Bad Blood at the Tuskegee Crossroads: Informational Ethics, Whistleblowing, and the Media

Question: How can we improve information literacy teaching methods in the health sciences? This paper describes one possible solution in the application of the ACRL Framework to whistleblowers, the media, and the Tuskegee Untreated Syphilis Study. The design of the instructional activity includes a lecture, workshop, assignment, and discussion essay. Setting/Participants/Resources: Communication Disorders Information Literacy students in a three-credit-hour class, INF 310, in a four-year, public master’s level institution. Brief Description: Based on experiences in this class, we examine how librarians in the health sciences can frame whistleblowing in the context of the Tuskegee Untreated Syphilis Study. We focus on in-class exercises based on the study which ran from 1932 to 1972 and followed 600 rural black men in Alabama with Syphilis. The researchers withheld diagnosis and treatment information. Peter Buxton finally succeeded in ending the study and is credited with the dawn of modern medical ethics. The social impact of the exposure of the study with the help of media intervention serves as an example of the value and influence of health information and the responsibility to maintain transparency. Evaluation Method: Pre and post-tests given during and after the semester to assess knowledge practice outcomes. Discussion essay via Canvas. Results/Outcomes: Post assessment data indicated that students had a better understanding of the value of health information within the context of the Tuskegee Untreated Syphilis Study and Peter Buxton’s actions. Conclusions: The ACRL framework addresses many of the difficult concepts inherent in health science information literacy instruction and provides an improved outline of how to teach the complexities of the ethical use of information

Framing the Talk: Scholarship as Conversation in the Health Sciences

Scholarship as Conversation, one of the threshold concepts in ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, is and always will be an important concept for students to understand. The idea behind this frame has traditionally been introduced to students across the disciplines in the context of citing sources correctly, giving scholarly attribution, and avoiding plagiarism. These tenets are repeated in English class lectures, library orientations, as well as many other classes requiring research and writing. The Scholarship as Conversation frame continues to reflect these tenets in the knowledge practices; however, the frame has much broader implications that are crucial for students to employ as they continue their education and later when they enter their professions, such as following changes in scholarly perspectives over time on topics in their disciplines, seeking out different perspectives, and contributing to the scholarly conversation. If students fail to understand these broader implications, they are unlikely to find the idea of attribution important or meaningful

The Value of Information in the Health Sciences: First, Do No Harm

The lesson in this chapter illustrates one way to challenge students in the health sciences to think beyond simply finding and accepting the validity of scholarly peer-reviewed articles and encourages them to think more critically and skeptically about research. The lesson focuses on the Information Has Value threshold concept in ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The frame states, “experts understand that value may be wielded by powerful interests in ways that marginalize certain voices.” When students enter into their fields of interest in healthcare, they must recognize their responsibility for “making deliberate and informed choices about when to comply with and when to contest current legal and socio- economic practices concerning the value of information.” In the following lesson plan, students examine the privatization of biomedical research and how undisclosed conflicts of interest can, in some cases, lead to accusations of misconduct or fraud. After completing the assignment, students should be more aware of how the “value of information” can influence the integrity of the scientific method

Censorship in the Library--The Dark Side of Dystopia

Pat Conroy in My Reading Life stresses the importance of helping students “experience the inevitable transformation that occurs through reading…we must do everything we can to offer and then protect the book that just might change their lives.” An important role of libraries is ensuring every reader can find that life-changing book. Unfortunately, sometimes that transformational book isn’t available because it was thought too difficult, dark, or challenging for a particular audience. Although “too dark” or “too challenging” are often heard, especially in regards to dystopian novels, the most sited reasons for a book to be challenged according to ALA’s most banned books are sexual content, offensive language, or unsuited to age group, usually evident in a very small portion of the book

Navigating an Infodemic: Methods for Teaching Critical Reading in the Health Sciences

In difficult times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s even more important that students recognize and question their assumptions regarding how knowledge is recognized as legitimate in their disciplines. “When there is no time for proper peer review, each of us must be our own reviewer.” How can we teach students to recognize flawed methods and data, even when the research may be presented in the top journals as the current best evidence? How do we teach future clinicians to look past the name of the journal or the reputation of the author and learn to discern quality evidence? This chapter discusses an example of a lesson plan in the health sciences that utilizes a retracted article related to the recent infodemic; this lesson plan uses the retracted article as a tool to help students improve their critical reading skills

The Future of Measuring Scholarly and Societal Impact in the Health Sciences: Exploring Dimensions in Non-Traditional Algorithms

