Danielle Allard

Women and statin use: a women's health advocacy perspective.

This paper is based on a longer report on the benefits, safety and modalities of information representation with regard to women and statin use, situated within the historical context of Womens Health Movement which has advocated for unbiased, appropriate medical research and prescribing for women based on the goals of full-disclosure, informed consent, evidence-based medicine and gender-based analysis. The evidence base for prescribing statins for women, especially for primary prevention is weak, yet Canadian data suggest that half of all prescriptions are for women. Safety meta-analyses do not disaggregate for women; do not consider female vulnerability to statin induced muscle problems, and women-centred concerns such as breast-cancer, miscarriage or birth defects are under-researched. Many trials have not published their non-cardiac serious adverse event data. These factors suggest that the standards of full-disclosure, informed consent, evidence-based prescribing and gender-based analysis are not being met and women should proceed with caution.

ICT‐mediated diaspora studies: New directions in immigrant information behavior research

A growing and sizeable area of study within information behavior research focuses on the information needs and behaviors of immigrant populations (see Chu, 1999; Fisher, Durrance & Hinton, 2004; Caidi & Allard 2005; Srinivasan & Pyati, 2007). Some of the unique needs of these populations include information to aid with coping skills and social inclusion, as well as culturally specific information resources. Moreover, immigrant communities have information networks that span national boundaries, which affects their needs and uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This panel will focus on the role of ICTs in mediating the information environments of immigrant and diasporic communities. While focusing on how ICTs mediate immigrant information needs, this panel also contextualizes immigrant information behavior research within globalization and diaspora studies. For instance, the concept of “e-diaspora” is a term gaining in popularity, but rarely invoked in relation to immigrant information behavior research. How do new media technologies mediate and influence the information needs and behaviors of immigrant populations? Are localized immigrant information needs mediated by diasporic information sources? The panelists will focus on ICT-mediated services for immigrant populations within the context of both local and global information environments. Questions addressed include: In what ways do diasporic information environments shape local immigrant information needs and their social inclusion into the host society? How does the “digital divide” manifest itself in studies of ICT-mediated immigrant information behavior? The issues addressed by the panel are both timely and critical as evidenced by the ongoing debates in Europe, North America and elsewhere on immigration policy, on integration and identity, and the role of ICTs in a globalized world. This international perspective will be reflected in the composition of the panel.

Negotiating Borders: Librarianship and Twenty-First-Century Politics

Recent developments in Canada, the United States, and beyond continue to test librarians’ resolve and to redefine how we view ourselves and engage with communities. Drawing on examples from both Canada and the United States and deploying the concept of “border” as an analytical trope, we seek to probe and unsettle the geographic, professional, and ideological interfaces that librarians constantly negotiate. In a world where data know no borders but indigenous and other bodies are constrained by them, how do we respond to the “Calls to Action” of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to the violent displacement of millions of Syrians, to the resurgence of divisive politics and racist rhetorics, or to the surrender to data? Using the Trump election as a launching point, we explore key drivers for change in LIS in instances when politics spill into our professional purview.