The Authority File

Michelle Porter, author of Scratching River, didn’t set out to write about her family. In fact, the idea for the title began when her aunt recommended she read Vanishing Spaces, the memoirs of Métis ancestor Louis Goulet. Initially planning to research the past and present of the land where Goulet lived, his descriptions of travel reminded Michelle of her childhood days driving through Canada to visit her older brother. From there, Michelle wound together Métis themes, family interviews, and the natural world to tell the story of her brother and reconcile past trauma.

In this second episode, Michelle discusses the genesis and thematic elements of Scratching River. She talks about her brother—who is autistic and schizophrenic—and the abuse he experienced, as well as the importance of maintaining his agency throughout the story. In addition, Michelle digs into the themes of the title—family relationships, Métis ancestry, trauma—and the healing nature of writing.

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In March 2021, MIT Press launched the library collective action model Direct to Open (D2O). By granting participating institutions access to backlist titles, D2O encourages libraries to aid in the notoriously difficult practice of opening up monographs. Since last year’s launch, over 150 institutions have signed on; due to this support, MIT Press will publish its entire spring 2022 catalogue of monographs and edited collections open access.

This month, MIT Press returns to The Authority File a year post-launch to discuss the milestones and future of D2O. Emily Farrell, Library Partnerships and Sales Lead at MIT Press, offers an inside look at library feedback and market forces. Curtis Brundy, Associate University Librarian at Iowa State University, shares his perspective on the value of open models and the continuing confluence of scholarly communication and collection development in the higher education ecosystem.

In this first episode of the four-part series, Emily discusses the lessons learned through D2O’s partnerships with institutions. She also highlights the initial insights gleaned from the past year, summarized in the press’s recent white paper. In addition, Curtis expands on his role in MIT Press’s advisory board, and why the model proved an exciting and bold move in the current publishing landscape.

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Flexibility isn’t exactly a defining trait of academia. Though scholarship has grown to embrace new areas of research and interdisciplinary subjects, historically, academics have stayed within their disciplines and employed traditional forms of study and evaluation. But is there another way? What can be gained by adopting multifaceted forms of research that fall outside conventional norms?

Michelle Porter studies the role of bison for the Métis people—a First Nations group of mixed indigenous and European ancestry in modern-day Canada. Michelle employs “arts-based research,” which treats artistic pursuits—music, beadwork, oral histories, writing—as viable, robust areas of discovery. Through this method, Michelle looks at the Métis with a holistic lens, resulting in creative nonfiction works like her latest title Scratching River.

In the first episode of this four-part series, Michelle introduces herself, her research, and her family ancestry. She also traces how her scholarship has developed in tandem with her writing—her first book of poetry Inquiries, the biography on her great-grandfather Approaching Fire, Scratching River, and a forthcoming book of fiction. Last, Michelle explains why bison are so vital to the Métis, and the tension of practicing arts-based research in the academy.

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It’s no surprise that ebook usage has surged since the pandemic. While adapting to remote learning, many diehard print fans began to favor the accessibility and flexibility of e-content. However, this shift to digital resources in academia started far earlier than 2020. How have publishers encouraged this digital trend in the past decade? How does the move to e-resources coincide with the open access movement? What about monographs—a piece of the scholarly puzzle infamously slow to digitize and become open?

This month, ITHAKA celebrated the 10th anniversary of offering ebooks on JSTOR, a move that no doubt exposed researchers to the benefits of e-content. Since 2012, ITHAKA has worked to open its materials, developed a tiered model for smaller stakeholders to participate, and collaborated with librarians to enhance user experience. In this special episode, John Lenahan, ITHAKA Associate Vice President of Published Content, reflects on the launch and progress of the Books at JSTOR program. Through collaboration with library and publisher partners, Books at JSTOR worked to accommodate researcher needs by introducing DRM-free access for ebooks, creating chapter-level metadata, and increasing the discoverability of individual chapters. In addition to these topics, John also looks ahead, discussing the future of the program and how to maintain the sustainability of existing access models.

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Have you ever spotted someone reading in a park, coffee shop, or on public transport, and wondered about the story behind it? Who recommended the book? Are they enjoying it? What do the books we read say about our personality, interests, life? How can book trends reveal societal issues or values? In 2013, Uli Beutter Cohen found herself asking these same questions. Armed with a phone and curiosity, she created Subway Book Review, a social media project that documents the book picks of New York City railway-goers. In the eight years since its inception, SBR has expanded into multiple cities, hosted live events, and even opened a pop-up shop in Union Square Station. In 2021, Uli published Between the Lines: Stories from the Underground, a collection of SBR interviews that extend beyond its typical short-form format.

In this special episode, Uli stops by The Authority File to discuss SBR’s genesis and development. She dives into the cultural practice of reading and how it can act as an equalizing force. Remarking on the past decade of major political and social shifts, she shares her observations on how reading trends have reflected and adjusted to the times. Last, Uli speaks on the current rise in book banning, and offers a special shout-out to librarians and their all-important work.

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January 24th marked UNESCO’S International Day of Education, which champions education as a human right and key to sustainable development. Researchers in the field of educational ethics and academic integrity have worked to apply a similarly holistic view toward ethics in academia. In fact, as Dr.Sarah Elaine Eaton,Editor of Ethics and Integrity in Educational Contexts, notes: “We need to think about students as whole people, complete people, rather than only thinking about, ‘how do we catch the cheaters or punish misconduct?’” But with varying policies around the globe, how do academic integrity experts work to advance the subject beyond its punitive roots? How can countries connect and communicate to form effective governance that protects students and scholarship?

In the final episode of this series, Sarah offers an international perspective on the discipline. She discusses the drawbacks of handling issues locally or regionally, rather than employing uniform policies—for example, the lack of a consistent definition of plagiarism. Last, Sarah explains why libraries can function as a hub for academic integrity, and the lasting consequences of not educating young scholars on ethics during their academic careers.

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COVID-19 is a recent—and ongoing—challenge to educational ethics and academic integrity. Though not even two years into the pandemic, educational ethics researchers have already found signs of increased unethical behavior—not to mention, higher levels of anxiety among students. But obstacles in this field are nothing new. In the past two decades, the proliferation of unethical academic services, contract cheating companies’ growing schemes, and the impact of digital technologies have all tested the discipline. How have challenges in the subject evolved alongside the academic landscape? What’s unique about the issues of today?

In this third episode of the series, Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton, Series Editor of Ethics and Integrity in Educational Contexts, reveals current challenges in the world of educational ethics. She dives into the sophistication of global contract cheating enterprises, as well as worrying trends of extortion and targeting younger students. Sarah also discusses the effects COVID-19 has had on integrity issues, and the potential for new, more flexible means of assessment in an online learning environment.

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Higher education has undergone many changes in the past decade—even in the last year. Indeed, new technologies and the surge in online learning has forced the field of educational ethics and academic integrity to adapt its principles to fit the changing needs of students, faculty, and administrators. So, how has the discipline evolved in its aim to remain modern and relevant? How have academic, technological, and social advances influenced the subject? What have been the major disruptions—and responses?

In this second episode, Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton, Series Editor of Ethics and Integrity in Educational Contexts, explains how educational ethics and academic integrity has sought to embrace non-student areas of research, as well as incorporate equity, diversity, and inclusion principles into reporting and policy recommendations. She also delves into how new technology has disrupted standard ethical practices; text-matching or exam proctoring software aren’t the silver bullets many hope them to be. Last, Sarah offers an example of how involving educational ethics experts in administrative decisions can help protect students—and demonstrate the complexities of addressing student needs, integrity concerns, and modern technical “solutions.”

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On college campuses, the responsibility of learning and applying academic ethics and integrity standards tends to fall upon the students. Young scholars are expected to understand how toevade contract cheating scams or navigate the line between plagiarism and proper citation. Even if faculty and librarians take the time to teach students the dos and don’ts of educational ethics and academic integrity, curriculum can still fall short. In today’s digital age, how can educators protect students from predatory services? How has COVID-19 and the rise of online learning complicated the ethical academic environment? What do educational ethics and integrity theories look like in practice?

This month, Dr.Sarah Elaine Eaton, Series Editor of Ethics and Integrity in Educational Contexts and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal for Educational Integrity, joins the Authority File to discuss the history and current issues of educational ethics and integrity. Sarah spotlights pressing topics like emergency remote teaching, artificial intelligence, and integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into the discipline. Critically, she explains the impact of new technologies on the subject, and how, despite the advantages, they cannot be used to solve the human problem of ethics.

In this first episode, Sarah introduces us to the field by highlighting significant values, scholars, and its development around the globe. She also discusses its interdisciplinary nature—academic dishonesty can form anywhere, from an English Lit essay to a biology test or coding project—and therefore, its widespread and far-reaching audience.

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As the traditional field of music education moved to embrace community music—and therefore, new music styles—certain hurdles emerged. Professors teaching Beethoven fretted over techno beats thumping across the hall. Traditionalists balked at holding rock instruments to the same standard as woodwinds or strings. However, with time, a more fluid, contemporary, and accessible form of music education has entered the academy.

But community music—which prioritizes music’s impact on the musician and community over a dedication to form—centers activist principles and social justice ideals. How does this discipline function within the institution of higher education? Can a subject guided by grassroots values thrive within the establishment? What is gained—and what is lost?

In this final episode of the series, Lee Willingham, editor of Community Music at the Boundaries, and Mary Cohen and Stuart Duncan, co-authors of the forthcoming Music-Making in U. S. Prisons: Listening to Incarcerated Voices, wrestle with the complications of bringing an activist-led discipline inside the institution of higher education. They discuss the difficulty of applying metrics used to evaluate classical compositions to different types of music—and the potential to create new assessments that widen the music education lane. To close, they dig into how community music’s principles welcome intersectionality and accessibility, while also reflecting on possible areas for improvement.

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