Z39.88-2004 : The OpenURL Framework for Context-Sensitive Services : The Key/Encoded-Value (KEV) Format Implementation Guidelines

The OpenURL Framework for Context-Sensitive Services Standard [1] provides a means of describing a referenced resource along with a description of the context of the reference. Additionally it defines methods of transporting these descriptions between networked systems. It is anticipated that it will be used to request services pertaining to the referenced resource and appropriate for the requester. The OpenURL Framework is very general and has the potential to be used in many application domains and by many communities. Concrete instantiations of the various core components within the framework are defined within the OpenURL Registry [2]. The Registry is managed by a Maintenance Agency, as defined in Appendix A of the Standard. During the ballot and public review period of the Standard, the content of the Registry was static and had been pre-defined by the NISO AX Committee. There is also an experimental registry where components under development are held. It is possible to register further items. Initially there were two formats for ContextObject Representations defined in the OpenURL Framework, Key/Encoded-Value and XML. This document provides implementation guidelines for the Key/Encoded-Value Format, concentrating mainly, but not exclusively, on components from the San Antonio Level 1 Community Profile (SAP1)

Reflections on the Goals, Concepts and Recommendationsof the IFLA Study on Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has long promoted international bibliographic standards through its UBCIM Programme and the programs and activities of IFLA Division of Bibliographic Control and its three standing committees. IFLA\u27s many achievements over the years have resulted in several serious re-examinations of cataloguing theories and practices. The study we are discussing this morning is part of a proud tradition going back to 1961 and now leads us through the early twenty-first century. As many of you may remember, the first major IFLA initiative in international bibliographic control took place in 1961 at an international conference in Paris during which a set of cataloguing principles were approved--now known as the Paris Principles. In 1969 another important IFLA-sponsored conference was held in Copenhagen, whose purpose was to consider a resolution to establish international standards for the form and content of bibliographic descriptions. The results of this far-reaching resolution have been the International Standard Bibliographic Description for Monographic Publications, first published in 1971, and its successor standards for all formats. In 1977 the International Congress on National Bibliographies was held in Paris, which called for standards for the printed national bibliography. The congress participants also recommended that greater efforts at national international levels should be made to ensure compatibility between the bibliographic exchange formats of the library and information communities, and the establishment of ISDS centres. Another event of consequence took place in 1997 when the Standing Committee of the IFLA Section on Cataloguing approved the final report of a study on the functional requirements for bibliographic records. The report contained a series of recommendations that could have far reaching consequences for international bibliographic control standards

The NASA Astrophysics Data System: Architecture

The powerful discovery capabilities available in the ADS bibliographic services are possible thanks to the design of a flexible search and retrieval system based on a relational database model. Bibliographic records are stored as a corpus of structured documents containing fielded data and metadata, while discipline-specific knowledge is segregated in a set of files independent of the bibliographic data itself. The creation and management of links to both internal and external resources associated with each bibliography in the database is made possible by representing them as a set of document properties and their attributes. To improve global access to the ADS data holdings, a number of mirror sites have been created by cloning the database contents and software on a variety of hardware and software platforms. The procedures used to create and manage the database and its mirrors have been written as a set of scripts that can be run in either an interactive or unsupervised fashion. The ADS can be accessed at http://adswww.harvard.eduComment: 25 pages, 8 figures, 3 table

The impact of powered mobility devices on occupational performance : a systematic review ; and, The experience of being a motorised mobility scooter user

