A consideration of copyright for a national repository of humanities and social science data

In 2011 the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) began work on the development of an interactive national Trusted Digital Repository for contemporary and historical social and cultural data. Copyright and intellectual property rights were identified as essential areas which the DRI, as a content holder and data publisher, needed to investigate in order to develop workflows, policy and the Repository infrastructure. We established a Copyright and IP Task Force (CIPT) in January 2013 to capture and identify IP challenges from our stakeholder community and the DRI’s demonstrator collections. This report outlines the legislative context in which the CIPT worked, and how the CIPT addressed copyright challenges through the development of policies and a robust framework of legal documentation for the Repository. We also provide a case study on Orphan Works, detailing the process undertaken by the Clarke Stained Glass Studios Collection, one of DRI’s demonstrator projects, in preparing their content for online publication in the Repository

Do Open Data Badges Influence Author Behaviour? a Case Study at Springer Nature

Digital badges have previously been shown to incentivise journal authors to share their data openly. In this paper we introduce an Open data badging project at the Springer Nature journal BMC Microbiology. The development of the Open data badge is described, as well as the challenges of developing standard badging criteria and ensuring authors’ awareness of the badges. Next steps for the badging project are outlined, which are based on the experiences of the team assessing the badges, the number of badges awarded at the journal to date, and the results of an author survey

Reusable, FAIR Humanities Data

While stakeholders including funding agencies and academic publishers implement more stringent data sharing policies, challenges remain for researchers in the humanities who are increasingly prompted to share their research data. This paper outlines some key challenges of research data sharing in the humanities, and identifies existing work which has been undertaken to explore these challenges. It describes the current landscape regarding publishers’ research data sharing policies, and the impact which strong data policies can have, regardless of discipline. Using Routledge Open Research as a case study, the development of a set of humanities-inclusive Open Data publisher data guidelines is then described. These include practical guidance in relation to data sharing for humanities authors, and a close alignment with the FAIR Data Principles

BUILDING AND TESTING A CAUSAL MODEL OF AN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY\u27S IMPACT

An increasing number of firms are adopting Computerized Performance Monitoring and Control Systems (CPMCS) in an effort to improve the productivity of employees in labor-intensive service industries. The service sector has not historically used volume of output or similar quantitative measures of performance when evaluating employees. Thus, monitoring often represents a new evaluation method and a new application of information technology. It is an application prone to controversy: Proponents claim it improves measurement accuracy, fairness and consistency, while opponents argue that it degrades the quality of work life, increases stress and undermines customer sernce. Despite the need to understand the impact of CPMCS, there have been few attempts to predict what effects can be anticipated and explain how these effects arise. The methodology described in this paper was used to integrate existing anecdotal work with literature from reference disciplines to build a conceptual model of CPMCS impact on role definition. The three-phased research then used an intensive case study to build a theory of impact and generate testable, causal research hypotheses. Subsequent to this theory-building stage, surveys from 1500 service workers provided data to test the causal model. The research produced three outcomes. First, it combined theory building and theory testing in a study of information technology impact to give structure and direction to a field characterized by anecdotal research. Second, it provided two, tested causal models of CPMCS impact with good explanatory and predictive power. These models explained the influence of monitor design on attitudes toward production and customer service. Third, it demonstrated the use of a holdout technique to increase the amount of knowledge gained in the hypothesis testing stage of empirical research

Quantifying biometrology operator data analysis subjectivity within flow cytometry using measurement uncertainty principles

A recent evaluation of medical error has shown it to be the third leading cause of death in the US, following heart disease and cancer. Better reporting and decision making could tackle this, but ultimately more accurate and precise measurement, with correct interpretation could make a significant difference to this unnecessary statistic. Clinical pathology measurement platforms are complex, requiring significant standardisation efforts to reduce false positives/negatives and the impacts these have on patient safety. Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) manufacturing processes depend upon these platforms for measurement, with Flow Cytometry (FC) used for in-process and release metrics. However, the highly subjective nature of FC data analysis requires investigation to monitor impact on manufacturing and clinical decision making.FC standardisation efforts have reduced variation from sample preparation and setup, however, no efforts have purely focused on the final post-analytical stage, to quantify the effect of subjective analysis of data files. This research has isolated this section of FC analysis, providing better measurement precision to build up a realistic uncertainty budget for FC measurements. Through a series of participant analysis studies that build in complexity, it has been shown that as FC data becomes more complex, the uncertainty contributions from inter-operator data analysis increase from 8 % to 34 %. This increase could mean the difference between a CGT treatment being provided at the right time, being discarded when it was suitable for administration, or an unsuitable treatment administered to the patient at an unsuitable time, having costly implications for all.This variation does not correlate with operator experience or use frequency of the instrument, but is influenced by data visualisation effects, requiring further investigation at a later date to reduce this impact. Image parameters for other CGT measurement platforms are also impacted by subjective data analysis, requiring harmonisation to ensure the subjectivity is quantifiable, standardised and reduces manufacturing and hence medical error impacts to the patient and therapeutic product.</div

Computerized Performance Monitoring And Control Systems: Impact On Canadian Service Sector Workers

Corporate survival in the competitive service sector demands continuous improvement in employee productivity. Thus, managers of labor-intensive businesses are always searching for new tools to increase productivity. One tool gaining popularity, and notoriety, is the computerized performance monitoring and control system (CPMCS). Proponents say that CPMCSs increase the consistency, accuracy and fairness of performance measurement, and improve productivity. Opponents argue that productivity improves at the expense of customer service, quality of work life, and employee health. Despite the importance of these issues, few researchers have studied the effects of computerized performance monitoring.;This two-stage research study examined CPMCS impact on service workers and their perceptions of work. In the first stage, a case study compared monitored and unmonitored claims processors in three offices of a major insurance company. Interviews, surveys, and performance data demonstrated effects of low-level monitoring.;The second stage surveyed service workers in 51 Canadian firms to test a causal model of CPMCS impact. It demonstrated the impact of work environment and four dimensions of monitoring on the importance employees attach to production and interaction. The four design dimensions were: (1) extent of monitoring; (2) measurement frequency; (3) recipients of data; and (4) objects of measurement. The model also showed that the credibility of computers as measurement devices moderated system design effects.;The study made three major research contributions. First, it provided an in-depth, qualitative analysis of CPMCS impact in a single firm. Second, it demonstrated combining case and survey field research to develop and test theory. Third, it produced a causal model of CPMCS impact, with good explanatory and predictive power.;The research concluded that: (1) Monitors are multidimensional control systems. Design decisions should be made independently for each dimension, and research should differentiate among the dimension. (2) The importance attached to production depends, in part, on acceptance of monitor data and its importance to the employer. (3) Monitoring, the importance of other job dimensions, the nature of the work, and the employer\u27s criteria all contribute to attitudes about service importance. (4) Monitors do not replace or improve upon human supervisors, except in a very narrow sense. Nor does more monitoring necessarily mean better control. Supervisors play a crucial role in controlling qualitative aspects of the work

Endnote: Conference Previews Contributions from Perspectives on the State of Jefferson

Endnote: Conference Previews Contributions from Perspectives on the State of Jefferso

Information Privacy: What is Our Responsibility?

This panel will consider the responsibility of IS professionals, educators and practitioners in the realm of information privacy. Should we be establishing arid enforcing privacy standards? What should those standards be? Where should we position ourselves on the continuum between totally open access to infonnation and extensive restrictions? Will attempts to regulate or control privacy work in the Infonnation Age? The participants will briefly present their experiences in this area and serve as a springboard to panel and audience debate