An information assistant system for the prevention of tunnel vision in crisis management

In the crisis management environment, tunnel vision is a set of bias in decision makers’ cognitive process which often leads to incorrect understanding of the real crisis situation, biased perception of information, and improper decisions. The tunnel vision phenomenon is a consequence of both the challenges in the task and the natural limitation in a human being’s cognitive process. An information assistant system is proposed with the purpose of preventing tunnel vision. The system serves as a platform for monitoring the on-going crisis event. All information goes through the system before arrives at the user. The system enhances the data quality, reduces the data quantity and presents the crisis information in a manner that prevents or repairs the user’s cognitive overload. While working with such a system, the users (crisis managers) are expected to be more likely to stay aware of the actual situation, stay open minded to possibilities, and make proper decisions

Intellectual autonomy, epistemic dependence and cognitive enhancement

Intellectual autonomy has long been identified as an epistemic virtue, one that has been championed influentially by (among others) Kant, Hume and Emerson. Manifesting intellectual autonomy, at least, in a virtuous way, does not require that we form our beliefs in cognitive isolation. Rather, as Roberts and Wood (Intellectual virtues: an essay in regulative epistemology, OUP Oxford, Oxford, pp. 259–260, 2007) note, intellectually virtuous autonomy involves reliance and outsourcing (e.g., on other individuals, technology, medicine, etc.) to an appropriate extent, while at the same time maintaining intellectual self-direction. In this essay, I want to investigate the ramifications for intellectual autonomy of a particular kind of epistemic dependence: cognitive enhancement. Cognitive enhancements (as opposed to therapeutic cognitive improvements) involve the use of technology and medicine to improve cognitive capacities in healthy individuals, through mechanisms ranging from smart drugs to brain-computer interfaces. With reference to case studies in bioethics, as well as the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, it is shown that epistemic dependence, in this extreme form, poses a prima facie threat to the retention of intellectual autonomy, specifically, by threatening to undermine our intellectual self-direction. My aim will be to show why certain kinds of cognitive enhancements are subject to this objection from self-direction, while others are not. Once this is established, we’ll see that even some extreme kinds of cognitive enhancement might be not merely compatible with, but constitutive of, virtuous intellectual autonomy

Assessments in Policy-Making: Case Studies from the Arctic Council

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Design Spaces in Visual Analytics Based on Goals: Analytical Behaviour, Exploratory Investigation, Information Design & Perceptual Tasks

This paper considers a number of perspectives on design spaces in visual analytics and proposes a new set of four design spaces, based on user goals. Three of the user goals are derived from the literature and are categorised under the terms exploratory investigation, perceptual tasks, and information design. The fourth goal is categorised as analytical behaviour; a recently defined term referring to the study of decision-making facilitated by visual analytics. This paper contributes to the literature on decision-making in visual analytics with a survey of real-world applications within the analytical behaviour design space and by providing a new perspective on design spaces. Central to our analysis is the introduction of decision concepts and theories from economics into a visual analytics context. Given the recent interest in decision-making we wanted to understand the emerging topic of analytical behaviour as a design space and found it necessary to look at more than just decision-making to make a valuable contribution. The result is an initial framework suitable for use in the analysis or design of analytical behaviour applications

Old Games, Same Concerns: Examining First Generation Video Games Through Popular Press Coverage from 1972-1985

This study explores early video game technology by examining video game fears in the popular press in the 1970s and 1980s. This textual analysis examines games during their formative years, assesses risks associated with new technology, and encourages critical examination of technophobia in news media. This topic is particularly relevant in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding video game regulation. Key findings include: physical ailment fears, deviant behavior fears, fears related to drug use, and violent behavior fears. These fears persist, for the most part, in contemporary mainstream coverage

Self-Control in Cyberspace: Applying Dual Systems Theory to a Review of Digital Self-Control Tools

Many people struggle to control their use of digital devices. However, our understanding of the design mechanisms that support user self-control remains limited. In this paper, we make two contributions to HCI research in this space: first, we analyse 367 apps and browser extensions from the Google Play, Chrome Web, and Apple App stores to identify common core design features and intervention strategies afforded by current tools for digital self-control. Second, we adapt and apply an integrative dual systems model of self-regulation as a framework for organising and evaluating the design features found. Our analysis aims to help the design of better tools in two ways: (i) by identifying how, through a well-established model of self-regulation, current tools overlap and differ in how they support self-control; and (ii) by using the model to reveal underexplored cognitive mechanisms that could aid the design of new tools.Comment: 11.5 pages (excl. references), 6 figures, 1 tabl

Evaluating Privacy Adaptation Presentation Methods to support Social Media Users in their Privacy-Related Decision-Making Process

Several privacy scholars have advocated for user-tailored privacy (UTP). A privacy-enhancing adaptive privacy approach to help reconcile users\u27 lack of awareness, privacy management skills and motivation to use available platform privacy features with their need for personalized privacy support in alignment with their privacy preferences. The idea behind UTP is to measure users\u27 privacy characteristics and behaviors, use these measurements to create a personalized model of the user\u27s privacy preferences, and then provide adaptive support to the user in navigating and engaging with the available privacy settings---or even implement certain settings automatically on the user\u27s behalf. To this end, most existing work on UTP has focused on the measurement\u27\u27 and algorithmic modeling\u27\u27 aspect of UTP, however, with less emphasis on the adaptation\u27\u27 aspect. More specifically, limited research efforts have been devoted to the exploration of the presentation of privacy adaptations that align with user privacy preferences. The concept of presentation\u27\u27 goes beyond the visual characteristics of the adaptation: it can profoundly impact the required level of engagement with the system and the user\u27s tendency to follow the suggested privacy adaptation. This dissertation evaluates the potential of three adaptation presentation methods in supporting social media users to make better\u27\u27 privacy protection decisions. These three adaptation presentation methods include 1) automation that involves the automatic application of the privacy settings by the system without user input to alleviate them from having to make frequent privacy decisions; 2) highlights that emphasize certain privacy features to guide users to apply the settings themselves in a subtle but useful manner; and 3) suggestions that can explicitly inform users about the availability of certain settings that can be applied directly by the user. The first study focuses on understanding user perspectives on the different configurations of autonomy and control of the examined three privacy adaptation presentation methods. A second follow-up study examines the effectiveness of these adaptation presentation methods in improving user awareness and engagement with available privacy features. Taking into account social media users\u27 privacy decision-making process (i.e., they often make privacy-related decisions), the final study assesses the impact of privacy-related affect and message framing (i.e., tone style) on users\u27 privacy decisions in adaptation-supported social media environments. We offer insights and provide practical considerations towards the selection and use of optimal\u27\u27 privacy adaptation methods to provide user-tailored privacy decision support