Dr Sara Vannini

MA (Bologna, Italy), PhD (Lugano, Switzerland)

School of Information, Journalism and Communication

Lecturer in Information Management and Information Systems

Sara Vannini
Profile picture of Sara Vannini
s.vannini@sheffield.ac.uk
Room C222, The Wave

Full contact details

Dr Sara Vannini
School of Information, Journalism and Communication
Room C222
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
Profile

I hold a MA in Latin American Literatures from the University of Bologna, Italy, with a dissertation on educational practices and indigenous knowledge in Southern Chile, and a PhD in Communication Sciences from the University of Lugano, Switzerland, with a thesis on public access to Information and Communication Technologies in Mozambique.

After graduating from my PhD, I worked initially as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the BeCHANGE Research Group and at the NewMinE Lab at the University of Lugano, on projects related to health communication, environmental security, social marketing, and information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D). Then, I was awarded an Early.PostDoc fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation to join the Technology and Social Change - TASCHA group at the University of Washington Information School, Seattle, WA (USA). After my Post-Doc, I started working as a Lecturer at the University of Washington Department of Communications and the Integrated Social Sciences online program. I joined the University of Sheffield as a Lecturer in Information Management and Information Systems in 2020.

Research interests

I am the head of the Information Systems Research Group.

My research interests are at the intersection of critical studies of technology and society, social change, and information ethics. I focus on social appropriation and embodied experiences of technologies by different social groups, information privacy in the context of migration, the role of public access to information in mis/disinformation, and participatory and visual methodologies of inquiry.

I am interested in supervising PhD projects that advance critical, post-colonial, feminist and participatory studies of:

  • Information and communication technologies for development and social change
  • Data justice, data privacy and security in the context of underserved, vulnerable, or oppressed populations
  • Mis/dis-information as connected to information literacy and public access to information
  • Social construction and embodied experiences of information and communication technologies
  • Migration and sanctuary studies connected to information and communication technologies
Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Journal articles

  • Zamani ED & Vannini S (2025) . Information Technology for Development.
  • Carney MA, Vannini S, Genovese A, Saguto D, Jammeh M, Deme I & Fantin A (2025) . Annals of Anthropological Practice, 49(1).
  • Vannini S, Tandon A & Masiero S (2024) . Information Technology for Development, 30(2), 195-208.
  • Bentley C, Muyoya C, Vannini S, Oman S & Jimenez A (2023) . Big Data & Society, 10(2).
  • Jimenez A, Vannini S & Cox A (2023) . Journal of Documentation, 79(1).
  • Newell BC, Vannini S & Gomez R (2020) . The Information Society, 36(4), 199-213.
  • Vannini S, Gomez R & Newell BC (2020) . Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 71(8), 927-938.
  • Vannini S, Gomez R, Lopez D, Mora S, Morrison JC, Tanner J, Youkhana L, Vergara G & Mar Moreno Tafurt M (2020) . The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 86(1).
  • Bentley CM, Nemer D & Vannini S (2019) . AI & Society, 34(3), 477-493.
  • De Ascaniis S, Vannini S & Cantoni L (2018) . Semiotica, 2018(220), 173-198.
  • Gomez R & Vannini S (2017) . The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 78(1), 1-46.
  • Vannini S, Nemer D, Halabi A, Sabiescu AG & David Cumbula S (2017) Critical incidents analysis : mismatching expectations and reconciling visions in intercultural encounters. The Journal of Community Informatics, 13(2), 13-34.
  • Carney MA, Gomez R, Mitchell K & Vannini S (2017) Sanctuary planet : a global sanctuary movement for the time of Trump. Society & Space.
  • Vannini S, Rega I, Sala S & Cantoni L (2015) . The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC), 67(1), 1-23.
  • Halabi A, Sabiescu AG, David S, Vannini S & Nemer D (2015) From exploration to design : aligning intentionality in community informatics projects. The Journal of Community Informatics, 11(3).
  • Vannini S, Rega I & Cantoni L (2015) . Information Technology for Development, 21(1), 85-98.
  • Rega I, Vannini S, Fino E & Cantoni L (2013) Exploring the meanings of community multimedia centers in Mozambique : a social representations perspective. Information Technology and International Development, 9(4), 35-54.

