DIGITAL SOCIETY AND PARTICIPATION SECTION

DIGITAL SOCIETY AND PARTICIPATION

In the digital society and participation section we seek to inquire, intervene and invent in societies that are currently being altered by digital technologies.

We do research within and on participatory design, infrastructuring, social network analysis and digital inequalities. Our research covers a wide area of domains including senior citizens, social housing areas, welfare technologies, digital platforms, mobilities and (mis)information, commoning practices. With our research projects, teaching activities and disseminations of knowledge to partners and society at large, we seek to take part in forming a digital future that is fair and responsible for all.

Human-Centered Data Science

The Human-Centered Data Science research group (HCDS) focuses on the human factors in the conception, use, and understanding of data. Positioned in the intersection of data science, social science, HCI, and CSCW we are interested in understanding and exploring human practices enabled by technology. We combine both quantitative and qualitative methods, and work with computational methods such as statistics, machine learning, network analysis together with qualitative methods such as ethnography, interviews, and observations.

Welfare Technology

The group works with an understanding of design of IT and services as engaging, intervening and including, that always involves people, non-human participants and empirical sites. We embrace a critical stance towards both techno-centric and social engineering perspectives. We are interested not only in ‘cutting edge’ IT but also ‘blunt edge’ technologies ranging from IT artifacts to infrastructures. In our study of IT practices, we pay attention to the assemblages of tools and technologies that people bring together and enact as meaningful configurations.