Professor Stephen Brown

Job: Head of School

Faculty: Arts, Design and Humanities

School/department: School of Media and Communication

Research group(s): Photographic History Research Centre, Knowledge Media Design, and IOCT

Address: De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, UK, LE1 9BH

T: +44 (0)116 257 7173

E: sbrown@dmu.ac.uk

W: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/phrc

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Publications and outputs

À la Redécouverte des photographies perdues des Expositions de la Royal Photographic Society
dc.title: À la Redécouverte des photographies perdues des Expositions de la Royal Photographic Society dc.contributor.author: Brown, Stephen C. dc.description.abstract: Cet article présente une tentative réussie de rassembler des archives photographiques jusque là éparpillées, conservées dans différentes institutions, par l’utilisation seule d’informations textuelles de ces archives, afin d’identifier des œuvres qui on fait défaut à d’importants catalogues d’exposition pendant plus de 100 ans. Conduite dans le cadre du projet FuzzyPhoto financé par le Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) au Royaume-Uni, cette étude a permis de développer un outil de recherche pour les chercheurs intéressés à identifier les œuvres de collections de musées en ligne en dépit des lacunes, imprécisions et erreurs que ces documents peuvent comporter. Ce texte décrit les défis rencontrés dans le travail avec des archives de musées ainsi que la méthode développée pour les traiter. Cette nouvelle approche repose sur des techniques d'appariement sémantique et sur des algorithmes basés sur une logique floue qui illustrent les types de choix que tout humain preneur de décision opère en poursuivant ce genre de tâches. Les résultats sont présentés et l’enjeu de cette recherche est débattu pour servir les institutions de préservation du patrimoine culturel et plus largement encore. dc.description: This is an Open Access journal
A catalogue of problems: database design issues in the context of historical data series
dc.title: A catalogue of problems: database design issues in the context of historical data series dc.contributor.author: Brown, Stephen C. dc.description.abstract: Exhibition catalogues would seem at first glance to be ideal for conversion to a database to allow more effective interrogation of the data. Objects (exhibits) come with ready made descriptions and metadata. In the case reported here the process was less straightforward than expected, due to unanticipated characteristics of the data. Although in retrospect the exhibitions appear to us as a series, at the time they were discrete annual events and while there was some continuity from year to year, inevitably over the 46 year period in question there were changes in exhibition content, structure and presentation. Such variations can create ambiguities and complexity which in turn create challenges for the information designer with respect to how far one should summarise, aggregate and interpret the data to make it more usable. There is a trade-off between simplification of the search/browse functions and simplification of results. While there is no simple correct solution to these sorts of issues because they depend as much as anything on the needs and abilities of the target user population iterative user trials based on prototypes can help to identify where the balance should be struck.
Complexity, Ambiguity And Uncertainty: A User-Centred Approach To Maximising Access And Use Of Event-Based Cultural Heritage Data
dc.title: Complexity, Ambiguity And Uncertainty: A User-Centred Approach To Maximising Access And Use Of Event-Based Cultural Heritage Data dc.contributor.author: Brown, Stephen C. dc.description.abstract: Current EU (FP7) funded research priorities in the cultural heritage domain understandably favour projects that address generic and large scale systemic issues such as barriers to mass digitisation, automated content capture and data mining, resource sharing, multilingual access and broad frameworks for long term data preservation. While these are undeniably important, access to and use of cultural and scientific resources also depend on the usabilty of individual Web sites. The majority