ZOOM-OUT FROM INDIVIDUAL EVENTS TO MASS SCALE? ZOOM-IN TO INDIVIDUAL

SCALE?

• TO COVER STATIC EVENTS? DYNAMIC AND FAST-MOVING EVENTS?

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS (CONT.)

• ARE THERE WAYS TO CAPTURE FOLLOW-ON EXPERIENCES ONCE FORMER AMERICANS HAVE SETTLED

ABROAD?

• IN THE CASES OF REPATRIATION (AND RE-APPLICATION FOR U.S. CITIZENSHIP), WHAT ARE THE REASONS

FOR THE CHANGE OF HEART? ARE THESE DYNAMICS CAPTURE-ABLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS (CONT.)

• WHAT ARE SOME OTHER RELATED PHENOMENA OF INTEREST THAT COULD BE ACCESSED USING A CUSTOM

DICTIONARY (TO RUN ON LIWC2015)?

• WHAT ARE BETTER METHODS FOR RESEARCHING THIS TOPIC FROM SOCIAL MEDIA IN A SCALABLE AND

COMPUTATIONALLY SPEEDY WAY BEYOND LIWC2015?

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CONTACT AND CONCLUSION

• DR. SHALIN HAI-JEW

• INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER

• KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

• 785-532-5262

• SHALIN@K-STATE.EDU

• NOTE: THE SPECIFIC DETAILS OF THE “SEE YA!” DICTIONARY ARE IN A CHAPTER IN A BOOK FORTHCOMING

IN 2017.

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THANKS!

• LINK TO THE HANDS-ON ACTIVITY HANDOUT: HTTP://WWW.K-STATE.EDU/ID/SEEYAACTIVITY.PDF

• “CREATING A CUSTOM DICTIONARY TO RUN IN LIWC2015 FOR COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS”

(ACTIVITY)

• THANKS TO TIERNEY S. POWELL AND WESTIN MILLER, ORGANIZERS OF THE “YOU ARE HERE” CONFERENCE

AT CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY, FOR INCLUDING ME!

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