Digital Economy USRG

Web Science

Web Science Research Week 24.02.2014 - 28.02.2014

The Web Science Institute and the Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Southampton are running a Web Science Research Week (24-28th February 2014) to influence research into how the web is changing the world and the world is changing the web.

The inaugural research week will undertake a programme of short term projects for which we are inviting nominations for topics.

The aims of the week are:

  • to answer questions and generate insight on relevant issues
  • to build relationships between Web Science partners and supporters from industry and academia
  • to meet students and trainee researchers and participate in their future research directions

Research Project 1: Obtaining Legal Highs from the Web

(Led by Professor Dame Wendy Hall and Lisa Sugiura, with support from partners from the National Crime Agency)

It is possible to buy prescription, lifestyle and recreational drugs online and have them delivered to your door, but this unlicensed and unpoliced trade that poses obvious health risks to consumers, has resulted in the death of young people who obtain legal highs from the Web. There has been very little research undertaken on the availability of these legal highs on the Web; this activity will use Web Observatory techniques to uncover evidence of the practice backed up by interviews with those affected.

WSI Research Week 2014 Outline Programme

Monday 24th February 11am: At University of Southampton. Launch of the Research Week with keynotes, lunch and poster session networking opportunity with our students and staff.
Tuesday 25th-Thursday 27th February. At University of Southampton A programme of Guest Seminars from Industry Partners and meetings to discuss future research directions.
Friday 28th February 11am: At Royal Society, London. Summary presentations from research week projects, closing keynotes and lunch.

Throughout the week, our students will be working on the research projects and delivering presentations at the Royal Society on the Friday. Guests are very welcome to participate and be part of a research group for an hour, half a day or whatever time you can contribute during the week. But even if you are not available during the week, please join the week’s highlight on Friday 28th February at the Royal Society, London.

How you can take part

If you would like to participate, please reply to Claire Wyatt (c.wyatt@soton.ac.uk) and indicate whether you would like to:

1) register a place for the launch on Monday 24th February 2014 at the University of Southampton

2) register a place for the closing event on Friday 28th February 2014 at the Royal Society, London

3) suggest a research project that a team of our students could undertake during the week

4) deliver an industry seminar to the Web Science Institute students and researchers on Tuesday 25th, Wednesday 26th or Thursday 27th February.

Further programme details will be available closer to the event when all the research activities have been allocated.

You can download a copy of the event poster here

Web Science Research Week

Avatar photoJanuary 11, 2014
by Lisa Harris

The Web Science Institute and the Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Southampton are running a Web Science Research Week (24-28th February 2014) to influence research into how the web is changing the world and the world is changing the web.

The inaugural research week will undertake a programme of short term projects for which we are inviting nominations for topics.

The aims of the week are:

  • to answer questions and generate insight on relevant issues
  • to build relationships between Web Science partners and supporters from industry and academia
  • to meet students and trainee researchers and participate in their future research directions

Research Project 1: Obtaining Legal Highs from the Web

(Led by Professor Dame Wendy Hall and Lisa Sugiura, with support from partners from the National Crime Agency)

It is possible to buy prescription, lifestyle and recreational drugs online and have them delivered to your door, but this unlicensed and unpoliced trade that poses obvious health risks to consumers, has resulted in the death of young people who obtain legal highs from the Web. There has been very little research undertaken on the availability of these legal highs on the Web; this activity will use Web Observatory techniques to uncover evidence of the practice backed up by interviews with those affected.

WSI Research Week 2014 Outline Programme

Monday 24th February 11am: At University of Southampton. Launch of the Research Week with keynotes, lunch and poster session networking opportunity with our students and staff.
Tuesday 25th-Thursday 27th February. At University of Southampton A programme of Guest Seminars from Industry Partners and meetings to discuss future research directions.
Friday 28th February 11am: At Royal Society, London. Summary presentations from research week projects, closing keynotes and lunch.

Throughout the week, our students will be working on the research projects and delivering presentations at the Royal Society on the Friday. Guests are very welcome to participate and be part of a research group for an hour, half a day or whatever time you can contribute during the week. But even if you are not available during the week, please join the week’s highlight on Friday 28th February at the Royal Society, London.

How you can take part

If you would like to participate, please reply to Claire Wyatt (c.wyatt@soton.ac.uk) and indicate whether you would like to:

1) register a place for the launch on Monday 24th February 2014 at the University of Southampton

2) register a place for the closing event on Friday 28th February 2014 at the Royal Society, London

3) suggest a research project that a team of our students could undertake during the week

4) deliver an industry seminar to the Web Science Institute students and researchers on Tuesday 25th, Wednesday 26th or Thursday 27th February.

