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Anonymity, ephemerality, and hyper-locality are an uncommon set of features in the design of online communities. However, these features were key to Yik Yak's initial success and popularity. In an interview-based study, we found that these three features deeply affected the identity of the community as a whole, the patterns of use, and the ways users committed to this community. We conducted interviews with 18 Yik Yak users on an urban American university campus and found that these three focal design features contributed to casual commitment, transitory use, and emergent community identity.

Management of supply network risks is a critical competency for today's global enterprises. Current practices and tools, however, have limited capabilities and do not allow for systemic exploration of alternate risk strategies. We develop a computational model of risk diffusion in global supply networks that is grounded in techniques from complex systems, network analysis, and epidemiological risk modeling. We draw on a unique, curated dataset of firms, their supply networks, and financial risk in the global electronics industry.

There is a growing semi-automated fleet in the US, and the occupants of many of these semi-automated cars are frequently reading, working, watching movies, and even sleeping. To ensure safety and effective design of products, there is a need to examine the issues of: (a) the impact that being in the car has on performing non-driving tasks; and (b) the impact that performing non-driving tasks has on the person’s ability to re-engage in managing the vehicle’s operation. We are currently studying the task of using virtual reality in a vehicle, and its effect on situation awareness and trust.