Federico Siano is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas), affiliated with the Jindal School of Management. His research focuses on the intersection of accounting disclosures, textual analysis, and macroeconomic factors, leveraging machine learning and big data methods to explore topics like systematic risk, investor behavior, and financial reporting practices. His work investigates how firms' disclosures influence market perceptions and risk premiums, with a particular emphasis on applying advanced analytical techniques to small datasets. Recent studies include analyses of earnings announcements, macroeconomic discourse in corporate communications, and challenges in financial statement replication. Dr. Siano's research has been published in leading accounting and finance journals, addressing themes such as narrative-driven investing, LLM applications in financial text analysis, and the primacy of numerical data in disclosures.
Margit Keller is an Associate Professor of Social Communication and Head of the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Tartu's Faculty of Social Sciences. She has held leadership roles, including Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (2024–present) and Head of the Institute of Social Studies (2016–2022). Her research focuses on everyday social practices, socio-technical transitions, and sustainable development. She earned her Ph.D. in Media and Communications from the University of Tartu in 2004. Educational background includes a PhD in Media and Communications (2004), MA in Media and Communications (1999), and BA in English Language and Literature (1994), all from the University of Tartu. Her research interests center on the intersection of societal change, sustainability, and consumer culture. Key themes include energy transition policy, socio-technical systems transformation, and the governance of everyday practices. She has authored/co-authored influential works like the Guidebook for aligning practices and steering multi-system change (2024) and contributed to Energy Research & Social Science and Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions . Keller has led projects such as the ETF grant 'Change communication and social practices' (2012–2015) and serves on boards like the Research Advisory Body of Ida-Virumaa County. She chairs the European Sociological Association's Research Network on Consumption (RN5).
Francesco AIELLO is a Full Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics, Statistics and Finance "Giovanni Anania" at the University of Calabria, Italy. He has held this position since 2012, after progressing from Assistant Professor (1996-2003) to Associate Professor (2003-2012) at the same institution. He is the founder of OpenCalabria.com (2015), a non-profit think-tank focused on the Calabrian economy and Italian regional economic divides, and serves as Editor in Chief of the associated online journal Regional Economy. His educational background includes: Laurea (BA) in Economics, University of Calabria, summa cum laude (1989) 2-year Post-Graduate Diploma in Agricultural Economics (1991) PhD in Agricultural Economics, University of Naples (1995) Summer Schools in Econometrics and Social Science Data Analysis (1990-1994) Professor Aiello is an applied economist specializing in micro-econometrics, international trade, and evidence-based policy formulation. His current research focuses on the innovation-productivity nexus at firm level, with particular emphasis on family firms and regional economic divides in Inner areas. He has published extensively in leading journals including Journal of Economic Surveys, Papers in Regional Science, and Small Business Economics, with over 120 publications documented in university records. His recent publications reveal a strategic research trajectory examining how innovation drives productivity, particularly in family firms, while increasingly addressing the intersection of digitalization and environmental sustainability. The 2025 work on "Bayesian insights on digitalization and environmental sustainability practices" demonstrates his engagement with the EU's twin transition agenda, while numerous Italian-language publications address practical economic challenges in Southern Italy. Professor Aiello has served as scientific coordinator for multiple EU Commission, Italian Ministry of Research, and Regione Calabria-funded projects. He currently leads the DS-FITTI "Dynamic South: Firms Innovation, Twin Transition and Investments" project and coordinates research within the PNRR Tech4you initiative focused on climate change impacts. He has supervised 204 Bachelor's and Master's theses plus 6 PhD theses, reflecting his significant mentorship role. He is an active member of the "DIVARI DI PRODUTTIVITA', INNOVAZIONE E POLITICHE DI SVILUPPO" research group examining firm productivity determinants, territorial policies, trade barriers, and efficiency analysis. His professional service includes membership on the National Commission for National Scientific Qualification in Economic Policy (2021-2023) and referee work for major economics journals including American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Journal of Economic Surveys.
