Activities
Meet us at inspirational events focused on digitalization, culture and society, presented by expert researchers and professionals from outside the research sector. This page provides an overview of the academic activities available to DIGIT-participants.
2-day DIGIT workshop: Advanced Methods in social science research on digitalization
DIGIT course: Advanced Methods in social science research on digitalization” at the University of Agder.
Writing retreat with DIGIT
Writing retreat with DIGIT
Would you like to participate in a three-day workshop focused on academic writing?
The aim of this retreat is to bring participants together in a quiet environment to concentrate exclusively on scientific writing. The program will include dedicated time for active writing as well as peer-to-peer discussions in groups. Each participant will also receive personalized feedback on their text from the course leaders.
The writing retreat is open for DIGIT members only. All reasonable costs (economy travel up to 2500 NOK and full board at Rømskog Spa and Resort) will be covered.
Content
The workshop is structured to provide you with dedicated and uninterrupted time for individual writing. In addition to focused sessions for drafting your text, the workshop will include peer-to-peer feedback sessions, walk-and-talk discussions, and personalized feedback from the course leaders. Participants will be organized into smaller writing groups, where you will present your paper to your colleagues and the course leaders. You will also serve as a discussant for the work of your fellow group members.
To maintain focus, we ask all participants to fully commit to the entire program and refrain from external obligations during the days.
The workshop will be led by Marit Haldar from OsloMet and Kari-Steen Johnsen from the Institute for Social Research in Oslo.
Please scroll down to view the preliminary program.
See program (PDF download)
Please feel free to contact the DIGIT coordinator should you have any questions.
3-day DIGIT course: : Qualitative analysis and theory development using Stepwise-Deductive Induction (SDI)
Qualitative analysis and theory development using Stepwise-Deductive Induction (SDI)
Kick off-course on Digitalization, Culture and Society for Class of 2024
Welcome to the DIGIT-kick off course for class of 2024! Members and partners meet for lectures, group discussions and presentations.
2-day DIGIT course: Digitalization and the world of work
Digitalization and the world of work
The World as a Testbed — Online Reading Group
The World as a Testbed — Online Reading Group
There is a general trend in industry and research to make society “AI ready” which also became an important concern in government. This is often accompanied by an accelerated implementation of AI into different societal settings and governmental operations itself, in which fast implementations and real-world scenarios became the testing ground for such technologies. But how do we study those new and fast innovation movements and its impact on society from an STS and social science perspective?
Over three online meetings we will read several of Noortje Marres’ work on the societal impact of tech testing and trials as well as some supporting articles which her work draws from. In the final meeting Marres will join us online.
The group is organized in collaboration with the TIK center at the University of Oslo, and it is part of this years TIK 25 anniversary.
Content
There is a general trend in industry and research to make society “AI ready” which also became an important concern in government. This is often accompanied by an accelerated implementation of AI into different societal settings and governmental operations itself, in which fast implementations and real-world scenarios became the testing ground for such technologies. But how do we study those new and fast innovation movements and its impact on society from an STS and social science perspective?
Since it can be challenging as a social scientist to study the changes that occur in our research field, we thought to initiate a research group and discuss such problems with Noortje Marres, Professor in Science, Technology and Society in the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies at the University of Warwick. She has written extensively on issues of digital technologies and testing
In this reading group we want to get better acquainted with Marres´ work on the societal impact of tech testing and trials. Over three meetings we will read several of Marres articles, as well as some supporting articles which her work draws from. In the final meeting Marres will join us online. Here she will provide a brief introduction to her work and address any questions we may have."
How do I participate?
Sign up through the link above to receive a zoom invitation and ascribed literature. Then, read the assigned texts, and prepare some reflections on how these readings can illuminate your own field of study/empirical material (if applicable). We know that people come from different disciplines and might have little or no knowledge of Marres work from beforehand, but this is open for everyone and should be a space for intellectual exploration. So tag along!
Program and readings
1. Session; Introduction (27.09, 14:00-15:00)
Orit Halpern (2019) The Planetary Test
Marres (2020) Put to the test: For a new sociology of testing
Additional reading;
Marres (2017) How to think sociologically about the digital society?
