Email: eleni.hadjigeorgiou@newcastle.ac.uk

Supervisors: Professor Lynn Frewer, Dr David Coles and Dr Beth Clark

Project Overview

I am exploring the application of social processes in the field of Emerging Food and Feed Risks. Specifically, I am trying to:

1: Cover what has already been done in the field through a Systematic Review on Expert Elicitation Methods.

The scientific literature will be used to determine when to use which expert elicitation method. Factors such as risk uncertainty and risk ambiguity will guide the choice of the specific expert elicitation methodology. Product of synthesis will be used to create a framework to enable identification of expert elicitation “trigger-events” and identification of optimal expert elicitation methodologies.

2: Cover what has already been done in the field through a Systematic Review on Citizen Science Methods.

The scientific literature will be used to identify the range of options for obtaining, aggregating and delivering relevant information from citizens regarding emerging food risk identification. A methodological framework will be delivered to enable identification of “trigger-events” relevant to emerging food risk identification, and identification of optimal methodologies in relation to specific areas of emerging food risk, including those previously unclassified.

3: Exploring best applications for good data quality through a Case Study on Social Media Analysis.

Data mining and Digital Ethnography will be used to search for discussions and reporting of different types of sweeteners. Topic-modelling and sentiment-analysis will be applied to assess risk and benefit perceptions and attitudes, and how these change in time or in association with external events. When cross-compared across social media platforms and triangulated against the traditional media analysis (carried out by Surrey University), the results will provide information about emerging/established citizen perceptions of risk and benefit associated with different types of sweeteners, as well as identification of opinion leader debate of these issues.