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Semantic Search: Magnet for the Needle in the Search Haystack
by DCMI Announce 08 Nov '12

08 Nov '12

Please excuse the cross-posting ==============***ANNOUNCEMENT***============== Semantic Search: Magnet for the Needle in the Search Haystack A Joint NKOS-CENDI Workshop DOT Media Center, Oklahoma City Room U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington DC Thursday, December 6, 2012 – 8:30 am-4:30 pm What is Semantic Search? What user requirements does it seek to address? How is Semantic Search being implemented? How can Semantic Search technologies be evaluated? What results have we seen thus far, and what are the areas of research that may bring future improvements? These questions and related topics will be addressed by experts in semantic search and related technologies, users, implementers and academic researchers. Dean Allemang, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Data Scientist at Open Data Registry (previously of TopQuadrant) will place semantic search in the semantic web landscape. Dr. Denise Bedford, Goodyear Professor of Knowledge Management at Kent State University, will discuss the various views of semantic search. Other speakers will address linked data applications in libraries, museums and archives; the impact of semantic search on visualization tools; and the development of tools to support semantic search in particular communities. Information managers and technologists from various user communities will discuss the needs of their end users that they are seeking to address with semantic search. Students working in this area will provide a look at the future through a series of lightning talks. This workshop will be of interest to information managers, technologists, content providers, enterprise architects and researchers across sectors. Registration is now open. The registration and program are available from: http://www.cendi.gov/activities/12_06_2012_CENDI_NKOS.html Fee: Free but space is limited Registration Closes November 26, 2012 The Program Committee: --Gail Hodge (CENDI/IIa), Chair --Denise Bedford (Kent State Univ.) --Joseph Busch (Taxonomy Strategies) --Michael Crandall (Univ. of Washington) --Jane Greenberg (Univ. of North Carolina) --Marjorie Hlava (Access Innovations) --Michael Pendleton (US EPA) --Amanda Wilson (National Transportation Library) --Shewan Workneh (International Monetary Fund) --Marcia Lei Zeng (Kent State Univ.) NKOS (Networked Knowledge Organization Systems) (http://nkos.slis.kent.edu/) is an ad hoc work group of more than 100 international experts and implementers of knowledge organization systems. NKOS is devoted to enabling knowledge organization systems/services (KOS), such as classification systems, thesauri, gazetteers, and ontologies, as networked, interactive information services to support the description and retrieval of diverse information resources through the Internet. CENDI (www.cendi.gov) is an interagency working group of senior scientific and technical information managers from 13 U.S. federal agencies. CENDI’s mission is to improve the productivity of federal science, technology and related programs through effective information systems.

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Phylo-hackathon, Tucson, AZ, January 2013
by Karen Cranston 30 Oct '12

30 Oct '12

Phylogenies! Hacking! Tucson in January! Apply at http://tinyurl.com/PhyloTastic2 An implicit promise of the Tree of Life project is that, ultimately, expert knowledge of species phylogeny will be accessible and usable by everybody. In other words, we will all be able to get the species trees we need, in a useable form, when we need them. The Phylotastic project aims to make that vision a reality, by developing a loosely coupled system of components that, in response to a user’s query (a list of taxa plus conditions), will rectify names, find suitable source trees, prune and graft to get the right species, estimate branch lengths, and return the results with metadata on sources and methods. In June 2012, the HIP (Hackathons, Interoperability, Phylogenies) working group of NESCent staged a hackathon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackathon) to prototype components of a Phylotastic system, and implement demos to show their potential. Thanks to 25 participants who responded to an open call (just like this one), that hackathon was an extraordinary success (see http://phylotastic.org/) Now we are gearing up for a second hackathon, to take another step toward providing computable, convenient, credible access to the Tree of Life. We aim to recruit a diverse group of participants, including students, faculty, postdocs, and staff of both genders and from different backgrounds. Only some of the seats at the hackathon will be filled by expert hackers who spend their time coding. We also need folks who can: * Provide knowledge of workflows and downstream uses of trees * Design user interfaces * Test software * Make screencasts, develop tutorials, and document user experiences Applications are now being accepted to Phylotastic 2, which will take place January 28th, 2013 to February 1st, 2013 at the BIO5 facility in warm and sunny Tucson, AZ (http://bio5.arizona.edu/about-bio5) Information on how to apply is provided below. Partial support (and, if funds allow, full support) for travel, food and lodging will be available to each successful applicant who indicates need. We particularly welcome applications from women and members of underrepresented groups. To understand how you might be able to contribute, review the slideshow (ppt format, http://bit.ly/RWRgIc, or PDF format, http://bit.ly/POaoci) consult the web site (phylotastic.org) or contact a member of the HIP leadership team (listed below). Sincerely, Karen Cranston - on behalf of the HIP (Hackathons, Interoperability and Phylogenies) Leadership Team* HOW TO APPLY Before 16 November, 2012 at midnight, EST, fill out the online form: http://tinyurl.com/PhyloTastic2 * The application form asks you to describe how you can contribute to Phylotastic. Remember that we are not just looking for expert coders. There are many other ways to contribute. * Support for travel, housing and meals will be available to each successful applicant who indicates need. * Please understand that your application is not a guarantee of participation in the event. Funds and space are limited: we may not be able to sponsor every individual who is qualified to participate. * LEADERSHIP TEAM Karen Cranston, karen.cranston(a)nescent.org Brian Sidlauskas, brian.sidlauskas(a)oregonstate.edu Arlin Stoltzfus, arlin(a)umd.edu Mike Rosenberg mrosenb(a)asu.edu Brian O’Meara, bomeara(a)utk.edu Mark Westneat mwestneat(a)fieldmuseum.org Enrico Pontelli epontell(a)cs.nmsu.edu Rutger Vos rutgeraldo(a)gmail.com Naim Matasci nmatasci(a)iplantcollaborative.org

