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Research Assistant Kirsten Ellison is a PhD Candidate in Communication and Cultural Studies at the University of Calgary. Her doctoral research examines the discursive construction of imagined futures of agelessness, specifically focusing on anti-aging technology as technologies of self-government. She is currently working in affiliation with Concordia University’s ACT Project and as a graduate associate with the Trent Centre for Aging Studies on a project that looks at wearable devices and the quantification of age. Her work with Dr. Isabel Pedersen at Ontario Tech’s Digital Culture and Media Lab focused on the circulation of mainstream speculative news surrounding the development and promotion of bionic contact lenses as a future device in the realm of wearable technology. Specifically, their research looked at the rhetorical justifications for the public adoption of this device, examining how the discourses of health and transhumanism functioned to mitigate and ultimately prevent any critical discussion surrounding the potential purposes and consequences of its adoption.  Jack NarineResearch Assistant
Jack is a 3rd year Communications & Digital Media Studies student at Ontario Tech University. He has been a member of Decimal Lab since 2018, mainly researching wearable technology in the health and fitness industry and its effect on the well-being of its users. Once Jack graduates from OTU, he hopes to earn a post-graduate diploma in the public relations field.
His hobbies and interests include reading, playing video games, and watching superhero and science fiction films.
Research Assistant Lyuba Encheva is a SSHRC postdoctoral fellow with her supervisor Dr. Isabel Pedersen based at Decimal Lab, University of Ontario Institute of Technology. She received her PhD in Communication and Culture from the Joint Graduate Program of Ryerson University and York University with research on the social and political implications of gamification as the use of game design principles in non-game environments. Her current research expands on her doctoral work to scrutinize the rhetorical effects of automatic emotion recognition algorithms using theoretical approaches such as semiotics, rhetorical analysis and content analysis. Some of Dr. Encheva’s recent publications include a book chapter in Trifonova, T. Contemporary Visual Culture and the Sublime (2018), and a paper in Rhetor: Journal of the Canadian Society for the Study of Rhetoric, Volume 7. Dr. Encheva’s initial investigation into automatic emotion recognition led to the conception of a photo-exhibition entitled “Coding Happiness: A Look into the Algorithmic Construction of Affect” that was curated by Don Snyder and hosted by the School of Image Arts, Ryerson University in October 2018.
Research Assistant – Archivist Sharon is currently finishing up the Library and Information Technician Program at Algonquin College, with future plans to deepen her knowledge and skills through the pursuit of an MLIS (Masters of Library & Information Science) degree. She has a professional background in social service work and an academic background in Gender Studies through Trent University. Her current career interests are broad and always evolving: reference services, metadata and indexing, community building, digital literacy, and emerging technologies. She is grateful for the exciting opportunity to contribute to the Fabric of Digital Life archive. Her work has included researching and cataloguing new artifacts, as well as refining and editing keywords. Her personal interests include writing, researching, petting cats, and lifelong learning.
Research Assistant Jay is currently a 4th year Communications & Digital Media Studies student at Ontario Tech University. He has been a member of Decimal Lab since 2017, primarily archiving fictional depictions of technologies. While he has a general interest in emerging technology, his main focus is on virtual and augmented reality. Upon graduation, Jay hopes to continue his education by pursuing a master’s degree in digital media. In his free time, Jay enjoys strategy games and science fiction novels.and science fiction films.
Research Assistant Sarah is a 4th year student in Communication and Digital Media Studies at Ontario Tech University. Currently working as a lab coordinator for Decimal Lab, she has gained an ever-changing insight into how technology changes and influences daily interactions. Throughout her schooling career she has been researching topics that not only look at virtual and augmented reality, but also the effect it has on society and the user. To help further explore her interests, she is also pursuing a minor in Forensic Psychology.
