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Ann Light

I am a qualitative researcher, interested in how people relate to each other in contemporary society and the impact of present/future design choices. A fascination with digital mediation led me to make studies of websites and online discussion as early as 1995, and I now focus on mobile and ubiquitous contexts of use. An important element of my work has been looking at design globally - with projects in Ghana, India, Chile and Uganda, workshops on six continents, and a role advising the European Union on the future of the Internet.

I was a member of the Culture, Communication and Computing Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University for several years, working closely with the four councils of South Yorkshire to research digital engagement strategies, and also holding an appointment in Drama at Queen Mary, University of London, where I devised methodology for communities to participate in designing future digital tools. More recently I held a post at Northumbria's Design School. I have been multiply funded under the interdisciplinary RCUK calls of Designing for the 21st Century and Connected Communities. In my research, I work extensively with arts organisations, grass-roots community groups, older people and marginalised communities, focusing on meaning-making, identity, inclusion and experience of technology.

I bring broad experience of interaction design practices including long-term consultancy in design companies (Flow Interactive http://www.flow-interactive.com, Fjord www.fjordnet.com), as well as projects with the likes of The Guardian, the BBC and the transport arm of Amey Technology.

I publish on social innovation, human-computer interaction and cross-cultural methodology, having helped design and evaluate websites, mobile phones, social networks and technologies of augmented reality, automatic identity capture (AIDC), ubiquitous computing and the Internet of Things.

In cyberspace, sharing doesn't always mean caring

Jan 04, 2016 13:24 pm UTC| Technology

The sharing economy now enables to us to access all manner of things we might need through connecting with others online. In this season that might have included sourcing turkey from a local farm, a chauffeured car to...

Economy

Asian Stocks Rebound on Tech Rally Despite Trade War Worries

Asian stock markets rebounded modestly on Tuesday following sharp losses in the previous session, as a rally in U.S. tech stocks and bargain-hunting lifted investor sentiment. Most major regional indices climbed, even as...

Nikkei Soars 6.5% as Wall Street Recovery Spurs Market Rebound

Japans Nikkei share average surged 6.5% on Tuesday, rebounding sharply from a 1.5-year low hit in the previous session. The rally was driven by investor confidence sparked by signs of a U.S. market recovery and optimism...

Trade Wars Heat Up: EU and China Push Back Against US Tariffs

The European Union is in trade talks with the United States to ease trade tensions and has concluded a zero-for-zero tariff agreement on industrial products. The proposal is for reciprocal removal of tariffs, but the EU is...

Taiwan Open to U.S. Tariff Talks Amid Market Volatility

Taiwans Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung stated Tuesday that the island is ready to engage in tariff negotiations with the United States at any time, aiming to ease trade tensions that recently rocked financial markets. His...

Safe-Haven Currencies Rise as Trump Tariffs Trigger Recession Fears

The Japanese yen and Swiss franc held near six-month highs on Tuesday, reflecting investor anxiety as recession fears grow in the wake of President Donald Trumps aggressive tariffs. Financial markets remain jittery, with...

Politics

Vice Admiral Chatfield Fired Amid Trump’s Pentagon Shake-Up

U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, a top NATO representative and one of the Navys few female three-star officers, has been dismissed, according to sources cited by Reuters. Though the Pentagon has not officially...

DHS Offers Voluntary Resignation and Buyouts Up to $25K Amid Workforce Shift

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is offering employees voluntary resignation, early retirement, or buyouts of up to $25,000 as part of a new workforce transition initiative. According to an internal memo sent...

DOJ Repeals Biden-Era Gun Dealer Policy Amid Controversy

The U.S. Department of Justice has repealed a Biden-era zero tolerance policy that mandated the revocation of licenses for gun dealers who willfully committed serious violations, including failing to conduct background...

UN World Food Program Urges Reinstatement of US Funding Amid Global Hunger Crisis

The UN World Food Program (WFP) has raised alarm after the US administration abruptly ended emergency food assistance funding for 14 countries. As the worlds largest provider of food aid, the WFP warns that the cuts could...

U.S. and India Discuss Trade Tariffs Amid Ongoing Bilateral Deal Talks

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held a phone call on Monday to address escalating trade tensions, focusing on U.S. tariffs on Indian imports and efforts toward a fair...

Science

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

What are the chances an asteroid will impact Earth in 2032?

For a few days in mid-February, headlines around the world buzzed about the potential for an asteroid to hit the Earth in 2032 specifically, asteroid 2024 YR4. The chance of this impact rose to a high of 3.1 per cent on...

A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away

The planet WASP-121b is extreme. Its a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces...

Technology

Telegram Fined $80K by Moscow Court for Extremist Content Refusal

A Moscow court has fined Telegram Messenger Inc. 7 million roubles (approximately $80,000) for refusing to remove content allegedly promoting extremist activities, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Court...

Meta Unveils Llama 4 Maverick and Scout, Boosts AI Ambitions

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has unveiled its latest AI modelsLlama 4 Maverick and Llama 4 Scoutcalling them its most advanced large language models (LLMs) to date. Designed as multimodal AI systems, they can process and...

Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI Heads to Jury Trial in 2026

Elon Musks high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI is set for a jury trial in spring 2026, as ruled by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The case centers on Musks...

Intel, TSMC Eye Joint Venture Amid U.S. Chip Industry Crisis

Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) are in early talks to form a joint venture to manage Intels U.S. chip factories, according to The Information. TSMC is expected to take a 20% stake in the new entity....

SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin Win $13.5B in Space Force Launch Contracts

The U.S. Space Force has awarded $13.5 billion in rocket launch contracts through 2029 to SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA), and Blue Origin under its National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 program. This...