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Nomination of TDWG Executive Committee
by Mergen Patricia 21 Oct '12

21 Oct '12

Dear colleagues and friends of TDWG We will proceed to the elections for the 2013 Executive Committee member during the conference. As a first step, we would like to ask you to sent us Nominations for the different positions. The person you nominate has to have agreed to take on the position, should he or she be elected. Nomination can be for third parties and self-nominations are also accepted. Nominations for people that are not currently member of TDWG are allowed, but would need to become member of TDWG would they be elected. Please sent you nomination to secretary(a)tdwg.org by Monday 22nd of October midnight (Beijing time). Nominations should include - for which position in the executive - Full name - contact details (e-mail of the person) - affiliation (which institution they belong to) - clarification that they are willing to take on the position - a short Biography of the person and why she/he would qualify for the position We expect nomination for following positions - Chair - Treasurer - General Secretary - Regional Secretaries for ° Africa ° Asia ° Europe ° Latin America ° North America ° Oceania On Tuesday 23rd in the morning you will receive another mail with the list of nominations for each position and procedures for voting. Voting will be open until Wednesday 24th of October midnight (Beijing time) Results will be announced Thursday 25th of October early afternoon during the TDWG business teeming. With my best wishes and thanks in advance for your contribution. Patricia Mergen, TDWG General Secretary on behalf of the Executive Committee. Head of the Biodiversity Information and Cybertaxonomy Royal Museum for Central Africa Leuvensesteenweg 13 B-3080 Tervuren Phone:+ 32 2 769 56 26 Fax: + 32 2 769 56 42 E-mail: patricia.mergen(a)africamuseum.be http://www.africamuseum.be/

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NISO/DCMI Webinar: Embedding Linked Data invisibly into Web pages - Strategies and workflows for publishing with RDFa
by DCMI Announce 06 Oct '12

