An afternoon of Social Informatics lightning talks

Hazel Hall, Brian Detlor

Professors Brian Detlor & Hazel Hall

Dr Brian Detlor, Visiting Professor to the Social Informatics Research Group at Edinburgh Napier University, has been in the Edinburgh for the past week. Last Friday I was pleased to participate in one of the events organised to mark Brian’s visit: a lightening talk showcase of some the excellent research undertaken by researchers in the Social Informatics Research Group.

My own presentation was about the AHRC/Creative Informatics funded Platform to Platform project that I completed last year with Dr Bruce Ryan (PI) and Dr Iain McGregor (Co-I). This work involved the creation of a podcast series based on Lorna Lloyd’s Diary of the war, and an assessment audience engagement with archives in two different digital formats – (1) a Blipfoto journal of text and images, and (2) sound in podcast episodes. The slides for my presentation are available on SlideShare.

Lightning talk first page

Please click on the image to access the SlideShare deck

The other speakers and topics were:

  • Aleksander Bielinski – his doctoral research entitled ‘Enhancing labour market intelligence using machine learning.
  • Dr David Brazier – the impact of digitisation on people, and his four on-going PhD supervisions
  • Maria Cecil – her doctoral research entitled ‘Gendered information landscapes and their impact on routes into and through apprenticeships’.
  • Dr Peter Cruickshank – community councils’ online presences, the information literacy of community representatives, the ways in which staff in frontline public services help individuals manage their online identities, and links with the Library and Information Science department at the Universiti Malaya.
  • Drew Feeney – his doctoral research entitled ‘User-led approaches to digital literacies in older adults’.
  • Professor Diane Pennington – ethical metadata.
  • Dr Frances Ryan – human information behaviour in digital environments as this relates to everyday life, and her current project Librarians as proxies.
  • Rachel Salzano – public library soundscapes, building on her recently doctoral study ‘The influence of culture on perceived use of public libraries by forced migrants in Scotland and England’. (Rachel will be awarded her PhD at graduation on 7th July 2023.)
  • Tomasz Stupnicki – his doctoral research entitled ‘Multi-modal ubiquitous quantum self monitoring: a driver of mental health improvements in the prison environment‘.

After our very convivial and entertaining afternoon, the research chat continued at McLarens on the Corner in Merchiston over drinks. What an excellent way to start the weekend!

Social Informatics Research Group, lightening talk, Bruce Ryan, Diane Pennington, Drew Feeney, Maria Cecil, Hazel Hall, Tomasz Stupnicki, Aleksander Bielinski, Peter Cruickshank, Rachel Salzano

Session presenters: Dr Bruce Ryan, Professor Diane Pennington, Drew Feeney, Maria Cecil, Professor Hazel Hall, Tomasz Stupnicki, Aleksander Bielinski, Dr Peter Cruickshank, Rachel Salzano, & Dr David Brazier.

An evening at Lambeth Palace for the 2022 Janette Harley Award ceremony and the 2023 Maurice Bond Memorial Lecture

Last Wednesday I was delighted to travel to Lambeth Palace to attend the 2022 Janette Harley Award ceremony, and to hear the 2023 Maurice Bond Memorial Lecture. Continue reading

Community-led digital literacy training: presentation open to all at Edinburgh Napier University, Monday 22nd May 2023

Professor Brian Detlor - Digital Literacy Training LectureDr Brian Detlor, Professor and Area Chair (Information Systems) at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Canada, and Visiting Professor to the Social Informatics Research Group at Edinburgh Napier University, will be in Scotland next month. Continue reading

Narrowing the research-practice gap: a newly published paper and the forthcoming RIVAL Reunion

‘From a network model to a model network: strategies for network development to narrow the LIS research–practice gap’ has just been published. This paper, which I co-authored with my Edinburgh Napier University colleagues Dr Bruce RyanRachel Salzano, and Katherine Stephen, can be found in issue 3 of volume 79 of the Journal of Documentation, and is available as a full-text download from the publisher.Hall Ryan Salzano Stephen 2023 Journal of Documentation Continue reading

The power of audio – presenting archives via podcasts: submission accepted for Shaking the archive conference, Edinburgh, June 2023

Along with my colleagues Dr Bruce Ryan, Marianne Wilson, and Dr Iain McGregor, I am delighted that the submission that we made earlier this year to the Shaking the archive – reconsidering the role of archives in contemporary society conference has been accepted. Continue reading

National award recognises the Platform to Platform project: British Records Association Janette Harley Prize 2022 runner-up

LogoThe Edinburgh Napier University team that worked on the Platform to Platform (P2P) project to transform Lorna Lloyd’s Diary of the war into a podcast series is delighted to have learnt that this work has been highly commended as a runner-up for the British Records Association’s (BRA) 2022 Janette Harley Prize. This prize, awarded in memory of archivist Janette Harley (1951-2015), is intended to generate interest in archives, and raise awareness of research and achievements in the world of archives. Continue reading

Out with the old, in with the new

Hazel Hall and Peter Cruickshank

Dr Hazel Hall and Dr Peter Cruickshank, 30/09/22

In autumn 2022, the more eagle-eyed readers of this blog may have noticed some changes across the pages of my web site, as well as in my profile information on other platforms. I spent 16th November 2022 editing my designation as ‘Professor’ so that it now reads ‘Emeritus Professor’. At the same time, my colleagues updated the Centre for Social Informatics flyer as version 19.3 to reflect the new status granted to me by my employer. Earlier in the year, on August 3rd, we advertised a job vacancy for a new Professor in Social Informatics at Edinburgh Napier University. All this activity ties to my retirement at the end of September 2022. Continue reading

A conceptual framework of career information behaviour and career information literacy: new research published in ‘Information Research’

Abstract, CIEL, conceptual, framework, career information literacy, Milosheva, Hall, Cruickshank, Robertson, #isic2022Capturing career information use in everyday life: introducing the CIEL conceptual framework by Marina Milosheva, Hazel Hall, Peter Robertson, and Peter Cruickshank has been published. The paper features in the proceedings of Information Seeking in Context (ISIC) 2022 in a special issue of Information Research. ISIC 2022 took place between 26th and 29th September at the Berlin School of Library and Information Science at Humboldt University. Continue reading

An afternoon of advice on studying part-time for a PhD

LIRG logoLast month on 18th November 2022, I was delighted to take part in an event deigned for those interested in undertaking part-time doctoral studies.

The speakers at Routes and experiences of doing an LIS PhD were brought together by the committee of the Library and Information Research Group (LIRG) of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) to provide insight into the experience of undertaking a PhD while working, as well as provide practical information on topics such as making an application for a PhD place, and the different routes to earning the title of ‘Doctor‘. Continue reading

Forced migrants, integration, and public libraries: new research published in ‘Information Research’

forced migrants, public libraries, integration, local authorities, Scotland, research, Salzano, Hall, Webster, Brazier

Abstract of ‘Is the public library included? An analysis of local government documentation on the integration of forced migrants in Scotland’ (Salzano, Hall, Webster & Brazier, 2022)

Is the public library included? An analysis of local government documentation on the integration of forced migrants in Scotland by Rachel Salzano, Hazel Hall, Gemma Webster, and David Brazier has been published. The paper features in the Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Science as the October 2022 special issue of Information Research.The 2022 CoLIS conference was held at Oslo Metropolitan University between May 29th and June 1st 2022. Continue reading