sPAN-pROP: Combatting Contextualized Social Media State-Linked Propaganda in the Middle East

2023 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Aleroud, Ahmed; Melhem, Abdullah Bani; Alhussien, Nour; Albert, Craig

Abstract: Social Cyber-attacks such as propaganda, conspiracy theories, anger, and hate d ... Expand

Abstract: Social Cyber-attacks such as propaganda, conspiracy theories, anger, and hate discourse are very old phenomena that inflict harm to humans, organizations, national security, public officials, democratization efforts, careers, and policies. There have been significant efforts to identify anti-US speech on social media which includes propaganda. Such efforts largely ignore the attempts by other countries to manipulate social media in some regions including the Middle East. Research in this area is computational and solely focuses on fine tuning language models to detect general propaganda attacks. This paper addresses a new category of propaganda attacks that are tied to state-linked accounts that spread anti-US propaganda by taking advantages of specific geo-political crises in the Middle East. We investigated the role of general language models and training data to detect those forms of propaganda. Our study concludes that existing propaganda training data is unable to successfully detect targeted propaganda. We propose a contextualized span detection approach to identify these types of propaganda and show that our targeted training models work significantly better compared to the existing general propaganda detection approaches. Collapse

Topics: Twitter IT security threat social media armed conflict misinformation

Methods: language model experiment deep learning PyTorch literature study

Moral Reasoning and Acceptability of Technologies that Violate Fundamental Human Rights

2023 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Ray, Argha; Sarkar, Sandip Kumar

Abstract: The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) requires careful reflection. Wi ... Expand

Abstract: The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) requires careful reflection. With advances in AI, there is growing realization that some basic parameters of our human condition will change in the future, desirably or undesirably. AI technologies are neither good nor bad, but we must make a societal choice to embed fundamental human rights and democratic values when we design and use such technologies. A tool that can empower can also become a tool for mass surveillance or a tool for perpetuating discrimination. With promises of AI, we as a society must address its failings as well. In this paper we propose that our morality may well weigh on our principled judgment on such technologies. We use the Moral Stages and the Moral Foundations theories to explore whether people with particular moral orientations are likely to be at odds accepting usefulness of technologies that violate our rights to privacy or nondiscrimination. Collapse

Topics: privacy perceived usefulness public good technology adoption information privacy concern

Methods: survey biometric measurement facial recognition system field study

Fairness in Algorithmic Management: How Practices Promote Fairness and Redress Unfairness on Digital Labor Platforms

2023 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Schulze, L.; Trenz, M.; Cai, Z.; Tan, C.

Abstract: Algorithmic management (AM) is employed on digital labor platforms (DLPs) to e ... Expand

Abstract: Algorithmic management (AM) is employed on digital labor platforms (DLPs) to efficiently manage interactions between workers and clients. However, AM comes with ethical challenges, such as unfairness. Identifying best practices that counter these challenges promises to deliver actionable solutions. Therefore, we identify AM practices that workers deem particularly fair. We conduct seven online focus groups with a diverse set of platform workers and analyze the data through an organizational justice lens. Our findings reveal that AM practices can promote fairness by providing information, empowering workers, or autonomously executing tasks in their interest. Alternatively, in the case unfairness occurred, AM practices can redress unfairness. These practices include delegating dispute resolution to the involved actors, investigating evidence, and autonomously determining restorative consequences. Our findings have theoretical implications for fairness in algorithms, AM, and organizational justice literature. They might also be adopted in practice to improve workers' conditions on DLPs. Collapse

Topics: decision making ride sharing platform video conference platform work WeChat

Methods: focus group computational algorithm grounded theory qualitative coding group interview

Big Data analytics for sustainability: Insight through technological innovation

2022 | Information & Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Barnes, Stuart J.; Guo, Yue; Chan, Jason

Abstract: How do information systems and big data analytics help to enable a sustainable f ... Expand

Abstract: How do information systems and big data analytics help to enable a sustainable future? This question is investigated in nine papers in this special issue that examine the issue of big data analytics for sustainability from a variety of perspectives. Broadly, these papers can be considered in four main areas: health, online behavior and consumption, safety and the environment, and methods to improve understanding of sustainability issues. Recent advances in data-driven decision-making analytics research focusing on different aspects of sustainability are discussed in these papers, including air pollution management, online health consultation services, gamification of exercise and health, sustainable urban mobility, the sustainable use of resources in hospitals, the design of anticrime information support systems, the interdependence effects among mobile social apps, networks of sustainable development goals, and the spillover effect of sustainable consumption. Collapse