of Web sites are difficult to use, resulting in frustration, unnecessary costs and loss of repeat visits. Users do not wish to invest significant time in learning how to get the best out of a site. So interface design is a significant factor in determining levels of access and use. This paper examines some interface design challenges encountered in the context of developing an online database of historical exhibition catalogues. It identifies issues that distinguish event-based data sets from other database design projects and discusses the extent to which a user-centred design approach and paper prototyping in particular can help to address these issues.
Where Are the Pictures? Linking Photographic Records across Collections Using Fuzzy Logic.
dc.title: Where Are the Pictures? Linking Photographic Records across Collections Using Fuzzy Logic. dc.contributor.author: Brown, Stephen C.; Croft, David; Coupland, Simon; Shell, Jethro; von Lünen, A. dc.description.abstract: This paper describes a novel approach to interrogating different online collections to identify potential matches between them, using fuzzy logic based data mining algorithms. Potentially, information about objects from one collection could be used to enrich records in another where there are overlaps. But although there is a considerable amount of bibliographic and other kinds of data on the Web that share similar information, a standardized way of structuring such data in a way that makes it easy to identify significant relationships does not yet exist. In the case of historical photographs, the challenge is further exacerbated by the enormous breadth of subjects depicted and the fact that surviving records are not always complete, accurate or consistent and the amount of text available per record is very small. Fuzzy matching algorithms and sematic similarity techniques offer a way of finding potential matches between such items when standard ontology and corpus based approaches are inadequate, in this case helping researchers to match photographs held in different archives to historical exhibition catalogue records for the first time. dc.description: This was a collaborative project with the Centre for Computational Intelligence
Picture Perfect: Computational methods for matching historical photographic records across different collections
dc.title: Picture Perfect: Computational methods for matching historical photographic records across different collections dc.contributor.author: Brown, Stephen C.; Coupland, Simon; Croft, David dc.description.abstract: While there is growing consensus among museum professionals and users about the importance of data integration, cross-collection searching remains a significant challenge. This paper describes a novel approach to interrogating different online collections to identify potential matches between them, using fuzzy logic based data mining algorithms. dc.description: This project was in collaboration with the Centre for Computational Intelligence.
Large-scale innovation and change in UK higher education
dc.title: Large-scale innovation and change in UK higher education dc.contributor.author: Brown, Stephen C.
Improving record matching across disparate historical resources.
dc.title: Improving record matching across disparate historical resources. dc.contributor.author: Croft, D.; Brown, Stephen C.; Coupland, Simon
A hybrid approach to co-reference identification within museum collections
dc.title: A hybrid approach to co-reference identification within museum collections dc.contributor.author: Croft, D.; Coupland, Simon; Brown, Stephen C.
From VLEs to Learning Webs: The Implications of Web 2.0 for Learning and Teaching
dc.title: From VLEs to Learning Webs: The Implications of Web 2.0 for Learning and Teaching dc.contributor.author: Brown, Stephen C. dc.description: This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Brown, S. (2010) From VLEs to learning webs: The implications of web 2.0 for learning and teaching. Interactive Learning Environments, 18 (1), pp. 1-10 in the Interactive Learning Environments 2010 [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10494820802158983.
A Critique of Generic Learning Outcomes
dc.title: A Critique of Generic Learning Outcomes dc.contributor.author: Brown, Stephen C.

