Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Reconsidering Literacy, Audrey Powers, Marc Powers

Charleston Library Conference

Literacy, until recently, was defined as the ability to read printed text and to understand the nuances of both the form and content of that printed text. More recently there has been a focus on subsets of literacy – data literacy, numeracy, visual literacy, media literacy, etc. – that recognizes the means of communicating ideas and facts are not limited to the printed text and that there are multiple means which may be more powerful ways of communicating in our world. In recent years, higher education has been redefining what it means to be educated – from a focus on …

Reason Minus Zero/No Limit: Trying To Bring It Back Home, Thomas C. Reich

Charleston Library Conference

Negotiations connected with database renewals are sharply critical and ultimately impact renewal decisions. Today, academic libraries face an ever-consolidating marketplace, often accompanied by disruptive cost increases that toss sound reasoning aside. Instances of super-exponential cost increases transfigure once reasonable practices based on sound criteria to unsustainable subscriptions and inappropriate access models. Most troubling is that libraries have seldom been asked to participate in stakeholder discussions before these models and decisions were made. The paper reviews University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Libraries struggle with these changing metrics. In context, the paper looks at how recent political upheaval in Wisconsin has overturned Wisconsin’s …

U.S. Government Military And Space Force Literature, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Established in 2018, the U.S. Space Force is the newest branch of the U.S. military. The reality of space as an arena for international geopolitical and military competition has been around for decades in scholarly literature. This presentation will examine recently published and publicly accessible U.S. Government and military literature on Space Force. These works examine various economic, military, and political aspects of this entity and how it may affect U.S. national security policy in years to come.

Public Policy Origins Of U.S. Data, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides detailed introduction and overview of public policy origins of U.S. data. Shows how congressional legislation and Office of Management and Budget documents influence compilation and dissemination of U.S. Government data. Stresses how Indiana General Assembly requirements influence compilation of Indiana state agency data and Indiana local government agency data. Places emphasis on roles played in data compilation and dissemination by public policy research institutions/think tanks. Concludes by stressing limitations of data collection by governmental and non-governmental entities.

Workplace Information Needs Of Engineering And Technology Graduates: A Case Study On Two Continents, Margaret Phillips, Michael Fosmire, Marco Schirone, Christina Johansson, Frederick Berry

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

In this research category, work-in-progress study, the authors conducted eleven semi-structured interviews of employers (five from the United States and six from Sweden), in order to determine the information literacy skills and habits needed by engineering and technology graduates. The authors found similar information needs at both the Swedish and American corporations. They found that, while the core information literacy principles of identifying an information need, locating, accessing, evaluating, integrating, and documenting are valuable skills for students to have, they need to be translated to accommodate the socially constructed information landscapes of each corporation and the more fluid and subtle …

Initial Study Of Information Literacy Content In Engineering And Technology Job Postings, Margaret Phillips, Dave Zwicky, Jing Lu

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The goal of this research category work-in-progress study is to investigate the information literacy needs and expectations of employers who hire new engineering and technology graduates, through content analysis of job postings. It seeks to answer two questions: (1) Which information sources do employers expect engineering and technology graduates to know and to use on the job and (2) in what ways are new engineering and technology hires expected to interact with information?

A collection of 1502 entry-level job postings aimed at undergraduate engineering and engineering technology students was gathered from a university career center database for the time period …

Urban Warfare: Emerging Geopolitical Conundrum, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Urban warfare is as old as human history. It is becoming increasingly important in international political and military planning due to increasing global urbanization and the presence of megacities (urban areas with populations exceeding 10 million) in many global regions and being in areas of recent and potential military conflict. 2018 World Bank data notes that approximately 56% of the world's population lives in urban areas which is up from 34% in 1960. Many of these megacities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Manila are adjacent to oceanic waters and vulnerable to trade and supply …

Publicly Accessible National Security Information Resources: An Untapped Treasure Trove, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This presentation demonstrates the wide variety of publicly accessible U.S. Government national security information resources. It includes information on the U.S. constitutional foundations of national security policy, a recent annual defense spending bill, documents from the White House/National Security Council, Department of Defense, various military branches including professional military educational institutions, assorted U.S. intelligence agencies, congressional legislation, congressional committee reports on legislation, congressional committee hearings, and reports from congressional support agencies such as the Congressional Budget Office. It concludes by stressing the multiple benefits provided by having public access to these information resources.

