Several faculty and students from Drexel University’s College of Computing & Informatics (CCI) will be presenting and participating in iConference 2019 in Washington, DC (March 31 to April 3).
In addition to the sessions, papers and posters listed below, CCI faculty are also involved in the organization of the conference:
Sessions for Interaction and Engagement
1) “Playing around: Informing, including, and inspiring youth-centered information researchers”
Professor Denise Agosto, PhD (with M. Cahill, R. Morris, K. Gavigan, and S. Barriage)
Time: April 1, 2019; 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.; Location: Patuxent Room
Abstract: This interactive session will bring together youth information scholars, graduate students who study youth and information, and practitioners who work with youth in a variety of information environments for a creative ideas exchange about youth-centered information research writ large. It will address methods for negotiating access to youth research participants, ideas for navigating the wild world of IRB, other institutional policies, and community-wide directions in information research both with youth and with the adult intermediaries who serve them. Ideas exchange will comprise creative interaction methods, including verbal, tactile, and visual activities that can be used with youth in youth-centered research projects or with students in academic settings, from preschool to graduate school. Above all, this session will serve to uncover research and scholarship synergies among iConference participants with interests in young people’s interaction with information.
Papers:
1) “From Paper Forms to Electronic Flowsheets: Documenting Medical Resuscitations in a Time of Transition”
Associate Professor Aleksandra Sarcevic, PhD, Information Science PhD student Swathi Jagannath and Sage Myers, attending physician in the Emergency Department at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Time: April 2, 2019; 3:30 p.m .to 5:00 p.m. · Location: 0105
Abstract: Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have a critical role in supporting continuity of patient care and effective clinical decision-making. Although EHRs are widespread today, many emergency departments (EDs) have been slow in adopting them for documenting time-critical scenarios such as resuscitations. Introduction of an electronic flowsheet for documenting medical resuscitations at our research site provided a unique opportunity for studying the nuances of the transition from paper to electronic documentation. We observed 44 medical resuscitations and conducted post-event interviews with 24 nurse documenters to examine their interactions and behaviors with the newly implemented electronic flowsheet. While our findings showed many advantages of electronic documentation, such as improved access to patient records and auto-population of flowsheet sections, we also identified several challenges associated with the flowsheet navigation, technical issues, and lack of practice and use opportunities. We observed different workarounds used by nurse documenters to overcome these challenges, including the use of paper-based mechanisms, free-text fields, and simultaneous documentation by two nurses. Based on our findings, we provide design guidelines for improving the electronic flowsheet to support its use during resuscitations.
2) “Establishing an International Computational Network for Librarians and Archivists”
Alice B. Kroger Professor and Director of the Metadata Research Center Jane Greenberg, PhD
(With R. Marciano, W. Underwood, K. Fenlon A. Kriesberg, M. Kendig, G. Jansen, P. Piety, D. Weintrop and M. Kurtz of University of Maryland; V. Lemieux of University of British Columbia, Canada; M. Hedges of King’s College London; Y. Tomiura of Kyushu University, Japan; and S. Katuu of the University of South Africa)
Time: April 3, 2019; 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. · Location: 1105
Abstract: Research and experimentation are underway in libraries, archives, and research institutions on various digital strategies, including computational methods and tools, to manage "Collections as Data." This involves new ways for librarians and archivists to manage, preserve, and provide access to their digital collections. A major component in this ongoing process is the education and training needed by information professionals to function effectively in the 21st century.
Accessible and transferable infrastructure is a key requirement in creating a network of collaboration for information professionals to fully realize the full potential of managing "Collections as Data."
Elements needed include:
- Open source research and educational platforms to remove barriers to access to curation tools and resources. These are needed to deliver and share computational educational programs.
- Creation of a Cloud-based student-learning environment.
- Development of Open Source software architectures that use computational infrastructure.
- Exploration of new pedagogies for educating librarians and archivists in computational methods and tools.
- Establishment of a community of practice for developing collaborative projects and liaising with the wider international iSchool community and practitioners in the field.
Our “Blue Sky” proposal seeks to explore a number of these challenges (infrastructure, computation, collaboration, learning) that stimulate the iSchool research community and have the potential to jumpstart international collaborative networks. The goal is to establish an international computational network for supporting librarians and archivists, akin to the existing Sloan Foundation funded “Data Curation Network,” which seeks to model a cross-institutional staffing approach for curating research data in digital repositories.
Posters
1) “How comprehensive is the PubMed Central Open Access full-text database?”
Information Science PhD students Jiangen He and Kai Li
Time: April 2, 2019; 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. · Location: Hall of Distinction
Abstract: The comprehensiveness of database is a prerequisite for the quality of scientific works established on this increasingly significant infrastructure. This is especially so for large-scale text-mining analyses of scientific publications facilitated by open-access full-text scientific databases. Given the lack of research concerning the comprehensiveness of this type of academic resource, we conducted a project to analyze the coverage of materials in the PubMed Central Open Access Subset (PMCOAS), a popular source for open-access scientific publications, in terms of the PubMed database. The preliminary results show that the PMCOAS coverage is in a rapid increase in recent years, despite the vast difference by MeSH descriptor.
2) “Graduate Archival Education at iSchools”
Assistant Professor Alex Poole, PhD with Jane Zhang, PhD (Catholic University of America)
Time: April 2, 2019; 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. · Location: Hall of Distinction
Abstract: This poster reports the preliminary findings of ongoing research on archival courses offered by North America graduate archival programs. It compares and contrasts the graduate archives course offerings of iSchools and non-iSchools. The findings will help the Society of American Archivists’ (SAA’s) Graduate Archival Education Subcommittee (GAES) assess the SAA Guidelines for a Graduate Program in Archival Studies (GPAS) and make appropriate recommendations for revision.
3) “Visualizing periodicals published in Guangdong during the Republican Era”
Information Science PhD student Wei Quan with R. Su (Sun Yat-sen University, China)
Time: April 2, 2019; 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. · Location: Hall of Distinction
Abstract: How to better apply computing technologies in humanities research has be-come very important in today’s information-rich environment. Previous work on digital humanities in China has demonstrated the significance of the Republican era in Chinese history. However, periodicals published in the Republican era still need to be further investigated. In this study, we systematically organized and analyzed official periodicals in Guangdong, explored the history of publishing industry from the perspective of historical records, and visualized periodicals according to the publishing organizations, forms, timelines, and archiving locations. We contributed to creating the directory of periodicals (#4569) in Guangdong during the Republican era, categorizing periodicals into publishing organizations, forms, timelines, and archiving locations, etc., and applying visualization techniques to il-lustrate our analyses. We also contributed to preserving and protecting the historical and cultural heritage of the Republican era in Guangdong. Future work includes semantic analyses of periodicals from the content perspective with a focus on publication prerequisites, processes, and ideologies.
About iConference 2019
Hosted by the University of Maryland, College Park in collaboration with Syracuse University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the 2019 theme is inform | include | inspire. Click here for full details.
The iConference is an international gathering of scholars and researchers concerned with critical information issues in contemporary society. All information scholars, researchers and practitioners are welcome — affiliation with the iSchools is not required. For more information on the series, visit the iConference website.