06 Oct '12

-------------------- Webinar: Embedding Linked Data Invisibly into Web Pages: Strategies and Workflows for Publishing with RDFa Date: October 24, 2012 Time: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. (Eastern time) Event webpage: http://www.niso.org/news/events/2012/dcmi/publishing_with_RDFa/ ------------------- ABOUT THE WEBINAR As described in the April NISO/DCMI webinar by Dan Brickley, schema.org is a search-engine initiative aimed at helping webmasters use structured data markup to improve the discovery and display of search results. Drupal 7 makes it easy to markup HTML pages with schema.org terms, allowing users to quickly build websites with structured data that can be understood by Google and displayed as Rich Snippets. Improved search results are only part of the story, however. Data-bearing documents become machine-processable once you find them. The subject matter, important facts, calendar events, authorship, licensing, and whatever else you might like to share become there for the taking. Sales reports, RSS feeds, industry analysis, maps, diagrams and process artifacts can now connect back to other data sets to provide linkage to context and related content. The key to this is the adoption standards for both the data model (RDF) and the means of weaving it into documents (RDFa). Drupal 7 has become the leading content platform to adopt these standards. This webinar will describe how RDFa and Drupal 7 can improve how organizations publish information and data on the Web for both internal and external consumption. It will discuss what is required to use these features and how they impact publication workflow. The talk will focus on high-level and accessible demonstrations of what is possible. Technical people should learn how to proceed while non-technical people will learn what is possible. Speakers Brian Sletten (Bosatsu Consulting) is a liberal arts-educated software engineer with a focus on using and evangelizing forward-leaning technologies. He has a background as a system architect, a developer, a security consultant, a mentor, a team lead, an author and a trainer and operates in all of those roles as needed. His experience has spanned the online game, defense, finance, academic, hospitality, retail and commercial domains. He has worked with a wide variety of technologies such as network matrix switch controls, 3D simulation/visualization, Grid Computing, P2P and Semantic Web-based systems. He has a B.S. in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary. He is President of Bosatsu Consulting, Inc. and lives in Los Angeles, CA. Stéphane Corlosquet (Software Engineer and Drupal Developer at MIND Informatics) has been a driving force in incorporating Semantic Web capabilities into the core of the Drupal Content Management System. He holds a master's degree specializing in Semantic Web from the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI), Ireland, and has published widely read papers and technical publications, including two chapters in the book, Definitive Guide to Drupal 7. Stéphane has worked as the head of IT and Web development for Ici Formation and Eco Innovation and currently works at MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MIND), MGH, as a Software Engineer developing the Science Collaboration Framework, a Drupal-based distribution for building online communities of researchers in biomedecine. Thomas Baker, Chief Information Officer of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, has recently co-chaired the W3C Semantic Web Deployment Working Group and the W3C Incubator Group on Library Linked Data.

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Biodiversity Informatician, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University (position announcement)
by Nico Franz 21 Sep '12

21 Sep '12

The School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University invites applications for a Biodiversity Informatician. This is an academic, non-tenure track faculty research associate appointment. Arizona State University is a dynamic, progressive university dedicated to interdisciplinary collaborations, to rethinking university education, and to integrating excellence in both research and teaching. The School of Life Sciences (SOLS) at Arizona State University's Tempe campus is committed to strengthening its impact in the fields of biodiversity informatics research and virtual collections management. SOLS maintains organismal collections totaling more than 1.5 million preserved specimens, and has played an instrumental role in creating the Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet) which serves more than 2 million records and 100,000 images on-line. The successful candidate will work in close collaboration with SOLS curators, collection managers, and affiliated researchers and students to advise, develop, and implement database-driven web applications aimed at the electronic dissemination of biological specimen and observation records. Focal areas include the future development of SEINet and its underlying software platform Symbiota, amalgamation and synthesis of all SOLS virtual collections into a unified web portal, participation in novel biodiversity informatics research projects, and integration with other initiatives and services in this dynamic field (e.g. CAP-LTER, Complexity of Life, Global Names, GBIF, iDigBio). The selected candidate will assume co-leadership in developing successful externally funded informatics projects, and serve as liaison between ASU collections researchers and students, network administrators, and other ASU information technology support staff. Additional responsibilities may include participation in the creation and implementation of a new teaching curriculum in the field of biodiversity informatics. Candidates must have an advanced degree (M.Sc. or higher) in Biology or Computer Science; minimally three years of experience in biodiversity informatics research and software development; and a strong familiarity with biocollections data management (e.g. DarwinCore) and contemporary nomenclatural and taxonomic practices and standards (e.g. TDWG). Desired qualifications include participation in recent federally funded research projects in this field (NSF-ADBC program, iDigBio, GBIF, etc.); extensive experience with programming languages and database-driven web application development, and specifically skills in database design and management such as AJAX, CMS (e.g. Drupal), HTML 5, CSS, SQL, XML, network and server administration, and scripting languages (Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby); familiarity with Web 2.0 programming technologies; high adaptability to meet new challenges; and evidence of strong verbal and written communication skills, including grantspersonship. Salary will be negotiable, depending on qualifications. To apply, send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and up to three other items of choice that represent the ability to work as biodiversity informatician to Anna Fields, attn: Biodiversity Informatician Search Committee, School of Life Sciences, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, with electronic applications sent as PDF files to solsfacultysearch3(a)asu.edu preferred (mailto: solsfacultysearch3(a)asu.edu) The initial closing date for receipt of complete applications is October 14, 2012. For additional information, please feel free to contact Nico Franz (nico.franz(a)asu.edu) or Les Landrum ( les.landrum(a)asu.edu) A background check is required for employment at Arizona State University, an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity. We especially encourage women and minorities to apply (see https://www.asu.edu/titleIX/) For additional information on the School of Life Sciences, please visit http://sols.asu.edu . This announcement is also available as a PDF at http://sols.asu.edu/employment/pdfs/f12_bio_info_research_associate.pdf Posted by Nico Franz. http://franz.lab.asu.edu/

