Professor Bran Knowles
Professor of Sociotechnical SystemsResearch Overview
Bran is a qualitative researcher focusing on trust, privacy and ethical considerations (i.e. social responsibility) surrounding data and data systems. Her research explores different aspects of trust through ethnographic case studies, develops conceptual models of trust that help in understanding a research agenda for developing trusted data systems, and develops practitioner guidelines for creating trusted data systems. She approaches the development of socio-technical systems from a human perspective, applying an understanding of how people come to trust one another in the real world towards understanding how to design systems that people trust.
Profile
Bran is appointed through the Data Science Institute and jointly appointed to both the School of Computing and Communication (50%) and the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts design group ImaginationLancaster (50%). Her background is multidisciplinary, spanning the psychology, sociology, anthropology, and design, and her PhD is in Digital Innovation.
Current Teaching
SCC.412 Advanced HCI 2
LICA.341 Design Directions
DSI: Reducing the Global ICT Footprint via Self-adaptive Large-scale (DCMS Supplement)
01/12/2022 → 31/05/2023
Research
DSI: Equity for the Older: Beyond Digital Access
01/10/2022 → 31/03/2025
Research
DSI: Trustworthy and Accountable Decision-Making Frameworks for Biodiversity - A Virtual Labs based Approach
12/08/2022 → 11/08/2025
Research
DSI: Design Principles and Responsible Innovation for a Sustainable Digital Economy (Paris-DE)
01/09/2021 → 31/08/2024
Research
IAA: Scoping out the potential for a solar park ecological impacts virtual lab
01/08/2021 → 30/06/2022
Research
Future Places: A Digital Economy Centre on Understanding Place Through Pervasive Computing
01/10/2020 → 30/09/2025
Research
Carbon footprint of different computer technologies
01/03/2020 → 31/03/2020
Research
DSI : BIAS: Responsible AI for Labour Market Equality
01/02/2020 → 31/01/2024
Research
Qualified Selves: Co-Creating Meaning Post-Big Data
01/01/2019 → 31/10/2020
Research
Child Proofing the Internet of Things
01/11/2017 → 31/10/2018
Other
Child Proofing the Internet of Things (IoT4Kids)
01/09/2017 → 31/08/2019
Research
Mobile Age
01/02/2016 → 31/01/2019
Research
moBile sociAl netwoRking supporTing local Ethical tRading
29/04/2013 → 31/12/2014
Research
PARIS-DE Workshop on Rebound Effects and Digital Technology
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
CHI 2019 Workshop
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
IEEE Pervasive Computing (Journal)
Publication peer-review
CHI 2017 workshop
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
CHI 2014
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
CSCW 2014
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Design PhD Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
POST-SUSTAINABILITY: a CHI sustainability community workshop
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
CHI '13 Student Research Competition
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Design PhD Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
MSF PhDs (2018/19)
Pentland Centre
- Centre of Excellence in Environmental Data Science
- DSI - Society
- HighWire Doctoral Training Centre
- SCC (Pervasive Systems)