Eliciting Faculty Requirements for Research Data Repositories

4th International Conference on Open RepositoriesThis presentation was part of the session : Conference PresentationsDate: 2009-06-04 10:30 AM – 12:00 PMIn a two-year project sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, investigators from Purdue University and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign are addressing the question, "Which researchers are willing to share data, when, with whom, and under what conditions?" In-depth interviews and surveys have been conducted with 19 faculty researchers in 12 different disciplines about their scientific workflow and range of research outputs (e.g., raw data through published forms) to identify needs for discovery, access, use, and repurposing of their data. As the study enters its second year, we are ready to share preliminary findings that relate the needs for data curation that were expressed by the subjects to possible functional requirements that a data repository system can provide to meet those needs. These early results can provide immediate and valuable insights to developers and implementers of data repositories as well as practitioners who are developing and managing data collections.Institute of Museum and Library Service

Guiding Graduate Students in Data Management in Practice

The Purdue University Research Repository service takes a lifecycle approach to help university researchers plan and implement effective data management plans, share and manage their data with collaborators while the research is taking place, publish their data in a scholarly context, archive data for the long-term, and measure the impact of sharing their data. New functionality, instruction, and outreach have been done in the last year to adapt the service to better support the needs of graduate students and the data that support their theses and dissertations. A description of the service, its workflows, and supporting materials will be shared to promote discussion about research data management in the context of ETDs

Databib: An Online Bibliography of Research Data Repositories

With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the libraries of Purdue and Pennsylvania State University have collaborated to create Databib: an online, annotated bibliography of research data repositories. A number of academic and research libraries are taking an active role in data curation, applying library science principles to help address the data deluge. Librarians are helping researchers formulate funder-required data plans, adapting library practice to help organize and describe research datasets, developing data collections and data repositories, performing digital preservation, and teaching data literacy. Librarians are in a good position to provide these services; unfortunately, there is currently no framework in place to support the organization and discovery of data repositories. Many funding agencies are requiring their sponsored researchers to submit their data to repositories without giving further instructions to them. What repositories are appropriate for a researcher to submit his or her data? How do potential users find appropriate data repositories and discover datasets that meet their needs? How can librarians help patrons who are looking for data find and integrate datasets into their research, learning, or teaching? Databib (http://databib.org) has been created to help address these needs for librarians, data users, data producers, publishers, and funding agencies

Purdue Libraries: Resources and Engagement in Data Science

An overview of data science-related resources and engagement at the Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies given as an informal presentation and discussion at the monthly coffee klatch hosted by the Integrative Data Science Initiative at Purdue University

Analysis on the Performance Limitations of an Interferometric Geolocation Device

GPS is a critical tool often used in terrestrial location and navigation. However, GPS relies on a system of satellites in medium earth orbit and is prone to dropouts at higher latitudes, and may be susceptible to spoofing or other attacks. Thus, it is prudent to examine possible alternatives. Recently, star tracking has been of interest in global positioning. There are many implementations of a star tracker using an imaging-based optical system to capture star locations in order to estimate position using celestial navigation techniques. These imaging systems are performance limited by blurring imposed by atmospheric turbulence, platform jitter, and measurement noise. An interferometric system for locating stars can be used as an alternative to accurately locate stars in the sky. The use of one or more 3 or 4-aperture interferometers may allow for greater noise immunity in the phase error induced by atmospheric turbulence, and allows a larger baseline to be used as compared to the diameter of a single lens imaging system in some configurations. Such a system could sample at a rate higher than the Greenwood frequency, which helps reduce error in boresight angle retrieval. In the system described herein, the performance limitations would be dominated by atmospheric tilt and boresight angle retrieval. When the boresight angle can be retrieved, the system could be reasonably expected to produce a position estimate RMS error of less than 30 meters

Purdue University Research Repository

Michael Witt, MLS, is Head, Distributed Data Curation Center and Associate Professor of Library Science at Purdue University. He spoke about the data management services at Purdue and the Purdue University Research Repository (PURR)

Quality pallet-part yields from red oak cants

The primary objective of this study was to determine yield and quality of pallet-parts from southern red oak cants. A second objective was to evaluate crosscutting methods used in producing pallet lumber. Hopefully, by fulfilling these objectives the following questions could be answered: (1) what are common cants worth in terms of common grades of lumber; (2) whether these cants could produce parts for a pallet selling in the $5-6 price range; and (3) which of two crosscutting methods, gang or select, should be used in resawing the lumber to palletpart material. The cants were obtained from a stratified sample of 114 red oak logs that were numbered and graded, using standard U.S. Forest Service factory log grades. Each 4- by 6-inch cant was then sawn from the heart center of each log and later resawn into pallet lumber. The lumber was then graded, according to specifications of National Hardwood Lumber Manufacturers\u27 lumber grades, and simulation of gang and select crosscutting methods was used to produce pallet-parts. Using suggested grading rules of the U.S. Forest Service, the resulting 40- and 48-inch pallet-parts were then regraded and grouped into two quality classes. Recovery yields of quality-class parts for gang and select cutting methods were then recorded by lumber grades and cant lengths. Based upon three pallet styles, simulated pallet construction was conducted. Analysis of the data showed that the cant-lumber grade distribution from grade one, two, and three logs was quite variable, especially in the one and two common lumber grades. Three common lumber yields were fairly consistent, amounting to greater than two-thirds of the cant lumber yield. Both pallet-part yields and quality class ratios were significantly affected by lumber grades. Higher lumber grades (one and two common) not only produced greater total yields but also a greater ratio of quality class one material. The length of the cant also had a profound effect on both the yield and distribution of quality pallet-part material. Of the three cant lengths tested (8, 10, and 12 foot), only 12-foot cants provided a positive economic return. When cant monetary yields and values were com-pared to net lumber values, 12-foot cant values were comparable to the returns from the use of 3A lumber. Based on the monetary yields and values of raw material sources, two common lumber had the greatest dollar return. Analysis showed that the select crosscutting method in all cant lengths and in the two common and 3A lumber grades could significantly improve or increase quality pallet—part yields. Greater increases from the select method were noted in cants of longer length

Communicating with VTS via VHF: an approach to teaching the essentials for successful communication in English based on the recommendations in the SMCP and proposed from the perspective of VTS

This session will present ideas of how to prepare future nautical officers for VHF communication with VTS or MRC Centres as part of the Maritime English curriculum. It will refer to the SMCP as the basis for clear and unambiguous communication between a vessel and a shore station. It will introduce the essential communicative situations together with ideas for selecting the key vocabulary, language structures and communication control devices. It will also present ideas for teaching the presented material. The focus will be on the perspective or expectations of a VTS Operator when called by a Master