iiiACKNOWLEDGEMENTSAs anyone who has ever written one will agree, writing a dissertation is along and arduous process. In my case, it has involved a great number of peoplewho helped along the way, contributed valuable ideas, provided wonderfulworking environments, or simply listened to me complain about theaforementioned long and arduous process. I feel blessed to have met, befriended,and worked with such fabulous people in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, andBoston. For practical and spatial reasons I must leave some people out, but knowyou are thought of and appreciated.First, I must thank my committee. My advisor, Marita Sturken, who
―inherited‖ me after my original advisor left the department, has been an amazing
source of pragmatic advice and intellectual commentary. This project would nothave been completed without her. Helen Nissenbaum has been an immenseinfluence on my intellectual development at NYU. Through two classes, workingas a research assistant on
Privacy in Context,
the Privacy Research Group, the ITScolloquium, the Values in Design workshops and the Values at Play project, Ihave learned an enormous amount from Helen and I truly thank her for her helpand support. Biella Coleman has pushed me to think through my ideas morecritically, pointed me to more valuable authors and books than I can count,