iSchool Capstone

2019

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From Aliens to Zorro: Resource Organization Proposal for the Macalester College Library Media Collections

The media collections of the Macalester College Library are organized in a less than optimal way, particularly the film collection, which is fragmented into nearly indistinguishable collections, which do not lend themselves well to patron engagement. As such, an organizational plan was constructed for these collections, synthesized from a literature review, observations taken at similar institutions, and a patron survey aimed at discovering the ways in which patrons wish to utilize media. The proposal called for a reorganizing of collections and the creation of a dedicated media space in order to better help the library to best meet those wishes.
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From Collections to Data: Assessing Opportunities to Transform Archival Materials into Data at University of Washington Special Collections

“From Collections to Data” analyzes UWSC holdings that can be used to develop, describe, make accessible, and support reuse of data derived from collection materials. UWSC has collections that are candidates for computational research, but the organization does not have the means, personnel, or infrastructure to make the data accessible. The developed report suggests how UWSC can provide access to datasets in the following sections: (1) background on the Collections as Data (CaD) movement through a case study analysis of cultural heritage institutions, (2) recommendations for developing a CaD initiative, and (3) suggested next steps for implementing a CaD project.
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From Datum to Data: A Qualitative Research Protocol for Studying Data Science in the Public Sector

This capstone project is a protocol intended for researchers conducting qualitative sociotechnical research on data science in the public sector. Its purpose is twofold. First, to design an interpretive qualitative study to further understanding of the as-of-yet understudied area of data science workers who operate in the public sector. Second, to produce a protocol that addresses persistent challenges in transparency within qualitative sociotechnical research by providing a toolkit for doing open, credible, and reproducible collection and analysis of qualitative data. As with data science research itself, this protocol borrows from multiple disciplines to allow for a high degree of usability.
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Galena Graphic Galore

Sidney Huntington School in Galena, Alaska has a thin collection of Graphic Novels and Manga. A majority of high school students read below grade level making it essential to explore how graphic novels could aid in literacy development and increase lifelong readers. I surveyed students regarding their interests, researched how graphic novels impacted literacy, found the best resources in determining the quality of graphic novels, created a policy for future collection development, and built a Must-Have list. SHS will acquire these titles to provide resources for classroom use, choices for reluctant readers, options for current fans, and offer new experiences.
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Gates Foundation: Grand Challenges Data Warehouse

The Grand Challenges Program is a global initiative to solve health and development problems for those most in need. It has been responsible for over 2800 grants in over 100 countries. One of the program’s largest funders, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has been dispersing grants and collecting data throughout the years, but this data currently exists across many disparate sources, in various formats residing on different platforms. This data warehouse was created to synthesize all the data into a single stream that can be easily queried and analyzed to identify true success metrics.
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GBD Collaborator Portal: Resources and information for members of IHME network

IHME administrators have been manually managing a network of over 3,400+ collaborators across the globe. Our newly designed portal integrated with Salesforce will provide IHME collaborators with the capability to view and edit personal information at their convenience. This will significantly reduce the current workload for the IHME network admins, allowing them to allocate resources for more important tasks, as well as, all the network to scale as more collaborators join. Also provided are interactive visualizations of the collaborators’ data to provide a deeper insight of the collaborators’ distribution throughout the world.
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Getting the DAM Assets Together

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) recently implemented their first digital asset management (DAM) solution. They originally sought to implement a system that would improve the administration of their digital media across all departments. Our work realized the limitations of the purchased software as well as the DAM’s unidentified scope and purpose which would not support the various use cases across the institution’s departments. This presented an opportunity to take the lessons learned and evolve them into a cohesive assessment. We further developed our recommendations into an iterative model that integrates SAM’s needs and organizational culture for their future DAM success.
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Gimme Air-Shelter: Wildfire Relief and the Public Library

The West Coast has seen an increase in poor air quality due to wildfires. Witnessing first-hand the impact that smoke had on the Spokane community, I partnered with the Spokane Public Library to identify what the library could do to prepare for these events in the future. The result of this research and exploration is an ideas and resources guide that public libraries can use to help propel the conversation on how to help communities during episodes of poor air quality.
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Glimpse

Social media is addictive. Social media has the power to connect people all over the world. However, Studies have shown that social media impacts people’s lives negatively. Our project focused on creating a new social media platform that’s purpose is to prove that social media can be effective, meaningful, and impact mental health positively. Our platform on the idea of only being to use it for one minute a day, believing that by cutting down the viewing time, we can decrease addiction while also motivating users to post interesting content.
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Health Equity of Home Care Aides: Investigating Chronic Disease Prevalence

Home Care Aides are the future of long-term care in the USA, allowing older adults and people with disabilities to live in the community and age in place. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the HCA workforce suffers from high rates of chronic diseases. Our team has partnered with SEIU 775 Benefits Group to understand and communicate the prevalence of chronic diseases in the HCA workforce through statistical analysis and evaluation. By utilizing medical insurance claims data, our team has generated an interactive report that provides information on a vulnerable group of healthcare providers in order to support a healthy workforce.