Doctor Jason Ensor

Doctor Jason Ensor

Associate Director, Data Planning and Change,
Planning

Biography

For nearly two decades, Jason Ensor has worked at the forefront of digital technologies, developing strategies and projects that apply emerging technologies and practices to improve the assembly and delivery of scholarly research and resources.

With experience in arts humanities research and public-facing digital engagement, Jason has built a reputation for co-creating, supporting and fostering the innovative use of technology within higher education as both a method of inquiry and a means of dissemination. A highly productive professional and scholar, Jason is currently Manager, Engagement Strategy & Scholarly Communications, at Western Sydney University Library where he provides high level advice contributing to the planning, development, management and delivery of quality digital services in support of the University’s teaching and research programs across several campus libraries.

Jason is ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Foundations certified, and PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Environments) Foundations and Practitioner accredited in Project Management. and a 2018 graduate of the Western Sydney University Inspire Leadership program. He holds four degrees in related critical thinking fields and is an experienced business professional in software development, data scholarship and print publishing. He is also a distinguished speaker on digital humanities and linked fields, presenting regularly in national and international forums.

In 2017-2018, Jason was Visiting Professor in Digital Humanities at the Electronic Textual Cultures Lab, University of Victoria, Canada, and Visiting Researcher at the Institute for Historical, Literary and Cultural Studies, Radboud University, The Netherlands. In 2018, as a Australian book historian by trade, he convened the 26th conference for the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing, an international scholarly event which was held for the first time in Australia.

This information has been contributed by Doctor Ensor.

Qualifications

  • PhD Murdoch University
  • MA University of Queensland
  • PGDip(Aus Studies) University of Queensland
  • BA University of Queensland

Professional Memberships

  • Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (2013 - 2019)
  • DHCommons (CenterNet) (2014 - 2016)

Interests

  • Australian Studies
  • Digital Humanities
  • Library Information Systems

Organisational Unit (School / Division)

  • Planning

Contact

Email: J.Ensor@westernsydney.edu.au
Phone: (02) 9852 5029
Mobile: 0419674770
Location: I
Penrith (Kingswood)

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Publications

Books

  • Ensor, J. (2012), 'Angus & Robertson and the British Trade in Australian Books, 1930-1970 : the getting of bookselling wisdom', : Anthem Press 9780857285669.

Chapters in Books

  • Burrows, S. and Ensor, J. (2018), 'Afterword : the future of FBTEE : towards a digital history of the book', The French Book Trade in Enlightenment Europe II: Enlightenment Bestsellers, Bloomsbury 9781441126016.
  • Nile, R. and Ensor, J. (2009), 'The novel, the implicated reader and Australian literary cultures, 1950-2008', The Cambridge History of Australian Literature, Cambridge University Press 9780521881654.
  • Ensor, J. (2009), 'Is a picture worth 10,175 Australian novels?', Resourceful Reading: The New Empiricism, eResearch and Australian Literary Culture, Sydney University Press 9781920899455.

Journal Articles

  • Swist, T., Hendery, R., Magee, L., Ensor, J., Sherman, J., Budge, K. and Humphry, J. (2022), 'Co-creating public library futures : an emergent manifesto and participatory research agenda', Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, vol 71, no 1 , pp 71 - 88.
  • Arthur, P., Ensor, J., Faassen, M., Hoekstra, R. and Peters, N. (2018), 'Migrating people, migrating data : digital approaches to migrant heritage', Journal of the Japanese Association for Digital Humanities, vol 3, no 1 , pp 98 - 113.
  • Maor, D., Ensor, J. and Fraser, B. (2016), 'Doctoral supervision in virtual spaces : a review of research of web-based tools to develop collaborative supervision', Higher Education Research and Development, vol 35, no 1 , pp 172 - 188.
  • Burrows, S., Ensor, J., Henningsgaard, P. and Hiribarren, V. (2016), 'Mapping print, connecting cultures', Library and Information History, vol 32, no 4 , pp 259 - 271.
  • Ensor, J. (2011), 'Angus & Robertson and the case of the "Bombshell Salesman"', Script and Print, vol 35, no 2 , pp 69 - 79.
  • Ensor, J. (2010), '"A policy of splendid isolation" : Angus and Robertson, George G. Harrap and the politics of co-operation in the Australian book trade during the late 1930s', Script and Print, vol 34, no 1 , pp 34 - 42.
  • Ensor, J. (2009), '"Still waters run deep" : empirical methods and the migration patterns of regional publishers' authors and titles within Australian literature', Antipodes, vol 23, no 2 , pp 197 - 208.
  • Ensor, J. (2008), 'Reprints, international markets and local literary taste : new empiricism and Australian literature', Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, vol Special Issue 2008, no The Colonial Present , pp 198 - 218.

