Science Gateways’ presentation & lunch with Dr. Sandra Gesing Oct 30th

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Please join the Data and Computational Science Series (DCSS) team for a (free!) ‘Understanding Science Gateways’ presentation & lunch with Dr. Sandra Gesing, Computational Scientist, University of Notre Dame.

Science Gateways and the Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) with Dr. Sandra Gesing

Tuesday October 30 – TUC 400B FREE REGISTRATION

 

 

 

 

 

Science Gateways – also called virtual research environments or virtual labs – allow science and engineering communities to access shared data, software, computing services, instruments and other resources specific to their disciplines and use them also in teaching environments. The U.S. Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) provides free resources, services, experts, and ideas for creating and sustaining science gateways.

11am-1pm: General Introduction to Science Gateways & the Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) – Lunch provided

1pm-3pm: Science Gateways Presentation On Usability With Hands-On Portion – please bring a laptop

These events are free and open to all.

FREE REGISTRATION

Flyer – DCS2 _Intro to Science Gateways_30oct18

Flyer – DCS2 _Science Gateways Usability presentation_30oct18

General Introduction to Science Gateways & the Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI)
In the last decade mature complete science gateway frameworks have evolved such as HUBzero, Galaxy, Agave and Apache Airavata. Successful implementations have been adapted for several science gateways, for example, the technologies behind the science gateways CIPRES, which is used by over 25.000 users to date and serves the community in the area of large phylogenetic trees. Lessons learned from the last decade include that approaches should be technology agnostic, use standard web technologies or deliver a complete solution. Independent of the technology, the major driver for science gateways are the user communities and user engagement is key for successful science gateways. The US Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI), opened in August 2016, provides free resources, services, experts, and ideas for creating and sustaining science gateways. It offers five areas of services to the science gateway developer and user communities: the Incubator, Extended Developer Support, the Scientific Software Collaborative, Community Engagement and Exchange, and Workforce Development. The talk will give an introduction to science gateways, examples for science gateways & an overview on the services offered by the SGCI to serve user communities & developers for creating successful science gateways.

Discover UCIT Research Computing Tools and Services

 

 

 

 

Mark Chalmers Joins UC Libraries as Science and Engineering Librarian

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Mark Chalmers began work in UC Libraries on Oct. 22 as the science and engineering librarian where he will develop research and instructional programs for the UC STEM populations: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. His work will include research consultations, teaching and workshops, collection development and liaison responsibility for designated science and engineering disciplines (to be announced at a future date).  Mark will also support new and emerging initiatives such as Research and Data Services, repository outreach and connecting the libraries to UC’s innovation agenda.

Mark received his MLIS in May 2018 from Kent State University, and he holds a BA in astrophysics from Ohio Wesleyan University. While at Kent State, Mark worked as a graduate assistant in Dr. Emad Khazraee’s Data Science Research Lab and completed projects in text mining and the analysis of Twitter feed data. While studying for his BA, he was active in undergraduate research, conference presentations and tutoring in physics and astronomy.

Welcome, Mark, to UC Libraries!

Trouble Deciphering Fact from Fiction? We Can Help!

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As the midterm elections approach, we are all being bombarded with political ads, sensational news, and social media posts designed to persuade you to vote for a particular candidate. But how do you know what to believe when the information you see is contradictory or inflammatory?

Use the suggestions below to get to the truth.

  1. Consider the claim being made. Does it make sense? Can you verify the claim through another source?
  2. Use a fact-checker like PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, or Snopes. They check the credibility of claims and provide you with links to sources to back up their rating.
  3. Pay attention to any sources cited or links embedded in articles. Follow links and citations to attempt to get to an original source of information.
  4. Don’t be afraid to do a Google search about the topic, the candidate, the publication, or the sponsor of the information. You never know what you’ll find out.
  5. Look at the original date of the information. Is it old information that has been recycled? If so, is it still relevant to current events?
  6. Check the sponsor, author, or authority of the information. Do they have an agenda or display a particular bias?
  7. If you are looking at a news source, check the Media Bias Chart. It can also be helpful to read about the creation of the chart, methodology, and additional charts by news network on the ad fontes media

Think you’re an expert at spotting fake news? Test yourself using Factitious: The Spot the Fake News Game.

