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I am in the third year of a PhD program in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University. In my studies I seek answers to questions about what values underpin the use of communication technologies in society today. In particular, I examine subversive social actions and philosophies that shape the use of specific technologies.
My Master's thesis (2010) examined the migration patterns of technological artifacts that originated in subcultures (non-corporate environments) and later achieved mainstream adoption. I identified a migration pattern which was consistent across a variety of cultural artifacts in the areas of fashion, slang and communication technologies.
Another research project I'm currently working on is an examination of Twitter and other new media objects as tools for political protest. In this project I investigate the role new communication technologies play in the outcomes and coverage of recent protest events in the Middle East and northern Africa.
In the next two years, I plan on proposing and working on a dissertation which aims to better understand the ways in which members of Midwestern Amish communities navigate their use of modern communication devices. This investigation is an effort to identify a pattern of public and communal decision-making about which technologies to adopt and which not to adopt. In this way, the Amish are different from non-Amish Americans in that they share a common logic about how to adopt new technologies. Non-Amish often adopt new technologies individually and make their decisions in private. Before adopting a new technology, the Amish ask, will this technology bring our community closer together or tear us apart? Non-Amish often ask, can I afford this new toy? Or, will it make me more productive? There are a number of implications for our satisfaction in life that stem from this decision-making process. This is especially true because today's workers are faced with navigating a workplace where work and leisure are often no longer separate spheres.
When I finish my doctoral studies I hope to work as a professor in communications, information and/or media studies. My anticipated graduation date is May of 2014. |
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