Dr. Sash Vaid is a tenured Associate Professor of Marketing at McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business and an Affiliate Faculty member with the School of Computational Science and Engineering. He also holds a Research Affiliate position at the University of Michigan, specializing in econometrics and quantitative marketing of dual-use industrial and cyber technologies. His educational background includes: Ph.D. from the University of Houston MBA from Duke University Graduate studies at Rice University Graduate studies at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, Penn State University Dr. Vaid's research revolves around a 'Vaid Venn Diagram' intersecting political economy of marketing, dual-use industrial and cyber technologies, and exogenous shocks. He investigates regulatory contexts impacting firms, defense-derived technologies (AI, cybersecurity, geodata) repurposed for commercial use, and macro/micro-level shocks affecting marketing interfaces. His methodology leverages field experiments and programming languages (SQL, Python, Java, C++, CSS, R) to quantify cyber-driven consumption. Analysis of his 2020-2025 publications reveals strong interdisciplinary trends spanning marketing analytics, executive turnover dynamics, AI applications, and pandemic modeling. His work bridges business, computational science, and public health, with significant focus on B2B executive transitions, lead generation technologies, and Covid-19 infection rate estimation using AI. No scientific awards were mentioned in the provided text. Dr. Vaid advises students across undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. He teaches Marketing Analytics (the first undergraduate business course integrating dual-use technology industry), Synthetic Consumer Analytics in the Master of Management in AI and Analytics program, and doctoral courses in Causal Inference. His research is supported by grants including SSHRC funding, and he co-leads development of Canada's 1st Sales & Data Science Lab. He directs the Vaid Lab for Dual-use Technologies and co-leads the Sales & Data Science Lab at the McLean Centre for Collaborative Discovery, providing students with training in high-performance computing, data visualization, deep learning hardware, and collaborative data analysis systems.
Jill Adler is a Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Department of Education, Oxford University . Her career spans large-scale teacher development projects, including the Wits Maths Connect Secondary (WMCS) Project and the Nuffield-funded “Developing Language-Responsive Mathematics Classrooms” . She served as President of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) from 2017-2020 and held the SARChI Mathematics Education Chair (2010-2019). Education: PhD in Mathematics Education. Awards: 2015 ICMI Hans Freudenthal Medal 2012 ASSAf Gold Medal for Science in the Service of Society 2015 Svend Pedersen Lecture Award 2003 Vice Chancellor’s Research Award 2003 Vice Chancellor’s Academic Citizenship Team Award Research Interests focus on mathematics teacher development in multilingual and resource-constrained settings. She has pioneered frameworks like Mathematical Discourse in Instruction (MDI) and Mediating Primary Mathematics (MPM) to analyze classroom practices, emphasizing coherence in explanations, representation transformations, and language-responsive pedagogy. Her work bridges curriculum reform , pedagogical theory , and teacher identity formation . Publications highlight trends in language-responsive teaching , variation theory , and teacher professional development . Key themes include exemplification strategies , mathematical discourse , and policy implementation challenges in diverse educational systems.
Eike Mark Rinke is a Lecturer in Politics and Media in the School of Politics and International Studies , Faculty of Social Sciences , University of Leeds since 2019. He also serves as Co-Director of the Centre for Democratic Engagement , School Open Research Lead, and Local Network Lead for the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) . Previously he was a post-doctoral researcher at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) and a visiting scholar at the University of Washington and İzmir University of Economics . Education Dr. phil. Media and Communication Studies – University of Mannheim MA Media and Public Affairs – George Washington University BA Communication Studies and Social Sciences – University of Erfurt Research Interests Rinke’s work straddles empirical and normative dimensions of political communication. On the micro-level he examines how individual journalists and citizens discuss political events, while on the macro-level he evaluates the democratic quality of these discourses across campaigns, protests, and everyday life. A second major strand involves meta-research and open scholarship: he studies transparency, reproducibility, and the sociology of scientific practices, leading initiatives such as the UKRN Leeds hub, BITSS Catalyst activities, and SocArXiv moderation. Publication Trends Across the past fifteen years his peer-reviewed output has shifted from agenda-setting, framing, and anti-Americanism (2011-2016) toward open-science advocacy and meta-research (2019-2024). Recent high-impact articles in PNAS and Nature Human Behaviour illuminate hidden analytical variability in social-science findings, while comparative projects in International Journal of Press/Politics dissect outrage and civility in global public debates. Computational methods—topic modelling, sentiment analysis, multi-analyst designs—feature prominently in this corpus. Scientific Awards & Recognition ICA Outstanding Dissertation in Political Communication (2017) ICA Gene Burd Outstanding Dissertation Award (2015) AAPOR Burns “Bud” Roper Fellow Award (2016) APSA Political Psychology Distinguished Junior Scholars Award (2015) University of Leeds Research Culture Award – Open Research Practices (2024) Advising & Grant Activity Rinke supervises undergraduate and postgraduate modules on political communication and meta-research, and welcomes PhD applications in media & democracy, public deliberation, journalism studies, and open scholarship. While specific grant numbers are not provided, his coordination of 161 researchers in the PNAS many-analyst study illustrates capacity to secure large-scale collaborative funding. Labs, Teams & Networks Co-Director, Centre for Democratic Engagement Member, Centre for Contemporary Political Theory Local Network Lead, UK Reproducibility Network BITSS Catalyst, Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences Moderator, SocArXiv open preprint archive Editorial Board member, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication Associate Editor, Political Communication
