14 December 2009

Innogen Seminar

Professor John Dupre, Director, Egenis

Time: 15.30 - 17.00

China EU IT Standards Research Partnership - update

The forthcoming two final workshops will present findings from the China EU IT Standards Research Partnership and discuss their implications for technology policy and industrial strategy. The first will take place in Beijing on 8th December 2009. The second will be in Brussels in February 2010 (date to be confirmed).

Call for Papers: Technology Analysis and Strategic Management on China and Global ICT standardisation and innovation.

Call for papers for a special issue of the journal, Technology Analysis and Strategic Management on China and Global ICT standardisation and innovation. Guest editors are Robin Williams, Ian Graham, Kai Jakobs and Kalle Lyytinen.

Life sciences research patterns explored

A report by the British Library and the Research Information Network (RIN) launched today provides unique insight into how information is used by researchers across life sciences.
Undertaken by the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Digital Curation Centre, the report concludes that ‘one-size-fits-all’ information and data sharing policies are not achieving scientifically productive and cost-efficient information use in life sciences.

New Short Guide to Developing Interdisciplinary Strategies for Research Groups 

A guide for leaders of interdisciplinary research groups on building strategic visions and engaging stakeholders in their interdisciplinary research strategies.

Science Technology and Innovation Studies in China

China has a long and distinctive history in science, technology and medicine and today, after exceptionally rapid modernisation, is seeking global leadership in a number of fields including information and communication technologies and life sciences.

Induction for new postgraduate students September 2009

We shall be welcoming a large new cohort of students to our MSc and PhD programmes this autumn. Follow the link on this news item for details of the induction sessions for new postgraduates.

Donald MacKenzie awarded ESRC Grant

Donald MacKenzie (Sociology) and Iain Hardie (Politics) have just been awarded a three year ESRC grant of £271,255, starting in September.

Crozier down under

Ivan Crozier has just returned from Australia, where he has spent a month as a visiting research fellow at the Centre for the History of European Discourses (CHED) at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, and a Parson's fellow at the Sydney Law School at the University of Sydney.

NMS and ISSTI present second 'Understanding Technology' lecture series

Following the very popular first series over the past year, National Museums Scotland, in cooperation with ISSTI, announces the second series of public lectures Understanding Technology starting in September 2009.

New book: The Limits to Governance. The Challenge of Policy-making for the New Life Sciences

Innogen colleagues offer a critique of the new governance agenda for science and innovation in the context of the life sciences

Innogen Research Fellow Ann Bruce secures 2 ESRC awards

Warm congratulations are due to Ann Bruce, Innogen research fellow, who has just been successful with two ESRC awards.

E-infrastructures - just published

Various articles and publications on e-infrastructures, recently published.

Sociology and Politics win new research grant

Donald MacKenzie (Sociology) and Iain Hardie (Politics) have just been awarded a three year ESRC grant of £271,255, starting in September. They will be researching the understanding and governance of complex financial products, in particular collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), a category of product heavily involved in the credit crisis.

Masters studentship awards

For the coming year ISSTI has awarded two studentships for its Masters programmes. The quality of the applicants for both awards was very impressive.

New award secured from the Researcher Information Network

Robin Williams and James Stewart have secured another award from the Researcher Information Network, to examine The Use and Relevance of Web 2.0 Resources for Researchers.

ISSTI and Sociology research rated top in Scotland and equal 6th in UK Research Assessment Exercise

We are delighted to announce our results for the Research Assessment Exercise 2008. The RAE panel gave our research activity these ratings: * 30% world-leading (4-star) * 25% internationally excellent (3-star) * 35% recognized internationally (2-star) * 10% recognized nationally (1-star) That is equal sixth-best in the UK by average star-rating.

New Book: Donald MacKenzie, Material Markets: How Economic Agents are Constructed (Oxford University Press, 2009)

Financial markets, processes, and instruments are often difficult to fathom; the credit crisis highlights both their importance and their fragility. In this book, Donald MacKenzie argues that economic agents and markets need to be analyzed in their full materiality: their physicality, their corporeality, their technicality.

New ESRC Fellowship awarded to Dr Neil Pollock

ESRC Fellowship on the Social Study of the Information Technology Marketplace: The Role of Industry Analysts.

Institutionalising Veterinary Science in Eastern Africa, 1945-2006

Dr Lawrence Dritsas has been awarded a grant of £7000 by the University's Development Trust Research Fund (DTRF) for his research into the development of national and international veterinary science institutions eastern Africa.

Reading Group: Science & Technology - Artefacts & Practice

Klaus Staubermann from National Museums Scotland has launched a reading group on Artefacts and Practice. The aim is to explore new ways of linking texts and artefacts. Next meeting: TBA. All ISSTI members, associates and students are welcome to participate.

Understanding the Information Needs and Uses of Life Science Researchers

ISSTI has secured a £150K contract from British Library, Research Information Network to undertake a series of Case Studies in Life Sciences: Understanding Researchers' Information Needs and Uses.

Schumpeter Prize

Professor Martin Fransman has been awarded the 2008 Schumpeter Prize for his book, The New ICT Ecosystem – Implications for Europe.

Donald Mackenzie wins 2008 Zelizer Distinguished Scholarship Award

Professor Donald Mackenzie has been awarded the prestigious 2008 Zelizer Distinguished Scholarship Award by the American Sociological Association, for his book "An Engine, not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets". The award committee found the book to be an outstanding and innovative contribution to the social study of the financial world, and a striking illustration of the utility of a science studies' approach to economic processes.

Reading the Heavens: The Crawford Collection in the History of Astronomy at the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh

Monica Azzolini of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, and John Henry of the Science Studies Unit, have been awarded a grant of £6000 by the Royal Society of Edinburgh to enable them to set up a workshop on “Reading the Heavens: The Crawford Collection in the History of Astronomy at the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh”.

Studies of Science Studies in Edinburgh

Those interested in the Edinburgh dimension to science studies may like to know of two recent commissions which John Henry was asked to write and which have now appeared in print.

ISSTI Research Fellow joins judging panel for National Business Awards Scotland 2008

Dr Luciana D’Adderio, ISSTI member and Innovation Fellow with the Advanced Institute of Management, has been selected to join expert/specialist judging panel for The National Business Awards for Scotland 2008 (including the ATOS Origin Business Innovation of the Year Award and the Orange Best Use of Technology in Business Award categories).

Edinburgh University Internet Studies Network

There are many researchers at Edinburgh whose work touches on aspects of the Internet, how is is created, governed, integrated into society and the economy, and how it may be used in fields as diverse as media, education, religion and politics. This network bring together these groups and will be the focus of a forthcoming research seminar series

ISSTI Working Paper 6: Championing Environmental Improvements in Innovation

Taking case studies of process innovations in the chemicals and dairy industries, Nils Markusson examines the role and context of different actors pursuing environmental innovation in companies, and argues for an approach to understanding ‘environmental champions’ that takes into account both structure and action.

ISSTI newsletter 13 - May 2009