CYGNA: Big Data in the Social Sciences
Reports on our 24th CYGNA meeting with expert introductions into big data in the social sciences and the gender aspects of artificial intelligence
The name CYGNA comes from the female version of the Greek word for SWAN (Supporting Women in Academia Network). The main objective of the group is to promote interaction among female academics based in the London area and to provide a forum for learning, support, and networking. We typically hold five meetings a year with a mix of presentations and informal discussions. We also maintain a readings and inspirations section for female academics and have a Twitter hashtag #cygna_london. If you’d like to join the CYGNA network, just drop me an email.
24th meeting Imperial College London
Organised by Sarah Otner Imperial College London
In January 2019 CYGNA members found themselves in inspiring Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the heart of the area that is nick-named Albertopolis, after Prince Albert, spouse of Queen Victoria. In addition to the three great musea - the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum - Exhibition Road also houses a very futuristic looking Imperial College campus. It looked even better at night when we left.
I really love our talented CYGNA crowd. This academic year (2018-2019) we decided we wanted to know a bit more about:
- the challenges of internal versus external promotions, leading me to give a presentation on this in September at Middlesex University,
- the use of MBTI typology to increase awareness of personality differences in our professional context, leading Veronique Tran, one of our members based in France, to present: Understand your co-author(s) and yourself with MBTI in November at ESCP
- the "next big thing" in research methods: Big Data, for which new CYGNA member Sarah Otner volunteered to give a presentation.
It was clear from our very well-attended meeting that many swans were interested in this. We had people coming from a wide range of London Universities, but also from Oxford, Surrey, Manchester and even Japan [well not specially for this meeting obviously, but she did plan her trip to accommodate it].
We were treated to a wonderful session with three brilliant presentations.
- Big Data in the Social Sciences (Sarah Otner, Imperial College London)
- Presentation download
- Handout with key resource material (books, articles, training resources and funding)
- Science Communication (Sara Giarola, Imperial College London)
- Ethics & Applications, including Artificial Intelligence (Gina Neff, Oxford Internet Institute)
See also: Special Issue in Organizational Research Methods July 2018 on Big Data and Introduction to Big Data for Social Sciences (free 1-hour SAGE campus course).
International mobility and idenity
After a lovely finger-food dinner, we also had a good discussion about international mobility, including the practical and identity issues involved. In this context, you might find the work of one of my former PhD students of interest: Managing expatriates’ identity: subtle desire, big impact
Copyright © 2022 Anne-Wil Harzing. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Thu 2 Jun 2022 13:25
Anne-Wil Harzing is Emerita Professor of International Management at Middlesex University, London. She is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business, a select group of distinguished AIB members who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the scholarly development of the field of international business. In addition to her academic duties, she also maintains the Journal Quality List and is the driving force behind the popular Publish or Perish software program.
