Research

Research

The 1619 Project and the legacy of slavery

The 1619 Project and the legacy of slavery

In August 1619, the White Lion, an English privateer ship, landed in Point Comfort, a small settlement in the new colony of Virginia.  According to John Rolfe, a Jamestown colonist, the cargo was unique in the history of North America.  “20. and odd Negroes” from Angola were sold for food by the privateers “at the best and easyest rate they could.”  This event is the official beginning of slavery in what would eventually be the United States (although it should be noted that slaves were present in North America before then.)  The New York Times has created the 1619 Project, a set of free resources covering the legacy of slavery, including essays, statistics, maps and creative writing. A map of … Continued
Your opportunity to share! Scholarly Communications and the IUScholarWorks-East Collection

Your opportunity to share! Scholarly Communications and the IUScholarWorks-East Collection

Faculty Scholarship Celebration Collection Calling all IU East students and faculty! We want to help disseminate your research and creative work. One tool is IUScholarWorks (IUSW), the Indiana University Libraries Institutional Repository (IR) that archives and provides online access to scholarly communication objects. Presentation by Dr. Brian Brodeur, Assistant Professor, English Presentation by Katherine A. Miller Wolf, PhD, RPA Also available is the IUSW-East Collection (IUSW-E). This provides space for a variety of materials created by faculty and students. These materials vary from research to service, and include teaching resources. The materials/objects provided online are a digital record of the original. The form stored is generally a PDF, although other file types may be stored or linked. Presentation by Carrie … Continued
What’s a deepfake?

What’s a deepfake?

Seeing is believing.  That’s a truism most of us have held onto forever.  The modern version – “Pics or it didn’t happen” – only reinforces the idea that visual evidence is more honest than verbal or written evidence.  Images are intended to represent something that actually exists or once existed, and serve as a memento of a person, place, object or event.  Photographic images are supposed to be infallible and real, the promise of early photography revealed.  Deepfakes, however, challenge this idea of visual truth by presenting intentionally false video, usually on a platform that can be seen by multiple people.  These videos have the potential to skew public discourse and influence elections, much as fake news stories may have … Continued
Open Access with One Click

Open Access with One Click

Have you ever tried to look up a specific article recommended to you or perhaps came across one in a database that you simply don’t have access to or you hit a paywall? This is a problem faced by researchers and librarians alike and it can be discouraging and frustrating when, at a glance, an article seems perfect for your research, but it’s just out of reach. However, it’s possible that the article is available via Open Access somewhere else on the internet in some way, shape, or form. There is actually not one, but two different tools, browser extensions to be exact, that can help you locate the open access version, if it’s available, with one simple click. Open … Continued
Separating Sense from Nonsense: McGill University’s Office for Science in Society

Separating Sense from Nonsense: McGill University’s Office for Science in Society

“Science looks like magic, until you know how it works.”  That was one of the first things Dr. Joe Schwarcz said when IU East Coordinator of Library Instruction, KT Lowe, met him last month.  Dr. Schwarcz is the director of the McGill University Office for Science and Society, one of the best fake news fighting organizations in North America.  The OSS focuses primarily on the science of the everyday, busting myths about food, sunscreen, homeopathy and other quotidian things. The room where it happens. The OSS was formally established in 1999 and receives no corporate funding.  It is a formalization of Dr. Schwarcz’s work since the 1980’s, when he would speak with the media on all things science.  He and his … Continued