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New Center for Digital Society & Data Studies
In early February, the University of Arizona's School of Information established the Center for Digital Society and Data Studies (CDSDS) to encourage collaboration among digital experts who analyze and interpret today's evolving information landscape.
"One of the reasons the School of Information needed a center focused on data, digital culture, innovation, and social behavior was because the school is already a part of these larger conversations happening across disciplines," said Catherine Brooks, an assistant professor of information and communication and the Director of the new Center.
Read the announcement about this exciting new development within the School of Information on the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences website.
Since its' inception, the Center has sponsored information-related events that have drawn attention to high-profile discussions on privacy and security. On March 3rd, the CDSDS gathered a team of experts for a panel discussion, titled "
Privacy, Apple, and the FBI". This panel examined privacy and security amid the tensions surrounding the Apple vs. FBI case in the wake of the San Bernardino, CA shooting on December 2nd. You can see a recording of this panel discussion
here.
The School of Information and new Center for Digital Society and Data Studies are also proud contributors to an upcoming privacy-related event on campus! "
A Conversation on Privacy"
will take place on March 25th from 5:00 - 7:00 PM in Centennial Hall,
1020 E. University Blvd. N
uala O'Connor, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, will act as moderator for a discussion with Noam Chomsky, Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden on the balance between individual liberties and national security.
Tickets are $15.00 per person. UA students receive a $10.00 discount with a valid CatCard at the box office window. Four tickets max per person. Don't miss out!
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Visitors from the North
This semester, the School of Information was fortunate enough to have our friends from Canada, Barry and Beverly Wellman, join us in Tucson!
Professor Barry Wellman studies networks: community, communication, computer, and social. His research examines virtual community, the virtual workplace, social support, community, kinship, friendship, and social network theory and methods. He is the Co-Director of the NetLab Network and the retired S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Wellman founded the International Network for Social Network Analysis, and two journals: Connections, and City & Community. He is the North American editor of Information, Communication & Society. Wellman is the co-author (with Lee Rainie) of Networked: The New Social Operating System (MIT Press).
When asked about his time spent here in Arizona, Dr. Wellman replied, "I had the time of my life! I learned a lot from my colleagues, the University of Arizona, and Tucson. I enjoyed their friendship and support."
From all of us at the School of Information, bon voyage and safe travels on your journey back to Canada!
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Tucson Festival of Books: SI in Science City
Join the School of Information at the upcoming Tucson Festival of Books, March 12-13, as we celebrate S.T.E.M. literacy in
Science City
.
The two-day
Tucson Festival of Books attracts more than 130,000 book-lovers to the UA Mall and nearby venues for exhibits, author presentations and panel discussions. Visit our booth in Science City to learn more about interactive 3D scanning, imaging, and printing, as well as to discover more about the programs and research happening at the School of Information! Be sure to also pick up your official School of Information t-shirt.
Volunteers are still needed to help teach visitors how information informs all aspects of real-world issues from artificial intelligence to computational art creation and entertainment technologies! Training will be provided this Friday, March 11th, from 1:00 - 3:00 PM in Harvill 401. To become a volunteer, please register at:
http://bit.ly/TFOB2016-Volunteers
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Taking Advantage of the
ALA Experience
By Veronica Furlong
If you're on librarian listservs, you're probably starting to see increasing traffic about the American Library Association's Annual Conference in June, this year in Orlando. I encourage you attend. Do whatever it takes to attend a conference early in your career - if not while you are a student, then soon after. It's so important to form those human connections - both professionally, and for your own sanity and happiness, especially if you're struggling with creating community in an online setting. We have a great and diverse librarian family, and it's a shame to miss out on these chances to find homes for our interests and to run into others willing to help. It's worth it to apply for mini grants offered by the Graduate and Professional Student Council, or any funds offered by national or regional organizations more tailored to your interests; and engaging with UA chapters of the organizations in our field can help to connect you with events and funding to go, too.
In that spirit, I'd like to share some of my first ALA experiences with you... continue reading.
