Information School News

The Wave The Wave is the new flagship building for the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Sheffield and opened in March 2023. From April 2023 it is the home of the Departments of Journalism Studies, Sociological Studies, School of Education, Sheffield Methods Institute, Social Research Centres, the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership, the Faculty of Social Sciences teams, as well as the Information School. The Wave will provide a rich teaching environment for our students, who will benefit from innovative education and learning spaces which have been designed to allow both traditional pedagogical teaching as well as supporting innovative, collaborative learning. The learning and teaching facilities include a range of flexible lecture theatres, computer labs and seminar rooms with state-of-the-art facilities. Our Useability and Digital Media labs (The iLab) will also be relocated to The Wave, and updated with the latest technologies.  By co-locating a number of cog...

PhD student Ian Widdows shares his experiences of his internship with UKRI, engaging with the government on policy-making. Like all researchers, I want my research to make a difference.  When I first considered the possibility of writing a research proposal for a PhD, I was powerfully motivated by a desire to make things better.  My research is into secondary school performance measures in England - their effectiveness, effects and an exploration of alternative approaches. In part this comes from having spent 28 years working in secondary schools. During that time I formed some strong opinions about the way that schools are judged. I feel that things really need to change and I want my research to contribute to the debate.  Over the years, I have made many contacts already working in this field, including academics, data scientists, school and school trust leaders, consultants and senior representatives of teaching unions. I have been part of numerous working parties look...

Research from the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield has investigated the reasons for post-harvest loss of crops produced in the Morogoro region of Tanzania. The study, which was led by Dr Pamela Abott from the University’s Information School, focussed on three perishable or semi-perishable crops – onion, tomato and sweet potato.  Farmers were surveyed on multiple stages of the food production process, including harvesting, primarily by hand; transportation, mainly through head-carrying and by motorcycle; storage, processing, and handling of crops. The report, which was produced in collaboration with a team from the University of Dodoma  led by Dr Kalista Higini, assessed post-harvest loss at various stages of the food production cycle. Highlighting the different causes, the available technology and information and knowledge sources applied, and proposed recommendations to reduce crop losses. The reported reasons for loss differed depending on the cr...