Leveraging digital forensics and data exploration to understand the creative work of a filmmaker: a case study of Stephen Dwoskin’s digital archive

This paper aims to establish digital forensics and data exploration as a methodology for supporting archival practice and research into a filmmaker's creative processes. We approach this by exploring the digital legacy hard drives of the late artist Stephen Dwoskin (1939-2012), who is recognised as an influential filmmaker at the forefront of the shift from analogue to digital film production. The research findings of this case study show that digital forensics is effective in extracting a timeline of hard drive activities, data that can be explored to reveal clues about the artist’s personal/professional history, stages of creative processes, and technical environment. The paper further demonstrates how this is related to current thinking around user-centred archival workflow and understanding of creative processes. The broader impact of the work for advancing digital archiving and research into creative processes is highlighted, concluding with a discussion of how, going forward, the approach can be coupled with deeper content analysis to reveal what influences editing choices taking place over time

Archives audiovisuelles : trois points de vue

Cet article a été développé sur la base des communications présentées au congrès annuel de l'Association des archivistes canadiens (7-10 juin 2017, Ottawa, ON).This article was developed on the basis of the papers presented at the annual conference of the Association of Canadian Archivists (June 7-10, 2017, Ottawa, ON).Même si les archives audiovisuelles sont devenues omniprésentes dans l'environnement numérique, le milieu archivistique n'a pas nécessairement saisi pour autant toute l'importance du phénomène. À partir de cette réflexion, trois étudiants gradués ont présenté leur point de vue et recherches sur le sujet lors du congrès annuel de l'Association des archivistes canadiens (7-10 juin 2017, Ottawa, ON). Cet article a été développé sur la base des communications présentées au congrès. Chacun, face à son objet d'étude, s'interroge à sa manière sur la discipline archivistique à travers les archives audiovisuelles et les institutions qui les conservent. Tout d'abord, il sera question des nouveaux usages, usagers et formes d'exploitation des documents d'archives audiovisuels numériques et des moyens d'améliorer leur organisation et leur diffusion sur le Web. Ensuite, les Prelinger Archives serviront de base pour l'analyse du déplacement des lieux d'archives tant sur le plan théorique qu'institutionnel ou structurel. Finalement, une étude de plusieurs initiatives d'archivage des films de famille mettra en lumière la valeur de ces documents souvent laissés de côté par les institutions traditionnelles et permettra de réfléchir au rôle de médiateur de l'archiviste. À travers ces trois points de vue, il s'agit de repenser l'archivistique depuis l'exploitation, représentant pour les archivistes une occasion sans pareille de renouvellement et, par conséquent, de développement dans l'environnement numérique.Even though audiovisual archives have become ubiquitous in the digital environment, the archival science field has not necessarily grasped the overall complexity of the phenomenon. Based on this reflection, three graduate students presented their perspectives and research on the subject at the annual conference of the Association of Canadian Archivists (June 7-10, 2017, Ottawa, ON). This article was developed on the basis of the papers presented at the conference. Each, faced with its object of study, interrogates in its own way on the archival science discipline through the audiovisual archives and the institutions which preserve them. First of all, it will be discussed new uses, users and forms of exploitation of digital audiovisual archive documents and ways of improving their organization and distribution on the Web. Then, the Prelinger Archives will serve as a basis for the analysis of the displacement of archival sites on the theoretical, institutional and structural levels. Finally, a study of several home movies archiving initiatives will highlight the value of these documents often left aside by traditional institutions and will help to reflect on the archivist's role as mediator. Through these three points of view, archival science will be thought from the exploitation, representing for the archivists an unparalleled opportunity of renewal and, consequently, of development in the digital environment