Research Assistant Jeremy Is currently attending law school at the University of Ottawa. He holds a Master’s of Arts degree in Criminology from UOIT. He worked with the Decimal Lab from January of 2013 until December 2014. Jeremy’s work focus while at Decimal Lab was primarily on the establishment of and contribution to the Fabric of Digital Life Archive. He co-authored a paper on the project and delivered this research at ISMAR in Adelaide, Australia 2013. Fun Fact: Jeremy takes pride in contributing a large part of his time to social justice advocacy and advocating for |
 Tameka Bailey
Research Assistant – Archivist Team Member Tameka has completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Criminology and Justice with a minor in Legal Studies at UOIT as well as a diploma in Police Foundations from Durham College. Currently, Tameka is pursuing the Master Infrastructure Protection and International Security at Carelton University. Tameka joined the Decimal Lab team in winter of 2015 as part of the archive team project. She has since stayed on to become the senior archivist at Decimal Lab working on populating and expanding the Fabric of Digital Life Archive. Fun fact: Tameka wants to travel the world with a camera. |
 Nicole Bilson
Research Assistant – Archivist Team Member Nicole recently completed a post-grad certificate in Youth Justice and Intervention at Durham College. Nicole has also completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Forensic Psychology, with a minor in Criminology and Justice, at UOIT. She worked with Decimal Lab from January 2015 to May 2015 as a member of the first ever archive team. This team contributed, edited, and evaluated the Fabric of Digital Life Archive. Fun Fact: Nicole volunteers at the local soup kitchen, and is working towards her goal of running 5k. |
 Danielle Dawson
Research Assistant Danielle completed an MA in the Sociology of Information and Communication Technology at Queen’s University with a focus in Surveillance Studies. Her thesis work investigated the climate surrounding radio frequency identification technology in its capacity to operate as a mechanism of human surveillance. Broadly entered interested in sorting current articulations of increasingly networked societies, Danielle holds positions as a Research Associate at UOIT in both Health Sciences and the Social Science and Humanities. Danielle joined the Decimal lab team in the summer of 2015. She is currently assisting on several writing projects as well as working with the Fabric of Digital Life Archive. Fun Fact: Danielle is devoted to the pursuit of new cultural experiences. She has visited over 20 countries and lived in three. |
 Ryan Duntin
Research Assistant – Archivist Team Member Ryan recently graduated from the Criminology and Justice Studies BA (Hons) at UOIT. He worked with Decimal Lab from January 2015 to May 2015 as a member of the first ever archive team. This team contributed, edited, and evaluated the Fabric of Digital Life Archive. |
 Curtis Gaunt
Research Assistant – Games Archivist Curtis is currently in his fourth year of the Game Development and Entrepreneurship program at UOIT. He is currently the President of the Game Development Society at UOIT/DC. During his time at the lab in the spring of 2015, he conducted in-game captures of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare to be added to the Fabric of Digital Life Archive. He returned to Decimal Lab in Spring 2016 to archive Deus Ex: Human Evolution. This is all part of a larger research project focusing on exoskeleton technologies. Fun Fact: Curtis’s favourite game is the Warcraft series. |
 Cassy Goulding
Research Assistant – Archivist Team Member Cassy recently graduated from the BA in Communications at UOIT. She hopes to work within a communication department that is involved in shaping her local creative community. She worked with Decimal Lab from January 2015 to May 2015 as a member of the first ever archive team. This team contributed, edited, and evaluated the Fabric of Digital Life Archive. During her time at the lab, she also assisted the research team in communication, writing, and project documentation. Fun Fact: Cassy is a local singer, painter, and extreme dog lover. Favourite Films: Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, Jurassic Park, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, and way too many others to list. |
 Kayleigh Hindman
Event Manager for Wear Me Kayleigh recently completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Politics and History from Trent University. Going forward in her academic studies she would like to pursue higher education obtaining either a law degree or masters degree in conflict analysis. During her time with Decimal Lab Kayleigh worked towards planning, organizing, and running the Wear Me: Art | Technology| Body academic symposium, keynote talk, art exhibit, and graduate student conference. Fun Fact: Kayleigh likes to live vicariously through her Sims (whom she keeps naming after Shakespeare characters) and her love for Disney knows no bounds. |
 Stephen Kershaw
Research Assistant Stephen completed his undergraduate degree in Engineering Science with a specialization in nanotechnology at the University of Toronto and his Master’s degree in Management Science at Ryerson University. He has been working with the Decimal Lab from the summer of 2014 until the winter of 2015. The focus of his work with Decimal Lab has been constructing the front-end of theFabric of Digital Life archive. Fun Fact: In Stephen’s free time he enjoys soccer and board games. |
 Shelly Kowalski
Research Assistant – Communications Team Shelly Kowalski is an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at UOIT. A graduate of the Digital Photography program at Durham College, Shelly has spent the past few years travelling and freelancing part-time as a camera assistant for Discovery Channel and as a lifestyle photographer. Now focusing on completing her degree in Communications and Digital Media Studies, Shelly is interested in exploring the relationship between technology, culture and the millennial generation. She joined the Communications and Marketing team at the Decimal Lab in 2015. Fun Fact: Shelly has jumped onto a pilot boat from a moving ship in the Øresund Strait off of Copenhagen, Denmark. |
 Cameron Nicoll