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database developer, semantic web, biodiversity data
by Robert Guralnick 30 Aug '12

30 Aug '12

TDWGers! If you know anyone suitable, pass along this job ad! Summary: Find a unique niche that splits the middle between biodiversity scientists working to share knowledge about the biological world and a development team with a strong focus on agile development to bring that knowledge to the web in new ways. We are a collaborative team of programmers, informaticians and domain scientists in the realm of biodiversity and conservation working together on a National Science Foundation funded project called Biological Science Collections Tracker (BiSciCol - pronounded “bicycle”; more about us here: http://biscicol.blogspot.com/) The goal of BiSciCol is to use semantic web approaches to develop an infrastructure for tagging and tracking scientific collections and all of their derivatives. In order for BiSciCol to fulfill its mission, scientific collections data and downstream data products such as sequences, genomes, images, etc. need to be brought into a semantic web framework, which presents a set of technological and social challenges. The BiSciCol project is recruiting a semantic web and database developer with working knowledge of global unique identifiers, and their implementation within and across databases and data aggregators. More about the position and application process here: http://t.co/C7dvQX9g Best regards, Rob Guralnick http://robgur.googlepages.com

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Fwd: Other: Minimum Information about a Phylogenetic Analysis
by Karen Cranston 23 Aug '12

23 Aug '12

(Apologies for cross-posting). Please take some time for the following survey about metadata on evolutionary trees. Your responses will inform both the Minimum Information about a Phylogenetic Analysis (MIAPA) standard and also the metadata collected and used to assemble the Open Tree of Life. Cheers, Karen ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <evoldir(a)evol.biology.mcmaster.ca> Date: Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 4:37 AM Subject: Other: Minimum Information about a Phylogenetic Analysis To: karen.cranston(a)gmail.com What data makes a phylogenetic tree useful? When publishing a phylogenetic tree, or evaluating a tree, we generally want more than simply the tree structure - for example, who inferred the tree? using what data and what methods? what are the organisms at the tips? what are the support values? Of course, those who use / evaluate trees want as much data as possible about a tree. Those who publish / database trees want a quick and simple submission system. How do we balance these sometimes conflicting viewpoints? The following survey asks you to categorize various data elements about trees in terms of 1) how useful is the data? and 2) how difficult is it to collect? The survey should take about 10 minutes. https://duke.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_b2upIMII4fxJkAA This survey is brought to you by MIAPA and Open Tree of Life. MIAPA (http://www.evoio.org/wiki/MIAPA) aims to develop a formal spec for Minimum Information About a Phylogenetic Analysis. The Open Tree of Life (http://opentreeoflife.org) is collecting input phylogenies for synthesis into a comprehensive tree of life. We will share the results via the MIAPA and Open Tree of Life websites, and results will inform the MIAPA standard as well as the collection trees for Open Tree of Life. If you have any questions about this project, please contact Karen Cranston (karen.cranston(a)nescent.org) Thank you! Karen Cranston (on behalf of MIAPA and Open Tree of Life) National Evolutionary Synthesis Center -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Karen Cranston, PhD Training Coordinator and Informatics Project Manager nescent.org @kcranstn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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NISO/DCMI Webinar: Metadata for Managing Scientific Research Data
by DCMI Announce 15 Aug '12

