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title: April Newsletter 2024

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April Newsletter 2024
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Hi from AutSPACEs! 

Here in London we've been enjoying the first few warm days of spring, as we work towards the launch of AutSPACEs.

Our next meet-up session is also coming up soon, which will happen on May 2nd! We'll be continuing the conversation we started last time – discussing how we might decide on how researchers can request access to AutSPACES data after launch. We've had lots of fantastic contributions so far, and we're going to use the session to make a solid plan. 

**Date:** Thursday 02 May 2024

**Time:** 12:00-1:30pm

**Location:**     

   Online via. Zoom: https://turing-uk.zoom.us/j/523235071
   
**Agenda and notes:**

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ze30g4QkYfpsSVUlfpD01iLGtJdcagOkq2bzBOp1HV0/edit

If you want to influence the AutSPACEs data sharing strategy but can't make the session or if the meet-up format isn't for you, please feel free to add your thoughts, ideas, or questions to the [shared notes doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ze30g4QkYfpsSVUlfpD01iLGtJdcagOkq2bzBOp1HV0/edit) or email Georgia (gaitkenhead@turing.ac.uk) to have your perspective included in the discussion. 
 
## Ethics Approval to Launch the Platform

It's been a long process but thanks to a lot of effort of Georgia, David, Bastian & Kirstie we now have the approval from the Turing ethics committee to go ahead with launching AutSPACEs to collect data! This is the news we've all been waiting for because it means we can launch the platform and use it as soon as we're ready. :rocket: :rocket: :rocket: 

## Paper Accepted for publication! 

It's been a long process, but our academic paper describing the content moderation co-design for AutSPACEs has been accepted for publication with the [Data & Policy journal](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/data-and-policy/information/about-this-journal). Data & Policy is a peer-reviewed, open access journal dedicated to the impact of data science on policy and governance. You can read the pre-print [here](https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/c2xe7).  

Congratulations and massive thank you to James, Susanna and Georgia who have been leading the work, alongside our huge team of authors!! :star2: :star: 

## AI UK 2024

At AI UK 2024, we hosted a panel discussion on participatory practises along with members of the [People's Panel on AI](https://connectedbydata.org/projects/2023-peoples-panel-on-ai). One of the participants was Margaret, who is an advocate for public inclusion in research and technology. Here she shares her reflections on being on stage for AI UK:  

>The chance to participate in the opening session on the Future Stage for this year's UK AI conference was in itself an exciting experience, another first for me and most definitely unforgettable!
>
>But additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the concept of "Nothing about us without us" offered a further opportunity to showcase the work of the People's Panel...... our ongoing aim is to highlight the need for public inclusivity in all relevant matters, and we are passionate about the importance of our mission. 
>
>Any platform which helps gain recognition of this concept is to be welcomed, and I like to hope that this recent event helped in some way to bring attention to, and ultimately, further our cause.

## Collaborations Workshop 2024 

The AutSPACEs team will be running a workshop for the Software Sustainability Institute's [2024 Collaborations Workshop](https://www.software.ac.uk/collaborations-workshops). The workshop will open discussions around co-creation in research software engineering. Thank you so much to everyone who helped us come up with ideas for the session in the AutSPACEs meet-up group! You can view the slides for the workshop on [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/records/11073696).

We also plan to turn our joint co-design learnings into a chapter for [The Turing Way](https://the-turing-way.start.page/). Get in touch by emailing Georgia if you are interested in contributing. You can also join us on [The Turing Way Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/theturingway/shared_invite/zt-2hzp20nps-FlLO4D~P9lglQS~w4ZcTNg) and going to the #co-creation channel. 

## Platform Progress 

We're always improving the AutSPACEs website based on user testing, meet-up discussions and community contributions. Currently, we are working with writer Alex Morgan to improve the clarity and accessibility of the text on the AutSPACEs website! If you want to be involved in co-creating the platform or any other aspect of AutSPACEs please get in touch via email(gaitkenhead@turing.ac.uk), or if you're technologically-minded take a look at our GitHub repository(https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/AutSPACEs). 

