Heppenstall.ca - Dave Heppenstall

Academics

I have consistently demonstrated initiative and resolve throughout my academic and co-curricular careers. This section contains information regarding my research interests, teaching experience and general academic background.

Background

I received an Honours Bachelors degree in Computing with a minor in philosophy from the University of Guelph in 2008.

I was selected by the Admissions department to appear and be profiled in the 2009 Admissions Handbook to characterize the Bachelor of Computing for prospective students.

Advocacy in the Senate

I was the elected representative for the Bachelor of Computing degree for The Senate of the University of Guelph in 2007-08. As Senator, I voiced and defended the interests of my constituency on academic policy.

Upon graduation, I was nominated for the Walter Vaughan Medal in recognition of being a "student senator who has high academic standing and who has made a substantial contribution to student life and to the University."

Read More: My career in the Senate

Teaching

As a Teaching Assistant at the University of Guelph, I prepared lab materials, conducted seminars, advised students and marked examinations and assignments.

CIS 1200 - Introduction to Computing
View My Lab Materials Online
I introduced the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint) and elementary web development (Microsoft Expression Web) to students generally in their first year of University.

Research

My research and development interests lie on the "soft side" of computer science; specifically in the following fields of Human-Computer Interaction:

Computational Linguistics and Stylometry 2008
In research for the field of pattern recognition, Richard Schwarting and I, under the supervision of professor David Chiu, analyzed passages of natural language by algorithmically producing a statistical model. Works of fiction and philosophy from the British Regency period were specifically analyzed to search for new insights about the texts, authors and period.
Ethical Models of Social Networking 2007
I have observed that individuals may sometimes behave differently on the internet then they do in person; perhaps due to the perceived veil of online anonymity. I continue to explore various ethical frameworks conceived of by a variety of philosophers (such as Kant, Mill and Hobbes) to determine if an accurate correspondence can be made between these models and observed social behaviour on the internet today.