DIGITAL CIVICS - Key Persons
I am a postgraduate researcher, designer, and maker. Before joining Open Lab, I spent several years designing live games and escape rooms utilising custom-built electronics and software. Prior to that, I studied Physics at Durham University. I have designed and built a variety of technologies including automated radiation monitors, digital noticeboards,
I completed my MA in Anthropology at Warsaw University. The research I conducted was designed to complement my professional work and answer the question of the role of internet and new media technologies in the political strategies of non-profit organisations. The study was comprised of two years of fieldwork, IDI's and participant observation of communities around NGO's and mediated through new media technologies practices of participation in political activism.
My background is in the software industry but since starting my PhD in computing science in 2007 I have been very interested in the potential of technology to support learning. After finishing my PhD and spending a few years in the educational technology industry I switched to being a full-time researcher.
I believe that computers can do a much better job of making our lives easier.
I have an interest in media and film technologies and have a Bachelor's degree in Film Production Technology from Staffordshire University. I graduated in 2009 and my final project investigated contemporary camera technology.
Recently I completed a Masters in Computer Science here at Newcastle University, where I have gained an interest in software development.
My research focuses on enabling citizens to take a leading role in the commissioning and design of technologies and services that support new models of participation between communities and local government. I believe in designing technologies that can be deployed and studied within a real-world context and have previously developed a number of platforms using this approach:
App Movement: An online platform that enables citizens to commission,
I have a background in Psychology (University of Magdeburg, Germany) and specialised with a M.Sc. in Clinical and Health Psychology at Newcastle University. My research interest lies in the field of ageing and throughout my MRes in Digital Civics at Open Lab I have explored the possibilities that HCI offers older adults beyond the scope of assistive technologies only.
I am a Professor in Public Health Nutrition at Newcastle University, and lead a research team in Public Health Nutrition Research with the Human Nutrition Research Centre, and the Public Health Improvement theme in the Institute of Health and Society. Through my work I seek to understand the complex relationships between the food environment, food choice, nutrient intake, physical activity, individual and socio-demographic characteristics and health outcomes. My research spans across the life course from the youngest young to the oldest old but has a particular focus on children, families and young people and food policy.
I am also the director of Fuse, UKCRC Centre for Translational Research in Public Health. Fuse is a member of the NIHR School of Public Health Research (SPHR). I am also a member of the Department of Health Public Health Research Consortium (PHRC). I was awarded Fellowship of the Faculty of Public Health through distinction in 2011 and an NIHR Research Professorship in 2012.
Before start my Digital Civics Research life in OpenLab, I spent a couple of years in manufacturing industry as an IT manger to develop and deliver IT solutions. My experiences and skills cover web application design, ERP software developing, business intelligence coding, automate 3D design and also a bit of embedded coding on RasberryPI and Arduino to interact with various sensors and actuators.
I have developed a specific interest in understanding how we can utilise placemaking and place marketing practises to change perceptions and foster a renewed sense of pride in our towns and cities. Following the completion of a master's in Planning, I have worked at Transport for London as part of a team that developed the Future Streets Incubator programme.
My background is in Arts and Design. I am interested in the role of creativity in democracy and how HCI technology and design can support forms of social activism and innovation in the everyday politics of place-making through action-based activities. As part of my post-doc research I am currently exploring the role of technologies and design in supporting participation in the re-imagination of local parks' services delivery and practices.
Before joining Open Lab I studied Statistics at Lancaster University, with a focus on applying time series models to financial indices and the Land Registry house price index. Towards the end of my PhD studies, I also took up a short-term research job, working on computational statistics with applications to epidemic models.
One of my main tasks is to aid others in Open Lab in analysing and visualising their data from a statistical point of view. Another task is to develop statistical methodology that can be applied to data obtained from various projects. One project I am particularly interested in is App Movement, in which users share an idea or a campaign to their acquaintances in online social networks. The dynamics of such sharing can be analysed using the epidemic models I previously worked on, by combining them with methods developed from social network analysis.
Outside work I enjoy cycling and playing the piano/organ.
My research interests relate to music and education. I am currently exploring the benefits of connecting music classes with local musicians through remixing activities. This has led me to develop Remix Portal, a web browser application that facilitates music remixing. It was deployed and evaluated within a school,
I'm a postgraduate researcher and software engineer with a passion for co-developing mobile technologies within communities and schools. Using participatory design, I engage with stakeholders to produce and deploy mobile applications and full-stack web technologies which aim to empower them as citizens.
I am Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and Director of Open Lab. My work focuses on the design of interactive computational technologies. I'm particularly interested in design research methods and the ways in which technology design can be centred on the rich understanding of user experiences, cultures and contexts. I have particular research interests in designing for smart environments, human-data futures and digital living.
