Wikipedia gender gap: a scoping review

In this scoping review, we portray an examination of the gender gap on Wikipedia by analyzing scholarly literature from 2007 to 2022. Employing quantitative methods, the study identifies key author characteristics such as gender, disciplines, countries, and institutions. The research reveals a slight majority of female authors, followed by male authors, with limited representation from non-binary authors. Qualitatively, content analysis uncovers two central themes: addressing the contribution gap and incorporating content related to underrepresented genders. Additionally, the study assesses results on the content gap, editing and participation bias, readership imbalances, and strategies to mitigate the gender gap. Furthermore, it explores the repercussions of this gap and categorizes the contributing factors as “the women’s problem,” “the mirror effect,” and “the systemic problem.” Overall, this comprehensive review enhances our comprehension of the Wikipedia gender gap and provides valuable insights into the research landscape in this domain

Wikipedia access and contribution:Language choice in multilingual communities . A case study

This paper presents a study on language use in both accessing and contributing to Wikipedia in a context were users were expected to be able to read and write in at least three languages (Catalan, Spanish and English). Seventy-seven first-year audiovisual communication students made contributions to Wikipedia as part of the assessed work in the first-year course titled “Digital Culture.” Before and after writing Wikipedia articles, the students responded to two questionnaires that enquired about their language-related habits when using the site and about their language choice for contributing to it. The results show how some interesting facts and patterns appear between the languages known and used in editing. Students favor the English edition of Wikipedia when consulting it despite the fact that this is the language they assess themselves as being less proficient at in reading. More generally, our research shows that multilingual Wikipedia users move seamlessly from one language edition to another, thus refuting the cliché that relates minority languages with exclusively local and self-referential topics. In relation to this, it brings to light some correlations between the students’ identification with either one or two main languages, and how this influenced both their choice of language in editing. Wikipedia articles and the specific topics they decided to write about. Additionally, the study also offers relevant insight on what drives students to engage with such a task up to the point of making extra contributions to make sure their contributions might reach a larger audience.Aquest article presenta un estudi sobre l’ús lingüístic en relació amb l’accés i la contribució a la Viquipèdia en un context on podem pressuposar que els usuaris poden accedir-hi en almenys tres llengües (català, espanyol i anglès). Un total de 77 estudiants de primer curs del grau de Comunicació Audiovisual van crear contingut per a la Viquipèdia com a partd’una activitat avaluada a l’assignatura La Cultura Digital. Abans i després d’escriure els seus articles, els estudiants van contestar sengles qüestionaris sobre els seus hàbits lingüístics en l’ús d’aquesta plataforma, com també sobre la llengua escollida per intervenir-hi. Els resultats mostren l’aparició d’alguns patrons interessants entre les llengües conegudes i les utilitzades per a la contribució. Els estudiants prefereixen la versió anglesa per a consultes en general, malgrat ser la llengua en la qual ells mateixos es jutgen amb menys capacitat lectora. En general, aquesta investigació mostra com els usuaris multilingües es mouen de forma habitual d’una edició a l’altra, de manera que es refuta el tòpic que relaciona les llengües minoritàries a la Viquipèdia amb temes exclusivament locals o autoreferencials. Respecte d’això, es mostren algunes correlacions entre la identificació per part dels estudiants amb una o dues llengües, i com aquest factor influeix en la seva decisió lingüística a l’hora d’editar i crear articles, així com en els temes sobre els quals decideixen escriure. Addicionalment, l’estudi també ofereix indicis rellevants sobre el que motiva els estudiants a comprometre’s amb aquest tipus de tasques fins al punt de contribuir, més enllà del que se’ls demanava, a l’objectiu de buscar que les seves aportacions arribessin a una audiència més gran.Este artículo presenta un estudio sobre el uso lingüístico en el acceso y la contribución a la Wikipedia en un contexto donde se puede presuponer que los usuarios pueden acceder a la misma en, al menos, tres idiomas (catalán, español e inglés). Un total de 77 estudiantes de primer curso del grado de Comunicación Audiovisual crearon contenido para la Wikipedia como parte de una actividad evaluada en la asignatura La Cultura Digital. Antes y después de escribir sus artículos, los estudiantes respondieron a sendos cuestionarios sobre sus hábitos lingüísticos en el uso de dicha plataforma, así como sobre la lengua escogida para su intervención. Los resultados muestran la aparición de algunos patrones interesantes entre lenguas conocidas y usadas para la contribución. Los estudiantes prefieren la edición inglesa para consultas en general, a pesar de ser la lengua en que ellos mismos se ven con menos capacidad lectora. En general, esta investigación muestra cómo los usuarios multilingües se mueven de forma habitual de una edición a la otra, lo que rehúsa el tópico que relaciona las lenguas minoritarias en la Wikipedia con temas exclusivamente locales y autorreferenciales. Con relación a ello, se muestran algunas correlaciones entre la identificación por parte de los estudiantes con una o dos lenguas, y cómo este factor influencia en su decisión lingüística al editar y crear artículos, así como en los temas sobre los que decidieron escribir. Adicionalmente, el estudio también ofrece indicios relevantes sobre lo que motiva a los estudiantes a comprometerse con este tipo de tareas hasta el punto de contribuir más allá de lo que se les pedía, con el objetivo de buscar que sus aportaciones pudieran ser accesibles a una audiencia mayor.Funding Project 1: “Interactive content and creation in multimedia information communication: audiences, design, systems and styles”. CSO2015-64955-C4-2-R (MINECO/FEDER). Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Funding Project 2: 68-Plaquid, 2015-2016; Creación y ampliación de artículos en la Wikipedia como herramienta docente y de evaluación. Pompeu Fabra University (Spain)

