COSMOS just hired a new data engineer, Rahul Dhanvi! Rahul graduated with a master’s degree in computer science from Arizona State University (ASU), and has now joined the COSMOS Research Center. During his master’s program, he researched and fine-tuned Large Language Models (LLMs). We spoke with Rahul about his aspirations and goals for the role, what he brings to it, and how he heard about and was attracted to COSMOS. What is your name, and what role do you play at COSMOS? I am Rahul Dhanvi, and I work as a data engineer at COSMOS. Can you share a bit about your professional background andRead More →

We are proud to announce that cosmographer Ridwan Amure has been selected for the 2024 Acxiom Diversity Scholarship program! This year’s Acxiom Diversity Scholarship award marks its 12th year as a program, which awards the scholarship to 10 students nationwide. It provides $5,000 in aid for US students from diverse backgrounds that are studying graduate or higher technology degrees full-time. Acxiom is a tech company based in Conway, Arkansas, and with programs such as this it fosters education in computer sciences, informational sciences, and mathematics and engineering. The company’s initiative aims to increase equality by funding the education of the underprivileged or underrepresented. Ridwan, aRead More →

COSMOS, in this edition of Cosmographer Corner, highlights the work of former University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate and Cosmographer Dr. Kiran Kumar Bandeli.  Dr. Bandeli—who is now a Senior Data Scientist and Manager at Walmart—started his graduate education at UA Little Rock in 2014, studying for his master’s in information quality. After starting his PhD, he joined COSMOS as research assistant in 2017. He received his PhD in computer & information sciences in 2019. We interviewed Dr. Bandeli on where his career is now and what his work at COSMOS entailed, with his responses below. How did COSMOS fit into your university/secondary educationRead More →

In this month’s research spotlight, COSMOS highlights recent research that investigates the temporal distribution of topics within digital echo chambers. Specifically, the study authored by Dr. Esther Mead, Hillary Woodworth, and Dr. Nitin Agarwal titled, “Text Mining Domestic Extremism Topics on Multiple Social Media Platforms” looked at “Balkanized” (i.e., divided, mutually hostile groups) digital spaces utilized by certain social media actors on Parler, Twitter, and YouTube. The study was published at the 6th International Conference on Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery (DMKD 2024), which took place virtually from June 7 to 9, and at the 5th International Conference on Computational Linguistics and Natural Language ProcessingRead More →

The Pacific-Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS) leads research dedicated to information science on the Pacific Asia region, and is the only Association for Information Systems (AIS) conference dedicated to the region. This year, the theme was “Preparing The Next Generation For The IT-Driven Future”: in the context of emerging technologies that are reshaping industries and societies, information systems education must evolve with the landscape—ensuring young individuals are prepared to embrace and lead changes in the field. To bridge the gap between traditional education and changing IT demands, the conference focused on innovative teaching methods, advanced curriculum design, and a collaboration between academia and industry.Read More →

Dr. Nitin Agarwal delivered an invited talk on “Health Disinformation and Influence in Networks” for the Summer Workshop on AI and Smart Health held at West Virginia University, July 17–19, 2024. The summer workshop is part of the NSF-funded project entitled “Multi-Scale Integrative Approach to Digital Health: Collaborative Research and Education in Smart Health in West Virginia and Arkansas (WVAR-CRESH).” Dr. Agarwal is the Arkansas PI of the project.  Dr. Agarwal presented the ongoing research on health disinformation and influence in networks at COSMOS.  Dr. Agarwal said, “With social media, we are living in a hyperconnected world! Information travels faster than ever before. Narratives travelRead More →

From August 7 through 9, COSMOS will host a hybrid in-person and digital training course, taught by Dr. Nitin Agarwal and based on his current research, on social media analysis techniques; each day will have scheduled instruction from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (US Central time zone), with lunch and coffee breaks. The training course will introduce basic social science concepts, theories, and principles that guide model development, data analysis, and inference; attendees will learn about state-of-the-art developments in mining social media to support business intelligence and decision-making, and about the emerging challenges and opportunities within social media. Participants will be prepared to learn innovativeRead More →

International warfare has developed significantly through technological development, and it stands today in a unique place due to how much warfare takes place by proxy or in and through affiliated countries. In this regard, cognitive warfare has become a keystone of the modern military, and COSMOS director Dr. Nitin Agarwal’s formal research on mitigating or countering it, which he presented in November 2023, was recently published by NATO.  Cognitive warfare is a primary concern of NATO today because it is currently transforming under the new context of AI. Cognitive warfare has existed for as long as there has been an intersection between technology and war.Read More →

Dr. Nitin Agarwal was recently invited to present his research on combating socio-cognitive threats at the Swedish Defense Research Agency, also known as the Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut (FOI) or the Total Defence Research Institute. The FOI is a government agency in Sweden responsible for conducting research and development in areas related to national defense and security. Its vision and mission is to research for a safer and more secure world and to provide cutting-edge research and expertise in defense and security. It also works with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB).  The FOI conducts research in a wide range of fields, including military technology, cybersecurity, chemicalRead More →

The 32nd European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS) looks at the latest information science research. This year, the theme is “People First: Constructing Digital Futures Together.” By gathering a diverse group of scholars, ECIS 2024 seeks to pave the way for a digitally empowered future that aligns with human goals and tackles significant challenges. In today’s era of significant technological progress, the conference aims to examine how we can shape the evolving tech landscape while ensuring it benefits society. This theme highlights the necessity of aligning technological advancements with the improvement of human lives and inclusivity through collaborative efforts.  ECIS is the primary conference ofRead More →