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M.A. Student Returns from Japan on Fellowship
Sarah Kortemeier, a current student in the Master's program in LIS, has just returned from Tokyo, Japan, where she undertook a research project through the Arizona Library Association's Horner Fellowship program. Kortemeier's research proposal focused on preservation and outreach practices related to poetry artifacts in Japanese cultural heritage institutions; her project connects directly to her work at the University of Arizona Poetry Center Library, where she serves as a Library Specialist. Kortemeier's proposal was funded by AzLA's Horner Fellowship Committee as a Special Project for 2015-2016.
During a whirlwind week in Japan, Kortemeier visited collections at the Museum of Haiku Literature, the Museum of Modern Japanese Literature, the Museum of Contemporary Japanese Poetry, Tanka, and Haiku, the Kenji Miyazawa Museum, and the National Diet Library; viewed ancient manuscripts of
waka
(classical Japanese poetry) and
utaawase-e
(illustrated records of court poetry competitions); and toured exhibitions of calligraphy at the Tokyo National Museum, the Idemitsu Museum of Art, and the BashÅ Museum. Along the way, she had the opportunity to help translate children's haiku from Japanese into English, explore the deep basement stacks of the National Diet Library, and look through a poem into a kaleidoscope (at aninventive exhibit of tanka poetry in the Museum of Contemporary Japanese Poetry, Tanka and Haiku). She returns to Arizona with a stack of new books for her home library and new ideas for exhibitions and programming.
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An Academic Conversation with Barry Fishman
Barry Fishman visited the University of Arizona on January 29th to discuss his research focusing on video games as models for learning environments, teacher learning, and the development of usable, scalable, and sustainable learning innovations through design-based implementation research (DBIR), which he helped establish. The event was well-attended and offered insights into
the role of technology in supporting learning.
Barry Fishman is an "Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Learning Technologies" at the University of Michigan School of Information and School of Education. He is the creator of GradeCraft, a game-inspired learning management system, and the principal investigator of the A-GAMES project studying the ways teachers employ video games to support formative assessment practices.
Thank you, Barry!
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Making an Impact in Archives: Dr. Jamie Lee 
The School of Information's Jamie A. Lee is back at it again! The Assistant Professor of Digital Culture recently published an article for the
Archival Science
special issue on "Affect and the Archive, Archives and their Affects". Her article, "Be/longing in the archival body: eros and the 'Endearing' value of material lives", explores the nature of the archival body and the ways in which it is temporally situated and yet also always in motion. You can read this journal article
here
.
Furthermore, Professor Lee was recently featured by the Southwest Folklife Alliance. The web article, "
Archiving the Digital
", highlights the her work in "engaging communities and students on the social and environmental impacts of archiving and collection methodology." This includes delving into the concepts like
community
and
heritage
in the School of Information's cultural diversity emphasis course, "LIS 550: Information Environments from Latino/Hispanic and Native American Perspectives",
which Professor Lee currently teaches.
The School of Information is very excited about the research horizon for Professor Lee and we look forward to the many impressive projects in her future, including an upcoming book chapter. Stay tuned!
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SI Faculty to Present at AAAI Symposium
School of Information Assistant Professor, Yotam Shmargad, has been invited to present at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) Spring Symposium on Observational Studies through Social Media and Other Human-Generated Content, held at Stanford University on March 21-23.
A defining feature of online social networks is the ability to broadcast messages to an entire network of contacts all at once. As a result, users of online social networks receive informational updates about more people than ever before. While users increasingly rely on these broadcasts to maintain their relationships, we know relatively little about what drives their consumption. To address this question, Professor Shmargad analyzes data from an online social network that started charging its users to receive broadcasts of contact information about their connections in the network. In this data, he finds that purchase rates were higher for users with large, structurally diverse networks.
You can read Professor Shmargad's accepted symposium paper here.
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Arizona Astronomical Data Hub
School of Information Director, Bryan Heidorn, gave a talk at the January 4th American Astronomical Society 227 Meeting,
a collaboration among the School of Information, the University of Arizona Libraries, University of Arizona Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, and CyVerse. Check out his presentation in the video above!
