CV – Meghan M. Ferriter, Ph.D.

MEGHAN M. FERRITER, Ph.D.

Curriculum Vitae

12 June 2016

E-mail: ferriterm@si.edu
Website: http://meghaninmotion.com
Twitter: @MeghaninMotion

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
2014-2016           Project Coordinator, Smithsonian Transcription Center – Quotient, Inc. on behalf of Smithsonian Institution Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) – Washington, D.C.

2014-2015           Adjunct Faculty – George Mason University – School of Recreation, Health & Tourism – Fairfax, VA

2013           Consultant – Smithsonian Institution – Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) – Washington, D.C.

2013           Research Associate – Smithsonian Institution Archives – Washington, D.C.

2008-2010  Teaching Fellow – University of Abertay Dundee – Division of Sport and Exercise Sciences – Dundee, UK

EDUCATION
Ph.D.  SOCIOLOGY – (2011) University of Glasgow – Department of Sociology                    ‘Changing the Game? Gender, Ethnicity and Age in Mediated Professional Sport’ Exploring in what ways the cultural meanings of professional sport associated with gender, ethnicity, and age as presented in the media changed in the United Kingdom and the United States in the context of international social processes.

MA      HISTORY – (2005) – Old Dominion University – Department of History – ‘The Sharper Image: Bringing Irish Nationalist Identity Into Focus, 1880-1923’

BA       ANTHROPOLOGY and HISTORY (double) – (2003) – Davidson College – Departments of Anthropology and History

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My primary research interest lies in exploring the intersection and amplification of cultural beliefs and media discourse and digital and communication technologies – and ways groups create learning moments about social relationships, cultural norms, and power through these activities. I explore these topics analyzing collaborative production of knowledge in crowdsourcing and information sharing in communities of practice in social media. I currently have focused research interests in digital media and communication technologies, computer-mediated communication and participatory culture, and the diffusion of knowledge through linked technologies. My work examines social identities and boundaries; processes of cultural change; language, representation, and discourse; and sport and popular culture; and motivations and authority in cultural heritage and citizen science activities.

PUBLICATIONS
Journal Articles

Ferriter, M (2016, forthcoming). “Inviting Engagement, Supporting Success: How to Manage a Transcription Center.” In “Exploring the Smithsonian Institution Transcription Center” guest edited by Meghan Ferriter and Christine Rosenfeld. Collections: A Journal for Museum & Archives Professionals 12:02 (Spring 2016).

Ferriter, M. (2009). Arguably the Greatest: Sport Fans and Communities at Work on Wikipedia. Sociology of Sport Journal 26(1): 127-154.

Ferriter, M. (July 2008). Heroes and Zeroes: Extending celebrity sporting narratives beyond retirement. Football Studies 10(1/2). Formerly available at http://www.la84foundation.org/5va/footballstudies_frmst.htm – currently at http://academia.edu/3415790/HEROES_AND_ZEROES_Extending_Celebrity_Athlete_Narratives_Beyond_Retirement

Book Chapters

Ferriter, M. (2016, forthcoming) Chapter: Race, Ethnicity, Anthropology, and Sport. Routledge Handbook of Race and Ethnicity in Sport. London: Routledge. Forthcoming, Autumn 2016

Journal Issues – Editor

Special Issue: Smithsonian Transcription Center – Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals 12:02 (Spring 2016)

Book Reviews
Ferriter, M. (2008). The Anthropology of Development and Globalization. The Kelvingrove Review 2: 1-5. Accessible at http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/esharp/thekelvingrovereview/issue2socialengagement/

Conference & Workshop Activity

2016    DH2016 Expert Workshop Organizer: Beyond The Basics: What Next For Crowdsourcing? Preconference – Digital Humanities 2016 – Krakow, Poland – 12 July 2016

2016    DPLAfest 2016 – Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. – 14 April 2016 – Transcription Projects at the National Archives, Folger Shakespeare Library, and Smithsonian Institution Workshop

2016    South By Southwest Interactive (SXSW) 2016 – Art, Science & Interactive – Austin, TX – 12 March 2016 – Build the Crowdsourcing Community of Your Dreams

2016    American Association for the Advancement of Science – AAAS Annual Meeting – Washington, DC – 14 February 2016 – Poster: The Impact of Coordinated Social Media on Online Citizen Science Engagement

2015    Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference – Try It, You’ll Like It: A Hands-On Crowdsourcing Q&A – Roanoke, VA – 8 October 2015 – Dig In! Crowdsourcing and Access in the Archives with the Smithsonian Transcription Center

