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- Grassman, Rickard, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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The ascent of memetic movements : Social media, Levinasian ethics and the global spread of Q-anon conspiracy theories
- 2023
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In: Ethics and Sustainability in Digital Cultures. - Abingdon; New York : Routledge. - 9781003367451 - 9781032434643 - 9781032434667 ; , s. 143-168
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The ascent of social media continues to have profound and far-reaching impacts on societies and institutions, by way of becoming increasingly intertwined with social movements across the world. Moreover, there is an increasing awareness of how people are being lured into consuming certain information through meme-like virality, or gamelike characteristics, paralleling an unprecedented contagion of conspiracy theories. Nevertheless, strikingly few studies explicitly connect the dots on how our current post-pandemic onslaught of online conspiracist fervour may have more to do with the medium than with the actual content that comes through. This in spite of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, that in large part was enmeshed in this elaborate misinformation complex called Q-anon, wherein a bizarre assemblage of disinformation loosely anchored in an underlying white supremacist logic, could consolidate a global and cross-cultural movement through the power of the meme. In this chapter, we explore how this Q-anon movement that played a significant role in the attack of January 6th did not just pull off this one extraordinary assault on US democracy and fall apart in the flurry of counter-conspiratorial evidence revealed in its wake. More worryingly, it has proved resilient enough to spread globally and across cultural boundaries to countries as diverse as Sweden and Japan. Exploring this phenomenon, we will be web-scraping relevant social media in Japan and Sweden. Finally, by employing a Levinasian perspective on ethics, we consider the appropriate lessons of what in this view may be seen as a reification of otherness to accentuate sameness, as opposed to appreciating alterity as constitutive of subjectification and the ethics associated therewith.
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2. |
- Asai, Ryoko, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Balancing between the conflicting interests of different stakeholders in research
- 2017
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In: European Business Ethics Network. - Athens : Deree, American College of Greece College.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We in academia produce a lot of research in the form of papers, technologies, methods, medicines and so on. All those outcomes are of great importance for society and people. On the other hand, there are many stakeholders in the process of producing research outcomes nowadays. Researchers themselves are of course the main stakeholders because their career is dependent on research. However, when research projects are connected to various political goals or affect profits for industries, many other stakeholders like politicians and business people get involved to research activities as well. Especially industries offer a lot of research funds to academic projects, and actually today many collaborative research projects between industry and academia are in progress. Thus, research environments are very complex and morally challenging since many different and conflicting interests interfere. Many academic researchers believe that what they produce belongs to society, and that their work is there mainly to satisfy the interests and needs of society and people. But, at the same time, they need to fulfill the demands coming from research supporters who offer funds and research opportunities. In producing research of good quality, it is unavoidable and very important for researchers to make a fair choice between the quality of scientific research and the satisfaction of stakeholders’ demands. This paper explores how researchers make justice between these conflicting interests, what kind of ethical dilemmas and problems they face in their daily research activities, and how they solve the ethical problems. This study is the first step of a research project that focuses on how scientific research activities and outcomes become 'social' and 'valuable'.
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3. |
- Asai, Ryoko, 1977-
(author)
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Between Insanity and Love
- 2015
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In: Computers & Society. ; , s. 154-158
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Technology has opened up more opportunities to find bet- ter partners, especially via online dating sites . In addition, technology related to love and sex currently goes far beyond online dating sites. Technology influences our intimate life more and more. Media started to pick up romantic rela- tionship between human beings and digital characters of- ten. Furthermore, today, many wearable devices to experi- ence virtual sex have come into the market. And also robots designed for having a sex with human beings are being de- veloped rapidly. Some might claim having a sex without love or without reproduction is just totally pointless. Or, having a sex with robots is totally “insane”. But apparently there are big market needs, and modern technology seems to be able to satisfy them. This paper explores how it is possible for us to feeling love or sexual desire for non-organic objects by conducting the interview survey, and also considers why people want to have technology for satisfying sexual desire from a philosophical perspective.
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4. |
- Asai, Ryoko, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Care Robots and Humanity : How Can We Cope with The Indeterminacy and Ambiguity of Robot-Human Relationships?
