A new role for Iris Buunk at LIBER

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Hazel Hall

Iris Buunk

Congratulations to (almost Dr) Iris Buunk on her appointment as a Community Engagement and Communications Officer at the Ligue des bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche/Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER). This good news comes within days of Iris’ submission of the corrected version of her PhD thesis, which was examined at the end of March this year.

LIBER was founded in the Hague in 1971 to help university, national and special libraries support world-class research. It is a partner organisation in many European projects that promote open science. The main focus of Iris‘ new role at LIBER is responsibility for activities related to European projects and general LIBER communications. Continue reading →

Activity Theory to explore transitioning to agile methods: contribution to #XP2020

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Hazel Hall

The 21st International Conference on Agile Software Development XP2020 takes place this week between Monday 8th and Friday 12th June. Normally delegates would be gathering in Copenhagen to participate in the event. Like many conferences this year, however, the conference has switched to a virtual format.

Amongst the work to be presented at the conference is a paper by Centre for Social Informatics colleagues Pritam Chita, Peter Cruickshank and Dr Colin Smith, with Dr Kendall Richards of Edinburgh Napier University’s Centre for Computing Education Research. Continue reading →

Rachel Salzano contributes to the work of the Alan Turing Institute

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Hazel Hall

Rachel Salzano

The Alan Turing Institute is the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. It was established in 2015 with headquarters at the British Library in London. The work of the Institute is achieved through collaborations between universities, businesses, and public and third sector organisations to address some of the biggest challenges in science, society and the economy.

Currently Rachel Salzano, a PhD student within the Centre for Social Informatics at Edinburgh Napier University, is contributing to the institute’s research on detecting and understanding harmful content online. She has been employed by the Institute in two roles. Continue reading →

How useful are social media for job hunting? Publication in press with the Journal of Information Science

Posted on May 7, 2020 by Hazel Hall

‘Using social media during job search: the case of 16-24 year olds in Scotland‘ is about the the value of social media in providing information opportunities to young people seeking employment. This co-authored paper has recently been accepted for inclusion in the Journal of Information Science.

Based on an analysis of interview and focus group data, Dr John Mowbray (University of Glasgow) and I reveal that: Continue reading →

A new role at the UN for Dr Alicja Pawluczuk

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Hazel Hall

Congratulations to our PhD graduate Dr Alicja Pawluczuk who today (1st April 2020) starts a new work role as Young Information and Communication Technologies and Development Fellow at the United Nations University Institute in Macau.

Over the next twelve months, Alicja will be examining current approaches to digital inclusion measurement, and investigating digital inclusion practitioners’ narratives of their experience of digital inclusion measurement. The objective of Alicja’s fellowship is to analyse the state-of-the-art of digital inclusion measurement and evaluation on the basis of a systematic literature review. It is anticipated that outcomes of this research will inform UN policy-making on issues related to ICTs and sustainable development. Continue reading →

New jobs for Dr Frances Ryan and (almost Dr) Leo Appleton

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Hazel Hall

Dr Frances Ryan, who graduated with her PhD last summer, and Leo Appleton, who will cross the stage to pick up his doctoral degree certificate on 1st July 2020 (coronavirus permitting), have recently been successful in applications for new jobs. Congratulations to them both! Continue reading →

Networking as an information behaviour during job search: paper now published in Journal of Documentation

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Hazel Hall

Dr John Mowbray and I were delighted to learn this week that our paper ‘Networking as information behaviour during job search: a study of active jobseekers in the Scottish youth labour market‘ is now published. It available in both online and in print in the Journal of Documentation: volume 76, issue 2. Continue reading →

Fully-funded PhD studentship opportunity: Natural language interfaces to support career decision-making of young people

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Hazel Hall

Updated with new deadline: midday 30th April 2020

We are currently advertising a fully-funded PhD place within the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University for an October 2020 start date. Continue reading →

Networking as an information behaviour during job search: Emerald EarlyCite paper now available

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Hazel Hall

The article ‘Networking as an information behaviour during job search: a study of active jobseekers in the Scottish youth labour market‘, which I co-authored with Dr John Mowbray (University of Glasgow), is now available as an EarlyCite paper from the Journal of Documentation.

In the paper we show that young job seekers acquire a range of networked information throughout a variety of tasks related to job search, and demonstrate the value of active networking during this process. We also highlight that the propensity for job seekers to network is contingent on a host of factors. These include the occupational level of the job role sought, motivation to find a job, and an awareness of the utility of networking as an information behaviour. Continue reading →

Centre for Social Informatics ‘all centre’ meeting December 2019

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Hazel Hall

Social Informatcis staff and students all centre meeting December 2019

At the Social Informatics ‘All centre’ meeting, L to R: John, Peter, Lyndsey, Katherine, Rachel, Marina, Laura, Hazel, Leo, Ella, David H, David B, Frances, Colin, Wegene, and Bruce

Every six months the staff and research students from the Social Informatics group at Edinburgh Napier University gather for an ‘All centre’ celebration of their recent achievements. The December 2019 gathering took place on Wednesday 18th December, with 19 participants. The format of the meeting allowed for a maximum 5 minute update from each person. Continue reading →

Hazel Hall

Emeritus Professor, Edinburgh Napier University

Category Archives: PhDs