Information School News

 Postdoctoral researcher Dr Itzelle Medina-Perea has had a piece published in The Conversation. The article is entitled 'Do contact-tracing apps have a future?' and analyses the effectiveness of contact tracing apps used at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their future. The article can can be read here .

Starting a business is inherently challenging and risky. Entering a world of experienced competitors where you have no standing or reputation means that it’s always going to be an uphill battle to gain recognition and start to be financially viable. What often makes this even harder is that the systems and processes that support businesses are largely modelled around companies that have a track record, not those just starting out. “When a startup is in its early stages - the first five years or so - it’s very difficult to have financial indicators that are above zero to show their funders that they are productive and are experiencing growth”, says Dr Efpraxia Zamani, Senior Lecturer at the Information School and one of four co-investigators engaged in research to address this problem. Dr Efpraxia Zamani With Anastasia Griva (from the National University of Ireland Galway, funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme), Dr Dimosthenis Kotsopoulos and Dr Angeliki Kara

  “We rely so much on Google these days”, says Dr Frank Hopfgartner, Senior Lecturer at the Information School and Investigator on the ‘Do You See What I See’ project. “Google has a search engine market share of over 90% worldwide.” Undertaken by Dr Hopfgartner with several fellow members of the Cyprus Center for Algorithmic Transparency (CyCAT) - which was profiled in the research magazine Inform II in 2019 (page 29) - this project aimed to discover the differences in the search results that Google provides to users in different parts of the world. Google states that their mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. This project asked: is that true? Does everyone everywhere have equal access to the same information? And if not, what impact might that have? Dr Frank Hopfgartner “CyCAT for me was very interesting because algorithmic transparency and bias is a very timely topic and one which is receiving a lot of attention”, says Dr H

 Looking for your next eco-adventure now Veganuary is over? There are plenty of opportunities to reduce your carbon footprint and promote sustainability across campus. What’s happening in the Information School? The Information School currently holds the Platinum Award for Green impact, meaning they have taken part in projects and actions to decrease their negative environmental impact. An example of one project which many students have been involved in is the Education for Sustainable Development initiative, which looks to assess student’s feelings around sustainability, and improve delivery of Education for Sustainable Development within the Information School. On top of this, the Information School holds the Bronze Athena Swan award, meaning it’s committed to gender equality and advancing the careers of women.   What’s happening on campus? There are plenty of ways to get involved. Reusable cups Take your reusable cup along to any on-campus café and receive a 20p disco