Objective: To provide an overview of evaluating scientific scholarly impact among researchers in the health sciences. Librarians, as department liaisons, are a natural choice for guiding faculty, students, and tenure and promotion committees in understanding and responsibly applying altmetrics and bibliometrics, including the Relative Citation Ratio (RCR), to evaluate the impact of contemporary health sciences scholars. Background: Scholars in the health sciences, particularly clinician-researchers, who divide their time among patient care, education, as well as academic service, have less time for research than other scientists. Thus, citation patterns vary across the disciplines, possibly placing clinicians at a disadvantage when traditional bibliometrics are used to determine scholarly, as well as societal impact. Judicious use of altmetrics can complement bibliometrics and citation analysis to provide a clearer picture of the scholarly and societal impact of clinician-researchers. The RCR can be a helpful counterpart to altmetrics, because it normalizes across the disciplines, compensating for differences in citation patterns and is easily calculated using NIH’s iCite. Design: Discussion Paper. Data sources: Published literature in the health, information sciences, communications, and informatics disciplines. Implications for Health Sciences Librarians: Health sciences librarians can consult with faculty, students, and committees on best practices for using altmetrics to help determine scholarly impact. This paper will illustrate various means of using social media and incorporating altmetrics into clinicians’ curriculum vitae and grant proposals. It will also review the strengths, limitations and implications of using them. In addition, librarians can introduce the RCR to their departments and demonstrate iCite in calculating the RCR. Conclusion: Both altmetrics and RCR have great potential for showing a more complete and accurate picture of the scholarly and societal impact of researchers who work in the health sciences and librarians can take the lead in managing this evolution

A Mightier Pin: Creating a Credible Reference Library on Pinterest at Murray State University

This case study shows how the reference librarians at Murray State University use Pinterest as an added component in reference services. Statistics were collected in an attempt to monitor the number of items shared with the number of people who actively follow each board. This study will help interested reference librarians gain an understanding of how this social media site can be used to promote online resources, both those owned by the institution and those available freely on the internet. It will also serve as an example of how reference librarians can build a reference library within the confines of social media

Open Access and closed minds? Collaborating across campus to help faculty understand changing scholarly communication models

This chapter highlights the efforts of a team of librarians at Murray State University to help the university faculty members understand the Open Access publishing environment

The Path Forward: Using Canvas Commons for Online Information Literacy Instruction in the Health Sciences

Question: How can we improve the delivery of information literacy instruction in the health sciences in a virtual environment? This paper examines the integration of Canvas Commons Modules to provide downloadable, open-access information literacy tutorials for students across various disciplines, including the health sciences. Setting/Participants/Resources: The Murray State University Libraries and multiple disciplines, including Nursing and Communication Disorders. Brief Description: As higher education offers more online courses, addressing virtual learners’ information literacy needs has become critical. The modules were originally created in Fall, 2019 as an additional mode of instruction and an online substitute for in-person information literacy instruction sessions when necessary. The demand unexpectedly escalated in the Spring of 2020 due to COVID-19, when all classes moved to an online format. This paper describes the pilot year’s planning process, implementation, lessons learned, and future plans for providing online library instruction. Evaluation Method: Post assessment data comparing face-to-face instruction with online tutorials. A student feedback survey, a faculty feedback survey, and tracking the type and number of courses reached were used to determine the impact of the instruction. Results/Outcomes: Future longitudinal analysis of the library instruction program will examine the long-term significance of implementing the modules. Conclusions: As we move forward, current assessment data indicates that in-person and online tutorials can both play a valuable role in our information literacy instruction program

Peripheral Nervous System Genes Expressed in Central Neurons Induce Growth on Inhibitory Substrates

Trauma to the spinal cord and brain can result in irreparable loss of function. This failure of recovery is in part due to inhibition of axon regeneration by myelin and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs). Peripheral nervous system (PNS) neurons exhibit increased regenerative ability compared to central nervous system neurons, even in the presence of inhibitory environments. Previously, we identified over a thousand genes differentially expressed in PNS neurons relative to CNS neurons. These genes represent intrinsic differences that may account for the PNS’s enhanced regenerative ability. Cerebellar neurons were transfected with cDNAs for each of these PNS genes to assess their ability to enhance neurite growth on inhibitory (CSPG) or permissive (laminin) substrates. Using high content analysis, we evaluated the phenotypic profile of each neuron to extract meaningful data for over 1100 genes. Several known growth associated proteins potentiated neurite growth on laminin. Most interestingly, novel genes were identified that promoted neurite growth on CSPGs (GPX3, EIF2B5, RBMX). Bioinformatic approaches also uncovered a number of novel gene families that altered neurite growth of CNS neurons