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Blog: “The Oracle Speaks” – Liv Strömquist’s New Graphic Novel on Our Influencer Society

Influencers are omnipresent in our society. They give advice on everything from styling tips to longevity, fitness, health, and even finance. In addition, a high number of self-help books and manuals are published every year, offering guidance. Reflecting on this apparent need for advice, Liv Strömquist dedicates her new graphic novel to exploring why influencers have become such a big phenomenon. The author interprets an influencer as a concept—a person or institution who gives advice—and traces different examples of this figure throughout history: the Oracle of Delphi in Ancient Greece, Ronald Reagan’s astrologer, Saint Catherine of Siena, an incel influencer, and Meghan Markle. While Strömquist presents these influencers and their traits with a great sense of humor, she adds deeper explanations. For instance, Ronald Reagan’s astrologer, Carroll Righter, was a popular influencer in Hollywood, advising figures like Clark Gable and Grace Kelly. Strömquist introduces the sociologist The...
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Blog: How AI Can Save Lives: A Journey Through Human Action Recognition

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Imagine a world where emergencies are detected and addressed in real-time, where lives are saved by systems that never tire or miss a moment. Traditional CCTV monitoring often relies on human operators, who may struggle to maintain focus over extended periods. In such cases, critical moments can slip by unnoticed. But what if AI could take the reins? Advancements in machine learning are making it possible for AI systems to monitor, detect, and respond to emergencies faster and more accurately than human operators. One of the most promising areas in this field is Human Action Recognition (HAR)—training AI to understand human movements and actions in video streams. The Challenge of Monitoring   Monitoring CCTV networks is no small task. As the number of cameras increases, the ability to track and analyze video feeds in real-time diminishes. Often, these systems are used only to review incidents after they occur, providing little opportunity for proactive intervention. AI, however, ca...
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Blog: "Measuring Society" - portrait on Ingmar Weber

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Ingmar Weber combines computer science and social sciences to understand the digital society. But his path here began very differently: from studying mathematics in Cambridge to positions in industry and research projects in Qatar and in the area of ​​digital migration.  “Computing of Society is the measurement of society” - this is how Ingmar describes a core of his research in the article, which enables new perspectives on migration and social trends worldwide. In his portrait on the Learning Systems platform you will find out about personal experiences, international experiences and the desire for #Meaningfulness has shaped his research path. “Is it possible to estimate refugee flows? What is the situation in war zones?” – If you are curious about how #BigData is changing social research, take a look here:  @  https://www.plattform-lernende-systeme.de/portrait-weber.html
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I2SC Lecture Series (Recording): Cornelius König (Industry and Organizational Psychology, Saarland University), Pitfalls, Challenges, and Benefits of Interdisciplinary Research: Reflections from a Psychologist Collaborating with Computer Scientists for Over a Decade

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Date : November 8, 2024 Abstract : The Interdisciplinary Institute for Societal Computing at Saarland University is dedicated to fostering research at the intersection of society and technology, which is why “interdisciplinary” is central to its name. In this talk, I would like to share my personal experiences as a psychologist who has worked collaboratively with computer scientists for over 13 years. I began this journey somewhat naively and have since undergone a long learning process. This experience has convinced me that anyone interested in interdisciplinary work should periodically reflect on the pitfalls, challenges, and benefits of such collaboration. I hope my lecture provides one of those opportunities for reflection. You can watch the recording of the talk below. Check out our lecture series: https://www.i2sc.net/events/i2sc-lecture-series And, sign up to our mailing list if you don't want to miss these talks.
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Blog: Talk "Societal Computing - Computing of and for Society" @ SFU Conference

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On the 8th of November, Ingmar explored the emerging field of societal computing, which combines computer-enabled methods to study social issues and support societal progress in his talk at the Saint Francis University "Expanding Potential and Caring for All" conference in Hongkong.  He illustrated this through examples of tracking population movements, analyzing digital gender gaps, and mapping poverty. By leveraging data from sources like social media and satellite imagery, societal computing provides new insights into complex social dynamics, from migration trends to infrastructure needs. The presentation emphasized the interdisciplinary nature of societal computing, bridging fields like computer science, social science, and humanitarian work. He also discussed the challenges of interdisciplinary research, including data limitations, ethical considerations, and the need for respect across fields. His work demonstrates how technology can play a pivotal role in addressing gl...
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Blog: Lessons Learned from a User Study

After submitting a paper on a chatbot study to an HCI venue, I shared with rest of the research group some interesting findings from the paper and lessons learned from the project—or everything that was not fit to print, as I put it. Here we include two specific examples. Crowd workers: finding the right annotators with suitable screening questions. As a validity check, we wanted to ensure that the chatbot deployed for the user study didn't spit out untruths and functioned as intended. Since it would be challenging to find domain experts on campus who would commit the time to annotate the data, we were interested in having crowd workers evaluate the quality of our chatbot's output. We identified existing literature on leveraging the wisdom of crowd (workers) to perform effective fact checking [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] and crafted our own annotation instruction accordingly. To ensure that our annotators are knowledgeable about the topic, we included a six-item screening quiz before the ...
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Blog: Understanding Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Framework

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Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory is a pivotal tool in cross-cultural communication and international business. Developed through extensive research, it provides insights into the values and behaviors that distinguish different national cultures. Although the initial studies were carried out in the 1960’s and 1970’s there have been further studies to improve the framework .  Hofsted identified six dimensions through which national culture can be observed.   The Six Dimensions of Hofstede’s Framework Power Distance Index (PDI) : Measures the extent to which less powerful members of a society accept and expect power to be distributed unequally. Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV) : Assesses whether people prefer to act as individuals or as members of groups. Masculinity vs. Femininity (MAS) : Reflects a society’s preference for achievement, heroism, assertiveness (masculinity) versus cooperation, modesty, and quality of life (femininity). Uncertainty Avoidance Index (...
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