If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to raise a PhD graduate. I cannot begin to thank the many who have shown me love and support through sharing in my community.
First, much love and thanks go to my wonderful chair Michelle Kazmer, who has been a beacon of knowledge, humor, advice, and sympathy throughout this process; it is hard to imagine having done it without her. My doctoral committee members have been vital contributors to my development as a scholar and as a human being. Gary Burnett has provided theory and wisdom; Sanghee Oh, collegiality and new perspectives; Deb Armstrong, cross-disciplinary strength and warm-heartedness. You are all awesome; thanks for being who you are!
Thanks to the many faculty members of the Florida State University (FSU) School of Information (iSchool) who are always willing to talk and collaborate with junior colleagues. Special thanks go to Mia Lustria’s insight, Lynne Hinnant and Christie Koontz’s supportiveness, Paul Marty’s mentoring, Kathy Burnett’s leadership, Besiki Stvilia’s collegiality, and Chris Hinnant’s statistical knowledge. Thanks to Corinne Jörgensen and Melissa Gross for guiding me and other doctoral students so well through the stress of the first semester to become researchers and scholars of information.
Colleagues in the FSU iSchool doctoral program have been an absolute blast, and a great group of talented, inspiring, intelligent, and awesome people. Thanks to those "senior" colleagues who served as great sounding boards and sources of knowledge for those of us just realizing what we’d gotten ourselves into: Wade Bishop, Debi Carruth, Aaron Elkins, Amelia Gibson, Kyungwon Koh, Joy Koo, Chris Landbeck, and Lauren Mandel. I give special thanks and love to Nicole Alemanne, Jenny Ma, and Melinda Whetstone, three leading ladies who have been wonderful friends, mentors, and colleagues throughout the process. Special thanks go to cohort members Shuheng Wu and Sheila Baker—who have been absolutely amazing to get to know as researchers and friends—and the intelligence of Aisha Johnson and thoughtfulness of Janice Newsum. Those who have joined the program after me are no less valued friends and colleagues. Casey Yu, Wonchan Choi, Sylvia Norton, Min Sook Park, the three Lauras (Spears, Clark, and Coleman), Amelia Anderson, Jon Hollister, Jihei Kang, Jongwook Lee, Julia Skinner, Abby Phillips, Blake Robinson, Lynnsey Weissenberger, and Jen Wood: you are all inspirational and I wish the very best for all of you.
Thanks to Dawn Betts-Green, Justin de la Cruz, Joanna June, Eliza Lane, Adriana Puckett, and Lori Leigh Riddles, FSU iSchool alumni who pretested the survey instrument and interview procedures as part of this study. Thanks also go to Richard Urban, FSU iSchool faculty member who served as a pretester.
Thanks and love must go to those colleagues elsewhere who have exchanged wisdom, humor, and friendship along the way, including Cathy Dumas, Jes Koepfler, Lysanne Lessard, Rachel Magee, Andrea Marshall, David Nemer, Laura Pasquini, and Vanessa Reyes. Thanks for mentorship and collegiality go to the incomparable Howard Rosenbaum, Pnina Fichman, Sean Goggins, and Diane Rasmussen Pennington, all of whom have served as bridges to the bigger communities out there in ASIS&T, social informatics, and sociotechnical systems. I gratefully acknowledge support from and the assistance of an Esther Maglathlin Doctoral Research Scholarship from the FSU iSchool and a Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from Beta Phi Mu towards this research.
Finally, it may take a community to raise a PhD graduate, but it takes two amazing parents to raise a kid right. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for keeping me grounded while letting me reach for the stars.