ICT and Social Justice
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/112493
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Item type: Item , "The Closest I Could Be": VR-Facilitated Daydreaming as a Tool for Experiential Justice Among Older Black Adults(2026-01-06) Huang, Tim; Wang, Yanyun (Mia); Sha, Yueping; Nie, XuanInformation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are often scrutinized for their role in social inequity. Our study explores this issue, focusing on how virtual reality (VR) can mitigate experiential inequities. We worked with older Black adults, a community facing structural barriers to leisure activities like travel or concerts. For this group, daydreaming is a key practice for symbolic fulfillment. We investigate how VR can enhance these important imaginative experiences. Our findings show that VR makes daydreams significantly more vivid and emotionally resonant. This offers participants profound symbolic satisfaction. For some, it even motivated real-world aspirational planning. Participants also reported feelings of emotional restoration and a sharper, sometimes frustrating, awareness of their structural constraints. This study contributes by framing VR as a practical tool for experiential justice. We demonstrate that immersive technology can meaningfully address leisure inequities. It can move beyond simple escapism to affirm the identities and aspirations of historically marginalized communities.Item type: Item , The Cost of Inaccessibility: Retail Discrimination and Mobility-Constrained Consumers(2026-01-06) Zeng, Li; Hang, ZiqiThis study investigates whether individuals with mobility-related health conditions face systematic disadvantages in retail pricing, both in physical stores and on online platforms. While price discrimination is a common feature of modern markets, limited attention has been paid to how physical mobility constraints may affect consumers' ability to access lower prices or respond to promotions. Using matched observational data from the NielsenIQ and the Open E-Commerce dataset, we compare purchasing behavior and price outcomes between consumers with and without mobility-related health conditions. We find that mobility-constrained individuals pay modestly higher prices in physical stores and face even larger price disparities in online purchases, particularly among wheelchair users. Our findings highlight mobility as an underexamined axis of vulnerability in consumer markets. The results have implications for the design of retail pricing systems and digital platforms, as well as for policy efforts aimed at improving equity in access to essential goods.Item type: Item , Fact-checkers Perception on Social Media Governance Models to Combat Disinformation: Insights from a European Qualitative Study(2026-01-06) Ortiz Del Noval, Ivan; Yong Liew, Hui; Emruli, BlerimDisinformation is growing rapidly on social media, driven by evolving tactics. Meanwhile, the shift towards community-based fact-checking has raised concerns among fact-checking organizations. This study aims to explore fact-checkers’ perceptions of changes in social media governance models to counter disinformation. Based on qualitative interviews with European fact-checkers, the study reveals that, while community-based fact-checking is seen as a valuable complement to third-party models, it is not viewed as a standalone solution. Fact-checkers value concise labelling formats like contextual notes, but express concerns around transparency—especially from platforms—and growing distrust in their institutions. This paper contributes by (1) providing empirical insights into how European fact-checkers perceive the emergence of community-based fact-checking, (2) describing legitimacy and transparency challenges in an era of growing distrust of fact-checking, and (3) offering future directions for social media governance models. European fact-checkers call for an adaptive, multi-level governance to counter disinformation in the evolving landscape.Item type: Item , Introduction to the Minitrack on ICT and Social Justice(2026-01-06) Park, Andrew; Kietzmann, Jan; Killoran, Jay