PhD Researcher in Horizon CDT at The University of Nottingham. Main research interest: how is Trust affected by different interactions with Driverless Vehicles?
Other research interests look into Ethics, Privacy, HCI, V2X communications, Autonomous Systems
Learn about what I doPhD Research and other projects.
The aim of my PhD research: Trust in Autonomous Vehicles, is to offer a better understanding of how driverless cars can be designed to be more trustworthy and how the interaction between user and car can lead to Trust, especially in the context of the emergent themes of Big Data and Internet of Things. In the context of driverless cars, trust, is of a critical importance. A short introduction into my topic can be found here .
The initial study that is going to be incorporated into my PhD, will try to take a look at the perceived levels of trust that the general public have, in relation to the potential use and implementation of driverless vechicles. This study involved the use of a survey which was developed and deployed after the completion of an extensive literature review. It is an exploratory survey that will influence the direction of my topic.
This research project represents exploratory work into an area that offers interesting perspectives with regard to the birth of digital identity. It tries to offer answers to questions related to the usage of personal data before personal identity is formed. This was accomplished with the use of semi-structured interviews, that were later analyzed using a naturalistic and phenomenological method.
In 2010 I have graduated from the department of Social Sciences - Philosophy of the University of Craiova, Romania, with a BA thesis about Imaginary and Media Culture. I explored this theme especially in the regard of Manipulation and Persuasion done by the New Media, on the ways in which this phenomenon has affected the public. Important parts of this thesis are dedicated to the transition from religious symbols to icons and also on the role that Imaginary and Images have in our society.
After graduation I decided to continue my studies in the same department, therefore I opted for a Master in Contemporary Philosophy, which I graduated in 2012. Main modules included: Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Mind and Cognition Sciences, Culturological contemporary paradigms, Psychoanalysis.
In my master's thesis I researched the theme of ''Life and the-fact-of dying'' with regard to Martin Heidegger's work. I tried to focus this theme on contemporary problems that we still face today, especially on the ''repression of death''. I explored this theme from three different perspectives: ethical, religious ( especially between the paradigms from the catholic and lutheran point of view ) and contemporary ( the ''run'' from death and the ''amnesia'' of death ).
During my master's course I have also obtained two Scholarships of Merit from The University of Craiova, for excellence in study during the two years of the Degree. Having always been interested in multidisciplinary research, I successfully applied for a PhD at the Horizon Digital Economy CDT, University of Nottingham, where I am currently studying. From the beginning of September 2014, I am a Postgraduate Research Student in Nottingham Geospatial Institute and Human Factors Research Group.
---For more detailed information regarding my background, feel free to contact me--