Conceptualizing Information Systems and Cognitive Sustainability in 21st Century 'Attention' Economies (Includes Syllabus)

Abstract

This course will bring together a group of students studying information systems (IS), primarily in business, though we welcome additional perspectives to include IS in medicine, public health, law, environmental sciences, neurobiology, or other fields. As a class, we will analyze and discuss the issues of individual and group cognitive sustainability in multitasking, knowledge-driven economies. Specifically, as developed societies increasingly become knowledge-driven economies, the risk of eroding cognitive sustainability and emotional well-being of humans also increases. Similar to the effect of pollution on the Earth's natural environment, information pollution can erode the limited attention spans of individuals and cause detrimental stress-related effects for both individuals and societies as a whole.

Keywords: information pollution, knowledge overload, attention spans, information systems, cognitive distortion, social distortion, evolutionary biology

JEL Classification: D70, D83, D89