Information School News

 Despite their many benefits, many of us intrinsically know that social media platforms are not entirely a force for good for human beings and our interactions. Use of social media is often linked with poor mental health, particularly in young people, and the kind of comparison it encourages between peoples’ lives can easily make one feel inferior, and exacerbate existing divides in society. And yet the advantages to these services are such that we continue to engage, perhaps trying to limit our own usage or engage with social media in ways that we deem to be the least damaging. “These platforms have been designed to extract value from our interactions”, says Dr Niall Docherty, Lecturer in Data, AI and Society at the University of Sheffield Information School. “They’re capitalist platforms with an economic incentive at their heart, yet somehow the users have to navigate the pressures and extremes put upon them just by using their own wits.” Dr Docherty’s forthcoming book, ‘ Healthy...

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 .

Senior Lecturer Dr Paul Reilly's written submission to the Fake News Enquiry , entitled ‘Fake news, mis-and disinformation in Northern Ireland,’ has been published by the UK Government Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport Committee . In the submission, Dr Reilly draws on his 17 years of research into digital media and conflict transformation in Northern Ireland to discuss how social media has been used to share mis- and disinformation during contentious episodes, such as the union flag protests and the Ardoyne parade dispute. The submission can be viewed here .

Senior Lecturer Dr Paul Reilly's CascEff research report on the role of social and traditional media in crisis communication has been cited in the UK Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology POSTnote 564: Communicating Risk. Dr Reilly was also one of several UK academics to be an invited reviewer of this publication. It can be downloaded here .

Researchers from the Universities of Sheffield (Dr Paul Reilly from the Information School) and Leicester, in collaboration with Kansai University in Japan, have received a prestigious funding award from Kansai University in order to develop a Future Leader programme for disaster risk management. In attendance at the project launch(from Left): Dr Paul Reilly, Professor Peter Jackson, Dr Nibedita Ray-Bennett, Dr Hideyuki Shiroshita, Professor Kenji Koshiyama, Dr John Atibila, Dr Kaori Kitagawa and Mrs Denise Corsel. This collaborative research project will capture feedback from educators, governmental and non-governmental organisations, United Nations and students who have completed university courses relating to risk, crisis, disaster and development management to develop a bespoke programme for practitioners in Japan and the UK. You can read more about the project in this press release .