Wan-Chen Lee is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington Information School. Her research interests are: knowledge organization, classification theory, culture and classification, globalization and localization of cataloging and classification standards, and metadata.
Fluent in English, Mandarin, and Japanese, Wan-Chen is particularly interested in the challenges and considerations of designing classification schemes in different cultural contexts, as well as ethical issues and GLOCAL tension in knowledge organization [1] [2] [3]. She compares the subject ontogeny of Eugenics in classification schemes in the U.S, Taiwan, and Japan to discuss the temporal aspect of classification schemes, identify underrepresented aspects of the subject Eugenics, and provide insights into the meanings and usages of the term in different contexts [7] [8]. She also studies cataloging practices from an ethnographic lens. Through prolonged fieldwork since 2015, her participatory observations and informal interviews capture rich cataloging scenarios. Based on the scenarios, she discusses semantic warrants in knowledge organization [4] [6] and the concept of authorship in different cultural contexts [5]. The fieldwork also contributes to her dissertation proposal, which focuses on operationalizing cultural warrant.
Wan-Chen also collaborates with the Game Research (GAMER) Group at the University of Washington iSchool to study metadata for video games and anime [9] [10] [11].
[Cultural concerns, Ethical issues, and GLOCAL tension]
[1]. Lee, W.-C. (2015). Culture and classification: an introduction to thinking about ethical issues of adopting global classification standards to local environments. Knowledge Organization, 42(5), 302–307.
[2]. Lee, W.-C. (2016). Challenges and Considerations of Adapting Foreign Classification Standards. In J. A. Chaves Guimarães, O. M. Suellen, & V. Dodebei (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourteenth International ISKO Conference 27-29 September 2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (pp. 485–492). Ergon-Verlag.
[3]. Lee, W.-C. (2017). Three Questions Concerning the Foundation of Multi-perspective Classification. Presented at the 2017 ASIS&T SIG/CR Workshop on Building a Research Agenda for Multi-Perspective Knowledge Representation. Crystal City, VA. https://sigcr.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/2017sigcrworshoplee.pdf
[Cataloging practices from an ethnographic lens — semantic warrants; authorship]
[4]. Lee, W.-C. (2017). Conflicts of Semantic Warrants in Cataloging Practices. Presented at the North American Symposium on Knowledge Organization, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. http://www.iskocus.org/NASKO2017papers/NASKO2017_paper_25.pdf
[5]. Lee, W.-C. (2018). Author Information for Knowledge Organization in the Digital Age. Proceedings of the Fifteenth International ISKO Conference 9-11 July 2018 Porto, Portugal. (pp.739-745). Ergon-Verlag.
[6]. Lee, W.-C. (2019). Cataloging Practices through an Ethnographic Lens: Workarounds, Disagreements, and Manifestations of Culture. Presented at the North American Symposium on Knowledge Organization, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[Subject ontogeny]
[7]. Lee, W.-C. (2016). An Exploratory Study of the Subject Ontogeny of Eugenics in the New Classification Scheme for Chinese Libraries and the Nippon Decimal Classification. Knowledge Organization, 43(8), 594–608.
[8]. Lee, W.-C. (2018). Across Borders: The Concept and Applications of Eugenics in the CCL and the NDC. Association for Information Science and Technology. Vancouver, Canada, November 12, 2018.
[Metadata for video games and anime]
[9]. Fitch, S., Jantz, E., & Lee, W.-C. (2014). Database for Video Game Metadata Project for the GAMER Research Group. Capstone. Seattle, Washington, June 5, 2014.
[10]. Keating, S., Lee, W.-C., Windleharth, T., & Lee, J. H. (2017). The Style of Tetris is…Possibly Tetris?: Creative Professionals’ Description of Video Game Visual Styles. Retrieved from http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/41402
[11]. Cho, H., Disher, T., Lee, W.-C., Keating, S. A., & Lee, J. H. (2018). Facet Analysis of Anime Genres: The Challenges of Defining Genre Information for Popular Cultural Objects. Knowledge Organization, 45(6), 484-499.
