Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Inclusive Global Scholarly Communication: Toward A Just And Healthier Information Ecosystem, Angel Y. Ford, Daniel G. Alemneh

Information Science Faculty Scholarship

Scholarly communication has long been a central topic in the field of information science. However, philosophical, and even perhaps some legal reflections, including the moral and ethical considerations of the health of information ecosystems, are fairly recent developments. In fact, recent topics are propelled by various contextual factors including economic, disciplinary, societal norms, and cultures.This article explores literature discussing the plight of scholars in low- and middle-income countries that struggle to engage in scholarly communications in their fields. This topic has been explored for years, however, has often been addressed in disciplines outside of information science and knowledge management. This …

Textual Assessment Of Leaders Individual Differences: Exploring Talid, Michael Young

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

The Textual Assessment of Leader Individual Differences (TALID) is a growing archive of leader speech and a dataset of individual difference scores for more than 750 global leaders. TALID includes texts accumulated by Social Science Automation, Inc and Margaret G. Hermann during a variety of research projects conducted since 1997. Recent additions to TALID include documents for Joseph Biden and Donald Trump contributed by the Xiamen University Digital Presidents Project. The scores in the data set are all generated using automated coding schemes running on Profiler Plus (Levine & Young, 2014). Variables included in TALID are for Leadership Trait Analysis …

An Exploratory Study Of Anti-Black Racism In Social Media Behavior Intentions: Effects Of Political Orientation And Motivation To Control Prejudice, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Samantha A. Wilcox, Justine K. Brace, Melissa Anderson

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Considering the widespread prevalence of racist content and opinions on social media, there is a pressing need to understand how users react to such content in ways that might lead them to be drawn into echo chambers of racism, hate speech, and potentially even violence. We conducted an online study to investigate how two individual differences—political orientation and motivation to control prejudice (MCP)—may predispose people to accept anti-Black racism expressed in social media messages. Non-Black participants viewed racist and egalitarian mock social media posts and reported how likely they would be to respond favorably and/or engage in supportive social media …

Region-Specific Structural Covariates Of Homicide Rates In Latin America: State Legitimacy And Remittances, Guillermo Escano, William Alex Pridemore

School of Criminal Justice Other Graduate Student Scholarship

The goal of this study was to examine region-specific structural covariates of homicide rates in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). LAC nations possess 8% of the global population but 33% of homicides, yet the region receives limited attention in studies of social structure and violence. Prior literature suggests two separate social forces particularly relevant to the region, state legitimacy and monetary remittances. Theory from multiple fields provides distinct pathways through which each may influence LAC violence rates, suggesting a negative legitimacy-homicide association but competing hypotheses about the remittances-homicide association. Our unit of analysis was the nation-year, and our sample …

Wireless Emergency Alerts And Organisational Response: Instructing And Adjusting Information In Alerts, Lauren B. Cain, Jeannette Sutton, Michele K. Olson

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

In the United States, alerting authorities are authorized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to notify the public of imminent hazards and threats by sending Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) through the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). Although recent efforts have been made to examine historical WEA compliance with frameworks such as Mileti and Sorenson's (1990) Warning Response Model, less attention has been paid to information included in WEAs that is not prescribed by message design frameworks from risk communication scholarship. This paper explores the presence of Situational Crisis Communication Theory's (SCCT) instructing and adjusting information in terse …

Benchmarking It Services In Academic Libraries, Rebecca L. Mugridge, Janetta Waterhouse

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

The presenters will share the results of a 2021 survey of the academic library members of the Association of Research Libraries to determine how information technology services are organized within the libraries and whether there is a trend toward centralizing IT activities at the institution level. Survey findings from the 72 responding libraries address 14 information technology services and activities and identify who is responsible for their technology services, their level of satisfaction with the services, whether the responsibility for them has changed recently, and if so, why. Respondents also provided information about IT assessment and top three challenges. The …

Population-Level Alcohol Consumption And Homicide Rates In Latin America: A Fixed Effects Panel Analysis, 1961-2019, Guillermo J. Escano, William Alex Pridemore

School of Criminal Justice Faculty Scholarship

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) possesses 8% of the global population but approximately one-third of global homicides. The region also exhibits high per capita alcohol consumption, risky drinking patterns, and a heterogeneous mix of beverage preferences. Despite this, LAC violence receives limited attention in the English-language literature and there are no studies of the population-level alcohol-homicide association in the region. We examined the effects on total, male, and female homicide rates of total and beverage-specific alcohol consumption (22 nations, 1961-2019) and of risky drinking patterns (20 nations, 2005 and 2010). We collected homicide and alcohol data from the World …

