November 2015

November is for Sharpening our Grindstones

This semester continues to progress and ETHOS Lab is gearing up to begin a research project that we are tentatively calling ‘Experimenting with Digital Methods’. As with any new venture, it takes time to first understand the ground conditions and set expectations at an appropriate level, before shifting focus to the task at hand. Digital methods is a young yet fascinating research area, and we are doing all we can to make sure that ETHOS Lab can make a valuable contribution to the field.

Our lab was fortunate enough to have launched in April of this year and up until now, our focus has been setting up vital infrastructure -- such as our website, our social media campaign and volunteer and partner network.

This work has been intensive but essential to the development of both the lab as well as our research direction. We are pleased and overjoyed to announce that the process of changing gears from set-up to research is well on its way.

For us November is a time for busting out our grindstones and beginning preparation for the work ahead. Stay tuned for more information about our research project and how you or your organization can get involved.

Yours Truly,

The ETHOS Lab Team

Teaching: publicETHOS - Using Digital Methods to Analyze Danish Political Alignment via Facebook

A new month also means another installment in our publicETHOS series and this time, the 18th of November, ETHOS Lab Researcher, Jakob Bæk Kristensen will present the theories and findings he undercovered throughout his master thesis in a lecture entitled, Big Data as Method, Habermas as Theory. Here, Kristensen will highlight how the advent of the social web has lead to a plethora of previously unattainable, and incredibly rich social data just waiting for the social researcher to analyze. Immediately following the lecture Kristensen will conduct a hands-on workshop aimed at familiarizing participants with a few of the experimental Python tools he developed for analyzing the social web. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to expand your data analysis toolbox and sign-up for the event here sooner rather than later.

Research: Project Spotlight - Mapping Work Practices

ETHOS Lab hosts a number of open research project descriptions, and are looking for students who wish to write their individual projects and/or thesis projects on one of these topics. Here is a sample of the projects you can find at our website.

Mapping Work Practices sets out to critically question visualizations of Actor Networks and Situational Analysis and their ability to accurately map the nuanced and semiotic richness of situated work. The project aims to apply visualization methods to vaguely structured ethnographic data. If this sounds interesting to you then reach out to project supervisor Ingmar Lippert at ilip@itu.dk.

Services: ETHOS Lab’s Data Sprint Series

Last week, the ETHOS Lab proudly hosted its first ever Data Sprint. The event, which was open to all volunteers interested, centered around visualizing a number of large datasets for the advertising company Mindshare. If you’re a company looking to organize such an event, or a individual who would like to learn more about volunteering opportunities please consult our Services page on our website.

Python Programming Study Group

Our Python Study Group has been gathering steam over the course of its last few meetings but that doesn’t mean you can’t still join the action! Are you looking to improve your programming skills in Python? Or maybe you’re looking to start learning Python but are unsure where to begin. Whatever your circumstances, there’s room for you in our study group. Contact Lab Assistant Bastian Jørgensen for more information at bmjo@itu.dk.

HTLM & CSS WORKSHOP

There’s a movement underway within the fledging female programming community in Copenhagen. From the minds of a group of women, an infant organization has sprouted and is hoping to strengthen the bonds between the women who code – or would like to – with each other. Codher will host a two-day introduction workshop to HTML & CSS – open to all who would like to participate on 14th and 15th of November. Tickets can be purchased here.

Other news

• The Spring 2016 Navigating Complexity Teaching Assistant positions have been posted and the portal is already receiving applications. If you are interested in applying remember to do so before the deadline on Wednesday the 11th of November.

• ETHOS Lab staff recently sat down with head of lab Brit Ross Winthereik for a chat about data, research and laboratory life. Read the outcomes of that conversation at the ETHOS blog.