ANTISOCIAL COMPUTING
CS 598 RBO | FALL 2020
Instructor: Eshwar Chandrasekharan
Email: eshwar at illinois dot edu
Time: Tues & Thurs, 3:30 - 4:45 PM Central Time
Location: Zoom (use Illinois account to access this information)
Class schedule: Calendar
Office hours by appointment.
Syllabus:
In this course, we will present and critique research papers from HCI and NLP on detecting and discouraging abusive behavior on the Internet. Specifically, we will explore online moderation research through three lenses: understanding, building, and evaluating. First, we will survey the large spectrum of abusive behavior prevalent on the Internet, and understand how current research defines such behavior. Next, we will examine existing moderation tools built using computational techniques and social computing theory. Finally, we will review experimental studies, surveys and real-time deployments that evaluate the efficacy of moderation strategies.
Classes will involve synchronous discussions on Zoom about research papers and ideas, and will not be recorded. We will use Slack for asynchronous Q&A, post reading reflections, share and comment on papers and ideas, etc. The link to join Slack is here. We will use Compass for submitting materials used for all project presentations and the final paper.
Course Overview:
Through this course, students will read and critique high-impact research papers, lead class discussions, engage with guest speakers, brainstorm research ideas, learn to provide and receive constructive peer-feedback, and propose a new research study for their final paper.
Learning Objectives:
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
Assignments and Grading:
Your grade is based on:
Detailed information about the course components can be found here.
Texts:
There are no required texts in this course. The readings assigned for each class will be linked in the class schedule.
Note:
Diminished mental health, including significant stress, mood changes, excessive worry, substance/alcohol abuse, or problems with eating and/or sleeping can interfere with optimal academic performance, social development, and emotional wellbeing. The University of Illinois offers a variety of confidential services including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, psychiatric services, and specialized screenings at no additional cost. If you or someone you know experiences any of the above mental health concerns, it is strongly encouraged to contact or visit any of the University’s resources provided below. Getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do--for yourself and for those who care about you.
Counseling Center: 217-333-3704, 610 East John Street Champaign, IL 61820
McKinley Health Center:217-333-2700, 1109 South Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801
Email: eshwar at illinois dot edu
Time: Tues & Thurs, 3:30 - 4:45 PM Central Time
Location: Zoom (use Illinois account to access this information)
Class schedule: Calendar
Office hours by appointment.
Syllabus:
In this course, we will present and critique research papers from HCI and NLP on detecting and discouraging abusive behavior on the Internet. Specifically, we will explore online moderation research through three lenses: understanding, building, and evaluating. First, we will survey the large spectrum of abusive behavior prevalent on the Internet, and understand how current research defines such behavior. Next, we will examine existing moderation tools built using computational techniques and social computing theory. Finally, we will review experimental studies, surveys and real-time deployments that evaluate the efficacy of moderation strategies.
Classes will involve synchronous discussions on Zoom about research papers and ideas, and will not be recorded. We will use Slack for asynchronous Q&A, post reading reflections, share and comment on papers and ideas, etc. The link to join Slack is here. We will use Compass for submitting materials used for all project presentations and the final paper.
Course Overview:
Through this course, students will read and critique high-impact research papers, lead class discussions, engage with guest speakers, brainstorm research ideas, learn to provide and receive constructive peer-feedback, and propose a new research study for their final paper.
Learning Objectives:
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand research issues in this field,
- Engage with scholars and scholarly work critically, and
- Design new research projects to address existing gaps.
Assignments and Grading:
Your grade is based on:
- Reading reflections (20%),
- Class participation and engaging with guest speakers in Q&A (15%),
- Leading a class discussion on assigned readings (15%),
- Research pitches on two new project ideas and a proposal talk on the design of a project building on your pitch (5 + 5 + 10%),
- Final paper and talk to summarize the project and preliminary insights in CHI Late-Breaking Work format (20 + 10%).
Detailed information about the course components can be found here.
Texts:
There are no required texts in this course. The readings assigned for each class will be linked in the class schedule.
Note:
Diminished mental health, including significant stress, mood changes, excessive worry, substance/alcohol abuse, or problems with eating and/or sleeping can interfere with optimal academic performance, social development, and emotional wellbeing. The University of Illinois offers a variety of confidential services including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, psychiatric services, and specialized screenings at no additional cost. If you or someone you know experiences any of the above mental health concerns, it is strongly encouraged to contact or visit any of the University’s resources provided below. Getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do--for yourself and for those who care about you.
Counseling Center: 217-333-3704, 610 East John Street Champaign, IL 61820
McKinley Health Center:217-333-2700, 1109 South Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801