Bio: Married, mother of three. I attended UC Berkeley as an undergraduate many moons ago and received my Ph.D. from the School of Social Science at UC Irvine. I was lucky to spend a year in Western Samoa doing postdoctoral research after I got my degree. I am currently reading about deep ecology, an environmental philosophy which proposes that we allow continued speciation of most extant species, certainly a radical idea. I am also studying restoration ecology whose goal is to actively engage with nature (rather than cruise through as a hiker or birder) by restoring damaged ecosystems to a healthier state. Much restoration ecology is accomplished by volunteers though it is also a scientific enterprise (see The Sunflower Forest,W. Jordan, University of California Press, 2003). As an organic gardener, I practice a mild form of restoration ecology, growing native plants and encouraging whatever wildlife will come to my garden. So far I have attracted honey bees and bumblebees, ladybugs, and worms. I restored a pretty damaged piece of ground that supported only the weeds that grow in disturbed soil in Northern California, mostly invasive non-natives. I love roses, and for you rosarians, my roses include Sombreuil, Sympathie, Austrian Copper, R. glauca, R. primula, Doorenbos Selection (possibly my favorite), Scotch Double White (another favorite), Hebe's Lip, Madame Hardy, Mozart , Buff Beauty, Felicia, Marie van Houtte, Crimson Glory, Cardinal Richelieu and others. My next challenge will be gardening in sourthern California.

Research: My interests are user interface design, collaborative work, computer-mediated communication, e-democracy, and theoretical approaches to technology design and evaluation.