Shaheen Kanthawala
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 4258075 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Shaheen Kanthawala |
| PRENOMES | Shaheen |
| SOBRENOME | Kanthawala |
| ASSINATURA | KANTHAWALA S |
| AFILIAÇÕES | University of Alabama |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9321-0266 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 17 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 21 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 17 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2015 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 3 |
God(bots) and Authority
In this paper we systematically survey emergent religious and spiritual (R/S) AI chatbot applications and outline our plans to conduct application walkthroughs to collect and analyze developer discourses. Our research asks: 1) How is authority, through trust and/or faith, discursively constructed around R/S chatbots? 2) How do developers synthesize Silicon Valley worldviews with existent R/S beliefs within the discursive construction of their app…
“Douyin is taming us”
Drawing on 14 in-depth interviews, this study examines how feminist content creators on Douyin navigate platform visibility, governance, and gendered censorship to disseminate feminist discourse. Findings show that participants position themselves as knowledge cultivators rather than influencers, emphasizing dialogic engagement and collective understanding over authority or personal idolization. To reach broader publics, creators strategically en…
Brand-Related and Information-Sharing Cues as Decision Aid for Smartphone Users at Different Levels of Persuasion Knowledge to Assess mHealth App Credibility
If you’re reading this, it’s meant for you
Growing awareness of the ubiquity of algorithms online has established a new discursive space for making sense of their role in individuals’ lives and society writ large. Within this space, social media users have come to think of algorithms as uniquely powerful forces shaping everyday experiences. This article explores how people make sense of algorithms, as seen through (dis)belief in algorithmic conspirituality, where users ascribe divine sign…
The Revolution Will Be Forwarded
WhatsApp is one the world's most popular social media apps, as well as one of the most popular chat-based, closed platforms. Utilizing the insights from 19 in-depth interviews, we approach WhatsApp from a cultural perspective of ritual communication, seeking to understand how people make sense of WhatsApp use in their daily lives. We found WhatsApp is largely used to maintain community and fellowship with friends, coworkers, family, and even acqu…
Algorithmic conspirituality
Algorithmic conspirituality is the belief that social media algorithms have the capacity to know users intimately and convey personally meaningful messages at the exact right moment to revelatory effect. Through a thematic analysis of TikTok videos, this study explicates this concept by identifying five distinct dimensions of its expression on TikTok—(1) relational, (2) injunctive, (3) personal, (4) spiritual, (5) conspiratorial—and explaining th…
Safe from “harm”
A number of issues have emerged related to how platforms moderate and mitigate “harm.” Although platforms have recently developed more explicit policies in regard to what constitutes “hate speech” and “harmful content,” it appears that platforms often use subjective judgments of harm that specifically pertains to spectacular, physical violence—but harm takes on many shapes and complex forms. The politics of defining “harm” and “violence” within t…
Hiding in the echo chamber
During a time of heightened political polarization in India, use of the communication app WhatsApp skyrocketed. Alongside benefits of the app come a slew of dangerous outcomes, such as the proliferation of misinformation on the chat-based app. To this end, we conducted 19 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Indian users of WhatsApp over the age of 40. The aim of study was to examine how WhatsApp users engage with the platform and the conten…
Taking the lead in misinformation-related conversations in social media networks during a mass shooting crisis
Purpose Misinformation (i.e. information identified as false) spreads widely and quickly on social media – a space where crowds of ordinary citizens can become leading voices – during a crisis when information is in short supply. Using the theoretical lenses of socially curated flow and networked gatekeeping frameworks, we address the following three aims: First, we identify emergent opinion leaders in misinformation-related conversations on soci…
Listening” to Science
We have witnessed an increasing amount of science podcasts, and it has emerged as an important venue for science communication. From a strategic science communication perspective, this study investigated how science podcasters view science communication–related goals and objectives, as well as the tactics they use in producing science communication content based on the theory of planned behavior. A survey ( N = 147) with science podcasters showed…
Fact-Checking the Crisis
During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, various officials flagged the critical threat of false information. In this study, we explore how three major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) responded to this 'infodemic' during early stages of the pandemic via emergent fact-checking policies and practices, and consider what this means for ensuring a well-informed public. We accomplish this through a thematic analysis of document…
Safe From “Harm”
Platforms have long been under fire for how they create and enforce policies around hate speech, harmful content, and violence. In this study, we examine how three major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) conceptualize and implement policies around how they moderate “harm,” “violence,” and “danger” on their platforms. Through a feminist discourse analysis of public facing policy documents from official blogs and help pages, we found that …
T1DLooksLikeMe
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is diagnosed mostly during childhood or adolescent years. During such transitional phases of life, having support from others in similar situations can reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. Instagram, a platform with high use among teens or young adults, acts as an alternative to traditional online health communities. To better understand individuals self-disclosure on Instagram related to T1D, we conducted an explora…
