Kimaus

Userboxes

♀This contributor to Wikipedia is female.

About me

Hi, I'm Kim Osman and I am a researcher at the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology in the Creative Industries faculty. I have a background in communications for the volunteering sector both in the UK and Oz, and love the potential of open spaces such as Wikipedia for creative social action and volunteering opportunities. In saying that, I can also see the role of proprietary social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook for off-wiki communication and building a diverse editorial community. I have been a long-time lurker, and indeed as a researcher, I guess I always will be to some extent :).

I live in Brisbane with my family and you can find me on Twitter @kimosman.

My research

My PhD dissertation considered issues of access and participation in Wikipedia and its evolution from an open wiki experiment into a global knowledge producer. I am interested in informal learning in a digital environment and how we use digital media platforms for knowledge creation and sharing. I conduct my research in line with the ethical considerations I have outlined here and welcome feedback.

If you have any queries or feedback about my research please don't hesitate to contact me via my talk page. If you have any concerns about the ethical implications of my research or my conduct as a researcher, please contact QUT's Research Ethics Unit.

Why Wikipedia matters to me

Wikipedia matters because we use it. Every day. All over the world. It solves diputes among my family about how many sporting premierships a team has won. It teaches my kids about the life cycle of the cicada (don't ask how many times we've listened to the sound file on that page). It's an evolving artefact that is a testament to the amazing efforts of so many volunteers around the world. Sure, there's bits of it that could work better, but I guess that's why I'm here. I use it, so I figure I should help out too.

Possible conflicts of interest

I am an employee of Queensland University of Technology. I work on Australian Research Council funded Linkage projects with True Relationships and Reproductive Health, The Conversation and the Cooperative Research Centres Association.

Alternate Account

I have also edited (sparingly) under the account User:Superbellymonster. In the interests of transparency I will now be using this account to conduct my research and can be contacted through this talk page.