I am interested in issues around the role of technology in International Development. Over the last year, I have been involved in Digital Civics research looking at the intersection of local communities and digital technologies.
I have an undergraduate degree in Food and Human Nutrition, MSc in Public Health and Health Services Research and MRes in Digital Civics.
My research interests are around the impact of digitally collected data on public health and public health service provision. I'm currently working on two case studies to support this research.
I have a background in Political Science and Area Studies, with an MA in Economy, State and Society from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London and the University of Helsinki.
I worked on a crowdsourcing platform for a Finnish town with the aim of fostering a more open dialogue between citizens and the public sector.
I am co-leader of the Digital Local Democracy theme within the Digital Economy Research Centre at Open Lab and Professor of Urban Planning in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. My research focuses on the design of institutions for more participatory and collaborative forms of urban governance. Historically my research here has focused on the practices of local government, but increasingly it engages directly with communities, notably through the process of neighbourhood planning. In this I am interested in evaluating how digital methods can be deployed, in isolation and in combination with traditional participation technologies, to give voice to those often not heard within the planning system and debates about how places are governed. As part of this endeavour I am concerned with: the potential for, and ways in which, conflict may emerge and be managed; how the information gained from processes is ignored or turned into knowledge by planners and others to justify planning action; and the demands of such processes on citizens as political subjects.
I completed an MSc in Computing and IT at Northumbria University in 2017 where my dissertation examined aspects of the pedagogy of teaching programming to secondary school pupils. Prior to this I did my undergraduate studies in English Literature at the University of Kent and then spent time working in the charity sector.
I am an educational researcher within Open Lab specialising in education, games design thinking, creativity, and sex and relationship education (SRE).
Before beginning the CDT Digital Civics programme, I studied for an MSc in Technology Enhanced Learning at Durham University as well as a BA (Hons) in Education Studies (Philosophy).
I have a multidisciplinary background. I studied Economics at the Siberian Federal University before completing an MSc in International Marketing at Newcastle University. During my MSc I focused on researching the decision-making process of potential Further Education students in order to help them make an informed choice of study programme and institution.
I graduated from Keele University with a BSc in Psychology with Music in 2012, for which I completed a final project that focussed on the effects of musical excerpts of differing valence and loudness on skin conductance and heart rate. My dissertation addressed the unpredictable effect of loudness when using physiological measures as indications of emotional responses to music.
I graduated in 2017 at Newcastle University with a BSc in Computer Science. During my time in 3rd year I focused my undergraduate project in creating positive experiences using Virtual Reality for people living with dementia that resulted in prototypes that explored the importance of using personal and non-personal designed VR environments which resulted in participants to feel relaxed and experienced a form of reminiscence therapy.
Before starting the doctoral training in Digital Civics at Open Lab (Newcastle University), I studied Media Informatics both on an undergraduate and postgraduate level at the Vienna University of Technology. Between my bachelor's and master's I gained some professional experience at an Austrian governmental institution as well as in consulting services for a software company.
My research explores the design of digital tools to make qualitative research practices more participatory, inclusive, and accessible for everyone. Initially, I worked with academics and a local charity organization to examine and augment their existing qualitative practices through deploying prototypes.
I have a BA and MA in Town Planning and a MRes in Digital Civics. Prior to joining Open Lab, I worked in the voluntary and community sector both in the planning field and in health, focusing on citizen participation. I facilitated a number of community-led projects including one of the first frontrunner Neighbourhood Plans as well as conducting patient and public engagement for health service reviews.
I'm a psychologist by background. My research focuses on the experiences of people with dementia and their carers, and the potential for digital design and technology to help them live meaningful and connected lives within their communities. I carried out my PhD in the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, and within that project I worked within nursing homes, where I explored the potential for digital musical interactions to create opportunities for performing, connecting with one another, and belonging in community.
My expertise and research interests include human-computer interaction, accessibility, wearable devices and mobile interaction, social computing, and healthcare technologies. The underpinning goal of my work has always been to create useful and usable technologies that improve people's access to information, products, and services. I am very much interested in exploring how we can use digital technologies to empower individuals in today's society.
Currently, I am exploring:
technologies to support access to healthcare information for refugees by allowing these communities to commission and run their own radio shows over telephony networks from a smartphone device
the activist role of digital technologies and personal informatics to capture evidence of the working conditions and pay models of home care workers
methods to improve the accessibility and learnability of touchscreen devices through new models of data donation and human-powered computing
I am Director of Newcastle City Futures and Professor of Town Planning at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. My work relates to planning, land use, historic and contemporary urban change, and community participation in places.
In particular, I am interested in exploring visual methods for active citizen and business participation in cities, strategic spatial thinking and spatial governance, the study and representation of cities historically in film and television, behavioural dimensions to planning theory, and the relationship between planning and other policy fields such as housing.