Research Assistant – Junior Developer Cameron has completed an undergraduate from the Game Development and Entrepreneurship at UOIT. He is now the CEO of his own video game company called Phantom Studios started through the Incubator program at UOIT. Cameron joined the Decimal lab team in the summer of 2014. He works to maintain technology within the lab, work on projects using various devices here at the Decimal Lab and is the acting lab photographer. Cameron has worked closely with the iMind project in recent months. Fun Fact: Cameron has his own hobby photographer business. Favourite childhood video game: Tales of Symphonia and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. |
 Rebecca Smith
Research Assistant – Communication Specialist Rebecca is currently working on a Masters in Social Work at the University of Toronto. She has recently graduated with a BA in Communication from UOIT, with a minor in Forensic Psychology. Rebecca worked with the Decimal Lab from September 2013 to May 2015. Her primary roles involve public relations, maintenance of social media pages, and writing blogs for Reality-Shifting. |
 Amelia Zhang
Artist Amelia is currently pursuing a degree in painting at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her practice incorporates digital fabrication techniques to supplement traditional craft. As an intern with the Decimal Lab between the summer of 2014 and 2015, she worked with the Narrative Clip life-logging camera to create my Lyfeloggin’thoughtz project. Fun Fact: Amelia’s guilty pleasure is participating in eBay bidding wars. Find me at www.ameliazhang.com |
 Maral Karimi
Research Assistant Maral Karimi is a PhD student in Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto. Both her masters and PhD work focus on media studies and discourse analysis of political actors in mass movements in the Middle East (i.e Iranian Green Movement, Arab Spring) through a Critical Social Theory (CST) lens. Maral holds a Bachelor of Commerce in IT Management with a minor in Marketing from Ryerson University and has been an active member of the Adopt-IT project team since its inception. Her work with Dr. Pederson as an extension of the Adopt-IT project involves exploring barriers to technology adoption in the Canadian Manufacturing sector. |
 Samantha Reid Decimal Lab Research Manager Sam recently completed her Master’s of Arts in Criminology at UOIT with a research focus on the intersection of media portrayals and realities of rural crime in video games. She graduated from the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Criminology and Justice also at UOIT with a minor in Forensic Psychology. Sam has been working at the Decimal Lab since January of 2014 overseeing and consulting on all of our ongoing projects. Fun Fact: Sam is interested in writing, travel, media, and technology. |
 Bridgette Atkins Research Assistant Bridgette is currently working on her Masters of Education at UOIT taking courses focusing on education and digital technology. She completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in English Literature at Trent University and Bachelor of Education degree at UOIT. Bridgette works at the Teaching and Learning Centre at UOIT and on an occasional part-time basis at Grandview Children’s Centre. Bridgette joined the Decimal Lab team in the summer of 2015. She is currently working on the Kids, Creative Storyworlds and Wearables project at the lab. Bridgette states that her enjoyment for this project comes from the mingling of a number of existing areas of interest to her plus a new and exciting area of interest — wearable technology. Fun Fact: Bridgette is passionate about yoga and spends a good part of my spare time practicing, reading, or talking about yoga. |
 Nathan Gale Research Assistant – Senior Developer Nathan is currently in his second year of the Computer Science Master’s degree at UOIT. He completed an Undergraduate degree in Game Development and Entrepreneurship also at UOIT. Nathan has recently taken a job with an emerging technology company in Toronto. In the future, he is interested in product evaluation within the industry of wearable technology to prevent future innovations from repeating similar mistakes. Nathan has been a member of the Decimal Lab team since December 2013. He works as Senior Developer and is closely involved in several projects such as iMind, iShy, and Decimal Digital Museum. Favourite childhood video games: Grim Fandango and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. |
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Research Assistant – Communications Team Warren Fuller is an undergraduate student in the Communications and Digital Media Studies program in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Born and raised in Oshawa, Ontario, Warren is a culinary school graduate but chef lifestyle dropout. His undergraduate research focuses heavily on the impact of popular culture on society and Warren’s blogging work for the Decimal Lab fits right in with his confusing love/hate relationship with emerging technology. He joined the Communications and Marketing team at the Decimal Lab in 2015. Fun Fact: Not so closeted fan of professional wrestling, both for amusement and academic reasons. |
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Research Assistant – Archivist Barb is currently in her last semester of her history undergraduate degree at Trent University. She has a post-graduate degree from Fleming College in Museum Management and Curatorship. In 2016 she was hired on as chief librarian of Kanhiote Library for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. Barb joined the Decimal Lab last year working as an archivist for the Fabric of Digital Life. Fun Facts: Barb also has a certificate in personal support work from Trillium College and is currently binge-watching Murdoch Mysteries and binge-reading everything. |
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Research Assistant Dr. Quinn DuPont recently completed his PhD at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. He researches and writes on social and philosophical issues of cryptography and code, and is an active participant in discussions of digital studies, digital humanities, and media studies. He also writes on Bitcoin and blockchain technologies and is involved in Canadian standardization efforts. He is currently a Digital Studies Fellow at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Previously, he was a Senior Information Specialist at IBM. |
 Pejman Mirza- Babaei, PhD
