The Authority File

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 thi...

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, c...

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, te...

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 integr...

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...

We often think about the consequences of the climate crisis as relentless wildfires, catastrophic floods, or devastating tornadoes. But climate change causes more than natural disasters; water quality, air quality, and overall public health are impacted as well. As humans continue to encroach on wild ecological spaces, viruses once contained within the animal world cross over into ours—e.g., Ebola...

While traditional music education prioritizes the music—namely, centuries-old classical compositions—community music seeks to understand the impact of music-making on both the musician and listener. Because of this shift in approach, activist intentions emerge. Lee Willingham, editor of  Community Music at the Boundaries , explains, “If we start looking at music as being the musician that we’re pr...

We live in a globalized world. The clothes we buy, the food we eat, and the beliefs we hold have consequences on the other side of the planet. In fact, these activities—and many more—impact our climate on a global scale. And paradoxically, not only does our consumption cause problems, but so do our solutions, whether by halting the use of fossil fuels or designing massive geoengineering projects....

Music-making in prisons is not a new concept. For decades, cases like prison wardens implementing choral singing programs or music education students providing classes to the incarcerated have demonstrated the positive effects of “musicking” in the carceral state. But beyond the individual, familial, and wellness benefits for the incarcerated, Mary Cohen and Stuart Duncan, co-authors of the forthc...

Since the start of industrialization, the Earth has undergone many changes. Carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has spiked. New sediments of carbon-rich deposits (plastic) pollute our shores. Tunnels and mines have made “geological phenomena look like Swiss cheese.” If a geologist 10,000 years in the future looked back on this period of human existence, what would they think? Would the amount of huma...

Whether a local youth choir, a drum circle, or a musical ensemble, community music can take many forms. Perhaps because of this malleability, the subject area has attracted a devoted following in academic study and continues to grow into its own beside and within the more traditional field of music education. But how is it defined? What are its limits? How do its roots relate to activism? In this...

When we think of climate change, issues of borders and security usually aren’t the first concerns to come to mind. However, as Simon Dalby explains in his book, Anthropocene Geopolitics: Globalization, Security, Sustainability , to achieve a sustainable future we need to understand that climate change knows no political boundaries. In fact, preventing the devastating effects of climate change will...

The abundance of materials at students’ fingertips. The pitfalls of the keyword search. The lack of serendipity in online databases. Thanks to digitization and text recognition developments, these factors now affect modern-day primary source research practices. What new technologies aid—or hinder—young scholars’ primary source research? How can educators and publishers help build digital lit...

When writing DisPlace: The Poetry of Nduka Otiono , Nduka had to consider more than poetic devices, rhyme scheme, or syntax. Born in Nigeria and currently teaching in Ottawa, Ontario, Nduka had to wrestle with what language to write in—his native Ìgbò, English, or a mixture of both? These questions interrogated in the collection reflect a larger inquiry: What are the social and political implicati...

Adam Matthew’s Research Methods Primary Sources aims to provide tools, resources, and best practices that will strengthen students’ primary source literacy skills. By combining case studies, videos, essays, and practical guides by professionals, the online platform offers a space for students to practice independent primary source research. As case study contributor Dr. Rebecca Crites notes, “This...

What does “displace” mean to you? For Nduka Otiono, author of DisPlace: The Poetry of Nduka Otiono , the English meaning of the word elicits feelings of in-betweenness, migration, and a complex relationship with home. The pidgin words “dis” and “place” connect to Nduka’s Nigerian homeland and broader pan-African themes. When spliced, “dis-place” plays with the tension between languages...

Primary sources can rarely be taken at face value. For Dr. Rebecca Crites, understanding and unpacking the bias, context, and power structures in newspapers, letters, police blotters, and more is essential to her research on violence and abuse. However, if approached with the right tools and understanding, primary sources can offer insight into both the creator and the subject of a source. As Beck...

What differentiates literature from world literature? How do western conceptions of literary works categorize or diminish contributions from those outside the West? In today’s age of connectivity, migration, and growing diasporas, is there really a need for this distinction? Was there ever? While constructing DisPlace: The Poetry of Nduka Otiono , author Nduka and editor Peter Midgley wrestled wit...

Primary source research no longer requires pulling scrolls from basement-stored archives. Thanks to modern database technology, students can easily access and interact with digital primary sources throughout their academic careers. But access doesn’t necessarily equate to expertise. What literacy skills do primary sources demand? How can librarians and faculty teach these skills with the aid of pr...

For Nduka Otiono, associate professor of African Studies and English at Carleton University, and Peter Midgley, an independent scholar and editor, their friendship was inevitable. Meeting at the University of Alberta, they crossed paths within a community of writers and quickly bonded over a shared interest in oral and African literature. Over the years, Peter unofficially lent his red pen to Nduk...

Open repositories. The proliferation of preprints. Real-time engagement between non-academics and researchers. For many, these elements represent the positives of open science, all of which gained prevalence in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But can these temporary changes become permanent? What is the future of open research? In the final episode of this four-part series, Caroline Nevison and...

A publisher is only as good as its partnerships—especially in the age of open access (OA). But beyond library-publisher agreements or OA consortium goals, how can publishers advance the scholarly ecosystem toward more widely accessible OA publishing paths? What are the benefits of treating open science as a collaborative goal instead of an independent, siloed mission statement? In this third episo...

A transition point on the way to a fully open access model, transformative agreements allow institutions to retain traditional subscriptions with publishers, while also permitting researchers to publish in open or hybrid journals. Middle ground, compromise, the best of both worlds, right? But as transformative deals grow more popular, some in the scholarly publishing world question their legitimac...

Open access (OA)—initiatives that push for free, publicly-available research—has faced an uphill battle. But despite OA’s initial lack of funding and government support, authors, organizations, and publishers have now begun to adopt open policies around the globe. Looking ahead, where will open access go from here? More specifically, how can publishers ease the transition to open science? In...

Throughout the pandemic, what once was considered optional in higher education—asynchronous learning, accessible features, electronic resources—has now become the norm. At work and in the classroom, many have embraced new methods of communication with welcome results. But does everyone experience these changes equally? Are online classes an asset or a roadblock in connecting with students? Why did...