Copyright First Responders: Decentralized Expertise, Cultural Institutions, And Risk, Kyle K. Courtney, Emily Kilcer

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Today librarians and other information professionals regularly intersect with intellectual property law. As our work increasingly encompasses copyright-intensive programs and projects (e.g., digitization, scholarly publishing, open access, streaming media, MOOCs, and more), questions about fair use, public domain, and copyright law invariably emerge. Libraries occupy a liminal space, they both serve knowledge creation and information access and enjoy special privileges under copyright law.

Unfortunately, comprehensive copyright training is still not a pillar of LIS programs,1 and while there are seminal resources to look to and professional development opportunities to explore (e.g., MOOCs, copyright bootcamps, or one-offs at conferences), this sort …

Early Response To False Claims In Wikipedia, 15 Years Later, P.D. Magnus

Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

Fifteen years ago, I conducted a small study testing the error-correction tendency of Wikipedia. Not only is Wikipedia different now than it was then, the community that maintains it is different. Despite the crudity of that study’s methods, it is natural to wonder what the result would be now. So I repeated the earlier study and found surprisingly similar results.

A Fault In Democracy: The Disenfranchisement Of Voters, Kylie Cooper, Razan Elsir

Library Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research

Our project is focused on why there is variation in felon disenfranchisement policy among states. After selecting five different states (New York, Mississippi, Virginia, North Carolina, and Vermont) with various policies, we tested them against our different hypotheses: demographics (age, education level, and the number of people incarcerated), partisanship, and race. We expected race to be a strong factor, meaning that as diversity of the state increased the strictness of its felon disenfranchisement policy would increase. We expected to see a similar correlation with partisanship, that the more Republican-leaning states would have stricter policies. Additionally, we believed that age, education, …

From Stacks To Screens: Creating A Virtual Browsing Experience, Lauren Puzier, Rebecca A. Nous

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

The University at Albany Libraries has integrated visually compelling, subject-based Curated Collections into its discovery tool, Primo VE. These collections encompass resources on specific subjects, that highlight authors or groups, celebrate a genre, or that bring together a variety of resources to address campus initiatives, current events, or popular research topics. Curated Collections is an opportunity for the Libraries' to highlight what is special, new, trending, important, or underappreciated in our collections. We propose this project as a virtual browsing model to fuel intellectual curiosity, and seek to explore similar initiatives at attendees’ libraries.

A Research Data Services Fairytale, Kathleen H. Flynn, Emily Kilcer

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Whether for assignments or research, the faculty, staff, and students at all academic institutions will work with data. Some patrons seek assistance finding open data for their projects, while others would like lessons in data analysis or visualization. Data sharing is increasingly required by journals or funding agencies, and researchers may find this challenging while also navigating Data Use Agreements, confidentiality concerns, data documentation, locating a suitable repository, and more.

Furthermore, most funding agencies require a data management plan be included in grant proposals to ensure that researchers are prepared to follow best practices regarding the collection, storage, security, and …

Relations Between Peer Influence, Perceived Cost Versus Benefits, And Sexual Offending Among Adolescents Aware Of Sex Offender Registration Risk, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Hayley M. D. Cleary, Paige M. Oja

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

A policy's general deterrent effect requires would-be offenders to be aware of the policy, yet many adolescents do not know they could be registered as sex offenders, and even adolescents who do know may still commit registerable sexual offenses. We tested whether peer influences shape the perceived costs/benefits of certain sexual offenses and, subsequently, registration policy's general deterrent potential in a sample of policy-aware adolescents. The more adolescents believed their peers approve of sexting of nude images, the more likely they were to have sexted. For forcible touching, having more positive peer expectations about sex and perceiving forcible touching as …

The Quest To End Human Trafficking: An Educational And Practical Guide For Everyone Who Wants To Help Break The Bonds And Assist Survivors, Dennis W. Mccarty

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

People often assume that only legislators and law enforcement personnel can take meaningful steps to fight human trafficking, one of the most lucrative transnational crimes in the world. This inquiry sought to assess the validity of that belief. The study was informed by the author’s experience as a college instructor of human trafficking and the inspiration he drew from the range and quality of his students’ projects.

