Tag: information science

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Ina Fourie

Ina Fourie

In Conversation

Episode 15 Ina Fourie

Retired Professor, Head of Department, and Chair of the School

In conversation with Ina Fourie, who retired as a Full Professor from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She has been Head of Department of Information Science and Chair of the School of Information Technology. She talks about growing up in apartheid South Africa, her work in health information behavior including cancer, grief, and palliative care, how personal experiences shaped her scholarly direction, with meaning, compassion and human connection being central to it all.

Trailer (1:00)

Interview (1:50:56)

https://youtu.be/b_hqFI3Uei8

Timecodes

0:57 Introduction

3:49 Early Life

15:23 South Africa

27:06 Career

36:39 Turning Points

42:31 Autoethnography

48:17 Serendipity

55:18 Information Science

1:02:26 Influences

1:11:55 Husband

1:19:36 Influential Books

1:21:36 Key Skills

1:27:12 Biggest Successes

1:30:28 Hardest Periods

1:34:34 Personal Conflict

1:37:47 Uncertainty

1:46:33 Goals

1:48:02 Mentoring Advice

This interview was supported by the iSchools Research Grant 2023.

More about Ina Fourie University of Pretoria | Google Scholar | LinkedIn

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Yunjie (Calvin) Xu

Yunjie (Calvin) Xu at the Grand Canyon, 2009

In Conversation

Episode 14 Yunjie (Calvin) Xu
Professor, Fudan University

In conversation with Yunjie (Calvin) Xu, Professor at the Department of Information Management and Business Intelligence, School of Management, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. He talked about growing up poor in a farming family, his faith, the social problems of AI, and balancing work and family.

Trailer (1:00)

Interview (1:24:55)

Timecodes

0:00 Trailer
0:55 Intro
4:45 Growing up in poor farming village in China
9:24 What led to career in information management
14:18 Moving from China to the US
15:21 Why choose Calvin for an English name
16:59 Turning points in career
26:46 Serendipity and life priorities
34:05 Information science field
38:50 Influences
41:33 Publication and writing
58:18 Advice for new researchers
1:02:02 Biggest successes
1:03:09 Biggest challenges
1:12:21 Life principles
1:19:44 Meaning of happiness
1:21:18 Goals

This interview was supported by the iSchools Research Grant 2023.

More about Calvin Xu Fudan University | Personal website | Google Scholar

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Gobinda Chowdhury

Gobinda Chowdhury

In Conversation

Episode 13 Gobinda Chowdhury
Professor, University of Strathclyde

In conversation with Gobinda Chowdhury, Professor of Information Science at the University of Strathclyde. He talked about growing up during the Bangladesh Independence war, meeting and working for then President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and his process for writing 17 books.

Trailer (0:58)

Interview (1:45:51)

Timecodes

0:00 Trailer
0:54 Intro
3:13 Childhood and access to computers
8:48 Bangladesh Independence War
10:55 Experience with change
15:40 Digital Work Environment
17:52 Family
22:38 Major turning point in life
27:33 Serendipity
31:12 Definition of Information Science
38:41 Artificial Intelligence (AI)
57:20 Chowdhury’s role in the field
1:00:17 Productive Lifestyle
1:06:52 Influences
1:12:05 Books that shaped thinking
1:14:37 Meeting and working for President of India APJ Abdul Kalam
1:19:51 Work with Organization of African Unity
1:24:12 Key skills
1:29:45 Resilience
1:37:46 Life principles
1:39:52 Goals
1:41:46 Mentoring advice

This interview was supported by the iSchools Research Grant 2023.

More about Gobinda Chowdhury University of Strathclyde | Google Scholar | LinkedIn

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Tom Wilson

In Conversation

Episode 5 Tom Wilson
Professor Emeritus, Former Head of Department, Information Scientist

In conversation with Tom Wilson, Professor Emeritus and former Head of Department at the University of Sheffield, UK, a holder of two honorary doctorates, founder of two journals, and the person behind the famous “Wilson’s models of information behavior”.

Trailer (0:56)

Interview (01:53:19)

Synopsis
Professor Emeritus Tom Wilson talks about his life from being born in a railway station, losing his father early, to a 60-year career contributing to the information field, spanning several countries and continents

Timecodes
00:00:00 – Introducing Tom Wilson
00:03:48 – Story in his own words
00:40:00 – Retirement
00:52:00 – Childhood
01:03:11 – Role of serendipity on important turning points in his career
01:07:58 – Important turns of his career
01:11:06 – Describing information science field and his role in it
01:17:37 – Own role in history of information science
01:20:15 – On creating models in information science
01:23:24 – People who most influenced his work and life
01:28:34 – Books that have influenced him
01:33:28 – Most significant things that had a huge influence on him
01:36:32 – Key skills developed that helped him over the years
01:41:23 – How hard times have influenced his life purpose
01:44:52 – Something he wished he knew earlier in life
01:46:27 – Life principles/values that guide him
01:49:03 – What happiness means to him
01:49:55 – What his goals are now
01:52:31 – Mentoring advice for people following in his footsteps
01:53:00 – Bloopers

Contact Tom Wilson University of Sheffield | Wikipedia – Thomas D Wilson | Google Scholar

This interview was supported by the COCIS Innovation Fund at Simmons University.

