Play and Children's Museums: A Path Forward or a Point of Tension?

Play is a central, defining concept for children's museums, yet it's become a hot button issue which is problematic if play is what makes children's museums uniquely valuable. In this article, members of the Children's Museum Research Network share findings from their first research study, focused on elucidating the problem of play in children's museums. Results suggest that children's museums may not have shared definitions and conceptualizations of play.     

Principles and Boundaries of Fact-checking: Journalists’ Perceptions

This study examines journalists’ perceptions of fact-checking, a growing journalistic activity focused on assessing the veracity of public claims. Professional journalists working on fact-checking or interested in doing fact-checking and based in the United States were surveyed regarding the purpose of this activity; principles of fact-checking, including boundaries with activism or partisanship; and statements concerning which political party politicians are more likely to produce false claims. This study shows a high level of agreement between respondents on normative aspects of fact-checking. Journalists stated that there should be clear boundaries between fact-checking and activism and that fact-checking should be non-partisan. At the same time, participants showed discrepancies on topics like the use of the word “lie” when finding that a claim is false. In addition, among respondents, the perception that Republicans are more likely to make false claims was significantly higher than the perception that Democrats are more prone to produce false claims, although the difference was moderate, with considerable percentages of respondents answering that they neither agree nor disagree with the statements that Republicans, or Democrats, are more prone to make false claims.     

‘Terrible Panizzi’: Patriotism and Realism of the ‘Prince of Librarians’

Abstract

This article deals with the figure of Antonio Panizzi, considered as an Italian patriot and English librarian. It highlights the constant attention he devoted to the Italian political events throughout his life: from his arrival in London (1823) as a political exile, to his informal ambassador in United Kingdom, a role that allowed him to lobby the political class and the press on behalf of the cause of Italian patriots forced in the prisons of Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The article describes the multifaceted library activity carried out by Panizzi at the British Library, of which he became Principal Librarian in 1856. Panizzi is considered to be the first Promethean Librarian of the 19th century, a great reformer with new ideas on library services, innovative methodologies, and working practices in librarianship. Panizzi rigorously carried out the activity of librarian at the British Library without ever forgetting the need for a free, unified, and democratic Italian state.     

Katz and Aakhus’ Theory of Apparatgeist: Students’ Perceptions of Normative and Non-normative Behaviors for Technology Use

Course: This activity was used in an upper-level, undergraduate, special topics course entitled “Issues in Mobile Communication.” However, the activity could also be used in undergraduate courses relating to mediated communication, interpersonal communication and communication theory

Objectives: The purpose of this activity is to increase students’ awareness of how norms for mobile communication technology use are established     

National Museum of African American History and Culture: A New Integration?

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) marks a milestone moment in American history; the project has taken almost a century to come to fruition. Beginning with the first glimpse of the new monumental building on the National Mall, a NMAAHC visitor encounters complex symbols and histories. This review explores NMAAHC's historical context alongside its symbolic capital and its inaugural exhibitions, focusing on the central topic of the museum's efforts to embody “a new integration,” a space wherein all Americans can see their country through the lens of the African American experience.     

Movers’ advantages: The effect of mobility on scientists’ productivity and collaboration

With the rapid globalization of science, mobility is perceived as an important driver of scientific progress and innovation success. However, we have little knowledge about whether and how scientists’ mobility influences their career development, especially scientists’ productivity and collaboration. In this case study, using the data on 62,330 scientists, the Chinese computer scientists who published at least one computer science paper and published no fewer than 10 papers in total from 2000 to 2012, we apply difference in differences models in conjunction with PSM methods to show the effect of domestic mobility (i.e., moving inside China) on scientists’ research quantity and quality by distinguishing the direction of mobility. In contrast to the existing literature that documents a short-term negative effect due to adaption costs or disruption of routines and social capital, we do not observe an initial detrimental impact of following moves on productivity and collaboration, even for non-upward moves. We further find that mobility leads to increased collaboration with new partners without dampening scientists’ collaboration with previous collaborators. However, scientists have a higher probability of collaborating with new collaborators, as evidenced by the decreased share of previous collaborators to the total co-authors after they move. The findings of this case study imply that the benefits of mobility might outweigh its costs and that mobility improves scientists’ productivity and collaboration for prolific scientists in emerging countries.     

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Celebrity Media Diet and the Cultivation of Emerging Adults’ Materialism

The present study used cultivation theory to explore the relationships between celebrity media diet and materialism for a sample of 224 emerging adults. Results indicated main effects between both celebrity magazine consumption and celebrity TV news consumption on materialism. Total celebrity media diet was also significantly related to materialism. Findings suggest that a media diet high in celebrity culture and lifestyle has significant impact on emerging adults’ preoccupation with consumerism, particularly for women. This research contributes to a growing body of literature on the effects of a celebrity-saturated media environment and the cultivation of materialistic attitudes.     

Different Standards: Engineers’ Expectations and Listener Adoption of Digital and FM Radio Broadcasting

As digital radio broadcasting enters its third decade of operation, few would argue that it has met all expectations expressed at the time of its launch in the mid-1990s. Observers are now more circumspect, with views divided on the pace of transition to an all-digital future. In exploring this mismatch between expectation and actuality, this article considers the introduction of FM radio in the 1950s. It too was expected to replace its forebear (AM) but, like digital radio, its adoption by listeners was slower than anticipated. An examination of published literature, in particular engineering and technical documents, reveals a number of similarities in the development of digital radio and FM. Assumptions about listeners’ needs and preferences appear to have been based on little actual audience research and, with continual reference in the literature to the supposed deficiencies of the predecessor technology, suggest an emphasis in decision making on the technical qualities of radio broadcasting over an appreciation of actual audience preferences.     

The “lost” u.s. technical reports: Obtaining reports from the 1940S and '50S

Although centralized distribution of U.S. government technical reports began in 1946, the reports distributed by predecessors of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) for the first 15 years are now effectively “lost.” They are not available from NTIS, and they are not listed in the NTIS bibliographic database. Those reports are available from the Photoduplication Service of the Library of Congress, and many are available from other sources as well. This article describes bibliographic tools and resources available to identify those reports and provides advice on how to obtain them at a reasonable price.