Will e-Science Be Open Science?

This contribution examines various aspects of “openness” in research, and seeks to gauge the degree to which contemporary “e-science” practices are congruent with “open science.” Norms and practices of openness are vital for the work of modern scientific communities, but concerns about the growth of stronger technical and institutional restraints on access to research tools, data, and information recently have attracted notice—in part because of their implications for the effective utilization of advanced digital infrastructures and information technologies in research collaborations. Our discussion clarifies the conceptual differences between e-science and open science, and reports findings from a preliminary look at practices in U.K. e-science projects. Both parts serve to emphasize that it is unwarranted to presume that the development of e-science necessarily promotes global open science collaboration. Since there is evident need for further empirical research to establish where, when, and to the extent “openness” and "e-ness" in scientific and engineering research may be expected to advance hand-in-hand, we outline a framework within which such a program of studies might be undertaken.e-Science, Open Science, Engineering Reserach

Content repositories and social networking : can there be synergies?

This paper details the novel application of Web 2.0 concepts to current services offered to Social Scientists by the ReDReSS project, carried out by the Centre for e-Science at Lancaster University. We detail plans to introduce Social Bookmarking and Social Networking concepts into the repository software developed by the project. This will result in the improved discovery of e-Science concepts and training to Social Scientists and allow for much improved linking of resources in the repository. We describe plans that use Social Networking and Social Bookmarking concepts, using Open Standards, which will promote collaboration between researchers by using information gathered on user’s use of the repository and information about the user. This will spark collaborations that would not normally be possible in the academic repository context

Designing Institutional Infrastructure for E-Science

A new generation of information and communication infrastructures, including advanced Internet computing and Grid technologies, promises more direct and shared access to more widely distributed computing resources than was previously possible. Scientific and technological collaboration, consequently, is more and more dependent upon access to, and sharing of digital research data. Thus, the U.S. NSF Directorate committed in 2005 to a major research funding initiative, “Cyberinfrastructure Vision for 21st Century Discovery”. These investments are aimed at enhancement of computer and network technologies, and the training of researchers. Animated by much the same view, the UK e-Science Core Programme has preceded the NSF effort in funding development of an array of open standard middleware platforms, intended to support Grid enabled science and engineering research. This proceeds from the sceptical view that engineering breakthroughs alone will not be enough to achieve the outcomes envisaged. Success in realizing the potential of e-Science—through the collaborative activities supported by the "cyberinfrastructure," if it is to be achieved, will be the result of a nexus of interrelated social, legal, and technical transformations.e-science, cyberinfrastructure, information sharing, research

Adding value to open access research data : the eBank UK Project

This presentation will briefly examine the changing landscape of e-research and data-intensive science, together with associated trends in scholarly communications. In this context the eBank UK project will be described, which is seeking to enable open access to research data generated from an e-Science application, and to build links from e-research outputs through to e-learning materials. The role of digital repositories and OAI-based aggregator services in facilitating the linking of data-sets from Grid-enabled research applications to e-prints through to peer-reviewed articles, as resources in portals and Learning Management Systems, will be assessed. Recent developments from the eBank UK project will be presented with discussion about integration in research and learning workflows and the challenge of assuring long-term access to open data archives

FOSTER D2.1 - Technical protocol for rich metadata categorization and content classification

FOSTER aims to set in place sustainable mechanisms for EU researchers to FOSTER OPEN SCIENCE in their daily workflow, supporting researchers optimizing their research visibility and impact and the adoption of EU open access policies in line with the EU objectives on Responsible Research & Innovation.<p></p> More specifically, the FOSTER objectives are to:<p></p> • Support different stakeholders, especially young researchers, in adopting open access in the context of the European Research Area (ERA) and in complying with the open access policies and rules of participation set out for Horizon 2020;<p></p> • Integrate open access principles and practice in the current research workflow by targeting the young researcher training environment;<p></p> • Strengthen the institutional training capacity to foster compliance with the open access policies of the ERA and Horizon 2020 (beyond the FOSTER project); <p></p> • Facilitate the adoption, reinforcement and implementation of open access policies from other European funders, in line with the EC’s recommendation, in partnership with PASTEUR4OA project.<p></p> As stated in the project Description of Work (DoW) these objectives will be pursued and achieved through the combination of 3 main activities: content identification, repacking and creation; creation of the FOSTER Portal; delivery of training.<p></p> The core activity of the Task T2.1 will be to define a basic quality control protocol for content, and map available content by target group, and content type in parallel with WP3 Task 3.1.<p></p> Training materials include the full range of classical (structured presentation slides) and multi-media content (short videos, interactive e-books, ) that clearly and succinctly frames a problem and offers a working solution, in support of the learning objectives of each target group, and the range of learning options to be used in WP4 (elearning, blended learning, self-learning).<p></p> The map of existing content metadata will be delivered to WP3 for best choice of system requirements for continuous and sustainable content aggregation, enhancement and content delivery via “Tasks 3.2 e-Learning Portal” and “Task 3.4 Content Upload”. The resulting content compilation will be tailored to each Target Group and delivered to WP4

