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Siva Vaidhyanathan: 'The problem with Facebook is Facebook'

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Media scholar Siva Vaidhyanathan acknowledges that he sounds like a “downer” when he discusses Facebook’s effect on democracy. But when he sees the dominant social media platform being used to promote nationalism and authoritarianism around the world, he can’t help it. “Facebook is the ideal tool for those movements, and those movements figured that out,” the University of Virginia professor said during a visit to the University of Washington on May 16. “They could not have invented a better system for themselves.” Vaidhyanathan, the author of “Antisocial Media: How F

MSIM team helps Seattle wrangle its parking data

Thursday, May 16, 2019

As anyone who has ever tried to find on-street parking in downtown Seattle knows, it can be complicated. And while it can be difficult for drivers, it’s even more challenging for public officials who are trying to manage the supply of on-street parking without all the information they need. Four iSchool students are using their information management skills to help the Seattle Department of Transportation answer two crucial questions. How many parking spots are open? And what factors affect parking availability? The Master of Science in Information Management students – Nathan Cunnin

iSchool’s Hala Annabi creates ‘Autism @ Work Playbook’

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

“Nothing about us without us” is a phrase often used to express the need for people to have a say in designing policies that affect their own lives. It’s also a key tenet in the Autism @ Work Playbook, a resource created by the University of Washington Information School together with several corporate partners. The 61-page document guides organizations and human resources professionals in creating and sustaining appropriate and well-supported employment opportunities for individuals on the autism spectrum. The playbook offers step-by-step guidance for organizations interested in

There is so much great news to share

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

It’s been an incredible year at the iSchool, so permit me to do a little bragging about some recent “wins.” The Husky 100: Each year, the University of Washington recognizes 100 students who have demonstrated their ability to take what they’ve learned in the classroom and apply it on campus and in our communities. I’m very proud to say that this year, nine of the 100 are iSchool students. For a school our size to have such a large proportion of the Husky 100 is truly remarkable, but perhaps it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise given that the iSchool’s programs all emphasize

Iisaaksiichaa Ross Braine, '15, named 2019 Distinguished Alumnus

Monday, May 13, 2019

Iisaaksiichaa Ross Braine, ’15, was making an impact at the University of Washington even before he earned his master’s degree at the Information School. Since then, his stature and value to the university have only grown. For his contributions and tireless work as the UW’s tribal liaison and director of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (Intellectual House), Braine is the iSchool’s 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award winner. He completed his Master of Science in Information Management in 2015. Braine has been the UW’s tribal liaison since 2012, acting as an ambassador for UW President Ana Mari

‘Transformed’ into a librarian: Online student makes the most of MLIS program

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Karen Sánchez didn’t start her career planning to become a librarian. Librarianship didn't even seem like a possibility when she was young. Sánchez grew up in Southeast Los Angeles, and she says her youth and young adulthood were more concerned with avoiding street violence, the stress of poverty, and helping her immigrant parents with life in America. While she was an undergraduate, however, Sánchez had a federal work-study job at the law school library, and that position led to a job at a law firm, where she worked as a law library paraprofessional. It started as simply a job but

Alumni use their MLIS superpowers to bring order to comic books

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Comic books have long been the Rodney Dangerfield of libraries – they get no respect. Even graphic novels, comics’ sister publications with a classier name, are often mixed in with children’s books or placed in the stacks where users won’t expect to find them. That lack of respect has long extended to how libraries organize their catalogs of comics and graphic novels, sometimes making it difficult to find a classic Batman or a new Venom. Moreover, libraries lack a uniform way to organize collections of comics, making each library’s collection dependent on whether it has a comi

MSIM team focuses on cybersecurity for key infrastructure

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Two days before Christmas 2015, hackers took down a Ukrainian power grid, leaving a quarter-million people without electricity for hours. Ukrainian officials suspected — but never publicly confirmed — that the Russian government was behind the sophisticated operation. It was the first known successful cyberattack against an electrical grid. It was also a shot across the bow of utilities, factories and industrial installations everywhere. Now a team of four graduate students from the University of Washington’s Information School is taking up the challenge of protecting these types o

