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Shalini Urs

The Commons of Science—Why It Takes a Village: Christine Borgman on Collaboration, Curation, and the Invisible Infrastructure of Knowledge

This article examines the evolution of scientific knowledge infrastructures through the influential work of Christine L. Borgman, Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA. Framed around the concept of science as a commons, it traces a three-decade transformation—from digital libraries in the 1990s to cyberinfrastructure in the 2000s, culminating in today’s sociotechnical framing of knowledge infrastructures. Borgman’s scholarship highlights how data acquire value not in isolation, but through complex systems of people, practices, tools, and institutions that enable their curation, sharing, and reuse.

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Shalini Urs

Reframing Information: From “Information as Thing” to “Everything as Document” to the Identity of iSchools — Conversations with Michael Buckland

Michael Buckland, a pivotal figure in information science, has profoundly shaped the field through his scholarship and leadership. In this episode of InfoFire, Buckland engaged with me on foundational concepts, practical applications, and historical perspectives, offering provocative critiques that challenge conventional thinking. He declared “information” a problematic term— “It is a bad word; it is to be abolished”—arguing that its overloaded meanings obscure clarity. Similarly, he labeled bibliometrics a “pseudoscience,” questioning its methodological rigor. These rhetorical provocations underscore his effort to reframe information science around precise, document-centric frameworks.

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Shalini Urs

LLMs, AI, and the Future of Research Evaluation: A Conversation with Mike Thelwall on Informetrics and Research Impact

In this episode of InfoFire, I sit down with Professor Mike Thelwall, a well accomplished scholar of Informetrics, to explore the intersections of Large Language Models (LLMs) and research evaluation. We delve into how LLMs are reshaping the landscape of research assessment, examining the promises they hold and the challenges they present in ensuring fair, meaningful, and context-aware evaluations.

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Shalini Urs

Whither Open Access? A Fireside Chat with Dr. Jean Claude Guedon, a Sage on the OA Stage

Tune in to this episode of InfoFire, where Dr. Jean-Claude Guédon delves into the history and future possibilities of Open Access, offering his unique perspective on where the movement has been and where it could be heading. Our discussion covered a broad spectrum of topics, including the mission of Open Access, the economics of funding and various business models, the controversial issue of Article Processing Charges (APCs), as well as debates surrounding scientific metrics, copyright issues, and more.

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Shalini Urs

Trends in Health Informatics: Fireside Chat with Dean Javed Mostafa, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto

In this episode of InfoFire, I am in conversation with Professor Javed Mostafa, Dean of the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, Canada, on the topic “Trends in Health Informatics.” Our conversation covered various issues such as Electronic Health Records (EHR); interoperability; EHR and precision medicine; the personalization-privacy paradox; wearable devices and remote health; unstructured health data and machine learning; data analytics; telemedicine; AI and health informatics; and interdisciplinarity in HI.

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Shalini Urs

Tech for Social Good: A Fireside Chat with Arjun Malhotra, Co-founder of HCL

In this installment of InfoFire, I engage in a dialogue with the esteemed Indian entrepreneur and technology luminary, Arjun Malhotra. Best recognized as the co-founder of HCL Technologies, a prominent global IT services firm, Mr. Malhotra’s trajectory has evolved from tech entrepreneurship to Socialpreneurship. As such, our discussion revolves around the theme of “Technology for Social Good: Making a Difference to Many.” Our conversation traversed a wide spectrum, delving into Malhotra and HCL’s personal journey intertwined with the Indian IT revolution, his transition from tech entrepreneur to a ‘Socialpreneur’, challenges in scaling and sustaining social impact initiatives, the role of governments, and more.

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Shalini Urs

AI and India’s IT Odyssey—From Humble Beginnings to Global Dominance: A Fireside Chat with NR Narayana Murthy

Given AI’s dominance and growth potential, there is naturally enormous interest in decoding how AI will impact and shape India’s growth trajectory. To understand the landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Information Technology (IT) industry in India, few voices resonate as profoundly as that of NR Narayana Murthy, the legendary co-founder of Infosys and a pioneering figure in India’s technological journey. With a career spanning decades, Narayana Murthy’s (NRN) insights have not only shaped the trajectory of Indian IT but have also influenced global perceptions of the industry.

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Shalini Urs

AI for Science: A Fireside Chat with Tony Hey, eScience Pioneer

In this InfoFire episode, I am in conversation with eScience pioneer Tony Hey on the topic of “AI for Science.” Our fireside chat commences with the profound words of Richard Feynman, who had a significant influence on Tony Hey, and centers around the two books— Feynman Lectures on Computation: Anniversary Edition and Artificial Intelligence for Science: A Deep Learning Revolution, edited/coedited by Tony Heyand, published in 2023.

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