Colin Smith
Colin Smith

Dr Colin Smith

Associate Professor

Biography

My research addresses ICTs, strategic innovation and organisational change particularly in public sector organisations, and often in relation to ‘e-government’ and ‘e-democracy’.
I am a member of the Centre for Social Informatics http://www.iidi.napier.ac.uk/c/main/site/csi

I also undertake pedagogic research looking at emergent professionalism in computing students and the role played by placement and professional practice in underpinning employability. I am a member of the Centre for Computing Education Research (CCER) where I lead on employability research.

Core areas of interest:
- Role of the Internet for political parties in contemporary democratic practices.
- Digital delivery platforms for public services.
- Use of new technology by parliamentarians.

Journal/Conference Roles:

March 2015 - Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning
Member of the Review Panel for this journal, focusing on the interface between higher education and the workplace.

March 2010 – Dec 2013 Information Polity
Reviews Editor and then member of the Editorial Board (December 2013- ) for this leading journal in the field of critical assessment of information age governance and democracy http://www.iospress.nl/journal/information-polity/

1995 - European Group of Public Administration
Member of Permanent Study Group 1: e-Government

News

Events

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • UUK / Department for Education roundtable
  • Member of ISO-WACE Advisory Board

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Programme Committee Member - BHCI

 

Editorial Activity

  • Member of Reviewers Panel: Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning
  • Member of the Editorial Board: Information Polity
  • Reviews Editor: Information Polity

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External Examiner for BSc Information Systems, Heriot-Watt University
  • External Examiner (MBA), Liverpool John Moores University

 

Invited Speaker

  • Grasping a Jellyfish? Some problematic aspects of 'Belonging'
  • Employability and Social Mobility Workshop - 'Exploring Barriers'
  • Digital Skills for Graduates

 

Research Degree External Examining

  • External Examiner (PhD) - Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
  • External Examiner (PhD) - Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
  • External Examiner (PhD), University of Derby
  • External Examiner (PhD), University of Udine, Italy

 

Date


81 results

Job-seeking narratives: in search of graduate capitals acquired during student placements

Journal Article
Smith, S., & Smith, C. (in press)
Job-seeking narratives: in search of graduate capitals acquired during student placements. British Journal of Sociology of Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2024.2328125
Being a graduate is no longer sufficient to secure a fulfilling and rewarding graduate role. This paper drew on Tomlinson’s Graduate Capital Model to analyse the job-seeking n...

Disparities in work-integrated learning experiences for students who present as women: an international study of biases, barriers, and challenges

Journal Article
Bowen, T., Drysdale, M. T., Callaghan, S., Smith, S., Johansson, K., Smith, C., …Berg, T. (2024)
Disparities in work-integrated learning experiences for students who present as women: an international study of biases, barriers, and challenges. Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning, 14(2), 313-328. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-05-2023-0115
Purpose This study identifies gendered disparities among women students participating in work-integrated learning and explores the effects of the disparities on their percepti...

Investigating cognitive adaptability in new workplace cultures with the Imitation Game

Presentation / Conference
Stephen, K., Hall, H., Brazier, D., & Smith, C. (2021, August)
Investigating cognitive adaptability in new workplace cultures with the Imitation Game. Paper presented at BSA Work, Employment and Society Conference 2021, Online
This paper discusses a new methodology in investigating cognitive adaptability, defined as “the ability to effectively and appropriately evolve or adapt decision policies give...

Agile Implementation and Expansive Learning: Identifying Contradictions and Their Resolution Using an Activity Theory Perspective

Conference Proceeding
Chita, P., Cruickshank, P., Smith, C., & Richards, K. (2020)
Agile Implementation and Expansive Learning: Identifying Contradictions and Their Resolution Using an Activity Theory Perspective. In Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming. , (3-19). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49392-9_1
A key challenge organisations face when transitioning to agile delivery methods is that of quickly and effectively learning new ways of working. This study posits that fundame...

An Exploration of the Professional and Leader Identity of IT Professionals Transitioning to a Permanent Hybrid Role: A Longitudinal Investigation

Journal Article
Smith, S., Garavan, T., Munro, A., Ramsay, E., Smith, C., & Varey, A. (2021)
An Exploration of the Professional and Leader Identity of IT Professionals Transitioning to a Permanent Hybrid Role: A Longitudinal Investigation. Information Technology and People, 34(2), 789-811. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-02-2019-0084
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the role of professional and leader identity and the maintenance of identity, through identity work as IT professionals trans...

Degree apprenticeships - a win-win model? A comparison of policy aims with the expectations and experiences of apprentices

Journal Article
Smith, S., Caddell, M., Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, C., & Varey, A. (2022)
Degree apprenticeships - a win-win model? A comparison of policy aims with the expectations and experiences of apprentices. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 73(4), 505-525. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2020.1744690
This article compares policy aims with experiences following the introduction of a new model for STEM apprenticeships in the UK. Degree apprentices work while studying for a d...

Identity and belonging for graduate apprenticeships in computing: the experience of first cohort degree apprentices in Scotland

Conference Proceeding
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Smith, C. (2019)
Identity and belonging for graduate apprenticeships in computing: the experience of first cohort degree apprentices in Scotland. In Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference on Innovation & Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE’19) (2-8). https://doi.org/10.1145/3304221.3319753
In September 2017, our university’s first graduate apprentices began degrees in Software Development, Cybersecurity, and Information Technology Management for Business. This s...

The Social Impact of Digital Youth Work: What Are We Looking For?

Journal Article
Pawluczuk, A., Webster, G., Smith, C., & Hall, H. (2019)
The Social Impact of Digital Youth Work: What Are We Looking For?. Media and Communication, 7(2), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v7i2.1907
Digital youth work is an emerging field of research and practice which seeks to investigate and support youth-centred digital literacy initiatives. Whilst digital youth work p...

'Digital youth work: youth workers' balancing act between digital innovation and digital literacy insecurity.

Journal Article
Pawluczuk, A., Hall, H., Webster, G., & Smith, C. (2019)
'Digital youth work: youth workers' balancing act between digital innovation and digital literacy insecurity. Information Research, 24(1),
Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present empirical research which examines the ways youth workers in the United Kingdom perceive their work in the context of digital liter...

The impact of work placement on graduate employment in computing: outcomes from a UK-based study

Journal Article
Smith, S., Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, C., & Webster, G. (2018)
The impact of work placement on graduate employment in computing: outcomes from a UK-based study. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, 19(4), 359-369
This study followed recent computing graduates into the workplace and explored their undergraduate experiences of work placements and subsequent impact on graduate employment....

Pre-Napier Funded Projects

  • COST A14 - Government and Democracy in the Information Age

Current Post Grad projects

Previous Post Grad projects