jodischneider.com/blog

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis each Monday until the position is filled, with first review on Tuesday July 5, 2022.

The School of Information Sciences (iSchool) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate, mentored by Dr. Jodi Schneider, to contribute to research projects in the Information Quality Lab in the areas of scientometrics, argumentation, and scholarly communication.

Work arrangements

• Remote work within the United States or on-site/hybrid in Champaign, Illinois.
• Two-year appointment with the possibility of renewal.
• Salary commensurate with experience. University health insurance benefits.
• Professional development funding for research-related expenses.

Information Quality Lab: Expected Work
As part of the iSchool’s Postdoctoral Research Associate Program, the selected applicant will receive mentoring and community support to prepare for permanent appointments both inside and outside of academia. The selected applicant will work with Dr. Schneider to create an individual development plan.
The selected applicant will lead, conduct, and publish research, in an interdisciplinary information science research environment. Research contributes to two sponsored projects:

Scientometrics supporting metadata/display standards development in scholarly publishing

• To what extent is authoritative information on retracted papers consistently available and accessible in a variety of field-specific and multidisciplinary databases?
• How does retraction of code and datasets impact related publications and what are the legal, social, and ethical ramifications?
• What are the implications of specific instances of successes and failures in the metadata pipeline, for designing consensus practices?

Document analysis to understand how journalists, activists, Wikipedia editors, and other knowledge brokers assess info on COVID-19, climate change, and artificial intelligence & labor

• Construct corpora of news, social media posts, etc. quoting scientific products
• Lead argumentation and framing-focused document analysis
• In collaboration with the PI and PhD student Research Assistant:
  • Create an information behavior model combining interview and document analysis
  • Collaborate with public libraries to develop a toolkit of services for public libraries
  • Design a scale-up project

Required Qualifications

• A PhD in any field (including, but not limited to, informatics, information sciences, library & information science, digital humanities, or computational social sciences, e.g., communications, anthropology, etc.).
• Research interest in one or more of the following: scientometrics, document analysis, altmetrics, argumentation analysis, science of science, scholarly communication, academic publishing, public policy, public understanding of science, argumentation mining, and text mining.
• Interest in interdisciplinary research.
• Excellent critical thinking, written and spoken English, and project management skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Evidence of interdisciplinary research through scholarly publications or translational / implementation science projects.
• Interest or experience in data-intensive and/or mixed methods research.
• Publications in areas related to the research.
• Interest or experience mentoring undergraduate and graduate student research.
• Experience in working with and interested in working with a diverse group of students, faculty, and staff and the ability to contribute to an inclusive climate.

Application Materials – send by email to Dr. Jodi Schneider jodi@illinois.edu:

• Current CV
• Short statement of interest

Questions about the position can also be sent to Dr. Jodi Schneider at jodi@illinois.edu.

Official ad on the iSchool website

The ScienceNLP Lab and the Information Quality Lab at the School of Information Sciences (iSchool) are seeking a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign graduate student to read and annotate health-related literature. The graduate hourly will work an average of 10 hours per week for up to 9 months, under the co-supervision of Dr. Halil Kilicoglu and Dr. Jodi Schneider. The project focuses on assessing biomedical publications for citation accuracy and integrity. Your role in this project will be to locate citation statements in biomedical articles and assess their accuracy with respect to the cited articles. You will collaborate with other annotators on this task. This work is part of the project Natural Language Processing to Assess and Improve Citation Integrity in Biomedical Publications, funded by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI).

Project Description: While citations play a fundamental role in scientific knowledge diffusion and research assessment, they are often inaccurate (e.g., citation of non-existent findings), undermining the integrity of scientific literature and distorting the perception of available evidence. A recent meta-analysis showed that 25.4% of medical articles contained a citation error. A bibliometric analysis revealed that inaccurate citations of a letter published in 1980 may have contributed to the opioid crisis. The project will develop and validate resources and models that aid stakeholders in assessing biomedical publications for citation accuracy and integrity. The publicly available annotated corpus you help create will be used to develop natural language processing/artificial intelligence (NLP/AI) models for assessing reporting quality in biomedical articles.

Duties include:

• Reading and annotating biomedical publications for citation integrity/accuracy
• Contribution to development of annotation guidelines
• Contribution to scientific presentations and publications

Required qualifications:

• Excellent English reading comprehension skills
• Excellent communications skills in written and spoken English
• Excellent analytical/critical thinking skills
• Effective time management skills, attention to detail

Preferred qualifications:

• Background in a field such as:
  • life sciences/medicine, including biology, chemistry, bioinformatics, foodscience/nutrition, bioengineering, or a related field
  • library/informationsciences
  • linguistics
• Interest in topics such as trustworthy science, research rigor/quality, reproducibility
• Interest in biomedical data science, bioinformatics, or related fields
• Availability for multiple semesters

Interested candidates should send their CV/resume and a short statement of purpose to Halil Kilicoglu (halil@illinois.edu) and Jodi Schneider (jodi@illinois.edu). Review of applications will begin immediately. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Posted on Handshake; note that Halil is also hiring an NLP Research Assistant (50% RA) and an NLP hourly (10 hours per week) for related work on the same project.

Start date – January 16, 2022

Description, Responsibilities, & Qualifications:
Mixed methods research assistant to Information Sciences faculty. The incumbent will join the Information Quality Lab under the direction of Dr. Jodi Schneider to work on a newly-funded, three year IMLS grant, Strengthening Public Libraries’ Information Literacy Service Through an Understanding of Knowledge Brokers’ Assessment of Technical and Scientific Information. This project will conduct mixed methods case studies—COVID-19 year 1; climate change (year 2); and AI and labor (year 3)—to understand how knowledge brokers such as journalists, Wikipedia editors, activists/advocates, public librarians assess and use scientific and technical information. Ultimately, the project will develop a conceptual model about sensemaking and use of information. Starting in 2023, the team will co-develop services for knowledge brokers and the public, in collaboration with public library test partners. Results from the project will have implications for public access, information literacy, and understanding of science on policy-relevant topics.

Duties may include:

• Synthesizing a collection of existing literature related to knowledge brokers.
• Collecting a sample of about 250 public-facing documents and multimedia, including news (e.g., online print outlets), Wikipedia pages, membership-based online forums, documentaries, and data visualizations, that report, quote, or analyze scientific products (research papers, preprints, datasets, etc.).
• Using topic modeling, argumentation analysis, and other document analysis techniques to analyze documents and multimedia.
• Preparing for and conducting interviews with knowledge brokers (journalists, Wikipedia editors, activists/advocates, public librarians).
  • Developing an interview protocol to solicit information from journalists, Wikipedia editors, activists/advocates, public librarians, etc. to understand how they assess the quality of scientific and technical information.
  • Identifying COVID-19 knowledge brokers to interview, by using the document/multimedia collection, organizational directories, etc.
• Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts (including correcting automatically generated interview transcripts).

Required Qualifications:

• Excellent communication skills in written and spoken English
• Excellent analytical/critical thinking skills and effective time management skills
• Interest in topics such as misinformation, information diffusion, science/technology policy, etc.
• Interest or experience in one or more methods such as: mixed methods, document analysis, altmetrics, semi-structured interviewing, critical incident technique, or qualitative data analysis

Preferred Qualifications:

• Available for multiple semesters, including summer
• Experience conducting and/or transcribing interviews
• Experience with qualitative analysis software such as ATLAS.TI, NVivo, Taguette, RQDA, etc.
• Experience as a journalist, Wikipedia editor, activist, advocate, public librarian, information conduit, or knowledge broker
• Enrollment in the Master’s in Library and Information Science program or in a PhD program
• Previous completion of one or more CITI Program ethics trainings modules
• Experience in academic and/or scientific writing

Application Procedure: Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume in a single pdf file named Lastname_IMLS_RA.pdf (e.g., Schneider_IMLS_RA.pdf) to ischool-infoquality@illinois.edu

Review of applications will begin immediately. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. All applications received by November 15, 2021 will receive full consideration.