The impact of powered mobility devices on occupational performance: A systematic review Purpose: To systematically review the impact powered mobility devices have on engagement in independent occupations for adults with acquired mobility limitations. Method: The following databases were searched electronically: CINAHL Plus, Medline, PsychInfo, OT Seeker, Joanna Briggs Institute and Physiotherapy Evidence Database. The search terms used a combination of words to encompass all terms which are used for powered mobility. Studies were included if they evaluated adults’ use of a motorised mobility device, and if individuals used a powered mobility device due to acquired mobility limitation. Results: Eleven studies were eligible for inclusion. Studies varied in methodological quality and research design. One study was a true experimental design; four studies were preexperimental, and six used non-experimental designs. Positive improvements in occupational engagement were reported in five studies and increased independence was highlighted in four of these. Environmental barriers were described as being negatively associated with powered mobility use, with reports of accidents and injury closely associated with use of device when mobilising in the community. Conclusions: Due to differences in study focus, sample characteristics, outcome measures and varying methodological quality of each research study, drawing conclusions from the results is problematic. What can be suggested from the results is that environmental barriers generate difficulties and challenges for the user, which can subsequently result in accident or injury. In contrast these negative aspects, the use of a powered mobility is shown to provide positive impacts on the individual in the areas of independence, quality of life, mobility and engagement. The experience of being a motorised mobility scooter user Purpose: This study explored the individual experiences of being a scooter user and the ways in which scooters impact the individual’s community and social engagement, daily activities and maintenance of mobility. Method: A qualitative, constructive framework utilising purposive sampling and a semi structured interview with fourteen individuals residing within aged care facilities in Perth, Western Australia was utilised. Data was analysed thematically with questions categorised under the main areas of activities, participation and environmental factors according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework. Results: The three main themes identified through the research were knowledge, engagement and environments. Knowledge related to a lack of concise information, trialling and training prior to purchase leading to issues with the scooter catering for users’ individual needs. Engagement consisted of two sub categories of participation and interaction. Environments were broken into two areas of discrimination from the wider population and building design and barriers related to space requirements and physical barriers in the built environment. Conclusions: The research demonstrated a strong positive impact on individual’s engagement from using a scooter, while highlighting a lack of efficient knowledge about scooters, batteries, skill ability and design along with environmental challenges of discriminatory attitudes and barriers. The research indicates the need for pre-purchase assessments and trials along with improvements in community attitudes and environments. The use of a scooter results in increases to participation, role maintenance, choice, freedom and social interaction

A Scalable Architecture for Harvest-Based Digital Libraries

This article discusses the requirements of current and emerging applications based on the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) and emphasizes the need for a common infrastructure to support them. Inspired by HTTP proxy, cache, gateway and web service concepts, a design for a scalable and reliable infrastructure that aims at satisfying these requirements is presented. Moreover, it is shown how various applications can exploit the services included in the proposed infrastructure. The article concludes by discussing the current status of several prototype implementations

A Comparison of Utilities for Converting from PostScript or Portable Document Format to Text

There are many available tools for converting PostScript and PDF files into text and HTML files. This report has been written following the testing of some of the most commonly available tools, and gives details of the results of this testing for each tool. A particular focus is given to the suitability of the output for the automatic extraction of reference information from full-text documents at CERN

Gross motor abilities and interventions in girls and women with Rett syndrome: A literature review ; Longitudinal video analysis of gross motor abilities of girls and women with Rett syndrome

