Archive for the ‘Papers and Presentations’ Category
Monday, January 12th, 2009
From the Summary:
For the first time in more than 25 years, American adults are reading more literature, according to a new study by the National Endowment for the Arts. Reading on the Rise documents a definitive increase in rates and numbers of American adults who read literature, with the biggest increases among young adults, ages 18-24. This new growth reverses two decades of downward trends cited previously in NEA reports such as Reading at Risk and To Read or Not To Read.
Direct to Complete Report (16 pages; PDF)
Source: National Endowment for the Arts
Posted in Education, New Websites and Resources, Papers and Presentations, Source File | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
Cyber Liability & Higher Education — Aon Professional Risk Solutions White Paper (PDF; 226 KB)
Due to the nature and complexity of operations and the academic culture of open access, educational institutions, and in particular, large research-oriented universities, face unique exposures related to the internet and information security and privacy. An overriding challenge that educational institutions face when dealing with privacy and security risks continues to be the fundamental conflict between a culture that values an unfettered exchange of ideas, and the security and privacy of sensitive or private information.
Source: Aon
Posted in Education, Papers and Presentations, Privacy, Technology and Internet | No Comments »
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal
This report is intended for Members and staff assisting grant seekers in districts and states, and it includes writing proposals for both government and private foundations grants. In preparation for writing a proposal, the report first discusses preliminary information gathering and preparation, developing ideas for the proposal, gathering community support, identifying funding resources, and seeking preliminary review of the proposal and support of relevant administrative officials. The second section of the report covers the actual writing of the proposal, from outlining of project goals, stating the purpose and objectives of the proposal, explaining the program methods to solve the stated problem, and how the results of the project will be evaluated, to long-term project planning, and, finally, developing the proposal budget. The last section of the report includes a listing of free grants-writing websites, some in Spanish as well as English, including the Foundation Center’s “Proposal Writing Short Course.” Related CRS reports are CRS Report 97-220, Grants Work in a Congressional Office; CRS Report RL34012, Grants Information for Constituents; and CRS Report RS21117, Ethical Considerations in Assisting Constituents With Grant Requests Before Federal Agencies. This report will be updated as needed.
Source: Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS)
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Government Documents and Political Information, Papers and Presentations, Source File | No Comments »
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009
Border Searches of Laptop Computers and Other Electronic Storage Devices (PDF; 108 KB)
As a general rule, the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires government-conducted searches and seizures to be supported by probable cause and a warrant. Federal courts have long recognized that there are many exceptions to this presumptive warrant requirement, one of which is the border search exception. The border search exception permits government officials, in most “routine” circumstances, to conduct searches based on no suspicion of wrongdoing whatsoever. On the other hand, warrantless searches are permissible in some “non-routine” and particularly invasive situations only when customs officials have “reasonable suspicion” to conduct the search.
The federal courts have universally held that the border search exception applies to laptop computer searches conducted at the border. Although the Supreme Court has not directly addressed the degree of suspicion needed to conduct a warrantless laptop border search, the federal appellate courts that have addressed the issue appear to have concluded that reasonable suspicion is not needed to justify such a search. The Ninth Circuit, in United States v. Arnold, explicitly held that reasonable suspicion is not required to conduct a warrantless search of a laptop at the border.
Two related bills introduced in the 110th Congress, H.R. 6702 and H.R. 6588, would impose more rigorous standards for laptop searches than those the federal courts have determined are constitutionally required.
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, Papers and Presentations, Privacy, Source File, Technology and Internet | No Comments »
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009
Presidential Libraries: The Federal System and Related Legislation (PDF; 72 KB)
Through the National Archives and Records Administration, the federal government currently manages and maintains 12 presidential libraries. Inaugurated with the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955, these entities are privately constructed on behalf of former Presidents and, upon completion, are deeded to the federal government. Deposited within these edifices are the official records and papers of the former President, as well as documentary materials of his family and, often, his political associates. These holdings are made available for public examination in accordance with prevailing law concerning custody, official secrecy, personal privacy, and other similar restrictions. This report provides a brief overview of the federal presidential libraries system and tracks the progress of related legislation (H.R. 1254, H.R. 1255, H.R. 5811, S. 886). It will be updated as events recommend.
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
Posted in Archives and Special Collections, Government Documents and Political Information, History, Libraries and Librarianship, Papers and Presentations, Source File | No Comments »
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Expert and Consumer Evaluation of Consumer Medication Information, 2008
From press release:
A study released today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that the printed consumer medication information (CMI) voluntarily provided with new prescriptions by retail pharmacies does not consistently provide easy-to-read, understandable information about the use and risks of medications.
The study, Expert and Consumer Evaluation of Consumer Medication Information, showed that while most consumers (94 percent) received CMI with new prescriptions, only about 75 percent of this information met the minimum criteria for usefulness as defined by a panel of stakeholders. In 1996, Congress called for 95 percent of all new prescriptions to be accompanied by useful CMI by 2006.
“The current voluntary system has failed to provide consumers with the quality information they need in order to use medicines effectively and safely,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Because the congressional goals have not been met, the FDA intends to seek public comment on initiatives that can be used to meet the goals.”
+ Executive Summary (PDF; 64 KB)
+ Full Report (PDF; 2.4 MB)
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Posted in Information Literacy, Papers and Presentations, Search News, Source File | No Comments »
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Comparison of Legislative Resources on GPO Access and Selected Government and Non-Government Web Sites (PDF; 84 KB)
The goal of this study is to compare legislative information available on GPO Access to that available on selected, relevant Government Web sites and non-Government sites. This analysis compares two separate source bases of Government information to what currently resides on GPO Access. The first includes legislative resources available on external, free Government sites that provide resources to the public at no cost. The second includes legislative resources available on non-Government, commercial, fee-based Web sites. Specifically, this report will examine the following:
- The availability of legislative resources on all of the databases examined
- The scope of the resources on each database
- The source of those resources
- Additional legislative resources and features exclusive to comparable Web sites.
Source: GPO
Hat tip: FGI blog
Posted in Access to Information, Government Documents and Political Information, Papers and Presentations, Search News, Source File, Technology and Internet | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
United States death map revealed
A map of natural hazard mortality in the United States has been produced. The map, featured in BioMed Central’s open access International Journal of Health Geographics, gives a county-level representation of the likelihood of dying as the result of natural events such as floods, earthquakes or extreme weather.
Susan Cutter and Kevin Borden, from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, used nationwide data going back to 1970 to create their map. According to Cutter, “This work will enable research and emergency management practitioners to examine hazard deaths through a geographic lens. Using this as a tool to identify areas with higher than average hazard deaths can justify allocation of resources to these areas with the goal of reducing loss of life”.
Hazard mortality is most prominent in the South, where most people were killed by various severe weather hazards and tornadoes. Other areas of elevated risk are the northern Great Plains Region where heat and drought were the biggest killers and in the mountain west with winter weather and flooding deaths. The south central US is also a dangerous area, with floods and tornadoes posing the greatest threat.
Heat/drought ranked highest among the hazard categories, causing 19.6% of total deaths, closely followed by severe summer weather (18.8%) and winter weather (18.1%). Geophysical events (such as earthquakes), wildfires, and hurricanes were responsible for less than 5% of total hazard deaths combined.
+ Spatial patterns of natural hazards mortality in the United States (PDF; 1.6 MB)
Source: International Journal of Health Geographics (via EurekAlert!)
Hat tip: PW
Posted in Geographic, Papers and Presentations, Science, Source File | No Comments »
Friday, December 12th, 2008
Information Overload Resource Center: Articles, tools and research data about messaging overload and interruptions
Includes research papers on e-mail overload and distractions/interruptions, links to related resources, e-mail-related social issues.
Source: Information Overload Research Group
Posted in Bibliographies, Webliographies, Papers and Presentations, Source File | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Adults and Video Games
More than half – 53% – of all American adults play video games of some kind, whether on a computer, on a gaming console, on a cell phone or other handheld device, on a portable gaming device, or online
Age is the biggest demographic factor in game play by adults. Younger adults are significantly more likely than any other game group to play games, and as age increases game play decreases. Independent of all other factors, younger adults are still more likely to play games.
Among older adults 65+ who play video games, nearly a third play games everyday, a significantly larger percentage than all younger players, of whom about 20% play everyday.
Age is also a factor in determining an individual’s preferred game-playing device. Gaming consoles are the most popular for young adults: 75% of 18-29 year old gamers play on consoles, compared with 68% who use computers, the second most popular device for this age group.
+ Full Report (PDF; 115 KB)
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project
Posted in Papers and Presentations, Search News, Source File, Technology and Internet | No Comments »
Saturday, December 6th, 2008
IFLA Professional Report 112 : Gifts for the Collections: Guidelines for Libraries (PDF; 88 KB)
Gifts represent an important component of the collection-building activities of libraries. These Guidelines focus exclusively on gifts and donations to library collections, whether pro-actively or passively acquired. It is advisable for the library to develop clear processes for handling and evaluating gift offers in accord with the library’s gift policies. This will provide clarity both to library staff and to donors, reduce exposure to risk and potential liabilities and ensure that future opportunities associated with items accepted into the library’s collections can be fully exploited.
