Information Studies Research Works
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1632
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Item Four Tensions: An LIS Forward Response(Coalition of iSchools (LIS Forward), 2025-03-20) Gibson, Amelia N.; Fenlon, Katrina; Marsh, Diana; Van Hyning, Victoria; Baron, JasonItem Supporting Cultural Rights and Indigenous Sovereignty through Archival Repatriation(PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, 2024-09-21) Sorensen, Amanda H.; Bull, Ia; Marsh, Diana; Lee, SamanthaPrimary source materials are irreplaceable cultural resources for the communities in which they originated, particularly when they derive from Native and Indigenous communities (Parezo 1999). These communities have been disenfranchised from their own information, data, and knowledge through the evidentiary and collecting practices of historical anthropological researchers, as well as the actions of archives, museums, and other collecting institutions. Knowledge extraction, wherein practitioners collect data for their own uses without appreciation of originating community perspectives or needs to access the data, was frequent in the early years of the discipline (First Archivists Circle 2007; Christen and Anderson 2019, 92-3). This localized information (regarding religious or ceremonial practices, for example) was dispersed to archives worldwide via what scholars have called an “archival diaspora” (Punzalan 2014a), effectively removing archives from the hands of originating communities. Furthermore, anthropologists have at times created field records in the context of assimilation and genocide, or through imbalanced and unethical power relations (O’Neal 2014). These historical factors underscore the ethical responsibility of archivists and data curators to provide community access to archival and unpublished information. There is a strong need for political and legal anthropologists, cultural heritage professionals, and policy writers to not only center human rights in ongoing research, but also to place Indigenous Knowledge Systems at the core of their efforts (O’Neal 2019, 50). We argue that the repatriation of archival materials (including physical repatriation but also encompassing ownership transfer or shared stewardship) is crucial to protecting “moral and material interests” embedded in community knowledge, language, storytelling, survivance, and the wider “cultural life of the community” (United Nations 2007).Item Reviving anthropology's past: Digital archival access and ethical collaboration with Indigenous communities(Wiley, 2023-12-19) Sorensen, Amanda H.; Lee, Samantha; Marsh, Diana E.; Fenlon, Katrina; Punzalan, Ricardo L.This article outlines the revitalization of the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR) to adapt to the changing dynamics of archival data reuse in anthropology. It begins by examining the prevailing discourse on anthropological data, archives and their reuse, then explores interdisciplinary data curation trends. Recent initiatives include collaborations with Wikipedia and Wikidata and innovative design strategies to improve access to anthropological archives. The article also discusses the ethical and logistical challenges faced during this transformation. The overarching vision presented is to position CoPAR as a central hub that connects archivists, anthropologists and Indigenous communities, ensuring streamlined and ethical access to anthropological records in the digital realm.Item Benford’s Law applies to word frequency rank in English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian(PLoS, 2023-09-14) Golbeck, JenniferBenford’s Law states that, in many real-world data sets, the frequency of numbers’ first digits is predicted by the formula log(1 + (1/d)). Numbers beginning with a 1 occur roughly 30% of the time, and are six times more common than numbers beginning with a 9. We show that Benford’s Law applies to the the frequency rank of words in English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. We calculated the frequency rank of words in the Google Ngram Viewer corpora. Then, using the first significant digit of the frequency rank, we found the FSD distribution adhered to the expected Benford’s Law distribution. Over a series of additional corpora from sources ranging from news to books to social media and across the languages studied, we consistently found adherence to Benford’s Law. Furthermore, at the user-level on social media, we found Benford’s Law holds for the vast majority of users’ collected posts and significant deviations from Benford’s Law tends to be a mark of spam bots.Item Piloting Reparative Description and Metadata in SNAC via the Indigenous Description Group(Descriptive Notes, 2024-04-02) Bull, Ia; Chapman, Lindsey; Curliss, Lydia; Hamilton, Mik; Marsh, Diana; Martin, Worthy; Miller, Jerrid Lee; Pipestem, Veronica; Smoke, Ugoma; Sorensen, Amanda H; Stoner, MelissaArchivists have recognized the need to rethink how this knowledge can be better represented, not only to heal previous harms but also to make information more accessible and usable for communities. A number of professional organizations and working groups