I have experience of working with community groups, local and national governments and institutions such as the NHS, on a range of issues connected to planning and land use. In 2013 I was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
I have a background in computer science where I focused on security and interaction design. My work in digital civics centres around charities, transparency, accountability, and open data. I am interested in producing technologies for charities to produce, collect, and present data about their work and their spending as a way to let them re-frame the dialogue around financial transparency in their favour.
After graduating in Law and studying International Business as a postgraduate I left the UK to explore the world. Before I left, I worked as a Volunteer with the Citizens Advice Bureau in my hometown for a year. My role as a Generalist Adviser was to empower people in my local community to overcome the legal and practical problems they faced.
I have a background in Psychology and Health Psychology, which I approach from a critical and social perspective.
The majority of my work is around Digital Sexualities. I am interested in how digital technology intercepts with sexual identity, and particularly how young people navigate this.
I did an undergraduate degree in Sociology at Newcastle University, graduating in 2011. I used a Bourdieusian framework for my dissertation and focused upon the social implications of eating practices, looking specifically at vegetarianism. My research explored the notions of identity linked to vegetarianism and the forms of censure vegetarians experienced. I continued my research into vegetarianism during an MSc in Sociological Research at The University of Manchester, concentrating upon male vegetarians and gendered eating practices.
More recently I have worked as a Research Assistant in the Faculty of Health Sciences at York St John University. I have recently been involved in a project that explored the nature and prevalence of bullying in UK P.E. lessons. In addition to this, I helped to create a theatre production to encourage positive online behaviours in children and young people.
I am particularly interested in mental health challenges and how digital technologies can create a platform for individuals to interact and help those who need it.
I am interested in the ways that trust relationships are established online and in how the sharing of personal experiences can be used for social good. I often work with communities that face digital citizenship challenges and so, for example, I have explored digital identity management and disclosure preferences in communities of older adults, teenagers not in employment, education or training (NEETS), black, minority ethnic (BME) women and those with disabilities of various kinds.
I have investigated peer sharing of health information across a range of chronic health conditions and looked at the way social media can be transformed to better support reminiscence. In DERC I have been exploring the ingredients for a trusted platform for sharing personal experiences of volunteering. This includes formal volunteering - so-called ‘dutiful citizen' activities with registered charities, but will also include the more informal ‘self-actualising' forms of volunteering such as citizen activism supported by informal networks.
I am the director of Open Lab.
My background is in applied psychology, and I am particularly interested in how people interact with digital technologies and how digital technology can be used to help individuals and communities to live and work together. This involves not only studying how people use existing digital technologies to achieve things that matter to them, but also how designers, developers, and engineers can work with individuals, communities, and organisations to build systems that better meet their needs and give them a stronger voice in the design of the systems that affect their lives.
Over the years I have had a range of research projects spanning health, education, culture, community and civic participation. My main areas of my research are:
Theory and methods for human-centred design
Participatory design and social innovation
Participatory media and civic engagement
When I am not at work I am most likely to be found mountain walking, rock climbing, or motorbike riding.
Job Titles:
- Does Technology Function at the Human Level
I am a Senior Lecturer in GIS and Chartered Geographer, and my main interest is in using data to solve problems. I currently lead Newcastle's Urban Observatory programme, monitoring the city at many scales using IoT sensors. I work widely with researchers from Engineering, Earth Sciences, Computer Science, Biology and Health.
I manage the EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Digital Civics and the Digital Economy Research Centre. I work closely with the academic directors and I'm responsible for administration and communications for the CDT, as well as organising training events and summer schools. I also work with Open Lab's industry and community partners and stakeholders.
Working on Open Lab's interdisciplinary digital research and innovation projects connects with my broader professional interests in education, arts and culture, libraries and information, charities, and working with children and young people. I am interested in exploring how technology is changing the way we live, and how we can change technology. Follow my work on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Before joining Open Lab I was a teacher of Music and Drama at a large secondary school in the West End of Newcastle.
I have a bachelor's degree in clinical nutrition & dietetics and a master's in public health. My master's concentrated on health management and policy and I have worked on projects related to social innovation, disaster planning and health regulations.
I have a background in computers and tech, with a special interest in making apps and websites.
I graduated from Newcastle University in Computing Science, doing my dissertation with App Movement. Here I created a new app template that allows anyone to collaboratively design how-to apps and publish them on the App Store, without needing any coding skills.
I'm currently working with the Tyne and Wear Metro on a consultation project, documenting people's experiences as part of a bid for new Metro carriages. On this project I'm developing an interactive website that allows people to share their own experiences on the Metro and suggest and discuss ideas for the new carriages.
Away from the Lab, I enjoy designing and making my own games; I'm particularly interested in creating engaging interactions and telling compelling stories.