Topics: big data criminality mobile application gamification environmental sustainability

Methods: difference in differences business process modeling econometric modeling instrumental variables estimation simulation

Theories: self determination theory

Individuality Matters: A World View of Individual Issues of IT Professionals

2022 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Ghosh, Jaideep; Palvia, Prashant; Serenko, Alexander; Jacks, Tim

Abstract: Individuality matters. While information technology (IT) is important, more cri ... Expand

Abstract: Individuality matters. While information technology (IT) is important, more critical for the success of IS functions in an organization are its people, their values, attitudes, norms, and behavior. There are differences among IT professionals, not only at the organizational level, but also at the global level. Using data collected from more than 10,000 IT employees in 37 countries under the World IT Project, this study examines some fundamental issues of IT workers from a global perspective. While there are differences, we find that almost universally, nine individual issues are important across many countries, and they are interrelated in a similar manner. IT employees in some countries maintain stronger social bonds among themselves than those in others, which provide them with the necessary social capital to utilize in times of high work exhaustion, environmental dynamism and insecurity, as well as their efforts to change jobs. In difficult situations, the professional self-efficacy of the workers secures them. A significant number of IT employees feel that excessive work overload upsets the balance between their lives at home and workplace demands. Nevertheless, an intellectually stimulating and well-balanced work environment ensures job satisfaction for a significant number of IT employees in many countries. Collapse

Topics: IT workforce project management IT project job satisfaction IT career

Methods: chi squared test survey descriptive statistic cross sectional research survey design

Theories: theory of economic development

Estimating networks of sustainable development goals

2022 | Information & Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Ospina-Forero, Luis; Castañeda, Gonzalo; Guerrero, Omar A.

Abstract: An increasing number of researchers and practitioners advocate for a systemic un ... Expand

Abstract: An increasing number of researchers and practitioners advocate for a systemic understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through interdependency networks. Ironically, the burgeoning network-estimation literature seems neglected by this community. We provide an introduction to the most suitable estimation methods for SDG networks. Building a dataset with 87 development indicators in four countries over 20 years, we perform a comparative study of these methods. We find important differences in the estimated network struc­ tures as well as in synergies and trade-offs between SDGs. Finally, we provide some guidelines on the potentials and limitations of estimating SDG networks for policy advice. Collapse

Topics: Sustainable Development Goal database system brainstorming resource allocation

Methods: longitudinal research time series analysis cross sectional research Granger causality machine learning

Ideal or Idiosyncratic? How Women Manage Work-Family Role Conflict with Focal and Peripheral Role Senders

2022 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Thomason, Bobbi

Abstract: To provide insight into women’s approaches to managing the work-family interface ... Expand

Abstract: To provide insight into women’s approaches to managing the work-family interface, I introduce the concepts of focal and peripheral role senders and illuminate the importance of their interplay in the enactment of women’s domestic roles. At the core of my theoretical model is the process by which focal and peripheral role senders embrace or reject an ideal enactment of domestic roles and the women’s strategies women use to either acquiesce to ideal roles or acquire idiosyncratic roles. This paper examines the husband as the focal role sender, consistent with the literature’s focus and the pervasiveness of husbands in my data, and considers peripheral role senders, such as parents and in-laws, who also influence women’s role enactment, either by amplifying or muting the husband’s preferred role enactment. This research contributes to existing theory by introducing the importance of focal and peripheral role senders, illuminating how these multiple senders and their interaction influence women’s strategies to deal with role conflict, and documenting how women’s strategies subsequently influence their career trajectories. Collapse

Topics: IT career strategic management marketing management user success internet technology

Methods: qualitative interview theory development qualitative coding ethnography

Theories: reactance theory

Predicting subjective well-being among mHealth users: a readiness – value model

2021 | International Journal of Information Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Aboelmaged, Mohamed; Hashem, Gharib; Mouakket, Samar

Abstract: A B S T R A C T mHealth applications (MHA) have recently attracted great attent ... Expand

