Research

Research

Our students and faculty have access to exciting research opportunities. Our school is known for its cross-disciplinary, community-engaged and internationally recognized research.

Trusting Records in the Cloud

Trusting Records in the Cloud presents key findings of InterPARES Trust, an international research project that has investigated issues of trust in, and trustworthiness of records and data online, with respect to privacy, accessibility, portability, metadata and ownership. The project has produced theoretical and methodological frameworks for the development of local, national and international policies, procedures, regulations, standards and legislation, to ensure public trust grounded on evidence of good governance, strong digital economy and persistent digital memory.

Encyclopedia of Archival Writers, 1515-2015

The Encyclopedia of Archival Writers, 1515-2015 is a reference work that includes the profiles of authors of literature about records and archives in the Western world who have shaped the records and archives field over a span of 500 years. The 144 archival writers from 13 countries who are included in this volume were selected by an international advisory board on the basis of their impact on the records and archives profession and discipline, the presence of their publications in educational programs’ reading lists, and the frequency of reference to their work. Among the writers included in this volume are Albertino Barisone of Padua (1587-1667), Sir Hilary Jenkinson of England (1882-1961), Adolf Brenneke of Germany (1875-1946), Theodore R. Schellenberg of the United States (1903-1970), Robert-Henri Bautier of France (1922-2010), Terry Cook of Canada (1947-2014), Vicenta Cortés Alonso of Spain (1925-), Eric Ketelaar of the Netherlands (1944-), Aurelio Tanodi of Argentina (1914-2011), Ian Maclean of Australia (1919-2003), and Verne Harris of South Africa (1958 – ).

Medicine at Monte Cassino

Medicine at Monte Cassino offers unprecedented insights into the revolutionary arrival of Arabic medicine to medieval Europe by exploring the oldest manuscript of Constantine the African’s Pantegni, which is identified here, for the first time, as a product of the skilled team of scribes and scholars working directly under the supervision of Constantine himself at the eleventh-century abbey of Monte Cassino.

Books Before Print

This beautifully illustrated book provides an accessible introduction to the medieval manuscript and what it can tell us about the world in which it was made and used. Captured in the materiality of manuscripts are the data enabling us to make sense of the preferences and habits of the individuals who made up medieval society. With short chapters grouped under thematic headings, Books Before Print shows how we may tap into the evidence and explores how manuscripts can act as a vibrant and versatile tool to understand the deep historical roots of human interaction with written information. It highlights extraordinary continuities between medieval book culture and modern-world communication, as witnessed in medieval pop-up books, posters, speech bubbles, book advertisements, and even sticky notes.

The European Book in the Twelfth Century

Digital Technology and Sustainability: Engaging the Paradox

Edited By Mike Hazas and Lisa Nathan
Congratulations to UBC iSchool Associate Professor Lisa Nathan for the publication of Digital Technology and Sustainability: Engaging the Paradox.

Bringing together diverse voices from across the field of sustainable human computer interaction (SHCI), this book discusses what it means for digital technology to support sustainability and how humans and technology can work together optimally for a more sustainable future.

Public Access to Information for Development : a Guide to the Effective Implementation of Right to Information Laws

Victoria L. Lemieux and Stephanie E. Trapnell

With more than 100 right to information (RTI) laws—also called freedom of information or access to information laws—now in place globally, the groundwork has been laid to advance more transparent, accountable, and inclusive governance as a pathway to poverty reduction and economic development. This guide explores the historical development of RTI laws, the factors that drive passage and effective implementation of these laws, the operation of the laws, and the impact of these laws in different country contexts and sectors, as well as the challenges of measuring the contribution of RTI laws to development outcomes.

Building Trust in Information: Perspectives on the Frontiers of Provnance

By Victoria L. Lemieux
Congratulations to UBC iSchool Associate Professor Victoria Lemieux on the publication of Building Trust in Information: Perspectives on the Frontiers of Provnance.

This book reports on the results of an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary workshop on provenance that brought together researchers and practitioners from different areas such as archival science, law, information science, computing, forensics and visual analytics that work at the frontiers of new knowledge on provenance. Each of these fields understands the meaning and purpose of representing provenance in subtly different ways. The aim of this book is to create cross-disciplinary bridges of understanding with a view to arriving at a deeper and clearer perspective on the different facets of provenance and how traditional definitions and applications may be enriched and expanded via an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary synthesis.

Why Engagement Matters: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives of User Engagement in Digital Media

Edited by Heather O’Brien and Paul Cairns
UBC iSchool Associate Professor Heather O’Brien publishes new book on user engagement.

What do we mean when we say that our goal is to engage users with technology, and what are the benefits of doing so? How we define UE conceptually is indicative of the larger set of values, contexts, and disciplinary perspectives that inform human relationships with technology and how we operationalize, measure, and design for human-computer experiences.