Further programme details will be available closer to the event when all the research activities have been allocated.

You can download a copy of the event poster here

Early lessons from the Web Science MOOC #FLwebsci 12.12.2013

12th December in 67/1001

12 – 2pm (talks begin promptly at 12.30pm)

A number of people involved in the Web Science MOOC (currently in week 4 of 6) will be reporting on what we have learned so far about running a course for over 13,000 participants. The event will be of interest to people currently running / planning to run MOOCs, and to people from the wider University community with a general interest in MOOCs and their possible implications for campus-based courses.

There will be several short informal presentations and opportunities to discuss emerging insights from the following data sources, that can feed into the development of future MOOCs:

• the Future Learn platform data which informs us about the activities of the MOOC population as a whole and the behaviour of key participants
• the Twitter and G+ community data (#FLwebsci)
• Participants’ reflections on their learning motivations and experiences so far in the Week 5 exercise
• the pre-course survey

More information here: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/moocs/

Staff and students welcome as always. Lunch provided.

Web Science researchers contributing at #DE2013MCUK

Avatar photoOctober 31, 2013
by Lisa Harris

We will be invading Media City in Manchester next week for the Digital Economy’s Open Digital Conference

You can check out the full programme and follow #DE2013MCUK on twitter but here is a brief summary of the Southampton contributions:

Professor Dame Wendy Hall will be delivering a keynote on Wednesday. She will discuss recent developments in “Openness” with specific focus upon the opportunities offered by the convergence of Open Data, Open Research and Open Learning. Wendy will draw upon contemporary examples from the Web Observatory, Open Data Institute and the Web Science MOOC to highlight the aspects of openness that are now working well, and also those which are proving more challenging.

Chris Phethean is demonstrating his work which is titled “Analysis Of Charities’ Communication Styles On Twitter” It comprises a novel piece of software for automatically analysing charitable organisations’ posts and classifying the results into specific communication styles.

Ian Brown is presenting a paper titled “Enabling the adoption of Web 3 in the digital economy”

Richard Gomer is running Workshop C titled “Towards Meaningful: Perspectives on Online Consent”

Craig Allison is presenting a paper titled – “Tracking Orientation within a Virtual Building – Bridging the Gap Between the Inside and Out to Reduce Disorientation”

Ramine Tinati is presenting a paper titled “Exploring the Use of #OpenData in UK Open Government Data Community”

Nada Albunni is presenting a poster titled “Focusing a cultural lens on the growth of trust networks: a Syrian perspective”

The Web Science Institute (WSI) launches its 2013/4 Programme

Avatar photoOctober 23, 2013
by Lisa Harris

The Web Science Institute (WSI) launches its 2013/4 Programme – 11th November 11:30am to 2pm – Nuffield Theatre “Green Room” Cafe.

Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, Professor Susan Halford, Professor Hugh Davis and Professor Les Carr invite you to the launch of the new Web Science Institute’s programme for the 2013/4 academic year, in conjunction with CITE.

Following a champagne reception, the WSI Directors will introduce the new Institute and explain its role in the University and for our industry and government partners.   Professor Hugh Davis from CITE will introduce the University’s first MOOC (Web Science: How the Web is Changing the World) which opens to participants on the 11th November. Professor Carr will introduce the Doctoral Training Centre’s latest cohorts of students and their research interests.

Following the presentations, there will be a chance to network while enjoying a buffet lunch.  Places are limited so please RSVP to Claire Wyatt (c.wyatt@soton.ac.uk ) by Friday 1st November 2013.

A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course and is free to study.

Tweet summary of great #web observatory event at #ODI

Avatar photoJune 22, 2013
by Lisa Harris

 

#WebSci13 is just 3 weeks away…

Avatar photoApril 10, 2013
by Lisa Harris

It is not too late to book your place in Paris :-)

The Web demands new ways of working across traditional academic disciplines. Web Science builds skills and expertise in the technical underpinnings of the Web, the social processes that have shaped its evolution, and the impact of the Web on society. The presentations at #WebSci13 will address these contemporary issues across a wide range of applications from healthcare to cybersecurity.

While the deadlines for presenting have now passed, registrations from businesses, academics, policy makers and students who would like to attend the event are most welcome.

Some of the highlights you can expect at the Conference are:

Day 1 – Thursday 2nd May

Keynotes from Vint Cerf,  co-inventor of TCP/IP and “Father of the Internet”, and Cory Doctorow, novelist, technology activist and co-editor of the popular weblog Boing Boing. There will also be paper presentations on a wide range of cutting edge Web Science projects,  a lively Pecha Kucha session of short sharp talks and an evening Reception.

Day 2 – Friday 3rd May

A full day of poster sessions, papers and panels – followed by an evening banquet on the Seine.