Grill (2022) Constructing Certainty in Machine Learning: On the performativity of testing and
its hold on the future.
2. Session; Theory / Concepts (11.10, 14:00-15:00)
Marres (2024) How tech trials test society: trials of implicitness (innovation eco-systems)
Additional reading;
Rouvroy (2013) The end(s) of critique
Star (1989)
3. Session; AI and testing with Noortje Marres (TBA: most likely a date between 28.10-01.11)
Marres (2024) AI as super-controversy: Eliciting AI and society controversies with an extended expert community in the UK
Additional reading;
Louise Amoore (2023) Machine learning political orders
Baumer et.a. (2024) Algorithmic Subjectivities
Goal of the reading group
Get acquainted with the work of Noortje Marres
Learn methods and approaches to studying the digital through an STS and sociological perspective.
Learn how to study digital technologies "beyond the laboratory" and the diverse forms of testing in societal settings as critical interfaces between science, engineering, nature and society.
Contributor
Organizers
Please feel free to contact the DIGIT coordinator should you have any questions.
Qualitative Method (SP9100)
Qualitative Method (SP9100)
Data production, applied theory, and analysis strategies. How do we make it all fit together well? This course will provide a solid orientation on some traditions and approaches that are referred to as qualitative research and their epistemological basis.
Travel and accommodation
DIGIT members can apply for funding for travel and accommodation to attend the course. You can send in your application here: https://nettskjema.no/a/322611.
Ranking of applicants
Qualitative Method (SP9100) is part of the OsloMet course catalogue.
In the event of receiving more applications than available spots preference will be given firstly to candidates enrolled in the doctoral program in social sciences at OsloMet, followed by candidates affiliated with the DIGIT Research School, candidates from other programs at OsloMet and finally Ph.D. candidates from institutions outside of OsloMet.
About the course
Read the full course description here: https://www.oslomet.no/studier/sam/phd-sam/kvalitativ-metode-sosialfag-phd
CEDIC Talks webinar: «Digitalisation and perceived job insecurity: A machine learning study in Norway»
Join the online guest lecture
Conference: eKommune 2024 - Human and Technology
Conference: eKommune 2024 - Human and Technology
How will technology, as part of the solution to major societal challenges, impact people and the interaction between us? This is one of the topics at the eKommune conference on April 18-19.
Would you like to attend the conference? KS, partner in DIGIT research school, is sponsoring two spots at this year's conference!
About eKommune 2024
eKommune is the most important meeting place for anyone interested in digitization, transformation, and innovation in the municipal sector. More and more public and private services are being digitized, and artificial intelligence as part of technological development is increasingly affecting us in new ways. How does this affect task execution – and citizens, employees, and leaders in the public sector?
In 2024, the conference will be held on April 18-19 at the Clarion Hotel The Hub in Oslo city center. Participation is also possible online.
Read more about the conference and this year's program here: https://www.ks.no/fagomrader/digitalisering/styring-og-organisering/ekommune-2024-menneske-og-teknologi/
The text above is taken from the KS website.
About KS
The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) is the organisation for all local governments in Norway. KS is Norway’s largest public employer organisation.
Financial Support
The conference fee is covered for two DIGIT members by KS. For DIGIT participants residing outside Oslo, DIGIT will cover travel expenses. You are responsible for booking your own flight/train tickets in accordance with your university's guidelines and the Personnel Handbook for State Employees. We cover up to 2000 NOK for travel.
Please feel free to contact the DIGIT coordinator if you have any practical questions.
Final Seminar for Class of 2022-2024
DIGIT invites the DIGIT class of 2022 to a final seminar at the historic Granavolden Hotel & Guesthouse. The seminar is organized by the DIGIT members themselves and marks the conclusion of DIGIT's inaugural class!
About the seminar
The program will comprise a two-day event with presentations from speakers inside and outside academia, group discussions, social activities and delicious food from the area. Day 1 will involve sessions on surviving in academia and transitioning to non-academic roles, as well as a discussion and a walk and talk before the dinner. Day 2 will involve breakfast, short presentations, group discussions focusing on the future use of DIGIT, and a concluding discussion and feedback session before lunch.