Dr. Pejman Mirza-Babaei is a Games User Researcher and an Assistant Professor at UOIT. He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sussex (UK) where he got his Ph.D. His research is currently funded by NSERC and GRAND NCE and focuses on developing mixed-methods for a better understanding of user experience in engaging entertainment systems. In particular, he is interested in using psychophysiological measurements in combination with other human-computer interaction methods to evaluate the user experience of underdevelopment titles. As a Games User Researcher, Pejman worked at Vertical Slice and Player Research (UK), where he worked on pre- and post-release evaluation of various titles such as: Crysis 2, Split/Second Velocity, Brink, Buzz Quiz World and Sony’s Wonderbook as well as a range of unannounced projects on all platforms. |
 Tanner Mirrlees, PhDDr. Tanner Mirrlees’ political economy of communications research on the military-industrial-media-entertainment network (MIME-NET) and the production, circulation and content of militainment connects with the Decimal Lab’s “Fabric of Digital Life” project. It does so by exploring how popular culture—TV shows, films and video games—represent the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) research and development (R&D) of transhuman technologies and the DOD’s integration of these technologies into its arsenal and war-fighting doctrine. By interrogating the mutually constitutive relationships and transcodings between the DOD and popular representations of weaponized transhuman tech, Mirrlees’ research at the Decimal Lab highlights how the DOD and popular culture are accelerating and militarizing the material and imaginative shift from a human to transhuman world. |
 Steven Downing, PhD
Dr. Steven Downing is an associate professor in UOIT’s Social Science and Humanities faculty. His research considers the crime-technology-culture nexus, examining both digital representations of crime and deviance, and exploring uses of emerging technologies such as VR and AR to study traditional criminological and sociological questions. Dr. Downing and Decimal Lab colleagues are currently exploring uses for VR and AR in studying violence as a situated transaction. Dr. Downing’s research on crime, deviance and technology has appeared in journals such as Deviant Behavior, Games and Culture, and Contemporary Justice Review. |
 Shirley Van Nuland, PhD
As an Associate Professor in the Bachelor of Education program at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Shirley Van Nuland, PhD (University of Toronto) teaches Education Law, Policy and Ethics which examines legal, sociological, and administrative implications of teaching. To this program, she brings her practice in teaching and administration at elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels of education and experience from Ontario’s Ministry of Education. This background and involvement with the Ontario education system gives her an understanding of the legal issues and problems that teachers and school boards face. Her areas of research include application of law to education, ethics, standards of practice, teacher codes, and social media. She is involved with the Decimal Lab in a study that utilizes children’s story worlds to build a better understanding of how children comprehend and use wearable technologies. The larger goal of the study, as described by Isabel Pedersen, is “to acknowledge and recognize creativity and exploration among young children as meaning makers in order to work toward more human-centric technological paradigms for emerging media.” |
 Tess Pierce, PhD
Dr. Tess Pierce’s scholarship and research focus on the implications of digital technology and the ways in which people negotiate their cultural identities in order to resolve complex situations. The central theme of her research is the rhetorical production of meaning in everyday life. Dr. Pierce earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication from Colorado State University, a Master of Arts in Human Communication Studies degree from the University of Denver in Colorado and PhD degree in Women’s Studies from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. She is the founding faculty member in communication in the faculty of social sciences and humanities at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, ON, Canada where she teaches the upper division courses: Rhetoric and Persuasion, Intercultural Communication, and Issues in Communication Diversity. |
 Ihor Junyk, PhD
Ihor Junyk is an Associate Professor of Cultural Studies at Trent University. His work on literature and visual culture has appeared in top humanities journals such as Grey Room, Comparative Literature, Modern Fiction Studies, and the Open Arts Journal. His book, Foreign Modernism: Cosmopolitanism, Identity, and Style in Paris is published by the University of Toronto Press. A selection of his publications can be found here: https://trentu.academia.edu/IhorJunyk His interests intersect with those of the lab in the areas of the digital humanities and media archaeology. He is interested in exploring the ways that digital tools and technologies can help to analyze, map, and visualize aspects of literary and visual culture typically approached via hermeneutical methods. He is also interested in the ways that media and technology may provide the preconditions for the emergence of new forms of culture and what historical study of “dead” media might tell us about the digital present. |
 Andrew Iliadis, PhD
Associate Professor at Temple University in the Department of Media Studies and Production. He earned his Ph.D. in Communication and Philosophy at Purdue University. He is also Managing Editor of Figure/Ground, contributor at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, Council Member at H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online (where he edits Rhetoric and Digital Rhetoric), Researcher at the Centre international des études simondoniennes, and Editorial Projects Activity Leader at the Society for the Philosophy of Information. Andrew’s research interests are in Information Ethics, Critical Data Studies, Digital Rhetoric, and Philosophy of Information. His work focuses on data infrastructures and their role in creating informational ontologies for scientific research. The objective of his research is to understand how data infrastructures interact with society and then to apply this work by providing new opportunities for social change in policy-making. |