July 2024 – DigitalKoans

Open Publishing Platform Manager at Texas A&M University

The Open Publishing Platform Manager will be responsible for managing the overall operation of the open publishing platform, Pressbooks site, for all TAMU System entities. In addition, they are responsible for managing the design and layout specifications to create, maintain, and transmit digital files that will be used in the publication of the openly licensed textbooks. This position will consult and lead faculty and/or staff with complex instructional design within the open publishing framework to create content for online textbooks and ensure that all material in each publication is openly licensed and all conditions for fair use and/or open licensing are satisfied.

Job Ad

"AI Is Complicating Plagiarism. How Should Scientists Respond?"

A central question is whether using unattributed content written entirely by a machine — rather than by a human — counts as plagiarism. Not necessarily, say many researchers. For example, the European Network for Academic Integrity, which includes universities and individuals, defines the prohibited or undeclared use of AI tools for writing as "unauthorized content generation" rather than as plagiarism as such.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02371-z

Research Data Management Librarian at University of Miami

Reporting to the Director of Research Data & Open Scholarship, the Research Data Management Librarian is responsible for research data-oriented pedagogical and support services for students, faculty and staff across UM’s campuses. The person in this role will provide guidance for research data management, open science, data curation, data literacy, and data publishing, as well as play an important role in teaching, developing workshops, course support, consultations, and small group/one-on-one instruction for a range of disciplines across the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

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Paywall: "Metadata Management in Data Lake Environments: A Survey"

Data lakes are storage repositories that contain large amounts of data in its native format; either structured ssemi-structured or unstructured, to be used when needed. . . .This survey congregates different facets of metadata management in data lakes and presents a global view along with the technological implications and the required features for building successful metadata management systems. Besides, this survey summarizes and discusses research gaps, open problems and main challenges facing both industrialists and academics.

https://doi.org/10.1080/19386389.2024.2359310

Research Data Librarian at University of Pittsburgh

The position provides support and expertise to students, faculty, and researchers engaged in research data management planning, data acquisition, data sharing, and computational research methods. This position emphasizes collaborating with researchers and students primarily in the sciences and social sciences; however, supporting data practices and literacies in a wide variety of disciplines is also expected.

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"Breach of Academic Values and Misconduct: The Case of Sci-Hub"

This paper investigates the growing evidence of research-related misconduct by developing and testing a theoretical framework. We study the deep causes of misconduct by asking whether the perception of an erosion of the core academic values, formally an ideology-based psychological contract breach, is associated with research-related misconduct. We test our framework by examining the use of Sci-Hub and providing empirical evidence that the loss of faith in scientific research sparkles research-related misconduct against publishers. Based on a stratified sample of 2849 academics working in 30 institutions in 6 European countries, we find that ideology-based psychological contract breach explains Sci-Hub usage, also when controlling for other possible motivations. The magnitude of the effect depends on contextual and demographic characteristics. Females, foreign, and tenured scholars are less likely to download papers illegally when experiencing a contract breach of academic values. Our results suggest that policies restoring academic values might also address research-related misconduct.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11192-024-05046-8

Data Infrastructure Librarian at University of Toronto (Term)

Working under the direction of the lead service librarian and working closely with the SP [Scholars Portal]data services team, which includes programmers, developers, analysts, and librarians, the Data Infrastructure Librarian will play a key role in ensuring the efficient operations of technical repository data systems and infrastructure developments in Odesi, Scholars GeoPortal, and Borealis, including leading technical development of service platforms and managing technical policies, procedures, code repositories, and documentation in support of SP’s data systems and repository services.

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Paywall: "Engagement Scenarios for Tomorrow’s Library Labs"

This article looks at ways that researchers engage with library [technology] labs and proposes a lab engagement pyramid to distinguish models for deploying trained staff and resources within the library lab space. A lab in an academic library requires the right mindset, skill set, tool set, programs, and staffing. The authors posit that a lab will be most successful if the library identifies the conditions that are desirable for the proposed lab space before it is designed and built. When a lab is already in existence but is underutilized, changing engagement strategies can lead to new growth.

https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2024.a931768

Publishing & Open Repository Administrator at University of Tennessee, Knoxville

The Publishing and Open Repository Administrator manages the full spectrum of daily operations for two large systems: our institutional repository platform, Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange (TRACE), as well as V.O.L Journals, our journal publishing service. This position designs and develops service strategies, technical solutions, communication workflows and policies for the publishing services delivered by these systems. This position tests and assesses the success of these services.

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"Reproducible and Attributable Materials Science Curation Practices: A Case Study"

While small labs produce much of the fundamental experimental research in Material Science and Engineering (MSE), little is known about their data management and sharing practices and the extent to which they promote trust in and transparency of the published research. In this research, a case study is conducted on a leading MSE research lab [at MIT] to characterize the limits of current data management and sharing practices concerning reproducibility and attribution. The workflows are systematically reconstructed, underpinning four research projects by combining interviews, document review, and digital forensics. Then, information graph analysis and computer-assisted retrospective auditing are applied to identify where critical research information is unavailable orat risk.

