Simeon J. Yates (PhD, Open University UK, 1993) is Professor of Digital Culture and Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research Environment and Postgraduate Research at University of Liverpool. His research on the social, political, and cultural impacts of digital media includes a long-standing focus on digital media and interpersonal interaction. More recently, he has worked on projects that address issues of digital inclusion and exclusion. He was seconded to the UK Government’s Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) in 2017 to act as research lead for the Digital Culture team. He remains the joint-chair of the DCMS Research Working Group on Digital Skills and Inclusion. His prior work covered topics such as the use of digital technologies in the workplace, digital media use during crises, and ICT use by the security services. The majority of his research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), EU, and industry. Simeon’s work has often been interdisciplinary and has predominantly involved creative and digital industry partners. He led on a major Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded interdisciplinary program (Engineering for Life) while at Sheffield Hallam. Simeon has been researching the impacts of the internet and digital media on language and culture since 1990. His PhD thesis (1993) is a large-scale linguistic comparison of speech, writing, and online interaction. Subsequent published work has covered analyses of gender differences in computer-mediated communication (CMC), gender and computer gaming, email and letter writing, and science in the mass media. Simeon has written text books on social research methods—in particular, linguistic and discourse analytic methods. https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/communication-and-media/staff/simeon-yates/

Bridgette Wessels is Professor of Social Inequality, Department of Sociology, at the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow. Her research focuses on the innovation, development, and use of digital technology and services in social and cultural life. Recent books include Open data and knowledge society (2017, Amsterdam University Press) and Communicative civic-ness: Social media and political culture (2018, Routledge). She is a co-investigator on the ESRC project Ways of Being in the Digital Age, and she is Principal Investigator on the AHRC funded project “Beyond the Multiplex: Audiences for Specialized Film in English Regions,” which is using digital humanities methods. Other examples of funded work include research on telehealth, social media, digital social research methodologies, women, work and technology (NordWit project), journalism in the digital age (REGPRESS project), and mobile networks (COST network: Social Networks and Travel Behaviour).

Paul Hepburn is a Research Associate at Heseltine Institute for Public Policy and Practice, University of Liverpool. His research interests lie in exploring the potential of the new digital media to enhance local democracy and local governance. He is also interested in methods and tools for analyzing and explaining the structure of online networks. Prior to pursuing an academic career, Paul worked in local government conducting research, developing policy, and, lately, implementing an e-government program.

Alexander Frame is an Associate Professor in Communication Science at the Languages and Communication Faculty of the University of Burgundy (Dijon, France), where he runs the MA course in Intercultural Management. Born in Britain, he graduated from the University of Oxford in 1998, before settling in France and completing his PhD in Communication Science at the University of Burgundy, in 2008. He is a member of the TIL (“Text, Image, Language”) research group (EA 4182), where he specializes in intercultural communication, political communication on Twitter, organizational communication, and comparative cross-cultural communication studies. Recent publications include Citizen participation and political communication in a digital world (Routledge, 2015).

Vishanth Weerakkody joined the School of Management at University of Bradford in March 2017 as Professor in Management Information Systems and Governance. He was previously a Professor of Digital Governance at the Business School in Brunel University, London, where he held several leadership roles. Prior to his academic career, Prof. Weerakkody worked in a number of multinational organizations, including IBM UK. He has a successful track record of research and enterprise and has secured numerous research grants from funding bodies such as the European Commission (FP7 & H2020), Economic and Social Research Council, Qatar Foundation, and UK Local Government. His R&D expertise spans several disciplines, including management decision making, ICT evaluation, public administration, social innovation, and process transformation. He is the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Electronic Government Research and a handling editor for Information Systems Frontiers. He is a chartered IT professional and fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.