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AUSTIN, Texas --- The UT iSchool welcomes two new tenured faculty members for the Fall 2012 semester, Associate Professor Kenneth R. Fleischmann and Associate professor Bo Xie, both formerly from the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland. The new hires strengthen the senior ranks of the school and establish a formal link in health informatics with UT's top-ranked School of Nursing. Dr. Fleischmann's research focuses on understanding the role of human values in the design and use of information technologies as well as developing new approaches for computational social science through collaboration with computational linguists. He holds degrees in Computer Science, Anthropology, and Science and Technology Studies. His research has been funded by grants and fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), and has been published in journals such as Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (JASIST), Communications of the ACM, Computer, and The Information Society, for which he also serves as Associate Editor. Dr. Fleischmann will teach courses in information in social and cultural context, value-sensitive design, and information ethics. Dr. Xie's research reflects her interdisciplinary training in Medicine, Psychology, and Science & Technology Studies. She focuses on health informatics interventions that can promote older adults' use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for health information and decision-making (i.e., e-health literacy) that may have important implications for patient-provider relationships and health outcomes. The long-term focus of her work is to address socioeconomic disparities in access to health information and information technology. Her areas of focus include older adults' learning and use of computers and the internet; computer literacy; lifelong learning; civic engagement; volunteering; social relationships; social support; online communities; health and well-being. Currently funded by NIH, Dr. Xie will hold a joint appointment with the School of Nursing and help develop a new cross-disciplinary program in health informatics. "We are delighted to recruit these two faculty members", said Dean Andrew Dillon of the School of Information, adding, "Ken and Bo represent strong additions to our tenured ranks and bring expertise that complements our strengths, builds bridges with important constituencies on campus, and extends our efforts to create a new kind of interdisciplinary school to shape the future of information science". http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/news/view_news_item.php?ID=385 --------- Sam Burns [log in to unmask]