A cognitive scientist who works on developing a truly integrated science approach to understand changes in shared beliefs of various types of groups. I draw from a variety of social science approaches (such as social identity theory) as well as computer science-based approach of agent-based social simulations to understand changes in social beliefs of artificial societies of various configurations. My work focuses on the role of social identity entrepreneurs in driving changes in social identity beliefs of their ingroups. Supervisors: Dr. Renee Elio and Dr. Eric Neufeld Address: Harrisonburg, VA
With an increasing number of Western Muslims falling prey to violent extremist ideologies and joi... more With an increasing number of Western Muslims falling prey to violent extremist ideologies and joining Jihadi organizations such as Al-Qaida and the ISIS, Western policy makers have been concerned with preventing radicalization of Muslim youth. This has resulted in a number of government sponsored efforts (e.g., MyJihad, Sabahi, and Maghrebia (Briggs and Feve 2013)) to counter extremist propaganda by arguing that extremist violent tactics used by Jihadist organizations are not congruent with Islamic tenets of kindness and just war. Despite the expenditure of significant resources since 2001, these efforts have had limited success. This article argues that in order to succeed we need to better understand Muslim core social identity beliefs (i.e., their perception of what it means to be a good Muslim) and how these beliefs are connected to Muslims perceptions of Westerners. A better understanding of the interdependent nature and dynamics of these beliefs will allow us to design counter...
The Influence of Integration and Counterintuitiveness on Memory for Text M. Afzal Upal Influence ... more The Influence of Integration and Counterintuitiveness on Memory for Text M. Afzal Upal Influence & Effects Research Group Adversarial Intent Section Defence Research & Development Canada Toronto Mary Harmon-Vukic Psychology Department Providence College Abstract: Recent studies suggest that counterintuitive ideas embedded in stories facilitate their subsequent recall, thus increasing the likelihood that such stories survive time and space. However, it could be that structure of coun- terintuitive stories affects memory rather than the distinctiveness of their contents. Indeed, Harmon-Vukic and Slone (2009) demonstrated that integration of story information eliminated the counterintuitiveness effect. The purpose of the present experiment was to further explore the influence of integration on memory for counterintuitive concepts. Participants were presented with a story containing elements that were either intuitive, minimally counterintuitive, or maximally counterintuitive. In additi...
With an increasing number of Western Muslims falling prey to violent extremist ideologies and joi... more With an increasing number of Western Muslims falling prey to violent extremist ideologies and joining Jihadi organizations such as Al-Qaida and the ISIS, Western policy makers have been concerned with preventing radicalization of Muslim youth. This has resulted in a number of government sponsored efforts (e.g., MyJihad, Sabahi, and Maghrebia (Briggs and Feve 2013)) to counter extremist propaganda by arguing that extremist violent tactics used by Jihadist organizations are not congruent with Islamic tenets of kindness and just war. Despite the expenditure of significant resources since 2001, these efforts have had limited success. This article argues that in order to succeed we need to better understand Muslim core social identity beliefs (i.e., their perception of what it means to be a good Muslim) and how these beliefs are connected to Muslims perceptions of Westerners. A better understanding of the interdependent nature and dynamics of these beliefs will allow us to design counter...
The Influence of Integration and Counterintuitiveness on Memory for Text M. Afzal Upal Influence ... more The Influence of Integration and Counterintuitiveness on Memory for Text M. Afzal Upal Influence & Effects Research Group Adversarial Intent Section Defence Research & Development Canada Toronto Mary Harmon-Vukic Psychology Department Providence College Abstract: Recent studies suggest that counterintuitive ideas embedded in stories facilitate their subsequent recall, thus increasing the likelihood that such stories survive time and space. However, it could be that structure of coun- terintuitive stories affects memory rather than the distinctiveness of their contents. Indeed, Harmon-Vukic and Slone (2009) demonstrated that integration of story information eliminated the counterintuitiveness effect. The purpose of the present experiment was to further explore the influence of integration on memory for counterintuitive concepts. Participants were presented with a story containing elements that were either intuitive, minimally counterintuitive, or maximally counterintuitive. In additi...
