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.

New roles for Social Informatics PhD graduates Buunk, Middleton, Mowbray, and Ryan

What can you do with a PhD from the Centre for Social Informatics at Edinburgh Napier University? Find out here with news of four former PhD students who graduated between 2018 and 2020. Continue reading

Centre for Social Informatics ‘all centre’ meeting June 2022

Social Informatics Research Group Edinburgh Napier University selfie

Dr Peter Cruickshank, Dr David Brazier, Dr David Haynes, Dr Hazel Hall, Katherine Stephen, Dr Bruce Ryan, and Dr JP Vargheese pose for a post-meeting selfie

For the first time since 18th December 2019, this week members of my research group gathered for an end of year ‘all centre’ meeting to celebrate our recent research highlights.

Although not everyone could make it on this occasion, those who could enjoyed spending the afternoon of Wednesday 22nd June together. We took it in turns to deliver short personal updates to the rest of the group on our own research. We also read out details sent to us by email from those who could not participate in person, and gave each absent colleague a round of applause. Continue reading

Applications open for 10 fully-funded PhD studentship places within the School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University

PhD supervisors Dr Frances Ryan, Dr David Haynes, Debbie Meharg, Dr David Brazier

PhD supervisors from the Centre for Social Informatics

The School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University is currently advertising ten fully-funded PhD studentships across a wide range of subjects, from sound technologies to cybersecurity. Amongst these are four proposed by Centre for Social Informatics colleagues: Continue reading

Discussing dangerous women on International Women’s Day

Dangerous women project bookThis evening, on International Women’s Day 2022, I will be attending the online book launch of Dangerous women. Edited by Jo Shaw, Ben Fletcher-Watson and Abrisham Ahmadzadeh, the book comprises fifty essays on social and political structures, everyday life, attitudes, and identity to question what it means for a woman to be considered ‘dangerous’, as well the danger that a woman may present to others. I am looking forward to listening to the speakers at the launch. They include Mab Jones, Sujana Crawford, Laura Waddell, Glynis Ridley, and Rachel McCrum.

The perspectives in the book are drawn from a larger body of contributions to the Dangerous Women Project, which ran between International Women’s Day 2016 (I blogged a review of the launch event) and 2017. Continue reading

Four new projects for the Centre for Social Informatics

Social informatics research group blog headerCongratulations to Centre for Social Informatics colleagues Dr Peter Cruickshank, Dr David Haynes, Dr Bruce Ryan, and Dr Frances Ryan on securing internal Edinburgh Napier University funding for four new research projects. Continue reading

Goodbye 2021, hello 2022

fireworksEdinburgh Napier University opened its doors again this morning after the Christmas break. This, however, is metaphorical reopening for me. As record numbers of Covid19 cases are reported in Scotland (and the UK as a whole), I will be continuing my research and PhD supervision activities off-campus from home. Continue reading

Applications open for 8 fully-funded PhD studentship places within the School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University

PhD supervisors Dr Frances Ryan, Dr David Haynes, Debbie Meharg, Dr David Brazier

PhD supervisors of the Centre for Social Informatics invite applications from new students

The School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University is currently advertising eight fully-funded PhD studentships across a wide range of subjects, from sound technologies to cybersecurity. Amongst these are four proposed by Centre for Social Informatics colleagues: Continue reading

A presentation by Dr Morgan Harvey on egovernment services and the digital divide

Given that my last in-person research seminar was early last year on 19th February 2020 (when I was the speaker at an event at the University of Glasgow), I was very excited to venture onto campus ten days ago on 17th November 2021 to welcome a visitor to the Centre for Social Informatics. At the invitation of Dr David Brazier, Dr Morgan Harvey, Lecturer in Data Science and Information Retrieval in the Information School at the University of Sheffield, kindly travelled to Edinburgh to present the findings from some research that he conducted when employed at Northumbria University. He also took advantage of the trip north to work with David on revisions to a paper that they have recently co-authored. Continue reading

A warm welcome to ‘new’ staff and student colleagues to the Centre for Social Informatics

new csi colleagues November 2021

New Centre for Social Informatics colleagues, autumn 2021

Today the Centre for Social Informatics welcomes its newest member of staff: Dr Frances Ryan has taken up a lecturing post with us. This is a return to our group at Edinburgh Napier University for Frances: she graduated from Napier with a PhD in July 2019. In the intervening time, Frances has been engaged in postdoctoral research, first here at Napier and then at the Universities of Dundee and Aberdeen. Continue reading