News: 2023 Career Advancement Research Grant (CARG) Recipients

Good evening, SIGDOC community—

I’m writing to announce the 2023 recipients of the Career Advancement Research Grant (CARG). On behalf of the SIGDOC Executive Committee, I am pleased to announce the following two recipients:

“Recontextualizing the Document Design of Patient Information Leaflets,” Edzordzi Agbozo, Assistant Professor at UNC Wilmington

and

“Dismantling Barriers to Publishing: Identifying Types of Negative Review Experiences and Strategies for Mitigating Them,” Hannah Stevens, Ph.D. Candidate at Utah State University

CARGs are specifically designed for early career and/or junior faculty who are working on one of their first major projects related to the design of communication. The projects awarded funding for this coming year are particularly fitting of SIGDOC’s vision as they address document design and social justice.

Steven’s project “focuses on academic publishing, particularly the peer review process, investigating gaps between journal guidelines and guidelines of inclusive publishing policy and processes. Specifically, this project investigates the potential for supplementation of policy documents to cultivate a positive publishing experience. Moreover, this research continues the work of cultivating connections among authors, reviewers, editors, etc., in the drive to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of the publication process.”

Agbozo’s project is as follows: “Although there are international guidelines for designing accessible patient information leaflets, studies suggest that these materials are still incomprehensible for most patients. The project examines patient information leaflets in a Global South context, discusses the consequences of information inaccessibility, and suggests an alternative approach to designing accessible patient information leaflets. The project expands the field’s effort in making medical and pharmaceutical information more accessible across various levels of literacies—including transnational applications, where users might not have the literacy to read complex—or even any—scientific language.”

More information on the CARG program, and a list of past winners, can be found here: https://sigdoc.acm.org/awards/career-advancement-research-grant/.

Join me in congratulating Hannah Stevens and Dr. Edzordzi Agbozo. We’re looking forward to the work these projects produce.

Dr. Morgan Banville