The major life events taxonomy: Social readjustment, social media information sharing, and online network separation during times of life transition

When people experience major life changes, this often impacts their self‐presentation, networks, and online behavior in substantial ways. To effectively study major life transitions and events, we surveyed a large U.S. sample (n = 554) to create the Major Life Events Taxonomy, a list of 121 life events in 12 categories. We then applied this taxonomy to a second large U.S. survey sample (n = 775) to understand on average how much social readjustment each event required, how likely each event was to be shared on social media with different types of audiences, and how much online network separation each involved. We found that social readjustment is positively correlated with sharing on social media, with both broad audiences and close ties as well as in online spaces separate from one's network of known ties. Some life transitions involve high levels of sharing with both separate audiences and broad audiences on social media, providing evidence for what previous research has called social media as social transition machinery. Researchers can use the Major Life Events Taxonomy to examine how people's life transition experiences relate to their behaviors, technology use, and health and well‐being outcomes.National Center for Institutional DiversityPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167011/1/asi.24455.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167011/2/asi24455-sup-0001-AppendixS1.docxhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167011/3/asi24455-sup-0002-AppendixS2.docxhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167011/4/asi24455-sup-0003-AppendixS3.docxhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167011/5/asi24455-sup-0004-AppendixS4.docxhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167011/6/The Major Life Events Taxonomy.xlsxDescription of asi.24455.pdf : Main articleDescription of asi24455-sup-0001-AppendixS1.docx : Appendix ADescription of asi24455-sup-0002-AppendixS2.docx : Appendix BDescription of asi24455-sup-0003-AppendixS3.docx : Appendix CDescription of asi24455-sup-0004-AppendixS4.docx : Appendix DDescription of The Major Life Events Taxonomy.xlsx : The Major Life Events TaxonomySEL

An investigation of the physical and digital transitions of Saudi students coming to the UK

The transition from the home to the host country for international students has been always considered a sensitive period. Students face multiple social, cultural and academic challenges during this time. For Saudi students coming to the UK, the experience can be especially challenging, because they are moving from a conservative Muslim culture to a more open society. By considering their physical and digital transitions, the aim of this research is to understand how Saudi students in the UK perceive their use of social media during their transition. A mixed methods approach is to be used in this research. A preliminary analysis of the qualitative data, discussed in this paper, shows a strong relationship between how the students conceive transition and their use of social media. At times or for some students coming to the UK was conceived as a significant identity change, and they had to make choices about how to reconfigure their digital presence to represent and support this transition. Other students conceived of the transition purely pragmatically; they made the physical move but their social media usage remained a vehicle to stay in contact with family and friends

Reasons for Sharing With Separate Social Media Audiences During Life Transitions

During life transitions, people sometimes turn to social media audiences separate from their typical online networks. By qualitatively analyzing open-ended data from a U.S.-based survey (N = 775), we examined why and how people discuss life transitions with these separate audiences. Survey questions asked about life events experienced, separate networks and the interactions that occurred there, and participants’ reasoning behind these online behaviors. We found that people use separate networks, especially online support groups, to interact with others anonymously, receive informational and emotional support, and have direct and focused discussions with people with similar experiences.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162570/1/LiuReasonsForSharing.pdfSEL

Designing Technology to Support Safety for Transgender Women & Non-Binary People of Color

This work provides a preliminary understanding of how transgender women and non-binary people of color experience violence and manage safety, and what opportunities exist for HCI to support the safety needs of this community. We conducted nine interviews to understand how participants practice safety and what role technology played, if any, in these experiences. Interviewees expressed physical and psychological safety concerns, and managed safety by informing friends of their location using digital technologies, making compromises, and avoiding law enforcement. We designed U-Signal, a wearable technology and accompanying smartphone application prototype to increase physical safety and decrease safety concerns, reduce violence, and help build community.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154051/1/StarksDesigningTechnology.pdfDescription of StarksDesigningTechnology.pdf : Main articl

How remote work can foster a more inclusive environment for transgender developers

In this position paper, we claim that remote work offers a mechanism of control for identity disclosure and empowerment of software developers from marginalized communities. By talking to several transgender software developers we identified three themes that resonate across the trans experience and intersect with the advantages to working in software development remotely: identity disclosure, high-impact technical work and the autonomy to disengage and re-engage. Based on these themes we identify several open questions that the research community should address.</p

Analyzing the Impact of COVID-19 Outbreaks on MIS Students: A Qualitative Approach

During the breakout of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), many schools worldwide have enforced a policy of distance education. The Taiwanese students also experienced long hours of learning by using smart technologies for the first time. MIS education is a career preparation for IT professionals who use smart technology in organizations. IT professionals with MIS education backgrounds may have important roles when facing COVID-19. Moreover, many MIS students will become IT professionals and join the workforce for combatting the pandemic using smart technologies with their background of MIS education. This study intends to construct theories that depict the relevance among MIS education, IT professionals, and smart technologies in the confrontation of the COVID-19 pandemic. By using in-depth interviews with MIS students and recent MIS graduates, the possible impacts of COVID-19 outbreaks are analyzed. The results could provide reflective insights for MIS education providers, human resource units, IT firms, and organizations confronting COVID-19 outbreaks

