By: Mel Miller-Felton and Himarsha Jayanetti
Researchers from The Storymodelers and Web Science and Digital Libraries labs hit the road again in August to the birthplace of aviation history. You guessed it right, Dayton, Ohio!
Dr. Erika Frydenlund and research assistants, Himarsha Jayanetti and Melissa Miller-Felton, briefed the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) on the latest developments of our current Minerva Research Initiative Grant, “What's Missing? Innovating Interdisciplinary Methods for Hard-To-Reach Environments.”
Here’s the gist of the grant as Dr. Frydenlund introduced it to the audience. Five international research teams seek to answer the research question: In what ways do residents of informal settlements innovate to adapt to (im)provision of safety and security? These teams are looking to answer the same question, in the same location (first, Cape Town, South Africa, then Villa Caracas, Colombia), at the same time, using different methodologies and epistemologies. The real question is how we figure out what different perspectives learn about a phenomenon – where do they overlap, and where do they learn something no one else knows?
Melissa presented her team’s method, Visual Sociology, and shared initial insights about combining traditional ethnographic methods like interviews, focus groups, and observations with photographic imagery. She focused on the innovative ways that women adapt to safety and security risks in their community, as explained through their own lenses.
Himarsha presented on her team’s method, Web Scraping and Archiving, particularly focusing on the methods they used to investigate the social media and the news footprint of residents in slums and informal settlements. Despite challenges such as limited access to social media APIs and difficulties with web crawling, they made progress and found some overlapping, as well as some different, themes as the Visual Sociology project. They have also been exploring methods to identify first-hand social media accounts using location tags and user account metadata.
When we weren’t briefing, we tucked away a couple of nuggets:
Ethics were center stage. The topic of ethics was a recurring theme in most of the presentations. In fact, our keynote speaker, Dr. Samuel Segun, Senior Researcher at Global Center on AI Governance spoke on the topic, “Building responsible and trustworthy AI: Operationalizing Responsible Artificial Intelligence (RAI) Practice.” His keynote highlighted how responsible AI practices must be built on robust methodologies that ensure accountability and reliability. By referencing the Boeing aircraft accidents, he emphasized the critical need for clear, methodical frameworks to determine responsibility and build trust in AI systems. Effective methods enable the identification of key factors in high-stakes environments, ensuring AI systems are not only technologically sound but ethically and operationally responsible.
The barometer effect. Whenever we attend or brief at a conference or program review, we also use it as a gauge and a networking opportunity. We use the metaphorical barometer to see how we measured up in terms of technology, AI, and modeling within our discipline, and compare it to how others are using these tools in their research. This gave us a clear sense of whether we’re leading the way, staying current, or falling behind. The sense was, we’re not falling behind. It’s also a great way to join forces with other researchers to advance social science, creating more space for multidisciplinary work and innovations.
Here’s the secret to how we made those connections, “do you want to go to lunch with us?” Piece of cake (pun intended)!
Our time in Dayton not only allowed us to share the exciting progress of our Minerva Research Initiative grant but also provided a valuable opportunity to measure where we stand in the broader landscape of technological innovation and interdisciplinary research. As we continue to push the boundaries of research, this experience underscored the value of collaboration across fields, ensuring that our work remains at the forefront of both technological and ethical innovation.
We left inspired, with new ideas and renewed commitment to advancing our understanding of how communities adapt and innovate in the face of safety and security challenges.
Be sure to check out Himarsha’s blog here: 2024-09-04: Trust and Influence Program Review Meeting 2024 Trip Report (ws-dl.blogspot.com). It features additional meeting highlights, details about our collaborators, and her personal reflections on the Web Science and Digital Libraries Research Group blog.
Comments