Bridging the Rural Divide
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: School of Computer Science
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Alan Chamberlain (Author)
(2013)
Innovation in the wild: ethnography, rurality and participation
Alan Chamberlain (Co-Author)
(2013)
Developing PlaceBooks: participation, community, interaction, design, and ubiquitous data aggregation ?in the wild??
Andrew Crabtree (Co-Author)
(2013)
? ?How many bloody examples do you want?? ? Fieldwork and generalistion?
Andrew Crabtree (Editor)
(2013)
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction
Chamberlain A
(2012)
Research in the wild
Chamberlain A
(2012)
Fresh and local
Crabtree A
(2013)
Doing innovation in the wild
Crabtree A
(2012)
Unremarkable networking
Crabtree A
(2015)
"I've got a sheep with three legs if anybody wants it?": re-visioning the rural economy
in Personal and Ubiquitous Computing
| Description | This project was funded from a research 'in the wild' funding stream. Our core findings found that development of a system in the wild that suggests that the development and appropriation of innovative solutions turns upon the close coupling of multiple design disciplines and sustained user engagement in the construction of robust solutions. This sits uncomfortably with current characterisations of the turn to the wild, which suggest there is less need for interdisciplinary work, computer science expertise and software engineering acumen. Our experience of developing the PlaceBooks system suggests that there is a need for the existing model of research in the wild to be revised. Of particular note is the need for the emphasis on deployment and evaluation to be reappraised. While deployment is an important activity, shedding light on real world challenges of appropriation in context, it does not stand-alone. Rather deployment needs to be reconfigured as part of a broader collaborative process, which embeds researchers in relevant user communities and leverages understandings of user needs and the nature of current practice into the construction of robust solutions that ongoingly engage users in design and drive appropriation. |
| Exploitation Route | Additional to the information provided above, it would be possible to use the technology developed in educational contexts and design contexts. The ability to build and share dynamics books and link them to data-sets open up a plethora of possibilities that could have a very diverse set of uses outside of the academic context. The system that we developed as part of this project - PlaceBooks - has already been taken up and adopted by the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historical Monuments, as part of their innovation stream in regard to their Peoples' Collection of Wales project - an innovative bilingual digital platform where users can discover, learn and contribute your story of Wales alongside content provided by other people and organisations. People's Collection Wales represents an innovative approach to collecting, interpreting and discussing Wales's cultural heritage in an online environment. PlaceBooks is currently being further developed and used as a tool to explore tourism and heritage by the EPSRC Scaling the Rural Enterprise project. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) |
| URL | http://www.bridgingtheruraldivide.com |
| Description | Top five impact highlights arising from the project • Development of Placebooks, the project's primary software output: http://www.placebooks.org/placebooks/ • Uptake of PlaceBooks by Peoples Collection Wales (PCW); Placebooks hosted on PCW servers • Internationalisation: working with the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments Wales, we have started the process of internationalising our system (Placebooks). Through their partnerships in France and Spain we will be providing a system that is useable in a variety languages, and used by different cultural organisations across Europe. • Bringing together world-class key senior researchers in the UK in order to engage the associated research communities and develop further understanding of working in-the-wild. Efforts include: o Workshop at ACM Designing Interactive Systems Research in the Wild with Alan Chamberlain, Andy Crabtree, Tom Rodden, Matt Jones and Yvonne Rogers. This event brings together award in-the-wild award holders and creates a platform whereby they can discuss their research and hear the experiences of others. o Special journal issue Andy Crabtree, Alan Chamberlain, Tom Rodden, Matt Jones and Yvonne Rogers. The Turn to the Wild. ACM Transactions of Computer Human Interaction (ToCHI) accepted 2012. • Invited presentations, including: o Digital Past 2012 and The Archives Discovery Forum 2012 at The National Archive, meant that we were able to appropriately target and disseminate to non-academic groups that would directly benefit and/or be able to use and adapt the tools that we had built (Placebooks). o Presentations to academic audiences involve in research in the rural space, including the dot.rural DE Hub in Aberdeen and Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance. o Demonstrations of Placebooks including: Digital Engagement 2011, Innovate '11 Networking Conference, Horizon Digital Economy Research Conference 2011. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | Bridging the Rural Divide: Research on the Wild in the Wild |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Informing public of research and challenges Informed public of research and challenges |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Bridging the rural digital divide in Borth and Ynyslas |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | News article. Informing public of research and challenges |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Extending technology reach to rural areas |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | promoting awareness of projects and challenges |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Helping to bridge the rural divide |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | News item. Informing public of research and challenges |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Placebooks: rural participation, people and place |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation about the project for the dot.rural DE Hub at Aberdeen and Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance joint event 'Rural Needs in Scotland'. Promoting awareness of technological developments and research challenges |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |