2011 Research Projects

iDiscover: Inspiring Youth to Pursue STEM

Daniel Knopp, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Olivia Green, University of Pittsburgh
Clea Counts, Miami Univeristy of Ohio

This program was an experiment started in 2011 to look into the ways that we can diversify the STEM pipeline by targeting a group of middle-school students in Baltimore, Maryland. We also introduced Information Sciences principles during our presentation, but were limited by the near-complete lack of understanding about Information Sciences by the students at this public school. We worked with several sources to develop a set of handouts and materials that we hoped would assist the students in pursuing STEM and Information Sciences in college. Surveys were administered to gather preliminary data on our efforts. We then created a Wiki (idiscover.wikispot.org) where further development of the project from other parties can continue.

Published at iConference 2013 | Research Poster

Knopp, D., Green, O., & Counts, C. (2013). iDiscover: Inspiring youth to pursue STEM. iConference 2013 Proceedings (pp. 654-656). doi:10.9776/13249

Information Occupation: Using Information Science to Explore Social Movements

Oliver Haimson, Carnegie Mellon University
Joshua Cartagena, Rutgers University

Global social movements of 2011 like the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street were unprecedented in their use of social media as an organizing tool and communication technique. To further explore the role of mobile/social technologies in these movements, we analyze information diffusion in Occupy Wall Street by means of social media over a nine-month period beginning in September 2011 as well as describe the movement’s information ecosystem. Specifically, we perform a network visualization and analysis of Twitter data sets and analyze Twitter volume over time to understand OWS’ information practices. Multi-site, participant observation is utilized to observe these information practices.

Published at iConference 2013 | Research Poster

Haimson, O.L., & Cartagena, J. (2013). Information occupation: Using information science to explore Occupy Wall Street. iConference 2013 Proceedings (pp. 733-737). doi:10.9776/13353

Source Scare: Curriculum Tactics in the Education of Information Literacy and Media Creation

Toni Pizza, Colorado College
Marcia McIntosh, Washington University
Malachi Jones, Randolph Community College

With an ever-evolving technological landscape, educational frameworks must adapt to constant change to compete - let alone participate - in our contemporary, more globalized society. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a model that suggests tools students can use to sift through and re-appropriate information in both critical and creative ways and communicate and collaborate with diverse populations. The integration of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills into a more traditional framework creates a more holistic approach to education. Based on information collected from an extensive literature review, Team Too Cool for Names created a sample curriculum of best practices addressing issues pertaining to information and media literacy.

Research Poster

Undergraduate Student Financial Managers: Improving college students' ability to manage their debt and money

Twanna Hodge, University of the Virgin Islands
Bradley Kuykendall, Lincoln University
Paris Smith, North Carolina State University
Randel Tomina, Michigan State University

The Team investigated the issue of undergraduate student debt and financial management. The team compiled an extensive literature review, considering factors such as student demographics and financial literacy, the effects of widespread loan availability, and the usefulness of financial management resources. The team also explored the creation of a geospatial application for smartphones that would assist students in tracking and managing their daily finances while in college. In its conclusions, Six Sigma successfully categorized and analyzed the financial management resources available to undergraduate students and attempted to expand that discussion with valuable insights.

Research Poster