Online Library

VOX-Pol blog post

This article critically explores the historical representation of the Middle East in video games until 2002 and following the 9/11 event. Using thematic analysis, we identify four main themes and discuss how this representation shifts with time, offering a brief overview of the broader context. I argue that there is a clear association between political developments and this western representation, for we can clearly observe changes from the romantic, exotic, and orientalist views of the region and Arab and Muslim figure shown within the realms of the Arabian Nights theme to a more militant figure and dangerous place due to featuring armed conflict in the Middle East such as the first Gulf War. Though not included in the discussion, 9/11 introduced a more negative and Islamophobic representation that is associated with Islamist terrorism, and it marks the latest development in these themes.

This book is concerned with the links or relationships between religious radicalism, violent extremism and the Internet.

Realizing that after the COVID-19 pandemic learner and faculty engagement is even more critical to learning—as evidenced by ongoing declines in post-pandemic post-secondary enrollment—this paper presents a series of reflections and experiences from the perspective of a student and faculty member. These experiences are understood through an autoethnography, resulting in the creation of a feedback framework fostering community in online environments. Through self-study, critical reflection of educational theory with practice, and lived experiences, both the student and faculty member describe the formative steps leading to the adaptive creation and implementation of community in the online learning setting. The pandemic, coupled with an intentional shift to a new learning management system (LMS), underscored the criticality of adaptations in teaching and learning. The resulting framework is a model for emphasizing the connection between technology, community, and appreciative andragogy.

Online extremism remains a persistent problem despite the best efforts of governments, tech companies and civil society. Digital technologies can induce group polarization to promote extremism and cause substantial changes to extremism (e.g., create new forms of extremism, types of threats or radicalization approaches). Current methods to counter extremism induce undesirable side‐effects (e.g., ostracize minorities, inadvertently promote extremism) or do not leverage the full potential of digital technologies. Extremism experts recognize the need for researchers from other disciplines, like information systems, to contribute their technical expertise for understanding and countering online extremism. This article aims to introduce the field of information systems to the issue of online extremism. Information systems scholars address technology‐related societal issues from a sociotechnical perspective. The sociotechnical perspective describes systems through a series of interactions between social (structure, people) and technical components (physical system, task). We apply the sociotechnical perspective to (1) summarize the current state‐of‐the‐art knowledge of 222 articles in a systematic multi‐disciplinary literature review and (2) propose specific research questions that address two questions (How do digital technologies augment extremism? How can we successfully counter online extremism?).

The goal of this dissertation is to develop a better understanding of how militias use the internet to connect with other militias, their members, and the public. The modern militia movement in the United States experienced a resurgence of late following a rapid decline in the early 2000s. Along with the drop in membership, the interest levels of researchers and law enforcement began to fade and as a result, a significant gap formed in the literature as it relates to our understanding of the groups’ activities. I address this gap by examining the online activities of the modern militia movement at three levels. Specifically, I examine how militias throughout the United States connect with each other through their official websites, how militias operating at different geographic levels connect with other websites, and how a regional militia uses Facebook to communicate with its members and the public. The three components of this dissertation reveal that the modern militia movement has experienced important changes in its online activity since 2013. Component I examines the breakdown in the nationwide network of militia websites that occurred between 2014 and 2017. Component II reveals the ways the networks surrounding three militia groups changed from 2013 to 2017 and the important role ideology plays in the connections between websites. Component III examines the ways one militia utilized Facebook during an eleven month period, including which content posted by the group had the highest likelihood of generating participation from visitors and the interactions that occurred in the most active discussions among visitors. Understanding how militias connect with each other and with individuals is an important step towards understanding the modern movement, its goals, and activities. A deeper understanding of these groups and their activities will provide a foundation for future research and assist law enforcement developing response strategies.