Advancing a NeuroIS research agenda with four areas of societal contributions

Roles and Research Trends of Neuroscience on Major Information Systems Journal: A Bibliometric and Content Analysis

Over the past decade, neuroscience has been integrated into information systems as a new methodology and perspective to study and solve related problems. Therefore, NeuroIS has emerged as a new cutting-edge research field. This review aimed to identify, summarize, and classify existing NeuroIS publications through knowledge mapping and bibliometric analysis. To effectively understand the development trend of NeuroIS, this study referred to the journal selection index of the Association of Business Schools in 2021 and journals above three stars in the field of information management as the main selection basis. A total of 99 neuroscience papers and their citation data were included from 19 major information systems journals of SCI/SSCI. This study analyzed bibliometric data from 2010 to 2021 to identify the most productive countries, universities, authors, journals, and prolific publications in NeuroIS. To this end, VOSviewer was used to visualize mapping based on co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and co-occurrence. Keywords with strong citation bursts were also identified in this study. This signifies the evolution of this research field and may reveal potential research directions in the near future. In selecting research methods and analysis tools for NeuroIS, content analysis was used to further conclude and summarize the relevant trends. Moreover, a co-citation network analysis was conducted to help understand how the papers, journals, and authors in the field were connected and related, and to identify the seminal or pioneering major literature. For researchers, network maps visualized mainstream research and provided a structural understanding of NeuroIS. The review concludes by discussing potential research topics in this field.

On the stress potential of videoconferencing: definition and root causes of Zoom fatigue

As a consequence of lockdowns due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the resulting restricted social mobility, several billion people worldwide have recently had to replace physical face-to-face communication with computer-mediated interaction. Notably, the adoption rates of videoconferencing increased significantly in 2020, predominantly because videoconferencing resembles face-to-face interaction. Tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex are used by hundreds of millions of people today. Videoconferencing may bring benefits (e.g., saving of travel costs, preservation of environment). However, prolonged and inappropriate use of videoconferencing may also have an enormous stress potential. A new phenomenon and term emerged, Zoom fatigue, a synonym for videoconference fatigue. This paper develops a definition for Zoom fatigue and presents a conceptual framework that explores the major root causes of videoconferencing fatigue and stress. The development of the framework draws upon media naturalness theory and its underlying theorizing is based on research published across various scientific fields, including the disciplines of both behavioral science and neuroscience. Based on this theoretical foundation, hypotheses are outlined. Moreover, implications for research and practice are discussed.

Enhancing Sustained Attention

Arguably, automation is fast transforming many enterprise business processes, transforming operational jobs into monitoring tasks. Consequently, the ability to sustain attention during extended periods of monitoring is becoming a critical skill. This manuscript presents a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) prototype which seeks to combat decrements in sustained attention during monitoring tasks within an enterprise system. A brain-computer interface is a system which uses physiological signals output by the user as an input. The goal is to better understand human responses while performing tasks involving decision and monitoring cycles, finding ways to improve performance and decrease on-task error. Decision readiness and the ability to synthesize complex and abundant information in a brief period during critical events has never been more important. Closed-loop control and motivational control theory were synthesized to provide the basis from which a framework for a prototype was developed to demonstrate the feasibility and value of a BCI in critical enterprise activities. In this pilot study, the BCI was implemented and evaluated through laboratory experimentation using an ecologically valid task. The results show that the technological artifact allowed users to regulate sustained attention positively while performing the task. Levels of sustained attention were shown to be higher in the conditions assisted by the BCI. Furthermore, this increased cognitive response seems to be related to increased on-task action and a small reduction in on-task errors. The research concludes with a discussion of the future research directions and their application in the enterprise.

Social Perception of Faces: Brain Imaging and Subjective Ratings

The aim of this study was to investigate how a female face is perceived in terms of its attractiveness, dominance, health, femininity-masculinity, and maturity in direct relation to the body fat percentage (BFP) conveyed by the face. To compare how young adults (ages 18 to 35) respond to different levels of body fat percentage both subjectively and objectively we collected survey ratings and electroencephalography (EEG) data across five different levels of BFP from 40 participants. We adapted the experimental design from a prior behavioral study and used calibrated and morphed female face images of five different BFP levels. The results of the survey are in consensus with the previous study and assessed to be a successful replication. From the EEG data, event-related potentials (ERPs) were extracted from one electrode location (right occipitotemporal brain region) known to be particularly sensitive to face-stimuli. We found statistically significant differences in the amplitudes of the P200 component (194 ms post stimulus onset) between the thickest face and all four other BFP conditions, and in the amplitudes of the N300 component (274 ms post stimulus onset) between the average face and three other BFP conditions. As expected, there were no significant differences among the N170 amplitudes of all five BFP conditions since this ERP component simply reflects the processing of faces in general. From these results, we can infer that holistic face encoding characterized by the N170 component in the right occipitotemporal area is followed by serial evaluative processes, whose categorical and qualitative matrix and spatiotemporal dynamics should be further explored in future studies, especially in relation to the social constructs that were focused on in this study.