Book chapters

  • Azhar F, Vannini S, Newell BC & Gomez R (2021) In McAuliffe M (Ed.), Research Handbook on International Migration and Digital Technology (pp. 92-106). Edward Elgar Publishing
  • Vannini S & Rega I (2020) Mobile information literacy and public access in the era of post-truth: reflections from community curricular experiences in Latin America In Traxler J & Crompton H (Ed.), Critical Mobile Pedagogy Cases of Digital Technologies and Learners at the Margins Routledge

Conference proceedings

  • Vannini S, Gomez R & Newell BC (2024) . 18th IFIP WG 9.4 International Conference, ICT4D 2024, Cape Town, South Africa, May 20–22, 2024, Proceedings, Part II, Vol. 709 (pp 205-220). Cape Town, South Africa, 20 May 2024 - 20 May 2024.
  • Wagg S, Vannini S, Zamani E, Klyshbekova M & Aylward B (2024) Digital inclusion network building: a network weaving analysis. Proceedings of the 29th UK Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS) International Conference. Canterbury, Kent, 25 April 2024 - 25 April 2024.
  • Aylward B, Cox A & Vannini S (2022) The revolution will (not?) be archived: Web archiving needs of activist collections in the North of England. Proceedings 20th Annual Community Informaatics Research Network Conference (CIRN 2022): 20 years of CIRN: Examining the Past, Present, and Future of Communities and Technology (pp 29-45). Prato, Italy, 9 November 2022 - 9 November 2022.
  • Vannini S, Gomez R & Newell BC (2019) . Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (pp 1-4)
  • Vannini S, Nemer D & Rega I (2017) . Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Communities and Technologies (pp 115-124)

Reports

  • Wagg S, Vannini S & Zamani E (2024)
  • Wagg S, Vannini S, Zamani E, Klyshbekova M, Aylward B & Jia X (2024) Digital inclusion network development: a case study in Derbyshire - Full report

All publications

Journal articles

  • Zamani ED & Vannini S (2025) . Information Technology for Development.
  • Carney MA, Vannini S, Genovese A, Saguto D, Jammeh M, Deme I & Fantin A (2025) . Annals of Anthropological Practice, 49(1).
  • Vannini S, Tandon A & Masiero S (2024) . Information Technology for Development, 30(2), 195-208.
  • Bentley C, Muyoya C, Vannini S, Oman S & Jimenez A (2023) . Big Data & Society, 10(2).
  • Jimenez A, Vannini S & Cox A (2023) . Journal of Documentation, 79(1).
  • Newell BC, Vannini S & Gomez R (2020) . The Information Society, 36(4), 199-213.
  • Gomez R, Newell BC & Vannini S (2020) . The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion (IJIDI), 4(2), 116-122.
  • Vannini S, Gomez R & Newell BC (2020) . Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 71(8), 927-938.
  • Gomez R, Newell BC & Vannini S (2020) . Journal on Migration and Human Security, 8(1), 1-13.
  • Vannini S, Gomez R, Lopez D, Mora S, Morrison JC, Tanner J, Youkhana L, Vergara G & Mar Moreno Tafurt M (2020) . The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 86(1).
  • Bentley CM, Nemer D & Vannini S (2019) . AI & Society, 34(3), 477-493.
  • Vannini S, Gomez R, Carney M & Mitchell K (2018) . Migration and Society, 1(1), 164-174.
  • Vannini S, Gomez R, Carney M & Mitchell K (2018) . Migration and Society, 1(1), 164-174.
  • Vannini S, Rega I & Cantoni L (2018) . Semiotica, 2018(223), 173-175.
  • Rega I & Vannini S (2018) . Semiotica, 2018(223), 199-217.
  • Pucciarelli M & Vannini S (2018) . Semiotica, 2018(223), 219-250.
  • De Ascaniis S, Vannini S & Cantoni L (2018) . Semiotica, 2018(220), 173-198.
  • Gomez R & Vannini S (2017) . The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 78(1), 1-46.
  • Vannini S, Nemer D, Halabi A, Sabiescu AG & David Cumbula S (2017) Critical incidents analysis : mismatching expectations and reconciling visions in intercultural encounters. The Journal of Community Informatics, 13(2), 13-34.
  • Carney MA, Gomez R, Mitchell K & Vannini S (2017) Sanctuary planet : a global sanctuary movement for the time of Trump. Society & Space.
  • Vannini S, Rega I, Sala S & Cantoni L (2015) . The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC), 67(1), 1-23.
  • Halabi A, Sabiescu AG, David S, Vannini S & Nemer D (2015) From exploration to design : aligning intentionality in community informatics projects. The Journal of Community Informatics, 11(3).
  • Vannini S, Rega I & Cantoni L (2015) . Information Technology for Development, 21(1), 85-98.
  • Rega I, Vannini S, Fino E & Cantoni L (2013) Exploring the meanings of community multimedia centers in Mozambique : a social representations perspective. Information Technology and International Development, 9(4), 35-54.
  • Rapetti E, Picco A & Vannini S (2011) Is mobile learning a resource in higher education? Data evidence from an empirical research in Ticino (Switzerland). Journal of E Learning and Knowledge Society, 7(2), 47-57.

