Examination of the Internet Public Library as dynamic, collaborative teaching laboratory

The Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org) is a collaborative online learning environment that involves LIS faculty and students as well as working librarians around the world. Over the past twelve years, the IPL has become more collaborative with the introduction of new technologies and cultural changes. The IPL team consists of a variety of people from around the world: LIS faculty, IPL staff librarians, masters and doctoral students, working librarians, and technology specialists. Through the IPL, library and information professionals are being prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of the digital environment: the dynamic nature of information technology, changing social and cultural norms, and an abundance of freely available content are presented in the digital reference environment. Extensive training material has been prepared by the IPL staff and feedback is provided to students by IPL staff, faculty and volunteers. In addition to the learning environment, the IPL also offers a test bed for research related to collaborative online learning environments. For examples, questions such as the role of Web 2.0 resources such as Wikipedia, Facebook, MySpace and other social computing sites will be explored

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity

A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.Peer reviewe

Histone H3.3 beyond cancer: Germline mutations in Histone 3 Family 3A and 3B cause a previously unidentified neurodegenerative disorder in 46 patients

Although somatic mutations in Histone 3.3 (H3.3) are well-studied drivers of oncogenesis, the role of germline mutations remains unreported. We analyze 46 patients bearing de novo germline mutations in histone 3 family 3A (H3F3A) or H3F3B with progressive neurologic dysfunction and congenital anomalies without malignancies. Molecular modeling of all 37 variants demonstrated clear disruptions in interactions with DNA, other histones, and histone chaperone proteins. Patient histone posttranslational modifications (PTMs) analysis revealed notably aberrant local PTM patterns distinct from the somatic lysine mutations that cause global PTM dysregulation. RNA sequencing on patient cells demonstrated up-regulated gene expression related to mitosis and cell division, and cellular assays confirmed an increased proliferative capacity. A zebrafish model showed craniofacial anomalies and a defect in Foxd3-derived glia. These data suggest that the mechanism of germline mutations are distinct from cancer-associated somatic histone mutations but may converge on control of cell proliferation

Conducting Organizational Culture/al Autoethnographies

In this workshop, we will guide participants to draft an organizational cultural autoethnography where events, artifacts, and relationships are interconnected. We will briefly explain that as a narrative approach, this methodology merges organizational and aesthetic theory to produce a compelling story about phenomena within and across organizations. Then we will introduce the participants to the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), which is widely used in organizational development as a research technique for identifying organizational problems. The participants will work individually to respond to CIT guiding questions provided by the workshop facilitators. The next step will involve constructing a counter-story to the narrative the organization tries to tell through its artifacts, rituals, ceremonies, heroes, and heroines. Three workshop organizers will share excerpts from their organizational culture/al autoethnographies with the group they will each co-facilitate. We expect that by the end of the workshop, the participants will have completed a rough draft of their organizational culture/al autoethnographies

Wolgemuth, Jennifer R., Tyler Hicks, and Vonzell Agosto, Unpacking Assumptions in Research Synthesis: A Critical Construct Synthesis Approach, Educational Researcher, 46(April, 2017), 131-139.

Provides guidelines for synthesizing research focusing on the use of critical construct synthesis methods

The Emotional Labor of “Taking a Knee”

We center three publicly accessible images: (1) Am I not a Man and a Brother? (1787), (2) Colin Kaepernick (2017) “Taking a Knee”, (3) Mother McDowell of the Black Student in Florida Admonished for “Taking a Knee” in school (2017). The photograph of mother McDowell is included, rather than her son, who she wanted to remain anonymous across media outlets. We draw primarily from publicly accessible media and scholarship available via the Internet (museums, newscasts, scholarly repositories) to provide a composite of kneeling discourse and counter-narratives related to race (i.e., anti-slavery, abolition, anti-racism protests) and proper behavior. Each image is situated within literature supporting analysis through concepts (time, race) visual, and textual information. Rather than detailing the images, we focus on the surrounding narratives, contemporary readings, redactions, and annotations (we create or relate to) to consider emotions as part of the context, impetus, and force behind the actions captured in them. We juxtapose, redact, and critique images and texts associated with kneeling/taking a knee by men and boys racialized as Black, but not exclusively., as the practices we illustrate in response to structural racism (i.e., discipline in schools) also bring attention to events involving other students: a Black girl and an Indigenous (Inuit) boy

Past, Present, and Future of Assessment in Schools: A Thematic Narrative Analysis

As a diverse group of educationalists, we worry about the role of assessment in K-12 schools and current neoliberal education policies. In this paper, we aim to highlight some of the unintended or often overlooked consequences of these policies by taking an arts-based approach to our research. We interviewed various educational stakeholders about their past and present experiences with assessment, as well as their imagined futures. By creating poetic representations to present the results, we aim to shed a new light on the otherwise familiar contexts of assessment in the schools. Many are afraid of a future where neoliberal policies continue to determine the nature and role of assessment in schools, but want to believe that things will get better

Storying Transition-to-Work for/and Youth on the Autism Spectrum in the United States: A Critical Construct Synthesis of Academic Literature

We explored how academic literature constructs the ‘worker with autism.’ Drawing on a systematic review of transition to work for youth with disabilities, we analyzed how 17 articles constructed ‘autism,’ ‘work,’ and the ‘worker with autism.’ We identified two argumentative approaches: the intervention story and the complex story. Intervention stories centered autism as a problem in need of treatment and work as a simple, positive endeavor. Complex stories offered various and more positive accounts of autism alongside broader notions of work. We recommend that academics experiment with writing which expands work (and career) possibilities for youth situated on the autism spectrum