Information School News

MEM0R1ES: Memory-based Information Systems Dr.  Michele Catasta EPFL, Switzerland Thursday 7th July | 12 noon (coffee from 11.30am) | Room 204, Information School, Regent Court Abstract In this talk I will discuss the feasibility of memory-based  information systems, namely, systems that take into account the  idiosyncrasies of human memories. Departing from classical integrated infrastructures providing static views over heterogeneous sources, we  propose to mimic the way our brain stores and accesses information in  order to provide a more natural extension of our cognitive functions  when it comes to tap into the chaotic piles of digital information  that we generate daily. First, I will present our effort in redefining 3 fundamental  information systems, taking into account the way in which human  memories work. Namely, we rethought a search architecture over  personal data, we devised a new crowdsourcing paradigm (leveraging the  Transactive Memory paradigm), and

The Information School has been involved in the CoLIS 9 confererence, 27-29 June 2016.   PhD student Jess Elmore presented a poster on her doctoral research "English as a Second Language learners' information practices: Communicating research to participants." Jess Elmore at CoLIS 9 conference Dr Andrew Cox was involved in organising a panel on "What every body knows: the body in information behaviour and information practice", and participated in another entitled "Is there a need for re-claiming search in information literacy practices research?" Conceptions of Library and Information Science (CoLIS) is a series of international conferences aiming to provide a broad forum for the exploration and exchange of ideas in the field of Library and Information Science, Information Studies, and related disciplines. More information on the CoLIS 9 conference can be found on their website here.  

A blog post written in collaboration with Information School PhD student Wasim Ahmed , and, the Head of Digital at the University of Sheffield, Stephen Thompson has been published on the LSE Impact blog .  Featured image credit: irfanahmad1989 ( pixabay public domain ) The blog looks at why organisations are adapting their processes to incorporate social media for crisis communications, and provides a practical overview of the social media tools that can be used to monitor and track crisis communication issues that may arise.

Dr Andrew Cox visited the Information School's former PhD student Xuguang Li, who is now an associate professor at the School of Information Management, Central China Normal University, in Wuhan, Hubei province in China. Andrew participated in the summer school, teaching the students about Research Data Management.

Paul Clough and Paula Goodale were co-organisers of, and contributors to, a half day workshop on Accessing Cultural Heritage at Scale on June 22. This was part of the Joint Conference on Digital Libraries 2016: Big Libraries, Big Data, Big Innovation , held at Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA. Professor Clough also presented a paper coauthored with Daniel Grech: Investigating Cluster Stability when Analyzing Transaction Logs.

In the first collaboration between Zagreb University of Applied Sciences,   the University of Split , the  Information School, University of Sheffield , and one of the largest food companies in the world, ranked within the top 100 on the Fortune Global 500,  Wasim Ahmed successfully delivered a workshop on Twitter analytics at the Contemporary Issues in Economy and Technology (CIET) conference, 2016. The workshop was organised by senior Sergej Lugovic , whom is a senior lecturer in Technology Entrepreneurship & Digital Economy & E-Business.

On 2nd June Pamela McKinney presented a paper, coauthored with Sheila Webber , at the 8th Creating Knowledge conference , which took place  in Reykjavík, Iceland. It is embedded below. Teaching the next generation of Information Literacy educators: pedagogy and learning from Sheila Webber

Information School PhD student Wasim Ahmed is an invited speaker to the Contemporary Issues in Economy and Technology (CIET) ,  conference, 16- 18 June 2016. The conference focuses on promoting sustainable development through all means of learning, including practical works and research in the areas of economy, engineering, technology and education. Wasim is a member of the Social Media Research Foundation , a public charity incorporated in California, and his workshop will include practical demonstrations of NodeXL.  Wasim’s workshop will also cover working with different stakeholders and his Research Associate  role as a social media specialist.  

On 3 June 2016 Dr Paul Reilly will present his paper ' YouTube, sousveillance and the policing of the 2013 union flag protests in Northern Ireland' at the Social Media and Politics 2016 Symposium, Ulster University, Belfast. Abstract: On December 3 2012, Belfast City Council voted to fly the union flag above City Hall on a number of designated days each year. In nearby East Belfast, the moderate pro-union Alliance Party was the subject of a controversial leafleting campaign, which suggested that they were responsible for this change to the previous policy of flying the flag 365 days a year and urged Loyalists to protest against the decision. The perception that the Alliance Party had sided with Sinn Fein during the controversial council vote led to Loyalist protests outside the offices of their councilors, and a series of death threats were issued to Alliance representatives such as MP for East Belfast, Naomi Long. The Ulster People’s Forum, led by North Down activi

The Information School's MSc Information Managment course has been promoted in the Indian press, appearing in The Tribune on 1 June 2016.

Dr Jonathan Foster and Teresa Smith of the Information School will be visiting India between 5 and 11 June 2016. They will visit four cities across India and will be meeting prospective students to discuss the School's range of courses and to allow them to find out why the Information School is the perfect choice for their postgraduate study. Delhi - 5 to 6 June. On 6 June there will be an opportunity for prospective students to meet Jonathan and Teresa at Edwise International between 11:00am and 1:00pm and at IPC between 2:00pm and 3:30pm. Hyderabad - 7 June Jonathan and Teresa are available to meet prospective students at Edwise International between 11:00am and 1:00pm . Mumbai - 8 to 9  June Prospective students will be able to meet Jonathan and Teresa between 11:00am and 1:00pm at Trivedi Educational Consultants  and from 2:00pm to 4:00pm at Edwise International. Chennai - 10 - 11 June There will be an opportunity for prospective students to discuss the Infor

Last week at the International Qualitative and Quantitative methods in Libraries Conference held in London, Sheila Webber gave an invited plenary talk: Trends and Challenges to Future Libraries: Exploring Research Approaches , which is embedded below. In it she presented the challenging future of (academic) libraries, described examples of phenomenographic, ethnograpic, autoethnographic, case study and action research, and finally explained how qualitative research can develop librarians and libraries and enable them to meet future challenges. Trends and Challenges to Future Libraries: Exploring Research Approaches from Sheila Webber