Book chapters

  • Azhar F, Vannini S, Newell BC & Gomez R (2021) In McAuliffe M (Ed.), Research Handbook on International Migration and Digital Technology (pp. 92-106). Edward Elgar Publishing
  • Vannini S & Rega I (2020) Mobile information literacy and public access in the era of post-truth: reflections from community curricular experiences in Latin America In Traxler J & Crompton H (Ed.), Critical Mobile Pedagogy Cases of Digital Technologies and Learners at the Margins Routledge
  • Vannini S & Rega I (2020) In Traxler J & Crompton H (Ed.), Critical Mobile Pedagogy: Cases of Digital Technologies and Learners at the Margins (pp. 110-122). Routledge

Conference proceedings

  • Vannini S, Gomez R & Newell BC (2024) . 18th IFIP WG 9.4 International Conference, ICT4D 2024, Cape Town, South Africa, May 20–22, 2024, Proceedings, Part II, Vol. 709 (pp 205-220). Cape Town, South Africa, 20 May 2024 - 20 May 2024.
  • Wagg S, Vannini S, Zamani E, Klyshbekova M & Aylward B (2024) Digital inclusion network building: a network weaving analysis. Proceedings of the 29th UK Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS) International Conference. Canterbury, Kent, 25 April 2024 - 25 April 2024.
  • Aylward B, Cox A & Vannini S (2022) The revolution will (not?) be archived: Web archiving needs of activist collections in the North of England. Proceedings 20th Annual Community Informaatics Research Network Conference (CIRN 2022): 20 years of CIRN: Examining the Past, Present, and Future of Communities and Technology (pp 29-45). Prato, Italy, 9 November 2022 - 9 November 2022.
  • Vannini S & Ahmed SI (2022) Introduction to the ACM Digital Library Proceedings of ICTD 2022. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series (pp xi-xii)
  • Marais MA & Vannini S (2021) Network weaving to foster resilience and sustainability in ICT4D. First Virtual Conference on Implications of Information and Digital Technologies for Development, 2021 (pp 43-43), 25 May 2021 - 28 May 2021.
  • Vannini S, Gomez R & Newell BC (2019) . Information in Contemporary Society, Vol. 11420 (pp 236-244). Washington, DC, USA, 31 March 2019 - 31 March 2019.
  • Vannini S, Gomez R & Newell BC (2019) . Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (pp 1-4)
  • Vannini S, Nemer D & Rega I (2017) . Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Communities and Technologies (pp 115-124)
  • Gomez L, Gomez R & Vannini S (2017) . Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2017) (pp 2600-2609). Waikoloa Village, Hawaii, 4 January 2017 - 4 January 2017.
  • Vannini S () . iConference 2016 Proceedings

Reports

  • Wagg S, Vannini S & Zamani E (2024)
  • Wagg S, Vannini S, Zamani E, Klyshbekova M, Aylward B & Jia X (2024) Digital inclusion network development: a case study in Derbyshire - Full report
  • Wagg S, Vannini S, Zamani E, Klyshbekova M, Aylward B & Jia X (2024) Digital inclusion network development: a case study in Derbyshire - Executive Summary
Teaching activities

I am currently contributing to the modules:

  • INF6400: Information Systems and the Information Society
  • INF6180 Library and Information Society
  • INF6580 Library and Information Society
  • INF109 Digital Media and Society