15 Aug '12

******** PLEASE EXCUSE THE CROSS-POSTING ******** WEBINAR: NISO/DCMI Webinar: Metadata for Managing Scientific Research Data DATE: August 22, 2012 TIME: 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) EVENT WEBPAGE: http://www.niso.org/news/events/2012/dcmi/scientific_data/ ABOUT THE WEBINAR The past few years have seen increased attention to national and international policies for data archiving and sharing. Chief motivators include the proliferation of digital data and a growing interest in research data and supplemental information as a part of the framework for scholarly communication. Key objectives include not only preservation of scientific research data, but making data accessible to verify research findings and support the reuse and repurposing of data. Metadata figures prominently in these undertakings, and is critical for the success of any data repositories or archiving initiative, hence increased attention to metadata for scientific data -- specifically for metadata standards development and interoperability, data curation and metadata generation processes, data identifiers, name authority control (for scientists), Linked Data, ontology and vocabulary work, and data citation standards. This NISO/DCMI webinar will provide a historical perspective and an overview of current metadata practices for managing scientific data, with examples drawn from operational repositories and community-driven data science initiatives. It will discuss challenges and potential solutions for metadata generation, identifiers, name authority control, Linked Data, and data citation. SPEAKERS Jane Greenberg, professor at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and director of the SILS Metadata Research Center, is well known for research and writing on topics ranging from automatic metadata creation to metadata best practices, ontology research, Semantic Web, data repositories, thesauri, and scientific data curation. She has served as Principal Investigator or partner on a number of grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Health, and actively participates in organizations such as the American Library Association, American Society for Information Science and Technology, and the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. Jane is the recipient of the 2012 Margaret Mann Citation from the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS). Thomas Baker, Chief Information Officer of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, has recently co-chaired the W3C Semantic Web Deployment Working Group and the W3C Incubator Group on Library Linked Data. REGISTRATION Registration is per site (access for one computer) and closes at 12:00 pm Eastern on August 22, 2012. Discounts are available for NISO and DCMI members and students. Can’t make it on the webinar date/time? Register now and gain access to the recorded archive for one year. Visit the event webpage to register and for more information: http://www.niso.org/news/events/2012/dcmi/scientific_data/

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DC-2012 in Malaysia five weeks away
by DCMI Announce 26 Jul '12

26 Jul '12

DC-2012 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malasia is a little over five weeks away. Pre-conference includes two full days of tutorials on the Semantic Web starting on 3 September 2012.[1] Led by Sam Oh and Karen Coyle in day-long sessions, the two tutorials promise to take you from simple data to Linked Data. The three-day conference begins on Wednesday, 5 September and includes an exciting program of peer reviewed papers, project reports and posters.[2] DC-2012 keynote speakers Dan Brickley and Karen Coyle [3] join four other keynotes in the collocated meetings of Knowledge Technology Week 2012.[4] So, join us in beautiful Malaysia. Registration is open.[5] [1] http://dcevents.dublincore.org/index.php/IntConf/index/pages/view/tutorials… [2] http://dcevents.dublincore.org/index.php/IntConf/index/pages/view/program-2… [3] http://dcevents.dublincore.org/index.php/IntConf/index/pages/view/speakers-… [4] http://ktw.mimos.my/ktw2012/ [5] http://ktw.mimos.my/info/index.html

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Public Participation in Digitization of Biodiversity Specimens Workshop
by Austin Mast 22 Jun '12

22 Jun '12

It is our pleasure to announce that iDigBio, the National Science Foundation’s National Resource for Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections (www.idigbio.org) is offering a workshop focused on engaging the public in the digitization of the US's ca. 1 billion biodiversity specimens in ways that are interesting and educational for the participants and efficient and reliable for the projects managing the digitization. The workshop is co-organized by iDigBio’s Public Participation in Digitization Working Group and iDigBio’s Education and Outreach Working Group. The target audience for the workshop includes digitization project leaders, biodiversity informatics software developers, and informal education community members. The workshop will (1) identify steps in the digitization process that could involve the public, (2) establish one or more workflows for each of those steps, keeping the motivations driving public participants and digitizing institutions in mind, (3) identify existing tools, expertise, and communities that can be engaged in the workflows and gaps where new tools, expertise, or communities are needed, and (4) start individuals or small groups on the path of making those workflows a reality. The workshop will be held at University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, September 28–29, 2012. Funding is available to support travel and per diem for five additional participants through a competitive application process. Those desiring to attend this workshop should submit their CV and a succinct paragraph (<200 words) explaining how their attendance will contribute to the successful completion of the four workshop goals given above to Cathy Bester (cbester(a)flmnh.ufl.edu) by July 16, 2012 The committee anticipates notifying applicants of decisions by July 20. Questions about the content of the workshop can be directed to Austin Mast (amast(a)bio.fsu.edu) With best regards, Austin Mast (on behalf of the iDigBio Public Participation in Digitization Working Group) and Betty Dunckel (on behalf of the iDigBio Education and Outreach Working Group) Austin Mast Associate Professor Director of the Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium Member of the Steering Committee of iDigBio, The National Resource for Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections Department of Biological Science 319 Stadium Drive Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295 U.S.A. Office: King Life Science Building, room 4065 Lab: King Life Science Building, rooms 4068 and 4084 Herbarium: Biological Science Unit One, room 100 Voice: 1 (850) 645-1500 Fax: 1 (850) 645-8447 amast(a)bio.fsu.edu

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