View a full listing of Stephen Brown's publications and outputs.

Key research outputs

Brown, S. 2010 ‘VLEs to Learning Webs: The Implications of Web 2.0 for Learning and Teaching’ Interactive Learning Environments, 18 (1) 1-10. ISSN 1049-4820 print/ISSN 1744-5191 online. First published online 9 July 2008. DOI: 10.1080/10494820802158983

Brown, S. 2010 ‘Access is not a text alternative.’ Journal of Museum Education 34 (3) 223-234 ISBN 978-1-59874-822-2

Brown, S. 2009 ‘Paper prototypes and beyond’. Journal of Visible Language. 43.2 (3) 198-225. ISSN 0022-2224

Brown, S., Greengrass, M. 2009 ‘Research Portals in the Arts and Humanities’. Literary and Linguistic Computing. doi: 10.1093/llc/fqp032 Online ISSN 1477-4615 - Print ISSN 0268-1145

2008 Exhibitions of the Royal Photographic Society 1870-1915 (with D. Everitt, H. Freeman, R. Ross)

Research interests/expertise

Application of computational methods to enhance information discovery and knowledge construction.

Application of information technology, design principles and learning theory to enhance learning design effectiveness.

Application of design and systems theory and methods to change management within complex adaptive systems.

Interaction Design, human-centred design, semantic design.

Knowledge Media Design (http://kmd.dmu.ac.uk) is a trans-disciplinary research field centred around the design of media based objects to support the construction, transmission and acquisition of knowledge. In broad terms this field might be characterised as “learning technology” or “Technology Enhanced Learning” that underpins application domains such as eLearning and Distance Education but it transcends the narrow confines of pedagogical research to include information storage, transmission and retrieval more generally, Interaction Design, human-centred design, semantic design and the autonomous knowledge construction behaviours characteristic of researchers. The beneficiaries and subjects of this research thus range from passive information receivers though guided active learners to self-managing knowledge builders.

Successful implementation of new technology-based approaches to teaching, learning, research, information discovery and knowledge construction generally require users to change not only their behaviours but also their beliefs about what works and what is the best way to do things. In complex adaptive systems such as universities, museums, libraries and archives, culture change is not a straightforward process of building the best technical solution and rolling it out. Successful implementation necessitates stakeholder engagement through participatory design process in which the needs and expectations of users take precedence over purely technical considerations.

This research is applied and developmental rather than clinical, it aims to understand and apply design principles and understanding of media technologies in the context of this broad spectrum of knowledge types and user populations. The work draws on and contributes to research in new media design, computing, information design, multimedia, ergonomics, and learning technologies.

Areas of teaching

Design, Photographic History, Digital Humanities

Qualifications

B.A. Hons (First) Industrial Design (Engineering),

M.Sc. Design Technology

Courses taught

MA Photographic History and Practice, De Montfort University
MA Design Innovation, De Montfort University
BA Design, University of Ulster
BSc Design Engineering, University of Ulster
MSc Engineering Design Queens University Belfast
BA Industrial Design Leicester Polytechnic
Human Factors and Systems Failures Open University
Design Processes and Products Open University
Technology Foundation Course Open University

Honours and awards

Visiting Fellow of the Centre for Distance Education, University of London International Programmes. 2009-2012. For contribution to distance learning policy, practice and research.

National Library for the Blind Visionary Design Award winner in Education, 2004 (with D. Gerrard, R. Ross, K. Huggett, H. Freeman). For exemplary accessibility design.

Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor, Principles of Engineering Design, Queens University Belfast and The University of Ulster 1991-1996. For innovation in engineering education methods.

Microsoft Multimedia Award winner, 1991 (with D. Cook) For excellence in training and interface design.

British Interactive Video Association Merit Award winner, 1989 For excellence in training and interface design.

Philips Gold Award winner 1982 (with P. Blenkhorn, R. Fuller, D. Laurillard, K. Williams, M. Wright) For technology innovation in learning design.

Membership of external committees

Committees

2011- Chair, Advisory Group for the Mellon-funded Research Space Project at the British Museum.

2010 AHRC Review Panel: Languages and Literature, December 2010.

2010 Open Educational Resources 2010 (OER10) Programme Committee Cambridge 22-24 March 2010.

2009-2010 Amplified Leicester Advisory Group member. (NESTA funded project. http://amplifiedcity.typepad.com/leicester/advisorygroup.html).

2009 Scientific Committee member Software Technologies to Support Creativity workshop, COMPSAC 09, Seattle, Washington, July 20 - July 24, 2009.

2009 Programme Committee member, Creativity and Innovation in Software Engineering (CISE’09) Ravda (Nessebar), Bulgaria, 10 - 12 June 2009.

2008-12 Technical Reviewer, Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College.

2008-10 European Commission FP7 IST Proposal evaluator: Digital Libraries and Technology-enhanced Learning.

2008-10 Chair, CETL Advisory Board, Reusable Learning Objects, London Metropolitan University.

2008-2011 Member, Review Committee for IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT).

2006-08 Arts Council Writer in Residence Steering Committee member, Institute of Creative Technologies, De Montfort University.

2005-08 European Commission FP6 IST Proposal evaluator: Cultural Heritage.

2002-10 Member, Scientific Committee, International Conference on ICT in Education, Greece.

2004- Member, Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College.

1997- Member of Council, Universities Association for Continuing Education. HEFCE.

Membership of professional associations and societies

Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology.

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Associate Member of the Institute for Ergonomics and Human Factors.

Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Conference attendance

Refereed and published conference proceedings

Ferrell, G., Brown, S., Chatterton, P. 2011 ‘From Camels to Critical Friends: intervention strategies for sustainable innovation.’ EUNIS 2011 15-17 July 2011, Dublin.

Brown, S. 2008a ‘A catalogue of problems: database design issues in the context of historical data series’. In M. Tsipopoulou (Ed.) Proceedings of Digital Heritage in the New Knowledge Environment: shared spaces & open paths to cultural content. Hellenic Ministry of Culture: Athens, 31 October – 2 November 2008, 33-36. Athens: Hellenic Ministry of Culture Directorate of the National Archive of Monuments.

Brown, S. 2008b ‘Complexity, Ambiguity And Uncertainty: A User-Centred Approach To Maximising Access And Use Of Event-Based Cultural Heritage Data.’ In M. Ioannides, A. Addison, A. Georgopoulos, L. Kalisperis (Eds.) VSMM 2008: Digital Heritage Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia Short Papers, pp. 102-108. Cyprus, 20-25 October 2008.

Other non-published conference contributions

Brown, S., Bartholomew, P., Freeman, R., Jenkins, O., Phillips, A., 2011 ‘Challenging Change.’ HEA Annual Conference. 5-6 July 2011, Nottingham.

Quinsee, S. Brown, S., Parker, P., Kandler, C., Truscott, H., Bartholomew, P., Lloyd, A. 2009 ‘Herding Institutional Stakeholders’. Symposium. ALT-C 2009, 16th International Conference 8-10 September, Manchester, UK. In Saxton, L. 2009 ALT-C 2009 In Dreams Begins Responsibility – choice, evidence and change. Conference Introduction and Abstracts, p156.

Ferrell, G. Brown, S., Bullen, T., Gulc, E. Sheppard, M. 2009 ‘Curriculum Challenges: “big words which make us so unhappy”’. Symposium. ALT-C 2009, 16th International Conference 8-10 September, Manchester, UK. In Saxton, L. 2009 ALT-C 2009 In Dreams Begins Responsibility – choice, evidence and change. Conference Introduction and Abstracts, p83.

Brown, S. 2008 ‘Search me: issues in the design of online historical research resources’ Digital Resources for the Humanities and Arts. Cambridge University 14-17 September 2008 http://www.rsd.cam.ac.uk/drha08/

Invited addresses

2009 Managing Interdisciplinary Projects in Technology and the Humanities. InterFace 9-10 July 2009 Southampton University.

2009 Recent trends in digital cultural heritage and their implications for teaching photohistory. Photographic History Summer School Universität Zürich, Kunsthistorisches Institut, Zurich, Switzerland. 2-4 June 2009.

Consultancy work

Expertise: Technology Enhanced Learning.

Previous consultancies:

JISC
Guy’s, King’s, St. Thomas’ Dental Institute
Royal Holloway University of London
Institute of Education, University of London
Manchester University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Salford University
HE Academy
Marconi
Imperial College London
European Commission
DfES
Home Office
Birmingham University
Sheffield Hallam University
The Open University
Reuters UKI

Current research students

David Croft 1st
David Prakel 1st
Michael Robinson 1st

Motje Wolf 2nd
Heather Conboy 2nd
Fareed Albyat 2nd (completed)
Husni Othman 2nd
Nicholas Le Guern 2nd
May McWilliams 2nd

Externally funded research grants information

2012 AHRC FuzzyPhoto. AHRC Research Grant AH/J004367/1 £390,280, with Dr S. Coupland.

2006 Photographs Exhibited at the Royal Photographic Society 1870-1915. AHRC, £179,457 AH/D001420/1.

2006 AHDS Review and User Survey. JISC £15,000.

2006 Creativity East Midlands (CREEM) Research Network. AHRC, ESRC, Arts Council England, DTi £12,161 AH/E508405/1.

2005 Expanding the known correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot through the creation of a remote editing facility. British Academy £3079. SG-42043.

2005 AHRC ICT Strategy: Portals Scoping bid (led by Sheffield University) (£33,759 share of £124,182).

2004 ICT Awareness and Training Programme for the Arts and Humanities – JISC/AHRB £99,914.

2004 Three Centuries of Transport - New Opportunities Fund £7,000.

2004 Emsource elearning activity - EMMLAC £5,000.

2003 Photographs Exhibited in Britain 1839-1865 - AHRB Resource Enhancement RE/AN10921/APN17589 £37,470 (with R. Taylor).

2002 Three Centuries of Transport - New Opportunities Fund £227,000.

2002 Business Online – University for Industry £50,000.

2001 REALITY – BT Corporate Affairs £16,000.

2000 REALITY - BT Higher Education Development Award £10,000.

2000 Managed Learning Environment – JISC JCIEL-3 £250,000.

2000 ANGEL – JISC DNER B4/B43 (partner in consortium led by LSE.) £75,316 share of £378,997 http://www.angel.ac.uk/public-files/ppt/nh_huddersfield_290103.ppt#2

1999 REALITY - BT Higher Education Development Award £99,872.

1999 University for Industry in the East Midlands. HEFCE £12,000.

1999 Image Object Numbering Systems. JISC JTAP 588 £9,800.

1996 The Home Office. Study of Technology in the Support of Learning, National Police Training project, ITT no. C5436 £13,200.

1996 Heritage on the Web - Department of Trade and Industry Multimedia Demonstrator Project MMDP96/4 (half responsibility) £30,000.

1996 FLORIST - Department of Trade and Industry Multimedia Demonstrator Project MMDP96/25 £29,858.

1995 PILOT - BT University Development Award Project (one third responsibility with The Open University and The University of Lincolnshire and Humberside) £99,984.

Internally funded research project information

2011 DMU HEIF GAME £50,000 Project Director 2011-2012.

2011 DMU PhD Studentship: The Nature of Kodak Full bursary, £40,500 plus tuition fees, 2012-2015, Second supervisor with Kelley Wilder.

2010 DMU PhD Studentship: Investigation of the potential of user generated metadata for building adaptive expert systems to identify historical photographic resources. Full bursary, £40,500 plus tuition fees, 2010-2013, First supervisor with Simon Coupland.

2009 DMU Revolving Investment Fund bid: FuzzyPhoto £6150 2009-2010, Principal Investigator with Bob John.

Published patents

Multi-Spectral Holographic Security Marker. British Patent GB 0912696.2 (with M. Richardson and S. Smith).

Professional esteem indicators

Editorial Board, Interactive Learning Environments 2005-
President Association for Learning Technology 2004-2005.
Editorial Review Board for AACE/SITE Journals 2004-
Editorial board, Journal of the Association for Learning Technology 1993-
AHRC Review Panel: Cultures and Heritage, March 2011.
AHRC Review Panel: Languages and Literature December 2010.
Open Educational Resources 2010 (OER10) Programme Committee Cambridge 22-24 March 2010.
Amplified Leicester Advisory Group member. (NESTA funded project. http://amplifiedcity.typepad.com/leicester/advisorygroup.html).2009-2010.
Scientific Committee member Software Technologies to Support Creativity workshop, COMPSAC 09, Seattle, Washington, July 20 - July 24, 2009.
Programme Committee member, Creativity and Innovation in Software Engineering (CISE’09) Ravda (Nessebar), Bulgaria, 10 - 12 June 2009.
Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College member date 2004-ongoing.
Technical Reviewer, Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College.
European Commission FP7 IST Proposal evaluator: Digital Libraries and Technology-enhanced Learning. 2008-2012.
Member, Review Committee for IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT). 2008-2010.

Case studies

Amateur Photographer 12 May 2010 ‘Photographic History detectives investigate missing links.