My background is originally in philosophy, with specific interests in political philosophy, phenomenology and challenging preconceptions towards the commodification of the body in sex work. To expand my ability to apply theoretical frameworks to modern day problems, I undertook an MSc in Computer Science, completing my thesis within Open Lab. As part of my Centre for Doctoral Training MRes, I conducted a study on how we can configure environments and implement technologies that encourage individuals to speak more openly about their experiences of bullying and harassment in the workplace. This was for the purpose of implementing bespoke, data-driven discussion groups, working towards fostering constructive working environments.
Hello! I'm a PhD student here at Open Lab. My research looks at how digital technologies and engaging activities can support young people to make better cities for the future. Urban planners and designers often overlook youth, and I think this is wrong. Prior to this, I worked as an urban planner in local government, and helped to conduct research into high streets and public transport.
So far, I've worked with groups of young people aged 8-18 in schools and youth councils. I've helped them to identify issues in their local environment and think about how they could address these issues. I've done this designing and running lots of different engaging activities and testing out different technologies in these settings. I'm particularly interested in how digital technologies can help young people to gather information about their environment and think about their city in a more critical way. I work closely with youth councils in Tyne and Wear, and have previously worked with a children's museum and primary schools right across Newcastle.
I'm also interviewing youth workers, council workers, teachers, planners and technology designers. What I hope to find out from these people is just where young people might fit into redesigned civic processes that support their active involvement in making places better.
I have a background in human-computer interaction (MSc from Vienna University of Technology, Austria) and in sociology (BSc from University of Vienna, Austria). In my Digital Civics MRes and PhD, my research explores questions of food democracy, alternative food networks, food justice and social innovation. In particular, I am interested in sustainable and ethical food systems that are just and accessible for all,
My original background is in engineering, robotics and artificial intelligence, but over the years I have become more and more interested in people rather than things. So, nowadays, I do research around how interactive technology fits into, and shapes, our lives and what that might mean for us all in the future.
I have a particular interest in social media and I was the UK's first Professor in Social Computing; some of my current work in that space includes how people use social platforms to engage with the democratic process - for instance how Scottish Instagram users tried to express themselves pictorially during their #Indyref independence vote, the UK general election and #Brexit.
As I get older I find I'm becoming, perhaps strangely, more left-wing so I also have current interests in how technology might support things like post-capitalist futures, universal minimum wage and - my favourite phrase - Fully Automated Luxury Communism. If I really want to panic people, though, I tell them about my research into the Internet for Dogs and how it might already exist.
I am a ‘designer-researcher' - a designer who also researches design and its application. Since 2009, I have coordinated and participated in design research projects in health and social care services, the creative economy, cultural heritage, personal media, and urban transport.
Through this work, I have developed research on the value of making in collaborative projects, and the participatory and human-centred design of interactive technology. This research combines specific interests in:
The opportunities and challenges for collaboration through making in complex multi-disciplinary and cross-sector projects
The potential for participatory innovation through speculative/critical design and design fiction
How interactive technology can be designed as a medium for personal and social activity, not a distraction from them (e.g. family celebrations, personal remembering, mindfulness-awareness)
I am also a published photographer and my work includes landscape, architecture and travel. In 2015 I began exploring the interactive potential of spherical panoramic photography for public engagement in cultural heritage and urban planning.
Before joining the Digital Civics research initiative at Open Lab, I worked in a range of settings across social work and adult social care. Working alongside carers, older adults, disabled people and people living with dementia shaped my research interests. Valuing relational models of social care, aligned with a parallel interest in inclusive,
I have a background in Computer Science and information communication technology within Secondary Education from the University of Sunderland. I recently finished my master's degree in Computer Science at the University of Newcastle where I completed my thesis within Open Lab.
I have a background in Management Information System (MIS), which is similar to HCI in the way it is taking a middle ground between social studies and technology. I've found the difference is that while MIS is organisation oriented, HCI is more community oriented. As such, I made this little shift from MIS to HCI due to my interests in human rights and activism.
I have an interest in travel, health and how public space affects the way we move and behave. My undergraduate studies were in French and Spanish while my recent background is working for active travel charity Sustrans, working with local communities to help people walk and cycle for their everyday journeys.
While at Sustrans I worked as part of a team to develop a web app called the Active Travel Dashboard to help participants use their mobiles to collect travel data, understand their travel habits and to motivate them to move more. We are working with Professor Ashley Cooper Professor of Physical Activity & Public Health at the University of Bristol to monitor the outcome of this digital work in a health-related active travel project.
I plan to continue to develop my interests in community engagement and health during my time at Open Lab. Other interests include cycling, reading and I'm planning to learn to play the piano this year too.
I am currently running the Open Lab: Athens initiative.