Research Talk by Anthony Hunter

By Antonios Bikakis, on 19 January 2024

Towards Computational Persuasion for Behaviour Change Applications.

The talk was delivered on 22 November 2024 by Prof. Anthony Hunter, Professor of Artificial Intelligence in the Department of Computer Science, University College London, as part of the DIS research seminars series.

The aim of behaviour change is to help people to change aspects of their behaviour for the better (e.g., to decrease calorie intake, to drink in moderation, to take more exercise, to complete a course of antibiotics once started, etc.). Recent developments in computational modelling of argument (a subfield of AI) are leading to technology for persuasion that can potentially be harnessed in behaviour change applications. Using this technology, a software system and a user can exchange arguments in a dialogue. So the system gains information about the user’s perspective, provides arguments to fill gaps in the user’s knowledge, and attempts to overturn misconceptions held by the user. Our work has focused on modelling the beliefs and concerns of the user, and harnessing these to make the best choices of move during the dialogue for persuading the user to change their behaviour. We have also been investigating how we can harness recent developments in large language models to provide a natural language interface to this technology. In this talk, I will provide an overview of our approach together with some promising preliminary results with participants.

Research talk by Alison Hicks

By Antonios Bikakis, on 26 October 2023

Sociocultural approaches to information literacy: Space races, wish-cycling and squabbling siblings

The talk was delivered on 25 October 2023 by Dr. Alison Hicks, member of the FOIL group, as part of the DIS research seminars series.

Sociocultural approaches to information literacy, which recognise that information literacy is shaped through dialogue and debate, have not always been welcomed within LIS, being variously critiqued as ‘fashionable,’ of no interest to practitioners or as irrelevant given the availability of other conceptual work. Yet, it could be argued that these ideas have irrevocably changed the direction of information literacy research and practice, not least by challenging ingrained assumptions about ways of knowing- and how we teach for these ideas. This presentation critically analyses the legacy of information literacy’s sociocultural turn by reflecting on how these ideas have been developed since the early 2000s, how they have been integrated into information literacy discourse and narratives and their contributions to information literacy research and practice.

This presentation has been adapted from Alison’s recent keynote presentation for the European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL) for UNESCO Global MIL Week.

Research talk by Charles Inskip

By Antonios Bikakis, on 26 October 2023

The impact of the pandemic on musicologists’ use of technology

The talk was delivered on 18 October 2023 by Dr. Charles Inskip, member of the FOIL group, as part of the DIS research seminars series.

This talk will explore two key findings from a global survey of musicologists’ use of technology in their research during the pandemic. The impact of the technology on community-building was raised throughout the survey responses. The ability to meet across borders was highlighted, as were the limitations of networking in online conferences. The sudden shift to teaching and learning online was another important factor in many participants respondents. The impact on teaching performance online, and heavy teaching loads being prioritised over research highlight the interconnected roles of the musicologist in teaching and learning. This research contributes towards understanding the complex nature of the information behaviour of musicologists. Understanding more about how they use technology, develop community, and fulfil their multiple roles would enable provision of bespoke research support.

Publishing talk by Richard Charkin

By Ian Evans, on 11 October 2023

My Back Pages: A undeniably personal history of publishing

The talk was delivered on 11 October 2023 by Richard Charkin, as part of the DIS research seminars series.

Richard Charkin’s experience as a publisher is unique among his generation. Over the past half century he has been a scientific and medical publisher, a journal publisher, a digital publisher and a general publisher. He has worked for family-owned companies, public companies and start-ups. In his memoir he uses his unrivalled experience to illustrate the profound changes that have affected the identity and practices but not the purpose of publishing. Richard founded Mensch in 2018. It has no mission statement and no stated editorial strategy. Its aim is simply to help authors reach readers with minimal intervention and maximum impact and to reward them proportionately.