Tracy L.M. Kennedy

PhD CandidateGraduate Department of Sociology

University of Toronto725 Spadina Ave.

Toronto, ON M5S 2J4tkennedy@netwomen.ca

Tracy L.M. Kennedy• I’ve been researching

society & the internet since 1995. In the last 13 years, I’ve investigated how people use the internet – from websites, email and blogging to games, gaming and virtual worlds - and how these have become integrated into our daily lives. I look at the social and cultural issues that surface as new technologies become more pervasive.

Current Research AreasICTs, Families & Households Digital culture, Video

Games, Gaming & Virtual Worlds

ICTs, Families & HouseholdsPublications:• Kennedy, Tracy & B. Wellman (2007). “Networked Households” in Information,

Communication and Society, Vol 10 (5), pp 644-669.• Kennedy, Tracy (2007). “Working @ Home: Negotiating Space & Place” in ICTs and Emerging

Business Practices, (eds) Yuichi Washida & Shenja van der Graaf. Idea Publishing, pp 257-279.• Kennedy, Tracy (2006). “Gender and the Household Internet” in the Gender and Information

Technology Encyclopedia, (ed) Eileen M. Trauth. Information Science Publishing.• Wellman, B. & B. Hogan with J. Boase, K. Berg, J. Carrasco, J. Kayahara, & Tracy Kennedy

(2006). “Connected Lives: The Project” in Networked Neighbourhoods: The Connected Community in Context, (ed) Patrick Purcell. Berlin: Springer, pp 161-216.

• Viseu, A., Clement, A., Aspinal J. & Tracy Kennedy (2006). "The Interplay of Public and Private Spaces in Internet Access", in Information, Communication & Society, Vol 9 (5), pp. 633-656.

• Clement, A., Viseu, A., Aspinal, J. & Tracy Kennedy (2004). "Public Access, Personal Privacy And Media Interweaving In Everyday Internet Experiences: Exploring Current Policy Concerns Via A 'Neighbourhood Ethnography'" in (eds) Leslie Shade & Marita Moll, Seeking Convergence in Policy and Practice. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: Ottawa, pp 245-282.

• Kennedy, Tracy, B. Wellman & K. Klement (2003). "Gendering the Digital Divide" in IT & Society, Vol 1 (5) Summer 2003, pp 149-172.

Everyday Internet ProjectFeb 2003-Dec 2004

• Toronto, Ontario• Investigated the everyday

experiences of regular domestic internet users in light of the broad policy/design issues of accessibility, privacy and ‘(de)personalization’

• Neighbourhood ethnography

• Interviews• Citizen policy panels

Connected Lives Project2003-Present

• East York – borough of Toronto, Ontario

• Focused analysis of how the Internet is embedded in everyday life

• How Internet users and non-users engage in social relationships inside & outside the home

• Surveys• Interviews

Connected Lives North2005-Present

• Chapleau, Ontario• Introduction of High-

speed Internet to a Northern Ontario Rural Community

• Focused on the relationship between ICTs, Social Interaction & Social Capital

• Surveys• Interviews

Community & Technologies Research Group, Microsoft

June 2007-Aug 2007

• Investigated households that play video games together & the impact of gaming on family life

• Home Ethnographies• Interviews

The Pew Internet & American Life Project - Networked Families

Nov 2007-Oct 2008

Investigates the prevalence of ICTs in American households and examines how household members use ICTs communicate, organize daily routines and schedules, and spend time together.

Digital culture, Video Games, Gaming & Virtual Worlds

Conference Presentations:• Conference presenter (with D. Williams & R. Moore) at Association of Internet Researchers, Copenhagen,

Denmark, October 2008: “Behind the Avatar: The Patterns, Practices and Functions of Role Playing in MMOs”.

• Conference presenter (with D. Williams & R. Moore) at Games, Learning & Society, Madison, Wisconsin, July 2008: “The Virtual World Exploratorium Project: Initial Findings and Future Directions”.

• Conference presenter at Video Gaming at University of Toronto: Technical, Legal and Social Dimensions, Bell University Labs, May 2008: “Women & Gaming: What can social research can tell us about the ‘non-traditional’ gamer?”

• Conference presenter (with J. Robinson & G. Sinclair) at Association of Internet Researchers, Vancouver, BC, October, 2007: “Modding the Metaverse; The Pedagogy of Participation”

• Conference presenter at American Sociology Association – Communication, Information & Technologies Mini-Conference, New York/Second Life, August 2007: “Women’s Online Gaming Communities: Don’t Hate the Game, Hate the Players”.

• Conference presenter (with J. Robinson) at American Sociology Association – Communication, Information & Technologies Mini-Conference, New York/Second Life, August 2007: “Participatory Pedagogy: Challenging ‘Real Life’ Practices of Educational Institutions in Virtual Worlds”

Virtual Centre for Digital MediaOct 2006-Oct 2007

• Investigated interactive and empowering pedagogical styles of learning and knowledge construction inside and outside the classroom using the Virtual World Second Life

Community & Technologies Research Group, Microsoft

June 2007-Aug 2007

• Examined the importance of virtual social networks in women’s online gaming community

• Case Study Of GamerchiX• Content analysis • Interviews• Ethnography• Network analysis

Virtual World Environment Project: EverQuest 2

Oct 2007-Present

• Examines the motivations, social practices & meanings of role-playing in virtual worlds

• Survey data (with SOE)• Interviews• Virtual Ethnography

Teaching Areas

2002-Present:• Internet, Cyberculture,

Gaming & Virtual Worlds• Technology, ICTS, Web 2.0,

Web 3D• Gender, Families &

Households• Media • Mass Culture• Qualitative Research Methods

Engaging students in new ways

• Keeping up with student needs

• Preparing students for ICT workforce

• Blended Reality Teaching• Applying traditional

theories & concepts to new social spaces

4th year students in Second Life‘Cultural Studies of Virtual Worlds’

Professor Tracy