## Spotlight - Kat Browning

This month's spotlight interviewee is Kat Browning. She has has provided lots of feedback to the AutSPACEs design and is a regular at our meet-up sessions. 

![Kat](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJOmlgtbA.jpg)

>**Tell us a little about yourself...**
>
>I’m Kat (she/her) - a trained musician, with 3 degrees in music from Leeds Conservatoire, Bangor University and The Royal Northern College of Music, respectively.
I’m also a highly skilled administrator, specialising in helping businesses on the smaller side to figure out the next steps to grow!
>
>I work part-time from home, which I share with my partner, Mark - I’m very lucky!
>
>**What are your favourite hobbies/things to do?**
>
>I love to make tangible things as well as music, and I’m currently crocheting a Cotton-based Anniversary for my partner’s mum and step-dad’s 2nd wedding anniversary  - which is the Cotton anniversary according to tradition!
>
>I’m less proficient at sewing, but I love watching videos about it, trying little techniques and, well, adding to my fabric stash... but the vintage sewing machines in my collection aren’t quite ready to actually bust this stash yet (oops), but I’m working on repairing them myself!
>
>I also love to write, and aside from contributing to [articles about the clarinet](https://www.katmuss.com/writing/articles) and music in general, I am in the process of writing content for my own substack! I am also writing a fictional novel, though it’s early days yet... please follow my substack for more updates about it!
>
>**What have you been working on for the AutSPACEs project?**
>
>So far I’m fairly new to AutSPACEs, but I’ve already contributed to website testing, and I attend regular meetups for the AutSPACE project - meeting lots of lovely, amazing, inspiring people in the process!
I will also be writing a few bits and bobs for this project too, including perhaps writing short contributions for this newsletter!
>
>**Give your best tips and tricks for contributing:**
>
>To be a contributor to AutSPACE is to actually, truly, be yourself - and I mean that without spin or false promise, because I know we’ve all heard something along these lines from many a neurotypical person or space without real meaning behind it!
>
>But if you’re still on the fence about sharing your story for research/for the site (and so on), try ‘free writing’ about it to discover your feelings: this means just write whatever comes to mind, regardless of grammar, punctuation or even a cohesive train of thought. You can either type it or hand write it (I prefer the latter, at a coffee shop, spoons allowing!)... Anything goes, really! It’s helpful to set a timer for this exercise - it may have something to do with having a little bit of pressure spurring you on to it, but I find that it helps me.
>
>Once you have written about whatever it is you’re writing about it: stop, and walk away from The Thing you’ve created. Possibly even for a day. Think about something else.
>
>If you come back and read what you’ve written, it can often provide a clarity you might not have had in the moment. If you feel discomfort at the idea of sharing it (even after ‘cooling off’, so to speak), you can simply keep it to yourself as a memento to your own insight. That is also powerful, because your story is uniquely you and yours.


Kat is a writer and professional musician. You can read her artical about autism and the music industry and discover more at her website: https://www.katmuss.com/disability-advocacy-dei

Follow Kat on Substack: https://substack.com/@katmuss
 
-------------------------------------------

### Connect with us

*   [Github repository](https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/AutSPACEs)
*   [Join us on Slack](https://slackin.openhumans.org/)
*   [Follow us on Twitter](https://twitter.com/AutSpaces)

You are also welcome to email [Georgia](mailto:gaitkenhead@turing.ac.uk) and we will support you to be involved or answer any questions you might have.

If you're not too sure about GitHub but would like to know more, _The Turing Way Book_ has a whole section on how to get started for successful collaboration and involvement. We highly recommend this book also for anyone who is interested in Open Source Research and Reproducibility! Follow this link for Getting Started with GitHub: https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/collaboration/github-novice.html

As always, a huge thank you is due to everyone in the community for all of your ongoing efforts and wonderful contributions. You are making a big difference in creating research which can benefit autistic people and their families.

Very best wishes,

Georgia, Bastian, David, and Kat