COSMOS welcomes several new students, who recently joined the research center. Here we have their insights into their personalities, the desires that they bring to COSMOS, and what they study at UA Little Rock and in general. Below are several brief interviews of our new students Tenzing Briggs (joined Summer 2023), Remi Oni (joined Fall 2023), Samin Morshed (joined Fall 2023), and Selimhan Dagtas (joined Spring 2024). Remi Oni Tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Remi, and I’m from Nigeria. I just started UA Little Rock’s Information Science Masters in statistical and algorithm analysis. What was your inspiration for joining COSMOS? Read More →

The Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) has been known worldwide as one of the longest standing scientific communities in the information systems and technology fields. Since 1968, it has become a respected destination attracting high-caliber scholars and professionals in academia, industry, and government agencies around the world to discuss their cutting-edge research. With over 78+ participating countries, 1000+ participating universities, and 6000+ contributing scholars, this conference is of worldwide renown, and COSMOS is thrilled to contribute to the  HICSS community, which offers a unique platform for all participants to share and exchange perspectives and ideas. This conference was held from January 2–6, 2024,Read More →

COSMOS just hired a new grant manager Fadime Ledford! We spoke to Fadime to know her aspirations and goals from her role, what she brings to it, and what attracted her to COSMOS.  What is your name, and what role do you play at COSMOS? I am Fadime Ledford. I am Grant Manager at the COSMOS Research Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I help with many aspects of the center, such as helping Dr. Agarwal with the budget, balancing, planning, purchasing, travels, and tracking of expenses. In short, I help ensure that all the grants’ requirements are met and comply withRead More →

In the ever-digital age, international conflicts rely more and more on cognitive warfare, such as mis- or disinformation campaigns, or, more generally, influence campaigns that are propagated online. These are threats which take significant research into computer and information science to mitigate—research that the COSMOS Research Center has and continues to pioneer. Most recently, COSMOS Director Dr. Nitin Agarwal presented such research in a talk titled “Developing Socio-computational Approaches to Mitigate Socio-cognitive Security Threats in a Multi-platform Multimedia-rich Information Environment” at the 7th NYU Computational Disinformation Symposium, held on December 5th of 2023. This symposium is a high profile event in the world of computationalRead More →

Cosmographers also help the advancement and the teaching of society, like guiding the next generation of researchers, whether they are new graduate students, budding undergraduates, or even non collegiate students applying their computational skills out in the industry workforce. Thus part of being a cosmographer is taking the classroom experience and applying it practically, from teaching new students, to practicing computer language use, to working within the computer and information sciences industries in general. Ridwan Amure, who has been at COSMOS since Fall of 2023, has done such: this last September, Ridwan served as a Python and Excel teacher for Green Network Initiative (GNI). GNIRead More →

In this month’s newsletter, we delve into the themes of papers presented by cosmographers, both of which were presented and published recently at the SBP-BRiMS 2023 conference. Both delve into multimedia datasets, specifically YouTube and Instagram, although for different purposes. “The Role of Instagram’s Multimedia on Social Unrest in Brazil and Peru: A Connective Action Analysis Based on Diffusion of Innovation and Cognitive Mobilization Theories,” by Mainuddin Shaik, Niloofar Yousefi, Nitin Agarwal, and Billy Spann, attempts to see how multimedia objects such as images, videos, and reels  on Instagram can more effectively mobilize social unrest and mobs. While “Analyzing Narrative Evolution about South China SeaRead More →

New cosmographer Olanrewaju Oyinbooke is already making waves! Olanrewaju, who joined COSMOS in Fall of 2023, recently was recognized by Date Science Connect in their ebook titled “99 Data Influencers to Follow in 2023”. This is a book covering all the influencers out there making a difference in the area of generative AI. Data Science Connect is a grassroots meetup community, formed in 2012, that now spans more than 100 thousands members, 80+ countries, with 250+ events since its conception. It also contains a significant number of Fortune 500 data executives. This community brings together budding voices in the data science community, connecting individuals inRead More →

The Youth Leadership School by the Leadership Institute offers intensive training to equip individuals with the skills needed to become successful youth leaders. The program aims to enhance participants’ effectiveness in supporting colleagues and causes they believe in. This exclusive training is designed to elevate participants’ profiles within the political sphere, thereby improving their prospects of securing positions within the political job market. Often referred to as a “boot camp of politics,” this program is essential for anyone seeking to actively engage in the political process. This summer cosmographer Precious Osani attended the Youth Leadership School and was awarded a scholarship to cover travel expenses.Read More →

The ASONAM conference, which stands for Advances in Social Network Analysis and Mining, is an interdisciplinary venue that encourages and acts as a platform for international researchers, experts, and scholars interested in mining social data. This international conference combines empirical, experimental, methodological, and theoretical research on social network analysis and mining, and it is wide in scope, covering method development in graph theory, statistics, data mining, machine learning, and statistical mechanics. The conference proceedings are published by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).  This conference accepts papers based on a body of key themes—namely, a focusRead More →

Peer Mentoring is an outstanding opportunity for students to serve as academic and social role models for their peers (or Mentees). By sharing their own successes and setbacks as college students, Peer Mentors support Mentees with 1-on-1 meetings and extracurricular events. Cosmographer Mainuddin Shaik has recently been accepted by the Academic Affairs Retention Office’s Peer Mentorship program. Shaik touches on his new position and what he plans to bring to fellow students and colleagues. He says, “ As a Peer Mentor, I will be able to provide personalized guidance and support for students, helping them navigate through academic and personal challenges. Additionally, I will beRead More →