Formação de usuários no arquivo judicial da Justiça Federal na Paraíba

Institutions and information units that have as purpose to grant access to information and perform their activities aimed at users, need to perform training actions for users, both internal users who organize documents and external users who wish to access them. Considering that the studies of users and, more precisely, the studies of user training are still little explored, a research was carried out whose general objective is to analyze the user training activities in the judicial file of the Federal Court in Paraíba. This is a descriptive research and quantitative-qualitative approach. The methodological procedures include a bibliographical research, on the subjects Science of Information and Archivology, Studies of Users and Competence in Information and Training of Users subjects that provide theoretical support to the research, and a field research, realized in the Judicial File of the Federal Justice of the Paraíba of the João Pessoa Section. The study population corresponded to 51 users, 20 of whom were internal to the institution and 31 external users. The data collection instrument applied was a questionnaire that includes open and closed questions and consists of two parts: the first to identify the profile of users and the second to verify user training activities and access and search procedures of information. The obtained data were analyzed and interpreted, systematizing them by electronic tabulation. For the analysis of the open questions we adopted the Content Analysis of Bardin (2009). The survey confirmed that there is no formal and standardized user education program, whether internal or external. Only instructions are passed orally to the first and by telephone to the seconds when they contact the JFPB. It also ratified the need to carry out user training activities in the JFPB judicial file. From the data analyzed and the literature review, we developed guidelines for the implementation of a user training program at the JFPB. It is concluded that the practical actions of training of users, currently, are expanding from the active use and implantation of the systems so that the users know how to use them and to obtain the information that they desire. This is the new activity that the archivist and all information professionals must exercise, mainly due to the institutions' anxiety to perform the digitization of their collections.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPESAs instituições e as unidades informacionais, cuja finalidade é de conceder o acesso à informação, e exercem suas atividades destinadas aos usuários, precisam realizar ações de formação de usuários tanto para os internos, que organizam os documentos, quanto os externos, que desejam acessá-los. Tendo em vista que os estudos de usuários e, mais precisamente, os estudos de formação de usuários ainda são pouco explorados, realizou-se uma pesquisa que tem como objetivo geral analisar as atividades de formação de usuários no arquivo judicial da Justiça Federal na Paraíba. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de cunho descritivo e abordagem quanti-qualitativa, cujos procedimentos metodológicos incluem uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre os temas Ciência da Informação e Arquivologia, Estudos de Usuários e Competência em Informação e Formação de Usuários, que dão suporte teórico à pesquisa, e uma pesquisa de campo, realizada no Arquivo Judicial da Justiça Federal da Paraíba da Seção João Pessoa. A população estudada correspondeu a 51 usuários - 20 internos à instituição e 31 externos. O instrumento de coleta de dados aplicado foi um questionário que incluiu perguntas abertas e fechadas e compõe-se de duas partes: a primeira, para identificar o perfil dos usuários, e a segunda, para verificar as atividades de formação de usuários e os procedimentos de acesso e busca de informação. Os dados obtidos foram analisados, interpretados e sistematizados por tabulação em meio eletrônico. Para analisar as questões abertas, adotou-se a Análise de Conteúdo de Bardin (2009). A pesquisa confirmou que não existe, de modo formal e padronizado, um programa de educação de usuários, sejam eles internos ou externos, e apenas se passam instruções oralmente, para os primeiros, e por telefone, para os segundos, quando eles entram em contato com a JFPB. Também ratificou a necessidade de se fazerem atividades de formação de usuários no arquivo judicial da JFPB. A partir dos dados analisados e da revisão da literatura, elaboramos diretrizes para a implantação de um programa de formação de usuários na JFPB. Conclui-se que as ações práticas de formação dos usuários, atualmente, estão em expansão a partir do uso ativo e da implantação dos sistemas para que os usuários saibam utilizá-los e buscar as informações que desejam. Essa é a nova atividade que o arquivista e todos os profissionais da informação devem exercer, principalmente porque as instituições estão ansiosas para digitalizar seus acervos

Contribution of selected chapter nine institutions to records management in the public sector in South Africa

Records management plays a significant role in ensuring accountability, transparency and good governance. Chapter nine institutions, on the other hand, are democratic institutions responsible for the promotion of accountability, transparency and good governance in the public sector through various forms such as investigation, reporting and recommendations. Although the regulatory role of records management in the public sector is the responsibility of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA), it seems that this responsibility is cumbersome for the organisation as several scholars concur that the public sector is characterised by poor records management. As a result, NARSSA is unable to support governmental bodies in managing records properly. Given the position of chapter nine institutions in government and their mandate as set out by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, these institutions are able to hold the state accountable for their actions, unlike NARSSA. This study adopted the World Bank’s evolution of good governance as the conceptual framework to investigate the contribution of selected chapter nine institutions, specifically the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) towards records management in the public sector in South Africa. Qualitative data was collected through document analysis and interviews with purposively selected participants from the AGSA and the SAHRC. At the AGSA, participants were records management professionals and auditors, whereas at the SAHRC only staff members responsible for the implementation of access to information legislation were interviewed. Although the study established that records management is a key enabler to the process of access to information and the auditing process, the relationship was not fully explored by the SAHRC, which has little or no interaction with the NARSSA. However, the AGSA has taken the lead in this regard as it has managed to develop a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NARSSA. Organised records enable the AGSA to audit the public sector and to facilitate access to records in terms of freedom of information legislation. The study concludes that there is a need for chapter nine institutions to work hand in hand with NARSSA for the purpose of fostering proper record keeping in the public sector. It is recommended that this study be extended to other chapter nine institutions such as the Public Protector.Information ScienceM. Inf. (Archival Studies

A framework for access and use of documents heritage at the national archives of Zimbabwe

