Browsing by Subject "Information studies"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

One Butterfly : understanding interface and interaction design for multitouch environments in museum contexts
(2010-05) Whitworth, Erin Casey; Geisler, Gary; Francisco-Revilla, Luis
Museums can be perceived as stuffy and forbidding; web technologies can enable museums to expand access to their collections and counterbalance these perceptions. Museums are searching for new ways to communicate with the public to better make a case for their continued relevance in the digital information age. With the emergence of multitouch computing, other diverse forms of digital access and the popularization of the user experience, challenge museum design professionals to synthesize the information seeking experience that occurs on multiple computing platforms. As a means of addressing these issues, this Master’s Report summarizes the One Butterfly design project. The project's goal was to create a design for a multitouch interface for federated search of Smithsonian collections. This report describes the project’s three major phases. First, an idea for an interface was developed and designs based on that idea were captured and clarified. Second, a formal review of related research was undertaken to ground these designs in the museum informatics, user interface design, and multitouch interaction design literatures. Finally, the report concludes with a review and reflection on the designs and their underlying ideas in light of things learned in the previous phases.
“Strong views about what you call things” : how disability studies scholars interact with information classification systems
(2012-05) Koford, Amelia Bowen; Feinberg, Melanie, 1970-; Doty, Philip
Information studies writers from various theoretical perspectives, including feminism and critical race theory, have argued that information classification systems are politically charged artifacts that privilege some types of information while marginalizing others. Although several writers have documented the limitations of classification systems in representing marginalized topics, few have studied how searchers understand, address, and circumvent these limitations. To investigate this question, I conducted a qualitative study of the information seeking behavior of nine disability studies scholars. In semi-structured interviews, I asked faculty members and graduate students about their experiences conducting disability studies research. In this thesis, I discuss three main themes from the interviews: research challenges, search tactics and strategies, and interaction with subject headings. I also discuss the Library of Congress Subject Headings for one book, Eli Clare's Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness and Liberation, as a case study. I situate scholars' experiences in relation to disability studies as a field that is interdisciplinary, relatively new, and concerned with a group that has been socially and economically marginalized. I offer suggestions about how librarians and knowledge organizers can address the needs of researchers in disability studies and other critical interdisciplinary fields.
The Obama Administration and digital content : a case study of Healthcare.gov
(2016-05) Gant, Alia; Wickett, Karen M.; Towery, Stephanie
The United States government has made enormous strides to adapt and evolve with the digital era in the 21st century. Initially the Clinton Administration in the 1990s showed a sense of acceptance and willingness to work with the changing times in regards to technology. The subsequent administrations also continued to support platforms that utilized digital programs such as the Internet. This Master’s Report will examine government websites under the Obama Administration, in particular Healthcare.gov, however through the perspective of information professionals. The report will describe and analyze the information pertinent to users to accessing health needs for insurance plans. The report will discuss and apply frameworks from information studies, including metadata, digital libraries and community informatics Lastly, the report will provide critiques, suggestions, and ways to research this topic in the future.