The ECOSENSUS Project: Co-Evolving Tools, Practices and Open Content for Participatory Natural Resource Management

ECOSENSUS (Electronic/Ecological Collaborative Sensemaking Support System)[www.ecosensus.info] is an ESRC e-Social Science pilot project, using a Participatory Action Research methodology to evolve tools and work practices for collaborative work in environmental and natural resource management between a European-based team, and stakeholders involved in the region of concern, the North Rupununi District of Guyana. To promote long term capacity building in the region and beyond, the project's outputs will be disseminated as open source learning resources. Given the disparities in knowledge and power in such a project, central to our work are issues of stakeholder empowerment in the geographical modelling, interpretation and decision making practices that constitute environmental management. We argue that in e-Science, such factors have yet to receive much attention. This paper reports work accomplished to date: progress towards an environment which integrates GIS modelling with participatory deliberation about the implications of the models, and reactions from the indigenous Amerindians to this tool

e-Science Infrastructure for the Social Sciences

When the term „e-Science“ became popular, it frequently was referred to as “enhanced science” or “electronic science”. More telling is the definition ‘e-Science is about global collaboration in key areas of science and the next generation of infrastructure that will enable it’ (Taylor, 2001). The question arises to what extent can the social sciences profit from recent developments in e- Science infrastructure? While computing, storage and network capacities so far were sufficient to accommodate and access social science data bases, new capacities and technologies support new types of research, e.g. linking and analysing transactional or audio-visual data. Increasingly collaborative working by researchers in distributed networks is efficiently supported and new resources are available for e-learning. Whether these new developments become transformative or just helpful will very much depend on whether their full potential is recognized and creatively integrated into new research designs by theoretically innovative scientists. Progress in e-Science was very much linked to the vision of the Grid as “a software infrastructure that enables flexible, secure, coordinated resource sharing among dynamic collections of individuals, institutions and resources’ and virtually unlimited computing capacities (Foster et al. 2000). In the Social Sciences there has been considerable progress in using modern IT- technologies for multilingual access to virtual distributed research databases across Europe and beyond (e.g. NESSTAR, CESSDA – Portal), data portals for access to statistical offices and for linking access to data, literature, project, expert and other data bases (e.g. Digital Libraries, VASCODA/SOWIPORT). Whether future developments will need GRID enabling of social science databases or can be further developed using WEB 2.0 support is currently an open question. The challenges here are seamless integration and interoperability of data bases, a requirement that is also stipulated by internationalisation and trans-disciplinary research. This goes along with the need for standards and harmonisation of data and metadata. Progress powered by e- infrastructure is, among others, dependent on regulatory frameworks and human capital well trained in both, data science and research methods. It is also dependent on sufficient critical mass of the institutional infrastructure to efficiently support a dynamic research community that wants to “take the lead without catching up”.

e-Science

This open access book shows the breadth and various facets of e-Science, while also illustrating their shared core. Changes in scientific work are driven by the shift to grid-based worlds, the use of information and communication systems, and the existential infrastructure, which includes global collaboration. In this context, the book addresses emerging issues such as open access, collaboration and virtual communities and highlights the diverse range of developments associated with e-Science. As such, it will be of interest to researchers and scholars in the fields of information technology and knowledge management

VidyaOnline: Design and Development of a FOSS based Virtual Learning Environment on Library and Information Science at Vidyasagar University, West Bengal

VidyaOnline, the prototype web-based modular and interactive learning system, is aimed to produce a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for library and information science courses. In its final contour, VidyaOnline will be acted as a generic e learning platform for courses offered by the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE), Vidyasagar University. As we know, learning system that supports VLE features (as prescribed by INSPIRAL project), is not restricted to distance education alone, VidyaOnline will have all the facilities to support off-campus learning and evaluation activities related to traditional courses of Vidyasagar University. In short, VidyaOnline will be emerging as a web integrated hybrid e learning system for library and information science courses as well as for other distance and traditional courses of Vidyasagar University. The structure of VidyaOnline extends support for all three forms of VLE – web-based training, supported online learning and informal e learning. The software architecture of VidyaOnline is completely based on FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). It uses LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) architecture, Moodle course management system and GD graphics library to design and develop an interactive web-integrated e learning platform to accommodate library and information science courses along with other distance education programmes of DDE, Vidyasagar University. VidyaOnline is completely compatible with Unicode and one courseware is available in Unicode-based Bengali language interface