The project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and will be called the “Study and Practice of Social Machines” (SOCIAM).
The SOCIAM project will take 5 years and will be lead by Professor Shadbolt. It is a collaboration between the Universities of Southampton, Edinburgh and Oxford.
The Big Data conference, which took place on the 8th of February, was part of the “Data Science Series 2012” series of conferences which is aimed at business leaders, especially Chief Information/Finance/Marketing Officers.
Speakers included the Global Creative Director at EMC Consulting, Matthew Bagwell, acclaimed mathematician Marcus Du Sautoy and the Managing Director of Intelligent Business Strategies Ltd., Mike Ferguson.
In his talk, entitled “The Promise and Peril of Open Data,” Professor Shadbolt discussed the value of open data and the challenges for its implementation. He also examined the use of open data in the private sector to give a competitive advantage.
Details of future events in the series can be found here .
A chapter by Dr. Kieron O’Hara and Professor Dame Wendy Hall in The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies, edited by William Dutton, Oxford University Press 2012, discussing the rationale for the new discipline of Web Science, the definition of the Web, Web architecture, the role of government, semantics and linked data.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall interviewed by Jessica Shepherd, education correspondent for the Guardian, discussing the problem of the decline in the number of women choosing to study Computer Science.
An article by Professor Nigel Shadbolt and Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee published in The Times, discussing the advantages of open data and the wide array of possible applications.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall gave a talk entitled “Towards a Smarter Web” as part of the “Celebrating Science” series of lectures at the NPL (National Physical Laboratory). The NPL is the National Measurement Institute for the UK, developing measurement standards and techniques for all areas of business, science and technology.
The Kultivate project is part of the Kultur consortium and the talk was entitled “An Introduction to the Potential of Linked Data.”
The Kultur consortium is a collaboration between the University of Southampton, the University of the Arts London, the University for the Creative Arts and the Visual Arts Data Service. Its
aim is to create a repository model for research findings in the creative and applied arts. The repository will be available to a range of performing arts institutions and also to museums and galleries.
The Kultur consortium has a wide remit and is working at both a detailed level, for example examining software configuration, and at a high level, determining policies for information dissemination and deposit.
The consortium is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) which provides leadership and support for the use of I.T. in post-16 and Higher Education establishments in the U.K.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall gave a public lecture at the Royal Society entitled “The History of the Web Part I: the First 20 Years.”
Professor Hall gave an insider’s view of the history of the Web and discussed its possible future.
An interview with Professor Nigel Shadbolt, adviser to the government on the Open Data initiative, on the launch of the Midata scheme, which will allow consumers to have access to personal data held by a range of private sector organisations. 26 companies, including a number of household names such as Google, MasterCard and British Gas, have already signed up to the scheme.
Nigel Shadbolt gave a keynote talk on Open Government Data in the U.K. (slides available here) at the Open Government Data Camp.
The event took place in Warsaw on the 20th and 21st of October. It is the world’s largest gathering for discussing Open Data, with approximately 400 people attending from over 40 countries, spanning all continents.
Professor Shadbolt discussed the importance of Open Government Data and the successes and challenges encountered. He also described policy and technology requirements.