We start at lunch day 1 and will depart for Oslo after lunch day 2.
DIGIT covers travel and accomodation costs for our members.
About Granavolden
Granavolden Hotel & Guesthouse is beautifully situated on a hill in the distinctive landscape of Hadeland, only about an hour’s drive from Oslo or a 50 minute drive from Oslo Airport, Gardemoen.
The hotel is located on historic ground, and there has been a guest house at Granavolden since 1657.
Organisers
CEDIC Talks webinar: Media Poverty: Media Use and Citizenship in Conditions of Deprivation
Join the online guest lecture
3-day academic writing retreat with DIGIT
3-day academic writing retreat with DIGIT
Welcome to the writing retreat hosted by NORD university in Saltstraumen, Bodø! The retreat is designed to give you a break away from daily commitments to provide protected time for individual writing. We will be staying in a small hotel close to the tidal current, with excellent food and spectacular views of the Børvasstindan mountains.
Are you interested in joining the retreat? We only have 12 spots, please register your interest below!
The writing retreat is available to DIGIT members from the classes of 2022 and 2023. In the event of receiving more applications than available spots, our priority will be determined primarily by motivation and the perceived need for participation in the writing retreat.
DIGIT will cover economy travel and full board at the hotel.
Content
The workshop is designed to give you a break away from daily commitments to provide protected writing time for individual writing. Besides time for active writing of individual draft papers there will be time for peer-to-peer feedback sessions, walk-and-talk, as well as receiving feedback and guidance from the course leaders.
You will be allocated writing partners in groups of three. You present your individual work to your fellow colleagues and to the course leaders, and additionally act as discussant of the work of the two other group members.
The aim is to create an inclusive and safe social group dynamic, where we discuss each other’s work and inspire each other with engaged, constructive and respectful feedback. As the participants in the workshop will follow an all-day program, we require participants to join the complete program and put aside other commitments during the stay to protect the concentration and the time dedicated to our writing.
The workshop will be led by Anne-Jorunn Berg and Robert Bye. Read more about their background below.
Scroll down to view the preliminary program.
About Bodø and Saltstraumen
Bodø is located just north of the Polar Circle in a Pite and Lule Sami area. The city is elected the 2024 cultural capital of Europe.
Saltstraumen is an impressive sight (see more at visitbodo.com or Wikipedia). We will be staying in the small Saltstraumen hotel close to the tidal current, with excellent food and spectacular views of the Børvasstindan mountains.
Preliminary program
Tuesday 13. February
10:30 Collective departure from Bodø airport
11.30 – 12.30 Lunch
12:30 – 12:45 Brief presentation and information
12:45 - 13:00 How to give constructive feedback
13:00 – 15.00 Group work with paper presentation, discussion and feedback
15.00 – 15.30 Snack break
15.30 – 19.30 Writing-session
19.30 Dinner
Wednesday 14. February
08:00 – 09:00 Breakfast
09:00 – 12:00 Writing-session
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 14:30 Walk and talk with writing partners – strongest maelstrom at 14:00
14:30 – 16:00 Writing-session
16:00 – 16:30 Snack break
16:30 – 19.00 Writing session
19.00 - Dinner
Thursday 15. February
08.00 – 09.00 Breakfast
09.00 – 12.00 Writing-session
12:00 – 13.00 Lunch
13:00 – 15:00 Group work discussion, feedback and evaluation
15:00 - 15:30 Collective feedback and evaluation
15:30 Collective departure to the airport
Please feel free to contact the DIGIT coordinator should you have any questions.
CEDIC Talks webinar: Digital consultations in general practice in Denmark
Join the online guest lecture
From our partners: Book launch in Oslo - Making Information Matter
Join the online guest lecture
Kick off-course on Digitalization, Culture and Society for Class of 2023
Welcome to the DIGIT-kick off course for class of 2023! Members and partners meet for lectures, group discussions and presentations.
ME-638-1: Advanced Methods in social science research on digitalization
DIGIT course: Advanced Methods in social science research on digitalization” at the University of Agder.
