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Objective – The objective of the study was to investigate how first-year undergraduate students in a general education communication course engaged with government information sources in their academic research. The study examined the frequency, types, and access points of cited government information, as well as patterns in secondary citations and topic-based variation, to identify implications for library instruction, discovery systems, and collection strategies. Methods – For the study, the researchers analyzed citations from persuasive papers submitted by 136 students across 14 course sections. A total of 1,704 citations were reviewed, of which 124 were identified as government information sources. A classification scheme was developed to code citations by source type, government level, agency, and access point. Researchers also conducted a secondary citation analysis to identify where students referenced government-produced content through nongovernmental sources and categorized papers by topic to assess variation in government information use. Results – Government sources constituted 7.3% of all citations, with 45.3% of students citing at least one government source. Most cited materials came from U.S. federal agencies, particularly the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Congress. Students predominantly accessed government sources through open Web sources, with minimal use of library databases and materials. The types of government sources most commonly cited were webpages, press releases, and reports. An additional 201 secondary citations referenced government information indirectly. Citation patterns varied by topic, with higher engagement in papers on government, immigration, and environmental issues. Conclusion – The findings suggest that even without explicit instruction or assignment requirements, undergraduate students demonstrated baseline awareness and independent use of government information sources. However, their reliance on open Web access and secondary references highlights gaps in discovery, evaluation, and access. Instructional support could enhance students’ ability to locate and critically engage with more complex and authoritative government documents. Beyond instruction, the findings inform strategies for enhancing discovery, improving visibility, and promoting balanced access to government information.

The number of international students enrolled in Canadian K-12 schools has grown tremendously, but there remains limited research available that provides insights into the unique perspectives and challenges of this population. Through in-depth interviews with five Chinese international secondary school students and using Critical Race Theory (CRT), neo-racism and Asian Critical Theory (AsianCrit), this study identifies four key themes that help explore their experiences during the COVID-19 period with anti-Asian sentiments and racism in GTA schools. The article highlights both the strengths and limitations of CRT and AsianCrit and the contributions of Neo-racism in fully accounting for the racist experiences of Chinese international secondary students. It suggests the importance of exploring newer frames such as neo-racism, but also co-ethnic racism and new geopolitics to analyze what shapes and defines international students’ experiences. Finally, the article stresses the need for K-12 schools to confront their problematic institutional cultures and make a sincere and concerted effort to establish an inclusive and supportive environment for international students.

Canadian communities are facing a crisis of inequity, and library service providers must do more to respond to the causal conditions of anti-Black and other forms of systemic racism (Black & Mehra, 2023). Beginning in 2022, the first known Canadian MLIS course, Anti-Racism in Library and Information Science, was piloted at Western University. It aimed to allow students to engage with transformative and collaborative anti-racism frameworks relevant to the Canadian library sector and MLIS curriculum. The one-semester (13-week) course was offered once each summer in 2022 and 2023. The multi-faceted course aimed to equip students with community-based approaches to learning in partnership with local Black communities. As exemplars, the course approach and learnings also allow LIS scholars and practitioners to explore and evaluate their understanding of community-based and anti-racist frameworks. This paper provides evidence-based research and Black-centred resources that can begin to address anti-Black and other forms of systemic racism impacting Canadian library communities. The Canadian-centric and LIS-tailored approach can further benefit both library and community organizations by supporting anti-racism efforts to uncover covert practices of anti-Black racism in personal and professional practices and worldviews.

Keywords: library and information science curriculum, curriculum en bibliothéconomie, antiracisme, anti-racism, apprentissage au sein de la communauté, community-engaged learning, Canada, Canada

Community wealth building (CWB) offers a place-based approach to impact investing, fostering local economic development and wealth retention (Dowin Kennedy, 2021; Guinan & O’Neill, 2019; O’Neill & Howard, 2018; Ratner, 2019). Community bonds (CBs), a CWB tool, challenge traditional wealth models but remain underutilized due to limited awareness (Surman & Hughes, 2012; Hughes, 2013). This study examines risk perceptions versus financial performance in the Canadian CB market, arguing that addressing information asymmetry is key to unlocking capital and scaling impact. Using historical repayment data, it introduces a dataset of CB offerings and proposes a bond rating system to reduce risk. The study also develops an investor typology and explores partnerships among investors, issuers, and intermediaries through a CWB lens.

Keywords: community bonds, obligations communautaires, investissement à impact, impact investing, création de richesse communautaire, community wealth building, information asymmetry, asymétrie d’information, risk perception, perception du risque, bond rating, notation des obligations

In an era of ubiquitous computing and generative AI, our experience of place is increasingly mediated by digital technologies, creating hybrid environments where physical and virtual interactions converge. While fields like media and urban studies have explored this through the concept of ‘digital placemaking’—the use of digital media to create a sense of place—this phenomenon has received limited attention within information studies. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a new conceptual framework, termed the ‘placial-technical,’ which refines the traditional socio-technical perspective to specifically analyze the mutual shaping of place, information, and technology. Using this lens, we argue that digital placemaking should be understood as a form of information practice, encompassing the socially situated ways individuals seek, use, and share information to construct meaning about their surroundings. Drawing on literature from human geography, media studies, and Human Computer Interaction, we trace the evolution of placemaking concepts and technologies. We then analyze digital placemaking through the dual processes of perception (how information inputs shape our understanding of place) and representation (how we create informational outputs to depict place), focusing on the growing influence of algorithms and generative AI. This synthesis reveals research gaps and offers implications for information studies. By conceptualizing digital placemaking as an information practice, the field can extend its theoretical and methodological tools while informing the ethical design of technologies that foster authentic community engagement and place attachment in a digitally mediated world.

Keywords: digital placemaking, Création de lieux numériques, Sentiment d'appartenance au lieu, sense of place, Pratiques informationelles, information practice, Systèmes sociotechniques, socio-technical systems

This research investigates the relationship between ethnic diversity in the boardroom and the ESG performance of US banks during the 2016-2021 period. To this aim, we implement the 2-step system GMM estimation technique, which addresses endogeneity issues that have posed challenges in many studies. Our findings indicate that boardroom ethnic diversity negatively influences ESG performance. Moreover, in a nonlinear analysis, we provide evidence of a U-shaped relationship between boardroom ethnic diversity and the ESG performance of banks. These results remain robust when, instead of ESG performance, we examine the social and corporate governance performance of banks. We also demonstrate that the impact of boardroom ethnic heterogeneity on ESG performance varies with bank size. Furthermore, we reveal that during the pandemic, the previously negative impact of ethnically diverse directors on ESG performance shifts and ultimately becomes positive. Consequently, our conclusions serve as an important source of information to lawmakers and regulators and enrich the corporate governance research concerning the nexus between board characteristics and ESG performance.

Keywords: Corporate Governance, Board ethnic diversity, ESG performance, COVID-19, Bank size, Banks, United States

Traditional auction theory typically assumes that bidders will fully honor their commitments upon winning. However, this assumption often proves inadequate in high-stakes auctions, such as those for infrastructure projects or luxury assets, where securing the necessary funds post-auction can pose challenges. Factors such as market volatility, liquidity constraints, or delays in financing frequently result in bidder defaults, leading to substantial disruptions for sellers, including the costs of re-auctioning and project delays. This paper seeks to bridge this gap in auction theory by exploring how comprehensive information about bidders’ default risks can be utilized through a straightforward post-bidding mechanism. Furthermore, it highlights the advantages this approach offers to the auctioneer compared to scenarios where such critical information is unavailable.

Keywords: Auction, Default, Reliability

Archives often preserve materials that reinforce privileged identities and marginalize LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and disabled communities. Furthermore, there is only limited theoretical work addressing how to ethically document intersectional identities, especially the dual embodiments of Asianness and queerness. Inspired by K.J. Rawson’s theorizing of accessing transgender//desiring queer archival logics, we employ critical case studies to analyze how Asian/queer//queer/Asian identities are represented in archival collections. Our study finds that Asian/queer//queer/Asian theory offers a new lens and new tools to combat archival erasure and misrepresentation resulting from heteronormativity, white supremacy, and cisgender misogyny. This article develops three critical case studies focusing on the white queer gaze toward Asian queer bodies in archives, the disidentification of Asian/queer//queer/Asian identities within archival records, and the use of archival speculation to explore Asian/queer//queer/Asian identities. This work makes both practical and theoretical contributions. Practically, we advocate for proactive archival practices that better represent such identities, avoiding essentialist representations. We also highlight the importance of embodied knowledge and the positionality of scholars and practitioners whose lived experiences centre Asian queer identities along with approaches like revisiting collections, creating reparative descriptions, and reading against the archival grain. Theoretically, we argue for archival speculation as a legitimate mode of inquiry and a process of knowledge production, positioning archives as sites that encourage disidentification.

Considering the key cause of climate-harming carbon emissions is the increased use of fossil fuels, we might expect research in education to engage in petrocriticism—a critical way of reading the world that deconstructs how fossil-fuelled cultural expectations and practices, or “petroculture,” functions in education. To trace the intersection of fossil fuels and education, this article conducts a systematic literature review of both existing and emerging scholarship, engaging in a petrocritical reading of research themes to reveal the extent to which petroculture is naturalized and/or confronted. By examining both dominant research patterns and the notable silences, we conclude by making recommendations for how education scholarship can respond to climate science and contribute to a more livable future through research that takes up (a) petrocriticism, (b) mitigation and decarbonization, and (c) transformation toward alternatives.

Keywords: climate change education, éducation au changement climatique, pétroculture, petroculture, pétrocriticisme, petrocriticism, combustibles fossiles, fossil fuels, education research, recherche en éducation, systematic literature review, revue systématique de la littérature