Affective Computing to Enhance E-Learning in Segregated Societies

According to UN Women, to build stronger economies, it is essential to empower women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors. Increasing women and girls’ education enhances their chances to participate in the labor market. In certain cultures, like in Saudi Arabia, women contribution to the public economy growth is very limited. According to the World Bank, less than 20 percent of the female population participate in the labor force. This low participation rate has many reasons. One of them, is the educational level and educational quality for females. Although Saudi Arabia has about thirty three universities, opportunities are still limited for women because of the restrictions of access put upon them. A mixture of local norms, traditions, social beliefs, and principles preventing women from receiving full benefits from the educational system. Gender segregation is one of the challenges that limits the women access for education. It causes a problem due to the shortage of female faculty throughout the country. To overcome this problem, male faculty are allowed to teach female students under certain regulations and following a certain method of education delivery and interaction. However, most of these methods lack face-to-face communication between the teacher and students, which lowers the interactivity level and, accordingly, the students’ engagement, and increases the need for other alternatives. The e-learning model is one of high benefit for female students in such societies. Recognizing the students’ engagement is not straightforward in the e-learning model. To measure the level of engagement, the learner’s mood or emotions should be taken into consideration to help understanding and judging the level of engagement. This paper is to investigate the relationship between emotions and engagement in the e-learning environment, and how recognizing the learner’s emotions and change the content delivery accordingly can affect the efficiency of the e-learning process. The proposed experiment alluded to herein should help to find ways to increase the engagement of the learners, hence, enhance the efficiency of the learning process and the quality of learning, which will increase the chances and opportunities for women in such societies to participate more effectively in the labor market

Cultural dimensions and CRM systems implementation: a preliminary framework

Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM) in particular. Several researchers have suggested ways in which management can accommodate these dimensions or solve the problems they may pose. Ali& Alshawi (2005) have proposed a cultural dimensions framework for the management of CRM systems implementation in the multinational environment. In this paper the authors test that framework by conducting a qualitative comparative case study in a large multinational organization in two countries. The authors have investigated the implementation of CRM systems within the same organization in both Egypt and the UK. Using observation, document analysis and interviews, qualitative data has been elicited and used a Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) analysis to determine themes for each case study. The authors have used the Structurational analysis by Walsham (2002) which based on the concepts of Structuration Theory by Giddens(1979,1984 ), to propose their explanations of these themes and drag from this analysis the cultural dimensions which may have impact on CRM systems Implementation. The authors have concluded by proposing an updated framework of cultural dimensions for management of CRM systems within multinational environment organizations

Midfrontal theta transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates behavioural adjustment after error execution

Cognitive control during conflict monitoring, error processing, and post-error adjustment appear to be associated with the occurrence of midfrontal theta (MFϴ). While this association is supported by correlational EEG studies, much less is known about the possible causal link between MFϴ and error and conflict processing. In the present study, we aimed to explore the role of band-specific effects in modulating the error system during a conflict resolution. In turn, we delivered transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at different frequency bands (delta δ, theta θ, alpha α, beta β, gamma γ) and sham stimulation over the medial frontal cortex (MFC) in 36 healthy participants performing a modified version of the Flanker task. Task performance and reports about the sensations (e.g. visual flickering, cutaneous burning) induced by the different frequency bands, were also recorded. We found that online θ-tACS increased the response speed to congruent stimuli after error execution with respect to sham stimulation. Importantly, the accuracy following the errors did not decrease because of speed-accuracy trade off. Moreover, tACS evoked visual and somatosensory sensations were significantly stronger at α-tACS and β-tACS compared to other frequencies. Our findings suggest that theta activity plays a causative role in modulating behavioural adjustments during perceptual choices in a stimulus-response conflict task. © 2018 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Lt

Calculating the impact of event using emotion detection.

Regardless of the extraordinary advancements in artificial intelligence, we are still far from having the capacity to normally associate with machines. Feature analysis in emotion recognition is significantly less concentrated than the facial recognition. In events like lectures and meetings, it is common for speakers to request feedback in the form of reviews; however, sometimes people do not have sufficient time to adequately write down all their opinions about the event. We suggest that using an AI system, it would be possible to assess an audience's emotional state over the course of an event without needing to ask them to write down their feedback

The Role of Social Identity Inclusiveness and Structure in Intergroup Relations: Individual and Contextual Differences in Ethnic and Religious Minority Group Members

This thesis proposes a conceptual and operational framework to examine how minority group members subjectively construe their ingroup. Four community studies were devised to test this framework, and to examine individual versus contextual differences in ingroup construals. Chapter 1 provides a critical analysis of existing models of multiple social identities. Subsequently, a new conceptual framework is proposed to assess how minority group members construe their ingroup in the context of multiple, cross-cutting group memberships. The subjective combination of multiple ingroups is described in terms of Social Identity Structure (SIS) and Inclusiveness (SII). Chapter 2 introduces a method, the Triple-Crossed Categorisation Task, to measure both constructs. The validity of SII and SIS is assessed in a sample of Turkish Australian Muslim adults (Chapter 3), and adolescents (Chapter 4). Both studies showed SII to be a valid construct, distinct from measures of identification, and positively related to outgroup contact. Moreover, eight different SIS’s were replicated across both studies, further attesting to the validity of the conceptual model. Importantly, across both studies, SII uniquely predicted attitudes toward a range of outgroups. The following chapters examine whether and how Turkish Australian Muslims alter their ingroup construals after exposure to a religious identity threat versus reassurance (Chapter 5), or to a religious versus ethnic identity threat (Chapter 6). In both experiments, SII was not affected by threat. The distribution of SIS’s did show some effects of threat, but the pattern was not consistent across studies. Finally, Chapter 7 discusses these findings in light of the individual and contextual factors surrounding minority members’ ingroup construals. The contributions to the study of multiple social identities, practical implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed as well