- 2023
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In: Tethics 2023. - : CEUR-WS.org. ; , s. 1-10
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ageing society, labour shortages in the care sector and increasing social security costs havebecome serious social problems in many countries. Sweden and Japan are, of course, noexception in this respect. In order to alleviate this situation, both countries have implementedvarious policies in different social areas, as well as promoting digitalisation and introducingcare robots in the healthcare sector. While older people are generally considered to be reluctantto adapt to new technologies, in both Japan and Sweden, the digital integration of older peopleis higher than in other countries. In the near future, care robots or robotic care would becomemore common in the care sector in both countries. This study examines how people in bothcountries perceive robots and autonomous artefacts and how they construct relationships withthese artefacts, based on the results of two surveys, one conducted in Japan 2020, and anotherin Sweden 2019, and elucidates the relationship between humans and robots from an ethicalperspective. The research findings show that people’s orientation toward the search for theexistential meaning and their complex emotions related to ephemerality and transience canaffect the relationship between humans and robots. Furthermore, this study is a new attempt toincorporate a 'care' perspective into technology ethics.
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5. |
- Asai, Ryoko, 1977-
(author)
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Designing "Open Education" : How does the ICT-based system function as a new medium of participation for sustainability?
- 2013
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In: The possibilities of ethical ICT. - Kolding : University of Southern Denmark. - 9788792646729 ; , s. 33-36
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Information and communication technology (ICT) has developed and deployed rapidly since 1980’s. Until now ICT has been considered as one of the most important infrastructures in living in the present globalized society. Along with diffusion of personal computers and highly leveraging information on the web, the way of learning has been changing gradually. Hundreds universities, institutes and companies constructs and releases the “open education” platform based on ICT, for example iTunes U, TakingITGlobal and so on. These open education platforms are basically open for everyone who wants to learn by using contents on the website for free in so far as they can access the Internet. And the movement toward the construction and use of ICT-based education platform is supported by international organizations, such as the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) in OECD and UNESCO’s project “the Virtual University and e-learning”.
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7. |
- Asai, Ryoko, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Do social media generate social capital?
- 2012
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In: ICT, society and human beings. - Lisbon : IADIS Press. - 9789728939762 ; , s. 133-136
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Do social media generate social capital beyond borders between the real and virtual spaces? If so, how do social media function in forming and maintaining social capital? This study is triggered by those simple questions. From the beginning of 2011, a huge number of people have seen political turmoil stimulated by use of social media and felt the inner stirrings of people’s cooperative network via social media. Thus, some people strongly stressed that social media has a great power to change authoritarian regimes from the global political issues perspective. On the other hand, we recognized how social media worked effectively from the local issues perspective, for example in the case of the massive disaster in Japan. Under the critical situation, where existing traditional media like phones, TV, radio and newspapers didn’t work, the Japanese got and exchanged information through social media and in fact some victims were rescued based on information via social media. Both cases, political changes and massive disasters, show information transaction process has been supported by thin trust, generalized reciprocity and loosely tied people’s network, regardless of geographical borders or real/virtual spaces. Therefore it seems that social media plays an important role in fostering a social network leading to social capital. This paper reconsiders characteristics of social capital and its role in improving people’s lives through social media. It also examines how social media influences social capital by giving a few examples of social media and social issues, more specifically, the political turmoil in Tunisia and big earthquake disasters in Japan.
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8. |
- Asai, Ryoko, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Ethical Competence and Social Responsibility in Scientific Research using ICT Tools
- 2015
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In: Computers & Society. - : ACM Digital Library. ; , s. 345-347
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study explores how to improve and support researchers'ethical competence in scientic research and how to conduct research ethically, especially in research activities using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Refining research ethics relating to ICT is unavoidable in the highly technological society of today, for example big data is used in different scientic research activities, and systems which support our daily lives are constructed based on the existing systems. In other words, technology reproduces technology itself. And almost all research activities need to use ICT through the whole research process. Moreover, researchers are required to be able to participate and react sensibly in ethical dialogues with society and citizens. Seen in that light, this study could be applicable not only to computer science and technology but also to a broad spectrum of research areas as the constructive notions of ethics, liberty and responsibility in research activity.
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10. |
- Asai, Ryoko, 1977-
(author)
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ICT professionalism and gender
- 2011
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In: Management quality science. - Tokyo : Chuokeizaisha. - 9784502689406 ; , s. 181-184
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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