Data management and sharing practices in this leading lab protect against computer and disk failure; however, they are insufficient to ensure reproducibility or correct attribution of work,especiallywhen a group member withdraws before the project completion.Therefore, recommendations for adjustments in MSE data management and sharing practices are proposed to promote trustworthiness and transparency by adding lightweight automated file-level auditing and automated data transfer processes.

https://doi.org/10.2218/ijdc.v18i1.940

Collections Strategist at University of Michigan (HathiTrust Digital Library)

HathiTrust Digital Library is a partnership of academic and research institutions offering a collection of 18+ million titles digitized from libraries around the world. We are administratively based at the University of Michigan Library and our staff are employees of the University. HathiTrust is in a period of transformational change. HathiTrust has recently released a new 5-year strategic vision. The Collections Strategist will help us accomplish this vision by positioning us to increase access to and use of an expanded, diversified, and enhanced collection. You will be responsible for developing and implementing a collection strategy and supporting the development of new collection uses in alignment with the Strategic Vision.

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Paywall: "Copyright and Text and Data Mining: Is the Current Legislation Sufficient and Adequate?"

This paper presents the basic aspects of legislation applicable to text and data mining activities. It offers a detailed comparative analysis of the norms of the main jurisdictions that have regulated them to date [Japan, UK, US, and EU] highlighting in each case the positive and negative aspects.

https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2024.a931775

Data Analysis & Visualization Librarian – Libraries at West Virginia University

The Data Analysis & Visualization Librarian will deliver specialized research support aimed at skill development and training, information sharing, and advocacy on statistical software and data visualization, locating advising on data privacy regulations and ethical considerations. Candidates with strong data analysis and visualization experience inside or outside the traditional library setting are encouraged to apply.

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Paywall: "What Is Research Data ‘Misuse’? And How Can It Be Prevented or Mitigated?"

In the article, we emphasize the challenge of defining misuse broadly and identify various forms that misuse can take, including methodological mistakes, unauthorized reuse, and intentional misrepresentation. We pay particular attention to underscoring the complexity of defining misuse, considering different epistemological perspectives and the evolving nature of scientific methodologies. We propose a theoretical framework grounded in the critical analysis of interdisciplinary literature on the topic of misusing research data, identifying similarities and differences in how data misuse is defined across a variety of fields, and propose a working definition of what it means to "misuse" research data. Finally, we speculate about possible curatorial interventions that data intermediaries can adopt to prevent or respond to instances of misuse.

https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24944

Digitization Project Manager – HBCU Digital Library Trust at Atlanta University Center

The Digitization Project Manager will coordinate and implement in-house digitization, metadata creation, and online access of a range of unique and original archival materials, including but not limited to photographs, documents, publications, and audio and video formats from HBCU Libraries located around the U.S. The incumbent will also provide support for participating libraries as they prepare collections for digitization, which will include basic archival processing and preservation techniques. The incumbent will coordinate the outsourced digitization of audiovisual formats, including working with commercial vendors as needed.

Job Ad

"Considerations and Challenges for Collecting Digital Games in Academic Libraries"

The gaming industry is increasingly moving toward the digital distribution of games, making games available as digital downloads licensed to single end-user consumers from online storefronts rather than releasing games on physical media like discs or cartridges. Libraries have adapted to similar shifts in the distribution of books and audiovisual materials largely by licensing content from ebook and digital video vendors, but there are currently no such vendors or platforms set up to license digital games to libraries in ways comparable to these other kinds of electronic resources. This paper reports on findings from interviews with librarians at 13 academic libraries in the US who are beginning to explore digital game collecting efforts, presenting some of the key considerations for how libraries might approach digital game licenses as well as the major challenges, issues, and factors that will influence digital game collecting.

https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24944

Research Data Librarian at University of Tennessee Libraries

As a member of the department of Data and Digital Scholarship, the Research Data Librarian works with research experts to support scholarship and research success across the UTK community including groups such as the Office of Innovative Technologies (OIT) and the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development (ORIED). They support scholars through research consultations in the areas of open science, open data, data management, data sharing, data preservation; workshops and course-integrated instruction; development of online research guides; outreach; and active participation with their colleagues in Data and Digital Scholarship and throughout the Libraries, specifically Research Impact and Open Access and Digital Initiatives. They collaborate with colleagues on data-related initiatives and projects to develop services within the libraries and broader campus community. They integrate data ethics, justice, accessibility, and equity into the provision of data services. Librarians are expected to be active professionally and to contribute to developments in the field.

Job Ad

Paywall: "Digital Curation Practices on Web and Social Media Archiving in Libraries and Archives"

Qualitative research was undertaken to explore the archiving practices through semi-structured interviews with 13 practitioners working in international libraries and archives at national and institutional levels across three continents. . . . Challenges were found in barriers to social media acquisition, lack of awareness, limited resources for preservation, uneven technical capacity, copyright and privacy concerns, and meeting user demands.

https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006241252661

Processing and Digital Archivist – Tufts Archival Research Center

The Processing and Digital Archivist is focused on the processing and description of archival collections held within Tufts Archival Research Center at Tufts University.. . . . This work will include refining, implementing, and executing processes that enable effective acquisition, appraisal, description, preservation, access to and security of born-digital and hybrid archival collections acquired and stewarded by TARC.