2015    MicroPasts Workshop – London, UK (virtual presentation) – 23 September 2015 – For Good Measure: Evaluating Success in Crowdsourcing

2015    Archival Education Research Institute 2015 – 16 July 2015 – College Park, MD – Keynote: Product or Process?: Creating Pathways and Catalyzing Adventure in the Archives with the Smithsonian Transcription Center

2015    Crowd Consortium of Libraries and Archives – College Park, Maryland – 07 May 2015 – Three Challenges to Scholarly Crowdsourcing: Trust, Workflow, Acknowledgement

2015    MicroPasts Workshop – London, UK (virtual presentation) – 31 March 2015 – Experiences from the Smithsonian Transcription Center

2014    American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting 2014 – Washington, DC – 2-6 December 2014. Discussant: Producing Anthropology, Producing Science: Citizen Science and Emerging Problematics – 04 December 2014

2014    American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting 2014 – Washington, DC – 2-6 December 2014. Panelist: Emerging Topics in Virtual Anthropology – Wait! What?! Rapidly Producing Knowledge, Sharing, and Seeking Consensus in Online Fandom – 05 December 2014

2014    North American Association for the Sociology of Sport – Annual Conference – Portland, OR – 06 November 2014 – Inside Access & Player Praxis: Doing Social Media, Fans, and Constructing Knowledge

2014    Smithsonian DigiFair 2014 – Smithsonian Institution – Washington, DC – 03 November 2014 – Digitization Makes a Transcription Center Possible

2014    Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting – Washington, DC – 15 August 2014 – Panelist: For the Increase and Diffusion of Knowledge: Achieving the Smithsonian Institution’s Mission Through Crowd-sourced Transcription.

2014    Lavender Languages 21 – American University – 15 February 2014. Is it “About Time” or a “Fantasy World”: Fans, Discourse, and Deciding if “Coming Out Matters” in Women’s Soccer

2013    Lavender Languages 20 – American University – 17 February 2013. ‘“Aslkjflkh,” “Hnnggg,” and “All the Feels”: Expressing admiration, desire, and insider knowledges in the USWNT fandom.’

2012    8th US-Japan Critical Infrastructure Protection Forum – Washington, D.C. – 29-30 December 2012 – Rapporteur

2012    UserFocus (Annual Conference) – User Experience Professional Association (UXPA)-DC – Washington, D.C. – 19 October 2012 – Participant

2012    CultureCamp DC – Alexandria, V.A. – 15 September 2012 – Panel Organizer/Moderator: “Add it Up: Developing Metrics to Assess Cultural Change” (45 min workshop)

2012    MobileUXCamp DC – Washington, D.C. – 14 August 2012 – Participant

2009    Knowledge Exchange on Public Policy – Promoting Best Practice on Equality and Human Rights in Scotland (Scottish Funding Council KE) – University of Edinburgh – Edinburgh, UK – 17 June 2009 – Rapporteur

2009    Knowledge Exchange On Public Policy – What does Human Rights have to say about Care and Dignity? (Scottish Funding Council KE) – Park Inn Hotel – Glasgow, UK – 29 April 2009 – Rapporteur

2009    Knowledge Exchange On Public Policy – Dimensions Of Persistent Inequality In Scotland (Scottish Funding Council KE) – Park Inn Hotel – Glasgow, UK – 15 January 2009 – Rapporteur

2008    British Philosophy of Sport Conference – Dudhope Castle, Dundee, UK – University of Abertay Dundee – March 26-28, 2009 – Administrative Research and Marketing Contact

2007    The Global Politics of LGBT Human Rights – University of Glasgow – Glasgow, UK – 16 November 2007 – Conference Paige

2007    Multinational Interagency Strategic Planning (MNISP) Workshop – Paris, France – Multinational Experimentation Series 5 – 19-24 April 2007 – Focus Group Leader, and Rapporteur

2006    Multinational Interagency Group (MNIG) Workshop – George Mason University and Peace Operations Policy Program, Arlington, Virginia, USA, 20-21 June 2006 – Rapporteur

2006    Multinational Experimentation (MNE) Series 5 Pre-Concept Development Conference– George Mason University and Peace Operations Policy Program, Arlington, Virginia, USA, 22-23 June 2006 – Rapporteur

Invited Talks

2016    Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections – WeDigBio 2016 Planning Workshop – Smithsonian Transcription Center & WeDigBio 2015: Online, In Person, & #BeeByBee – 20 April 2016

2016    CitSciChat – Twitter – Opening Access with Citizen Science: In a Word – Hosted by @CitSciScoop #CitSciChat – 24 February 2016