Balancing act: Gymnastics star has a passion for Informatics

Friday, May 3, 2019

Ask Malory Rose about her love of gymnastics, and she’ll give you all the customary answers. She’ll tell you how much it means to her to be a part of a team, how thrilling it is to perform feats of physical skill that only an infinitesimal percentage of humans can achieve, and how proud she is to have been part of a UW squad that ended a 19-year NCAA Championships drought — then returned to the title meet again the following season. Our conversation for this article lasted nearly 40 minutes. All of that was covered in the first five. It’s when Rose starts talking about her in

Patterns of compulsive smartphone use suggest how to kick the habit

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Everywhere you look, people are looking at screens. In the decade since smartphones have become ubiquitous, we now have a feeling almost as common as the smartphones themselves: being sucked into that black hole of staring at those specific apps — you know which ones they are — and then a half an hour has gone by before you realize it. Researchers at the University of Washington conducted in-depth interviews to learn why we compulsively check our phones. They found a series of triggers, common across age groups, that start and end habitual smartphone use. The team also explored u

Jaime Snyder wins funding to study data visualizations for vulnerable populations

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Anyone who’s used a fitness tracker knows the drill. Watch the trend line go in one direction and you feel better about yourself; watch it go the other way and you eventually just stop checking your app. For many people, it’s unfortunate if an app doesn’t help, but it’s not necessarily a dangerous failure of technology. For some users, however, this one-size-fits-all approach to showing progress toward a health goal may actually be harmful, according to Information School Assistant Professor Jaime Snyder, an expert in data visualization. Her work has shown that vulnerable popula

iSchool, UW make another strong showing at CHI

Friday, April 26, 2019

The University of Washington Information School will again have a prominent presence at the world’s foremost conference on human-computer interaction, with lead authors on a Best Paper Award winner and 17 papers accepted in total at CHI 2019.Assistant Professor Alexis Hiniker (pictured above) earned a Best Paper Award, given to the top 1 percent of submissions, for her research inventing a technique for using audio recordings to study children’s reactions to technology. The paper, “Anchored Audio Sampling: A Seamless Method for Exploring Children’s Thoughts During Deployment Studi

iAffiliates Day focuses on accessible tech

Thursday, April 25, 2019

The theme of data, information and tech accessibility brought Information School students and faculty together with local tech leaders for iAffiliates Day 2019 on Wednesday, April 24, at the HUB on the University of Washington Campus.“Everyone should be empowered to use data, information and technology to contribute to solutions – that’s our assertion,” Sean McGann, iSchool principal lecturer and iAffiliates director, said in his opening remarks. “But the fact is, not everybody has that access, so how can we solve that problem?”McGann challenged the several dozen people in attendan

iSchool Career Fair attracts hundreds of students

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Better late than never, hundreds of students sought to make an impression on potential employers at the annual Information School Career Fair on Tuesday, April 9, in the HUB on the University of Washington campus. Originally scheduled in February, the Career Fair was delayed by a rare snowstorm, but students still turned out in force on the new date. Several hundred students met with representatives from more than three dozen companies and organizations, including event sponsors Convoy, Porch, Robert Half Technology and The Creative Group. The iSchool Career Fair showcased a wide range

9 iSchool students honored among 2019 Husky 100

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

The UW recognized nine students from the Information School for the 2019 Husky 100, a prestigious honor awarded to graduates and undergraduates making meaningful contributions at the University of Washington and beyond. “Congratulations to all of the 2019 Husky 100 recipients,” said Dean Anind Dey. “I’m incredibly proud of the nine iSchool students recognized this year and all that they have accomplished in service of their peers and communities.” Now in its fourth year, the Husky 100 honors students who meet a set of criteria including leadership, commitment and impact in the