Argumentation Stance Polarity and Intensity Prediction and its Application for Argumentation Polarization Modeling and Diverse Social Connection Recommendation

Cyber argumentation platforms implement theoretical argumentation structures that promote higher quality argumentation and allow for informative analysis of the discussions. Dr. Liu’s research group has designed and implemented a unique platform called the Intelligent Cyber Argumentation System (ICAS). ICAS structures its discussions into a weighted cyber argumentation graph, which describes the relationships between the different users, their posts in a discussion, the discussion topic, and the various subtopics in a discussion. This platform is unique as it encodes online discussions into weighted cyber argumentation graphs based on the user’s stances toward one another’s arguments and ideas. The resulting weighted cyber argumentation graphs can then be used by various analytical models to measure aspects of the discussion. In prior work, many aspects of cyber argumentation have been modeled and analyzed using these stance relationships. However, many challenging problems remain in cyber argumentation. In this dissertation, I address three of these problems: 1) modeling and measure argumentation polarization in cyber argumentation discussions, 2) encouraging diverse social networks and preventing echo chambers by injecting ideological diversity into social connection recommendations, and 3) developing a predictive model to predict the stance polarity and intensity relationships between posts in online discussions, allowing discussions from outside of the ICAS platform to be encoded as weighted cyber argumentation graphs and be analyzed by the cyber argumentation models. In this dissertation, I present models to measure polarization in online argumentation discussions, prevent polarizing echo-chambers and diversifying users’ social networks ideologically, and allow online discussions from outside of the ICAS environment to be analyzed using the previous models from this dissertation and the prior work from various researchers on the ICAS system. This work serves to progress the field of cyber argumentation by introducing a new analytical model for measuring argumentation polarization and developing a novel method of encouraging ideological diversity into social connection recommendations. The argumentation polarization model is the first of its kind to look specifically at the polarization among the users contained within a single discussion in cyber argumentation. Likewise, the diversity enhanced social connection recommendation re-ranking method is also the first of its kind to introduce ideological diversity into social connections. The former model will allow stakeholders and moderators to monitor and respond to argumentation polarization detected in online discussions in cyber argumentation. The latter method will help prevent network-level social polarization by encouraging social connections among users who differ in terms of ideological beliefs. This work also serves as an initial step to expanding cyber argumentation research into the broader online deliberation field. The stance polarity and intensity prediction model presented in this dissertation is the first step in allowing discussions from various online platforms to be encoded into weighted cyber argumentation graphs by predicting the stance weights between users’ posts. These resulting predicted weighted cyber augmentation graphs could then be used to apply cyber argumentation models and methods to these online discussions from popular online discussion platforms, such as Twitter and Reddit, opening many new possibilities for cyber argumentation research in the future

Engaging students with learning technologies

Curtin University initiated its eScholar program in 2009 making funds available for academic staff to implement innovative teaching using Curtin’s extensive suite of learning technologies. The program is based on the philosophy of engaging students with learning technologies that support their growing understanding through authentic and assessable activities.This publication presents the research findings of each of the eScholar projects conducted in 2010 and 2011. Each chapter has undergone a process of double-blind review resulting in high quality descriptions of learning using current and emerging technologies. The publication is divided into 6 sections based on these technologies.University teaching and learning is faced with many challenges. A major one is recognising appropriate learning technologies and their use that support ways in which adults learn. Rapid advances in technologies can easily seduce those with limited understanding of adult learning. This publication offers clear directions founded on teacher and learner experiences grounded in real classroom activity

Proceedings of the 1st Doctoral Consortium at the European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (DC-ECAI 2020)

1st Doctoral Consortium at the European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (DC-ECAI 2020), 29-30 August, 2020 Santiago de Compostela, SpainThe DC-ECAI 2020 provides a unique opportunity for PhD students, who are close to finishing their doctorate research, to interact with experienced researchers in the field. Senior members of the community are assigned as mentors for each group of students based on the student’s research or similarity of research interests. The DC-ECAI 2020, which is held virtually this year, allows students from all over the world to present their research and discuss their ongoing research and career plans with their mentor, to do networking with other participants, and to receive training and mentoring about career planning and career option

First steps in the study of cyber-psycho-cognitive operations

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Relações Internacionais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Relações Internacionais, 2019.O presente trabalho é uma análise dos mecanismos informáticos e tecno-comunicacionais envolvidos na articulação de mundos da vida orientados estrategicamente para estimular, prever ou minar o desenvolvimento das condições psico-cognitivas adequadas para a construção e sustento da legitimidade racional de uma autoridade ou ação política. A aplicação de instrumentos “arqueológicos” Foucauldianos ao estudo das narrativas políticas que engendraram e surgiram de “Russiagate” permitiu situar a teoria num contexto histórico e validar a premissa da convergência e incorporação de tendências de agendamento comuns e de práticas típicas de operações psicológicas tradicionais. Contudo, os efeitos tanto da disponibilidade comercial das TICs com capacidade de “deep learning”, quanto da estruturação baseada em conhecimento permitida pela ubiquidade e centralidade econômica dessas tecnologias, tornam o conjunto de mecanismos analisados num fenômeno que merece uma conceptualização e marco investigativo únicos. A obra é uma contribuição a esse empreendimento.This is an analysis of the ICT-based mechanisms involved in the articulation of lifeworlds that are strategically oriented to foster, prevent or undermine the development of psycho-cognitive conditions adequate for the construction or sustainability of an authority’s or a political action’s rational legitimacy. While grounding theory to a historical context, the application of Foucauldian “archeological” instruments to the study of the political narratives giving birth and springing from “Russiagate” also served to validate the premised convergence and incorporation of common agenda-setting trends and practices typical of traditional psychological operations. However, the effects of both the commercial availability of deep-learning ICTs and the cognition-based structuration afforded by their ubiquity and economic centrality set this “dispositif” apart, thereby deserving a unique conceptualization and research framework. This study is a contribution to such endeavor

Social informatics

5th International Conference, SocInfo 2013, Kyoto, Japan, November 25-27, 2013, Proceedings</p

Cyber Ethics 4.0 : Serving Humanity with Values

Cyber space influences all sectors of life and society: Artificial Intelligence, Robots, Blockchain, Self-Driving Cars and Autonomous Weapons, Cyberbullying, telemedicine and cyber health, new methods in food production, destruction and conservation of the environment, Big Data as a new religion, the role of education and citizens’ rights, the need for legal regulations and international conventions. The 25 articles in this book cover the wide range of hot topics. Authors from many countries and positions of international (UN) organisations look for solutions from an ethical perspective. Cyber Ethics aims to provide orientation on what is right and wrong, good and bad, related to the cyber space. The authors apply and modify fundamental values and virtues to specific, new challenges arising from cyber technology and cyber society. The book serves as reading material for teachers, students, policy makers, politicians, businesses, hospitals, NGOs and religious organisations alike. It is an invitation for dialogue, debate and solution

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse