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Profs win outstanding paper awards for diversity research

Submitted on Thursday, January 30, 2020

Two Faculty of Information professors have received 2019 Outstanding Paper Awards from the International Journal of Information Diversity & Inclusion. Associate Professor Nadia Caidi won in the category of Research Articles for her paper, Pilgrimage to Hajj: An Information Journey  (vol. 3, no. 1), while Professor Lynne Howarth won in the category of Conceptual Articles for her paper, Dementia Friendly Memory Institutions: Designing a Future for Remembering (vol. 4, no. 1).

The referees noted that Caidi‘s  paper explored a sparsely researched area of  Library and Information Science (LIS), namely spiritual and transformational experiences, such as literacy/information practices. They called the paper “an important, courageous contribution to our field.” The paper was further described as “a brilliantly engaging, timely, and well-written article that is notable for a focus on information seeking by religious pilgrims both before and after pilgrimage.” The referees recognized that “the paper contributes to the goal of providing a wider lens onto informational experiences” and stressed the international significance and applicability of the study.

The Referees said Howarth’s award recognized her contributions “to research related to dementia and related diseases to LIS.” They noted how relevant it was to contemporary library services and cultural institutions such as museums and stressed that her “conclusion provides many practical suggestions for implementing dementia-friendly spaces in libraries and museums.”

Howarth’s article derives from earlier research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), which she conducted with individuals with ADRD and her interest in storytelling, objects, and memory.

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