Joanne Hinds

Research interests

My research sits at the intersection of computer science and psychology, and generally seeks to understand how people behave, and how/why their behaviour changes when interacting with some form of technology (such as the internet, social media, digital devices). To date, I have studied human aspects of technology across a variety of contexts including problem solving, emergency response, and collaborative recall.

Since 2016, I have worked for the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST: www.crestresearch.ac.uk), on a project seeking to understand, counter and mitigate security threats. As part of this work, I have investigated a diverse range of subjects including the role of the internet in radicalisation, what demographic and personality attributes can be identified through people’s digital traces, and whether people’s digital traces can predict their offline behaviour.

I am also a Co-I on the Gentle Interventions For Security (GIFS) project. Here, I am exploring whether a “cyber nudge” (i.e. a subtle prompt that encourages someone to behave differently without disrupting their current activity) can improve people’s security behaviour in their workplaces. GIFS is experimenting with Adafruit Circuit Playgrounds – small devices that can be programmed to detect motion, sound, and behaviour and respond accordingly to nudge a person to behave differently. The work is funded by the Home Office via the National Cyber Security Programme.

Education

• PhD Informatics Alliance Manchester Business School (2006 — 2010)
• BSc (Hons) Computer Science The University of Manchester (2002 — 2006)