PAST PROJECTS

Dating App responses to COVID-19

This project aims to understand the positioning of dating and hook-up apps in the digital media landscape during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Much of these apps’ success has stemmed from their geolocative features and mobile affordances enabling digitally mediated physical encounters with nearby users. However, as these apps have become a commonplace means for individuals to meet sexual and romantic partners, they have often been the target of public health concerns.

Going liVE: EXploring Live Digital Technologies and LIVE STREAMING TECHNOLOGIES AND PRACTICES

This one-day symposium on October 10, 2018, at Concordia’s Milieux Institute and in conjunction with the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) annual conference, brought together game studies scholars and social media researchers to discuss the increasing popularity of live digital technologies. These technologies include features on social media sites such as Facebook Live, standalone smartphone apps (e.g., Periscope), and websites dedicated to live streaming, such as the gaming platform Twitch.tv.

PRIVACY AND BIG URBAN DATA

This interdisciplinary research project examines a complex urban challenge that has grown exponentially in recent years given the current rise in urban big data and legislation for open access data in cities across the world, including Montréal. The project focuses on investigating the socio-technical challenges related to processing and analyzing urban big data, considering ethical handling of such data while maintaining citizen privacy and security. Through workshops and public engagement endeavours, the research team will investigate uses of urban big data as well as perceptions, protocols, and best practices regarding the protection of user privacy, disseminating findings to empower stakeholders to manage the risks and opportunities of data generated through our interactions with the built environment.