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 asks how can researchers more equitably design sociotechnical interventions to support the information work of sheltered emerging adults. Through two research studies, I explore the technology use in fulfilling the information needs among this population as well as how their environment impacts their strengths and information practices. I...
Responsiveness -- the time it takes for a message recipient to respond to a message -- has long been of interest to scholars in the fields of computer-mediated communication and human-computer interaction. It has been hypothesized that responsiveness is used to signal emotional information, and many empirical studies have demonstrated...
This dissertation asks how researchers can create more equitable algorithmic systems. Ultimately, this thesis explores methods and implications of representing subjects of analysis in the design and evaluation of algorithmic systems. I also unpack how algorithmic tools measure and quantify human behavior, giving heed to the potential impacts of these...
Algorithmically-driven social platforms present a challenge for self-presentation and identity management by obscuring audiences behind algorithmic mechanisms. Users are increasingly aware of this and actively adapting through folk theorization, but we do not know how users are coping with the constant change endemic to these platforms. We also do not...
The application of formal multilayer networks (MLNs)—networks which contain multiple types of relationships, data types, or other additional features of complexity and connectivity—has recently become popular in many fields. Areas of study ranging from social science to biology have utilized MLNs to explore, describe, and analyze interconnected complex systems. MLNs...
Social networks play a crucial role in developing economies. One of their most important functions is facilitating the flow of information, particularly about the efficacy of new technologies. This dissertation explores three aspects of this research agenda. First, I study how economists can estimate the structure of a social network...
Deduplication, also referred to as "entity resolution", is a common and crucial pre-processing step in the construction of social networks. Traditional deduplication methods compare the attributes (such as name and age) of potential matching pairs to estimate a match probability for a pair. Recently research has used clustering techniques for...
The rise and racial gap in maternal mortality and morbidity in the US growing public health crisis. The US maternal mortality rate is double that of peer countries such as the UK and Canada. Even more striking, Black women are 243% more likely to die from childbirth-related causes. According to...
Deduplication, also referred to as "entity resolution", is a common and crucial pre-processing step in the construction of social networks. Traditional deduplication methods compare the attributes (such as name and age) of potential matching pairs to estimate a match probability for a pair. Recently research has used clustering techniques for...