Conference Papers

  • Robbins, S. and Ensor, J. (2016), 'Strategic publishing using Journal Finder', Victorian Association for Library Automation. Biennial Conference and Exhibition, Melbourne, Vic..

Other Publications

  • 2022, 'Mapping Print, Charting Enlightenment Data Interface', Recorded Work

In his research Jason is particularly interested in systems and strategies for measuring and benchmarking research impact across disciplines; the evaluation gap between ‘born digital’ scholarship and traditional research outputs; digital cultural mapping, geo-temporal analysis and data-use in humanities scholarship; the interaction between consumerism, technology and cultural transformation; the future of books projected from an historical perspective and from current product developments; the predictive role of creative work in book formats; and open business models in academic publishing.

Jason’s latest book, Angus & Robertson and the British Trade in Australian Books, 1930–1970: The Getting of Bookselling Wisdom (2012), examines the literary, economic and cultural interdependence between Australian and British publishers during the twentieth century. Other more recent publications include: ‘Strategic Publishing Using Journal Finder’ (2016), a library sciences approach to organising existing information relating to journals and impact in ways that are relevant to the Australian situation; ‘Doctoral Supervision in Virtual Spaces’ (2016), a synthesis of research on combining digital technology with pedagogy in order to innovate doctoral supervision; ‘Is a Picture Worth 10,175 Australian Novels?’ (2010), a cultural studies analysis of technology use in humanities research; ‘Still Waters Run Deep: Empirical Methods and the Migration Patterns of Regional Publishers’ Authors and Titles within Australian Literature’ (2009), a study of 100 years of publishing in Australia; and ‘The Novel, the Implicated Reader and Australian Literary Cultures, 1950–2008‘ (2009), a study of Australian fiction by examining the way it has been moulded by the publishing industry, including pulp publishing, and the changing tastes of readers (cited in Australia.Gov.Au).

This information has been contributed by Doctor Ensor.

Previous Projects

Title: Mapping Print, Charting Enlightenment
Funder:
  • Australian Research Council (ACRG)
Western Researchers: Simon Burrows, Jason Ensor, Rachel Hendery and Tomas Trescak
Years: 2016-06-13 - 2021-12-31
ID: P00022619
Title: Angus and Robertson Collection for Humanities and Education Research (ARCHivER) [via Monash Uni]
Funder:
  • Department of Education and Training (non ACRG)
Western Researchers: Jason Ensor and Simon Burrows
Years: 2016-05-16 - 2018-12-31
ID: P00023456
Title: Developing a Sustainable Model for the Preservation of the 'Mutual Cultural Heritage' of Dutch who made Australia and New Zealand Home [via Curtin Uni]
Funder:
  • Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Western Researchers: Jason Ensor
Years: 2015-01-15 - 2015-01-31
ID: P00023164
Title: Ageing Creatively: Creative Writing as a Tool for Healthy Ageing
Funder:
  • University of Western Sydney
Western Researchers: Anthony Uhlmann, Paul Arthur, Christopher Davis, Denis Burnham, Esther Chang, Hazel Smith, Jason Ensor, Rachel Hendery, Rachel Morley and Melinda Jewell
Years: 2015-03-01 - 2016-06-30
ID: P00022526

Media

Title: Read it and weep: the book trade needs more than parallel import restrictions
Description: The Conversation
Title: Research is a public good
Description: Interview, Radio Adelaide 101.5FM
Title: University metrics keep academics in their ivory towers
Description: The Conversation
Title: The benefits of research aren t just economic
Description: The Conversation

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