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

Spreading the word of Lorna Lloyd’s ‘Diary of the war’ podcast series at #ARA2022 and #BBCat100

Members of the Platform to platform (P2P) and Heritage organisations and podcasts: scoping study (HOPSS) project teams from the Centre for Social Informatics have enjoyed presenting their work at two conferences this month. First, at the start of September I attended part of the Archives and Records Association’s annual conference 2022 in Chester. Then, with my colleagues Dr Bruce Ryan and Marianne Wilson, I spent most of last week in Bradford at the BBC at 100 Symposium. Continue reading

Case study on the creative use of digitised archives: presentation on Lorna Lloyd’s ‘Diary of the War’ podcast series at #BBCat100

Bradford City Hall

Bradford City Hall

The BBC at 100 symposium is taking place in Bradford, and online, this week.

This afternoon (Wednesday 14th September) I’m presenting on a panel about the creative use of digital archives. This will be with reference to the production of the podcast series of Lorna Lloyd’s Diary of the war.

Supported by AHRC funding through the Creative Informatics programme, the Platform to Platform project team at Edinburgh Napier University worked on the podcast series between February and July 2022. We combined a personal chronicle of the early months of World War II with contemporaneous news material, some of which was sourced from the BBC Archive. Continue reading

The creative use of digitised archives: roundtable to be presented at the BBC at 100 Symposium

The BBC at 100 symposium, organised by Dr Marcus Collins, Reader in Contemporary History and AHRC BBC 100 Fellow at Loughborough University, takes place at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, and online, between 13th and 15th September 2022. A team from the Centre for Social Informatics (CSI), with a colleague from the BBC Archive, is delighted to be presenting at this event. 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

Lorna Lloyd’s ‘Diary of the war’ podcast series launch event: review and resources

Bethany Ray plays Lorna Lloyd

Actor Bethany Ray, pictured here with the original  Diary of the war, plays her great-great aunt Lorna Lloyd in the podcast series

After several weeks of preparation, on Tuesday 24th May 2022 we launched the Diary of the war podcast series at Great Malvern Priory. This blog post provides a review of the launch. It also provides links to materials related to this event, and to the wider Platform to platform (P2P) project. (Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full list of resources.)

The content of the podcast series episodes centres on 25 year old Malvern resident Lorna Lloyd‘s chronicle of the first 16 months of World War II, complemented with contemporaneous news coverage related to the events and issues that she discusses in her writing. A further four ‘bonus’ episodes that comprise a selection of Lloyd’s poetry are included in the series. 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

Masters graduation day for Social Informatics PhD students John Marshall and Marianne Wilson

John Marshall and Marianne WilsonCongratulations to Centre for Social Informatics PhD students John Marshall and Marianne Wilson, who will be awarded their MSc(R) degrees by the University of Edinburgh today. John and Marianne undertook this degree as the first funded year of their 1+3 ESRC/Skills Development Scotland doctoral programmes, awarded by the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science.

Study for the MSc(R) degree at the University of Edinburgh  comprises core training in social science research methods with modules on research design, data collection, and data analysis, and elective specialist modules specific to individuals’ research interests and needs. Continue reading