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

Public Opinion and Impression Management in the Communication of Performance During the Second Iraq War

2023 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Audia, Pino G.; Rousseau, Horacio E.; Stimmler, Mary Kate

Abstract: Although studies show that organizations engaged in controversial actions often ... Expand

Abstract: Although studies show that organizations engaged in controversial actions often aim to minimize the release of threatening information, scholars know relatively little about what may prompt organizations to increase transparency in these situations. In this study, we focus on support from public opinion as a condition that may influence the disclosure of sensitive performance information to the public. Using the second Iraq War as an empirical context, we focus on the extent to which public officials—Pentagon spokespersons—release and frame information about war performance. This outcome is critical because the way in which organizations communicate their performance to outsiders has often been regarded as a key defensive impression management tactic. We hypothesize that high public support for the war will increase the likelihood that Pentagon officials release information about sensitive combat performance indicators in their press briefings and identify contingencies, such as adversity and organizational spokespersons’ power, that moderate this relationship. We also explore whether high public support decreases the strategic use of alternate performance frames that emphasize metrics that signal progress toward a desirable end state. Using a unique data set based on the coding of press briefings, public opinion data, and other public sources, we find support for several of our hypotheses. We discuss implications for understanding the relationship between public opinion and impression management and highlight the importance of extending this research to nongovernmental organizations. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.1598. Collapse

Topics: armed conflict organization structure website database system terrorist incident

Methods: logistic regression descriptive statistic statistical hypothesis test regression analysis method theory development

Theories: accountability theory

From the Pandemic to War: The Role of Digital Technologies in Ukrainian Businesses Responding to Discontinuities and Building Resilience

2023 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Berbyuk Lindström, Nataliya; Razmerita, Liana; Prokopenko, Serhii

Abstract: Disasters and crises are a part of human existence. While upsetting the normal ... Expand

Abstract: Disasters and crises are a part of human existence. While upsetting the normal operations of societies and revealing the inherent fragility of infrastructure and social order, they also push us to rethink "the normal" way of living and working. At this moment, IS research on the experiences of businesses in times of war as an extreme crisis is very limited. Taking the case of Ukrainian businesses, we ask the following research questions: How have organizations adapted to war discontinuities and built resilience? and How have the experiences of remote work from the pandemic contributed to building organizational resilience in times of war? Analyzing semi-structured interviews with managers from Ukrainian businesses through the lenses of adaptation theory, remote work discontinuities, and capability-based model of organizational resilience, we present the types of discontinuities experienced and the adaptation strategies used by the companies in addressing them. Our findings show that the resilience of Ukrainian companies has its roots in agile management, continuous communication and collaboration, experiences in using digital technologies during the pandemic, and international community support. The results also indicate the organizations continuously coping and adapting, re-coping, and re-adapting while anticipating unexpected events, which calls for developing a more dynamic resilience model. Collapse

Topics: remote work IT supported collaboration armed conflict pandemic digital transformation

Methods: qualitative interview personal interview qualitative coding

Theories: adaptation-level theory

Effectiveness of Health Communication Technology on Compliance Disposition of Covid-19 Guidelines

2023 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Bui, Quang “Neo”; Moriuchi, Emi

Abstract: Recent research has mostly examined the role of health communication technology ... Expand

Abstract: Recent research has mostly examined the role of health communication technology (HCT) in patient empowerment and in producing patient-focused outcomes. This study examines HCT in a larger context where it is used as a tool to improve public health. The objective is to examine how HCT is used to monitor Covid-19's spread, and how social factors affect individual assessment of HCT and individual compliance disposition of Covid-19 guidelines. Analyzing data collected from 360 HCT users suggests that the information and system quality of HCT indeed impact users' assessment of its effectiveness and their compliance disposition. However, such effects are strongly mediated by social factors: Peer influence and government trust can sway an individual's cognitive judgments of Covid-19 regardless of HCT's impacts. The findings highlight the importance of social factors in pandemic management and the need to socialize health informatics to make them more effective. Collapse

Topics: social influence data quality digital dashboard system quality mobile application

Methods: survey mediation analysis partial least squares path modeling post analysis path analysis

Theories: health belief model information systems success model

How to Navigate the Uncharted Waters of Cyberwar

2023 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Choras, Michal; Pawlicka, Aleksandra; Pawlicki, Marek; Kozik, Rafal

Abstract: Though we heard that "Cyberwar is coming!" as long ago as in 1993, scientists a ... Expand

Abstract: Though we heard that "Cyberwar is coming!" as long ago as in 1993, scientists and tech experts were divided. Some of them firmly believed that the scenarios of sci-fi movies were soon to come true, others remained sceptical. As of 2023, with the world deeply dependent on various digital technologies, the cyberspace considered by NATO as another battlespace, and over a year after the attack of the Russian Federation on Ukraine, it has become apparent that the world has witnessed the first-ever true hybrid war. In an unprecedented manner, the attacker has combined "traditional", conventional military strategy with digital warfare. This paper discusses a number of the "first-evers" and challenges related to the technology and cyberspace observed before or during the war in Ukraine, the lessons learnt so far, and what it means for software engineers, cybersecurity experts and other IT specialists. Collapse