2016    Georgetown University – Museums & New Media – Washington, DC – 31 March 2016 – Smithsonian Transcription Center: Collaborating with Digital Volunteers to make Smithsonian Institution collections more accessible

2016    Federal Crowdsourcing & Citizen Science Community of Practice – Monthly Working Group – National Archives & Records Administration – 31 March 2016 – Feeding the Beast: Sustaining Volunteers and Staff in the Smithsonian Transcription Center

2016    George Washington University – Participatory Museums– Washington, DC – 30 March 2016 – Smithsonian Transcription Center: Supporting Digital Volunteers and enriching Smithsonian Institution collections

2015    CitSciChat – Twitter – Launching the Federal Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing Toolkit – Hosted by @CitSciScoop #CitSciChat – 30 September 2015

2015    Environmental Protection Agency – Citizen Science Working Group – Washington, DC – 22 April 2015 – Sowing the Seeds: Enriching Collections and Making Connections in the Smithsonian Transcription Center

2015    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – Public Engagement Working Group – Washington, DC – Experiences from the Smithsonian Transcription Center – 09 March 2015

2015    George Washington University – Digital Humanities and the Historian – HIST 3001-014 – 07 February 2014 – Engaging Discovery with Smithsonian Institution Transcription Center and Digital Volunteers.

2014    George Washington University – Digital Humanities and the Historian – HIST 3001-014 – 07 February 2014 – All Together Now: Smithsonian Institution Transcription Center and Engaging Digital Volunteers.

2008    University of Stirling – Sports Studies Department – Research Seminars in Sport Series 2007-2008 – 20 March 2008 – ‘Reading the Game: A Comparative Analysis of UK and US Athletes, Teams, and Sport Narratives.’

2008    University of Glasgow – Sociology, Anthropology, and Applied Social Sciences Seminar Series 2007-2008 – 08 March 2008 – ‘The Stories They Tell: The FIFA World Cup and Sport Advertising Narratives in the 21st Century.’

White Papers
Ferriter, M. (Feb 2007) ‘Civilian-Military Interaction White Paper.’ – Contracted research, examined five overarching themes contributing to ineffective communication patterns between military and government civilian representatives.

Ferriter, M. (July 2007) ‘Civil-Military Communication – Multinational Experimentation Series 5 (MNE5)/ Multinational Interagency Strategic Planning’ (MNISP).’ – Contracted research, evaluated multinational government civilian and military representatives and their efforts to create a basic tool for strategic planning and communications during times of crisis; made recommendations to relieve tensions in these discussions and improve the scope of communication.

Service Activity

2016    Program Committee (PC) for the 2016 AAAI Conference on Human Computation and Crowdsourcing (HCOMP’16)

2016    Review Panel, Institute for Museums and Libraries Services, National Digital Platform

2014-2016       Editorial Board Member – SportsWorld: The Journal of Global Sport

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Courses Taught

Sport in the Global Marketplace, Sport and International Development, Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology – Level 1, United States in a World Setting, Introduction to the Social Science of Sport and Exercise 1, Investigation in Sport and Exercise, Contexts in Sport I & II, Introduction to Research Methods, Research Methods II & III, The Coaching Process, Coaching Practice, Lifestyle Behaviour and Health Change

Teaching Roles
George Mason University – School of Recreation, Health, & Tourism – Fairfax, VA

2014-2015         Adjunct Professor

Sport Management M.S. Program – In-person and online courses: Sport in the Global Marketplace; Sport and International Development

University of Abertay Dundee – Division of Sport & Exercise Sciences – Dundee, UK

2009-2010       Module Tutor (Instructor of Record) – Contexts in Sport II
Prepared syllabus, devised learning outcomes, and course materials; Recruited and scheduled visiting and internal lecturers, coordinated tutors and practical leaders, devised schedule for assessment, and collated and submitted marks, as well as coordinated Active Schools placements with students and Active Schools team, planned to OHS guidelines

2009-2010       Year Two Tutor –
Stewardship of second year students – responsible for managing all timetable conflicts, enquiries, and needs of second year students across programs of study in the Division of Sport and Exercise Sciences

2008-2010       Teaching Fellow –
Supervised four honors undergraduate dissertation research students; advised on five third year research proposals; Second marker for three additional honors dissertations; Over 20 lectures on sociological and cultural aspects of sport, media and qualitative research methods; further lectures on vital academic skills including personal development planning, self-management and group working; Formally given lead in external marketing including new media and internet presence for the Division in June 2009; Exam invigilation

University of Glasgow – Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Applied Social Sciences – Glasgow, UK

2006-2008       Tutor, Level 1 Sociology and Anthropology – University of Glasgow

