University Library

New attention to the power of data in research has brought new kinds of data questions to the university research library. This study seeks to understand the character of research data questions in order to help research libraries develop the structures, technologies, collections, and professional skills needed to meet the needs of the research communities. It employs two original metrics to analyze 42 cases: The Data Question Typology, which allows for the organization of data questions into categories based on researcher objectives, and the Modified READ Scale for Data Questions (MRSD), which is used to record the magnitude of difficulty presented by each case. It finds that data questions differ significantly across academic fields and that successful research assistance often requires partnerships between subject specialists librarians and technological or computational experts. It concludes with a recommendation on how research libraries can facilitate a collaborative process and workflow for handling a diversity of data questions from across the university.

One of the most effective methods for preventing pregnancy is use of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), however this form of contraception is not the most commonly used among women. The low prevalence of LARCs can be explained by limited access due to women’s and physicians’ misconceptions about the efficacy of and eligibility for the method. These misconceptions regarding LARCs likely originate from physicians not having adequate and updated training. Physicians can spread inaccurate information to patients during the patient-physician interaction which can persuade women against LARCs. Additionally, physicians might even refrain from offering LARCs. This results in women making an uninformed decision regarding their health. A shared-decision making (SDM) model, which incorporates patient preferences with medical knowledge, is currently being tested to reduce physician bias during the decision-making process of contraceptive counseling. However, because misconceptions appear to originate primarily with physicians, further research into physician education programs should be done to truly solve this problem.

Suzana Sawyer traces Ecuador’s lawsuit against the Chevron corporation for the environmental devastation resulting from its oil drilling practices, showing how distinct legal truths were relationally composed of, with, and through crude oil.

Toward a Living Architecture? examines the emerging field of generative architecture and its nexus with computation, biology,  and complexity. Based on Christina Cogdell’s field research in architecture studios and biological labs, this book critiques generative architecture by evaluating its scientific rhetoric and disjunction from actual scientific theory and practice, definitively explaining the role of the natural sciences within contemporary architecture.

The effect of religious factors on politics has been a key issue since the end of the Cold War and the subsequent rise of religious terrorism. However, the systematic investigations of these topics have focused primarily on the effects of religion on domestic and international conflict. Scriptures, Shrines, Scapegoats, and World Politics offers a comprehensive evaluation of the role of religion in international relations, broadening the scope of investigation to such topics as the relationship between religion and cooperation, religion and conflict, and the relationship between religion and the quality of life. Religion is often manipulated by political elites to advance their principal goal of political survival. Zeev Maoz and Errol A. Henderson find that no specific religion is either consistently more bellicose or consistently more cooperative than other religions. However, religious similarity between states tends to reduce the propensity of conflict and increase the opportunity for security cooperation. The authors find a significant relationship between secularism and human security.