Shefali Virkar
@svirkar.bsky.social
Assistant Professor, WU (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) Austria. A political scientist working at the intersection of digital technologies, government and society. Passionate about the creation and exchange of knowledge.
An outright #ban on #socialmedia is less the act of a confident #government, and more a scramble to regain #control over a #technology and an #industry in the wake of a #failure of traditional top-down #policymaking. Effective #regulation involves rather #stakeholderconsensus and #digitalliteracy.
Following legislation introduced by the Australian government to stop young people from using major social media services, the OII's Dr Vicki Nash weighs in on whether the under-16 social media ban is the right course of action: www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
Expert Comment: Is an under-16 social media ban the right course? |
Dr Victoria Nash, Associate Professor and Senior Policy Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, researches the governance challenges of digital technologies, with a particular focus on online
www.ox.ac.uk
January 23, 2026 at 4:56 PM
An outright #ban on #socialmedia is less the act of a confident #government, and more a scramble to regain #control over a #technology and an #industry in the wake of a #failure of traditional top-down #policymaking. Effective #regulation involves rather #stakeholderconsensus and #digitalliteracy.
📢The #IFIP #EGOV2026 CfP is out! Delighted to be chairing the #SmartCities track (tinyurl.com/egov-conft) with
@mprguezbolivar.bsky.social and Joep Crompvoets.
📅 Deadline: 16 March 2026
🔗 Submission: tinyurl.com/egov-subm
✍ 30 Aug-3 Sept 2026
🌐 Conference website: tinyurl.com/egov-26
Join us!
@mprguezbolivar.bsky.social and Joep Crompvoets.
📅 Deadline: 16 March 2026
🔗 Submission: tinyurl.com/egov-subm
✍ 30 Aug-3 Sept 2026
🌐 Conference website: tinyurl.com/egov-26
Join us!
January 22, 2026 at 4:19 PM
📢The #IFIP #EGOV2026 CfP is out! Delighted to be chairing the #SmartCities track (tinyurl.com/egov-conft) with
@mprguezbolivar.bsky.social and Joep Crompvoets.
📅 Deadline: 16 March 2026
🔗 Submission: tinyurl.com/egov-subm
✍ 30 Aug-3 Sept 2026
🌐 Conference website: tinyurl.com/egov-26
Join us!
@mprguezbolivar.bsky.social and Joep Crompvoets.
📅 Deadline: 16 March 2026
🔗 Submission: tinyurl.com/egov-subm
✍ 30 Aug-3 Sept 2026
🌐 Conference website: tinyurl.com/egov-26
Join us!
How does #language shape the way we #perceive and interpret the world? What are the #consequences for the life-changing choices that we make? And how can we take back the use of language to protect the most #vulnerable and at-risk in #society? Today's #WUMattersWUTalks event made me stop and think.
📈 Rising prices, rampant inflation, and easily accessible loans are driving consumer debt.
How does language shape the way we think about debt? And how do people use language when offering financial advice?
Join the discussion on 🗓️ January 21, 6 pm
👉️ https://wu.at/quick-quid
How does language shape the way we think about debt? And how do people use language when offering financial advice?
Join the discussion on 🗓️ January 21, 6 pm
👉️ https://wu.at/quick-quid
Quick Quid
WU matters. WU talks.
www.wu.ac.at
January 21, 2026 at 7:41 PM
How does #language shape the way we #perceive and interpret the world? What are the #consequences for the life-changing choices that we make? And how can we take back the use of language to protect the most #vulnerable and at-risk in #society? Today's #WUMattersWUTalks event made me stop and think.
#Deliverable writing on a wintry afternoon in an empty office for the @idealdemocracy.bsky.social project. This, the second #report of WP1, focuses on #politicalparticipation from the perspective of experts and beneficiaries. So satisfying to see raw data turn into text! #researcher #worklife
January 17, 2026 at 3:26 PM
#Deliverable writing on a wintry afternoon in an empty office for the @idealdemocracy.bsky.social project. This, the second #report of WP1, focuses on #politicalparticipation from the perspective of experts and beneficiaries. So satisfying to see raw data turn into text! #researcher #worklife
Now is the time to examine how students engage with #ArtificialIntelligence tools in both academic and non-academic settings, explore the cross-over of competencies, and to harness this deeper understanding to support traditional teaching methods and foster critical thinking.
More than two-thirds of European universities say their PhD students are using artificial intelligence in their research, according to a major survey, which also found that doctoral education leaders see “more opportunity than challenges” in the rise of AI tools
https://ow.ly/opvj50XXcLn
https://ow.ly/opvj50XXcLn
Two-thirds of universities report AI use among doctoral students
Quarter of institutions admit they don’t know if PhD candidates are working with AI, while only a small proportion say they are coming up with guidelines on its use
ow.ly
January 16, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Now is the time to examine how students engage with #ArtificialIntelligence tools in both academic and non-academic settings, explore the cross-over of competencies, and to harness this deeper understanding to support traditional teaching methods and foster critical thinking.
#HotOffThePress The first IDEAL Project newsletter is out! Read further to find out what our diverse and multi-talented team has been upto for the last 12 months. Subscribe to keep abreast of the very latest project developments as we continue to build a truly inclusive deliberative space in Europe.
🆕 Our first project newsletter is live!
📜 Read more to find out fresh updates, from breaking down communication barriers to empowering more voices in public debate.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
👉 www.linkedin.com/pulse/inclus...
#Citizendeliberation #Languagetools #Democracy #HorizonEurope
📜 Read more to find out fresh updates, from breaking down communication barriers to empowering more voices in public debate.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
👉 www.linkedin.com/pulse/inclus...
#Citizendeliberation #Languagetools #Democracy #HorizonEurope
Inclusive Democratic Engagement and Language Technologies in Europe
IDEAL Consortium Introducing IDEAL IDEAL, a project funded by the European Commission (2.9M EUR), is set to transform democratic participation by addressing one of Europe’s greatest challenges - langu...
www.linkedin.com
January 13, 2026 at 1:47 PM
#HotOffThePress The first IDEAL Project newsletter is out! Read further to find out what our diverse and multi-talented team has been upto for the last 12 months. Subscribe to keep abreast of the very latest project developments as we continue to build a truly inclusive deliberative space in Europe.
Hello World! Starting something new ✨ This space is for sharing ideas, exchanging news, reviewing books, challenging accepted wisdom - and having a bit of an intellectual adventure along the way. Glad you are here. ❤️
January 12, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Hello World! Starting something new ✨ This space is for sharing ideas, exchanging news, reviewing books, challenging accepted wisdom - and having a bit of an intellectual adventure along the way. Glad you are here. ❤️