Topics: armed conflict IT security IT job

ENGAGING WITH VIRTUAL INFLUENCERS: A NETNOGRAPHY STUDY

2023 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Dabiran, Ehsan; Farivar, Samira; Wang, Fang; Grant, Gerald

Abstract: Virtual influencers on social media are an intriguing phenomenon on the rise. T ... Expand

Abstract: Virtual influencers on social media are an intriguing phenomenon on the rise. They are computergenerated characters that attract a large number of followers and audiences who interact and engage with virtual influencers. Audience engagement with virtual influencers is an interesting phenomenon; yet little is known about the motivation and essence of such engagement. This research takes a qualitative approach of netnography to study audience engagement with virtual influencers. Content analysis on audience comments left on three virtual influencers' Instagram accounts (including Miquela, Noonoouri, and Guggimon) is conducted. Four major content themes emerge in audience comments: emotional attachment, source admiration, novelty, and expertise. We propose a conceptual model that postulates the impacts of these factors on engagement, moderated by the anthropomorphism of virtual influencers. This research reveals insights into drivers of audience engagement with virtual influencers, providing a theoretical model and practical implications. Collapse

Topics: Instagram Google+ robotic armed conflict online game

Methods: qualitative content analysis netnography conceptual modelling survey

Understanding resistance to IS-related change

2023 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Fleron, Benedicte; Pries-Heje, Jan; Hansen, Magnus

Abstract: When adopting and diffusing new Information Systems (IS) people often show sign ... Expand

Abstract: When adopting and diffusing new Information Systems (IS) people often show signs of resistance and animosity when they are required to change their behaviour caused by the introduction and implementation of new digital technology in organisational settings. However, resistance may take many forms and may vary from stakeholder to stakeholder. Further, it may be very challenging to know how to handle and cope with different types of resistance. Understanding different types of resistance and how one will meet and experience them is an extremely important part of any digital transformation in order to make the wished-for change happen. In this paper we analyse 6000 Facebook postings that revolve around a new digital healthcare platform with more than 40,000 daily users that all were required to adopt and use the new healthcare system. We infer an overall typology of resistance to change (RtC) that enhances the understanding of the phenomenon and paves the way for new potential coping strategies. Collapse

Topics: Facebook systems implementation resistance to change armed conflict health information system

Methods: qualitative content analysis synthesis grounded theory qualitative interview

Digital Transformation from Sun Tzu’s System Thinking Perspective

2023 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Guo, Keyong

Abstract: About Sun Tzu's Art of War, lots of research have been done. However, most of t ... Expand

Abstract: About Sun Tzu's Art of War, lots of research have been done. However, most of them were fragment studies, that's, done by sampling one or two management doctrines. About its core, the system thinking, few has been conducted using a General Systems Theory. What's more, these studies were in most cases a theoretical one. The objective of digital transformation (DT) was re-establishing organization's business model through innovation by using digital technologies to sharpen organization sustainable competitiveness, it is just like a war champaign. This study is to use case study method to show how Sun Tzu's System Thinking could be used in DT to defeat potential rivals to maintain competitive advantage. The combination of theoretical study and practitioner application will be of high value both to those practitioners in digital transformation process and contribute academically to research methods in the future study of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Collapse

Topics: digital transformation armed conflict competitive advantage

Methods: case study qualitative interview literature study

Introduction to Minitrack Big Data and Analytics: Pathways to Maturity

2023 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Kaisler, S.; Armour, F.; Espinosa, J.

Abstract: This minitrack features six papers describing and assessing several aspects of ... Expand

Abstract: This minitrack features six papers describing and assessing several aspects of Big Data and Analytics. Key papers include two on assessing concept drift in machine learning applications and a continuing investigation of the issues and challenges facing Big Data and Analytics over the next several years. Collapse

Topics: big data computer system armed conflict cloud computing explainable artificial intelligence

Methods: experiment cluster analysis machine learning computational algorithm convolutional neural network

Rethinking time: ubichronic time and its impact on work

2023 | European Journal of Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Ivaturi, Koteswara; Chua, Cecil

Abstract: Modern technology is ubiquitous i.e., “always there” – available to us when we w ... Expand

Abstract: Modern technology is ubiquitous i.e., “always there” – available to us when we want it and engaging us even when we don’t actively seek it. This constantly available ubiquitous technology influences people’s perception of time. This conceptual paper explores how ubiquitous technology creates a new time vision we call ubichronic time. We argue ubichronic time is qualitatively different from existing time visions and highlight the new values and behaviours associated with it. Specifically, people who have an ubichronic time vision perform disparate activities that span short durations across the day, find specific tiny units of time valuable and cram many repeated activities into a day. We also argue ubichronic time will have profound implications on the way we work and as such propose new concepts and research directions on how the way we work needs to adapt at the individual, team, and organisational levels. Collapse

Topics: internet technology social capital mobile system armed conflict

Methods: theory development