As a social scientist, I spend much of my working life sorting out spurious claims about cause and effect. In any social science, particularly when it is impossible to adequately control many variables such as through an experimental design, the analysis and attribution of causality is inherently problematic. Too often, that is not the case … Continue reading Causality Journalism: Can Academics Help?
Outreach
Cybersecurity Capacity Building: The Global Constellation Annual Conference
Cybersecurity Capacity Building: The Global Constellation Annual Conference Theme: Linking Cybersecurity Capacity Research to Development in Africa Organised by the Global Constellation of Cybersecurity Capacity Research Centres Venue: Cape Town, South Africa Dates: 1st – 2nd November 2022 Second Call for Papers and Workshops and Extension The Global Constellation of Cybersecurity Capacity Centres will hold … Continue reading Cybersecurity Capacity Building: The Global Constellation Annual Conference
Raising Awareness of Social Media for Positive Social Change
My colleagues and I involved with the World Internet Project (WIP) are looking for some inspiring initiatives in the use of the internet and social media for effecting positive social change. A thesis by Ms Emilia Askari in the College of Education at Michigan State University alerted me to this potential, and discussions within WIP … Continue reading Raising Awareness of Social Media for Positive Social Change
History Lessons: 250 Years of the IT Industry in Britain
Question Time Panel at 'Learning from History', BCS, 17 February 2022 The Archives of IT (AIT) held a two-hour seminar on 17 February 2022 in collaboration with the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Computer Conservation Society (CCS). It was entitled ‘Learning from History: Reflections on the past and future of the British IT Industry’. … Continue reading History Lessons: 250 Years of the IT Industry in Britain
Could History be the New, New Thing? Archiving
Could History be the New, New Thing: Archiving Could it be that the digerati are beginning to wonder about the origins of such ‘innovations’ as video communication, AI, remote work, and more? Are they discovering that all these innovations have a long history in the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs)? These questions arose … Continue reading Could History be the New, New Thing? Archiving
Participating in an Advisory Board: Five Principles
Having created and served on advisory boards in a number of organisations and countries, I've begun to see some principles that can guide others serving on an advisory board. I am not a management consultant nor an expert on advisory boards, but as I try to think through my own experiences on boards, I thought … Continue reading Participating in an Advisory Board: Five Principles
Six Benefits of Academics Working with Government
The Value of Academics Working with Government: Lessons from Collaboration on Cybersecurity William H. Dutton with Carolin Weisser Harris Six of the benefits of academics collaborating with government include realising the value of: 1) complementary perspectives and knowledge sets; 2) different communication skills and styles; 3) distributing the load; 4) different time scales; 5) generating … Continue reading Six Benefits of Academics Working with Government
Reading and Endorsing ‘Elements of Style’
Reposting from 2018 Looking into one of my College’s hallway recycling bins, as one does, I found a fourth edition paperback of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. Arguably, for my generation, as Strunk died the year before I was born, this has been one of the most useful and inspiring books for any … Continue reading Reading and Endorsing ‘Elements of Style’
Online Micro-Choices in Remote Seminars, Teaching, and Learning
Online Micro-Choices Shaping Remote Seminars, Teaching, and Learning The move to online education has been a huge shift, dramatically hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic and the existence of technical options, such as online meeting platforms like Zoom and Teams. For decades, handwringing and resistance over moves toward more online instruction, seminars, and lectures has collapsed … Continue reading Online Micro-Choices in Remote Seminars, Teaching, and Learning
Engaging Academia in Cybersecurity Research
Engaging Academia in Cybersecurity Research Across most academic fields, researchers are increasingly focused on outreach to relevant practitioner and policy communities. It can sharpen their sense of the key questions but also enable their research to have greater application and impact. In contrast, within the field of cybersecurity, policy and practitioners from governmental, non-governmental organizations … Continue reading Engaging Academia in Cybersecurity Research