The methodology included examining the strategies that governmental and non-governmental organizations are using to fight trafficking and assist survivors. It also considered the work of individual activists and service providers such as social …

Study Of Fashion And Politics, Jacqueline Arena

Library Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this research is to analyze the way fashion has been used as a vessel for

political statements; specifically through studying the work of artists Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander Mcqueen and Vivienne Westwood. Gaultier and Mcqueen showcased shocking collections that caught the public eye by testing gender boundaries and reflecting historical events. Westwood’s work was a protest, and she was an activist. The sources included highlight the success of these unique designers. Furthermore, the research evaluates how political statements by fashion designers have become harmful because today newer designers are vying for the success of trailblazers such as …

Finding Harmony: Social Tags And Name Authority Records In The Popular Music Domain, Kabel Nathan Stanwicks, Hemalata Iyer

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Libraries and cultural institutions use cataloging and metadata standards to describe works and those responsible for creating them. These standards are used to create name authority records (NAR) to collocate creators’ works under single, authorized versions of their names. NARs employ controlled vocabulary to describe individuals and disambiguate names. NAR production is costly; therefore, few are updated when standards are revised, and controlled vocabularies are slow to adapt to a rapidly changing information landscape. Artificial intelligence provides opportunities to leverage social tagging to update and enhance NARs, while simultaneously improving user search and discovery. Our research demonstrates that social tags …

Forging The Future: Connecting Research To Communities, Angela Hackstadt

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Lightning talk delivered at the ACRL 2023 Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

The literature suggests that information users beyond the academy rely on a variety of sources in the course of their work, most of which can be described as grey literature. However, academic researchers tend to focus their efforts on other research publications, like peer reviewed journal articles, because there is little perceived professional benefit to producing grey literature. A 2022 survey of state government and local nonprofit workers sheds some light on the gap between academic researchers and a potential audience for their work and illustrates the potential for …

Communicating About Extreme Heat: Results From Card Sorting And Think Aloud Interviews With Experts From Differing Domains, Jeannette Sutton, Nicholas Waugh, Savannah Olivas

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

Climate trends indicate that extreme heat events are becoming more common and more severe over time, requiring improved strategies to communicate heat risk and protective actions. However, there exists a disconnect in heat-related communication from experts, who commonly include heat related jargon (i.e., technical language), to decision makers and the general public. The use of jargon has been shown to reduce meaningful engagement with and understanding of messages written by experts. Translating technical language into comprehensible messages that encourage decision makers to take action has been identified as a priority to enable impact-based decision support. Knowing what concepts and terms …

Connecting Research To Policy And Practice: A Case Study Of A White Paper Collection In An Institutional Repository, Angela Hackstadt

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Moving On And Scaling Up: Adapting Past Experience To Emerging Scholarly Communication Programs, Emily Kilcer, Julia Lovett, Mark Clemente

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Scholarly communication librarianship is always evolving. It is inherently malleable and context-dependent. Relevant skills can be challenging to learn in most LIS programs.

As a result, the experiences that shaped our early careers in scholarly communication were essential. Time at institutions with well-resourced, well-established, and highly visible scholarly communication programs, at MIT, Harvard, and the University of Michigan, showed us what was possible with a team working toward shared goals: where to look for opportunities, how to engage in strategic decision-making, when to keep nudging, and when to back-burner an effort.

An interesting shift we have each navigated is what …

Communicating Hazard Location Through Text And Map In Earthquake Early Warnings: A Mixed Methods Study, Jeannette Sutton, Michele M. Wood, Nicholas A. Waugh, Savanah Crouch

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of presenting hazard location in different formats on key warning message outcomes—understanding, personalizing, believing, deciding, and milling. We conducted two studies using experiment and focus group methods. In the experiment, we compared a standard ShakeAlert earthquake early warning message, which merely implied location, to three enhanced messages that communicated information about the earthquake epicenter via text, map, or a combined text-and-map format. Focus groups explored reactions to warning messages accompanied by different types of maps. Overall, the standard ShakeAlert message was associated with worse message outcomes compared to messages that …

Werewolf On Campus: A Case Study In Inoculation Theory And Gamified One-Shot Library Instruction, Abigail Adams

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

This case study details the development and results of an information literacy game in which undergraduate students evaluated fictional sources to learn how to recognize a werewolf on campus. The game relied on inoculation theory and fiction to teach students to identify indicators of mis and disinformation outside of any real-world examples that might affect their learning experience. The game showed promise as students were far more engaged and demonstrated better retention later in the semester than students who received a more traditional lecture about disinformation and source evaluation. However, the game would likely be more effective if it were …

