Uncategorized, Page 8

The 25th May was the birthday of GDPR - the European general data protection regulation came into force. Most of us will have noticed this based on the incredible amount of emails we received from websites we didn’t even remember ever giving our data to. With GDPR, we now have more rights with regards to organisations that hold data about us. Among others, this includes the rights to access our data, restrict how it is used, or have it deleted. Continue reading →

Today’s WSI Distinguished lecture with Professor Richard Rogers focuses on the pervasive view of social media being a tool from which to gleam ‘vanity metrics’, and how these metrics may be reworked for social research purposes. Continue reading →

On the 5th February, I attended a thought-provoking talk entitled ‘Building a free and unrestricted digital museum and library’ by Tom Scott, the Head of Digital Engagement at the Wellcome Trust. Tom began his talk with an introduction to the Wellcome Trust, describing how Henry Wellcome started a collection of objects, art and books in the late nineteenth century. The theme of the whole collection is health and the human condition. Continue reading →

One October afternoon I received an email to ‘Save the date’ for a Terrarium-building workshop. The email stated that members of the CDT would have the opportunity to meet and mingle with each other, but also to create an individual mini-ecosystem. The penny dropped and I remembered that a Terrarium is a small-enclosed container in which plants are grown. Continue reading →

On Friday, I was invited to take part in a discussion-based lunch with Rory Mullarkey. Rory is a playwright whose current show, George and the Dragon, is on at the National Theatre. The lunch was arranged because Rory has been commissioned to create a play about the Internet (of which the Web is obviously a very important part!) by the Nuffield Theatre. Rory has a completely open brief and was invited to the Web Science Institute for inspiration. Continue reading →

The moment the notification email went around advising that Dr Ben Williamson was going to give a talk, I booked my place. As a ‘resting’ secondary school teacher taking a sabbatical to do a PhD, anything edu-related is always of interest. When it’s also embedded in Web Science, that’s a double bonus. Dr Williamson has written extensively about ‘the digital age’ and education. Continue reading →

Fresh from the weekend, and with memories of my lunch on Friday still in my mind, Monday led to another Web Science Institute Talk, this time with Tom Rowledge alongside. We were attending the Web Science Centre for Doctoral Training talk on "How to Protect Private Data", given by Jason McFall, who is the Chief Technical Officer at Privitar. Jason is responsible for Privitar’s research agenda, technology strategy and product development. Continue reading →

Wuxi After a 12 hour flight from London to Shanghai, and a terrifying two hour taxi ride, we finally arrived in Wuxi.  We were visiting Wuxi to attend the NEXT++ Workshop, a gathering of academics and students from around the globe to discuss "Artificial Intelligent Solutions to Information Rich Open Problems". The title of the workshop didn't give much away, and we awaited to find out what the objectives of us being there were. Continue reading →

This event took place on a sweltering day in London, in the offices of TaylorWessing. Thankfully, the space was air conditioned – essential on a day where outside temperatures rose to well above 30°C. Any discussion that involves the ethics of gathering, analysing and sharing data is always fascinating, given that there are so many situations and nuances that even Web Science students like myself haven’t previously considered, and this symposium didn’t disappoint. Continue reading →