Newly published: ‘Digital youth work: the youth worker’s balancing act between digital innovation and digital literacy insecurities’

Posted on March 24, 2019 by Hazel Hall

Amongst the papers from Information Seeking in Context (ISIC) 2018 published in the latest issue of Information Research is an article that I co-authored with my Centre for Social Informatics colleagues Alicja Pawluczuk, Dr Gemma Webster, and Dr Colin Smith.

In the paper we discuss the ways in which UK youth workers perceive their work in the context of digital literacy project facilitation. The findings, which derive from the analysis of data from interviews conducted with twenty digital youth workers, reveal (a) that youth workers are both excited and sceptical about the digital developments in the field, and (b) an anxiety associated with the lack of digital literacy skills in the youth work sector.

The paper is available in full text from the Information Research web site. A PDF of the manuscript can also be downloaded from the Edinburgh Napier University repository.

Research Impact and Value in LIS: introducing the RIVAL network

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Hazel Hall

This afternoon I’m speaking at the Edge conference in Edinburgh about a new project, as summarised in the slide below.

We started work on Research Impact and Value and LIS (RIVAL) on 1st February 2019. The Royal Society of Edinburgh has awarded us a grant to create a collaborative network of Scotland-based library and information science (LIS) researchers and library and information professionals interested in maximising the value of LIS research. This work builds on the pilot RIVAL event that we hosted at Edinburgh Napier University on 11th July last year. Continue reading →

Call for applications: two fully-funded PhD places within the Centre for Social Informatics, Edinburgh Napier University

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Hazel Hall

We are currently advertising two fully-funded PhD places within the Centre for Social Informatics at Edinburgh Napier University for an October 2019 start date. Continue reading →

Social media by proxy: study participants sought

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Hazel Hall

My Centre for Social Informatics colleagues Dr Gemma Webster and Frances Ryan are currently recruiting participants for their Carnegie-funded research project that investigates the ways in which carers manage, or help to manage, the social media accounts for people with dementia. The type of participant that they seek are those who play such a role for a cared-for person. The participants do not, however, need to be primary carers of people with dementia. Continue reading →

School of Computing New Year research event 2019: contributions from the Centre for Social Informatics

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Hazel Hall

Professor Hazel Hall presents at the School of Computing research event, 9th January 2019

The School of Computing research event, 9th January 2019 (photo credit Rameez Asif)

In recent years, the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University has marked the beginning of the new year with a research event. This year we held it on Wednesday 9th January 2019. Continue reading →

This is what a STEMinist looks like

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Hazel Hall

This is what a STEMinist looks like: Professor Hazel Hall, Edinburgh Napier University

Equate Scotland has launched a new social media campaign to tackle gender stereotyping and combat misconceptions about women and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Continue reading →

Dr Wegene Demeke and Dr Bruce Ryan research participatory budgeting in Brazil

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Hazel Hall

My Centre for Social Informatics colleagues Dr Wegene Demeke and Dr Bruce Ryan have started 2019 with a trip to Brazil. They are in São Paulo to develop some research on participatory budgeting, i.e. the process by which citizens (and not politicians) vote to decide how government money is spent. Participatory budgeting is well-established in Brazil – it was first implemented in Porto Alegre in the late 1980s – and is therefore an ideal location for research of this nature. Continue reading →