Student Jennifer Barrigar Successfully Defends her Doctoral Dissertation

Centre for Law, Technology and Society
Technology Law, Ethics and Policy
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On April 4, 2013, Jennifer Barrigar successfully defended her doctoral dissertation “Time to Care about Reputation: Re-Viewing the Resonance and Regulation of Reputation,” putting an exclamation point on a gratifying course of study at the Faculty of Law, amongst a wealth of resources and experts.

Written under the supervision of Dr. Ian Kerr, Canada Research Chair in Ethics, Law & Technology, Ms. Barrigar's dissertation examines reputation as a regulating force in online and offline relationships and transactions.

During her doctorate, Ms. Barrigar participated in international internships, teaching courses, attended national and international workshops and conferences, and had direct involvement in the architecture of research grants and publications. Along the way, she benefited from funding and other forms of support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, the Canadian Council of Administrative Tribunals, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Gowlings, Lafleur Henderson, LLP, the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic, the Oxford Internet Institute and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

"This has been a fantastic experience and I am deeply grateful," says Ms. Barrigar. "The faculty at uOttawa's Centre for Law, technology and Society are world-class experts and the multi-disciplinarity of my project allowed me to also interact with experts from other faculties and institutions. At every stop of this process, I received support, encouragement and exciting opportunities and challenges. I’d like particularly to thank Jane Bailey, Valerie Steeves, Shoshana Magnet, Elizabeth Judge, Constance Backhouse, Michael Geist and of course my supervisor, Dr. Ian Kerr, whose inspiration, leadership and support were integral to my success."

Following on the heels of another recent PhD graduation, and with a third doctoral submission soon to follow, Prof. Kerr is thrilled with the momentum of success in his graduate supervisions and with the Law Faculty's graduate program in technology law. "We have the biggest and best program in Canada and are known to be among the very best in the world. Jennifer Barrigar's brilliant insights on reputation as a social force, alongside much other excellent work that she has done while completing her doctorate, is emblematic of the values and goals of our program. I am very proud of her and look forward to seeing the impact of her work on this emerging field."

Jennifer Barrigar (right) pictured with Prof Ian Kerr (centre) and Carole Lucock (left)
Jennifer Barrigar (right) pictured with Prof Ian Kerr (centre) and Carole Lucock (left) during the launch of Lessons from the Identity Trail: Anonymity, Privacy and Identity in a Networked Society (Oxford University Press, 2009).