Posted on the Assistantship Clearinghouse.

Start date – ASAP

Description, Responsibilities, & Qualifications:
Mixed methods research assistant to Information Sciences faculty. The incumbent will join the Information Quality Lab under the direction of Dr. Jodi Schneider to work on a newly-funded, three year IMLS grant, Strengthening Public Libraries’ Information Literacy Service Through an Understanding of Knowledge Brokers’ Assessment of Technical and Scientific Information. This project will conduct mixed methods case studies (first topic: COVID-19) to understand how knowledge brokers such as journalists, Wikipedia editors, activists/advocates, public librarians assess and use scientific and technical information. Ultimately, the project will develop a conceptual model about sensemaking and use of information. Starting in 2023, the team will co-develop services for knowledge brokers and the public, in collaboration with public library test partners. Results from the project will have implications for public access, information literacy, and understanding of science on policy-relevant topics.

This position may become a tuition waiver generating assistantship for the Spring 2022 semester for eligible Master’s and Doctoral students.

Initial duties will include:

• Developing an interview protocol to solicit information from journalists, Wikipedia editors, activists/advocates, public librarians, etc. to understand how they assess the quality of scientific and technical information
• Synthesizing a collection of existing literature related to knowledge brokers
• Collecting a sample of about 250 public-facing documents and multimedia, including news (e.g., online print outlets), Wikipedia pages, membership-based online forums, documentaries, and data visualizations, that report, quote, or analyze scientific products (research papers, preprints, datasets, etc.)
• Identifying COVID-19 knowledge brokers to interview, by using the document/multimedia collection, organizational directories, etc.

Future work will include:

• Conducting interviews with knowledge brokers (journalists, Wikipedia editors, activists/advocates, public librarians)
• Correcting automatically generated interview transcripts
• Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts
• Using topic modeling, argumentation analysis, and other document analysis techniques to analyze documents and multimedia
• Case studies on climate change (year 2) and AI and labor (year 3)

Required Qualifications:

• Excellent communication skills in written and spoken English
• Excellent analytical/critical thinking skills and effective time management skills
• Interest in topics such as: misinformation, information diffusion, science/technology policy
• Interest or experience in one or more methods such as: mixed methods, document analysis, altmetrics, semi-structured interviewing, critical incident technique, or qualitative data analysis

Preferred Qualifications:

• Available for multiple semesters, including summer
• Experience conducting and/or transcribing interviews
• Experience with qualitative analysis software such as ATLAS.TI, NVivo, Taguette, RQDA, etc.
• Experience as a journalist, Wikipedia editor, activist, advocate, public librarian, information conduit, or knowledge broker
• Enrollment in the Master’s in Library and Information Science program or in a PhD program
• Previous completion of one or more CITI Program ethics trainings modules
• Experience in academic and/or scientific writing

Compensation: minimum $18/hour for Master’s students or $20/hour for PhD students (negotiable commensurate with experience)

Application Procedure: Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume in a single PDF file named Lastname_IMLS_hourly.pdf (e.g., Schneider_IMLS_hourly.pdf) to ischool-infoquality@illinois.edu.

Review of applications will begin immediately. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. All applications received by November 15, 2021 will receive full consideration.

Posted on the University of Illinois Financial Aid Virtual Job Board and Handshake.

Dr. Jodi Schneider’s Information Quality Lab invites applications for fully funded PhD students in Information Sciences at the School of Information Sciences (iSchool), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Current areas of interest include:

• scientific information and how it is used by researchers and the public
• scholarly communication
• controversies within science
• potential sources of bias in scientific research
• confidence in applying science to public policy

Candidates should have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in any field (e.g., mathematics, sciences, information sciences, philosophy, liberal arts, etc.). The most essential skills are strong critical thinking and excellent written and spoken English. Interest or experience in research, academic writing, and interdisciplinary inquiry are strongly preferred.