Literature Review: How U.S. Government Documents Are Addressing The Increasing National Security Implications Of Artificial Intelligence, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This article emphasizes the increasing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in military and national security policy making. It seeks to inform interested individuals about the proliferation of publicly accessible U.S. government and military literature on this multifaceted topic. An additional objective of this endeavor is encouraging greater public awareness of and participation in emerging public policy debate on AI's moral and national security implications..

Introduction To Systematic Review Methodology Course Syllabus, Bethany S. Mcgowan

Libraries Faculty and Staff Creative Materials

The course syllabus for a 3-credit course on systematic review methodology, tailored to graduate students from across multiple disciplines.

Congressional Committee Resources On Space Policy During The 115th Congress (2017-2018): Providing Context And Insight Into Us Government Space Policy, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Article 1 of the US Constitution assigns the US Congress numerous responsibilities. These include creating new laws, revising existing laws, funding government programs, and conducting oversight of these programs' performance. Oversight of US Government agency space policy programs is executed by various congressional space policy committees including the House and Senate Science Committees, Armed Services, and Appropriations Committees. These committees conduct many public hearings on space policy, which invite expert witnesses to testify on US space policy programs and feature debate on the strengths and weaknesses of these programs. Documentation produced by these committees is widely available to the public, …

Australian National Audit Office: Evaluating Australian Army Program Performance, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) evaluates the management and financial performance of Australian government programs for the Australian Parliament, Australian government agencies, Australian taxpayers, and individuals interested in the performance of these programs globally. This article examines how ANAO has examined the performance of Australian Army programs and strengths and weaknesses found in these programs while recommending changes to improve program performance. It also examines how government agencies and corporations which have been the subject of ANAO analyses have reacted to ANAO findings. This assessment also examines how Plan B (the possibility that Australia might have to rely less …

On-The-Job Information Literacy: A Case Study Of Student Employees At Purdue University Archives And Special Collections, Tracy Grimm, Neal Harmeyer

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This chapter presents Purdue Archives and Special Collections as a case study in growing an organizational culture committed to teaching information literacy parallel to classroom learning through student worker experiential learning. While student employment or internships may not traditionally be considered co-curricular activities, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections provides an environment not only for students to gain pre-professional experience but also expertise, confidence, and competence in information; for many students, this preparation has resulted in careers in museums, archives, libraries, and cultural heritage institutions. The result is a new approach to student employment: one designed to establish an environment …

Congressional Committee Resources On Space Policy During The 115th Congress (2017-2018): Providing Context And Insight Into U.S. Government Space Policy, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Article 1 of the US Constitution assigns the US Congress numerous responsibilities. These include creating new laws, revising existing laws, funding government programs, and conducting oversight of these programs' performance. Oversight of US Government agency space policy programs is executed by various congressional space policy committees, including the House and Senate Science Committees, Armed Services, and Appropriations Committees. These committees conduct many public hearings on space policy which invite witnesses to testify on US space policy programs and feature debate on the strengths and weaknesses of these programs. Documentation produced by these committees is widely available to the public, except …

Graduate Student Confidence Following A For-Credit Systematic Review Course Pilot: Qualitative And Quantitative Data, Bethany S. Mcgowan, Jason B. Reed, Jane Yatcilla

Libraries Faculty and Staff Supplemental Materials

3 Excel files and supplementary tables that describe the qualitative and quantitative results of data analysis related to the case study, 'Graduate student confidence following a for-credit systematic review course pilot: a case report' (Journal of the Medical Library Association, April 2021). The course syllabus is also included as a Word document.