It Assessment In Arl Libraries, Rebecca L. Mugridge, Janetta Waterhouse

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

With the rapid pace of change and the high cost invested in information technology, it is important for academic libraries to evaluate the information technology solutions they use in their institutions to determine whether they are meeting the needs of their students, faculty, staff, and other users of their libraries and resources. This study presents the results of an online survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) academic library members to benchmark the assessment strategies that they used to evaluate their IT activities. This article compares their responses with earlier studies to identify trends and make recommendations for effective assessment …

The Organization Of Information Technology Activities In North American Research Libraries, Rebecca L. Mugridge, Janetta Waterhouse

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

This study presents the results of an online survey that benchmarked the organization of information technology (IT) functions in academic library members of the Association of Research Libraries. The survey investigated whether responsibility for 14 key areas resided in the libraries or in an institution-level information technology department, whether responsibilities have shifted over the past 20 years, satisfaction with services provided, assessment methods used to evaluate information technology services, and top challenges facing library IT. This paper considers the survey results addressing where the responsibility lies, satisfaction with the support, and whether and when the responsibility changed.

How The “Black Criminal” Stereotype Shapes Black People’S Psychological Experience Of Policing: Evidence Of Stereotype Threat And Remaining Questions, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Cultural stereotypes that link Black race to crime in the U.S. originated in and are perpetuated by policies that result in the disproportionate criminalization and punishment of Black people. The scientific record is replete with evidence that these stereotypes impact perceivers’ perceptions, information processing, and decision-making in ways that produce more negative criminal legal outcomes for Black people than White people. However, relatively scant attention has been paid to understanding how situations that present a risk of being evaluated through the lens of crime-related stereotypes also directly affect Black people. In this article, I consider one situation in particular: encounters …

Beyond The Academy: Connecting Research And Policy, Angela Hackstadt

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

In April 2021, members of New York State Covid-19 and Minority Health Disparities Engaged Researchers Working Group began contributing a series of white papers to a collection in Scholars Archive, University at Albany's institutional repository. This poster reports on the reach of that collection after one year. The literature suggests that information users beyond the academy rely on a variety of sources in the course of their work, most of which can be described as grey literature. The poster will also present preliminary data collected from information users in the nonprofit and government sectors of New York State. It illustrates …

Design Thinking Repository Services: ​ Lessons Learned From Ualbany’S Covid-19 And Minority Health Disparities In Nys Collection And Scholars Archive, Emily Kilcer, Lindsay Van Berkom

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

In April 2020, the University at Albany was commissioned to study the factors causing disproportionate harm from COVID-19 for New York Latinx and Black individuals. Thirty-five interdisciplinary UAlbany Engaged Researchers partnered with colleagues and community organizations to research solutions to these disparities.

The UAlbany Libraries’ Scholarly Communication Team recognized the opportunity to collect, preserve, and distribute this Minority Health Disparities (MHD) project’s assets from the University’s repository, Scholars Archive.

Following early conversations with the project lead, an expert in digital government, the author successfully demonstrated the repository’s value. With her support, and with a design thinking approach, the authors …

Beyond The Academy: Readership And Impact Of A White Paper Collection, Angela Hackstadt

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

In April 2021, members of the NYS Covid-19 and Minority Health Disparities Engaged Researchers Working Group began contributing a series of white papers to a collection in Scholars Archive, University at Albany's institutional repository. This poster reports on the reach of that collection after one year and illustrates the potential for community-focused research published outside of traditional channels.

State Governments That Champion Renewable Energy, And Why, Xanthe Plymale

Library Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research

As of 2020, more than 75% of Americans believe that the U.S. should prioritize developing alternative energy sources to fossil fuels. Despite this, there has been relatively little action at the federal level to expand and encourage renewable energy in the U.S., resulting in decentralized, bottom-up renewables promotion across the states. This project seeks to explain why some U.S. state legislatures have energy policies that promote the development of renewables and ease the connection of renewable energy sources to the electric grid. These explanations yield results on how renewable energy can be championed at the federal, and even global, level. …

What Does Innovation Look Like? System Statuses In Discovery, Lauren Puzier, Rebecca A. Nous

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

"Is Facebook down" trended on Google, October 4, 2021, when Facebook became temporarily globally unavailable. Web-users proactively seek information when they encounter issues online. System statuses are one way libraries can leverage this behavior to share changes to resources or services and improve transparency, reference, and the user experience.