Proceedings of the Third Annual Great Lakes Data Science Sympoisum, 2020
. This year’s proceedings include 13 papers that have been divided into the following five groups... more . This year’s proceedings include 13 papers that have been divided into the following five groups: • Group 1 contains papers that use data science to predict some aspect of human behavior. o Winschel uses it to predict scoring behavior of NBA players. o Mahmud uses machine learning to predict American voter’s party affiliations. o Zacherl and Bohara uses machine learning to predict student behavior.
• Group 2 contains papers that analyze social media messages. o Bahntge analyzes Twitter messages to understand differences between regional uses of the English language. o Mincewicz analyzes Twitter messages to understand level of violence in demonstrations. • Group 3 contains papers that use deep learning. o Sim uses the deep learning model MelGAN-VC to mimic the voice cloning o Decker uses the masked R-CNN to predicting the position of keypoints on an electric railroad pantograph. o Vu employs a deep learning model, among others, to distinguish between illegal money laundering transactions and ordinary financial transactions. • Group 4 contains papers that address mental health issues o Chuhan analyzes relationship between mental health and employment status. o Gonzalez studies factors that predict whether someone is likely to seek mental health treatment or not. • The final paper develops a machine learning model to distinguish benign software from malware.
In the mid 1950s, a British taxi driver named George King claimed that Budha, Jesus, and Lao Tzu ... more In the mid 1950s, a British taxi driver named George King claimed that Budha, Jesus, and Lao Tzu had been alien “cosmic masters” who had come to earth to teach mankind the right way to live. Sun Myung Moon claimed that Korean people are descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. Joseph Smith claimed that some lost tribes of Israel had moved to Americas hundreds of years ago. All three people successfully founded new religious movements that have survived to this day. How and why do some people come up with such seemingly strange and bizarre ideas and why do others come to place their faith in these ideas? The first part of this book develops a multidisciplinary theoretical framework drawn from cognitive science of religion and social psychology to answer these critically important questions. The second part of the book illustrates how this theoretical framework can be used to understand the origin and evolution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at founded by an Indian Muslim in 1889. The book breaks new ground by studying the influence that religious beliefs of 19th century reformist Indian Muslims, in particular, founders of the Ahl-e-Hadith movement, had on the beliefs of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. Using the theoretical framework developed in part I, the book also explains why many north Indian Sunni Muslims found Ahmad’s ideas to be irresistible and why the movement split into two a few years Ahmad’s death. The book will interest those who want to understand cults as well as those who want to understand reformist Islamic movements.
Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements (Brill 2021). Open Access Digital Book
Since the Iranian hostage crisis, and particularly since 9-11, Islam has been a topic of increas... more Since the Iranian hostage crisis, and particularly since 9-11, Islam has been a topic of increasing interest among politicians, diplomats, journalists, and scholars, among others. Though associated in the public consciousness with fanaticism and terrorism, there is a broad awareness that Islam is a complex tradition which, on the whole, does not promote religiously-motivated violence. Nevertheless, many believe that a deeper understanding of the larger phenomenon of Islam is necessary in order to understand and combat militant Islamism. As a consequence, the demand for reliable information on Islam has been steadily growing. However, with the exception of entries in general encyclopedias on Islam and encyclopedias of Islamic mysticism (Sufism), there are no reference books on the diverse sects and movements within Islam. Even “Twelver” Shi’a – the dominant form of Shi’a Islam in Iran and Iraq – has no separate reference book (though there is A Shi’ite Encyclopedia being compiled by the Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Project Team (https://www.al-islam.org/shiite-encyclopedia-ahlul-bayt-dilp-team). There is a paucity of books devoted to this topic, primarily because, in contrast to religious traditions like Christianity and Buddhism, Islam appears remarkably uniform. On the surface at least, most of the world’s Muslims are either Sunni or Twelver Shi’a, which is why Islamic sects/ denominations/ movements has not become the subject of monographs or reference books. Yet, beneath this apparent uniformity there is greater diversity than might be anticipated. There are, for example, important movements within Sunni Islam that are, in effect, sectarian – such as Islamic Modernism (on the liberal end) and the Taliban (on the ultra-conservative end). Then there are the various Sufi orders, which often constitute de facto sects. Within Shi’a Islam there is a complex spectrum of Shi’a factions that has largely gone unnoticed, due to the dominance of Twelver Shi’a. There are also syncretistic groups like the Yezidi among the Kurds that mix (nominally Sunni) Islam with pre-Islamic beliefs and practices. Finally, there are splinter groups from Islam, like the Druze and the Baha’i, that have established themselves as separate religions.
