Assistant Professor Melissa Ocepek and William Aspray, senior research fellow at the Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, have co-edited a new book, Deciding Where to Live: Information Studies on Where to Live in America, which was recently published by Rowman & Littlefield. Their book explores major themes related to where to live in America and shows how "changes in media and information technology are shaping both our housing choices and our understanding of the meaning of personal place."
"Dr. Aspray and I wanted to put together an edited volume to bring in many different and unique voices to help us think broadly about informational questions related to where to live," said Ocepek. "We wanted a business perspective, a surveillance and privacy perspective, a perspective on race, and a nontraditional perspective that considers a community instead of a resident. In addition to these goals, we wanted to find people who have explored this space or were interested in bringing their approaches to consider how someone decides where to live."
Teaching Assistant Professor David Hopping, Teaching Associate Professor and Acting BS/IS Program Director Judith Pintar, PhD student Jamillah R. Gabriel, and Ocepek contributed chapters to the book.
Ocepek's research and teaching interests include everyday information behavior, cultural theory, critical theory, food studies, and research methods. She is chair-elect of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) special interest group on information needs, seeking, & use (SIG-USE). Ocepek holds a BA in sociology and political science from Pepperdine University and a PhD in information science from the University of Texas at Austin.