IVOA Recommendation: Resource Metadata for the Virtual Observatory Version 1.12

An essential capability of the Virtual Observatory is a means for describing what data and computational facilities are available where, and once identified, how to use them. The data themselves have associated metadata (e.g., FITS keywords), and similarly we require metadata about data collections and data services so that VO users can easily find information of interest. Furthermore, such metadata are needed in order to manage distributed queries efficiently; if a user is interested in finding x-ray images there is no point in querying the HST archive, for example. In this document we suggest an architecture for resource and service metadata and describe the relationship of this architecture to emerging Web Services standards. We also define an initial set of metadata concepts

The Archive and Package (arcp) URI scheme

The arcp URI scheme is introduced for location-independent identifiers to consume or reference hypermedia and linked data resources bundled inside a file archive, as well as to resolve archived resources within programmatic frameworks for Research Objects. Research Object: http://s11.no/2018/arcp.html#ro Cite as: Stian Soiland-Reyes, Marcos Cáceres (2018): The Archive and Package (arcp) URI Scheme. 2018 IEEE 14th International Conference on e-Science (e-Science). https://doi.org/10.1109/eScience.2018.00018Author-prepared preprint. Web version: http://s11.no/2018/arcp.html Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1109/eScience.2018.0001

Bookmarklet Builder for Offline Data Retrieval

Bookmarklet Builder for Offline Data Retrieval is a computer application which will allow users to view websites even when they are offline. It can be stored as a URL of a bookmark in the browser. Bookmarklets exist for storing single web pages in hand-held devices and these web pages are stored as PDF files. In this project we have developed a tool that can save entire web page applications as bookmarklets. This will enable users to use these applications even when they are not connected to the Internet. The main technology beyond Javascript used to achieve this is the data: URI scheme. With the data: URI scheme we can embed images, Flash, applets, PDFs, etc. as base64 encoded text within a web page. This URI scheme is supported by all major browsers and in Internet Explorer from version 8 onwards. The application could be made available online, to users who are typically website owners and would like to allow their users to be able to view their websites offline.

The Price of Anarchy in Active Signal Landscape Map Building

Multiple receivers with a priori knowledge about their own initial states are assumed to be dropped in an unknown environment comprising multiple signals of opportunity (SOPs) transmitters. The receivers draw pseudorange observations from the SOPs. The receivers’ objective is to build a high-fidelity signal landscape map of the environment, which would enable the receivers to navigate accurately with the aid of the SOPs. The receivers could command their own maneuvers and such commands are computed so to maximize the information gathered about the SOPs in a greedy fashion. Several information fusion and decision making architectures are possible. This paper studies the price of anarchy in building signal landscape maps to assess the degradation in the map quality should the receivers produce their own maps and make their own maneuver decisions versus a completely centralized approach. In addition, a hierarchical architecture is proposed in which the receivers build their own maps and make their own decisions, but share relevant information. Such architecture is shown to produce maps of comparable quality to the completely centralized approach.Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanic

IVOA Recommendation: VOResource: an XML Encoding Schema for Resource Metadata Version 1.03

This document describes an XML encoding standard for IVOA Resource Metadata, referred to as VOResource. This schema is primarily intended to support interoperable registries used for discovering resources; however, any application that needs to describe resources may use this schema. In this document, we define the types and elements that make up the schema as representations of metadata terms defined in the IVOA standard, Resource Metadata for the Virtual Observatory [Hanicsh et al. 2004]. We also describe the general model for the schema and explain how it may be extended to add new metadata terms and describe more specific types of resources

Linked data in BGS and its potential in model fusion

The British Geological Survey has been conducting a pilot project into the use of Linked Data. Linked Data is a best practice for using the web to expose, share and connect pieces of data, information and knowledge. It facilitates connections between previously unrelated data, and lowers the barriers to linking data currently linked using other methods. In essence, linked data involves publishing snippets of information as independent ‘triples’, made up of a subject, a predicate and an object. A subject is referenced by a URI and can represent any resource: a person, organisation, concept, dataset, model, application etc. A predicate is a property or relationship assigned to the subject, and is also referenced as a URI. An object is the value of the property or object of the relationship; this may be a resource referenced as a URI or a literal value such as a number or text string. Data linkages come about because anyone can publish a statement about anyone else’s resources, and resource URIs for subjects and objects can be matched up. Data linkages are also enhanced because anyone can (and should where possible) re-use anyone else’s predicates, thereby using a common language to describe information. BGS’s pilot project is about to publish three of our major vocabularies (Lexicon of Named Rock Units, Geochronological timescale, Rock Classification Scheme) and our 625k 2D geological map in linked data form. We have added links between our resources and those defined in external linked data sources where possible, including DBPedia (a linked data version of Wikipedia), the Ordnance Survey and the BBC Wildlife Finder website. Further work is necessary to improve the links to parallel vocabulary schemes defined by international organisations. The benefit of linked data is that rather than an end-user having to do investigative work to uncover the syntax and semantics of disparate datasets in order to integrate them, data published according to the Linked Data recommendations provides this information up front in an unambiguous and instantly available form. The user will have all the information at hand to integrate the data in a logical and scientifically valid way. This presentation will speculate as to how this approach may be applied to enable models to communicate and exchange information at run-time, for example using an interoperable vocabulary for physical properties, spatial and temporal dimensions and methodologies. Linked data can also be used to describe a common vocabulary for model parameters and the relationships and dependencies between them, thereby exposing feedback mechanisms between separate models or algorithms

Extraction and parsing of herbarium specimen data: Exploring the use of the Dublin core application profile framework

Herbaria around the world house millions of plant specimens; botanists and other researchers value these resources as ingredients in biodiversity research. Even when the specimen sheets are digitized and made available online, the critical information about the specimen stored on the sheet are not in a usable (i.e., machine-processible) form. This paper describes a current research and development project that is designing and testing high-throughput workflows that combine machine- and human-processes to extract and parse the specimen label data. The primary focus of the paper is the metadata needs for the workflow and the creation of the structured metadata records describing the plant specimen. In the project, we are exploring the use of the new Dublin Core Metadata Initiative framework for application profiles. First articulated as the Singapore Framework for Dublin Core Application Profiles in 2007, the use of this framework is in its infancy. The promises of this framework for maximum interoperability and for documenting the use of metadata for maximum reusability, and for supporting metadata applications that are in conformance with Web architectural principles provide the incentive to explore and add implementation experience regarding this new framework

The New Hampshire, Vol. 105, No. 28 (Feb. 11, 2016)

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire