SIG

Social Innovations Group

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Vision

The Social Innovation Group consists of an interdisciplinary group of individuals specializing in the research and development of ubiquitous and social computing technologies. Our vision is simple: To design, build and enhance innovative technologies to solve real-world problems.

Our expertise lies in addressing real-world problems affecting marginalized groups and individuals primarily in the U.S. Our current projects aim to address unemployment, environmental sustainability, and technical literacy by fostering social and sociotechnical capital within these communities.

Our team is diverse, consisting of computer scientists, designers, social scientists, and business majors. We welcome undergraduate and graduate researchers, Ph.D.’s, and current or soon-to-be professionals looking to do social good.

Ongoing Projects

SocioTechnical capital, employment and economic mobility

Understanding the prospects for adapting technologies, such as online labor markets, to build and exploit both personal and impersonal SocioTechnical Capital (e.g., particularly among those with limited social and human capital) requires an understanding of the barriers that will need to be overcome to make such tools beneficial. This project aims to investigate these barriers and seek for ways for technology to mitigate them. This project also investigates existing tools that may be useful to these communities, and we design and implement customized tools to mitigate these barriers as well.

Technology to Support Newcomer Adaptation

People who relocate to new communities experience challenges such as social-network reconstruction and insufficient information for daily needs. When these challenges are not well addressed, newcomers face additional difficulties, such as mental health issues and limited employment resources. The research goal is to investigate how newcomers utilize information and communciation technologies (ICTs) to address challenges of relocation. This project also aims to identify barriers to their ICT use and propose technical solutions to address the barriers.

SES and Search

In general, we are seeking to understand whether there are correlations between socioeconomic status and individual search behavior. Given the personalization of search, we would like to understand whether and how individual search results could be impacted when searching for online-information related to more critical topics like health, education, loans and job opportunities.

Environmental Sustainability

In this project, we explore social aspects of environmental sustainability and specifically communication around eco-feedback technologies. Another aspect of this research investigates issues around energy consumption faced by low income and/or renter households.

Education

In this project, we explore existing data from Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) at the University of Michigan to understand how individuals unable to afford a formal education perform in these courses as compared to those able to afford formal education.

Good Health and Well-being

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides comprehensive and affordable health insurance for many uninsured individuals and families in the United States. To take advantage of the new law, individuals will need to investigate and select insurance plans and enroll into the online Federal Health Insurance Exchange. For many vulnerable populations, this will be challenging as they may have never had insurance before, and may lack expertise in selecting the appropriate insurance provider.

Media

SIG Employment Tool Research Summary

Learn more about our tools here!

Infographics

Recommendations for Practitioners and Jobseekers

Who did we focus on, what did we learn in terms supporting job seekers, and what can job seekers do to benefit their job search? (Graphic Designer: Sadhana Ramaseshadri, Created: April 2021)

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Employment Tool Features, Evaluation, and Participant Feedback

What did we find from our evaluations of Review-Me, SkillsIdentifier, and DreamGigs? (Graphic Designer: Sadhana Ramaseshadri, Created: April 2021)

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Quick Guide for Job Seekers

What online job resources did we find helpful for job seekers? (Graphic Designer: Anshika Saxena, Created: September 2021)

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Papers and Publications

Implications for Supporting Marginalized Job Seekers: Lessons from Employment Centers

Dillahunt, T. R., Garvin, M., Held, M., and Hui, J.

To appear in Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 5, CSCW 2

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Elucidating Skills for Job Seekers: Insights and Critical Concerns from a Field Deployment in Switzerland

Cherubini, M., Lu, A., Hsiao, J. C.-Y., Zhao, M., Aggarwal, A., and Dillahunt, T. R.

In Proc. of DIS'21

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Coding Bias in the Use of Behavior Management Technologies: Uncovering Socio-technical Consequences of Data-driven Surveillance in Classrooms

Lu, A. J., Marcu, G., Ackerman, M. S., and Dillahunt, T. R.

*Honorable Mention* | In Proc. of DIS'21

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Examining the Use of Online Platforms for Employment: A Survey of U.S. Job Seekers

Dillahunt, T. R., Israni, A.*, Lu, A.*, Cai, M., and Hsiao, J. C.-Y.

In Proc. of CHI'21 | *The two authors contributed equally to this research.

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Eliciting Tech Futures Among Black Young Adults: A Case Study of Remote Speculative Co-Design

Harrington, C. N. and Dillahunt, T. R.

In Proc. of CHI'21

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Uncovering the Promises and Challenges of Social Media Use in the Low-Wage Labor Market: Insights from Employers

Lu, A. and Dillahunt, T. R.

In Proc. of CHI'21

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Examining Mobility among People Living with HIV in Rural Areas

Maestre, J. F., Dillahunt, T. R., Theisz, A. A., Furness, M., Kameswaran, V., Veinot, T., and Shih, P. C.

In Proc. of CHI'21

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More than Shared Ethnicity: Shared Identity’s Role in Transnational Newcomers’ Trust in Local Consumer-to-Consumer E-commerce

Hsiao, J. C.-Y. and Dillahunt, T.

In ACM CHI Extended Abstract 2021

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`A Library of People’: Online Resource-Seeking in Low-Income Communities

Israni, A., Ellison, N. B., Dillahunt, T. R.

In Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 5, CSCW 1

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Delivery Work and the Experience of Social Isolation

Seetharaman, B., Pal, J., and Hui., J.

In Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 5, CSCW 1

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Mobility-on-demand versus fixed-route transit systems: an evaluation of traveler preferences in low-income communities

Yan, X., Zhao, X., Han, Y., Van Hentenryck, P., and Dillahunt, T. R.

In Transportation Research Part A, Vol 148

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SkillsIdentifier: A Tool to Promote Career Identity and Self-efficacy Among Underrepresented Job Seekers

Dillahunt, T. R. and Hsiao, J. C.-Y.

In Proc. of HICSS'21

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Watched, but Moving: Platformization of Beauty Work and Its Gendered Mechanisms of Control

Anwar, I. A., Pal, J., and Hui, J.

In Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 4, CSCW 3

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'Learning for the Rise of China': Exploring Uses and Gratifications of State-Owned Online Platform

Lu, A. and Xu, X.

In Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 4, CSCW 1

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Engaging Offline Communities Online Amid COVID-19: A Case Study of Independent Theaters

Ankenbauer, S. and Lu, A.

In ACM CSCW'20 Companion

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Positive Feedback and Self-reflection: Features to Support Self-efficacy among Underrepresented Job Seekers

Dillahunt, T. R. and Hsiao, J. C.-Y.

In Proc. of CHI'20

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Community Collectives: Low-tech Social Support for Digitally-Engaged Entrepreneurship

Hui, J., Barber, N. R., Casey, W., Cleage, S., Dolley, D. C., Worthy, F., Toyama, K., and Dillahunt T. R.

*Honorable Mention* | In Proc. of CHI'20

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Additional Labors of the Entrepreneurial Self

Avle, S., Hui, J., Lindtner, S., and Dillahunt, T. R.

In Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 3, CSCW

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Does Driving as a Form of “Gig Work” Mitigate Low-Skilled Job Seekers’ Negative Long-Term Unemployment Effects?

Li, L., Dillahunt, T. R., and Rosenblat, T.

In Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 3, CSCW

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Life Transitions and Social Technologies: Research and Design for Times of Life Change

Haimson, O. L., Semaan, B., Dym, B., Hsiao, J. C.-Y., Herron, D., and Moncur, W.

Workshop Proposal | In ACM CSCW'19 Companion

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The Future of Work(places): Creating a Sense of Place for On-demand Work

Hui, J., Cranshaw, J., Kotturi, Y., and Kulkarni, C.

Workshop Proposal | In ACM CSCW'19 Companion

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Fostering Immigrants' Trust in Online Local Social Exchange

Hsiao, J. C.-Y.

Doctoral Consortium | In ACM CSCW'19 Companion

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Reaching Hard-To-Reach Populations: An Analysis of Survey Recruitment Methods

Xu, X., Yan, X., and Dillahunt., T. R.

Poster Abstract | In ACM CSCW'19 Companion

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An alternative to slow transit, drunk driving, and walking in bad weather: An exploratory study of resourcing mode choice and demand

Goodspeed, R., Xie, T., Dillahunt, T.R., Lustig, J.

Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 79, July 2019

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Online Grocery Delivery Services: An Opportunity to Address Food Disparities in Transportation-scarce Areas

Dillahunt, T. R., Simioni, S., and Xu, X.

*Best Paper* | In Proc. of CHI 2019

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DreamGigs: Designing a Tool to Empower Low-resource Job Seekers

Dillahunt, T. R. and Lu, A.

In Proc. of CHI 2019

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Towards an Effective Digital Literacy Intervention to Assist Returning Citizens with Job Search

Ogbonnaya-Ogburu, I.F., Toyama, K., and Dillahunt, T.R.

In Proc. of CHI 2019

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Mobility-on-Demand Versus Fixed-Route Transit Systems: An Evaluation of Traveler Preferences in Low-income Communities

Yan, X., Zhao, X., Han, Y., Van Hentenryck, P., and Dillahunt, T. R.

arXiv preprint | arXiv:1901.07607

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Getting There: Barriers and Facilitators to Transportation Access in Underserved Communities

Dillahunt, T.R. and Veinot, T.C.

ACM Transactions on Comput.-Hum Interact., Vol. 25, No. 5, Article 29

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Mobility-on-Demand Versus Fixed-Route Transit Systems: An Evaluation of Traveler Preferences in Low-income Communities

Dillahunt, T. R. and Yan, X.

Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan

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Technology to Support Immigrant Access to Social Capital and Adaptation to a New Country

Hsiao, J. C.-Y. and Dillahunt, T. R.

Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 2, CSCW, Article 70

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Making a Living My Way: Necessity-driven Entrepreneurship in Resource-Constrained Communities

Hui, J., Toyama, K., Pal, J., and Dillahunt, T. R.

Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 2, CSCW, Article 71

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DreamGigs: A "Stepping Stone" for Low-resource Job Seekers to Reach Their Ideal Job

Lu, A., Lam, J., and Dillahunt, T. R.

In ACM CSCW'18 Companion

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Returning Citizens' Job Search and Technology Use: Preliminary Findings

Ogbonnaya-Ogburu, I. F., Toyama, K., and Dillahunt, T. R.

In ACM CSCW'18 Companion

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Designing Future Employment Applications for Underserved Job Seekers: A Speed Dating Study

Dillahunt, T. R., Lam, J., Lu, A., and Wheeler, E.

*Honorable Mention* | In Proc. of DIS 2018

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The Role of Demographics, Trust, Computer Self-efficacy, and Ease of Use in the Sharing Economy

Hsiao, J. C.-Y., Moser, C., Schoenebeck, S., and Dillahunt, T. R.

In Proc. of COMPASS 2018

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Entrepreneurship and the Socio-Technical Chasm in a Lean Economy

Dillahunt, T. R., Kameswaran, V., McLain, D., Lester, M., Orr, D., and Toyama, K.

*Honorable Mention* | In Proc. of CHI 2018

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Support for Social and Cultural Capital Development in Real-time Ridesharing Services

Kameswaran, V., Cameron, L., and Dillahunt, T. R.

In Proc. of CHI 2018

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Navigating the Job Search as a Low-Resourced Job Seeker

Wheeler, E., and Dillahunt, T. R.

In Proc. of CHI 2018

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The Sharing Economy in Computing: A Systematic Literature Review

Dillahunt, T. R., Wang, X., Wheeler, E., Cheng, H. F., Hecht, B., and Zhu, H.

Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 1, CSCW, Article 38 (December 2017)

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Everyday Resilience: Supporting Resilient Strategies among Low-socioeconomic-status Communities

Vyas, D. and Dillahunt, T.

Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 1, CSCW, Article 105 (December 2017)

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Reducing Children’s Psychological Distance from Climate Change via Eco-feedback Technologies

Dillahunt, T., Lyra, O., Barreto, M., and Karapanos, E.

International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, Volume 13, 2017

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Technology for Underserved Communities

Dillahunt, T.

acmqueue Research for Practice: Expert-curated guides to the best of CS research.