Folk theorizing the quality and credibility of health apps
Increase in availability and accessibility of health apps raises important questions regarding strategies smartphone owners use to determine what health apps to download. As mobile health apps aim at helping users manage their healthy lifestyles and health conditions, it is important for researchers, developers, and educators to know how individuals find and assess the quality and credibility of these apps, and what guides their decisions to down…
Measuring smartphone usage and task switching with log tracking and self-reports
Smartphones offer multimedia convergence in a single device, ubiquitous access to media, and constant connections with others. The rapid rise of smartphone use calls for more scholarly attention paid to users’ media usage and time expenditure. This study aims to (a) understand smartphone usage patterns by examining time spent using smartphones and task switching between mobile applications (apps), and (b) test the validity of self-reported measur…
A qualitative study of user perceptions of mobile health apps
This qualitative research with a diverse pool of participants extended previous research on challenges and opportunities of health apps. The findings provide researchers, app designers, and health care providers insights on how to develop and evaluate health apps from the users' perspective
Keep Using My Health Apps
Background: Health and fitness applications (apps) are one of the major app categories in the current mobile app market. Few studies have examined this area from the users' perspective. This study adopted the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) Model to examine the predictors of the users' intention to adopt health and fitness apps. Materials and Methods: A survey ( n =317) was conducted with college-aged smartpho…
Measuring smartphone usage and task switching with log tracking and self-reports
Smartphones offer multimedia convergence in a single device, ubiquitous access to media, and constant connections with others. The rapid rise of smartphone use calls for more scholarly attention paid to users’ media usage and time expenditure. This study aims to (a) understand smartphone usage patterns by examining time spent using smartphones and task switching between mobile applications (apps), and (b) test the validity of self-reported measur…
Fact-Checking the Crisis
During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, various officials flagged the critical threat of false information. In this study, we explore how three major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) responded to this 'infodemic' during early stages of the pandemic via emergent fact-checking policies and practices, and consider what this means for ensuring a well-informed public. We accomplish this through a thematic analysis of document…
Taking the lead in misinformation-related conversations in social media networks during a mass shooting crisis
Purpose Misinformation (i.e. information identified as false) spreads widely and quickly on social media – a space where crowds of ordinary citizens can become leading voices – during a crisis when information is in short supply. Using the theoretical lenses of socially curated flow and networked gatekeeping frameworks, we address the following three aims: First, we identify emergent opinion leaders in misinformation-related conversations on soci…
Folk theorizing the quality and credibility of health apps
Increase in availability and accessibility of health apps raises important questions regarding strategies smartphone owners use to determine what health apps to download. As mobile health apps aim at helping users manage their healthy lifestyles and health conditions, it is important for researchers, developers, and educators to know how individuals find and assess the quality and credibility of these apps, and what guides their decisions to down…
Algorithmic conspirituality
Algorithmic conspirituality is the belief that social media algorithms have the capacity to know users intimately and convey personally meaningful messages at the exact right moment to revelatory effect. Through a thematic analysis of TikTok videos, this study explicates this concept by identifying five distinct dimensions of its expression on TikTok—(1) relational, (2) injunctive, (3) personal, (4) spiritual, (5) conspiratorial—and explaining th…
Listening” to Science
We have witnessed an increasing amount of science podcasts, and it has emerged as an important venue for science communication. From a strategic science communication perspective, this study investigated how science podcasters view science communication–related goals and objectives, as well as the tactics they use in producing science communication content based on the theory of planned behavior. A survey ( N = 147) with science podcasters showed…
Keep Using My Health Apps
Background: Health and fitness applications (apps) are one of the major app categories in the current mobile app market. Few studies have examined this area from the users' perspective. This study adopted the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) Model to examine the predictors of the users' intention to adopt health and fitness apps. Materials and Methods: A survey ( n =317) was conducted with college-aged smartpho…
A qualitative study of user perceptions of mobile health apps
This qualitative research with a diverse pool of participants extended previous research on challenges and opportunities of health apps. The findings provide researchers, app designers, and health care providers insights on how to develop and evaluate health apps from the users' perspective
Folk theorizing the quality and credibility of health apps
Increase in availability and accessibility of health apps raises important questions regarding strategies smartphone owners use to determine what health apps to download. As mobile health apps aim at helping users manage their healthy lifestyles and health conditions, it is important for researchers, developers, and educators to know how individuals find and assess the quality and credibility of these apps, and what guides their decisions to down…
Measuring smartphone usage and task switching with log tracking and self-reports
