The Pacific Information and Communication Technology for Development Collaborative (PICTDC)

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The Pacific Information and Communication Technology for Development Collaborative (PICTDC) promotes the study of innovative scholarly and applied research and programs on the social and economic implications of information and communications technology in the Pacific region, emphasizing the potential uses of technology for social good, promotion of digital inclusiveness, sustainably improving the quality of life, and empowering public discourse on good governance.

Project web site: http://pictdc.socialsciences.hawaii.edu/index.html

Co-director- Dr. Jennifer Sunrise Winter

Social Q&A

The opportunities and dangers of increasing reliance on user-generated and user-vetted information sources require concerted study. To that end, Rich Gazan is Co-PI with Chirag Shah of Rutgers University on a 3-year, $491K Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to study online Q&A in STEM education, to develop and field test a Q&A module that will allow STEM learners to assess crowdsourced information alongside more traditionally authoritative sources.

Responsible faculty- Dr. Rich Gazan.

The LINQ Forum

The Librarians’ Inquiry Forum (LINQ) is a practitioner-centric learning model that explores how reflective, critical inquiry implemented over social media positions public librarians as collaborative researchers of the impacts of their own professional practices on patrons, stakeholders, co-workers, themselves, and the community at-large.

LINQ takes into consideration ways in which the interrelationship between technologies and social practices affect forms of knowledge co-construction amongst communities of practice. LINQ librarians “read while they work” as a means of studying the ways in which practice becomes data to be collected, examined, unpacked, and processed for knowledge creation for better best information services and professional leadership. For more information, see: https://linqforum.weebly.com/.

Principal Investigator- Dr. Vanessa Irvin.

The UniDescription Project

How would you describe an Ansel Adams photograph of a scene within Yellowstone National Park to a person who cannot see, or has low vision, or has difficulty interpreting print materials, or simply prefers information in audible forms? Those varied audiences (including people who are blind, with low-vision, print dyslexic, and audio-oriented) deserve full access to public discourse, and The UniDescription Project has been created to serve them. That effort includes field research at U.S. National Park Service sites around the country as well as the development and application of a webtool, at www.unidescription.org, and related mobile apps.

Project web site: https://www.unidescription.org

Principal Investigator: Brett Oppegaard