Angelika Schmidt is an Associate Professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business , serving as Interim Institute Director since October 2024. She has been affiliated with the university since 1994, acting as a Contract Lecturer since 2012 and holding leadership roles in academic staff advocacy as former Chairwoman of the Works Council (2013-2021) and current Member of Vienna Chamber of Labor (since 2024). Education: Habilitation (2012), PhD (2000), and Diploma (1992) all from Vienna University of Economics and Business Research Focus: Multilevel organizational analysis spanning micro-level work-life interfaces , meso-level commitment factors , and macro-level labor frameworks . Key areas include organizational metaphors, feminist activism, new employment models (gig/crowdworking), and participatory action in public welfare. Her 2024 article Hegemonic Structures and Practices in Labor Relations at Austrian Universities and 2025 Elgar Encyclopedia contributions highlight her interdisciplinary approach to gender discrimination and structural power dynamics. Academic Leadership: Module Leader for Change, Creativity, and Innovation in the Management Master's program and co-leader of research projects like Gender Equality in Academia (2008-2015) and Complexity Management (2016-2018). She maintains memberships in Academy of Management (AOM) European Academy of Management (EURAM) European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) Scientific Recognition: Recipient of the 2005 Dr. Maria Schaumayer Habilitationsstipendium 2001 Austrian Research Association Printing Cost Grant Teaching Philosophy: Integrates experiential learning and systemic consulting into organizational research, emphasizing didactic implementation of change management principles.
Leticia Alvarez is an Associate Professor at the University of Utah’s College of Education , specifically within the Education, Culture & Society department. A first-generation Purépecha Xicana scholar and educator, her work is deeply informed by her upbringing in a working-poor, mixed-status family along the San Diego-Tijuana border and her experiences navigating both underfunded K-12 schools and elite higher education institutions. Her research focuses on the educational experiences of BIPOC and Latinx communities , particularly those racially profiled, academically tracked, or undocumented. Education: Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology (Harvard), BA in Liberal Arts with Spanish minor (CSU San Marcos) Research strands include: (1) Latinx immigrant students’ navigational strategies in U.S. education; (2) family-school engagement through community-based research; and (3) culturally sustaining praxis for teachers. Theories employed include critical social theory , Chicana feminist theory , and participatory action research (PAR) . Recent publications address COVID-19’s impact on Latinx education , resisting the school-to-sweatshop pipeline , and undocumented youth agency . Awards include the Distinguished Faculty Service Award (2022), Social Justice & Transformation Award (2022), and multiple honors from the Mestizo Arts & Activism Collective (2016, 2019). She served on the Utah Board of Juvenile Justice and contributed to community engagement initiatives like the Afghan Refugee Leadership Training Series (2023).
Dr Andrew Clapham is an Associate Professor of Education Policy and S3 Methods Hub Lead at the Nottingham Institute of Education (NIoE) within Nottingham Trent University's School of Social Sciences. He specializes in policy sociology, examining how macro-level education policies are enacted at micro-level stakeholder levels. His roles include Education Research lead and Higher Education Academy Senior Fellow. He collaborates with policy-makers, practitioners, and international partners such as the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência (Lisbon) and MUSE - Museo delle Scienze (Trento, Italy). His research focuses on education governance, informal learning evaluation, mathematics education policy borrowing, and Further Education sector dynamics. Education : BEd from the University of Greenwich, MA and PhD from the University of Nottingham. Research Interests : Policy implementation, performativity in education, cross-national policy borrowing (e.g., mathematics 'mastery'), and evaluation frameworks for non-formal learning institutions. His work bridges policy critique with practitioner needs, emphasizing empirical evidence to inform educational reforms. Publications & Projects : Over 20 peer-reviewed articles and leadership in projects like LearnToEngage (professional development for informal educators) and the Outstanding Teaching, Learning and Assessment initiative. His recent work explores governance maturity theory and the impact of short-notice inspections. Awards & Activities : Higher Education Academy Senior Fellow, Editorial Board member of Pedagogy, Culture and Society , and Chair of BERA’s Audit and Risk Committee. Supervises PhD candidates and serves as external doctoral examiner. Labs/Teams : Leads NIoE’s S3 Methods Hub, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to advance policy-relevant research methodologies.
