Lynn Westbrook - New Faculty Colloquium

The increasingly ubiquitous presence of information technology roosts on our televisions, nests in the accumulated documents on our desks, and beeps at us from our neighbor's coat pocket. For many, the promise of information availability is often squelched by the effort required to locate genuinely useful information. The two research projects discussed herein address complimentary aspects of this natural tension. Launched this semester, the first study examines the mental models that first-year and graduate students hold of the information seeking process. Under development, the second study would examine the efficacy of information techniques designed to support domestic violence victims. Lynn Westbrooks is an Assistant Professor in the Information School.