2008                Taster Week – University of Glasgow – 02-06 June 2008 – Lecturer (Introduction to Sociology) and Program Escort

2006-2008       Tutor Training University of Glasgow Graduate Teaching Seminar Series

Old Dominion University – Department of History – Norfolk, VA

2004                Graduate Teaching Assistant – History 104 – United States in a World Setting      

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2004                Research Intern – Joint Advanced Warfighting School – Joint Forces Staff College – Norfolk, VA

2003                Legal Research Intern – Neasham & Kramer, LLP – Fair Oaks, CA

1999-2001       Research Librarian – Davidson College Interlibrary Loan – Davidson, NC

UNIVERSITY SERVICE & EXTRACURRICULARS
2009            Glasgow University Sports Association (GUSA) – Blues (Honors) – Award for Outstanding Performance and Service to Glasgow University Sport, Glasgow, UK

2005-2010       Glasgow University Women’s Football Club, British Universities Sports Association/Scottish Universities Sports – University of Glasgow – Glasgow, UK – Starting Midfielder and Defender (2005-2010), Captain (2006-2008), Manager (2006-2008), GUSA Representative (2005-2009), Player of the Year (2009), Blues Honors (2009)

2006           Departmental Away Trip, Largs – Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Applied Social Sciences – University of Glasgow – Largs, UK – 14 October 2006 – Panel presentation: Marketing the “Global Game:” Identity at Play

2003-2005       Old Dominion Women’s Club Soccer – Old Dominion University – Norfolk, VA – Starting Central Midfielder, Captain/Coach (2004-2005)

2001                University College Cork Ladies Soccer Club – A Team – University College Cork – Cork, Ireland – Starting Central Midfielder

2000                College Communications – Davidson College – Davidson, NC – Media Relations photographer and reporter

2000-2003       Connor House (Social Eating House) – Davidson College – Davidson, NC – Member (2000-2003), Kitchen Manager (2001)

1999-2003       Davidson College Women’s Soccer Team – Division I Soccer – Davidson College – Davidson, NC – Player, Varsity Lettered (2000-2003)

1999-2003       WALT 1610 AM, Davidson College Radio – Davidson College – Davidson, NC – Committee Board Member (2000-2003) & Disc Jockey

COMMUNITY SERVICE & OUTREACH
2013-               Wikimedia DC – Member – Leader and Participant for multiple Wikipedia edit-a-thons focusing on GLAM-wiki initiatives and collaboration

2012                Boo at the Zoo (Halloween Trick-or-Treating) – National Zoo – Washington, DC – Volunteer (Jedi)

2010-2011       Scottish Women’s Football Administrative Offices, Hampden Stadium – Glasgow, UK – Electronic Registrations Content Manager and Consultant – Oversaw population of new electronic registrations database; Created Club Resource Pack and Registrations Guide (digital and hard copy, indexed, 10,000 words)

2009-2010       Queens Park Ladies Football Club – Scottish Women’s Football League, First Division – Glasgow, UK – Captain, Player of the Year (2009), Board Advisor for recruitment and player pathways (2009)

2007-2009       Glasgow University Women’s Football Club – Scottish Women’s Football League Third Division – Glasgow, UK – Starting Midfielder, Captain (07-2009)

2004-2005       Athletic Club Norfolk (Soccer Club) – Norfolk, VA – Girls’ Technical Director (Program Director) – created and staffed teams, recruited players, organized league and tournament entry, devised training philosophy and program

2000-2001       Radio Disc Jockey – ROCK 103, Columbus, GA

Other Employment Experience
2013                Data and Online Analytics Intern, Central Communications – Brookings Institution – Washington, D.C.

2012                Independent Consultant (Social Media Analytics) – Courage Services, Inc. – Ballston, VA

2006-2008       Anthropologist & Analyst – General Dynamics-AIS – Joint Forces Command J-9 – Interagency Group– Suffolk, VA

