The study of digital inequality has advanced our understanding of how existing socioeconomic disadvantage – such as by income, education, age, gender, and race – translates into disadvantage in the digital realm. Yet, our understanding of the relationships between the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and broader processes...
This dissertation describes three studies which develop a deeper understanding of both failure and performance in human service referral networks focusing on veterans. It draws on theories across network science, public administration, organizational communication, and technology design to explore three major questions: 1) how stakeholders in veteran care networks define...
Children are known to be curious and persistent question-askers. The pervasiveness of voice interfaces represents an opportunity for children who are still learning to read and write to independently search the Internet by directing questions at conversational agents such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and the Google Assistant. However, little...
This dissertation combines perspectives from social networks and teams research to advance understanding of team self-assembly. Across three substantive chapters, I explore team member search behaviors and invitation patterns in contexts where individuals exercise agency to select team members. First, I consider the search for team members in a social...
Citizen media literacy is essential in a democratic society, particularly in the online environment where valid media sources have proliferated alongside purveyors of fake news. This dissertation explores technologies that automatically detect aspects of bias in news articles, with the ultimate aim of leveraging them to augment media literacy. It...
Many volunteer communities rely on technological systems to help their members connect, collaborate and learn the norms of how to participate in the organization. This dissertation presents research that examines technological interventions designed to support participation in three different volunteer-run communities, all of which have porous boundaries, and allow volunteers...
Drawing from the data I collected through nine months (between 2014 to 2017) of participant observations, 120 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and archival work, the project explores the tactics that Chechen and Dagestani journalists utilize to resist state pressure and circumvent state-imposed censorship. Specifically, I explicate how these regional journalists in...
The rise in children’s media use (Rideout & Robb, 2020) and the prioritization of STEM learning (Fayer et al., 2017) has led to the development of new STEM-related apps, TV shows, and other media for young children. One topic in this area gaining popularity is computational thinking (CT). Researchers refer...
Scholarly inquiry has yielded a wealth of evidence in support of narrative-based strategies for persuasion, and yet support for this approach is less consistent in relation to contentious or controversial issues. To better understand why this might be the case, the first part of this dissertation reports a theoretically-guided content...
Assistive robots have the potential to support motor recovery after an injury as well as to alleviate the burden of physical tasks for both impaired and able-bodied individuals. Over the last few decades assistive robots have become increasingly more capable. Many can now provide task-specific assistance and can be safe...