Challenges to Social Structures Monitoring in the Arctic Regions

Abstract

The paper claims that effective public monitoring is necessary to achieve a “digital maturity” within the social sphere and effective civil society. While society’s digitalization and social networks role are increasing, a monitoring observation system should be formed as an information and expert system, implemented based on experts’ knowledge and models, using up-to-date communication technologies. The research aims to propose an appropriate communication model within social systems to assess and forecast social capital. Functions of the latter include information circulation and social capital regulation of ensuring the stability of social relations. The paper presents a structured research program that aims to conceptualize a social system communication model. The authors present the results of migrants’ and host populations’ pilot research in four Arctic regions. They use both traditional sociological measurements and Internet service. Based on chaos theory (synergetics) methods, the authors propose a structural model that assesses social climate. The model is implemented as an index method for assessing the likelihood of interethnic conflict between migrants and the host population. The social climate in the two pilot regions turned out to be more sensitive and less tolerant. Methodological requirements for conducting IT surveys are also presented to achieve sociological data performance.