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Uncovering the Values and Constraints of Real-time Ridesharing for Low-resource Populations

Dillahunt, T.R., Kameswaran, V., Li, L., and Rosenblat, T.

In Proc. of CHI 2017.

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Detecting Life Changes: Increasing Opportunities to Benefit from People-Nearby Applications

Hsiao, J. C.-Y. and Dillahunt, T.R.

In CHI Extended Abstract 2017.

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Opportunities to Address Information Poverty with Social Search

Wheeler, E., Dillahunt, T. R., and Rieh, S. Y.

In CHI Extended Abstract 2017.

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Reflections on Design Methods for Underserved Communities

Dillahunt, T.R., Erete, S., Galusca, R., Israni, A., Nacu, D., and Sengers, P.

CSCW 2017 Workshop

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People-Nearby Applications: How Newcomers Move Their Relationships Offline and Develop Social and Cultural Capital.

Hsiao, J. C.-Y. and Dillahunt, T.R.

In Proc. of CSCW 2017.

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Designing for Disadvantaged Job Seekers: Insights from Early Investigations

Dillahunt T.R., Bose, N., Diwan, S., and Chen-Phang, A.

In Proc. of DIS 2016.

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Project Boost: Addressing the Socio in a Socio-Technical System to Improve Income-Earning Opportunities in Urban America.

Kameswaran, V. Marathe, M., Dillahunt, T., Pal, Joyojeet, Reinecke, K., and Toyama, K.

CHI 2016. Workshop: Development Consortium 2016: HCI Across Borders

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Do Massive Open Online Course Platforms Support Employability?

Dillahunt, T., Ng, S., Fiesta, M., Wang, Z.

In Proc. of CSCW 2016.

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If God Gives Me the Chance I Will Design My Own Phone

Wyche, S., Dillahunt, T., Simiyu, N., Alaka, S.

*Honorable Mention* | In Proc. of UbiComp 2015.

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Promise of the Sharing Economy among Disadvantaged Communities

Dillahunt, T.R. and Malone, A.R.

In Proc. of CHI 2015

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Detecting and visualization filter bubbles in Google and Bing

Dillahunt, T., Brooks, C., Gulati, S.

In CHI Extended Abstract 2015

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Learn with Friends: The Effects of Student Face-to-Face Collaborations on Massive Open Online Course Activities

Brooks, C., Stalburg, C., Dillahunt, T., Robert, L

In Proc. of Learning at Scale 2015

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Next steps for sustainable HCI

Silberman, M.S., Nathan, L., Knowles, B., Bendor, R., Clear, A., Håkansson, Dillahunt, T., Mankoff, J.

Interactions, September – October 2014

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Toward a Deeper Understanding of Sustainability within HCI

Dillahunt, T.

CHI 2014, Workshop on Sustainability. What Have We Learned?

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Democratizing Higher Education: Exploring MOOC Use Among Those Who Cannot Afford a Formal Education

Dillahunt, T., Wang, Z., Teasley, S.D.

The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL), Vol 15, No 5 (2014): Special Issue: Research into Massive Open Online Courses

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Model Thinking: Demographics and Performance of MOOC Students Unable to Afford a Formal Education

Dillahunt, T., Chen, B., Teasley, S.

In Proc. of Learning at Scale 2014

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Fostering Social Capital in Economically Distressed Communities

Dillahunt, T.R.

In Proc. of CHI 2014

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Understanding factors of successful engagement around energy consumption between and among households

Dillahunt, T., Mankoff, J.

In Proc. of CSCW 2014

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Deep Conservation in Urban India and its Implications for the Design of Conservation Technologies

Shrinivasan, Y., Jain, M., Seetharam, D., Choudhary, A., Huang, E., Dillahunt, T., Mankoff, J.

In Proc. of CHI 2013

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Creating Resilient Communities for Post-Sustainable Times

Dillahunt, T.

CHI 2013, Post-Sustainability Workshop

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Replicating Residential Sustainability Study in Urban India

Jain, M., Shrinivasan, Y., Dillahunt, T.

CHI 2013, Replication Workshop

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Design implications for social-energy applications

Dillahunt, T., Mankoff, J.