Boragan Aruoba is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland, where he has been a faculty member since 2004. He is a macroeconomist with theoretical and empirical interests in monetary economics, nonlinear macroeconomic dynamics, and econometric methods. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, and he serves as an editor for the Journal of Monetary Economics and as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Education: PhD in Economics, University of Pennsylvania, 2004 Research Interests: Aruoba's work spans both theoretical and empirical macroeconomics. On the theoretical side, he studies nonlinearities in macroeconomic models, particularly dynamics near the zero lower bound (ZLB) on nominal interest rates. His empirical research focuses on data revisions, yield curve modeling, and real-time macroeconomic measurement. His tools include dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models, state-space methods, and machine learning techniques applied to policy shocks. Scientific Contributions: Developed the Aruoba-Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions Index , now produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Created Aruoba Term Structure of Inflation Expectations (ATSIX) , also implemented by the Philadelphia Fed. Co-developed GDPplus , a new measure of U.S. GDP growth, adopted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Advising and Grants: Aruoba has advised students such as Pablo Cuba-Borda, now at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation and he teaches macroeconomics, computational methods, and forecasting at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Affiliations and Roles: Editor, Journal of Monetary Economics Research Associate, NBER (Monetary Economics Program) Faculty member, Department of Economics, University of Maryland
Jillian Filliter, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University, affiliated with the Division of Developmental Pediatrics and the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. She holds dual appointments and leads research at the Autism Research Centre at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her work focuses on improving healthcare access and mental health interventions for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), particularly in school-aged populations. Dr. Filliter holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Dalhousie University, a Master of Health Administration, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology, all from Dalhousie. Her clinical interests emphasize ASD assessment and health psychology interventions for neurodivergent youth. Research priorities include system-level interventions to address healthcare disparities faced by individuals with ASD. Her research spans vaccine uptake patterns in ASD populations, telehealth coaching for parents of children with developmental delays, and innovative micro-research programs for youth. Awards include the Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellowship (Autism Speaks) and the Killam Predoctoral Scholarship. She has contributed to over 20 peer-reviewed publications since 2005, with recent work addressing healthcare equity and digital health solutions. Dr. Filliter collaborates across disciplines, bridging developmental pediatrics, clinical psychology, and public health. Her current projects explore parental engagement in care and the implementation of evidence-based practices in pediatric settings.
Dr. Joëlle Swart is an Assistant Professor in Journalism Studies at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Arts. She leads the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, coordinating the Digital Inclusion theme at the Jantina Tammes School. Her roles include editorial board membership for Digital Journalism and secretary/treasurer for academic funds like the Catharine van Tussenbroek Fund and Young Academics Network (YARN). Education: She earned a BA in International Relations (with Journalism minor) from the University of Groningen (2009-2011), an MA in Journalism (cum laude, 2009-2011), and a PhD in Media and Journalism Studies (2013-2017). Her postdoctoral work (2018-2021) focused on digital inclusion and media literacy. Research interests center on changing news consumption patterns, digital literacy development in youth and marginalized groups, and the sociological impact of algorithmic systems. She emphasizes practical applications of media literacy in education and policy, with fieldwork on topics like smartphone news habits, algorithmic negotiation tactics, and the paradox of play in media learning. Recent work highlights include a 2025 study on enforced digital inclusion of low-literate citizens, a 2024 analysis of participatory tactics among marginalized populations, and a 2023 exploration of news perception on Instagram. Her grants include a €580k regional education collaboration (2025) and a €590k NWO Digital Society grant (2020). Awards include the 2025 Faculty of Arts Impact Award and 2021 Science Prize. She frequently lectures internationally on media literacy and digital inclusion, appearing in Dutch media outlets like de Volkskrant and NRC Handelsblad . Collaborative work includes grants with Prof. Marcel Broersma and lab coordination involving researchers like Dr. Maud Rebergen and Alexander Smit. Her teaching covers journalism theory and digital media practices at undergraduate/graduate levels.