Coming Out to Doctors, Coming Out to ‘‘Everyone’’: Understanding the Average Sequence of Transgender Identity Disclosures Using Social Media Data

Purpose: Gender transition is a complex life change, and transgender identity disclosures are pivotal moments that delineate the gender transition process. The purpose of this study was to quantify the average sequence in which transgender people disclose their transgender identity to different people in their lives, such as medical professionals, family members, and online networks, and to understand the emotional implications of these disclosures. Methods: We used mixed methods to identify 362 transgender identity disclosure social media posts within 41,066 total posts from 240 Tumblr transition blogs (online spaces in which transgender people document gender transitions). We manually assigned each disclosure post an audience category, and then calculated the average sequence in which people in this sample disclosed their transgender identity to different audiences. Results: Health professionals, such as physicians and therapists, were on average some of the very first people to whom transgender Tumblr bloggers disclosed their transgender identity. Such disclosures were often anxiety provoking and emotionally difficult, whether intentional or involuntary. Next, they often disclosed to friends, followed by close family (e.g., parents and siblings) and then extended family (e.g., grandparents). Mass disclosures to large portions of a person's network, such as on one's Facebook profile, usually came late in the disclosure process. Conclusion: Gender transition is a staged process that includes a series of disclosures to different audiences that follows an average sequence. Because health care providers (e.g., physicians and therapists) who work with transgender patients are often some of the very first people to whom transgender people in our sample disclosed, providers must practice extra sensitivity when responding to such disclosures.National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships Program Grant No. DGE-1321846University of California, Irvine, James Harvey Scholar AwardPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155363/1/trgh.2019.0045.pdfDescription of trgh.2019.0045.pdf : Main articl

Antara Penolakan dan Penerimaan: Eksplorasi Sikap dan Persepsi Orang Muda terhadap LGBT+ di Indonesia

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi sikap dan persepsi orang muda Indonesia terhadap LGBT+. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif deskriptif. Sebanyak 46 orang dari individu non-LGBT+ dan 22 orang dari individu atau komunitas LGBT+ mengisi kuesioner pertanyaan terbuka secara daring. Kriteria partisipan adalah Warga Negara Indonesia yang berusia 17 – 35 tahun. Analisis tematik menghasilkan empat tema utama, yaitu persepsi terhadap LGBT+ yang dimanifestasikan sebagai orientasi seksual atau perilaku seksual; persepsi terhadap homoseksualitas yang dimanifestasikan sebagai kondisi alamiah, wajar atau kesalahan; penerimaan masyarakat terhadap LGBT+, yang berkaitan dengan ruang dan generasi atau kelompok usia; serta presentasi diri LGBT+ dalam masyarakat. Peneliti mendiskusikan lebih lanjut terkait LGBT+ apakah bisa sebagai identitas sosial berdasarkan peluang dan tantangan, optimalisasi media sosial sebagai ruang aman bagi LGBT+ untuk mempresentasikan dirinya, serta pentingnya peran konteks dalam memahami LGBT+ di Indonesia. Penelitian ini menjembatani kesenjangan di antara individu non-LGBT+ dengan individu atau komunitas LGBT+, sehingga tercipta lingkungan yang lebih baik bagi komunitas LGBT+ sebagai minoritas, dalam hal ini memperkuat toleransi dan saling menghormati. Penelitian dengan wawancara mendalam diperlukan untuk lebih mengeksplorasi dinamika psikologis dan sosial terhadap LGBT+

Tumblr was a trans technology: the meaning, importance, history, and future of trans technologies

Building from previous researchers’ conceptions of queer technologies, we consider what it means to be a trans technology. This research study draws from interviews with Tumblr transition bloggers (n = 20), along with virtual ethnography, trans theory, and trans technological histories, using Tumblr as a case study to understand how social technologies can meet the needs of trans communities. Tumblr supported trans experiences by enabling users to change over time within a network of similar others, separate from their network of existing connections, and to embody (in a digital space) identities that would eventually become material. Further, before 2018 policy changes banning “adult” content, Tumblr upheld policies and an economic model that allowed erotic content needed for intersectional trans community building. We argue that these aspects made Tumblr a trans technology. We examine themes of temporality, openness, change, separation, realness, intersectionality, and erotics, along with considering social media platforms’ policies and economic models, to show how trans technologies can provide meaningful spaces for trans communities.National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships Program Grant No. DGE-1321846internal grant from the University of California, Irvine (James Harvey Scholar Award)Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153782/1/Tumblr was a trans technology the meaning importance history and future of trans technologies.pdfDescription of Tumblr was a trans technology the meaning importance history and future of trans technologies.pdf : Main articl