Source: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
Posted in Information Science, Libraries and Librarianship, Papers and Presentations, Source File | No Comments »
Thursday, November 27th, 2008
Online Threats to Youth: Solicitation, Harassment, and Problematic Content (PDF; 395 KB)
In the United States, youth have rapidly integrated the Internet into their daily lives (Center for the Digital Future, 2008; Madden, 2006). The recent rise of social media has provided youth with a powerful space for socializing, learning, and engaging in public life (Ito et al., Forthcoming; boyd, 2007; Gross, 2004; Palfrey & Gasser, 2008). The majority of parents say the Internet is a “positive influence” in their children’s lives, while only 7% say it is a “negative influence” (Rideout, 2007).
While there is little doubt that social media can be beneficial for youth, grave concerns have emerged with respect to the dangers posed by networked technology. Many of the contemporary fears parallel those of earlier technologies (Nye, 2007; Springhall, 1998; Potter & Potter, 2001) and unmediated public spaces where youth congregate (Valentine, 2004).
Recently, a “moral panic” (Cohen, 1972; Goode & Ben-Yehuda, 1994) erupted over the potential dangers presented by social network sites (Marwick, 2008; Cassell & Cramer, 2007). As with earlier moral panics (Victor, 1993), media-driven fear mongering was disproportionate to the number of problematic incidents, the actual threats youth face, and the data about youth risks.
That said, there are serious questions that must be addressed to provide an accurate picture of the online environment: 1. What threats do youth face when going online? 2. Where and when are youth most at risk? 3. Which youth are at risk and what makes some youth more at risk than others? 4. How are different threats interrelated?
The goal of this literature review is to map out what is currently known about the risks youth face and the youth who face them to further discussions about online safety. We believe that the first step in helping youth is to understand the problems that are occurring. The best solutions will be those that address real dangers, real risks, and the interrelated dynamics that put youth at risk. We do not discuss potential solutions, but we feel as though the research described in this document is essential for those who are looking to develop solutions.
Source: Internet Safety Technical Task Force
Posted in Papers and Presentations, Social Media, Source File, Technology and Internet, Web 2.0 | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
Schoolhouse Rock Is No Longer Enough: The Presidential Signing Statements Controversy and Its Implications for Library Professionals (PDF; 140 KB)
Presidential signing statements, a potent but previously little-discussed lawmaking device, have recently become the focus of fierce controversy both inside and outside the academy. The author presents an overview of the debates, identifies informational gaps that characterize the subject area, and reviews practical and policy implications for library professionals.
Source: I-Wei Wang, Reference Librarian, Berkeley (Lexis/Nexis Call for Paper Award)
Hat tip: Law Librarian Blog
Posted in Libraries and Librarianship, Papers and Presentations, Source File | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
Cyberchondria: Studies of the Escalation of Medical Concerns in Web Search
The World Wide Web provides an abundant source of medical information. This information can assist people who are not healthcare professionals to better understand health and disease, and to provide them with feasible explanations for symptoms. However, the Web has the potential to increase the anxieties of people who have little or no medical training, especially when Web search is employed as a diagnostic procedure. We use the term cyberchondria to refer to the unfounded escalation of concerns about common symptomatology, based on the review of search results and literature on the Web. We performed a large-scale, longitudinal, log-based study of how people search for medical information online, supported by a large-scale survey of 515 individuals’ health-related search experiences. We focused on the extent to which common, likely innocuous symptoms can escalate into the review of content on serious, rare conditions that are linked to the common symptoms. Our results show that Web search engines have the potential to escalate medical concerns. We show that escalation is influenced by the amount and distribution of medical content viewed by users, the presence of escalatory terminology in pages visited, and a user’s predisposition to escalate versus to seek more reasonable explanations for ailments. We also demonstrate the persistence of post-session anxiety following escalations and the effect that such anxieties can have on interrupting user’s activities across multiple sessions. Our findings underscore the potential costs and challenges of cyberchondria and suggest actionable design implications that hold opportunity for improving the search and navigation experience for people turning to the Web to interpret common symptoms.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 532 KB)
Source: Microsoft Research
See: Microsoft Examines Causes of ‘Cyberchondria’ (New York Times)
Posted in Information Literacy, Papers and Presentations, Source File, Web Search | No Comments »
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
Applicant and Examiner Citations in U.S. Patents: An Overview and Analysis (PDF; 329 KB)
Researchers studying innovation increasingly use indicators based on patent citations. However, it is well known that not all citations originate from applicants—patent examiners contribute to citations listed in issued patents—and that this could complicate interpretation of findings in this literature. In 2001 the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began reporting examiner and applicant citations separately. In this paper, we analyze the prior art citations of all patents granted by the USPTO in 2001-2003. We show that examiner citations account for 63 per cent of all citations on the average patent, and that 40 per cent of patents have all citations added by examiners. We use multivariate regression and analysis of variance to identify the determinants of examiner shares. Examiner shares are highest for non-US applicants and in electronics, communications, and computer-related fields. However, most of the variation is explained by firm-specific variables, with the largest patent applicants having high examiner shares. Moreover, a large number of firms are granted patents that contain no applicant prior art. Taken together, our findings suggest that heterogeneity in firm-level patenting practices, in particular by high-volume applicants, has a strong influence on the data. This suggests that analysis of firm-level differences in patenting strategies is an important topic for future research.
