Web Science Manifesto

A manifesto for Web Science by Professors Wendy Hall, Jim Hendler and Steffen Staab, in which they discuss the challenges relating to the World Wide Web such as cyber-crime and privacy, and propose ways to address these challenges, for example through regulation.

http://www.webscience.org/manifesto/

GEOmii parking app launched

Seme4 has launched a new parking app in partnership with GEOmii and Ethos VO Ltd. The app provides information on availability of parking spaces using the best available data sources, such as live data from fixed sensors in parking spaces, crowd sourced data, data collected by local authorities or data collected from mobile phones.

The system uses a range of data analytics techniques to predict future parking space availability. It also collects data on parking space usage and driving patterns to improve prediction.

The system aims to reduce the amount of time drivers spend looking for a parking space, thereby reducing congestion and also greenhouse gas emissions. The data collected will also help with city planning, for example in deciding the number and location of parking spaces.

Further information can be found here and the app can be downloaded here.

A radio interview with Martin de Heaver from Ethos Smart discussing the app and a trial of the system in Brighton can be found here.

Wendy Hall receives Suffrage Science award

Professor Dame Wendy Hall is one of 12 women to receive an award to celebrate her “scientific achievements and ability to inspire others.”

http://csc.mrc.ac.uk/celebrating-women-science-ada-lovelace-day-2016/

The awards are part of an initiative launched by the UK Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre to encourage more women to pursue science as a profession, and in particular to aspire to senior leadership roles.

The awards are timed to coincide with Ada Lovelace Day, which is an international day to celebrate the achievements of women in science and encourage more females into scientific careers.

The Role of Data Science in Web Science

A paper by Christopher Phethean, Elena Simperl, Thanassis Tiropanis, Ramine Tinati and Wendy Hall on the use of Data Science in Web Science. The similarities, differences and overlaps between the two disciplines are presented. The authors discuss how Data Science can be used for research in Web Science, for example to examine user behaviour and analyse information flows.

http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/396515/1/x3webscience-ed_CPchanges_forEprints.doc.pdf