Information School News

The University of Sheffield PRIEST study team have been awarded funding to develop clinical risk-stratification tools to help prevent hospitals in low and middle income countries from becoming overwhelmed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Led by Carl Marincowitz from ScHARR, the team also includes our own Professor Peter Bath and Dr Laura Sbaffi. The project is being conducted with a team from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and aims to develop a risk assessment tool to help emergency clinicians quickly decide whether a patient with suspected COVID-19 needs emergency care or can be safely treated at home to avoid overburdening hospitals particularly in low- and middle- income countries. The project is funded by the International COVID-19 Data Alliance (ICODA). Find out more at this University of Sheffield news story  and this ICODA announcement .

Media: iSchool Video Blog with Professor Peter Bath Professor Peter Bath Interview with Peter Bath, iSchools European Regional Chair, University of Sheffield - #4 from iSchools Inc on Vimeo . iSchools European Regional Chair and Executive Committee Member, Prof. Peter Bath, discusses the effects on working practices for academics during the COVID-19 pandemic and explains how it impacts his research and supervision of his PhD students.

University of Sheffield part of new £3.4 million health data initiative to address major health challenges News Academics from the University of Sheffield will help to lead a new initiative which will benefit patients across the north of England The Better Care North Partnership aims to improve care and services for patients, in particular, some of the most vulnerable patient groups The partnership is a collaboration between 15 universities and hospital trusts across the north of England Academics from the University of Sheffield will help lead a new innovative health data analytics initiative in the North of England that will benefit patients across the UK and address some of the most challenging health issues facing patients and the NHS. Health Data Research (HDR) UK has announced today (29 April 2020) £3.4 million of funding for the Better Care North Partnership (HDR UK North), which includes a £1.2 million investment from HDR UK and £2.2 million from the partner ...

Loneliness and Covid-19: Social Distancing Versus Social Isolation Professor of Health Informatics, Peter Bath, was asked to write a piece for Inside Government, on loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article draws on research Professor Bath has undertaken for the Space for Sharing project  on online sharing for people in extreme circumstances, a portion of which was on loneliness amongst older people. You can read the full blog post here:  https://blog.insidegovernment.co.uk/loneliness-covid-19-pandemic-social-distancing-versus-social-isolation

The 18th International Symposium for Health Information Management Research (ISHIMR) is being held this year in Kalmar at Linnaeus University. Scientists from all over the world gather to discuss e-health. The overall conference theme for ISHIMR 2020 is "Using digital information for better patient health, care and well-being". The deadline for the submission of poster and paper abstracts has now passed but you can register to attend by clicking here . The deadline for registration is 31st August. The conference is free to attend. We welcome submissions relating to research and development on the conference theme in its broadest sense. The topics of interest for the conference include, but are not restricted to: • Strategies for the Management of Health Data and Information • Health Knowledge Management Strategies • Health Informatics Systems • Clinical Decision Support Systems • Tracking Activities and Health • Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery in Healt...

Head of School Professor Peter Bath and Research Associate Dr Sarah Hargreaves recently wrote an article for The House , Parliament's weekly publication which is distributed to every MP and Peer in Westminster. The House is apolitical and answerable to a cross-Party editorial board. It carries exclusive high profile interviews, unique articles from Parliamentarians and policy information. Professor Bath and Dr Hargreaves wrote an article about their Space for Sharing project , including their new information sheets and the play that has been developed. The publication was distributed today, 11th March. You can read this week's issue here , and the Space for Sharing article here .

The 9th International Conference on Social Media and Society was held earlier this month in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr Wasim Ahmed, recent Information School PhD graduate (now assistant Professor at Northumbria University) presented his PhD work at the conference and his trip was funded by the Information School. The paper Moral Panic through the Lens of Twitter: An Analysis of Infectious Disease Outbreaks was co-authored by Head of School and Professor of Health Informatics Peter Bath, and Dr Laura Sbaffi. You can access the paper here .

PhD student Wasim Ahmed, Professor Peter Bath, and Dr Gianluca Demartini have recently had a peer-reviewed book chapter published which looked at the ethical, legal, and methodological challenges of researching Twitter. The chapter is now open access, and the abstract and the link to download the chapter are provided below. Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the specific legal, ethical, and privacy issues that can arise when conducting research using Twitter data. Existing literature is reviewed to inform those who may be undertaking social media research. We also present a number of industry and academic case studies in order to highlight the challenges that may arise in research projects using social media data. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of the process that was followed to gain ethics approval for a Ph.D. project using Twitter as a primary source of data. By outlining a number of Twitter-specific research case studies, the chapter will be a valuable res...

Doctoral student Wasim Ahmed recently visited Harvard University to meet Information School Alumnus Ann Hall who is the Director of Communication at The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.  Ann studied at the Information School from 1990 to 1991 graduating with an MSc in Information Studies, where she was a student with our current Head of School, Professor Peter Bath. Wasim noted that it was a great opportunity to look around the iconic Harvard Campus with a dinner at the famous Grendel’s Den at Harvard Square, and was very grateful for the visit.

Doctoral student Wasim Ahmed and Professor Peter Bath , pictured below, from the Health Informatics Research Group, recently delivered a talk at a CERN workshop in Geneva . The talk was based on the industry and academic perspectives on social media research ethics, and the also talk highlighted the approach that has been undertaken by the University of Sheffield.  Wasim Ahmed , pictured below, also presented a poster on his PhD research during the CERN workshop. Wasim’s poster was based on his PhD research which is examining how people talk about infectious disease outbreaks such as Swine Flu and Ebola on Twitter. Wasim also touched on the benefits of engaging with research blogs such as the LSE Impact blog .