have been developing inclusive description policies, resources, and approaches that can be leveraged in a wide range of institutional contexts. In March 2023, we launched Indigenous Description Group (IDG)–modeled after SNAC’s Enslaved Description Group (EDG)–within SNAC’s Editorial Standards Working Group. The goals of the IDG are to 1) improve accessibility to archival collections for Indigenous Tribal communities; 2) mitigate harm caused by extractive collecting processes; and 3) engage in reparative description across systems, at scale, and in an interoperable way.Item Editorial Guide for Indigenous Entity Descriptions in SNAC(2022-03) Curliss, Lydia; Marsh, Diana; Gates, Irene; Satriano, Katherine; Simmons, Jerry; Herbert, DinaThis editorial guide was originally created for participants in the SNAC Indigenous edit-a-thon and for future editors when considering Indigenous records. This editorial guide considers best practices in the field as they apply to the Social Networks and Archival Context (abbreviated as SNAC) platform but we hope that this may lead to changes in other databases, platforms, and practices. While we pull from multiple sources, this is not exhaustive, and will change as new protocols, resources, policies, and other documentation becomes available in the field.Item A New Committee Launches: Making a Case for Archival Repatriation(2024-01) Punzalan, Ricardo; Arsenault, Jaime; Begay, Vina; Chaterera-Zambuko, Forget; Marsh, Diana; Savory, Jacob; Schlottmann, Kevin; Stoner, Melissa; Schmitt, JackAccess to and community possession of archival materials containing Native and Indigenous knowledge, language, and lifeways is crucial to the cultural survivance, revital- ization, and continuation of communities. Nevertheless, archival organizations have yet to fully address how the profession might approach the growing demand for archival repatriation. In response, the Society of American Archivists formed the Archival Repatriation Committee with the charge to “[E]nsure that [SAA]’s services, activities, policies, communications, and products support the goal of supporting archivists in repatriating and receiving archival materials.”Item The Protocols for Native American Archival Materials and Description(2021-04-15) Buchanan, Rose; Marsh, DianaThe Protocols for Native American Archival Materials (PNAAM) establish best practices for the culturally responsive care and use of Native American archival materials, particularly materials that are housed in non-Tribal institutions. Following SAA’s endorsement of PNAAM as an external standard in 2018, the Native American Archives Section (NAAS) launched a case studies and webinar series about implementing them. These resources include guidelines for providing culturally appropriate and accurate descriptive information for Native American and Indigenous collections.Item Unpacking Social Media’s Role in Resource Provision: Variations across Relational and Communicative Properties(MDPI, 2014-10-23) Vitak, JessicaNew information and communication technologies (ICTs) challenge existing beliefs regarding the exchange of social resources within a network. The present study examines individuals’ perceived access to social, emotional, and instrumental resources by analyzing relational and Facebook-specific characteristics of dyadic relationships. Results suggest that the social and technical affordances of the site—including visibility of content and connections, as well as streamlined processes for interacting with a large audience—may augment existing perceptions of resource access for some ties while providing a major (or sole) outlet to interact and exchange resources with others. Specifically, weaker ties appear to benefit more than strong ties from engagement in directed communication and relationship maintenance strategies, while additional variations were observed across relationship category, dyad composition, and geographic proximity. In summary, these findings provide new evidence for how positive relational gains may be derived from site use.Item Environmental Factors Affecting Where People Geocache(MDPI, 2016-04-12) Golbeck, Jennifer; Neustaedter, CarmanOutdoor leisure activities are important for public health as well as family cohesiveness, yet environmental factors may easily affect someone’s ability to participate in such activities. We explored this with a focus on the social web-based treasure hunt game called Geocaching. We collected data on all US and Canadian geocaches from OpenCaching.com and conducted an online survey with twenty geocachers as a follow-up to our data analysis. Data analysis showed that geocaches were more often found in areas that were wealthier, better educated, younger, and more urban, and had higher population density and better weather. Survey results showed similar trends: Most people actively thought about where they would cache and tried to minimize risks, despite cache hiders thinking less about these concerns. These results further emphasize the importance of environmental factors when it comes to participation in outdoor activities and leads to Human–Computer Interaction design implications for location-based online social activities.