Reichman University - Prevent cyber bullying through science

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By Tamar Shachaf SchneiderData science is the study of modeling and analyzing large data sets to discover patterns and derive useful information. The data used for analysis can come from a variety of sources and be presented in a variety of formats. Reichman University’s Data Science Institute is run by Dr. Shai Fine. Dr. Fine is the Julis-Rabinowitz Academic Chair for Data Science, holds a PhD in Computer Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a postdoc at IBM, T.J. Watson Research Center, NY and has spent over 25 years at leading companies, such as Teva Pharmaceutical, Intel and IBM. Dr. Shai Fine, the Julis-Rabinowitz Academic Chair for Data Science at Reichman UniversityA major component of the Data Science Institute at Reichman University is its Focus Areas, which represent a cross-section of enabling technologies, academic fields, and relevant business segments. Research at the institute uses computational methods, and one of its most current intriguing projects is the Mine Project, which is a study on the use of algorithms in social science and human interactions. Using mathematical models, the Mine Project quantified the influence between users in a conversation. The model was used to see how future actions changed between different users following a conversation and how engagement levels differ following a particular conversation: liking, responding, and following. Using data collected from Twitter posts, the model analyzed conversations over a six-month period as well as reactions such as words, likes, emojis, and the amount of interaction after the first conversation. "The motivation for the success of this kind of model could not be any higher" according to Research Fellow, Abraham Israeli, head of the Social Analytics program at the Institute, "Cyberbullying and terroristic attacks can be better analyzed with this tool, as well as inspiring people through the sharing of courageous and inspirational stories". Another ongoing project the tea