The Research Ethics Group of the Academy of Social Sciences and the New Social Media New Social Science (NSMNSS) network are hosting a one day conference that aims to further develop and explore the ethics of social science research using social media. The purpose of the conference is to move the debate forward and provide examples of good practice. PhD student Wasim Ahmed will present a paper at the con fe rence, co-authored with Dr Gianluca Demartini and Prof Peter Bath in the Ethical Practicalities Parallel Session A on Using Twitter as a data source: An overview of ethical challenges. Conference Registration on eventbrite can be found here . Twitter hashtag for the conference is: #SoMeEthics . The full programme can be found here or here [pdf] and the abstract booklet is here [pdf] . The Twitter hashtag for the conference is: #SoMeEthics

Professor Peter Bath and Melanie Lovatt from the Information School with Dr Julie Ellis have co-created A Shared Space and a Space for Sharing: Online Health Forums & Digital Exclusion blog in partnership with the Tinder Foundation. The blog was created following a round-table event held on 10 November 2015 between Peter , Melanie and Julie and the Tinder Foundation to discuss research findings from their collaborative A Shared Space and a Space for Sharing project. The ongoing study investigates how and why people choose to use online forums to find and share information that helps them deal with difficult circumstances, including long-term health conditions. The event was designed to find out how Tinder Foundation and its local and national partners could promote the use of online health forums among digitally excluded people. The blog can also be accessed from the Tinder Foundation website.

On 3 December 2015 Dr Stephen Pinfield will speak at the Baeredygtig Open Access Conference, Copenghagen. Stephen will present research carried out with Professor Peter Bath and Jennifer Salter on their work on open access for both a UUK report and other research

Please join us for  ESRC Festival of Social Sciences  event 'Building Trust & Sharing Health Information Online'  organised by  Professor Peter Bath . This free event will discuss how people with life-threatening illnesses share information online and how people trust others. Trust is very important among people with serious illnesses who share personal details online, how do people know who to trust and who not? Further information on the project can be found here Date: Thursday 12 November 2015 Time: 6:30-8:30pm (with refreshments served afterwards) Venue: Crucible Theatre, 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield Registration: This free event is open to all, book your place here    

An article based on a conference paper written by PhD student  Wasim Ahmed  and  Professor Peter Bath , has been published on the Data Driven Journalism resource. The original  conference  paper compared  the  amount  of tweets that are  retrieved  via the Search API and the Firehose API over a 3 day period related to the Ebola  outbreak.  The article can be found  here .

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences , Professor Peter Bath has organised the 'Building Trust & Sharing Health Information Online' event. The event will discuss how people with life-threatening illnesses share information online and how people trust others. Trust is very important among people with serious illnesses who share personal details online, how do people know who to trust and who not? Further information on the project can be found here . Date: Thursday 12 November 2015 Time : 6:30-8:30pm (with refreshments served afterwards) Venue: Crucible Theatre, 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield Registration: This free event is open to all, book your place here .

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences ,  Professor Peter Bath  has organised the 'Building Trust & Sharing Health Information Online' event. The event will discuss how people with life-threatening illnesses share information online and how people trust others. Trust is very important among people with serious illnesses who share personal details online, how do people know who to trust and who not? Further information on the project can be found here . Date: Thursday 12 November 2015 Time : 6:30-8:30pm (with refreshments served afterwards) Venue: Crucible Theatre, 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield Registration: This free event is open to all, book your place here .

Wasim Ahmed, a first year PhD student at the Information School and member of the Health Informatics Research Group, has recently been featured in a White Rose Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) newsletter in the White Rose DTC PhD Researchers In The News section. The newsletter highlights Wasim’s recent impact activities such as his LSE impact blog post , his very successful research blog and his management of both the @iFutures2015 and the @DataPowerConf Twitter accounts, including the moderation of a Twitter chat which was a first for a University conference. The feature highlights Wasim’s membership of the ‘New Social Media New Social Science’   network, and his management of the @NSMNSS Twitter account which has over 3,600 strong followers comprised of researchers across disciplines from around the world. The newsletter also acknowledges collaborations Wasim has set up with researchers across continents from Europe, the Americas, and Australia which have generated po...

Professor Peter Bath and Research Associate Dr Julie Ellis of the Information School have had an article published in The Conversation - a collaboration between editors and academics to provide informed news analysis and commentary. The article, entitled "Save your outrage: online cancer fakers may be suffering a different kind of illness", can be read in full  here .

The Information School has been well represented at this year's ISHIMR 2015 conference . This year's conference is taking place in York between 25 and 26 June, and focuses on the theme of "Health Informatics for Enhancing Health and Well-Being".  ISHIMR 2015 has been jointly organised by the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at York St. John University and the Information School, University of Sheffield. A number of staff and students have presented at the conference: PhD students Tom Poulter, Eliza Mazlan, Wasim Ahmed, Catherine Ebenezer, Jean Stevenson, Adelina Basholli and Tomi Dimitrovski MSc Health Informatics alumni Paul Warner Professor Peter Bath and Dr Julie Ellis, who are presenting a poster on the ESRC-funded 'A Shared Space and a Space for Sharing' project  More information is available on the ISHIMR 2015 website .