CEDIC Talks webinar: Digitalization in disability organizations: legal, moral, and organizational challenges
Join the online guest lecture
DIGIT course on Rights and Freedoms in Digital Design
Welcome to the DIGIT "Rights and Freedoms in Digital Design" course, running from May 30-31 2023 at the University of Bergen.
CEDIC Talks webinar: Statistical profiling of the unemployed: a literature review and the case of Denmark
Join the online guest lecture
Writing retreat with DIGIT
Writing retreat with DIGIT
Would you like to participate in a 3-day workshop dedicated to your academic writing? As a member of DIGIT, you are invited to join our very first writing retreat that will take place at the charming Jeløy Radio hotel in Moss. The idea is to come together in a quiet environment and focus entirely on our scientific writing. We will have time for both active writing and for peer-to-peer discussions in groups. Additionally, every participant will receive feedback on their paper from the course leaders.
Are you interested in joining the workshop? We only have 12 spots for this retreat, so please register ASAP to save your place!
The writing retreat is open for DIGIT members only. All reasonable costs (economy travel and full board at the hotel) will be reimbursed.
Content
This is a workshop designed to give the participants a break away from daily commitments to get protected writing time and to focus on their individual writing.
The program is designed with allocated time slots for active writing where participants spend time on their individual draft paper. Since we have three days together, there will also be time for peer-to-peer feedback sessions and to receive feedback and guidance from the course leaders.
As a participant, you will be allocated writing partners in groups of three. You present your individual work to your fellow colleagues and to the course leaders, and additionally act as discussant of the work of the two other group members.
The aim is to create an inclusive and safe social group dynamic, where we discuss each other’s work and inspire each other with engaged, constructive and respectful feedback. Since the participants in the workshop will follow an all-day program, we require that participants join the complete program and put aside other commitments during the stay to protect the concentration and the time dedicated to our writing.
The workshop will be led by Marit Haldar and Hilde Reinertsen. Read more about their background below.
Preliminary program
Monday 17. April
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 14:15 How to give constructive feedback
14.15 – 16.00 Group work with paper presentation, discussion and feedback
16.00 – 16.30: Snack break
15.30 – 19.30: Writing-session
19.30: Dinner
Tuesday 18. April
07.00 – 09.00: Breakfast
09.00 – 12.00: Writing-session
12.00 – 13.00: Lunch
13.00 – 17.00: Writing-session
17.00 – 17:30: Snack break
17:30 – 19.00: Walk and talk with writing partners
19.00 - Dinner
Wednesday 19. April
07.00 – 09.00: Breakfast
09.00 – 11.00: Writing-session
11.00 – 12.30: Feedback and evaluation
12.30 Snacks before departure
Please feel free to contact the DIGIT coordinator should you have any questions.
CEDIC Talks webinar: The Struggle for Web Accessibility by Persons with Disabilities in the US with Professor Peter Blanck
Join the online guest lecture with Dr. Peter Blanck from Syracuse University on disability law and policy in the US.
CEDIC Talks webinar: The digital welfare eco-system with Professor Jacqueline O'Reilly
Join the online guest lecture with Professor Jacqueline O’Reilly from the University of Sussex Business School.
CEDIC Talks: Technological change as social practice - the case of video consultations
Welcome to the second edition of CEDIC Talks this spring semester, where we invite national and international researchers to hold open guest lectures on social and political consequences of digitization.
The Research Centre for Digitalisation of Public Services and Citizenship (CEDIC) is the host institution for the research school DIGIT. CEDIC has a monthly lecture series called CEDIC Talks, where they aim to broaden our knowledge and awareness about ongoing research in Europe about digitalization processes and their social consequences.
The lectures are open, and both DIGIT members and others are welcome to participate.
This Thursday, Dr Gemma Hughes presents findings from her research on video consulting in the UK during the covid-19 pandemic. Hughes is Senior Researcher in the Interdisciplinary Research in Health Sciences Group at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Science, University of Oxford. She brings practical experience and knowledge of health services to her interdisciplinary research, which focuses on critically analysing the relationships between health and social care policy, practice and lived experience.