The Role of Social Identity Inclusiveness and Structure in Intergroup Relations: Individual and Contextual Differences in Ethnic and Religious Minority Group Members

This thesis proposes a conceptual and operational framework to examine how minority group members subjectively construe their ingroup. Four community studies were devised to test this framework, and to examine individual versus contextual differences in ingroup construals. Chapter 1 provides a critical analysis of existing models of multiple social identities. Subsequently, a new conceptual framework is proposed to assess how minority group members construe their ingroup in the context of multiple, cross-cutting group memberships. The subjective combination of multiple ingroups is described in terms of Social Identity Structure (SIS) and Inclusiveness (SII). Chapter 2 introduces a method, the Triple-Crossed Categorisation Task, to measure both constructs. The validity of SII and SIS is assessed in a sample of Turkish Australian Muslim adults (Chapter 3), and adolescents (Chapter 4). Both studies showed SII to be a valid construct, distinct from measures of identification, and positively related to outgroup contact. Moreover, eight different SIS’s were replicated across both studies, further attesting to the validity of the conceptual model. Importantly, across both studies, SII uniquely predicted attitudes toward a range of outgroups. The following chapters examine whether and how Turkish Australian Muslims alter their ingroup construals after exposure to a religious identity threat versus reassurance (Chapter 5), or to a religious versus ethnic identity threat (Chapter 6). In both experiments, SII was not affected by threat. The distribution of SIS’s did show some effects of threat, but the pattern was not consistent across studies. Finally, Chapter 7 discusses these findings in light of the individual and contextual factors surrounding minority members’ ingroup construals. The contributions to the study of multiple social identities, practical implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed as well

Teaching Climate Change in the University

Climate change presents a series of challenges to those teaching in higher education. While it is crucial to integrate it across all disciplinary areas, there are various constraints stemming from curriculum overload, the complexity of the topic, and its contested and value-based nature. Nevertheless, engaging with the climate crisis can be a driver of positive change in university teaching and learning. This paper explores the potential of climate for pedagogical renewal in higher education through an assessment of three spheres of enquiry: the ontological (interdependence of human beings and the natural environment), epistemological (sources of valid knowledge, academic disciplines and diverse knowledge traditions) and axiological (climate justice, the limits of state authority and the nature of the good life). The teaching of these areas should be underpinned by the complimentary pedagogical foundations of critical questioning and deliberation, leading to a virtuous cycle of deepening of understanding and connection

East Lancashire Research 2008

East Lancashire Research 200

Challenging Social Media Threats using Collective Well-being Aware Recommendation Algorithms and an Educational Virtual Companion

Social media (SM) have become an integral part of our lives, expanding our inter-linking capabilities to new levels. There is plenty to be said about their positive effects. On the other hand however, some serious negative implications of SM have repeatedly been highlighted in recent years, pointing at various SM threats for society, and its teenagers in particular: from common issues (e.g. digital addiction and polarization) and manipulative influences of algorithms to teenager-specific issues (e.g. body stereotyping). The full impact of current SM platform design -- both at an individual and societal level -- asks for a comprehensive evaluation and conceptual improvement. We extend measures of Collective Well-Being (CWB) to SM communities. As users' relationships and interactions are a central component of CWB, education is crucial to improve CWB. We thus propose a framework based on an adaptive "social media virtual companion" for educating and supporting the entire students' community to interact with SM. The virtual companion will be powered by a Recommender System (CWB-RS) that will optimize a CWB metric instead of engagement or platform profit, which currently largely drives recommender systems thereby disregarding any societal collateral effect. CWB-RS will optimize CWB both in the short term, by balancing the level of SM threat the students are exposed to, as well as in the long term, by adopting an Intelligent Tutor System role and enabling adaptive and personalized sequencing of playful learning activities. This framework offers an initial step on understanding how to design SM systems and embedded educational interventions that favor a more healthy and positive society

Social media, political polarization, and political disinformation: a review of the scientific literature

The following report is intended to provide an overview of the current state of the literature on the relationship between social media; political polarization; and political “disinformation,” a term used to encompass a wide range of types of information about politics found online, including “fake news,” rumors, deliberately factually incorrect information, inadvertently factually incorrect information, politically slanted information, and “hyperpartisan” news. The review of the literature is provided in six separate sections, each of which can be read individually but that cumulatively are intended to provide an overview of what is known — and unknown — about the relationship between social media, political polarization, and disinformation. The report concludes by identifying key gaps in our understanding of these phenomena and the data that are needed to address them