Culture, Identity, and Inclusion
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Item Cross-Continental Dialogues: Analyzing the Dichotomy of Social Media Discourse in Ethiopian Social Movement #Nomore(2025-01-07) Zeleke, Meseret; Hong, Lingzi; Smith, DaniellaRecognizing cross-boundary disparities in discussing topics and emotional responses within social networks is pivotal for enhancing problem-solving strategies and adapting location-specific solutions accordingly. We leveraged machine learning models to analyze 1,036,111 public tweets from the Nomore movement containing #NoMore, #EthiopiaPrevails, or #SayNoMore. Our analysis explored the differences in the content, emotional responses, and user influence in tweets, comparing tweets from Ethiopia to the United States. It aims to examine the perspectives of the local communities and expand the relatively limited body of comparative analyses between users from Ethiopia and the United States, thus enriching the body of knowledge related to Africa. Our in-depth public opinion analysis revealed the divergence in societal viewpoints and sentiments across users from different locations on the same subject. This offers an opportunity to extract unique region-specific perspectives leading to more inclusive and effective solutions for societal issues.Item Mapping Solutions to Affective Polarization: An Ecological Review of the Literature(2025-01-07) Hodson, Jaigris; Owen, Joan; Homer-Dixon, ThomasPolarization is an urgent and complex problem in society, deserving a re-think of the manner in which solutions are sought. By engaging in a systematic review of relevant literature, this article endeavors to answer the question; How much of the polarization solutions research demonstrated a systems approach to understanding the issue? Affective polarization is specific to this inquiry and refers to the tendency of individuals with strong ideological, political or issue identification to strongly dislike, or even experience disgust for those who demonstrate an opposing point of view. To offer a different approach to solution seeking for the problem of polarization, we adopted an ecological approach, based on the work of Bronfenbrenner (1994). We reviewed 76 academic works and mapped the solutions offered according to the ecological model. We conclude by offering that a system-thinking approach to addressing polarization may offer a frame for deep and lasting social change.Item Evolution of Social Media Usage: A Study of Chinese College Students on WeChat(2025-01-07) Sun, Yinan; Suthers, DanThis qualitative study examines how Chinese college students change their social media practices over time. Employing a three-dimensional theoretical framework of cultural affordances, this study involved ten semi-structured interviews, follow-up discussions, observations, and a voluntary post-survey, with data analysis following the grounded theory approach. The findings highlight five changes in Chinese college students with a focus on WeChat over time, including transitioning from QQ to WeChat, spending more time on WeChat, providing faster responses while avoiding voice messaging, utilizing multiple social media platforms for self-presentation, and relying more on WeChat over people to complete daily tasks. The study provides a detailed description of how each change as a process unfolded by focusing on the initial and intermediate stages. It identifies key factors driving each change with a more specific and contextually relevant approach. These factors demonstrate the intricate interplay between technology, users, and culture.Item Towards Inclusive Digital Transactions: Disability and The Case of Singapore’s Singpass App(2025-01-07) Zhuang, Kuansong Victor; Choo, Bella; Gerard, Goggin; Lee, Chei Sian; Tan, Felix; Llamzon, RoxanneWith the increasing prevalence of digital transactions and growth of the ‘Smart City’ policy agenda in Asia, we adopt a critical disability studies lens to analyse the inclusiveness of state-designed digital transactions in Singapore. In this paper, we offer a preliminary analysis of the Singpass app – Singapore’s national digital app, to understand how digital transactions can be designed and operationalized for disability inclusion. We situate the case of Singpass app within the rise of global digital transactions and the political-technical infrastructures that shape their accessibility. We analyse the ways Singpass centers disability, the problems it may still entail as well as possible implications for inclusion.Item Introduction to the Minitrack on Culture, Identity, and Inclusion(2025-01-07) Levinson, Nanette; Cogburn, Derrick; Trevisan, FilippoItem Understanding National, Regional, and Global Priorities for the Social Justice and Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities: Analyzing CRPD State Reports Using Text Mining, NLP, and LLMs(2025-01-07) Cogburn, Derrick; Ochieng, Theodore; Shikako-Thomas, Keiko; Woods, Juliana; Aydin, MinaThe UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) marks the global transition from a charity-based “medical model” of disability to a rights-based “social justice model”. Currently 191 countries have ratified the CRPD, making them a “State Party”. Understanding State Party priorities for persons with disabilities can be challenging nationally, and especially so globally. Each State Party is required to submit a report on their progress in implementing the treaty. In this study, we conduct a computational text analysis of all available CRPD State Reports (N=170). We ask three main questions of this data using traditional text mining and NLP techniques, and one overarching question using GenerativeAI tools. We find evidence of global CRPD implementation, support for social justice, and economic inclusion for persons with disabilities. We find important regional variation and value in our hybrid data analysis approach that supports civil society engagement in CRPD implementation efforts.