Research Projects

Journal Papers (Peer-Reviewed)

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"Hey, Can You Add Captions?": Infrastructuring for Accessibility on TikTok
Ellen Simpson, Samantha Dalal, Bryan Semaan.
Under Submission @ CSCW

Workshop Papers (Lightly Peer-Reviewed)

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Governing the Commons of Platform Labor Data Assets
Samantha Dalal, Brian Keegan.
Position paper for Civic Technologies: Research, Practice, and Open Challenges Workshop at CSCW ‘20

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Extraction or Inclusion: Reflections on an Academic Workshop in Food Delivery Gig Work
Samantha Dalal, Christelle Tessono, Klaudia Jazwinska, Orestis Papakyriakopoulos, Danny Spitzberg, Elizabeth Anne Watkins, Andrés Monroy-Hernandez
Workshop Paper for UC San Diego Just Transitions Workshop '22

On-Going Projects

 Exploring Data Ecosystems in the Gig Economy
Description: This project analyzes how design affordances enable and constrain DoorDash workers' ability to feed information about their experiences into the DoorDash data ecosystem. Given the data driven nature of gig platforms, the ability, or lack thereof, to shape working conditions is contingent upon the ability to be "heard" through one's data.
Research Team: Samantha Dalal, Christelle Tessono, Klaudia Jazwinska, Elizabeth Watkins, Orestis Papakyriakopoulos, Andrés Monroy-Hernandez

Navigating Work, Life, and Privacy: An Empirical Exploration of Bossware
Description: This project analyzes employee perceptions of workplace surveillance in light of heightened remote mobile device monitoring during the Covid-19 pandemic. Law review articles and popular press pieces have unearthed the omnipresent nature of workplace monitoring and weak worker data protections. We seek to understand how employees navigate a watched workplace and what shapes their behaviors towards monitored technologies.
Research Team: Samantha Dalal, Mona Wang, Sayash Kapoor, Andrés Monroy-Hernandez

Reflections on Multi-Stakeholder Community Engagement in HCI
Description: This project identifies a need for HCI scholars to explicate what community engagement as a method entails in the field given the increased calls for community participation, input, and stakeholder engagement. We reflect on our own experience conducting a multi-stakeholder workshop with members of the food delivery industry community and offer actionable advice on the scaffolding needed to facilitate such engagements.
Research Team: Samantha Dalal, Christelle Tessono, Klaudia Jazwinska, Elizabeth Watkins, Orestis Papakyriakopoulos, Andrés Monroy-Hernandez

Information search, retrieval, and synthesis in the gig economy
Description: This project investigates workers' information retrieval strategies through digital trace data and a diary study in light of the increasing share of independent contractors in the labor market. Independent contractors must engage in self-professionalization; finding the information they need through technical and social channels to be successful at work.
Research Team: Samantha Dalal

Broadening Participation in Computer Science (CS)
Description: We develop course curriculum and complementary teaching guides to help CS educators cater to a more diverse student audience. Through the creation of activities that draw upon popular media for data and synthesize qualitative and quantitative analysis skills we broaden the scope of interests and topics covered in introductory CS courses.
Research Team: Samantha Dalal, Julie Jarzemsky, Brianna Dym, Casey Fiesler

Overlaps, Gaps, and Future Research at the Intersection of AI and Cyber-security
Description: We conduct a systematic literature review to identify where the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber-security have overlaps and gaps in knowledge. We use findings to develop activities for introductory computer science courses to familiarize students with potential threats to omnipresent AI systems and mitigation strategies from the realm of cyber-security.
Research Team: Samantha Dalal, Joshua Paup, Casey Fiesler