The study sought to develop a framework for access and use of documentary heritage at the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ). This followed the realization that access and use is the raison d'être for national archival institutions yet the level of utilization has for a long time been lamented to be low. The researcher therefore took a holistic approach and investigated the issues of bibliographic, intellectual and physical access to archives. Using a grounded theory research approach framed within the constructivism ontology and the interpretivism epistemological research paradigm, this study employed the observation technique, interviews and content analysis to collect the empirical evidence that was needed to develop a framework for access and use of the documentary heritage in the custody of NAZ. The study extensively discussed the methodological issues involved in the study as grounded theory is a rarely used approach in Information Science studies. An extensive discussion was therefore offered to enable readers to follow and appreciate how the not so common approach was actually employed. The findings of the study showed that the position of NAZ as a public information resource centre was threatened by many obstacles that were compromising the accessibility and use of the documentary heritage in its custody. Such hindrances included the absence of a national policy on access to public archives, the absence of an institutional access policy, the absence of a standing committee on access and use of archives, lack of a budget, increasing backlogs of unprocessed archives, misconstrued public perception, the absence of special facilities for the physically challenged, centralised access to archives, access restrictions placed by legal instruments as well as limited use of digital technology, no use of the print media and Web 2.0 technologies. Using the findings of the study, the researcher offered a framework for enhanced access and use of archives to serve as a baseline on which archivists may reflect and improve on their practices.Information Scienc

Enhancing visibility and accessibility of public archives repositories in South Africa

Despite the importance of the visibility and accessibility of public archives repositories, various scholars agreed that these repositories in eastern and southern Africa are not known to and are accessed by few people. This study utilised the concept of soft power as a framework to examine the visibility and accessibility of public archives repositories in South Africa with the view to suggest ways to enhance it. A quantitative approach, informed by post-positivist paradigm was employed, using questionnaires, interviews, content analysis and observation of landmarks to collect data. Public archives repositories in South Africa, Friends of Archives, legislation, annual reports, and landmarks were the universe of analysis whereas archivists working in public programming sections, deputy director of Friends of archives, 2012 to 2016 annual reports, archival legislation, social media links and the public display signage of the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, National Archives and Records Services of South Africa (NARSSA), National Film, Video and Sound Archives (NFVSA), served as a unit of analysis or source of information. The study revealed that collaboration with a good partner, especially civil society, was a key for successful public programming at the lowest cost. Whereas the KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Western Cape landmarks are visible, the study found that NARSSA, NFVSA, Free State, Limpopo, Northern Cape, North-West and Eastern Cape archives repositories could not easily draw potential users to archives. Furthermore, only Northern Cape and Western Cape provincial archive are active on social media through their departments. The study recommended a visibility and accessibility framework that will provide a foundation and insight on how best public archives could develop and implement integrated and yet impactful public programming activities with less expenses.Information ScienceM. Inf. (Information Science

Die Zukunft der Vergangenheit in der Gegenwart

The volume contains 18 contributions to an international conference of archivists and historians dealing with the current situation of archives and archival science generally and specifically with the impact of digitization on archival core tasks and on the societal roles of archives.Der Band enthält 18 Beiträge einer internationalen Tagung von ArchivarInnen und HistorikerInnen, die sich mit der aktuellen Situation von Archivwesen und Archivwissenschaft allgemein und speziell mit den Auswirkungen der Digitalisierung auf die archivischen Kerntätigkeiten und die gesellschaftlichen Rollen der Archive befassen

Managing records in South African public health care institutions : a critical analysis

The historical evolution of South Africa’s health sector, dating back to the 17th century, is significantly different from that of other African countries. Throughout the four centuries of development there have been numerous advances in health policy, legislative instruments and health system progress. Against this background this dissertation critically analysed the management of records in public health care institutions in South Africa. The study did this by addressing three objectives: assess the legislative, policy and regulatory contextual framework of South Africa’s health care system; assess the effectiveness of records management within public health care institutions; and identify appropriate interventions to address the challenges facing records management in the health care system. The study used purposive sampling to identify respondents with diverse expertise in three main sectors: the public sector, the private sector as well as in academic and research institutions. Using interview research technique the study solicited data that was analysed in order to provide a composite picture in addressing the research objectives. The analysis of data revealed three overarching themes. First, there is substantial legislative and regulatory dissonance in the management of health records in the country. While there are extensive legislative, regulatory and policy instruments that could be used to manage records, many lack coherence with records management issues such as records retention. Second, understanding the complex interplay of different legal and regulatory instruments is a critical first step, but it remains the beginning of the process towards building a sophisticated implementation process. For this process to be successful, study respondents argued that records compliance would have to be the backbone of all other compliance processes. Third, while there were substantial areas of weakness in the management of records in South Africa’s public health sector, there have been a number of pockets of excellence. These include the efforts towards complying to access to information legislation by the Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development as well as the successful introduction of Enterprise Content Management systems in health care institutions by the Western Cape Department of HealthInformation ScienceD. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science

Die Zukunft der Vergangenheit in der Gegenwart: Archive als Leuchtfeuer im Informationszeitalter

The volume contains 18 contributions to an international conference of archivists and historians dealing with the current situation of archives and archival science generally and specifically with the impact of digitization on archival core tasks and on the societal roles of archives