Sanfilippo paper named a finalist for iConference’s Lee Dirks Award

Madelyn Sanfilippo
Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo, Assistant Professor

March 25 update: Sanfilippo and Shvartzshnaider received the Lee Dirks Award for Best Full Research Paper at iConference 2021.

A paper coauthored by Assistant Professor Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo and Yan Shvartzshnaider (New York University) has been named a finalist for the Lee Dirks Award for Best Full Research Paper at iConference 2021. Five finalists were selected for the award, which recognizes "the most exceptional completed research paper" presented at the conference. The winner will be announced during iConference 2021, which will take place online from March 17-31.

Their paper, "Data and Privacy in a Quasi-Public Space: Disney World as a Smart City," examines the privacy implications of tracking technologies used in Disney World's theme parks and hotels. The research project began after Sanfilippo traveled with her family to Disney World and observed some of the applications of facial and voice recognition. She found Disney's use of biometrics, RFID tracking, Bluetooth tracking, and step tracking had many parallels with her research on privacy norms and governance of privacy practices with respect to emerging technologies.

"Our paper emphasizes a number of tensions between customers and Disney stakeholders regarding privacy practices, as well as where there is strong agreement with Disney about the appropriateness of certain practices, such as public safety and transportation," said Sanfilippo. "Importantly, we also emphasize that Disney customers and norms about what is appropriate at Walt Disney World are not the same as the general public or what is appropriate for other public spaces. This is an important lesson as smart cities increasingly turn to private vendors for technology and many seek to emulate or learn from early adopters, like Disney, that face relatively little backlash for their tech choices."

Sanfilippo's research empirically explores governance of sociotechnical systems as well as outcomes, inequality, and consequences within these systems. She earned her MS and PhD in information science from Indiana University.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Knox appointed interim dean

Professor Emily Knox has been appointed to serve as interim dean of the School of Information Sciences, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. Until officially approved, her title will be interim dean designate. The appointment will begin April 1, 2025.

Emily Knox

iSchool instructors ranked as excellent

Fifty-six iSchool instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Fall 2024 and Winter 2024-2025. The rankings are released every semester, and results are based on the ratings from the Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) questionnaire forms maintained by Measurement and Evaluation in the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. 

iSchool Building

Scholarship alleviates financial burden for returning student

During her time as an active-duty Naval Officer, Anna Hartman realized that she had a passion for helping others and building community. That passion, combined with a lifelong love of reading, led her to pursue an MSLIS degree at the University of Illinois. Hartman is receiving support for her studies through the Balz Endowment Fund, which was established by Nancy (BA LAS '70, MSLIS '72) and Dan (BS Media '68, MS Media '72) Balz to help make education more affordable for returning students.

Anna Hartman

Ocepek and Sanfilippo co-edit book on misinformation

Assistant Professor Melissa Ocepek and Assistant Professor Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo have co-edited a new book, Governing Misinformation in Everyday Knowledge Commons, which was recently published by Cambridge University Press. An open access edition of the book is available, thanks to support from the Governing Knowledge Commons Research Coordination Network (NSF 2017495). The new book explores the socio-technical realities of misinformation in a variety of online and offline everyday environments. 

Governing Misinformation in Everyday Knowledge Commons book

Faculty receive support for AI-related projects from new pilot program

Associate Professor Yun Huang, Assistant Professor Jiaqi Ma, and Assistant Professor Haohan Wang have received computing resources from the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR), a two-year pilot program led by the National Science Foundation in partnership with other federal agencies and nongovernmental partners. The goal of the pilot is to support AI-related research with particular emphasis on societal challenges. Last month, awardees presented their research at the NAIRR Pilot Annual Meeting.