HCC: Small: Life-Work Bridges: Design Knowledge for Information Systems that Connect Homeless Young People to Institutions

与美国社会的大多数青少年一样，无家可归的年轻人在生活和工作中经常使用数字媒体。即使很难接触到电脑，13-25岁的无家可归的年轻人上网也有很多目的：与家人和朋友交流；求职：寻找并申请工作；参与流行文化；一般来说，寻找和使用各种形式的信息。然而，数字媒体的采用对社区服务机构提出了重大挑战。这些组织专注于支持青少年的基本需求，在将数字媒体引入其项目方面基本上没有准备。为了应对这一挑战，这个为期三年的项目将首先调查无家可归的年轻人如何处理与数字媒体的关系，特别是在社交网站上，如MySpace。然后，为了适应他们的能力和兴趣，这个项目将开发一个网络应用程序，使年轻人能够成功地与雇主沟通。具体来说，该系统将使年轻人能够创建适当的网络身份，制作有尊严的简历，寻找和申请合适的工作相关职位，并分享经验。最后，该系统将在位于华盛顿州西雅图的一家服务机构部署，并评估其在青年和雇主之间中介关系方面的总体有效性。总之，这个项目将发现社会和技术方法来开发可用的信息系统，使无家可归的年轻人能够更好地与机构沟通。研究成果，包括理论、设计方法和指导方针，将有助于全国范围内关于使用数字媒体逃避无家可归的对话。

Homeless young people, like most adolescents in American society, frequently use digital media, for life and work. Even if gaining access to computers is difficult, homeless youth, aged 13-25, go online for many purposes: to communicate with family and friends; to find and apply for jobs; to participate in popular culture; and in general to seek and use information in all its forms. Yet, this adoption of digital media presents a significant challenge to community-based service agencies. These organizations, focused on supporting youth's basic needs, are largely unprepared for bringing digital media into their programs. To tackle this challenge, this three-year project will first investigate how homeless young people conduct themselves in relation to digital media, especially at social networking sites such as MySpace. Then, seeking to accommodate their abilities and interests, this project will develop a web application that positions youth to successfully communicate with employers. Specifically, the system will enable youth to create appropriate online identities, to build dignified resumes, to find and apply for suitable work-related openings, and to share experiences. Finally, the system will be deployed at a service agency located in Seattle, WA and evaluated for its overall effectiveness in brokering relationships between youth and employers. In summary, this project will discover social and technology approaches for developing usable information systems that enable homeless young people to better communicate with institutions. Research findings, including theory, design methods, and guidelines, will contribute to a national dialog about the use of digital media for escaping homelessness.