Sandpit Project Interviews

Welcome to our series, detailing the journeys of the SPRITE+ funded projects from our 2021 Sandpit. Learn more about the teams' backgrounds, research and involvement with SPRITE+.

Revealing Young Learners' Mental Models of Online Sludge

Today the spotlight is on the project titled 'Revealing Young Learners’ Mental Models of Online Sludge' led by Dr Karen Renaud (University of Strathclyde), with Dr Bryan Clift (University of Bath), Dr Benjamin Morrison (Northumbria University), Dr Kovila Coopamootoo (King's College London) and Dr Cigdem Sengul (Brunel University), Dr Mark Springett (Middlesex University London) and Dr Jacqui Taylor (Bournemouth University). Following our 2021 Sandpit, the team explored the awareness of "dark patterns" amongst young learners, with the aim of designing an intervention to forearm them to resist online manipulative techniques.

FiVu: Using Design Fiction to Identify Future Vulnerabilities in Bio-IoT

Today the spotlight is on the project titled 'FiVu: Using Design Fiction to Identify Future Vulnerabilities in Bio-IoT' led by Dr Charles Weir (Lancaster University), with Dr José-Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachón (Royal Holloway, University of London), Professor Lynne Coventry (Northumbria University), Dr Soteris Demetriou (Imperial College London) and Dr Cecilia Loureiro-Koechlin (Lancaster University). Following our 2021 Sandpit, the team explored the use of creative fiction – stories, fantasy and speculation – to help software developers and product owners to identify such threats and vulnerabilities. We got the chance to catch-up with the project PI, Dr Charles Weir, to find out more about the journey of this project.

Footprints to emissions: Exploring near-future digital vulnerabilities with creative methodologies

Today the spotlight is on the project titled 'Footprints to emissions: Exploring near-future digital vulnerabilities with creative methodologies' led by Dr David Ellis (University of Bath), with Dr Iain Reid (University of Portsmouth), Dr Philip Wu (Royal Holloway, University of London), and Dr Asad Ali. Following our 2021 Sandpit, the team explored how probe-based methods can elicit reactions and reflections about current and near-future vulnerabilities from digital emissions.

Call for Events is now open! We're supporting Members and Expert Fellows to lead activities that explore aspects of TIPS in the Digital Economy. We will help to organise the activity with up to £5,000 to cover the associated costs.

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