Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Addressing Equity And Access In The Digital Humanities: An Interview With Daniel Cox, John Venecek

Open Access Week

Addressing Equity and Access in the Digital Humanities: An Interview with Daniel Cox

Daniel Cox is a full-time instructor in the Games and Interactive Media program as well as a part-time Ph.D. student in the Texts & Technology program here at UCF. His research interests include code pedagogy and narrative games. He looks at how people learn programming languages and tools, and then how those skills translate into creating different works. He has been focused on open access learning for interactive storytelling tools for many years.

Many of the projects Dan has been involved with have …

Exploring Open Access For Social Justice, John Venecek

Open Access Week

Exploring Open Access for Social Justice

Posted: October 21st, 2020

This blog post is written by Humanities Librarian, John Venecek.

The idea of the library as a site of social justice is a long-standing interest of mine. I’ve explored this issue by developing exhibits, programming, and other events designed to shed light on social justice issues. As a subject librarian, I seek to build diverse and inclusive collections in the humanities including art, literature, Africana, and Latin American studies. I advocate for increasing the equity of and access to scholarship and I’m an active promoter of Open Education Resources (OERs) …

Open Access Publishing Support For Ucf Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Scholars, Ucf Libraries

Open Access Week

Open Access Publishing Support for UCF Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Scholars

Posted: October 20th, 2020

Hello, UCF Grad Students and Postdoctoral Scholars! Do you have an interest in getting published in an Open Access (OA) journal but don’t know much about how it all works? Well, look no further. Here is a brief background on publishing Open Access and specifically Article Processing Charges (APCs).

If an author wants to publish and make their work openly accessible in a traditional or hybrid Open Access journal, they will typically have to pay a fee, called an Article Processing Charge (APC). This APC …

The Importance Of Open Access In Research, Classroom & Society, Ucf Libraries

Open Access Week

The Importance of Open Access in Research, Classroom & Society

Perhaps in no other year has the importance of freely open and accessible information been more evident than in 2020. The mid-March outbreaks of COVID-19 prompted stay-at-home orders and quarantines throughout the nation, and Americans were sequestered to their homes for a quarantine that some have yet to escape. When universities, libraries, businesses and laboratories across the country closed their doors, the availability of Open Access documents and data helped us maintain some semblance of our daily routine, and a little of our sanity.

As we’ll explore in this blog …

Introduction To Open Access & Open Access Week 2020, Ucf Libraries

Open Access Week

Introduction to Open Access & Open Access Week 2020

Now in its thirteenth year, Open Access Week is a global event that celebrates the Open Access (OA) movement. It aims to bring awareness to OA and explore the benefits it brings to all. In addition, it is a time for institutions to highlight Open Access efforts and activities locally at their institution. At UCF Libraries, we will be exploring a variety of OA topics during this year’s Open Access Week through blog posts and social media posts to help you learn more about Open Access and what it means for …

How Does Free Help Me? Useful Things Like Gps Software, Open Access Week Committee, Ucf Libraries

Open Access Week

How does free help me? Useful things like GPS Software

Once upon a time the only way to find an address was to look at a paper map. Remember your first day at UCF? How hard it was to find the right building? Did you get lost? That used to be true going pretty much any place new.

Now with GPS, you can have someone tell you how to get somewhere step by step. You can even select a British or Australian narrator. Like many conveniences in our lives, this is a result of the …

How Does Free Help Me? Mind-Blowing Things Like The Mapping Our Dna, Open Access Week Committee, Ucf Libraries

Open Access Week

How does free help me? Mind-blowing things like the mapping our DNA

Posted: October 24th, 2019

Ever hear of a little company called 23andMe? For around $100, you can get a breakdown of your global heritage. You can even get it for your dog or cat.

The availability to learn more about our own ancestry or genetic health markers is a result of the Human Genome Project. The original mapping of human DNA took thirteen years to complete, and involved 20 institutions around the globe. It is considered the world’s largest collaborative biological project, with a price tag of …

How Does Free Help Me? Funny Things Like Throwing Shade On Florida, Open Access Week Committee, Ucf Libraries

Open Access Week

How does free help me? Funny things like throwing shade on Florida

Posted: October 23rd, 2019

Florida is called the sunshine state for more than just the weather. It has one of the broadest public record laws in the nation, with origins dating back to 1909. On the bright side, this wide interpretation of public records provides transparency in state public agencies.

It could also be considered a factor in the creation of the internet meme “Florida Man.” This meme is based on strange news stories or crimes that take place in our home state and is …

How Does Free Help Me? Cool Things From Nasa, Open Access Week Committee, Ucf Libraries

Open Access Week

How does free help me? Cool things from NASA

Posted: October 22nd, 2019

Yesterday we talked a little bit about the Open Access movement to share research. Today we are going to focus on the benefits of having research freely available. Let’s look at a government agency right in our own backyard — NASA. You may not realize this, but NASA research and technology has contributed to the development of everything from LED lighting to temper foam mattresses. Unlike Area 51, NASA likes to share what it knows, and collaborates with industry partners in all kinds of ways. Here …

How Does Free Help Me? Informative Things Like Wikipedia, Open Access Week Committee, Ucf Libraries

Open Access Week

How does free help me? Informative things like Wikipedia

Posted: October 21st, 2019

We use it for everything – historical information, explaining movie endings, and biographies of our favorite celebrities. Wikipedia began in 2001, which is roughly the same time as a movement called Open Access, which we are celebrating this week.

Before Wikipedia, hard cover books with a collection of facts were printed. These encyclopedias were expensive and it was hard to keep the information current. Just as Wikipedia makes facts more easily available to everyone using the Internet, Open Access hopes to do the same thing. However, it …

Teaming Up Against Rising Textbook Costs: Harnessing The Librarian/Faculty Collaboration To Locate Affordable Course Materials, Christina Wray, Sandy Avila

Open Access Week

Does the idea of the soaring price of textbooks and the lack of your student’s ability to purchase them keep you up at night? If so, then please join our Digital Learning & Engagement Librarian, Christina Wray and Research and Information Services’ Science Librarian, Sandy Avila for a presentation about partnering with your subject librarian to explore quality library-sourced or open access/online resources for your next class.