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September 2015
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Computer Networking and Telecommunications Research

Duncan Bates

Dr Duncan Bates
+44 (0) 161 295 2906

Biography

I am currently in my second period of research within the Computer Networking & Telecommunications Research group at the University of Salford.  My prior research was concerned with building user context into workflow management systems in order to allow the efficient delivery of information to a mobile worker, out of which I gained my PhD in the summer of 2007 whilst at CNTR. 

The current research fits within a wider EPSRC sponsored public engagement project, the aim of which is to raise awareness of communications technologies amongst the general public across a broad range of age groups.  The growth in wireless and mobile communications technologies has raised considerable interest in the use of context-aware services within the museum sector.  Working in collaboration with the Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester, the primary goal of the first phase of the research was to bring a new and innovative multimedia experience to the museum’s new communications gallery: ‘Connecting Manchester’.  This involved the design & development of an enhanced visitor information system called mi-Guide.  Through the mi-Guide system we are able to track visitors as they move around a museum gallery so that exhibit information can be delivered and personalised to the visitor.  The mi-Guide system was deployed at the launch of the Connecting Manchester gallery in October 2007.

The research is now moving into a second phase after the successful award of a follow on grant by the EPSRC.  The aim of this second phase is to further develop the mi-Guide system to expand its capabilities beyond the confines of the gallery to fully engage with schools.  The mi-Guide@School service aims to support the teacher in the classroom through the mi-Guide content and other additional content focussing on relevant subjects within the national curriculum.  The intention is to also continue our Family Telecommunications activities and associated lectures to run alongside this work.

Prior to joining CNTR in January 2002, I worked for two years in the software industry down in the Midlands as a software engineer. I spent my time on two different projects, the first of which involved the development of an e-commerce solution for the automotive industry. The second of the projects was an insurance industry product that I maintained and added some extra features to. I programmed mainly in VB, ASP & have some experience of SQL Server.

In 2000/2001, in between the industry work and CNTR, I spent a year travelling extensively around the World (not the whole of it obviously). I spent 6 months in Asia followed by 3 months in Australia and worked my way back via New Zealand, the Pacific and the States.

I have previously worked in a university research environment, again as a researcher, in the Atmospheric Physics department at UMIST. This was in my previous guise as a physicist, but having since completed an MSc in Computing in 1997 at MMU, I have concentrated my skills in computing.

Publications

  1. Bates, D., N. Linge, and M. Hope. Context Aware Information Services for Mobile Workers. in PGNet 2002, 3rd Annual Postgraduate Symposium on The Convergence of Telecommunications, Networking & Broadcasting. 2002. Liverpool John Moores University.
  2. Bates, D., et al. Designing a Context-Aware Distributed System - Asking the Key Questions. in CIIT 2003, 2nd IASTED International Conference on Communications, Internet and Information Technology. 2003. Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.
  3. Bates, D., et al. A Proposed Model for a Context Aware Distributed System. in IWUC 2004, 1st International Workshop on Ubiquitous Computing. 2004. Porto, Portugal.
  4. Linge N., Bates, D., Parsons D., Context driven information systems for museum visitors, 7th Annual Post Graduate Symposium on the Convergence of Telecommunications, Networking and Broadcasting, June 2006, pp23-27
  5. Linge N., Parsons D., Bates, D., Holgate, R., Webb, P., Hay, D., Ward, D., mi-Guide: A Wireless Context Driven Information System for Museum Visitors, Proceedings of the 1st International Joint Workshop on Wireless Ubiquitous Computing, WUC 2007, Funchal, Portugal, June 2007, pp43-53, ISBN: 978-972-8865-94-8
  6. Bates, D., Building User Context into Workflow Process Models, PhD Thesis, University of Salford, July 2007
  7. Bates, D., Linge N., Parsons D. et al., Building Context into a Museum Information Guide. In CSNA 2007, Proceedings of the IASTED Conference Communication Systems, Networks and Applications, Beijing, China, October 8-10 2007, pp 235-241. ISBN CD : 978-0-88986-702-4.