Prof. Lynne Teather - Faculty of Information - University of Toronto

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Faculty News grantS & aWarDS THrEE iscHooL ProFEssors AWArdEd ssHrc GrANTs Professors Barbara craig and Twyla Gibson have been awarded prestigious SSHRC grants. Prof. Craig’s grant of nearly $64,000 over four years will be used to build upon her 2005 national survey of practicing archivists in Canada. The funding will support her research into the practice of archival appraisal in Canadian archives. Appraisal is the term used to describe the processes and rationales for making choices of resources to save for ongoing research into the richness of Canada’s many pasts. The study will feature interviews with cross-disciplinary users of archives (the public, historical geographers, historians, etc.) with the aim of reaching a more comprehensive understanding of appraisal practice, and also of the conceptions users have about that practice. Prof. Gibson’s SSHRC grant of $89,000 over two years will foster research on digital text analysis tools to further her comparative studies of ancient literature and media. Her research focuses on a case study of the Hippocratic Oath and code of ethics as the philosophical foundation for professional ethics in information (as well as in medicine, science, engineering, and business). The objective is to prototype techniques for large-scale comparative analyses of repeating patterns of classification in ancient writings and visual media across many different cultures and time periods. Both Prof. Craig’s and Prof. Gibson’s SSHRC projects will support iSchool graduate student researchers at the doctoral and master’s levels. Professor Matt ratto has been awarded more than $23,000 to investigate the potential of digital desktop fabrication. He and Professor david Wolfe (U of T Mississauga Political Science, Centre for International Studies), were each awarded Knowledge Synthesis Grants on the Digital Economy, a one-time initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), which aims to address critical knowledge gaps. Despite the potentially far-reaching effects that new developments may bring to the private, public and not-for-profit sectors both within Canada and internationally, there is little social science and humanities research currently underway in this area. Through his Critical Making Laboratory, Prof. Ratto plans to inform future best practices in this rapidly evolving field while training new highly qualified personnel. ProF. ANdrEW cLEMENT rEcEiVEs PriVAcy FuNdiNG For rEsEArcH Professor Andrew clement is one of thirteen recipients to receive funding from the 2010-2011 Contributions Program from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. The awards, totaling $98,000, will fund privacy research and public education initiatives, and are affiliated with Prof. Clement’s involvement in The New Transparency: Surveillance and Social Sorting research project. The first project, A Privacy Protective “Proportionate ID Digital Wallet” for Canadians: Open Prototyping and Public Policy Alternatives, proposes to demonstrate the value of a digital device (“mobile wallet”) as a privacy-protective alternative to current identification. The second project, “Smart” Private Eyes in Public Places? video Surveillance Analytics, New Privacy Threats and Protective Alternatives, proposes to examine the use of video analytics (“smart” processing) in the area of video surveillance. ProF. Eric yu rEcEiVEs NsErc discoVEry GrANT Congratulations to Professor Eric yu who was awarded a NSERC Discovery Grant of $200,000 over five years, to further his research on agent-oriented modeling. His work on intentional strategic actor relationships (i*) modeling was a basis for the International Standard Z.151 adopted at the ITU-T in November last year. ProF. MATT rATTo AWArdEd LEAdEr’s oPPorTuNiTy FuNd GrANT Professor Matt ratto was awarded a Leader’s Opportunity Fund grant by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Ontario Research Fund. The $85,000 grant will support Prof. Ratto’s work on the “materialization of information” and was used to purchase rapid prototyping equipment including a 3D printer, laser cutter, and computercontrolled mill for research use in his Critical Making Laboratory. cLicK To rEAd oN-LiNE > 10 informed | autumn 2010
iscHooL ProFEssor BriNGs rEAdiNG To FirsT NATioN coMMuNiTiEs Professor Nadia caidi received $80,000 from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to finance the On-Demand Book Service (ODBS), to provide several First Nation communities with better access to books and digital materials. The project is a collaboration between Keewaytinook Okimakanak (KO), a non-political Chiefs’ Council serving communities in northern Ontario, and the iSchool. As a result, KO First Nation community, Keewaywin, and two others, will be given a set of ODBS equipment and content (a list of titles purchased in consultation with members of the community), as part of a pilot initiative. “The aim is to explore the realities, barriers, and challenges to reading in First Nation communities, particularly in remote and isolated areas of Northern Ontario,” said Prof. Caidi. “The key element is the importance of reading in one’s life and how we can support it.” The project provided students from both the Information and Culture in a Global Context course and Information Workshops an opportunity to engage in meaningful and respectful community-based research. The ODBS responds to the community’s collective desire for libraries to offer balanced access to both physical books and information technology, as identified and recommended in reports by Ontario Library Services North, among others. The ODBS equipment, as well as the ODBS portal (http://odbs.knet.ca), will enable teachers and students at the Keewaywin Public School to print and bind digital content, create and publish their own content, and create digital archives. The project also examines the communities’ reading needs and preferences, in order to “identify content that would appeal to them, based on various target populations,” Prof. Caidi added. At the conference, “Reading in First Nations: Infrastructure, Access & Imagination,” held in late March, the ODBS equipment was showcased in Keewaywin via video conferencing, and included a do-ityourself book scanner (which can scan a 400-page book in less than half an hour), developed by PhD student daniel reetz. The day began with a keynote address by acclaimed aboriginal author drew Hayden Taylor, who discussed his reading experiences growing up in Curve Lake First Nation, and reflected on the lack of Aboriginal writers to serve as role models. Prof. Caidi said future plans include the development of the ODBS portal into a virtual space where community members can access and meet people such as Mr. Taylor, in order to ask questions and be inspired. The ODBS is made possible in collaboration with K-NET Services in Sioux Lookout and KO Research Institute (KORI) in Thunder Bay. ProF. HEATHEr MAcNEiL WiNs HuGH A. TAyLor PrizE Professor Heather MacNeil was awarded the Hugh A Taylor Prize for her article, “Archivalterity: Rethinking Original Order,” which appeared in Archivaria 66 (Fall 2008). The prize is awarded annually for the Archivaria article that presents new or refreshed ideas in imaginative ways by “extending the boundaries of archival theory in new directions.” Prof. MacNeil was awarded a cash prize and certificate, which commends her usage of cross-disciplinary insight “to explore the relationship between original order, archival arrangement, and notions of authenticity and representation,” and notes that it “offers many possibilities for enhanced archival practice.” NOTEWORTHY FAcuLTy oF iNForMATioN rEAccrEdiTEd By ALA Master of Information (MI) students depend on having an accredited degree in order to have credibility and the externally-validated academic qualifications required in the information workplace. U of T’s Faculty of Information has been accredited by the American Library Association (ALA) since 1937, when the iSchool’s BLS program first received ALA approval. This year, the External Review Panel of the ALA found the MI program met the ALA Committee on Accreditation’s “Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies,” and was approved June 2010. “This status validates the hard work of our faculty, staff, alumni, and students in the iSchool,” said dean seamus ross. Accredited programs are monitored regularly through annual reporting processes and periodic intensive reviews. They must meet or exceed standards regarding mission, goals and objectives; curriculum; faculty; students; administration and financial support; and physical resources and facilities. informed | autumn 2010 11
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Prof. Lynne Teather - Faculty of Information - University of Toronto

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