You may also find the following links helpful when researching how to vote in the upcoming election.

Election Resources at UCBA

USA.gov: Voting and Elections

Political Advertising on Google

How to Spot Fake News

As always, Clermont College Library staff are happy to assist if you have any questions!

Heather Mitchell-Botts
Instruction Librarian

Benjamin Gettler papers – Update on Progress

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By:  Alex Temple, Gettler Project Archivist

I recently finished taking a complete inventory on Benjamin Gettler’s papers.  It’s been really interesting unpacking folders from such an ambitious and involved person.  The collection largely stems from his involvement in various organizations from 1960-2003, notably the Cincinnati Transit Company, S.O.R.T.A./Metro, American Controlled Industries (ACI), the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), and the University of Cincinnati.  There is also a large collection of political correspondence with letters dating as far back as 1959 (with Robert F. Kennedy), through 2012.

The bulk of the time spent so far has been going through each item in Mr. Gettler’s correspondence, which contains approximately 1000 items.  Every piece has been examined for a sender, recipient, date, subject, and format.  That was a lot of reading!  It’s been interesting to read Mr. Gettler’s interests come through in his political correspondence, as well as seeing the often-contentious battles regarding S.O.R.T.A.’s operations.  I must admit, it’s been hard to stop examining the documents and start writing about them. Continue reading →

UC Celebration of National GIS Day

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Please mark your calendars on November 14, 2018 as UC Libraries will join the Department of Geography & GIS, GISSA and the Geography Graduate Student Association in celebrating National GIS Day.

This year’s speaker will be Dr. Daniel Sui , Vice President for Research, University of Arkansas and former Division Director for Social and Economic Sciences (SES) at the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Agenda:

Venue – 402 Braunstein Hall

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Open meet and greet

Venue – TUC 427

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Lunch

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Featured Speaker: Dr. Daniel Sui

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Question and Answer Session

This event is free and open to all

Flyer – UC_GIS_Day

Second Mapathon to be held at UC Libraries – Nov 3rd, 2018

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missing maps banner

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Nov 3rd, The Red Cross will hold their second Missing Maps Mapathon at UC Libraries in 475 Langsam from 10 am to 2 pm.  The information collected from a Mapathon helps the Red Cross identify the best locations to bring in emergency supplies, where to house emergency operations and what local resources they can collaborate with in emergency response efforts.  In order to participate, you do not need extensive mapping experience.  The maps are creating using the Open Street Map platform and you can learn quickly by watching these training videos (1. Create an Open Street Map account, 2. Learn to map buildings).

If you are interested to participate, please register here –  https://goo.gl/forms/b2sAl9zlS4ajSklg1  and watch the training videos.  A Pizza lunch will be provided for attendees.  Please bring a drink or refillable water bottle.  This is a great and fun way to get service hours if you need them.

Please contact Amy Koshoffer – ASKDATA@UC.EDU if you have questions about the event.  More information is provided in the attached flyer.

Flyer – Missing Maps Flyer rev. 10.3.18

Jetstream Hands-on Workshop October 31st

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Indiana University’s Jeremy Fischer will present a hands-on workshop on Jetstream, a free, cloud-based, on-demand high performance computing resource.
Please join IT@UC R&D and UCL on October 31 from 9:30am to 12:30pm in Langsam Library room 475 for a free workshop on Jetstream, the National Science Foundation’s first science and engineering cloud. With a focus on ease of use and broad accessibility, Jetstream is designed for those who have not previously used high performance computing and software resources.

