Projects
Dissertation Research
Addressing Digital Divides in Rural Appalachia with Digital Literacy
Education
Using ethnographic and participatory design methods at public libraries in rural Appalachia, I evaluate digital storytelling as a form of culturally-informed digital literacy education for residents of this region. I am also exploring intra-rural digital divides in the area by characterizing differences in digital access, use, skills, experience, interest, and perception between residents of different towns in one county.
Facilitating Positive Change on Social Media for Fat Liberationists
In this project we conducted interviews and content analysis of TikTok videos and are in the process of running a participatory design workshop with members of the fat liberation community. Our goal is to learn about fat liberationists' experiences of empowerment and oppression on social media to better understand how platforms might be designed to support equity and justice for this community.
Understanding Information Flows Between Intelligence Analysts
This is a collaborative project with researchers from the University of Florida, Arizona State
University, Smith College, North Carolina State University Laboratory for Analytic Sciences,
and the NSA. The goal of this project is to understand information flows in the intelligence analyst ecosystem to inform technology designs that can support increased efficacy of intelligence analysts.
Developing an App for Strengthened Family Dynamics
This is a collaborative project with Dr. Gregory M. Fosco and PhD candidate Carlie Sloan from
the Penn State College of Health and Human Development. In this project, we are designing and evaluating an app for families with adolescent children that is intended to be a replacement for traditional family counseling interventions for families who are not able to access those services.
