Miranda Heath
is a social scientist studying the people who care for sources of common good, with a particular focus on Open Source software.
I am a founding director and researcher at the Software Stewardship Lab, an applied research non-profit dedicated to ensuring the stability of the Open Source software ecosystem. Here, I work to understand and address the challenges faced by the Open Source software maintainers who prop up our digital infrastructure.
I am currently researching Open Source maintainer burnout, and how maintainers are being impacted by the rise of AI coding. I also work with the Open Source Pledge, a Sentry initiative to raise money for Open Source maintainers. You can read my report and listen to my FOSDEM talk on the structural causes of burnout in Open Source.
I am studying for a PhD in psychology and philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. My PhD research explores the exploitation of altruists, and the ideological assumptions baked into the concept of altruism. I think about what "doing good" looks like when we reframe morality as a collective project, rather than an individual responsibility. I am supervised by Dr. Matti Wilks (Psychology), Dr. Barry Maguire (Philosophy) and Dr. Sue Widdicombe (Psychology).
I love investigation. When I'm not studying humans, you can find me rooting around for bugs, birds and mushrooms to ID (and adore), researching folk names and uses for the plants I come across, and obsessively pursuing every single achievement in my favourite puzzle game.
Want to talk? You can reach me at miranda@mirandaheath.website. You can read my CV here.
Posts
Artwork
Photos
Academic Works
Altruism
- Heath, M., & Auburn, T. ‘I’m not exceptional’: How unspecified kidney donors construct their identity and altruism. [Undergraduate dissertation].
Pedagogy
- Meek, S., Gilbert, K., Heath, M., & Neve, H. (under review). Exploring theory in practice: Self, co- and socially regulated learning in problem-based learning.
- Leyland, R., Heath, M., Collett, T., Drake, E., & Neve, H. (2024). 'How far I’ve come': The value of reviewing past reflections. Reflective Practice, 1–13.
- Neve, H., Hanks, S., Heath, M. & Smith, W. (2020). ‘Today’s shook me up a lot inside…it’s definitely changed me’: Emotional responses and transformative learning through working with disadvantaged communities. Education for Primary Care, 31(6), 358-364.
- Leyland, R., Heath, M., Neve, H., & Maynard, V. (2020). Structured reflection on shared decision making. The Clinical Teacher, 17, 1-7.
- Lloyd, H., & Heath, M. (2018). A spotlight on safeguarding in trainee selection: The Plymouth programme’s experience of Safer Recruitment. Clinical Psychology Forum, 306, 25-29.