Video consulting during the pandemic
Hughes has broad interests in how patients and the public interact with health and social care services and specific interests in how these interactions are shaped by the complexity of health and social care systems and technologies. In this talk, she will draw on research conducted during the pandemic to consider how adoption of technologies can be conceptualised as constituting social change. The talk is based on findings she presented, along with fellow researchers, in the recently published article "Theorising the shift to video consulting in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of a mixed methods study using practice theory" (2022) in Social science & medicine.
CEDIC Talks: The future of work and welfare in the digital economy - new risk of poverty and social exclusion
Welcome the semester’s first edition of CEDIC Talks.
The Research Centre for Digitalisation of Public Services and Citizenship (CEDIC) is the host institution for the research school DIGIT. It has a monthly lecture series called CEDIC Talks, where they aim to broaden our knowledge and awareness about ongoing research in Europe about digitalization processes and their social consequences.
The lectures are open, and both DIGIT members and others are welcome to participate.
New risks of poverty and social exclusion in Europe
In this edition of the lecture series, we join three Horizon2020 projects – EUROSHIP, EuSocialCit and WorkYP - when they give short, policy-oriented presentations of their findings on how digitalization of the labour market and public services affects EU citizens- opportunities to participate in in all realms of public and societal life and live a decent life in accordance with the prevailing standards in society.
Advances in digital technology and artificial Intelligence have sparked concerns about new risks of poverty and social exclusion in Europe. Since 2000, technology change has given rise to new forms of work and employment relations in Europe. The emergence of the platform economy means that customers are able to access providers of goods and services online. It is work based on the performance of individual tasks or projects rather than a lasting employment relationship. While it allows for flexible working hours it also comes with a risk of inconvenient and unpredictable working hours and low incomes. Alongside the growth of employment mediated through digital platforms there has been an expansion of digitalisation of welfare service provisions across Europe. More welfare state services provisions are restructured around digital communication and media infrastructures. Online technologies can enable a more inclusive delivery of public resources even in remote and rural areas. Digitalization, however, comes with a wide range of challenges. These range from the opacity of digital decision-making to digital divides that the utilization of ever more sophisticated technologies may cause between different groups in the population. While Covid-19 has been both a driver and barometer of success in the roll-out of digital welfare services, for those without the skills needed to access this shift online, or lacking the hardware or software to connect, the digital divide amplifies existing inequalities.
This seminar is aimed to consider the terms of such debate and delineate a way forward at both EU and national level.
Welcome to the first DIGIT-course on Digitalization, Culture and Society! Members and partners meet for lectures, group discussions and presentations.
We present the school, partners and new Digit-members during a weekly joint kick-off-course. Lectures, presentations and roundtable discussions with leading experts and stakeholders from outside the research sector.
Relevant course from our partners at the University of Oslo: TIK9015 – Practice-Oriented Document Analysis
Course from our partners at the University of Oslo.
TIK9015 – PhD course: Practice-Oriented Document Analysis
This PhD course brings together a varied set of methodological approaches to demonstrate and discuss how we can analyze documents as both text, artifact and social practice. Building on a recently published textbook, the course introduces the method of ‘practice-oriented document analysis’ (Asdal & Reinertsen, SAGE Publishing, 2022).
CEDIC Talks: How to facilitate the digital transformation in public sector? Guest lecture with Markus Michaelsen Bugge
The researcher from the TIK centre at UiO will highlight challenges in digitalization and innovation in public sector - with a specific focus on the waste management sector.
CEDIC Talks: Sustainable labour market integration
We invite you to join the lecture by professor Janine Leschke from Copenhagen Business School on potentials and challenges in algorithmic profiling of jobseekers. More information and register here (OsloMet.no).
Past Events
Meet the Participants
The first class of young experts was enrolled in the autumn of 2022. The first semesters start with a joint kick-off seminar, concentrating on key perspectives within DIGIT’s thematic clusters. Both researchers and stakeholders from outside the research sector will be invited to present the latest developments, and every participant will meet in roundtable discussions and present their ongoing research projects.