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| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/F013701/1 |
| Title: |
Networks for Web Science |
| Principal Investigator: |
Professor WH Dutton |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-investigator: |
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| Project Partner: |
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| Department: |
Oxford Internet Institute |
| Organisation: |
University of Oxford |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research |
| Starts: |
01 October 2007 |
Ends: |
31 March 2009 |
Value (£): |
80,697
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Information and Knowledge Management |
Systems Methodology and Architecture |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Communications |
Information Technologies |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
| Panel Date | Panel Name | Outcome |
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30 Apr 2007
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Collaborating for Success Through People
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Announced
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Summary |
The Web is the largest human information system construct. It is both a technical structure engineered on the basis of open standards and open protocols that are agreed internationally, and a social construct created by the millions of people and organisations who fill it with content, and governments who create policies and regulations to control what is and isn't permitted to appear on the Web to varying degrees. Both technically and socially, the Web is a very complex system that is growing at an astonishing rate. It has been estimated that the size of the Web is currently approximately equivalent to the number of neurons in the brain but it will soon be much bigger than this.
Technological developments can be extrapolated to forecast the technical underpinnings of the next generation of the Web, but it is impossible to predict how the Web will evolve as new technologies become available because it is very difficult to predict human and organisational interactions over time and what people will and won't do as the Web develops. We are currently living in a Web2 world (the so-called second generation Web), in which the Web is enabling the growth of social networks on the Internet and a second wave of "dot-com" businesses. Semantic Web, or Web3, technology is just beginning to roll out. We know it will have a significant impact but it is harder to predict what the social and business impacts will be.
Web Science brings together computer scientists and engineers, social scientists and policy makers to study complex information systems as personified by the Web. In other words, Web Science is the study of decentralized information systems. Web Science encompasses science, engineering, social understanding and capacity building. The aim of this proposal is to establish networks of researchers from different technical and social science research disciplines to begin to develop a Web Science research agenda through the exchange of PhD students and collaborative workshops, the results of which will be disseminated through detailed review papers.
Web Science brings together computer scientists and engineers, social scientists and policy makers to study complex information systems as personified by the Web. In other words, Web Science is the study of decentralized information systems. Web Science encompasses science, engineering, social understanding and capacity building. The aim of this proposal is to establish networks of researchers from different technical and social science research disciplines to begin to develop a Web Science research agenda through the exchange of PhD students and collaborative workshops, the results of which will be disseminated through detailed review papers.
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| Final Report Summary |
The aim of Networks for Web Science was to bring together computer scientists and engineers, social scientists and policy makers to study complex decentralized information systems as personified by the Web, in such a way as to encompass science, engineering, social understanding and capacity building. The project was to establish networks of researchers from different technical and social science research disciplines to begin to develop a Web Science research agenda through the exchange of PhD students and collaborative workshops, and to disseminate, where appropriate, the results through detailed review papers. Such research networks are essential for understanding and guiding the development of the Web, to ensure that it continues to deliver major benefits to society at all levels, to address areas of online behaviour which have a social cost, and to identify risks and opportunities from future interactions between society and technology. The network was funded as part of a joint project with the Oxford Internet Institute under grant number EP/F013701/1.
The network supported six workshops, some embedded in wider events.
1. N4WS helped support a summer doctoral programme at the Oxford Internet Institute, 13-26 July 2008, which brought a number of doctoral students from different disciplines to attend a series of lectures from some of the world's leading experts on the Web. N4WS funded 4 students to enable them to attend the the doctoral programme, who then took part in the N4WS student exchange programme. In addition to this support, N4WS directly funded and organised a workshop as part of the doctoral programme on 'Crossing the Cultural Divide.' See http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/teaching/sdp/Y2008.cfm
2. A workshop on the Web Science Curriculum at the University of Southampton, 15-16 September 2008, which brought together scientists and educators to discuss development of a curriculum for teaching Web Science in postgraduate courses, and a programme for PhDs in this area. A report of this workshop is at http://webscience.org/filemanager/active?fid=42
3. A workshop for the Scientific Council of the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI) was held in Boston, MA, 11-12 November 2008, bringing together scientists and engineers to develop an agenda for Web Science. This agenda is at
http://webscience.org/wiki/Fundamental_Research_Questions_and_Perspectives_in_Web_Science
4. A workshop on 'The Web as Critical Infrastructure' at the Royal Academy of Engineering, London, 14-15 January 2009, bringing together scientists from academe and industry, with policymakers to discuss the measures needed to preserve the Web as a vital piece of infrastructure for the economy.
5. Two workshops were held in tandem with the WebSci09 conference in Athens, on 18 March, 2009. The Web Science Curriculum Workshop followed from event (2) above, to discuss the issues with multidisciplinarity in the curriculum. Details of the workshop are at http://webscience.org/wiki/WSCW
6. The second workshop at WebSci09 was on 'Understanding the Impact of the Web on Scholarly Communication', to address the ways in which the Web is changing information and knowledge exchanges between scholars, scientists and society at large.
In addition, N4WS helped create networks at WebSci09 by supporting the travel and registration of students to the conference, which was the first dedicated multidisciplinary conference on the topic of Web Science. The students provided "trip reports" which can be found at http://www.websci09.org. The Proceedings from the conference can be found at http://www.websci09.org/proceedings/
N4WS also supported 4 PhD student exchanges between the University of Southampton, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Each student spent up to three months at the host institution and completed a report of their research, which is published on the WSRI website www.webscience.org
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.ox.ac.uk |
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