Students in the Information Quality Lab develop both domain expertise and technical skills. Examples of relevant domains include public policy, public health, libraries, journalism, publishing, citizen science, information services, and life sciences research. Examples of technical skills include knowledge representation, text and data analytics, news analytics, argumentation analysis, document analysis, qualitative analysis, user-centered design, and mixed methods.

Examples of current Information Quality Lab projects:
REDUCING THE INADVERTENT SPREAD OF RETRACTED SCIENCE: SHAPING A RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENTATION AGENDA (Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) – stakeholder-engaged research to understand the continued citation of retracted research, currently focusing on standards development and raising awareness of what various stakeholders across scholarly communication can do.

STRENGTHENING PUBLIC LIBRARIES’ INFORMATION LITERACY SERVICES THROUGH AN UNDERSTANDING OF KNOWLEDGE BROKERS’ ASSESSMENT OF TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION (Institute of Museum and Library Services Early Career Development) – Scientific misinformation and pseudoscience have a significant impact on public deliberation. This project will conduct case studies on COVID-19, climate change, and artificial intelligence to understand how journalists, Wikipedia editors, activists, and public librarians broker knowledge to the public. We will develop actionable strategies for reducing public misinformation about scientific and technical information.

USING NETWORK ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT AND ASSESS CONFIDENCE IN RESEARCH SYNTHESIS (National Science Foundation CAREER) – developing and testing a novel framework to evaluate sets of expert literature for potential sources of bias and to allow evidence-seekers to swiftly determine the level of consensus within a body of literature and identify the risk factors which could impact the reliability of the research.

Dr. Jodi Schneider studies the science of science through the lens of arguments, evidence, and persuasion. She seeks to advance our understanding of scientific communication in order to develop tools and strategies to manage information overload in science, using mixed methods including semantic web technology (metadata/ontologies/etc.), network analysis, text mining and user-centered design. Her long-term research agenda analyzes controversies applying science to public policy; how knowledge brokers influence citizens; and whether controversies are sustained by citizens’ disparate interpretations of scientific evidence and its quality. Prior to joining the iSchool, Schneider served as a postdoctoral scholar at the National Library of Medicine, the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biomedical Informatics, and INRIA, the national French Computer Science Research Institute. She is an NSF CAREER awardee and holds an Institute of Museum and Library Services Early Career Development grant. Her past projects have been funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, Science Foundation Ireland, and the European Commission.

iSchool PhD PROGRAM
iSchool PhD students have backgrounds in a broad range of fields, including the social sciences, sciences, arts, humanities, computing, and artificial intelligence. Accepted students are guaranteed five years of funding in the form of research and teaching assistantships, which include tuition waivers and a stipend. Additional funding is available for conference travel.

Our PhD program in Information Science is the oldest existing LIS doctoral program in the U.S. with 270 graduates. Recent graduates are now faculty members at institutions such as the University of Michigan, University of Washington, University of Maryland, Drexel, and UCLA, professionals at Baidu, Google, Twitter, Uber and AbbVie, and academic library professionals at the Library of Congress, Princeton University, and the University of Chicago.

APPLICATION PROCESS
For more information about the application process, please visit: https://ischool.illinois.edu/degrees-programs/phd-information-sciences/apply
Next application deadline: December 1, 2021
(This is an annual opportunity.)

QUESTIONS

For additional information about the iSchool PhD program, see https://ischool.illinois.edu/degrees-programs/phd-information-sciences

For questions about the program, please contact Prof. Michael Twidale, PhD Program Director, at ischool-phd@illinois.edu.

For questions, about the Information Quality Lab, please contact Dr. Jodi Schneider.

My Information Quality Lab is seeking a student research programmer (graduate hourly/undergraduate hourly) to do network visualization in Python with NetworkX this semester.

