Amongst the doctoral studies undertaken within the Centre for Social Informatics are a number that are co-funded by the ESRC and Skills Development Scotland (SDS). To date, we have: Continue reading
Tag Archives: PhD
Using social media during job search: paper now available as PDF from Sage
The article ‘Using social media during job search: the case of 16-24 year olds in Scotland‘, which I co-authored with Dr John Mowbray (University of Glasgow), is now available as a PDF from the Journal of Information Science. Continue reading
A new role for Iris Buunk at LIBER

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
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
How useful are social media for job hunting? Publication in press with the Journal of Information Science
‘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 month in coronavirus captivity
I rarely write personally on this blog. That said, I have used this medium to relay some very personal news in the past, and it currently feels like the right place to reflect on these first few weeks of coronavirus lockdown. I also thought that it would be interesting to share some of the photographs that I have been taking in the limited amount of time that I have been out of my house during this period, one of which has been selected by the BBC as one of its series Your pictures of Scotland for 24th April to 1st May 2020. Continue reading
A new role at the UN for Dr Alicja Pawluczuk
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
Networking as an information behaviour during job search: paper now published in Journal of Documentation
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

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
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