Smartphones offer multimedia convergence in a single device, ubiquitous access to media, and constant connections with others. The rapid rise of smartphone use calls for more scholarly attention paid to users’ media usage and time expenditure. This study aims to (a) understand smartphone usage patterns by examining time spent using smartphones and task switching between mobile applications (apps), and (b) test the validity of self-reported measur…
T1DLooksLikeMe
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is diagnosed mostly during childhood or adolescent years. During such transitional phases of life, having support from others in similar situations can reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. Instagram, a platform with high use among teens or young adults, acts as an alternative to traditional online health communities. To better understand individuals self-disclosure on Instagram related to T1D, we conducted an explora…
Safe From “Harm”
Platforms have long been under fire for how they create and enforce policies around hate speech, harmful content, and violence. In this study, we examine how three major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) conceptualize and implement policies around how they moderate “harm,” “violence,” and “danger” on their platforms. Through a feminist discourse analysis of public facing policy documents from official blogs and help pages, we found that …
Safe from “harm”
A number of issues have emerged related to how platforms moderate and mitigate “harm.” Although platforms have recently developed more explicit policies in regard to what constitutes “hate speech” and “harmful content,” it appears that platforms often use subjective judgments of harm that specifically pertains to spectacular, physical violence—but harm takes on many shapes and complex forms. The politics of defining “harm” and “violence” within t…
Hiding in the echo chamber
During a time of heightened political polarization in India, use of the communication app WhatsApp skyrocketed. Alongside benefits of the app come a slew of dangerous outcomes, such as the proliferation of misinformation on the chat-based app. To this end, we conducted 19 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Indian users of WhatsApp over the age of 40. The aim of study was to examine how WhatsApp users engage with the platform and the conten…
Taking the lead in misinformation-related conversations in social media networks during a mass shooting crisis
Purpose Misinformation (i.e. information identified as false) spreads widely and quickly on social media – a space where crowds of ordinary citizens can become leading voices – during a crisis when information is in short supply. Using the theoretical lenses of socially curated flow and networked gatekeeping frameworks, we address the following three aims: First, we identify emergent opinion leaders in misinformation-related conversations on soci…
Listening” to Science
We have witnessed an increasing amount of science podcasts, and it has emerged as an important venue for science communication. From a strategic science communication perspective, this study investigated how science podcasters view science communication–related goals and objectives, as well as the tactics they use in producing science communication content based on the theory of planned behavior. A survey ( N = 147) with science podcasters showed…
Fact-Checking the Crisis
During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, various officials flagged the critical threat of false information. In this study, we explore how three major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) responded to this 'infodemic' during early stages of the pandemic via emergent fact-checking policies and practices, and consider what this means for ensuring a well-informed public. We accomplish this through a thematic analysis of document…
The Revolution Will Be Forwarded
WhatsApp is one the world's most popular social media apps, as well as one of the most popular chat-based, closed platforms. Utilizing the insights from 19 in-depth interviews, we approach WhatsApp from a cultural perspective of ritual communication, seeking to understand how people make sense of WhatsApp use in their daily lives. We found WhatsApp is largely used to maintain community and fellowship with friends, coworkers, family, and even acqu…
Algorithmic conspirituality
Algorithmic conspirituality is the belief that social media algorithms have the capacity to know users intimately and convey personally meaningful messages at the exact right moment to revelatory effect. Through a thematic analysis of TikTok videos, this study explicates this concept by identifying five distinct dimensions of its expression on TikTok—(1) relational, (2) injunctive, (3) personal, (4) spiritual, (5) conspiratorial—and explaining th…
If you’re reading this, it’s meant for you
Growing awareness of the ubiquity of algorithms online has established a new discursive space for making sense of their role in individuals’ lives and society writ large. Within this space, social media users have come to think of algorithms as uniquely powerful forces shaping everyday experiences. This article explores how people make sense of algorithms, as seen through (dis)belief in algorithmic conspirituality, where users ascribe divine sign…
God(bots) and Authority
In this paper we systematically survey emergent religious and spiritual (R/S) AI chatbot applications and outline our plans to conduct application walkthroughs to collect and analyze developer discourses. Our research asks: 1) How is authority, through trust and/or faith, discursively constructed around R/S chatbots? 2) How do developers synthesize Silicon Valley worldviews with existent R/S beliefs within the discursive construction of their app…
“Douyin is taming us”
Drawing on 14 in-depth interviews, this study examines how feminist content creators on Douyin navigate platform visibility, governance, and gendered censorship to disseminate feminist discourse. Findings show that participants position themselves as knowledge cultivators rather than influencers, emphasizing dialogic engagement and collective understanding over authority or personal idolization. To reach broader publics, creators strategically en…
Brand-Related and Information-Sharing Cues as Decision Aid for Smartphone Users at Different Levels of Persuasion Knowledge to Assess mHealth App Credibility
Computer Science (13 obras) · Psychology (10 obras) · Internet privacy (9 obras) · Sociology (9 obras) · Political science (8 obras) · Social Media and Politics (7 obras) · World Wide Web (7 obras) · Misinformation and Its Impacts (6 obras) · Social media (6 obras) · Social Psychology (6 obras)