Day 3 – Saturday 4th May

Debate how the web is revolutionising society, and the event concludes with a final selection of papers.

A draft programme is now available


Invitation for DE members to attend Industry Week

Avatar photoNovember 16, 2012
by Lisa Harris

The Web Science Doctoral Training Centre has put together a programme of activities in collaboration with the business community that will provide students with some incredible opportunities for their current research training and future career:

(1)    Industry Week 3-7 December 2012

A programme of lunchtime industry seminars in the week December 3rd-7th. Over the five days, fifteen companies from various sectors will be talking about the challenges that they see the web providing, giving students the opportunity to seek out industry-relevant research questions.

Digital Economy members may be particularly interested in attending the lunch on Wednesday 5th in Building 58/1007 from 12 until 2pm in which Julius Duncan, the Marketing Director of Headstream and Chair of the Creative Digifest Panel, will be amongst the businesses discussing the challenges posed by recent web developments. Professor Vladimiro Sassone, Director of the Centre of Excellence in CyberSecurity Research  will introduce the Centre and discuss its relevance to the business community. He will also introduce the cybersecurity research student projects underway at Southampton.

From 4pm on this same day (5th December) the Digital Economy USRG  will be running an informal  ‘Social Media Tips and Tricks’ session open to staff, students and industry guests featuring a number of lightning talks about new tools and time saving practices.

(2)    Industry Forum 7-8 February 2013

This year the plan is to build on the research questions uncovered at the Industry Week, in a two-day workshop that allows  brainstorming of solutions and on-going research proposals in small groups.

(3)    Directors’ Dinner 18 April 2013

Business Solent will be inviting 40 of their regional business network’s company directors to meet the DTC students over dinner and to hear brief presentations about the outcomes from the Industry Week and Forum. This will then lead into a future round of invitations for industry seminars and research workshops, supported by Business Solent.

The aim of these events is to give students experience of turning their increasing research maturity into business leadership. This applies at whatever stage they are at in the programme, as they will be working together as a cohort, and supporting each other in teams.

If you would like to attend any of these events, please fill out THIS DOODLE POLL to confirm your attendance.

Live webcasts from the Internet Governance Forum

Avatar photoNovember 1, 2012
by Lisa Harris

Join live webcasts and discussions from the Internet Governance Forum in Baku.

Thanks to everyone who voted for Internet Governance Forum sessions we should take part in as part of the Southampton Remote Hub. We’ll be following sessions on: cybercrime and rule of law; information and ethics; power, politics and internet filtering; social media and young people’s freedom of expression; open knowledge in developing countries; and a session giving an overview of global Internet infrastructures. You can drop in for any of these sessions.

We will also have a 30 minute introduction to the Internet Governance Forum on Monday 5th November at 10am, where Tim who has been at the last three IGF meetings will give a bit of background to what it is, what to expect, and how we’ll be taking part via Remote Participation.

More details on sessions in the attached, and in the online schedule:

Internet Governance Forum – Southampton Remote Hub
5th – 8th November 2012 – Access Grid Room – Building 32
Join us at a Remote Hub, joining selected sessions from the Internet Governance Forum, taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan – and join the online conversation around key Internet issues.

The 7th Internet Governance Forum will bring together over a thousand participants from governments, industry and civil society to debate key Internet issues – from technical infrastructure to social impacts.

We’re hosting a Remote Hub in Southampton, following the WebCast and connecting with other groups both in Baku, and following from around the world.

Drop-in for any session. Find out more at the short Introduction to Internet Governance and the IGF at 10am on Monday 5th

**Monday, November 5 (Access Grid Room, Level 3, Building 32)**

> 10:00am – 10.30am – An introduction to the Internet Governance Forum – find out about the IGF, remote participation, and sessions coming up
> 10:30am – 14.00pm – Council of Europe: Cybercrime and the Rule of Law

**Tuesday, November 6 (Access Grid Room, Level 3, Building 32)**

> 10:30am – 12.00pm – The influence of politics over Internet users’ access and diversity
> 12:30pm – 14.00pm – Information Ethics and Internet Governance – Identity, design and preservation

**Wednesday, November 7 (Access Grid Room, Level 3, Building 32)**

10:30am – 12.00pm – Measures and practices for promoting open knowledge environment (OKE) in developing countries
12:30pm – 14.00pm – Social media, young people and freedom of expression

**Thursday, November 8 (Coffee Room, Level 4, Building 32)**

10:30am – 12.00pm – Open Government Partnership and IGF: reciprocal learning
12:30pm – 14.00pm – Understanding Internet infrastructure: an overview of technology and terminology

Detailed schedule at: http://bit.ly/soigf