Content, Format, and Interpretation

The connection between notation and the content it expresses is always contingent, and mediated through complex layers of interpretation. Some content bears directly on the encoder's intention to convey a particular meaning, while other content concerns the structures in and through which that meaning is expressed and organized. Interpretive frames are abstractions that serve as context for symbolic expressions. They form a backdrop of dependencies for data management and preservation strategies. Situation semantics offers a theoretical grounding for interpretive frames that integrates them into a general theory of communication through markup and other notational structures

Will Formal Preservation Models Require Relative Identity?

The problem of identifying and re–identifying data put the notion of of ”same data” at the very heart of preservation, integration and interoperability, and many other fundamental data curation activities. However, it is also a profoundly challenging notion because the concept of data itself clearly lacks a precise and univocal definition. When science is conducted in small communicating groups, with homogeneous data these ambiguities seldom create problems and solutions can be negotiated in casual real-time conversations. However when the data is heterogeneous in encoding, content and management practices, these problems can produce costly inefficiencies and lost opportunities. We consider here the relative identity view which apparently provides the most natural interpretation of common identity statements about digitally–encoded data. We show how this view conflicts with the curatorial and management practice of “data” objects, in terms of their modeling, and common knowledge representation strategies

Sustaining Collection Value: Managing Collection/Item Metadata Relationships

Many aspects of managing collection/item metadata relationships are critical to sustaining collection value over time. Metadata at the collection-level not only provides context for finding, understanding, and using the items in the collection, but is often essential to the particular research and scholarly activities the collection is designed to support. Contemporary retrieval systems, which search across collections, usually ignore collection level metadata. Alternative approaches, informed by collection-level information, will require an understanding of the various kinds of relationships that can obtain between collection-level and item-level metadata. This paper outlines the problem and describes a project that is developing a logic-based framework for classifying collection-level/item-level metadata relationships. This framework will support (i) metadata specification developers defining metadata elements, (ii) metadata librarians describing objects, and (iii) system designers implementing systems that help users take advantage of collection-level metadata.Institute for Museum and Libary Services (Grant #LG06070020)published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Definitions of Dataset in the Scientific and Technical Literature

The integration of heterogeneous data in varying formats and from diverse communities requires an improved understanding of the concept of a dataset, and of key related concepts, such as format, encoding, and version. Ultimately, a normative formal framework of such concepts will be needed to support the effective curation, integration, and use of shared multi-disciplinary scientific data. To prepare for the development of this framework we reviewed the definitions of dataset found in technical documentation and the scientific literature. Four basic features can be identified as common to most definitions: grouping, content, relatedness, and purpose. In this summary of our results we describe each of these features, indicating the directions a more formal analysis might take

A Framework for Applying the Concept of Significant Properties to Datasets

The concept of significant properties, properties that must be identified and preserved in any successful digital object preservation, is now common in data curation. Although this notion has clearly demonstrated its usefulness in cultural heritage domains its application to the preservation of scientific datasets is not as well developed. One obstacle to this application is that the familiar preservation models are not sufficiently explicit to identify the relevant entities, properties, and relationships involved in dataset preservation. We present a logic-based formal framework of dataset concepts that provides the levels of abstraction necessary to identify and correctly assign significant properties to their appropriate entities. A unique feature of this model is that it recognizes that a typed symbol structure is a unique requirement for datasets, but not for other information objects

One Thing is Missing or Two Things are Confused: An Analysis of OAIS Representation Information.

We describe two alternative interpretations of OAIS Representation Information (CCSDS, 2002), and show that both are flawed. The first is insufficient to formalize a model of preservation, and the second leads to category mistakes in conceptualizing the nature of digital artifacts. This analysis is based on earlier work developing a framework for the application of significant properties to datasets (Sacchi et al, 2011)

Digital Collection Contexts: iConference 2014 Workshop Report

The "Digital Collection Contexts: Intellectual and Organizational Functions at Scale" workshop was held March 4, 2014, at the iConference in Berlin, Germany. The aim was to unite a community of faculty, students, system designers, and developers interested in digital collections, particularly in the context of cultural heritage aggregations. Organized by a team from the University of Illinois, the Europeana Foundation, and the University of Texas at Austin, the one-day workshop brought together an international group of experts representing diverse threads of current research and development to engage on the role of collections in the digital environment and to identify new directions for inquiry.This report compiles the position papers and includes synopses of the presentations by the authors and ensuing discussions.Ope

From student to graduate: Four learners’ perspectives of the professional doctorate journey

This paper presents a consideration of the experiences and perspectives of four female academics who are the first graduates of a new Professional Doctorate programme at a university in the South West of England. The authors position themselves simultaneously as researchers and research participants, engaging in collaborative autoethnography to reflect critically on their experiences. Key issues are identified, including the need to navigate some significant shifts in identity throughout the doctorate, and how the course structure and peer relationships supported each of the authors to reach their end goal – the successful completion of their studies. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential implications of the authors’ experiences for leaders of professional doctorates. These include student/lecturer contracts and actively facilitating opportunities for students to establish relationships for peer support

Logical Expressiveness of Semantic Web Languages for Bibliographic Information Modeling

The Semantic Web promises powerful new functionality for bibliographic databases by combining bibliographic informa- tion with knowledge about the world. However, the kinds of representation that are possible in Semantic Web languages are not widely understood in the LIS community. In partic- ular, the W3C Semantic Web ontology languages RDFS and OWL are not su ciently expressive to deliver the full range of inferences anticipated for bibliographic applications, and will require formalized rules from other speci cations

Documents Cannot Be Edited

Most definitions of document current in the document processing and digital publishing communities would, if taken literally, imply that documents are extensional entities that cannot undergo changes such as editing or revision. In other domains as well, such as textual criticism and library science, one can also find notions of text or document that are similarly difficult to reconcile with modification. We describe the problem and sketch some possible resolutions. Although the issues are conceptual and foundational the practical significance is real. Formal representation in logic-based ontology languages, increasingly important in information management, requires that familiar idioms, however serviceable and entrenched, be converted to expressions that support literal interpretation.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe