Dr Sharon Wagg
BSc (UCL), MA (Sheffield), PhD (Loughborough)
Information School
Lecturer in Library and Information Management
Full contact details
Information School
Room C226
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Profile
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I joined the Information School in 2022 as a Lecturer in Library and Information Management. Prior to joining the Information School I was a Research Associate at Lancaster University Management School working on the DCMS funded Mobile Access North Yorkshire (MANY) rural digital connectivity project and on a British Academy funded digital poverty project. I graduated in 2021 with a PhD from Loughborough University from the Centre of Information Management in the School of Business & Economics. Funded through the Mark Hepworth scholarship, my PhD explored digital inclusion initiative provision in UK rural communities and the entanglement of organisations, intermediaries, individuals and technology.
Previous relevant work experience has included freelance journalism and media analysis, school librarianship, and third sector policy research, including leading on a digital inclusion action research project for public libraries.
- Research interests
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My principle research interest lies in digital inclusion and exclusion, access and use of information, and the influence of digitalisation on organisations, work and society:
- My current research investigates digital transformation, digital connectivity, and digital poverty, and the assemblage of situated and entangled sociomaterial practices within organisations and communities operating in this space. I am specifically interested in the conditions and practices that configure inequalities in accessing and using ICTs in the context of underserved or vulnerable populations.
- Other research interests include: organisation studies, digital divides, ICT4D, digital skills development, social dimensions of information systems, knowledge sharing and boundary spanning practices, and the future of work agenda.
- I have an interest in the application of Activity Theory, Arenas/Social Worlds Theory and Practice Theory to theorise the complexity of digital adoption, access to information, and the utilisation of responsible research and innovation in projects.
- Most of my research uses qualitative methods and has involved working with policy makers, social enterprises, third sector organisations, and digital infrastructure stakeholders operating in the digital inclusion sphere.
I am interested in supervising PhD projects in the following areas:
- Digital exclusion and remote working/learning
- Digital inclusion and the public library sector
- Mis/dis-information as connected to information literacy and access to information
- School libraries
- Digital infrastructure in rural communities
- Digital inclusion practices and management in organisations
- Organisational culture and digital adoption
- Digital skills development and work practices
- Publications
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Journal articles
- A policy-level perspective to tackle rural digital inclusion. Information Technology & People, 35(7), 1884-1911.
- Information literacy outreach between universities and schools. Journal of Information Literacy, 14(2), 44-70. View this article in WRRO
Chapters
- Reflections on Post Hoc Theorization of ICT4D Action Research Projects, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology (pp. 338-349). Springer Nature Switzerland
- Digital Inclusion and Women’s Health and Well-Being in Rural Communities In Yates SJ & Rice RE (Ed.) (pp. 110-135). Oxford University Press
Conference proceedings papers
- Digital inclusion network building: a network weaving analysis. Proceedings of the 29th UK Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS) International Conference. Canterbury, Kent, 25 April 2024 - 25 April 2024. View this article in WRRO
Reports
- Digital inclusion network development: a case study in Derbyshire - Full report View this article in WRRO
- Digital inclusion network development: a case study in Derbyshire - Executive Summary View this article in WRRO
- Digital poverty transformation: accessing digital services in rural northwest communities View this article in WRRO
Other
- MANY project toolkit for community engagement in complex projects: lessons from a 5G digital infrastructure project. View this article in WRRO
- Report: The importance of social engagement in putting 5G connectivity infrastructures in place. View this article in WRRO
- A policy-level perspective to tackle rural digital inclusion. Information Technology & People, 35(7), 1884-1911.
- Teaching activities
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I contribute to the following modules:
- INF6180/INF6580 Libraries, Information and Society
- INF6040 Business Intelligence
- INF6031/INF6531 Public and Youth Libraries
- PGT dissertation supervision
- INF6511 Information and Knowledge Management
- Professional activities and memberships
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Invited and peer-reviewed talks and presentations
- Researching rural digital inclusion – a multi-layered approach (2019) Developing digital skills in rural communities, One Digital & Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership, Preston.
- Is Britain ready to go cashless? (2022) The Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturers & Commerce (RSA), (invited panel member)
- Community Engagement (2021) UK5G Innovation Network, (invited panel member)
- Rural digital inclusion & Covid-19 (2021) What matters now: Digital inclusion; Lancaster University Management School
- Digital Infrastructure Grand Challenge: Working in an inclusive way with rural communities (2021) Rural Digital Connectivity, Rural Services Network seminar
- How can digital leaders help rural communities achieve socio economic flourishing through improved connectivity and 5G (2021) Digital Leaders Week
- Digital Inclusion in the context of rural UK (2019) Cultural and Digital Inequalities: Opportunities, Barriers and Challenges, Institute of Advanced Studies research seminar, Loughborough University.
- A literature review on the linkages between digital inclusion and information literacy (2018) UNESCO Global Media & Information Literacy Webinar, Information School, University of Sheffield
- A collaborative approach to digital inclusion: Good Things Foundation’s Library Action Research (2016) CILIP Annual Conference, Brighton
- Public libraries and digital inclusion: Good Things Foundation’s Library Action Research (2016) Digital Stockport, Stockport
- Public libraries and digital inclusion: Good Things Foundation’s Library Action Research (2016) Derbyshire Libraries Conference, Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Conferences attended
- EGOS (European Group Organisational Studies) 2022/2019
- ECIL (European Conference of Information Literacy) 2018/2016
- ECIS (European Conference of Information Systems) 2018
- iConference 2018
- CILIP 2016
Membership of professional bodies
- Member of European Group of Organisation Studies (EGOS)
- Member of CILIP