Randi Edland Kroken serves as a Consultant at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Agder (UiA). She holds a doctorate in social work from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and has been appointed as professor in child welfare. Her scholarly work aligns with UiA's signing of the DORA declaration in October 2020 (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment). Dr. Kroken's academic background includes: Social worker qualification from NKSH (1982) Master's degree in social work (1997) from NTNU Doctorate (PhD) in social work (2012) from NTNU Her research focuses on three interconnected areas: Transformation of child welfare care and responsibility - examining how social workers navigate responsibility within the welfare state's administrative levels from micro to macro Management of power and morality in the welfare state - exploring how social workers find themselves in fields of tension where power appears in moral guise Extended studies of care - investigating how qualitative phenomena like responsibility and care can be conveyed through humanistic and phenomenological approaches Dr. Kroken's scholarly output demonstrates an evolution from traditional social work analysis toward more philosophical and existential approaches to care. Her recent publications increasingly incorporate spirituality, self-care, and phenomenological perspectives while maintaining her critical analysis of power structures in welfare systems. She effectively bridges academic research with public discourse through regular contributions to Telemarksavisa newspaper. Her significant scholarly contributions include: 2018 book "Omsorgsforståelser. Mellom poesi, profesjon og politikk" (Understandings of Care. Between Poetry, Profession and Politics) 2016 co-authored book "Forvaltning av makt og moral i velferdsstaten" (Management of Power and Morality in the Welfare State) 2015 book "Ansvar i barnevern" (Responsibility in Child Welfare) 2023 chapter "Truth-telling in the Care of the Self" exploring spirituality in compressed times Dr. Kroken actively engages with both academic and public audiences, demonstrating her commitment to translating complex theoretical insights into practical social understanding and contributing to broader societal discussions about welfare, care, and ethical responsibility.
Jason J. Jones serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Stony Brook University, leveraging his interdisciplinary background spanning Computer Science, Psychology, and Political Science to pioneer computational approaches in social inquiry. His work bridges technical methodology with sociological theory to analyze human behavior at unprecedented scales. His academic foundation includes: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science Doctorate in Psychology Post-doctoral research in Political Science Dr. Jones specializes in Computational Social Science and Algorithmic Fairness, utilizing massive datasets from social media platforms to re-examine classical theories of human behavior. His landmark Facebook collaboration generated voting behavior data from millions of participants, while his reworking of Granovetter's "strength of weak ties" hypothesis incorporated global professional networks. Current research focuses on identity quantification through linguistic analysis of social media bios, examining political polarization, LGBTQ visibility, and occupational identity evolution. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals dominant trends in identity measurement through Twitter bios (2012-2023), with methodological innovations in natural language processing enabling longitudinal tracking of societal shifts. His work consistently connects micro-level identity expression to macro-level social phenomena, particularly regarding AI's societal impacts and political behavior. No scientific awards are documented in available materials. Dr. Jones maintains active industry collaborations, notably with Facebook for large-scale behavioral experiments. His research methodology emphasizes open data practices, exemplified by the "Who am I 2024 Dataset," while mentoring graduate students in computational social science techniques though specific advisees aren't listed. His project-based approach operates at the sociology-computer science interface without formal lab affiliation, focusing on cross-disciplinary teams for identity analysis and AI impact studies.
Dr. Sachith Seneviratne is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne's Melbourne School of Design, specializing in Computer Vision and Health. His research bridges Machine Learning, Urban Design, and Public Health, with a focus on Deep Learning, Contrastive Representation Learning, and Agent-Based Modelling. He holds a PhD in Machine Learning from Monash University, exploring automated parallelized machine learning models. His work has collaborations with NASA, Harvard University, and Currnt Research Hub. He is affiliated with the Transport, Health and Urban Design (THUD) research group, focusing on 'Data and Value,' 'Future Cities,' and 'Healthy Communities and Infrastructure.' His recent publications span facial deepfake detection, urban design impacts on health, and automated architecture generation using LLMs. Research interests include generative design, automated infrastructure planning, and the ethical implications of facial recognition under privacy constraints (e.g., masked faces). He has pioneered methods for collecting population-level bicycling data via smartphones/Bluetooth beacons and developed novel architectures like Arch-LLM for neural architecture generation. His work on subgrid-informed flood mapping and physics-informed neural networks demonstrates cross-disciplinary innovation. Consulting work includes machine learning projects for NASA and Harvard. His lab teams focus on creating interpretable AI systems for environmental and health applications, such as Ginn-kan for physics simulations and Ginn-lp for symbolic equation discovery. Current projects aim to quantify urban design's impact on non-communicable diseases and improve walkability through micro-scaled spatio-temporal analysis.
