College of Information Studies

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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.

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    Exploring The Role Of Generative Artificial Intelligence In Cultural Relevant Storytelling For Native Language Learning Among Children
    (2024) Nanduri, Dinesh Kumar; Marsh, Diana E; Information Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    In an era marked by the rapid disappearance of languages, UNESCO warns that nearly half of the world's linguistic heritage might soon become dormant. Despite its current health, Telugu has seen a decline in usage, reduced focus in India's educational systems, and overshadowing by dominant global languages. This thesis explores Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) to counter this trend, focusing on its application in native language learning for children, key carriers of their ancestral tongues. Through scoping reviews and participatory design sessions with young Telugu-speaking learners and their guardians, the study investigates GenAI's role in enhancing language learning tailored to individual and cultural contexts. It highlights storytelling as a potent mechanism for language acquisition, facilitated by GenAI's ability to personalize learning experiences and bridge generational gaps. The research also addresses ethical considerations vital for designing GenAI tools, promoting inclusivity, bias mitigation, and cultural integrity protection. It showcases a future where technology helps prevent linguistic dormancy and empowers children to celebrate human language and cultural diversity.
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    COLLABORATIVE SCIENCE ACROSS THE GLOBE: THE INFLUENCE OF MOTIVATION AND CULTURE ON VOLUNTEERS IN THE UNITED STATES, INDIA, AND COSTA RICA.
    (2013) Rotman, Dana; Preece, Jennifer J; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Reliance on volunteer participation for collaborative scientific projects has become extremely popular in the past decade. Cutting across disciplines, locations, and participation practices, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world are now involved in these studies, and are advancing tasks that scientists cannot accomplish alone. Although existing projects have demonstrated the value of involving volunteers to collect data, few projects have been successful in maintaining volunteer involvement over long periods of time. Therefore, it is important to understand the unique motivations of volunteers and their effect on participation practices, so that effective partnerships between volunteers and scientists can be established. This study provides a first look into the relationship between motivation and culture in the context of ecology-focused collaborative scientific projects around the world. Projects in three distinct cultures - the United States, India, and Costa Rica - were examined by triangulating qualitative and quantitative methods followed by a cross-cultural comparison. The findings reveal a temporal process of participation that is highly dependent on motivation and culture. Initial participation stems in most cases from self-directed motivations. However, as time progresses, the motivational process becomes more complex and includes both self-directed motivations and collaborative motivations. In addition, motivation is strongly modulated by local cultural norms, expectations, and practices. Collaborative and scientific cultures also have an impact throughout the course of the volunteers' participation. This research provides theoretical and practical contributions: its findings extend current understanding of theories of motivation by showing the connection between culture and motivation, and demonstrate how cultural effects lie at the core of motivation and participation practices in volunteer-based collaborative scientific projects. These findings will also inform scientists, project leaders, educators, administrators, and designers on ways to entice and maintain long-term volunteer participation in collaborative scientific projects that are situated in different cultures.