Alun Edwards - Email: alun DOT edwards @oucs.ox.ac.uk Service Manager (Oxford) 1.0 FTE Alun leads the work of experts based in the Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS) Research Technologies Service http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/rts/. Alun's subject interests include: humanities computing (especially the application of e-science or e-research); Welsh culture, language and history; classics and archaeology; local and family history, and military history.
Alun joined the then Humanities Computing Unit of the OUCS in 2000. His roles for the former Humbul Humanities Hub included training and supervising contributors and editing their records, and managing the collection of records of Internet resources, before being promoted in 2005 to manager. In an advisory capacity Alun has worked with the AHRC funded projects: Facet Analytical Theory in Managing Knowledge Structure for Humanities http://www.ucl.ac.uk/fatks/, Research Portals in Arts and Humanities - A User Analysis Project http://repah.dmu.ac.uk/, Peer review and evaluation of digital resources for the arts and humanities http://www.history.ac.uk/digit/peer/. Alun was a committee member (and webmaster) of the national JIBS User Group (http://www.jibs.ac.uk/). Alun was also a technical advisor on the Oxford University Press new Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford DNB http://www.oxforddnb.com/). He is a member of the Oxford University Libraries electronic records special interest group.
From January 2003 to May 2006 Alun worked 0.5 FTE using his user requirements and evaluation expertise on two JISC funded core middleware projects - DCOCE (digital certificates in a complex environment http://www.dcoce.ox.ac.uk/) and for e-science ESP-GRID (evaluating Shibboleth and PKI for grids http://e-science.ox.ac.uk/public/esp-grid/) - both based within the Research Technologies Service at the OUCS.
Before joining Oxford University Alun gained extensive user-services and research experience in a wide range of information environments including: special libraries (research services for the post-graduate study of private security, crime and criminology; corporate training; knowledge management; corporate intranet; international business research services; libraries in high security prisons and immigration detention centres; daily newspaper; international architecture and design practice); public libraries (local history; mobile library services; schools' and children's library services); museums (including the South Wales Borderers Museum); the Welsh Office, and county council (agricultural land registry; press office; archives and local records office). He is a trained Security Sergeant specialising in X-ray detection at government conferences. Since 1997 he has also been involved in corporate training as a role-player - difficult interview candidates, and slimy embezzlers, a speciality.
Alun has a joint honours degree in Librarianship & Information Studies with Classical Studies from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, graduating in 1990. His passions include old films, historical novels, Welsh history, watching cricket at Worcester (http://www.wccc.co.uk/), the fall and fall of West Bromwich Albion football (http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/) and Welsh rugby (http://www.wru.co.uk/). Alun plays softball (very badly) in the Oxfordshire Softball league (http://oddsox.oxfordsoftball.net/) and occasionally plays football (even more badly) for the OUCS United five-a-side team. Otherwise Alun balances family life in the Cotswolds with wife and two boys, and work-life, with managing various teams in sports-management games - he has won at least one international online tournament - sad, but something he is proud of. Alun lists among his heroes Prof. Gwynalf Williams, Twm Sion Catti, Deidre Beddoe, Ian Botham and John Wayne!
Some photos also Ally1, Ally2 and Ally3.
Malvern Springs Run some photos on a pdf (1.5Mb to download)
Glad rag day 2002 Ally and green hair, some of the Humbul team.
Some documents for
Melody Makers test website
