Colin Rhinesmith successfully defended his dissertation, “The Social Shaping of Cloud Computing: An Ethnography of Infrastructure in East St. Louis, Illinois,” on Wednesday, June 11 at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science.
About Rhinesmith’s research:
“My interdisciplinary research investigates the social shaping of information and communication technology and its impact on society. My dissertation examines the social, institutional, and technical forces that shape cloud computerization and its consequences within a social welfare organization in East St. Louis, Illinois. The purpose is to describe how the tensions between external stakeholder demands and internal organizational needs influence technology implementation. The research also considers the implications for software developers, public policymakers, and social welfare organizations interested in using cloud computing to help move people out of poverty.”
Rhinesmith’s committee includes:
- Christian Sandvig, University of Michigan (previously at Illinois), chair and director of research
- Linda C. Smith, GSLIS
- Dan Schiller, GSLIS
- Rayvon Fouché, Purdue University (previously at Illinois)
A copy of the dissertation is available at the GSLIS front desk, room 112 LIS Building.
Front page image courtesy of http://vimeo.com/57557712