Abstract: There is an unacceptable quantity of astronomy data that once generated do not have a repository where they can be readily deposited, accessed, reused and preserved. Very large volumes of data from earth-based and space-based observatories are typically placed in well curated data repositories associated with the missions. However, derived data products from the main observations and data from non-mission aligned and unfunded instruments often do not meet the criteria for deposit into those repositories. This set includes some data behind published articles in journals of the American Astronomical Society and other publishers. In this research we propose to build a pilot data and software repository using CyVerse (iPlant) cyberinfrastructure.
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Alumni Spotlight
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Samantha Gardner
2014 Graduate
Learn more about Samantha's post-grad life navigating the nonprofit sector and her advice for future School of Information students.
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Tucson Festival of Books (TFOB)
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Lawrence Clark Powell Lecture
March 12, 2016
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Microsoft Research Symposium
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A Conversation on Privacy
March 25, 2016
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Sherry Turkle Book Discussion
March 31, 2016
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Information Ethics Roundtable
April 6-7, 2016
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STEAMworks
April 14, 2016
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SI Student Showcase
May 5, 2016
TBD
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SI Award Ceremony & Graduation Dinner
May 12, 2016
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Knowledge River (KR) is the foremost graduate program for training librarians and information specialists with a concentration in Latino and Native American cultural issues.
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2016 Peter W. Likins Inclusive Excellence Award
The School of Information's Knowledge River program was recently honored at the Visionary Leadership Awards Ceremony. This event, cosponsored by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), celebrates the people and organizations on campus that advance discussions of diversity challenges and achievements.
The Peter Likins Inclusive Excellence Awards are given to programs, students, student groups, staff and appointed professionals who are advancing efforts to better support traditionally-underserved students, faculty and constituencies. This year, the Knowledge River program was the honored program recipient and winner of a $500 prize for making a significant contribution toward creating a diverse and inclusive community.
Knowledge River is a shining example of a program that delivers top scholars with "a highly developed ability to understand and respect cultural differences and to address issues of disparity among diverse populations competently". The School of Information is honored to be home to a program that gives voice to historically underrepresented ethnic and social groups by producing passionate, culturally responsive information professionals.
Congratulations, KR!
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KR Scholar Wins IFLA 2016 Fellowship Grant
Hannivett Nabahe of KR's Cohort 13 was one of the impressive scholars awarded the IFLA fellowship, which will cover travel, accommodation, a per diem food allowance, and conference registration fees.
Congratulations, Hanni!
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2016 ARL Cohort Selects KR Scholar
M.A. candidate and Knowledge River scholar, Arminda Sandoval, has been selected as one of six chosen to participate in the 2016 cohort of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Career Enhancement Program (CEP). Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and ARL member libraries, this program provides MLIS students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups with hands-on experience in research libraries.
The ARL Career Enhancement Program reflects the commitment of ARL members to create a diverse research library workforce that will better meet the challenges of changing demographics and global perspectives in education and research. Participants in the 2016 cohort will benefit from a paid internship in an ARL member library, mentoring by a professional librarian at the host institution, support for attendance at and participation in the ARL Annual Leadership Symposium, and career placement assistance.
Congratulations, Arminda!
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Catherine Brooks has a new publication entitled "Disciplinary Convergence and Interdisciplinary Curricula for Students in an Information Society" in the Journal Innovations In Education & Teaching International (IETI).
Jamie Lee has a new article published in Archival Science entitled, "Be/longing in the Archival Body: Eros and the "Endearing" Value of Material Lives." For more information, see here.
Kay Mathiesen
recently published "Transparency for Democracy: The Case of Open Government Data", an invited book chapter for Privacy, Security, and Accountability (Edited by Adam Moore, Rowman and Littlefield International).
Clay Morrison
wrote an article with colleagues entitled, "Contributions to Teams Formed in Dynamic Networks" that appears in the Proceedings of the Mutli-disciplinary Conference on Reinforcement Learning and Decision Making (RLDM), 2015.
Yotam Shmargad has written with a co-author, "Social Visibility and the Gifting of Digital Goods," a publication that can be found in the proceedings of the 2015 ACM on Conference on Online Social Networks.
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