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Conspiracy in the Time of Corona: Automatic detection of Emerging Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories in Social Media and the News

Abstract Rumors and conspiracy theories thrive in environments of low confi- dence and low trust. Consequently, it is not surprising that ones related to the Covid-19 pandemic are proliferating given the lack of scientific consensus on the virus’s spread and containment, or on the long term social and economic ramifications of the pandemic. Among the stories currently circulating are ones suggesting that the 5G telecommunication network activates the virus, that the pandemic is a hoax perpetrated by a global cabal, that the virus is a bio-weapon released deliberately by the Chinese, or that Bill Gates is using it as cover to launch a broad vaccination program to facilitate a global surveillance regime. While some may be quick to dismiss these stories as having little impact on real-world behavior, recent events including the destruction of cell phone towers, racially fueled attacks against Asian Americans, demonstrations espousing resistance to public health orders, and wide-scale defiance of scientifically sound public mandates such as those to wear masks and practice social distancing, countermand such conclusions. Inspired by narrative theory, we crawl social media sites and news reports and, through the application of automated machine-learning methods, discover the underlying narrative frame- works supporting the generation of rumors and conspiracy theories. We show how the various narrative frameworks fueling these stories rely on the alignment of otherwise disparate domains of knowledge, and consider how they attach to the broader reporting on the pandemic. These alignments and attachments, which can be monitored in near real-time, may be useful for identifying areas in the news that are particularly vulnerable to reinterpretation by conspiracy theorists. Understanding the dynamics of storytelling on social media and the narrative frameworks that provide the generative basis for these stories may also be helpful for devising methods to disrupt their spread

Special Libraries, February 1945

Volume 36, Issue 2https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1945/1001/thumbnail.jp

The Challenge of Defining Unmet Legal Need

Research on unmet legal need in Australia is long overdue and this delay has been articulated in many spheres. Although there was significant work done on defining and studying the problems of access to justice in the 1970s and early 1980s, there has been little academic work done since.In June 1998, the Australian Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee noted that there were inadequate data on the "unmet need" for legal aid.The same committee reported in 2004 that there had been no progress and restated the urgent need for reliable data on which to base government decisions. A number of other Australian organisations have acknowledged that research into unmet legal need should be undertaken as a matter of urgency. They include the Victorian Parliamentary Law Reform Committee, National Legal Aid,and the Law Council of Australia

Special Libraries, February 1945

Volume 36, Issue 2https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1945/1001/thumbnail.jp

Social Comparison and Influence in Groups

This chapter is a reminder of social comparison theory\u27s foundations in group processes rather than an extension of social comparison to groups. Social comparison research and theory, by tradition, stress individualistic, psychological purposes of comparison, such as satisfying basic drives, defining and enhancing the self, and alleviating distress or anxiety; but Festinger (1954) used the theory to explain shifts in members\u27 opinions, elevated motivation and competition among members, opinion debates, and the rejection of dissenters in groups (Allen & Wilder, 1977; Goethals & Darley, 1987; Singer, 1981; Turner, 1991; Wheeler, 1991). This chapter revisits the theory\u27s roots in groups before sampling some of the roles played by comparisonlike mechanisms in contemporary accounts of group dynamics

Choosing to adjust : UK and Swedish expatriates in Sweden and the UK

School of Managemen

Understanding Equitable Assessment: How Preservice Teachers Make Meaning of DisAbility

Disproportionality of historically marginalized populations in special education continues to be a critical concern. The identification of students with disabilities is reliant on valid and reliable assessment that is free of bias. The extent to which this is possible given measurement constraints and an increasingly diverse student population is unclear. How teachers are trained to design, select, administer, score, and interpret assessment data related to the identification of students with disabilities is vastly under-researched considering the significant implications of assessment practices. In this study, six special education preservice teachers engaged in an assessment methods course during their second semester of an initial certification program. This study focuses on shifts in preservice teacher understanding and the associated learning experiences in the course. Findings from this study have the potential to inform general and special education teacher preparation coursework