HIGHLIGHTED SKILLS

Project Management and Engaging Communities of Practice

  • Applied project management skills in a variety of fields, including contract, consulting, doctoral, and masters research and analysis
  • Conducted phased research, landscape surveys, ethnography, and foundational work to authored recommendations for business objectives, reported findings and conclusions in dissertation defense, and created engaging and thoughtful lectures while teaching
  • Communicating findings professionally multiple sectors and stakeholders: public, private, military, cultural heritage, academic
  • Guided numerous organizations through change management lifecycle; creating documentation, protocols, review processes, and accountability structures
  • Flexible problem-solving through research project design and management including data collection and analysis, 
budgeting, and adapting to evolving research requirements
  • Applied use of qualitative and quantitative methods including ethnography, observation, focus groups, interviews, surveys, discourse analysis, analytics;
  • Experience with Agile and waterfall methodologies, currently blending approaches using JIRA, Confluence, Slack
  • Knowledge and use of HTML/HTML5/CSS, database management, Omniture/Site Catalyst, Google Analytics, Microsoft Office, Windows/MAC OS X, Google Docs, CMS including Drupal, WordPress, Weebly; SPSS, NVivo, EndNote, Zotero, and wikis; basic working knowledge: Smithsonian Institution Research Information System/Horizon, Mimsy XG, The Museum System (TMS), EMu, Archivists Toolkit, Smithsonian Insitution DAMS
  • Identified trends and generated insights on use, structures, features, language, and cultural communication patterns of Tumblr, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, WordPress/Blogger, and Wikipedia, as well as virtual learning environments Blackboard & Moodle

LANGUAGES
French – Proficiency: Basic

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Anthropological Association                                              Professional Member (2013-2014)
American Sociological Association                                                    Professional Member (2013-2014)
International Association for Communication and Sport                   Professional Member (2013-2104)
North American Society for the Sociology of Sport                           Professional Member (2013)
User Experience Professionals Association, DC Metro Ch.               Member (2012-)
North American Society for the Sociology of Sport                           Student Member (2008-2011)
International Sociology of Sport Association                                     Student Member (2009-2011)
The Institute for Sport, Parks, and Leisure                                         Student Member (2008-2010)

About Meghan

Dr. Meghan Ferriter is an interdisciplinary researcher who currently cultivates programs of engagement and advises on workflow as Project Coordinator for the Smithsonian Transcription Center. She collaborates with volunteers and staff to increase access to and interaction with Smithsonian Institution collections. Meghan also shares with the wider cultural heritage, digital humanities, and citizen science communities the goal of increased knowledge-sharing and improving experiences in collaborative activities like crowdsourced transcription.

Her primary research explores the communication of cultural beliefs through media technologies and in media discourse; and the ways groups learn and refine understanding of social relationships through these resources – whether through political cartoons, newspaper discourse, hashtags, or user-generated content. Meghan’s research examines social identities and boundaries; processes of cultural change; language, power, representation, and discourse; and sport and popular culture. Trained as an anthropologist and cultural historian, Meghan’s doctoral thesis explored the extent of change in discourses of mediated sport (and she revels in qualitative research).

Meghan also loves to trouble the ways people use and communicate with digital media and technologies. She is interested in the transformative power and consequences of computer-mediated communication and participatory culture. Her recent research explores communities collaborating in digital platforms including Tumblr and Twitter and crowdsourcing and citizen science best practices.

IMAG2637

Sharing stories

Typewriters

“A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end… but not necessarily in that order” – Jean-Luc Godard

 

On a chilly March morning twilight in 2004, I found myself sitting among a motley group of  two bassists and a drummer of varying celebrity plus two students in a dodgy London hotel ballroom. As cabs shuttled past the windows, one of the bassists had us enraptured with tales from touring. He knew how to expertly craft the story he shared and match it with dynamic movements and facial expressions. If I stumble in recalling the stories he shared, I’ll never forget the dramatic pauses and the way he shaped the story to suit the attention of his audience sitting at his feet. A good story is important, but so, too, is the way it is delivered.

A story. Narrative. Myth. History. Discourse.  In this kind of town, people are keen to ask “what do you do” – my response used to be some version of “I explore the ways people communicate and share values in cultural products and behaviors.” That IS what I do… but that sounds a bit dull and it only captures part of my goals.

On Thursday evening, I found myself explaining my interests a bit differently. When asked what I do, I answered, “I explore the stories we tell – in person, in the media, and now in online groups – to understand what’s important to each group of people and why; I’m also interested in the WAYS they tell stories: the techniques and technologies they use.” This answer caused my partner in conversation to light up. Although I think I was half-elevator pitching and half-musing aloud, now I think I might be on to something with this description.

From the time we are young, we read and tell stories – we fall in love with adventurous books and characters on screen, we hear parables each weekend and use stories to reinforce grammar, we talk about world events and find the twists and turns of “facts” changing the story. We make meaning by aggregating stories and filtering our experiences through these stories.

Yet, this space is for more than merely explaining stories – this is a landing ground for consideration and discussion of the reasons why and way that we communicate; the social purposes and effects of communication techniques and technologies.

Indeed, it seems we’ve found ourselves in the middle of a larger story here – let’s find ways to navigate this next chapter.