. Afzal Upal and Carole M. Cusack (eds), Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements, Brill, 2021, forthcoming.
Given the presentation of Islam in popular media, it is not surprising that most Westerners (incl... more Given the presentation of Islam in popular media, it is not surprising that most Westerners (including some scholars) view the faith as a static, monolithic religion that clings fiercely to its seventh century roots, resisting any attempt at change. This is, of course, far from the truth. In common with other faith traditions, Islam has been a dynamic force from the start, with adaptations stemming from individual leaders, diverse ethnic populations, and the cultural contexts in which the religion took root. Christians and Jews, among other representatives of religious traditions, commented on Muḥammad, the prophet and founder of Islam, and identified resemblances between the new monotheistic religion and their own traditions.
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Papers by M. Afzal Upal
• Group 1 contains papers that use data science to predict some aspect of human behavior.
o Winschel uses it to predict scoring behavior of NBA players.
o Mahmud uses machine learning to predict American voter’s party affiliations.
o Zacherl and Bohara uses machine learning to predict student behavior.
• Group 2 contains papers that analyze social media messages.
o Bahntge analyzes Twitter messages to understand differences between regional uses of the English language.
o Mincewicz analyzes Twitter messages to understand level of violence in demonstrations.
• Group 3 contains papers that use deep learning.
o Sim uses the deep learning model MelGAN-VC to mimic the voice cloning
o Decker uses the masked R-CNN to predicting the position of keypoints on an electric railroad pantograph.
o Vu employs a deep learning model, among others, to distinguish between illegal money laundering transactions and ordinary financial transactions.
• Group 4 contains papers that address mental health issues
o Chuhan analyzes relationship between mental health and employment status.
o Gonzalez studies factors that predict whether someone is likely to seek mental health treatment or not.
• The final paper develops a machine learning model to distinguish benign software from malware.
As a consequence, the demand for reliable information on Islam has been steadily growing. However, with the exception of entries in general encyclopedias on Islam and encyclopedias of Islamic mysticism (Sufism), there are no reference books on the diverse sects and movements within Islam. Even “Twelver” Shi’a – the dominant form of Shi’a Islam in Iran and Iraq – has no separate reference book (though there is A Shi’ite Encyclopedia being compiled by the Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Project Team (https://www.al-islam.org/shiite-encyclopedia-ahlul-bayt-dilp-team).
There is a paucity of books devoted to this topic, primarily because, in contrast to religious traditions like Christianity and Buddhism, Islam appears remarkably uniform. On the surface at least, most of the world’s Muslims are either Sunni or Twelver Shi’a, which is why Islamic sects/ denominations/ movements has not become the subject of monographs or reference books. Yet, beneath this apparent uniformity there is greater diversity than might be anticipated. There are, for example, important movements within Sunni Islam that are, in effect, sectarian – such as Islamic Modernism (on the liberal end) and the Taliban (on the ultra-conservative end). Then there are the various Sufi orders, which often constitute de facto sects. Within Shi’a Islam there is a complex spectrum of Shi’a factions that has largely gone unnoticed, due to the dominance of Twelver Shi’a. There are also syncretistic groups like the Yezidi among the Kurds that mix (nominally Sunni) Islam with pre-Islamic beliefs and practices. Finally, there are splinter groups from Islam, like the Druze and the Baha’i, that have established themselves as separate religions.