Jetstream Core capabilities

  • Interactive virtual machines (VMs) – both a public library of preconfigured VMs and a private library with saved, personalized versions
  • Secure data movement using Globus Transfer
  • Virtual desktops for access from a tablet or laptop over a cellular network
  • Reproducible data analysis using digital object identifiers (DOIs) stored and published via IU’s digital archive

Workshops are open to anyone who interested in learning about Jetstream resources. There are no prerequisites for attending. Please bring a lap top.   REGISTER

Flyer: jetstream_oct_31

For additional information, contact Jane Combs at combsje@uc.edu.

After the workshop head to the Catskeller for the first Data Science Social from 4-6 pm.  Food provided through the Provost funded Data & Computational Science Series.  Drinks on you!

Celebrating Heather Maloney on National Boss’s Day

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by Michelle McKinney

Heather Maloney in standing in front of her decorated office door.

                                           UCBA Library Director, Heather Maloney

In honor of National Boss’s Day (October 16th), the UCBA Library faculty and staff celebrates Heather Maloney, UCBA Library Director. Continue reading →

Oct. 30 Life of the Mind Lecture to Address the Topic of ‘Next’

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life of the mindLife of the Mind, interdisciplinary conversations with UC faculty, will return 3-5 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 30, in Annie Laws (407 Teachers/Dyer) with a lecture by Sarah Stitzlein, professor of education and affiliate faculty in philosophy. Professor Stitzlein will speak on “What’s Next for America? Teaching Hope and Reviving Democracy.”

Life of the Mind is a semi-annual lecture series that features a distinguished University of Cincinnati faculty member presenting his or her work and expertise. The series includes intriguing insights from diverse perspectives and encourages faculty and students from across the university to engage in further discourse. The presentation is not simply a recitation of the faculty member’s work but promotes an informed point of view.

Sarah M. Stitzlein is professor of education and affiliate faculty in philosophy. As a philosopher of education, she explores the purposes and practices of education from the perspective of social and political philosophy. She aims to uncover problems in education and envision better alternatives. Her work touches on issues of political agency, educating for democracy and equality in schools. She is president-elect of the John Dewey Society, editor of the journal “Democracy & Education” and winner of the UC Excellence in Teaching Award.

sarah stitzleinIn this presentation, she will share insights from her newest book, Reviving Hope in Democracy: Teaching Hope and Overcoming Despair in America (Oxford University Press, 2019). This book was awarded a Toward an Open Monograph System grant for Open Access publishing from the UC Office of the Provost, Association of American Universities, Association of Research Libraries and the Association of American University Presses.

The lecture takes up recent polls revealing alarming trends in America: citizens have become increasingly cynical, less certain that they can have an impact in democracy and more supportive of authoritarianism. Professor Stitzlein will detail shifts in the hope of citizens, including increased reliance on messianic political leaders to fulfill hopes, exhaustion amongst populations plagued by inequality and reduction of citizenship to personal responsibility and entrepreneurialism. The speaker will provide her perspectives on the dangers these changes pose in relation to democracy, the investigation necessary to understand these forces better and the reasons why what we hope for and how we hope together are crucial considerations as we strive to overcome despair and revive democracy.

A panel of three will respond to and discuss the lecture from diverse perspectives. The Oct. 30 Life of the Mind panel will consist of:

  • Wendy Calaway, assistant professor of criminal justice, UC Blue Ash College
  • Whitney Gaskins, assistant dean and assistant professor – Center for Inclusive Excellence & Community Engagement, College of Engineering and Applied Science
  • J. Antonio Islas-Munoz, assistant professor of practice, head of transportation design, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning

Sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, and organized by the University of Cincinnati Libraries and Faculty Senate, the mission of Life of the Mind is to celebrate UC faculty research, scholarship and creative output and to foster the free and open exchange of ideas and discourse. Life of the Mind is free and open to the public and attracts a broad audience including UC students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as people from the community.

More information about Life of the Mind is available online at www.libraries.uc.edu/lifeofthemind/.