Research Seminar Series Archive

As put by Pablo Picasso, “Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” We can see the products of knowledge organization work, systems such as classifications and ontologies, in much the same way: contrived, abstracted and simplified versions of reality designed to quickly tell us something truthful. What communities choose to represent of their knowledge, as opposed to what remains obscured or omitted, is a crucial area of inquiry in information science, the technical and ethical importance of which has only increased given emerging technological developments such as linked data and AI. In this presentation, Dr. Dobreski uses this overarching metaphor to review his streams of research on knowledge representation and organization and look toward upcoming research projects on largescale data and AI in knowledge organization.

The need to address marginalized communities' needs and to ensure consideration for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility are key concerns in information science. The presentation will focus on an interdisciplinary information behavior research project conducted in South Africa and Uganda involving an industry partner from the UK. The study explored the information behavior of commuters who depend on informal transportation such as minibus taxis.

This research project investigates the academics' scholarly publication practices in Malaysian universities. Scholars in Malaysia face unique challenges and pressures in their publication choices, balancing the demand for high-impact publications with the need for broader dissemination of their research. Malaysian universities operate in a competitive global academic environment, with career incentives tied to publishing in Web of Science and Scopus-indexed journals. This focus on quantitative metrics and high-impact factors may limit scholars' opportunities to share their work more broadly, mainly through open-access channels.

Steven B. Sawyer, PhD, draws on four years of data from an ongoing, longitudinal, panel-based study focused on how online labor platforms reshape work to theorize on career implications of pursuing non-standard work. The work is both framed and motivated by three ongoing changes to the economy:

This interdisciplinary project investigates the role of local public libraries in enhancing community resilience amidst economic challenges, extreme weather conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Makerspaces in museums and libraries have expanded a great deal in the last 10 years. As these spaces and programs have progressed, some have sought to incorporate assessment to be responsive to learners, program improvement and justify their work, among other reasons.

The Tattoo and Information research project explores the information experience of people with tattoos. The central premise of the project is that people experience complex engagement with information during all stages of the tattoo process. Many people enjoy having tattoos and consider them not just aesthetic expressions of their tastes and interests, but also an expression of their identities.