Prof. Dr. Nitin Agarwal,
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA

Networks and Narratives Characterizing Multiplatform Influence
Campaigns to Strengthen Socio-cognitive Security

With the proliferation of smart devices, mobile applications, and social network platforms, the social side effects of these technologies have become more profound, especially in social and political disintegration. Several journalistic and academic investigations have reported that modern communication platforms such as social media are strategically used to coordinate cyber influence campaigns. Several researchers have studied these campaigns and identified various tactics, techniques, and procedures used by various online deviant groups, e.g., online propagandists groups or extremist/terrorist group sympathizers. Various social media platforms utilize research findings to detect and regulate some of these campaigns, however, the techniques that are used evolve and adapt to go undetected. This is a growing problem. This session aims to have a scientific discussion among experts who study deviant activities on social media, including but not limited to, detection of deviant/disruptive behaviors on social media; misinformation detection, identification, and dissemination; case studies of misinformation; etc.

This includes the following topics:
- Misinformation, disinformation, rumor, propaganda, influence campaign detection;
- Tactics and strategies used to conduct misinformation;
disinformation, rumor, propaganda, influence campaigns;
- Deviant behaviors on social media platforms (cyber threats, cybercrime, cyber bullying, trolling, spamming, etc.);
- Coordination campaigns;
- Cyber Flash Mobs;
- Algorithmic manipulation such as exploiting recommendation bias;
- Detection/modeling of inorganic behaviors (bots, botnets, social bots, etc.) and their evolution dynamics;
- Hate Speech (toxic, polarizing, or disruptive content);
- Computational extraction of narratives used in misinformation, disinformation, rumor, propaganda, influence campaigns.

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Vladimir Mazalov,
Institute of Applied Mathematical Research, KarRC of the RAS, Russia

Equilibrium in the strategic bargaining

The Rubinstein’s bargaining model, proposed in 1982, provided a convenient tool for solving game-theoretic problems about bidding by two persons with alternating offers on an infinite time axis. The main feature was the discounting factor d, which did not allow the game to last indefinitely, i.e. the closer d is to 0, the more impatient the players are and the faster they will agree to any offer. On the contrary, if the value d is close to 1, then the players are patient and will negotiate until they come to the most favorable offer for them. In [Baron, Ferejohn, 1989], a model of sequential multilateral negotiations with a majority rule was proposed. The game that was reviewed is a standard game “split the dollar”, in which n players, whose turn is chosen randomly, make suggestions on how to divide a pie of a fixed size, and agreement requires the consent of a simple majority. It is shown that a sub-game perfect equilibrium exists in the class of stationary strategies. Then, articles [Eraslan, 2002; Cho, Duggan, 2003; Banks, Duggan, 2006; Predtetchinski, 2011; Cardona, Ponsati, 2007, 2011] were devoted to the expansion of this direction for different applied problems.
We present a game-theoretic model of competitive decision on a meeting time. There are n players who are negotiating the meeting time. The players' utilities are represented by linear unimodal functions. The maximum values of the utility functions are located at the points i/(n-1), i=0,...,n-1. The final decision will be done if all participants accept the proposal. Players take turns 1, then 2, then 3, …, n. We assume that after each negotiation session, the utility functions of all players will decrease proportionally to d. We will look for a solution in the class of stationary strategies, when it is assumed that the decisions of the players will not change during the negotiation time, i.e. the player i will make the same offer at step i and at subsequent steps n+i, 2n+i, etc. We use the backward induction method. To do this, assume that player n is looking for his best responce, knowing player 1's proposal, then player (n-1) is looking for his best responce, knowing player n's solution, etc. The subgame perfect equilibrium in the class of stationary strategies is found in analytical form.

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Prof. Dr. Walter Leal,
Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Education for sustainable development: trends and perspectives

The presentation will outline the importance of and relevance of sustainable development for higher education institutions, and outlines some of the steps which are being taken, to include it as part of university programmes.

Prof. Dr. Yaroslav Sergeyev,
University of Calabria, Italy

Numerical infinities and infinitesimals
How primitive counting systems can change our perception of Infinity

In this lecture, some classical paradoxes of infinity such as Galileo’s paradox, Hilbert’s paradox of the Grand Hotel, and the rectangle paradox of Torricelli are considered. It is shown that the surprising counting systems of Amazonian and Australian tribes, working with only three numerals (one, two, many) can help us to change our perception of these paradoxes. A recently introduced methodology allowing one to work with finite, infinite, and infinitesimal numbers in a unique computational framework not only theoretically but also numerically is briefly described (see [1]). This methodology is actively used nowadays in numerous applications in pure and applied mathematics and computer science as well as in teaching (see, e.g., [1-3]). This methodology gives the possibility to consider the paradoxes listed above in a new constructive light (see, e.g., [4,5]) showing so that even primitive cultures can give rise to very interesting developments in the modern sophisticated cultural and scientific life.
The Infinity Calculator using the Infinity Computer technology (patented in several countries) is presented during the talk. Reviews, videos, more than 60 papers of authors from several research areas using this methodology in their applications can be downloaded from http://www.theinfinitycomputer.com. The web page https://www.numericalinfinities.com developed at the University of East Anglia contains materials related to teaching this methodology in colleges in UK and Italy.

Selected references

1. Sergeyev Ya.D. (2017). Numerical infinities and infinitesimals: Methodology, applications, and repercussions on two Hilbert problems, EMS Surveys in Mathematical Sciences, 4(2), 219–320.
2. Sergeyev Ya.D., De Leone R. (eds.). (2022). Numerical Infinities and Infinitesimals in Optimization, Springer.
3. Nasr L. (2022). The effect of Arithmetic of Infinity Methodology on students’ beliefs of infinity, Mediterranean Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 19, 5-19.
4. Rizza D. (2018). A study of mathematical determination through Bertrand’s Paradox, Philosophia Mathematica, 26(3), 375–395.
5. Sergeyev Ya.D. (2022). Some paradoxes of infinity revisited, Mediterranean Journal of Mathematics, 19, article 143.

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