Abstract: A B S T R A C T mHealth applications (MHA) have recently attracted great attention from various stakeholders as they are indeed important means to enhance users' subjective well-being. While prior research has mainly focused on intention or adoption phase, little work has empirically examined the post-adoption effects of MHA with scarce attention given to the well-being outcome. Actual users are likely to conceive the values of MHA based mainly on their direct experience with it. In this paper, the dimensions of users' technology readiness are regarded as major impetuses for perceived utilitarian and hedonic values, which in turn influence subjective well-being among MHA users. The proposed readiness-value model is analyzed using survey data collected from 731 users of MHA. The findings show that the model significantly predicts users' subjective well-being considering that utilitarian value is more important for male users, whereas hedonic value has a more salient effect for female users. It also reveals that enablers of technology readiness (i.e., innovativeness and optimism) exert a stronger influence than that of inhibitors (i.e., discomfort and insecurity) on the perceived values of MHA. These results have essential implications for theory and practice. Collapse

Topics: mobile health technology adoption mobile application mobile system cross cultural research

Methods: survey partial least squares regression PLS tool structural equation modeling longitudinal research

The Egyptian protest movement in the twittersphere: An investigation of dual sentiment pathways of communication

2021 | International Journal of Information Management | Citations: 4

Authors: Bang, Chulhwan Chris; Lee, Jaeung; Rao, H. Raghav

Abstract: During the course of the Egyptian civil movement in 2011, excessive suppression ... Expand

Abstract: During the course of the Egyptian civil movement in 2011, excessive suppression of the protesters caused a great deal of humanitarian concerns across the world. Egyptian protesters were supported not only in the Arabicspeaking world, but also throughout the English speaking world. The Twittersphere1 became a valuable arena for individuals to communicate amongst each other regarding important social movement issues. This paper is a study of the communication on Twitterverse consisting of both English and Arabic tweets and the sentiments expressed therein during the Egyptian protest movement. We focus on the research questions: what sentiments of Tweeters relate to signals of protest communication?, and how do protest related tweets in two languages in the Twitter sphere, that are a proxy of two different and important cultural groups, compare with each other? In order to understand the protest communications in Twittersphere, we examine a dual pathways model that relates to emotional and goal related sentiments. We apply this model to examine the online protest in Egypt. Our findings reveal the emotions and goal related sentiments that are fundamental for intention to protest across the two languages. We find that anger, fear, pride and hope were the prime sentiments regarding intention to or support of protest, regardless of language. Collapse

Topics: Twitter application programming interface social media structured query language Google+

Methods: logistic regression survey sentiment analysis regression analysis method ANOVA

Influence in Social Media: An Investigation of Tweets Spanning the 2011 Egyptian Revolution

2021 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 6

Authors: Venkatesan, Srikanth`; Valecha, Rohit; Yaraghi, Niam; Oh, On-Ook; Rao, H. Raghav

Abstract: Through the lens of social movement theory, this paper investigates the drivers ... Expand

Abstract: Through the lens of social movement theory, this paper investigates the drivers of individual users’ social influence on Twitter during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Following this lens, we suggest an extended model of sustained social influence (that considers retweets as the measure of user influence) as a function of the duality of individual Twitter users’ social actions and the underlying facilitating Twitter network structure. Based on an analysis of organic large-scale Twitter data on this social movement, we examine how characteristics of individuals’ social actions, namely activity and tenure on Twitter, and characteristics facilitated by the network (i.e., the number of followers as well as centrality in the community structure of Twitter), impact retweet influence in time windows spanning the movement. Utilizing a mixed methods approach consisting of machine learning and human coding we conceptualize social movement-related engagement activities of Twitter users, which map to generic frames of social movement mobilization. The analysis reveals interesting patterns across different contexts of the Egyptian Revolution. Regarding individual social action, social movement related to “who” and “where” activities, as well as tenure, were found to contribute to individual social influence. In terms of the facilitating structure, the follower network (an observed network structure) and centrality (an unobserved network structure) were both found to contribute significantly to sustained influence. Collapse

Topics: Twitter social media social influence application programming interface individual characteristic

Methods: machine learning longitudinal research instrumental variables estimation mixed method chi squared test

Theories: sociological theory