Library-Based Data Curation, Management and Interdisciplinary Research at Florida International University: Reciprocal Use of Data through Collaboration

This paper shows the Florida International University (FIU) Libraries\u27 efforts in research data management, implementation, and practice. The FIU Library-based data team has led research projects that are directly built upon institutional and other data repositories, data hubs, and data visualization tools, through collaboration with the user community. We will present the technology setup and configuration of such a data framework, which includes Dataverse, ESRI’s ArcGIS Data Hub, and other data collection and visualization tools. We will also discuss the fiscal and organizational structure needed to support research data management initiatives. Using a couple of our applied research projects, we will demonstrate how users interact, collaborate, and contribute. We will discuss the challenges we encounter when it comes to data sharing, data curation, management, and most importantly, serving users at all levels of data literacy. In addition, we will present from a researcher’s perspective how he/she can manage his/her publications and associated research data and make them discoverable. We will showcase the websites of interdisciplinary research projects, such as the FIU Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy’s (JGI) Security Research Hub (see also: https://srh.fiu.edu/home/) and the USAID-funded Global Water for Sustainability Program (see also: http://dpanther.fiu.edu/glows/). These project websites use FIU institutional repository and research data management platforms (see also: http://rdm.fiu.edu/dataverse/). We will demonstrate how we support a community-based research project using FIU’s research data repository and data hub, as well as community-based data repositories such as ESRI’s Living Atlas of the World

Virtual DSS: Mapping Locations From Unstructured Data With ARCGIS LocateXT

In this webinar, participants learn how to work with the ArcGIS extension LocateXT to find spatial locations from unstructured data. Part of the 2020-2021 Virtual Digital Scholar Studio webinar series, this webinar was held on January 11, 2021 and was presented by Dr. Diana Ter-Ghazaryan. The StoryMap used in the presentation may be accessed here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2060fe6facbe45699e6b5fe2bceb2f1a

Virtual DSS: Storytelling With Maps: Designing Engaging And Effective ArcGIS StoryMaps

In this webinar, participants learn how to create and tell engaging and powerful stories using ArcGIS StoryMaps. Part of the 2021-2022 Virtual Digital Scholar Studio webinar series, this webinar was held on September 22nd, 2021 and was presented by Dr. Diana Ter-Ghazaryan

Re-imagining Yerevan in the post-Soviet era: Urban symbolism and narratives of the nation in the landscape of Armenia\u27s capital

The urban landscape of Yerevan has experienced tremendous changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union and Armenia’s independence in 1991. Domestic and foreign investments have poured into Yerevan’s building sector, converting many downtown neighborhoods into sleek modern districts that now cater to foreign investors, tourists, and the newly rich Armenian nationals. Large portions of the city’s green parks and other public spaces have been commercialized for private and exclusive use, creating zones that are accessible only to the affluent. In this dissertation I explore the rapidly transforming landscape of Yerevan and its connections to the development of contemporary Armenian national identity. This research was guided by principles of ethnographic inquiry, and I employed diverse methods, including document and archival research, structured and semi-structured interviews and content analysis of news media. I also used geographic information systems (GIS) and satellite images to represent and visualize the stark transformations of spaces in Yerevan. Informed by and contributing to three literatures—on the relationship between landscape and identity formation, on the construction of national identity, and on Soviet and post-Soviet cities—this dissertation investigates how messages about contemporary Armenian national identity are being expressed via the transforming landscape of Armenia’s national capital. In it I describe the ways in which abrupt transformations have resulted in the physical and symbolic eviction of residents, introducing fierce public debates about belonging and exclusion within the changing urban context. I demonstrate that the new additions to Yerevan’s landscape and the symbolic messages that they carry are hotly contested by many long-time residents, who struggle for inclusion of their opinions and interests in the process of re-imagining their national capital. This dissertation illustrates many of the trends that are apparent in post-Soviet and post-Socialist space, while at the same time exposing some unique characteristics of the Armenian case

“Civilizing the city center”: Symbolic spaces and narratives of the nation in Yerevan's post-Soviet landscape

In the years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the landscape of Armenia's capital has transformed tremendously. Promoting a new vision for the city, Armenia's political elites have imbued the urban landscape of Yerevan with narratives of modernization, progress and a renewed sense of nationalism. While this new vision is noticeable throughout Yerevan's landscape, it is most apparent in three places in the center of Yerevan - Opera Square, Northern Avenue and Republic Square. These three prominent places represent the vision that the Armenian elites have for the city of Yerevan, while at the same time serving as backdrops for the expression of a critical voice regarding the changing urban landscape from the local residents. These three places are compelling representations of the tensions and struggles that are present in contemporary Armenian society. In this article, I examine the symbols and narratives that Armenia's elites produce and promote in and via these places, and consider the complicated set of reactions from residents that have formed in response

COMMENTARY: Reserve Management during Transition: The Case of Issyk-Kul Biosphere and Nature Reserves, Kyrgyzstan