Simple identification tools in FishBase

Simple identification tools for fish species were included in the FishBase information system from its inception. Early tools made use of the relational model and characters like fin ray meristics. Soon pictures and drawings were added as a further help, similar to a field guide. Later came the computerization of existing dichotomous keys, again in combination with pictures and other information, and the ability to restrict possible species by country, area, or taxonomic group. Today, www.FishBase.org offers four different ways to identify species. This paper describes these tools with their advantages and disadvantages, and suggests various options for further development. It explores the possibility of a holistic and integrated computeraided strategy

Crafting Partnerships: Exploring Student-Led Feminist Strategies for Community Literacy Projects

Relationships have served as a cornerstone to feminist research in community-based research and service learning sites, as feminist scholars have argued for co-constructing knowledges in these sites, while being attentive to the reciprocal nature of these relationships within any context of and for learning (Bayer, Grossman, & Dubois, 2015; Parks & Goldblatt, 2000; Novek, 1999). These relationships are especially crucial when feminists attempt to create real and sustained partnerships through mentoring in their community-based literacy site (DuBois & Karcher, 2005). We stress the value of cultivating sustained relationships, as oftentimes discourses surrounding service learning exhibit a level of engagement that is not sustained and/or does not adequately expose the workings of power and privilege in a systematic way (Deans, 2002). In light of our feminist motivations, we need to continuously create spaces to foreground the value of experience and take seriously the process of cultivating relationships with students in ways that are both ethical and accountable.https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_facbooks/1122/thumbnail.jp

Wikipedia @ 20

Wikipedia’s first twenty years: how what began as an experiment in collaboration became the world’s most popular reference work. We have been looking things up in Wikipedia for twenty years. What began almost by accident—a wiki attached to a nascent online encyclopedia—has become the world’s most popular reference work. Regarded at first as the scholarly equivalent of a Big Mac, Wikipedia is now known for its reliable sourcing and as a bastion of (mostly) reasoned interaction. How has Wikipedia, built on a model of radical collaboration, remained true to its original mission of “free access to the sum of all human knowledge” when other tech phenomena have devolved into advertising platforms? In this book, scholars, activists, and volunteers reflect on Wikipedia’s first twenty years, revealing connections across disciplines and borders, languages and data, the professional and personal. The contributors consider Wikipedia’s history, the richness of the connections that underpin it, and its founding vision. Their essays look at, among other things, the shift from bewilderment to respect in press coverage of Wikipedia; Wikipedia as “the most important laboratory for social scientific and computing research in history”; and the acknowledgment that “free access” includes not just access to the material but freedom to contribute—that the summation of all human knowledge is biased by who documents it. Contributors Phoebe Ayers, Omer Benjakob, Yochai Benkler, William Beutler, Siko Bouterse, Rebecca Thorndike-Breeze, Amy Carleton, Robert Cummings, LiAnna L. Davis, Siân Evans, Heather Ford, Stephen Harrison, Heather Hart, Benjamin Mako Hill, Dariusz Jemielniak, Brian Keegan, Jackie Koerner, Alexandria Lockett, Jacqueline Mabey, Katherine Maher, Michael Mandiberg, Stephane Coillet-Matillon, Cecelia A. Musselman, Eliza Myrie, Jake Orlowitz, Ian A. Ramjohn, Joseph Reagle, Anasuya Sengupta, Aaron Shaw, Melissa Tamani, Jina Valentine, Matthew Vetter, Adele Vrana, Denny Vrandeči

Columbus State University Honors College: Senior Theses, Fall 2020/Spring 2021

This is a collection of senior theses written by honors students at Columbus State University during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters.https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/honors_theses/1002/thumbnail.jp

The impact of emotions on student participation in an assessed, online, collaborative activity

There is growing recognition of the importance of emotions in academic online learning contexts. However, there is still little known about the role of emotions in social and collaborative online learning settings, especially the relationship between emotions and student participation. To explore this relationship, this study used a prospective longitudinal research design to follow 46 distance learning students throughout a 3-week assessed, online, collaborative activity. This approach allowed the fluctuating and dynamic aspects of emotions to be explored as well as the relationship between emotions and student participation in the collaborative activity. Self-report data were gathered using a semistructured online diary at five time points throughout the task (once at the start of the collaborative activity, three times during the activity, and the final entry after the activity had finished). Findings revealed that learners generally perceived pleasant emotions (such as relief, satisfaction and enjoyment) to have positive impacts, or no impact, on participation, whereas unpleasant emotions (such as anxiety, frustration, and disappointment) were generally perceived to have negative impacts, or no impact, on participation. Interestingly, however, anxiety, and to a smaller extent frustration, were perceived by a number of students to have positive impacts during the activity. To conclude this paper, implications for educators are highlighted

Coming out comparative report. Gender-stereotyped jobs and gender-based identities in the school-to-work transition

Coming out comparative report presenta los principales resultados obtenidos por la parte cualitativa del proyecto de investigación "Free to choose". Se encuentran evidencias obtenidas en los 4 países involucrados acerca de la influencia de los estereotipos de género en la transición escuela trabajo. La persistencia de los estereotipos de género es emerge claramente tanto en las narrativas juveniles, como en los discursos de los educadores y orientadores que con ellos trabajan. Sin embargo, se aprecian intentos de tomar decisiones más libres de tradiciones y convenciones, sobre todo en países como Espña y Portugal.Free to choose JUST/2015/RGENAG/ROLE/9717Free to Choose (FtC) is an EU-funded project whose main aim was to design, test and implement a game addressing the reduction of the gender stereotypes which act against gender equality at work. The key feature of the project was to base the intervention on specific knowledge produced with the express purpose of basing the action on it. Work stream 1 of the FtC project was entirely dedicated to a complex research action, Operational Map. Its overall objective was twofold. On one hand, through the Mind the Gap research, it drew a picture of gender inequality in the labour market and educational systems of the countries involved in the project, comparing the gender gaps in those countries with the European average. On the other hand, through the Coming Out research, it undertook a deep analysis of stereotypes existing in the two main groups targeted by the project: young people and adults with key roles in education, orientation and training and employment services. This report presents the main results of the Coming Out research, the qualitative element of the complex mixed-method study, Operational Map. More specifically, Mind the Gap has explored and analysed the several forms of gender gap present in the Mediterranean European countries involved in the project (Cyprus, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain), while Coming Out has explored the existence and persistence of gender stereotypes and their influence in the transition from education to work, from a subjective perspective