TY - GEN
T1 - Analyzing flash mobs in cybernetic space and the imminent security threats a collective action based theoretical perspective on emerging sociotechnical behaviors
AU - Al-Khateeb, Samer
AU - Agarwal, Nitin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2015, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (www.aaai.org). All rights reserved.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Since the occurrence of the first 'flash mob' organized by Bill Wasik (senior editor of the Harper's Magazine) in Manhattan in 2003, flash mob phenomenon has become widespread. Recent journalistic accounts have reported that this form of public engagement can pose significant threats to civil, political, social, and economic stability of a region. Gaps in the scientific understanding of such phenomenon and the imminent security risks posed by such acts call for a need to systematically study them. In this ongoing research, we shed light on the social dynamics of the flash mob phenomenon and build a conceptual model examining the necessary factors for the formation of flash mob and predicting its success or failure. Grounded in the sociological theories of collective action and collective identity formation, we evaluate the mo-tivations of a flash mob practitioner and logically analyze the choices he/she would face with regards to acting or withdrawing from the flash mob. More broadly, this work is an attempt to bridge social and computational sciences that would help clarify and explain manifestations of emerging sociotechnical behaviors such as parkour, campaigns, and social movements that are widely observed.
AB - Since the occurrence of the first 'flash mob' organized by Bill Wasik (senior editor of the Harper's Magazine) in Manhattan in 2003, flash mob phenomenon has become widespread. Recent journalistic accounts have reported that this form of public engagement can pose significant threats to civil, political, social, and economic stability of a region. Gaps in the scientific understanding of such phenomenon and the imminent security risks posed by such acts call for a need to systematically study them. In this ongoing research, we shed light on the social dynamics of the flash mob phenomenon and build a conceptual model examining the necessary factors for the formation of flash mob and predicting its success or failure. Grounded in the sociological theories of collective action and collective identity formation, we evaluate the mo-tivations of a flash mob practitioner and logically analyze the choices he/she would face with regards to acting or withdrawing from the flash mob. More broadly, this work is an attempt to bridge social and computational sciences that would help clarify and explain manifestations of emerging sociotechnical behaviors such as parkour, campaigns, and social movements that are widely observed.
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M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84940825096
T3 - AAAI Spring Symposium - Technical Report
SP - 2
EP - 5
BT - Sociotechnical Behavior Mining
PB - AI Access Foundation
T2 - 2015 AAAI Spring Symposium
Y2 - 23 March 2015 through 25 March 2015
ER -