Douglas Thomas (born 1966) is an American

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

researcher Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

, and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. He is Associate Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

where he studies technology, communication, and culture. He is author or editor of numerous books including ''Reading Nietzsche Rhetorically'' (Guilford, 1998), ''Cybercrime: Security and Surveillance in the Information Age'' (with

Brian Loader Brian D. Loader (born 1958) is currently Co-Director of the Centre for Political Youth Culture and Communication (CPAC) at the University of York, UK. Brian joined the Department of Sociology at York in January 2006 to pursue his scholarly intere ...

, Routledge, 2000), ''

Hacker Culture The hacker culture is a subculture of individuals who enjoy—often in collective effort—the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming the limitations of software systems or electronic hardware (mostly digital electronics), to a ...

'' (

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its book ...

, 2002), and ''Technological Visions: The Hopes and Fears that Shape New Technologies'' (with

Marita Sturken Marita Sturken (born 1957) is an American scholar, author, professor, and critic. Life and work Marita Sturken is Professor and former Chair of the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University's Steinhardt School of Cul ...

and Sandra Ball-Rokeach). He has published numerous articles in academic journals and is the founding editor of '' Games and Culture: A Journal of Interactive Media''. In 1998 and 1999, he covered the case of

Kevin Mitnick Kevin David Mitnick (born August 6, 1963) is an American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker. He is best known for his high-profile 1995 arrest and five years in prison for various computer and communications-related crim ...

for ''

Wired News ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

''. On July 24, 2002, he testified before Congress on the topic of Cyber Terrorism and Critical Infrastructure Protection. His research has been funded by the

Annenberg Center for Communication The Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP) at the University of Southern California promotes interdisciplinary research in communications between the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Viterbi School of Engineering, and the separate ...

, the

Richard Lounsbery Foundation The Richard Lounsbery Foundation is a philanthropic organization in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1959, to enhance national strengths in science and technology (in the United States) and to foster strong Franco-American cooperation. To this ...

, and the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

and has focused on the relationship between

virtual worlds A virtual world (also called a virtual space) is a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activities ...

and

civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

and digital media and learning. His 2008 article co-authored with

John Seely Brown John Seely Brown (born 1940), also known as "JSB", is an American researcher who specializes in organizational studies with a particular bend towards the organizational implications of computer-supported activities. Brown served as Director of Xer ...

, "The Gamer Disposition", was named a ''Harvard Business Review'' Breakthrough Idea of 2008, and also featured it on its Conversation Starter blog. Thomas co-authored ''A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change'' which was translated into Turkish.Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2016). ''Yeni nesil öğrenme kültürü: Sürekli değişen bir dünya için hayal gücü yetiştirmek'' new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change(H. Uysal, Ed. & Trans.; A. Sığın, İ. Çelik, H. Çakmakcı, M. Özdemir, S. Bilgin, & A. Güven, Trans.). Ankara, Turkey: Pegem Akademi. (Original work published 2011)

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Douglas 1966 births Living people American male journalists University of Minnesota alumni University of Southern California faculty People associated with computer security