Digital Scholarship - University at Albany Student Internet Reviews

Students from the Information Science IST 614 course, reviewed Internet websites on digital scholarship. They looked at several topics including digital copyright, digital curation, digital repository, Creative Commons, scholarly communication, and other digital information issues. The select websites will assist readers to locate quality information on digital scholarship

Usability Definitions in a Dynamically Changing Information Environment

The authors compared Web usability definitions, collected from library professionals at academic institutions of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) through online surveys in 2007 and 2012, to determine whether library practitioners’ perspectives had altered as information technologies evolved during this time. The authors applied three techniques of statistical data analysis— t-tests, cluster analyses, and the Mantel test—for comparisons. The results indicated significant increased emphases on the Interface/Design and Effectiveness attributes in the 2012 data set. This increase may be due to the rise in the use of mobile devices for information access, driving practitioners to place a stronger emphasis on these attributes

Defining Usability How Library Practice Differs from Published Research

Library/information science professionals need a clearly articulated definition of usability/ Web usability to implement intuitive websites. In this study, the authors analyzed usability definitions provided by the ARL library professionals and those found in the library/information science and computer science-information systems literature. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to identify similarities and differences between the attributes emphasized by the two sets of definitions based on information behavior models and human-computer interaction (HCI) frameworks. Results indicated that both groups overlooked critical usability elements, such as environment and information objects/content/resources. Thus, the authors proposed a working, multi-faceted definition that presents a holistic view of usability

Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke — the second leading cause of death worldwide — were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry1,2. Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis3, and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach4, we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry5. Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries

Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke - the second leading cause of death worldwide - were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry(1,2). Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis(3), and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach(4), we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry(5). Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries.</p

Hang on to Your Rights (Author Rights!): A Survey of Author Rights Services on Library Websites

Author rights underpin many scholarly communication activities. For authors to openly distribute their work, and thereby enjoy great reach and impact, retaining the rights necessary to do so is essential. However, author rights may not be something familiar to authors. In cases where an author is working with a publisher who may not be supportive of these rights by default, they may not feel confident advocating on their own behalf. Libraries are well positioned to provide services that inform and support authors in efforts to retain their rights. In doing so, libraries can additionally nurture a more sustainable scholarly ecosystem. Based on our review of 145 Association of Research Library and Carnegie 1 research library websites, we noted the intended audience of and information available on author rights. This poster will discuss our findings and make recommendations for libraries to both establish and grow author rights services

Building Synergy between the Institutional Repository and Scholarly Communication

Institutional repositories remain a crucial tool for promoting, displaying, and encouraging open access to scholarly research. Institutional repository webpages can help deliver pertinent information about scholarly communication to visitors and authors. Scholarly communication aims to promote a more open, equitable, and sustainable scholarly ecosystem. Building a coherent synergy between scholarly communication services and open distribution through an institution’s repository benefits the user community by facilitating an efficient and effective portal. Designing the institutional repository’s homepage with a clear connection to the scholarly communication presence offers a deeper investment in scholarly communication for its visitors. This study investigates the number of libraries that utilize their institutional repository to connect with the institution’s scholarly communication division and vice versa. We reviewed 145 research libraries websites to see to determine the connection between institutional repositories and scholarly communication services. The poster outlines our findings and best practices for furthering the scholarly communication conversation