The Processing and Digital Archivist will collaborate with TARC staff in developing new acquisitions and transfer models for managing born-digital content, including post-custodial approaches.

Job Ad

"Capturing Captions: Using AI to Identify and Analyse Image Captions in a Large Dataset of Historical Book Illustrations"

This article outlines how AI methods can be used to identify image captions in a large dataset of digitised historical book illustrations. This dataset includes over a million images from 68,000 books published between the eighteenth and early twentieth centuries, covering works of literature, history, geography, and philosophy. The article has two primary objectives. First, it suggests the added value of captions in making digitized illustrations more searchable by picture content in online archives. To further this objective, we describe the methods we have used to identify captions, which can effectively be re-purposed and applied in different contexts. Second, we suggest how this research leads to new understandings of the semantics and significance of the captions of historical book illustrations. The findings discussed here mark a critical intervention in the fields of digital humanities, book history, and illustration studies.

https://tinyurl.com/bdvjespp

Assistant Director (University Collections and Digital Services) at University of Essex

A member of the Leadership Team, reporting to the Director and University Librarian, you will lead the teams covering content and collections, special collections, archives and art collections, and the digital infrastructure of the Section. . . .

The immediate priorities for the role will be to work with the team on the following areas:

Developing our services in licensed digital content, ensuring they remain responsive to the evolving needs of the University and its growing student body groupings. . . .

Developing a roadmap for the digitisation, prioritisation and management of our special collections and archives and art collections.

Developing a roadmap for our digital platforms and services, and identifying where we can use systems to be more efficient and reduce workload burden.

Job Ad

"Training to Act FAIR: A Pre-Post Study on Teaching FAIR Guiding Principles to (Future) Researchers in Higher Education"

With a pre-post test design, the study evaluates the short-term effectiveness of FAIR training on students’ scientific suggestions and justifications in line with FAIR’s guiding principles. The study also assesses the influence of university legal frameworks on students’ inclination towards FAIR training. Before FAIR training, 81.1% of students suggested that scientific actions were not in line with the FAIR guiding principles. However, there is a 3.75-fold increase in suggestions that adhere to these principles after the training. Interestingly, the training does not significantly impact how students justify FAIR actions. The study observes a positive correlation between the presence of university legal frameworks on FAIR guiding principles and students’ inclination towards FAIR training.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-024-09547-2

Director – Research Data, Library, and Archival Services & Co-Director MBLWHOI [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution] Library

Collaborates with the MBLWHOI Library co-director on the planning, development, and administration of the MBLWHOI Library to advance its goals while responding to future opportunities and challenges.

Provides leadership and knowledge in scientific research data curation, tools, and practices, including format migration, preservation, metadata, discovery, provenance, and data access.

Serves as liaison to institution and laboratory committees; forges strong relationships and collaborations across the institutions; articulates program goals to external and internal constituencies; advocates on behalf of the library with stakeholders, communicating the value of library resources and services in supporting the broader institution mission, initiatives, and programs.

Manages day-to-day operations of the WHOI Research Data and Library Services group, including contract negotiations and budgeting, managing employees, and overseeing physical space and collections.

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"AI and Medical Images: Addressing Ethical Challenges to Provide Responsible Access to Historical Medical Illustrations"

This article examines the ethical considerations and broader issues around access to digitised historical medical images. These illustrations and, later, photographs are often extremely sensitive, representing disability, disease, gender, and race in potentially harmful and problematic ways. In particular, the original metadata for such images can include demeaning and sometimes racist terms. Some of these images show sexually explicit and violent content, as well as content that was obtained without informed consent. Hiding these sensitive images can be tempting, and yet, archives are meant to be used, not locked away. Through a series of interviews with 10 archivists, librarians, and researchers based in the UK and US, the authors show that improved access to medical illustrations is essential to produce new knowledge in the humanities and medical research, as well as to bridge the gap between historical and modern understandings of the human body. Improving access to medical illustration can also help to address the "gender data gap", which has acquired mainstream visibility thanks to the work of activists such as Caroline Criado-Perez, the author of Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men.

https://tinyurl.com/3jek7ey4

"The Promotion and Implementation of Open Science Measures among High-Performing Journals from Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain"

This study empirically examined the promotion and implementation of open science measures among high-performing journals of Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain. Journal policy related to data sharing, materials sharing, preregistration, open peer review, and consideration of preprints and replication studies was gathered from the websites of the journals. . . . Analyses found a higher promotion of open science measures among Brazilian journals than their Portuguese counterparts, and higher promotion of open science measures among international journals than their domestic counterparts. Analyses found higher implementation of open science measures among Brazilian journals than their Portuguese and Mexican counterparts. One journal out of 40 encouraged preregistration of studies; none encouraged replication studies and none had implemented open peer review.

https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1616