REQUIRED background:

• Programming experience in Python
• Elementary knowledge about network analysis including nodes, edges, attribute list, edge list, and adjacency matrices
• How to read, store, and retrieve network data from a network object
• Interest in or experience with NetworkX
• Interest in or experience with visualization

PREFERRED background:

• Experience in a research or R&D environment
• Familiarity with publication and citation data

The immediate goal is to reformat dynamic network visualizations in a conference paper for a journal article to be submitted this semester (publication credit possible in addition to pay). Data for this is publicly available: https://doi.org/10.13012/B2IDB-9222782_V1
A conference paper describes the underlying ideas http://jodischneider.com/pubs/asist2020.pdf

This person will also develop utilities to be used in future network visualizations (e.g. an ongoing analysis of a similar but larger network where other aspects, e.g. co-authorship and data cleaning, will also be relevant).

Application details in Virtual Job Board

Jodi Schneider’s Information Quality Lab (http://infoqualitylab.org) seeks a graduate hourly student for a research project on bias in citation networks. Biased citation benefits authors in the short-term by bolstering grants and papers, making them more easily accepted. However, it can have severe negative consequences for scientific inquiry. Our goal is to find quantitative measures of network structure that can indicate the existence of citation bias. 

This job starts January 4, 2021. Pay depending on experience (Master’s students start at $18/hour). Optionally, the student can also take a graduate independent study course (generally 1-2 credits IS 589 or INFO 597). Apply on Handshake

Responsibilities will include:

• Assist in the development of algorithms to simulate an unbiased network
• Carry out statistical significance tests for candidate network structure measures
• Attend weekly meetings
• Assist with manuscript and grant preparation

Required Skills

• Proficiency in Python or R
• Demonstrated ability to systematically approach a simulation or modeling problem
• Statistical knowledge, such as developed in a course on mathematical statistics and probability (e.g. STAT400 Statistics and Probability I https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/2021/spring/STAT/400 )

Preferred Skills

• Knowledge of stochastic processes
• Experience with simulation
• Knowledge of random variate generation and selection of input probability distribution
• Knowledge of network analysis
• May have taken classes such as STAT433 Stochastic Processes (https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/2021/spring/STAT/433) or IE410 Advanced Topics in Stochastic Processes & Applications (https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/2020/fall/IE/410)

MORE INFORMATION:
https://ischool.illinois.edu/people/jodi-schneider
http://infoqualitylab.org

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday December 14th.

Apply on Handshake with the following APPLICATION MATERIALS:

• Resume
• Transcript – Such as free University of Illinois academic history from Banner self-service (https://apps.uillinois.edu, click “Registration & Records”, “Student Records and Transcripts”, “View Academic History”, choose “Web Academic History”)
• Cover letter: Just provide short answers to the following two questions:
  1) Why are you interested in this particular project?
  2) What past experience do you have that is related to this project? 

I would not recommend long-haul air travel at this time.

An epidemiological study of a 7.5 hour flight from the Middle East to Ireland concluded that 4 groups (13 people), traveling from 3 continents in four groups, who used separate airport lounges, were likely infected in flight. The flight had 17% occupancy (49 passengers/283 seats; 12 crew) and took place in summer 2020.
(Note: I am not an epidemiologist.)

The study (published open access):
Murphy Nicola, Boland Máirín, Bambury Niamh, Fitzgerald Margaret, Comerford Liz, Dever Niamh, O’Sullivan Margaret B, Petty-Saphon Naomi, Kiernan Regina, Jensen Mette, O’Connor Lois. A large national outbreak of COVID-19 linked to air travel, Ireland, summer 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(42):pii=2001624. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.42.2001624

Irish news sites including RTE and the Irish Times also covered the paper.

The age of the 13 flight cases ranged from 1 to 65 years with a median age of 23 years. Twelve of 13 flight cases and almost three quarters (34/46) of the non-flight cases were symptomatic. After the flight, the earliest onset of symptoms occurred 2 days after arrival, and the latest case in the entire outbreak occurred 17 days after the flight. Of 12 symptomatic flight cases, symptoms reported included cough (n = 7), coryza (n = 7), fever (n = 6) and sore throat (n = 5), and six reported loss of taste or smell. No symptoms were reported for one flight case. A mask was worn during the flight by nine flight cases, not worn by one (a child), and unknown for three.

