Background
My ultimate goal is to determine how information and communication technologies (ICTs) contribute toward making a difference in this world. As a Master’s student in the School of Information at the University of Michigan, I was involved with the Community Information Corps (CIC). CIC was a group of like-minded faculty and students that were eager to observe how ICTs contribute to social change. At the time, we were in the early part of the Internet age (before social media) but were deeply committed to understanding how equitable access to communication technologies changed lives. Those early experiences of my graduate education influence my teaching goals for understanding how ICTs, especially social media, make a difference in our world.
Education
- PhD, Information Science, Indiana University, 2011
- MS, Information, University of Michigan, 2003
- BS, Economics with honors, Purdue University, 1993
Specializations
Information and communication technologies; social media; and sociotechnical studies.
Research
My current research interests include social media and substance use prevention, digital inequality and social and community informatics. Applying a sociotechnical perspective, my work investigates how information and communication technologies (ICTs) help to address issues of social inequality. Currently, I lead the State Project Adaptation Workgroup to assist Hawai‘i substance use prevention partners adapt and improve their efforts through ICTs and social media. This project is funded by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division at the Department of Health. I also collaborate with researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center and the University of Guam to deliver an elementary school curriculum intervention for adolescent vaping and betel nut use. Other research projects examine the digital divide, broadband policy, and social media. A common thread in all my work is an opportunity to investigate how those on the margins of society access and use ICTs in their everyday lives. Collaborative research opportunities are in the areas of health communication, social media, digital divide and social inequality.