Jeremiah Spence: Professional Experience
Virtual Worlds Research Consortium, Austin, Texas April 2009 - Present
President
· Founded a non-profit corporation to own and publish the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, and develop research projects related to the mission of the organization.
Media NOLA Project, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana April – May 2009
Consultant
· Developed and implemented a historical mapping project for the Department of Communication.
· Solution is accessible online at http://medianola.org.
Cidade de Conhecimento [City of Knowledge], University of São Paulo, Brazil 2008 – 2009
Visiting Research Fellow – Pesquisador Visitante
· Participated in the development of virtual worlds related curriculum
· Taught virtual and live courses related to virtual worlds and virtual worlds research
Institutional Review Board (IRB), University of Texas at Austin June 2008 – Present
Student Alternate for the University Wide Review Panel on Research Ethics (IRB)
· Appointed by the Vice-President for Research to participate in the University’s research oversight process.
Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (JVWR), University of Texas at Austin April 2008 – Present
Founder and Editor
· Founded and developed a premier online, open-access, peer-reviewed transdisciplinary academic journal.
· Recruited and coordinated an editorial team of 25 scholars across seven countries.
· Published four issues (as of April 2009).
Telecommunication Information Policy Institute (TIPI), University of Texas at Austin
August 2007 – May 2008
Graduate Research Assistant for USDA Rural Broadband Grant
· Assisted in all aspects of research design and fieldwork implementation, including: IRB Proposal, Survey Translation.
· Supervised the collection of 400 door-to-door bilingual surveys by 30 fieldworkers.
· Lead bilingual (English/Spanish) fieldworker methods and survey ethics training.
Instituto de Pesquisas e Projetos Socias e Tecnologicos (IPSO), Sao Paulo, Brazil
February 2007 – June 2008
Researcher and Collaborator, Observatorio Nacional de Inclusao Digital (National Observatory of Digital Inclusion)
· Responsible for the development of a national wide survey of telecenters and related digital inclusion initiatives.
· Coordinating and development of advanced online research platforms for social and cyber research.
January 2008 – December 2008
Researcher, Mobile Phones and the Social Development Process: The Mobile Culture of São Paulo, Brazil (a research project funded by the University of Catalonia, Spain and Fundacíon Telefonica)
· Assisted in the grant writing and research design process.
· Responsible for the development of a research instruments and protocols.
· Responsible for oversight and coordination of analysis and documentation of research findings.
Digital Inclusion Laboratory, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil October 2006 – January 2007
Staff Researcher, (LIDEC)/School of the Future
· Responsible for the development of an integrated scientific research program for the School of the Future.
· Coordinating and implementing the collection, analysis and publication of LIDEC research in the fields of digital inclusion and cyber culture.
NcVIZ, LLC, Austin, Texas August 2006 – August 2007
Junior Partner, In-house Consultant and Strategist
· Developing product development and acquisition strategy for company.
· Supervising the development of company and product specific brand and image components.
Dept. of Radio, TV & Film, University of Texas at Austin May 2006 – July 2006
Graduate Research Assistant for Professor Joseph Straubhaar
· Assisted in transcription, book editing, filing, website design, grant research, grant proposal design and other duties.
· Designed and supervised cultural mapping data collection, helped supervise interviewer training and sampling, developed quantitative analysis methods for genograms.
· Co-organizer of international conference hosting researchers from across Latin America, provided simultaneous translation – Portuguese – English, prepared conference website including online video streams of the conference, travel planning
Independent Translator and Guide, Austin, Texas Jan. 2006 – July 2006
· Provided on-call simultaneous translation Portuguese – English for Brazilian Judge visiting the United States.
Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin Sept. 2005 – Dec. 2005
Project on Religion and Economic Change - Webmaster and Researcher
· Developed and implemented multilingual schema for research project Web site, including coordination of translators.
Dept. of Radio, TV & Film, University of Texas at Austin June 2002 – May 2005
Graduate Researcher and Teaching Assistant (unpaid)
· Provided research support for on-going projects, developed maps and other analytical products utilizing GIS.
· Developed curriculum and research protocols; assisted in the presentation of lectures. Specific courses:
- RTF 365 - Mapping Cultural History in East Austin. Lectured, designed research, coordinated research, and assisted in the design of curriculum. Spring 2005, Spring 2006
- RTF 380G - Migration & Media: Global & Local. Coordinated research. Spring 2005
- RTF 380G - Digital Divide: Mexico-Austin Migration. Coordinated research, assisted in the design of curriculum for mapping digital divide resources and interviewing resource providers. Spring 2003
Instituto de Ciência da Informação, Universidade Federal da Bahia
Institute of Information Science, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil Aug. 2003 – May 2004
Visiting Researcher
· Participated in a comparative research project on mapping digital divide access funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Education and the University of Texas at Austin.
· Developed and implemented a surveying and interviewing methodology in Brazil within a 9 month period.
Center for Instructional Technology, University of Texas at Austin
Curriculum Integration Consultant – Fast Tex Program Jan. 2002 – Sept. 2002
· Developed a Web site that archived videos of music performances integrated with music scores and dynamic text.
· Developed and implemented a digitization schema for a Radio, Television & Film course on Brazilian media that included video, text and audio formats.
Spence Consulting, Austin, Texas May 2000 – Dec. 2004
Consultant & Strategist
· Built a small Web design-consulting firm.
· Provided personal computer consulting services for small businesses and individuals.
· Developed technical training programs for small businesses and individuals.
NOWDOCS.COM, Austin, Texas April 2000 – Jan. 2001
Network Operations Center Engineer (10/2000 – 1/2001)
Customer Service Rep (4/2000 – 9/2000)
· Monitored, supported and maintained NT-based monitoring systems for mission-critical systems.
· Provided help desk support for 200 employees, 13 sites, and 3 data centers.
· Assisted customers in the use of Web site and oversaw completed service requests.
· Tracked jobs as they came through the Web site to make sure that they were printed and delivered on time.
· Developed and maintained a departmental Web site.
Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC), Austin, Texas Jan. 1999 – May 2000
Research Assistant
· Designed, managed, and updated Web sites and online courses.
· Provided departmental technical support and training.
· Contributed to country specific Web pages.