August Newsletter 2023
=======================

Hi from AutSPACEs!

We are now looking for participants for the AutSPACEs user testing! And our next meet-up session is coming up soon on Thursday 7th September. Join us for all the latest AutSPACEs updates and opportunities, and to influence the next stages of the project. In the upcoming session, we'll consider how to potentially improve the wording and terminolgy for the AutSPACEs platform, introduce our user testing plans, and share some latest developments for the platform.

**Date:** Thursday 07 September 2023

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

**Location:**     

   Online via. Zoom: https://turing-uk.zoom.us/j/5232350717

We’ve started to set-up a standing calendar invite for our monthly community meetings. If it would be useful for your planning to have this event in your calendar as well, please email [Bastian](mailto:[e-mail]) and he will take care of this!

Email [Georgia](mailto:[e-mail]) to let us know if you want to get involved or don't know where to start, and feel free to share this newsletter to anyone who you think would be interested in joining us. They can sign up by following this link: [https://tinyletter.com/AutisticaTuringCitizenScience](https://tinyletter.com/AutisticaTuringCitizenScience).

Best wishes for everyone!

Project News
------------

### Test out the AutSPACEs website!

Are you interested in testing out the AutSPACEs prototype website? We're looking for a diverse range of autistic people to test our prototype with, so that we can see how well it works for different people, and how we can make it better. If you haven't been involved much with AutSPACEs before, this is a great opportunity to take part, because we need people who aren't very familiar with the project to see how easy it is to understand and navigate without previous knowledge.

User testing sessions will take about an hour and will be held online via. Zoom. You will be asked questions about the website and given some tasks. Everyone who is selected and takes part will be given a £25 voucher as a thank you!

If you're interested in participating, please email Georgia at [e-mail] and we can schedule a day & time that works for you!

For more information about user testing with AutSPACEs, check out our Wiki page by following this link: https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/AutSPACEs/wiki/User-testing.

### PPIE Community Call

Georgia and Bastian delivered a presentation at a Lunchtime community call for the "Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) & multiple long-term conditions" Community of Practice on the 2nd August. The presentation was titled _"How to co-create content moderation policies: The case of the AutSPACEs project"_, and shared work co-led by James Scott and Susanna Fantoni focussing on learning relavant to co-creating moderation policies by and for communities. The presentation was followed by a group discussion with members of the PPIE community. The recording is now available on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj55EFUvPmc) and the [slides can be viewed and downloaded on Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/record/8210859).

### Tips, Tools and Resources: From neurodivergent scientists for neurodivergent scientists

[eLife](https://elifesciences.org/) – a not-for-profit, peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal for the biomedical and life sciences – is looking for input from neurodivergent scientists who are willing to share their tips and tricks with each other. If that sounds like you, you can [learn more about the project, what kinds of contribution they are looking for, and to take part](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQ860VAYoT_p_-SGVSzEMFrsrsAlxeCQjpDAEPpyHAAXJoIA/viewform )!

August Contributor Spotlight - Andrea Grover
-------------------------------------------

Today we are spotlighting the wonderful Andrea Grover who has been providing AutSPACEs with their UX design expertise!

>## Tell us a little about yourself...
>
>I'm an Associate Professor in the College of Information Science & Technology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (in the middle of the US.) My background is interdisciplinary, so I can draw on a lot of different research areas in my work, but mainly human-computer interaction and organizational studies. I teach courses on technology ethics, research methods, and management for IT professionals. As an instructor, I try to design courses that are as engaging and accessible as possible. In research, I've been involved in citizen science as my primary research area for almost 15 years now! Most of my work in that space is focused on understanding how people use technologies to participate in doing science, and how to manage the data that people contribute.
>
>I'm also nonbinary and autistic, which I only learned in the last couple years, so I've spent a lot of time recently on learning about autism and the autistic community. It's helped me find ways to set myself up for more sustainable and satisfying work with less frustration and anxiety, although that's clearly an ongoing effort. I'm very lucky to have found a profession that fits well with my abilities and is fairly accommodating of my needs. I try to capitalize on the privilege that comes with professional success to advocate for more equitable practices in science and higher education.
>
>## What are your favourite hobbies/things to do?
>
>My partner and I just adopted a 3 month old puppy, so she's a big project and takes up a lot of my attention! I sing tenor in the River City Mixed Chorus (Omaha's only, and Nebraska's oldest, LGBTQ+ choir, with over 160 singers) and I really enjoy making music with others. I also like "cozy" video games like Animal Crossing and Spiritfarer, spending time in nature, and getting together with friends. It probably sounds odd to a lot of people, but I find it relaxing and enjoyable to tidy my home.
>
>## What have you been working on for the AutSPACEs project?
>
>I've provided feedback and suggestions on user testing plans, since user-centered design is one of the areas I have background in. I'm looking forward to finding other tasks where my background (and availability) provide an opportunity to contribute.
>
>## Give your best tips and tricks for contributing:
>
>Ask the team where they could use help! I had a lovely meeting with Georgia and Bastian where we discussed how I could support ongoing work on the user experience side of things. I'm not great at organizing my own tasks, but since they now know what my areas of expertise are, they can ask for my assistance when the right things come up.

Get involved
------------

Our project consists of many different areas where we would love people to contribute and give us their thoughts and ideas. It is really important we hear the voices and perspective of all of our community members.

We have identified the following areas where we need your help:

* Communication, Engagement and Promotion
* Platform development
* Accessibility and Inclusion
* Moderation

If you want to get stuck in ASAP and know how to use GitHub, you can visit our main repository: [https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/AutSPACEs](https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/AutSPACEs). If you look at the issues list in each of these, you can see a list of tasks that need to be completed, and we welcome anyone to contribute and get involved. We also invite you to take part (or start up) discussions on GitHub. You can do this by going to the repository and clicking on the "discussion" tab, where you can share your views:

[https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/AutSPACEs/discussions](https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/AutSPACEs/discussions)

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

### 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:[e-mail]) and we will support you to be involved or answer any questions you might have.

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, Sophia, Bastian and Andrea