Source: Harvard Business School Working Papers
Posted in Business and Economics, Citation Reports, Intellectual Property, Papers and Presentations, Source File | No Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Clustering Tags in Enterprise and Web Folksonomies
Tags lack organizational structure limiting their utility for navigation. We present two clustering algorithms that improve this by organizing tags automatically. We apply the algorithms to two very different datasets, visualize the results and propose future improvements. Publication Info: To be published and Presented at International Conference on Weblogs & Social Media, Seattle, March 31st, 2008
+ Full Paper (PDF; 231 KB)
Source: HP Labs
Posted in Info Management and Retrieval, Papers and Presentations, Social Media, Source File, Web 2.0 | No Comments »
Monday, November 17th, 2008
Social Media Leads the Future of Technology
From Facebook to smartphones, advances in technology are changing the way we work and communicate. Professor David Yoffie led three experts in a recent panel discussion on “The Technology Revolution and its Implications for the Future” at the HBS Centennial Business Summit. Key concepts include:
- A lot of growth potential remains worldwide.
- The sticking point for business is spanning the gap between the physical and digital worlds. For example, it remains difficult to figure out consumers’ specific intent on the Web.
- What people want most of all is technology that is simple to use, said one panelist.
Source: Harvard Business School
Posted in Business and Economics, Papers and Presentations, Social Media, Source File, Web 2.0 | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008
Tune It Up: Creating and Maintaining the Institutional Repository Revolution
The explosion of recent open access repositories and the future desire for global open access to scholarly communication has prompted the need to have more credible resources for new authors. This article highlights some of the areas in which creators need to be informed concerning repositories, including software information, peer-review advocacy, and the need for more literature on mature repositories and how they interact with scholarly communication.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 92 KB)
Source: Nicole Carpenter (via E-LIS)
Posted in Digital Repositories, Papers and Presentations, Scholarly Publishing, Source File | No Comments »
Sunday, November 9th, 2008
Iraq’s Cultural Heritage: Preserving the Past for the Sake of the Future
This USIPeace Briefing discusses the continued looting of Iraqi antiquities and measures that have been taken to recover and protect Iraq’s cultural heritage. In addition, it highlights the value of international law and policing to prevent such crimes.
Source: U.S. Institute of Peace
Posted in Archives and Special Collections, Arts and Humanities, History, Museums & Online Exhibits, Papers and Presentations, Source File | No Comments »
Friday, November 7th, 2008
Pervasive Media: Delivering ‘the right thing in the moment’
21st Century lifestyles and business practices demand value delivery on the move and in many situations. An explosion in mobile services is being fuelled by the availability of powerful media-rich mobile devices and pervasive networking. Successful solutions in this high growth area will be those that can deliver ‘the right thing in the moment’. That is, high value services will be those that are tuned to the user’s situation and so deliver the best experience. Delivering the right thing in the moment changes the way content is consumed and the timing of its availability. It changes the use of space and time and so: the way the creative industries think about delivering content, the way advertisers think about just in time messaging and tracking; and the way information is accessed throughout an organization. This paper considers the implications for technology and application research. We describe the need for: an extensible and scaleable context framework with privacy, trust and security policies embedded; new modes of interface between the physical and the digital environment; and a programme that builds expertise amongst practitioners as the technology develops in its early stages.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 99 KB)
Source: HP Labs
Posted in Papers and Presentations, Real-Time Information, Source File, Web 2.0, Webcasts and Podcasts, Wireless Web and Search | No Comments »
