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Barbara Endicott-Popovsky, Director
As a society, we are more dependent than ever on an information infrastructure enabled by public networks, creating unintended vulnerabilities that can compromise individual privacy, the progress of e-commerce, the value of intellectual property, the stability of critical infrastructure, and homeland security. New protective measures are required. As a National Center of Excellence in information assurance education, the Center for Information Assurance & Cybersecurity is developing a range of measures—including new research approaches, education opportunities, public awareness-building and services—to mitigate these growing threats.
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Eliza Dresang, Director
The Cleary Community for 21st Century Youth is a virtual gathering of individuals interested in research and practice related to 21st century youth literacy. This collaboration between five Washington state public libraries and the University of Washington consists of three main components: early childhood research-based initiatives, comprehensive Cleary documents for research and practice, and a space for professionals to share events, information, literature and best practices related to media and information literacy of digital-age youth. Currently primarily a space for local librarians to share contributions and concerns about youth literacy, the site is designed to eventually include statewide and national participants.
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Multiple Departments
DUB is an alliance of faculty and students across the University of Washington exploring Human-Computer Interaction and Design. Primary DUB departments include Computer Science & Engineering, Technical Communication, the Information School, and the Design Division in the School of Art. Other departments and industry partners, such as Microsoft Research and Intel Research, are also part of DUB. DUB facilitates research and teaching collaboration, student internships, and funding initiatives in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). DUB also hosts a weekly seminar series, bringing top-quality research in HCI to the University of Washington.
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Karen E. Fisher, Director
IBEC researchers address how people experience information as part of everyday living. Specializing in naturalistic inquiry, IBEC studies how information needs are created and how information is sought, managed, shared and used in social contexts, particularly in ways that address people's affective, cognitive and physical needs. In addition to conducting outcome-based evaluation of information services, IBEC researchers specialize in understanding the role of place (aka “information grounds”) and other contextual factors in information flow and interpersonal information seeking.
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Karen E. Fisher, Chair
The Information & Society Center (ISC) investigates the role and impact of information and technology on people in local and international communities. Collaborative and interdisciplinary, we bring together researchers known for their scientific rigor, creativity, and integrity who conduct focused, innovative research and develop practices around the power of information to transform society.
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Kevin C. Desouza, Director
The Institute for Innovation in Information Management (I3M) is focused on helping corporations increase their competitiveness through more effective use of their information and knowledge resources. The Institute leverages the Information School's excellence in research and practice in Information Management to champion innovation in that area. Members of the Institute set the research agenda, participate in semi-annual meetings to review strategy and direction, and benefit from co-sponsored research projects and the chance to interact with others in a structured, neutral discussion space.
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Jeffrey Kim, Director
The Institute for National Security Education and Research (INSER) provides a forum for independent research and cutting-edge scholarship with broad relevance to public safety and national security issues, including the areas of distributed collaboration in virtual organizations and knowledge management. INSER coordinates research and education for more than a dozen multidisciplinary experts and University of Washington centers. INSER's goal is to guide practice that shapes real world decisions in both public and private sectors.
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Alison Head and Michael Eisenberg, Co-Principal Investigators
Project Information Literacy is a national research project, led by Co-Principal Investigators Dr. Alison Head and Dr. Michael Eisenberg. The study is sponsored by a gift from ProQuest and a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to the iSchool. The project seeks to understand how sophomores, juniors, and seniors conduct course-related research and everyday life research in the digital age. The project is currently collecting data from early adults enrolled in community colleges, and public and private colleges and universities in the U.S. The goal of Project Information Literacy is to understand how early adults conceptualize and operationalize research activities for course work and everyday use and especially how they resolve issues of credibility, authority, relevance, and currency in the digital age. By project conclusion, PIL will be the largest research study about information literacy in the U.S. that has ever been undertaken.
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Christopher Coward, Director
The Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) at the University of Washington Information School explores the design, use, and effects of information and communication technologies in communities facing social and economic challenges. Active in over 40 countries, TASCHA brings together a multidisciplinary network of social scientists, engineers, and development practitioners to conduct research, advance knowledge, create resources and improve policy and program design. The Group's purpose is to spark innovation and create more opportunities for those who need it most.
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Batya Friedman, Director
Value Sensitive Design refers to an approach to the design of technology that accounts for human values in a principled and systematic manner throughout the design process. The group's work is primarily concerned with values that center on human well being, human dignity, justice, and human rights. The Value Sensitive Design approach connects the people who design systems and interfaces with the people who think about and understand the values of the stakeholders who are affected by the systems. Current projects include long-term envisioning, privacy in public, sustainability, and value sensitive design methods. Ultimately, Value Sensitive Design broadens the goals and criteria for judging the quality of technological systems to include those that advance human flourishing.
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Michael Eisenberg, Principal Investigator
VIBE’s mission is to better understand patterns of information problem solving (IPS) behavior and improve user experiences in virtual worlds. Processes of information problem solving behavior include defining the information problem; determining, selecting, and locating resources; extracting, organizing, synthesizing, presenting; and evaluating output and process. We accomplish our mission through exploratory and confirmatory research studies in Second Life, one of the most widely used 3D environments for work contexts. We intend to uncover what enables/constrains IPS in virtual worlds—how virtual identities, social relationships, and immersive experiences affect assessments of information quality. The project is funded by the MacArthur Foundation.
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