Protected areas have been an integral part of contemporary nature protection for about a century and a half. One of the most interesting protected area networks was designed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Here, we present a case study of the history of a particular state nature reserve (or zapovednik) in Kyrgyzstan, using key informant interviews and reviews of current and historical documents. We examine the management of this area from the time of its creation under Soviet rule, through the collapse of the USSR, to the present day. We also make policy recommendations for the future, given the profound changes in the post-Soviet economy and political structure. We conclude that the collapse of the USSR has inflicted numerous changes on the environmental protection sector in Kyrgyzstan, but that the Issyk-Kul Nature Reserve continues to be run according to the Soviet paradigm, with a few minor adjustments. Funding structures and mechanisms for the support of conservation and other environmental issues are of paramount importance in the changing economic climate and democratization throughout the former USSR. Our work can be used as a template for studying protected areas in the region and lays the groundwork for more comparative research that could be carried out in and around Kyrgyzstan's other protected areas and those in other republics of the former USSR

Organization and operation of the marine ornamental fish and invertebrate export fishery in Puerto Rico

This fishery was examined utilizing public records,stakeholder interviews,and operational site visits to describe the fishery for the Puerto Rico Coral Reef Advisory Committee as a first step toward development of policies for the effective management of these natural resources.The fishery is not large,including fewer than 20 licensed fishers operating primarily on the west end of the island.Only three operators export product,with the remaining fishers providing specimens to the exporters based upon customer orders.Most collection of coral reef species occurs over hard rubble zones mixed with relic reef structures and rock,or on the sides and frontal areas of active reefs.Other species are collected from among mangrove prop root zones,tidal flats,and seagrass beds.Collections are made using simple barrier and dip nets for fish and motile invertebrates such as shrimp. Invertebrates such as crabs,starfish,and sea cucumbers are commonly collected by overturning small rocks, gathering the specimens,and then replacing the rocks in their original positions.Specimens are carried to the boat and transferred to individual cup holders to maximize survival.Although statements concerning former use of chemicals to assist capture were noted,no evidence of current chemical use was observed.Specimens are held in re-circulating seawater systems onshore until collections are aggregated and shipped.The fishery strives to operate with mortality of 3%are described as unacceptable to customers.More than 100 fish species are collected in this fishery,but the top ten species account for >70%of the total numbers and >60% of the total value of the fishery,with a single species,Gramma loreto (Royal Gramma),comprising >40%of the numbers. More than 100 species of invertebrates are collected,but this fishery is also dominated by a handful of species,including anemones,hermit crabs,turbo snails,serpent starfish,and feather duster polychaetes.Se estudió la pesquería de peces e invertebrados para acuarios,por comisión del Comité Consultor de Arrecifes Coralinos de Puerto Rico.Se usaron registros públicos, entrevistas con empresarios y pescadores,y visitas a los sitios de operación.La pesquería no es grande:menos de 20 pescadores con licencia que operan principalmente en el extremo occidental de la isla.Únicamente tres exportan el producto,el resto provee especímenes a los exportadores según la demanda.La captura de peces se da principalmente en zonas de escombros coralinos mezclados con restos arrecifales y roca,o en los lados y áreas frontales de arrecifes vivos.Otras especies son recolectadas entre las raíces aéreas de los manglares,zona intermareal y "pastizales " marinos.Se utilizan chinchorros y redes de mano para peces e invertebrados móviles como el camarón.Cangrejos,estrellas y pepinos de mar,así como otros invertebrados,son recogidos comúnmente volcando rocas pequeñas,sacando los individuos y después colocando las rocas en su lugar original.Los especímenes son llevados al bote y se transfieren a envases individuales para aumentar la supervivencia.Aunque existen informes previos de captura con sustancias químicas,no se observó ninguna evidencia en esta ocasión.Los especímenes se dejan en sistemas de recirculación de agua en la costa hasta el día del embarque.La pesquería se esfuerza en mantener índices de mortalidad <1%,ya que una mortalidad mayor al 3%es inaceptable para los clientes.Aunque se recolecta más de 100 especies de peces,tan solo diez de ellas representan más del 70%de los individuos y más del 60% del valor de esta pesquería.Gramma loreto representa más del 40%de la cantidad total.Asimismo,se recolecta más de 100 especies de invertebrados (especialmente anémonas,cangrejos ermitaños,ofiúridos,"caracoles turbo " y poliquetos tubícolas

Antillean Visions: Maps and the Making of the Caribbean

A map, in its most reductive form, is a potent emblem of conquest, representing—by turns—the subjugation of peoples, the destruction of indigenous cultures, the beating back of ignorance, and the taming of nature. They are equally powerful tautologies, reifying and rendering concrete specific belief systems such that their “rightness” or righteousness seems indisputable. Maps are also material manifestations of the long arc of history, providing insights into world views and political, cultural, and socio-economic agendas (both individual and collective). Maps, then, are far more than the sum of their parts, as Antillean Visions: Maps and the Making of the Caribbean makes clear. Cutting across cultures and a diverse—though geographically bounded—region, this thought-provoking exhibition surveys the impact of cartography over the course of more than five hundred years. Beyond highlighting key modes of creation and representation, Antillean Visions probes the dissemination, reception, and interpretation of maps of the Caribbean, cross-referencing the visual and the historic, the anthropological and the biological. Similarly, it provides us with glimpses into our own realities, viewed through the lenses of contemporary map-making, including participatory experiences and games