Hello!

I'm really excited to be starting my PhD in Information Science at the University of Washington iSchool in Seattle. I'm part of the DataLab and advised by Dr. Emma Spiro. I've also worked in Dr. Kate Starbird's emCOMP lab.

​My research interests are using mixed-methods social network analysis and computational social science on social media data as a lens to study discourse, information gatekeeping, and frames and narratives online.

At the meta-level, I'm also really interested in bringing diverse voices and experiences into academia.
PhD student
Information Science
University of Washington
B.S. in HCDE
​​B.S. in Computer Science
University of Washington

Projects.

Propaganda, Framing, and Race
​This is a multi-year project with Dr. Starbird's emCOMP lab studying #BlackLivesMatter and #BlueLivesMatter discourse on Twitter.
​Our work focuses on the framing processes associated with the two hashtags and their vulnerabilities to disinformation campaigns.
Gender as Networked Discourse
In this project advised by Dr. Spiro, I've been studying Reddit as a site for networked, crowd-driven discourse centering on gender. 
I use a networks approach to examine trajectories of discourse (such as feminism and "red pill") over time and digital space.
Rumor Permutations and Worldview
My work here is part of a team effort led by Dr. Spiro and Dr. Starbird to study permutations of rumors.
My specific project aims to model worldviews using Twitter trace data as they relate to rumoring.

Publications.

Ahmer Arif, Leo Stewart, and Kate Starbird. Acting the Part: Examining Information Operations Within #BlackLivesMatter Discourse. Full paper, CSCW 2018.
> Coverage by the Daily Beast
> PDF

​​Leo Stewart, Ahmer Arif, A. Conrad Nied, Emma Spiro and Kate Starbird. Drawing the Lines of Contention: Networked Frame Contests within #BlackLivesMatter Discourse. Full paper, CSCW 2018. DOI: 10.1145/3134920
​> Blog Post
> PDF

Rachael Tatman, Leo Stewart, Amandalynne Paullada and Emma Spiro. Non-lexical Features Encode Political Affiliation on Twitter. Short paper, ACL 2017.
> PDF

Posters and Workshop Papers.

Leo Stewart, Ahmer Arif and Kate Starbird. When Bad Actors Adhere to Group Norms. Workshop paper, CHI'18 Workshop: Understanding Bad Actors.
​> ​PDF

Leo Stewart, Ahmer Arif and Kate Starbird. Examining trolls and polarization with a retweet network. Workshop paper, MIS2 2018. DOI: 10.475/123_4
> Coverage by Mother Jones, The Atlantic, and Mashable 
​> ​PDF

Leo Stewart, Ahmer Arif, A. Conrad Nied, Emma Spiro and Kate Starbird. Exploring the Flow of #BlackLivesMatter Conversations in Response to Shooting Events Using a Shared Audience Network. Poster, UW Undergraduate Research Symposium 2017.

A. Conrad Nied, Leo Stewart, Emma Spiro and Kate Starbird. Alternative Narratives of Crisis Events: Communities and Social Botnets Engaged on Social Media. Poster, CSCW 2017.​

Skills.

​💻
Coding. Python, R, SQL, REST APIs, Java, and Android. 
📈
Data Analysis. Gephi, Shiny, Leaflet, Plotly, Tableau, Superset, and technical writing.
​📋
Qualitative Methods. 
Interviews, observational field studies, surveys, and qualitative coding.
⚙
Infrastructure. ​SourceTree, Git, Singularity, Docker, Parallel computing.

Employment.


#⃣️
emCOMP Lab
Research Assistant
Summer 2017 - Summer 2018
I had the chance to work in Dr. Kate Starbird's lab, where I worked with other students to conduct mixed-methods analyses on social media data. I also learned to use Python, SQL, Gephi, REST APIs, and Tableau to collect, analyze, and present data.

​🌡️
Data Analysis @ Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
​Summer 2017 - Summer 2018
I started at IHME as a research intern in Summer 2017 and continued as a data analyst after my internship. I built skills relating to data cleaning, cataloguing, and visualization and quantitative analysis, along with the accompanying infrastructure. I worked with datasets from a variety of sources using R, Python, and SQL. I also gained experience with large-scale, data-driven research and current topics at the intersection of global health and data science, particularly transparency and accuracy in modeling.

​
💬

​Mobile Software Developer Internship @ Motorola Solutions 
Summer 2016 & Summer 2015
I worked with a team to develop an Android component of a broader communication platform.
 ​​
⚡
​Interim Engineering Internship @ Qualcomm
​Summer 2014
I worked with a team to refine an internal Android application for communication with a broader Internet of Things network.