Murphy Nicola, Boland Máirín, Bambury Niamh, Fitzgerald Margaret, Comerford Liz, Dever Niamh, O’Sullivan Margaret B, Petty-Saphon Naomi, Kiernan Regina, Jensen Mette, O’Connor Lois. A large national outbreak of COVID-19 linked to air travel, Ireland, summer 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(42):pii=2001624. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.42.2001624 (Notes to Figure 1 Caption)

“The source case is not known. The first two cases in Group 1 became symptomatic within 48 h of the flight, and COVID-19 was confirmed in three, including an asymptomatic case from this Group in Region A within 5 days of the flight. Thirteen secondary cases and one tertiary case were later linked to these cases. Two cases from Flight Group 2 were notified separately in Region A with one subsequent secondary family case, followed by three further flight cases notified from Region B in two separate family units (Flight Groups 1 and 2). These eight cases had commenced their journey from the same continent and had some social contact before the flight. The close family member of a Group 2 case seated next to the case had tested positive abroad 3 weeks before, and negative after the flight. Flight Group 3 was a household group of which three cases were notified in Region C and one case in Region D. These cases had no social or airport lounge link with Groups 1 or 2 pre-flight and were not seated within two rows of them. Their journey origin was from a different continent. A further case (Flight Group 4) had started the journey from a third continent, had no social or lounge association with other cases and was eated in the same row as passengers from Group 1. Three household contacts and a visitor of Flight Group 4 became confirmed cases. One affected contact travelled to Region E, staying in shared accommodation with 34 others; 25 of these 34 became cases (attack rate 73%) notified in regions A, B, C, D, E and F, with two cases of quaternary spread.”

Murphy Nicola, Boland Máirín, Bambury Niamh, Fitzgerald Margaret, Comerford Liz, Dever Niamh, O’Sullivan Margaret B, Petty-Saphon Naomi, Kiernan Regina, Jensen Mette, O’Connor Lois. A large national outbreak of COVID-19 linked to air travel, Ireland, summer 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(42):pii=2001624. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.42.2001624

“In-flight transmission is a plausible exposure for cases in Group 1 and Group 2 given seating arrangements and onset dates. One case could hypothetically have acquired the virus as a close household contact of a previous positive case, with confirmed case onset date less than two incubation periods before the flight, and symptom onset in the flight case was 48 h after the flight. In-flight transmission was the only common exposure for four other cases (Flight Groups 3 and 4) with date of onset within four days of the flight in all but the possible tertiary case. This case from Group 3 developed symptoms nine days after the flight and so may have acquired the infection in-flight or possibly after the flight through transmission within the household.”

Murphy Nicola, Boland Máirín, Bambury Niamh, Fitzgerald Margaret, Comerford Liz, Dever Niamh, O’Sullivan Margaret B, Petty-Saphon Naomi, Kiernan Regina, Jensen Mette, O’Connor Lois. A large national outbreak of COVID-19 linked to air travel, Ireland, summer 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(42):pii=2001624. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.42.2001624

“Genomic sequencing for cases travelling from three different continents strongly supports the epidemiological transmission hypothesis of a point source for this outbreak. The ability of genomics to resolve transmission events may increase as the virus evolves and accumulates greater diversity [23].”

Murphy Nicola, Boland Máirín, Bambury Niamh, Fitzgerald Margaret, Comerford Liz, Dever Niamh, O’Sullivan Margaret B, Petty-Saphon Naomi, Kiernan Regina, Jensen Mette, O’Connor Lois. A large national outbreak of COVID-19 linked to air travel, Ireland, summer 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(42):pii=2001624. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.42.2001624

Authors note that a large percentage of the flight passengers were infected:

“We calculated high attack rates, ranging plausibly from 9.8 % to 17.8% despite low flight occupancy and lack of passenger proximity on-board.”

