Researchers in this field of exploration look at the evolution of public information, seen through the public lens, and investigate the policy, legal, ethical, cultural, and social issues that impact its use. They examine the roles of literacy, technology, heritage, preservation, education, and engagement in community access to information.
Community
Aging in Place
Aqueasha Martin-Hammond explores the use of computers as tools that can change and motivate human behavior, and how technology can support aging in place and assist with the challenges and barriers that limit older adults’ engagement with computing devices. She is examining health and accessibility challenges, and ways to design and develop technology that can help, such as personalizing interfaces to support older adults’ engagement with technology and to motivate active participation in their health.
Cultural Heritage
Andrea Copeland is co-editor of Participatory Heritage, which explores research that looks at new challenges for cultural heritage institutions that are brought about by social media. She was also lead organizer for The Human Library at IU Indianapolis, a campus-funded Welcoming Campus Initiative designed to provide a safe place for conversations around difficult subjects and among diverse people. Copeland, together with Ayoung Yoon, Zebulun Wood, and Albert William, led the Virtual Bethel project that digitally preserved the Bethel AME Church, an historic African-American landmark in Indianapolis.
Wage Focus
A $494K NSF grant is enabling worker-centered design of workplace information systems and applications— improving transparency, collaboration, and the accuracy of compensation in traditionally low-wage industries. Researchers Lynn Dombrowski and Davide Bolchini are addressing how the design of workers’ time reporting systems and other technologies can decrease longstanding problems surrounding wage discrepancies and compensation labor laws in low-wage occupations.