CMU-HCII-12-100, SCS, Carnegie Mellon University, Human-Computer Interaction Institute Collection

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StepGreen.org: Increasing energy saving behaviors via social networks

Mankoff, J., Fussell, S., Dillahunt, T., Glaves, Rachel, Grevet, C., Johnson, M., Matthews, D., Matthews, H.S., McGuire, R., Thompson, R.

In Proc. of ICWSM 2010

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Understanding conflict between landlords and tenants: Implications for energy sensing and feedback

Dillahunt, T., Mankoff, J., Paulos, E.

In Proc. of UbiComp 2010

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It’s not all about green: energy use in low-income communities.

Dillahunt, T., Mankoff, J., Paulos, E., Fussell, S.

In Proc. of UbiComp 2009

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UbiGreen: investigating a mobile tool for tracking and supporting green transportation habits.

Froehlich, J., Dillahunt, T., Klansja, P., Mankoff, J., Consolvo, S., Harrison, B., Landay, J.

In Proc. of CHI 2009

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Our Amazing Team

Present

Tawanna Dillahunt

Principal Investigator, Team Lead |
UMSI Associate Professor

Julie Hui

UMSI Assistant Professor

Shruti Sannon

Postdoctoral Computing Innovation Fellow

Amelia Duffy

UM Undergrad

Vaishnav Kameswaran

UMSI Ph.D. Student

Ihudiya Finda Ogbonnaya-Ogburu

UMSI Ph.D. Student

Aarti Israni

UMSI Ph.D. Student

Sylvia Simioni

UMSI Ph.D. Student

Alex Lu

UMSI Ph.D. Student

Soyoung Lee

UMSI MSI Student

Anshika Saxena

UMSI MSI Student

James Lisowski

UM Undergrad

Pratik Mangtani

UMSI MSI Student

Cindy Zhao

UM Undergrad

Alum

Anandita Aggarwal

UMSI Master Student

Alexis Ashby

UM MSI Alum

Brittney Atkinson-McFarlane

NSF REU, Cornell University Student

Ameera Ayodeji

NSF REU and Bowie State Alum

Seungjoo Baek

UM MSI Alum

Jacob Berman

UM MSI Alum

Nishan Bose

UM MSI Alum

Jason Brill

UM CS/Design Undergrad

Thaddeus Brown

NSF REU and Bowie State Alum

Mingzhi Cai

UM CS Alum

Asha Chen-Phang

NSF REU, Northeastern University Student

David Cui

UM Alum

Jonathan De Heus

UM MSI Alum

Suleman Diwan

Developer

Michelle Fiesta

UM MSI Alum

Indulekha Ghandikota

UROP Student, EECS

Anna Gilhool

UMSI MSI Student

Samarth Gulati

UM MSI Alum

Marcy Held

UM MSI Alum

Joey Chiao-Yin Hsiao

UMSI Ph.D. Student

Benjamin Jen

UROP Student, LSA

Jashanjit Kaur

UM MSI Alum

Emory Kimball

UM Dearborn Undergrad

Malavika Krishnamachari

High School Student/Visiting Research Assistant

Saebom April Kwon

UM MSI Alum

Jason Lam

UM MSI Alum

Eva Li

UM Alum

Ruchita Lodha

UMSI Master Student

Amy Malone

NSF REU Alum, University of Maryland Undergrad

Sandy Ng

UM MSI Alum

Hailey Patterson

UROP Student, LSA

Pablo-Alejandro Quionones, Ph.D.

UMSI Alum

Sadhana Ramaseshadri

UMSI MSI Student

Jessica Salvador

UMSI REMS, University of Washington

Kaushal Solanki

UMSI Master Student

Mingda Tang

UM Alum

Raden Tonev

UM MSI Alum

Jaleesa Rosario Turner

UM MSI Student/REMS

Zengguang (Brian) Wang

UM Alum

Alice Wang

UMSI MSI Student

Earnest Wheeler

UMSI Alum

Xuecong (Esme) Xu

UM Alum

Yongwei Yuan

UM CS Alum

Muhan Zhao

UM CS Alum