Murphy Nicola, Boland Máirín, Bambury Niamh, Fitzgerald Margaret, Comerford Liz, Dever Niamh, O’Sullivan Margaret B, Petty-Saphon Naomi, Kiernan Regina, Jensen Mette, O’Connor Lois. A large national outbreak of COVID-19 linked to air travel, Ireland, summer 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(42):pii=2001624. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.42.2001624

Among the reasons for the uncertainty of this range is that “11 flight passengers could not be contacted and were consequently not tested.” (A twelfth passenger “declined testing”.) There is also some inherent uncertainty due to incubation period and possibility of “transmission within the household”, especially after the flight; authors note that “Exposure possibilities for flight cases include in-flight, during overnight transfer/pre-flight or unknown acquisition before the flight.”

Beyond the 13 people on the flight, cases spread to several social groups, across “six of the eight different health regions (Regions A–H) throughout the Republic of Ireland”. Flight groups 1 and 2 started their travel from one continent; Flight group 3 from another; Flight group 4 from a third continent.

University of Illinois undergraduates are encouraged to apply for a position in my lab. I particularly welcome applications from students in the new iSchool BS/IS degree or in the university-wide informatics minor. While I only have 1 paid position open, I also supervise unpaid independent study projects.

Dr. Jodi Schneider and the Information Quality Lab <https://infoqualitylab.org> seek undergraduate research assistants for 100% REMOTE WORK. Past students have published research articles, presented posters, earned independent study credit, James Scholar research credit, etc.

One paid position in news analytics/data science for Assessing the Impact of Media Polarization on Public Health Emergencies, funded by the Cline Center for Advanced Research in the Social Sciences. (8hrs/week at $12.50/hour + possible independent study – 100% REMOTE WORK).
COVID-19 news analytics: We seek to understand how public health emergencies are reported and to assess the polarization and politicization of the U.S. news coverage. You will be responsible for testing and improving search parameters, investigating contextual information such as media bias and media circulation, using text mining and data science, and close reading of sample texts. You will work closely with a student who has worked on the opioid crisis – see the past work following poster (try the link TWICE – you have to log in with an Illinois NetID):
https://compass2g.illinois.edu/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_50281_1&nav=discussion_board&conf_id=_247818_1&forum_id=_417427_1&message_id=_6264991_1

Applications should be submitted here: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/742264484

DEADLINE: 5 pm Central Time SUNDAY AUGUST 30, 2020

I greatly appreciated receiving messages from senior people about their participation in the June 10th #ShutDownSTEM #strike4blacklives #ShutDownAcademia.

In that spirit, I am sharing my email bounce message for tomorrow, and the message I sent to my research lab.

Email bounce:

I am not available by email today: 
This June 10th is a day of action about understanding and addressing racism, and its impact on the academy, and on STEM. 
-Jodi

Email to my research lab

Wednesday is a day of action about understanding and addressing racism, and its impact on the academy, and on STEM.

I strongly encourage you to use tomorrow for this purpose.

Specifically, I invite you to think about what undoing racism – moving towards antiracism – means, and what you can do. One single day, by itself, will not cure racism; but identifying what we can do on an ongoing basis, and taking those actions day after day – that can and will have an impact.

And, if racism is vivid in your daily life, make #ShutDownSTEM a day of rest.

If tomorrow doesn’t suit, I encourage you to reserve a day over the course of the next week, to replace your everyday duties.

What does taking this time actually mean? It means scheduling a dedicated block of time to learn more; rescheduling meetings; shutting down your email; reading books and articles and watching videos; and taking time to reflect on recent events and the stress that they cause every single person in our community.

What am I doing personally? I’ve cancelled meetings tomorrow, and set an email bounce. I will spend part of the day to think more seriously about what real antiracist action looks like from my position, as a white female academic.

This week I will also be using time to re-read White Fragility, to finish Dreamland Burning (a YA novel about the 1921 Tulsa race riot), and to investigate how to bring bystander training to the iSchool. I will also be thinking about the relationship of racism to other forms of oppression – classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia.

If you are looking for readings of your own, I can point to a list curated by an Anti-Racism Task Force:
https://idea.illinois.edu/education

For basic information, #ShutDownSTEM #strike4blacklives #ShutDownAcademia website:
https://www.shutdownstem.com
Physicists’ Particles for Justice:
https://www.particlesforjustice.org

-Jodi