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Socio-Technical Research Lab

Founded by Dr. Ann Rangarajan and based in the Information Technology and Management Department at Illinois Institute of Technology, this research lab focuses on interdisciplinary aspects of technology and computing. Our mission is to uncover through research and experimentation the complex interactions among individual, organizational, cultural, and societal aspects which influence technology adoption.

Collaborators:

  • Dr. Saran Ghatak, Chair, Department of Social Sciences, Illinois Institute of Technology

    • Some of the research areas explored by this research lab include:

    Diffusion of Information System Innovations

    One of our areas of research is to examine the diffusion of emerging information system innovations in sociotechnical domains such as healthcare and cybersecurity. Specifically, we investigate sound theoretical information systems (IS), psychological, and sociological principles and frameworks that enable successful implementations of emerging technologies including:

  • Technology innovation models
  • Social, behavioral, and psychological aspects of diffusion and adoption at an individual-level
  • Organizational-level innovation characteristics
  • Global and societal impacts of innovations
  • Ethical and legal implications of emerging information systems

    • Behavioral Aspects of Privacy and Security in the Digital Age

    We study technology architecture and design decisions that enable behavioral aspects of information privacy and security (IP&S) attributes of information systems (IS) innovations. We are motivated by these research questions:

  • How can the unstated mandate to build information privacy and security's characteristics be seamlessly integrated in a human-centric way into IS innovations and software applications?
  • How can paradigms such as Design Thinking enable a balance between IP&S and usability?
  • How does end-user's perception of IP&S influence IS implementation's success?
  • How can design & build of security technologies account for the socio-technical nature of cybersecurity?

    • Societal Impact of Data-driven Technology Innovations

    Data-driven analytics and science hold promise of delivering cross-functional, yet meaningful business insights through the power of data-at-scale. We aspire to leverage data to:

  • Enhance this comprehension through data visualization methods that provide academicians a valuable understanding of macro-trends at a societal level
  • Explore impacts of such technology innovations from a social, legal, and ethical perspective
  • Apply learnings to domains such as higher education and healthcare

    • Socio-technical approaches to measure harms caused by Artificial Intelligence Systems. We seek to answer the following:

  • What are the socio-technical considerations in assessing harms caused by AI systems?
  • What are critical operational aspects to implementing socio-technical frameworks that measure harms?

    • Intersection of Medical Sociology and Technology

    Healthcare choices, use of healthcare technology, and health tourism are all influenced by the culture and social factors in the country or environment of the healthcare receiver, their feelings and perceptions about healthcare technology, and cultural differences between countries of the world. We shall aspire to explore:

  • How healthcare choices (including healthcare technology choices) and outcomes are influenced by cultural, social, and environmental factors
  • How technology-mediated communications in healthcare settings, especially between physicians, are influenced by cultural, social, and related factors, and how in-turn they influence healthcare choices, outcomes, and availability
  • Links between medical sociology and innovation in the business world as healthcare is an industry and healthcare business leaders can use this information to anticipate the needs of healthcare receivers to provide better/holistic healthcare solutions while at the same time ensuring the industry's success