Veronica Johansson

Biography

I am a researcher and lecturer at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science (SSLIS) at the University of Borås. My area of teaching mainly concerns information policy issues in the digitised information landscape, in particular personal integrity related to technological development and privacy laws and regulations. Other areas of teaching include critical information literacy, visualisation, interaction design, and qualitative data production methods such as interviews, observations, and participant inquiry. My research is focused on exploring the range and meanings of critically informed information practices – the so called critical literacies – that can be found among users that work and interact with data visualisations. Within this field of visualisation, I aim to pursue a broad variation in the types of users, contexts, aims and ways to visually represent data. In my theoretical framework I combine aspects of a sociocultural perspective with theories from science and technology studies. Research activities and projects For my dissertation, published in December 2012, I conducted two case studies in which different types of users interact with different types of data visualisation tools. One case is centered on how a geographic information system (MapInfo) is used for analysing and preventing traffic accidents in the city of Gothenburg. The other case is centred on how a dynamic time series animating chart (Trendalyzer) is used for analysing and spreading knowledge about the world’s development in three different organisational settings. In 2013-2014, I have also been involved in a project funded by Internetfonden .SE, entitled Omvärld.se – fördjupad samhällsförståelse med interaktiva visualiseringar i gymnasieskolan (”The surrounding world – deeper understanding through the use of interactive visualisations in upper secondary school”). In this project we worked with teachers at a Swedish upper secondary school to help them develop and use data and visualisations as learning and pedagogic resources in the subjects geography and social science. Title of Dissertation A Time and Place for Everything? Social Visualisation Tools and Critical Literacies

Research Interest

Library and Information Science