Objective: To explore research relevant to an understanding of gross motor abilities and highlight possible directions for gross motor intervention in girls and women with Rett syndrome. A secondary objective was to describe mouse model research which has the potential to add to an understanding of gross motor abilities in this population. Methods: Electronic searches of five databases, manual searches of an external resource library and manual searches of reference lists were undertaken. The key words imputed during these searches included; mobility, Rett syndrome, functioning, mouse model, therapy and intervention. Search terms were truncated, exploded and adjusted to achieve optimum results. A narrative review was possible. Results: The searches of the literature yielded research which will be discussed under the headings; phenotype-genotype correlations, gross motor functioning, therapy interventions, involving both gross motor interventions in girls and women with Rett syndrome and mouse model research. The research found that most girls/women with Rett syndrome can sit independently, approximately half can walk and many have difficulties with transitional movements. More complex gross motor skills, such as transitions, walking on a slope and stepping over an obstacle, have been highlighted as especially difficult for this population. Video analysis is an emerging methodology in this area and has the potential to ·provide better observational data, to measure change, investigate gross motor abilities and evaluate the effectiveness of gross motor interventions. Mouse model research has investigated environmental enrichment as a treatment paradigm resulting in amelioration of gross motor deterioration. Similarly, increasing the expression of BDNF in mice with MeCP2 mutants has resulted in reduced locomotor deficit. Conclusion: Further longitudinal and cross-sectional studies with rigorous design and larger sample sizes are required in order to guide therapeutic gross motor intervention in girls and women with Rett syndrome. Purpose: Rett syndrome is a rare neurological disorder often associated with a mutation in the MECP 2 gene. It results in severe physical and intellectual disability with a gradual decrease in acquired gross motor abilities. This study explored changes in gross motor abilities over three years in girls/women with Rett syndrome, recruited from a population-based data base. The relationships between these changes and age and genotype were investigated. Method: Families participating in the Australian Rett Syndrome Database were invited to participate in a video study. Ninety-nine families provided a video in 2004 and 70 of these cases submitted a second video in 2007. Gross motor data for the two time points were scored through the use of an assessment tool based on the Gross Motor Function Measure. Results: The level of general gross motor skills decreased in 58 (82.9%) and increased in 12 (17.1 %) cases (mean decrease in z-score 0.50 ± 0.59). The level of complex gross motor skills decreased in 67 (95.7%) and increased in 3 (4.2%) cases (mean decrease in z-score 1.58 ± 1.11). General motor skills declined for cases in each of the four age-groups. Compared to the girls who were younger than 8 years, the decrease in complex motor skills was greater for girls aged 13:S19 years (P=0.021) and women \u3e19 years (P=0.071). Conclusion: Over a 3-year period, there was a small amount of deterioration in general gross motor skills for girls of all ages and a larger deterioration in complex gross motor skills during the teenage years. This detailed understanding of the characteristics of declining gross motor skills in Rett syndrome could contribute to the development of strategies to ameliorate these trends

Template-Based Metadata Extraction for Heterogeneous Collection

With the growth of the Internet and related tools, there has been a rapid growth of online resources. In particular, by using high-quality OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tools it has become easy to convert an existing corpus into digital form and make it available online. However, a number of organizations have legacy collections that lack metadata. The lack of metadata hampers not only the discovery and dispersion of these collections over the Web, but also their interoperability with other collections. Unfortunately, manual metadata creation is expensive and time-consuming for a large collection, and most existing automated metadata extraction approaches have focused on specific domains and homogeneous collections. Developing an approach to extract metadata automatically from a large number of challenges. In particular, the heterogeneous legacy collection poses a following issues need to be addressed: (1) Heterogeneity, i.e. how to achieve a high accuracy for a heterogeneous collection; (2) Scaling, i.e. how to apply an automated metadata extraction approach to a very large collection; (3) Evolution, i.e. how to process new documents added to a collection over time; (4) Adaptability, i.e. how to apply an approach to a new document collection; (5) Complexity, i.e. how many document features can be handled, and how complex the features should be. In this dissertation, we propose a template-based metadata extraction approach to address these issues. The key idea of addressing the heterogeneity is to classify documents into equivalent groups so that each document group contains similar documents only. Next, for each document group we create a template that contains a set of rules to instruct a template engine how to extract metadata from documents in the group. Templates are written in an XML-based language and kept in separate files. Our approach of decoupling rules from programming codes and representing them in a XML format is easy to adapt to another collection with documents in different styles. We developed our test bed by downloading about 10,000 documents from DTIC (Defense Technical Information Center) document collection that consists of scanned versions of documents in PDF (Portable Document Format) format. We have evaluated our approach on the test bed consisting of documents from DTIC collection, and our results are encouraging. We have also demonstrated how the extracted metadata can be utilized to integrate our test bed with an interoperable digital library framework based on OAI (Open Archives Initiative)