Featured Photo Source: Digital Campus Magazine (2015, November 4). Documentary Filmmaker Thomas Wilson Stars in a New Meeting with our Doctors Honoris Causa. University of Murcia.

Note: Towards the end, when talking about Professor Ranganathan, Professor Wilson said “Sheffield”. He meant to say “Newcastle”.

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Toni Carbo

In Conversation

Episode 4 Toni Carbo
Professor Emerita, Mentor, Leader

In conversation with Toni Carbo, Professor Emerita and former Dean at the University of Pittsburgh. The interview was recorded in Providence, Rhode Island on December 1, 2018.

Trailer (0:53)

Interview (41:47)

Synopsis
Professor Emerita Toni Carbo talks about her life from wanting to be an astronaut, to her involvement in the civil rights movement, and half a century of work, leadership, and mentorship in information science & technology.

Timecodes
00:00 – Introducing Toni Carbo
02:17 – Story in your own words
07:15 – Childhood
11:44 – People that had significant influences
17:27 – Involvement in the Civil Rights Movement
19:40 – Bringing people together
23:26 – Biggest challenges
25:16 – Meaning of happiness
27:35 – Drive and motivation to be a mentor
32:33 – Reflections on career journey
37:34 – Current goals
39:31 – Mentoring Advice

Contact Toni Carbo LinkedIn

The editing of this video was supported by the COCIS Innovation Fund at Simmons University.

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Laila Marouf

In Conversation

Episode 2 Laila Marouf
Academic, Professor, Administrator, Leader

In conversation with Laila Marouf, Professor and Assistant Vice President for Research at Kuwait University in Simmons College, Boston on August 15, 2018

Trailer (1:00)

Interview (43:37)

Synopsis
Professor and Administrator Laila Marouf talks about her experience going back to school in a different country after ten years of being a full-time mother.

Timecodes
00:00 – Introducing Laila Marouf
01:06 – Knowledge management
05:31 – Story in your own words
14:51 – Childhood
17:41 – People, books, or events that had significant influences
20:54 – Key skills that helped succeed
20:02 – Keeping yourself motivated
22:53 – Managing time effectively
24:03 – Working irrespective of deadlines
25:02 – Biggest successes
27:32 – Being a mother
28:29 – Cultures, Diversity, and Soft skills
31:06 – Resources for success
32:35 – Being a role model to women
34:40 – Emotional intelligence
36:11 – Relating to factors of happiness
36:40 – Strategies for managing personal growth
38:35 – Meaning of happiness
40:05 – Goals now
42:11 – Mentoring advice

Contact Laila Marouf LinkedIn

The editing of this video was supported by the COCIS Innovation Fund at Simmons University.

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Eileen Abels

Episode 1 Eileen Abels
Academic, Professor, Dean, Leader

In conversation with Eileen Abels, Dean of the College of Organizational, Computational, and Information Sciences and Director of the School of Library & Information Science, Simmons College, Boston on June 25, 2018

Part 1 Life and Inspiration (7:01)

Part 2 On Teaching & Innovation, Social Justice, Design Thinking (9:32)

Part 3 On Successes, Fake News & Critical Thinking, Life Lessons (8:41)

Synopsis
Dean and Professor Eileen Abels talks about life and inspiration, teaching and innovation, social justice, design thinking, successes, fake news & critical thinking, and life lessons a week before retiring.

Contact Eileen Abels Twitter LinkedIn

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Why Project Oneness World?

“The enemy is not the other. It is the ego that creates the other.” (March 13, 2018)

The purpose of Project Oneness World is to gather human stories through interviews to inspire other human stories, and to connect people with the knowledge of people and resources to help achieve their life goals.

The people interviewed may be from different fields, speaking different languages and from anywhere in the world. The stories may be of daily survival or of people who are 1) encouraging oneness, diversity and inclusion; 2) working towards personal growth and excellence in a certain field such as arts, science & technology, education, etc.; and 3) working to help improve the human condition by contributing towards a certain cause.

Through these stories, we should be able to learn life lessons, about growth and resilience and about overcoming barriers, and appreciate the basic oneness of all human beings despite our separate struggles in different contexts. Above all, rather than looking at people from the outside-in in terms of the cultures and communities they come from, the project should enable us to look at people from the inside-out, as individuals, based on their stories in their own words.

The stories should inspire other people to strive themselves towards forging connections, achieving excellence and helping others.  The project also aims to document organizations and resources and to link people with each other to further their goals, and for greater knowledge sharing.

– Naresh Agarwal

May 7, 2018