Original - Information Matters

Mnemohistory, a term coined by German Egyptologist Jan Assmann, refers to the study of how societies remember and construct their historical narratives. Unlike traditional historiography, which focuses on the objective recording and analysis of past events, mnemohistory emphasises the subjective processes through which memories are formed, preserved, and transmitted across generations. It explores the ways in which collective memory shapes, and is shaped by, cultural, social, and political contexts. Mnemohistory investigates the symbols, rituals, and narratives that communities use to create a sense of shared identity and continuity with the past. Originating from the Greek word “mnemos” meaning memory, and “historia,” meaning enquiry or knowledge, mnemohistory looks into the interaction between memory and history, recognising that our understanding of the past is not static but constantly reinterpreted through the lens of present concerns and future aspirations.

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May 17, 2024 Quinn Remington

Resource “Accessibility” Is More Than Just “Posting It Online”

Not everyone has the time and money to book a flight across the world to look at an artifact in person, so how do researchers with limited funding access one-of-a-kind resources? The Internet is a godsend for collaboration, letting us share photos of ancient pottery fragments, 3D scans of mummified tissue, and create virtual tours of ancient Egyptian tombs. However, sharing becomes a little more complicated when that artifact contains thousands of individual pages in 61 diaries, handwritten by a steamship clerk living in nineteenth-century Iraq. The Svoboda Diaries Project (SDP) focuses on exactly that. For nearly two decades, this project has used new and exciting digital preservation methods and extensive collaboration to make these diaries accessible to everyone.

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May 16, 2024 Yhna Therese Santos

Harmonizing Strong Voices: A Case for Collaborative Interpretation

The beauty of qualitative research is that it allows flexibility and embraces nuance in interpretation. Of course, this comes with the recognition that reflexivity is essential to interpretation. However, interpretation becomes challenging when it involves varying perspectives. We (Irish, Gerard, and Yhna) provide an account of our collaborative interpretation experience in, analyzing the Out of the Box Media Literacy Initiative’s Media and Information Literacy for Democracy Handbook.

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May 16, 2024 Theresa Kneppers

Collaborative Audio Responses to an Online Collection/Archive

I am the curator of A David Bomberg Legacy – The Sarah Rose Collection, a group of Modern British artworks by selected members of the David Bomberg and the Borough Group. In my role as the curator of the collection, I have expanded the site of curatorial production to include the Internet, and the archive of digitised material associated with the collection. One of the methods I have experimented to engage users in interpreting the digital collection is to create polyvocal audio recordings.

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May 15, 2024 Jo McKenna-Aspell

Facilitating Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Collaborative Research: How Elicitation Storyboards Help

How can we foster equitable discussions between different groups of people with very different backgrounds and experiences? In our study on embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in usability testing we used storyboards to facilitate collaboration between people who are underrepresented in usability testing with usability researchers. We discuss how storyboards were used to ensure everyone has a voice and can take an active part in discussions.

Original

May 7, 2024 Ruth Xing

A Grad’s Thoughts on Working for JASIST

I write this article now, just over three years after first embarking on my journalism-research journey with Dr. Steve Sawyer, the Editor-in-Chief of JASIST—or, as I know him, Steve. Working with Steve has been eye-opening in a way that reading about academic publishing could never be. I continue to work with Steve as a volunteer for JASIST, and I am still learning new things every day.

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December 11, 2023 Hamid Reza Saeidnia

ChatGPT: A Year Later – Examining Experts’ Opinions, Studies, and Public Perception

Since its release over a year ago, ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, has sparked significant interest and debate surrounding the capabilities and implications of AI-powered conversational systems. As time has passed, experts, researchers, and ordinary users have had the opportunity to assess and analyze the impact of ChatGPT in various domains. This article delves into the developments, opinions, studies, and public perception surrounding ChatGPT since its launch, offering a comprehensive overview of the progress made and the challenges that remain. From expert opinions to research studies and the thoughts of ordinary individuals, this article explores the multifaceted perspectives that have emerged over the course of the past year.

Original

November 7, 2023 Shahan Ahmad Chowdhury

UI Can Make or Break User Information Search Experience

Efficient and effective information search in web platforms is crucial to providing a better digital experience for users in today’s landscape. Whether you are searching for a product in the digital marketplace, researching a topic online, or seeking specific answers to your questions, the user interface (UI) you encounter plays an important role in shaping your search experience. This article highlights the impact of the search experience on users and the importance of getting it right.

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July 7, 2023 Najeem Olawale Adelakun

Navigating Challenges and Future Trends in Sentiment Analysis for Investment Decision Making

Sentiment analysis provides insights that guide investment decisions by analysing and interpreting sentiment from textual data sources such as news articles, social media posts, and financial reports. However, using sentiment analysis to make financial decisions has its own set of issues and constraints.