Rezapour defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Shadi Rezapour successfully defended her dissertation, "From User-generated Text to Insight; Context-aware Measurement of Social Impacts and Interactions Using Natural Language Processing," on July 20.

Her committee included Associate Professor Jana Diesner (chair); Professor Ted Underwood; Roxana Girju, professor of linguistics; and Karrie Karahalios, professor of computer science.

Abstract: Recent improvements in information and communication technologies contributed to an increasingly globalized and connected world. The digital data that is created as the result of people's online interactions consists of different types of information that can be used to analyze people's beliefs, ideas, and biases. This thesis leverages methods, theories, and views from NLP and social sciences to investigate the manifestations of various attributes and signals, namely social impact, personal values, and moral traits in text. Furthermore, we first present a study at the intersection of review mining and impact assessment and provide a comprehensive discussion on different types of impact that information products can have on people. We then investigate the relationship between principles of morality and stance in text and operationalize moral values to enhance the prediction of social effects. Finally, we extend the theory of structural balance to include direction and utilize emotion and morality to study people's interactions in social networks. Overall, this thesis contributes to the emerging field of “social” NLP and broadens the scope of research in this field by utilizing a combination of novel taxonomies, datasets, and tools to examine user-generated texts and providing comprehensive insights about human language, cultures, and experiences.

Tags:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Get to know Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou, PhD student

PhD student Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou's goal is to make information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) experiences more equitable, accessible, beneficial, and ethical for all. In his free time, he is devoted to helping junior researchers, especially those from populations not typically represented in STEM.

Zhixuan Zhou

Dual degree program a perfect fit for Byington

Richard Byington wanted to pursue a master's degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies (REEES) at the University of Illinois, but after learning that he could earn an MSLIS at the same time, he decided to enroll in the dual degree program.

Richard Byington

Hu defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Yuerong Hu successfully defended her dissertation, "Complexities and Nuances of Online Book Reviews in Scholarly Research," on March 6.

Yuerong Hu

iSchool undergraduate launches new initiative to promote women in data science

A new student organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will promote diversity and inclusion in data science and empower women in the STEM field. Samridhi Verma, BSIS+DS student and an ambassador for Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide, launched the new initiative because of her interest in fostering a community where students and professionals can connect, share insights, and grow together. WiDS Urbana-Champaign welcomes individuals of all genders who support the cause, including students, professionals, and academics from a variety of backgrounds and expertise levels in data science and related fields.

Samridhi Verma

Uplifting diverse communities through advocacy, art

Leep (MSLIS online) student Katherine Witzig is an advocate, scholar, and artist. She is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and an advocate within the 2SLGBTQ+ and disability communities, drawing upon her personal experiences to amplify the voices of underserved populations. 

Katherine Witzig