Metadata Discussion Meeting at TDWG 2008 Conference
Metadata Discussion Meeting at TDWG Conference 2008
Atlas of Living Australia and Global Biodiversity Information Facility are co-organisers of a special meeting on metadata to be held at the TDWG Conference in Fremantle, Australia, Sunday 19 October 2008, 14.00-17.00.
We propose to open the discussion to any aspect of metadata but with a particular focus on metadata standards, major projects, systems in use, the role of ontologies, and certain key questions surrounding metadata.
Key Questions The key questions needing discussion include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. What resources do we want to describe (all digital; some classes of digital; digital AND undigitised legacy; human experts, etc., record and dataset level)? 2. Can we make some preliminary core recommendations on metadata elements which all TDWG-related projects should maintain as a minimum? 3. How do we proceed to fuller recommendations on metadata standards and profiles, and web service interfaces, e.g., Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) - including appropriate use of PMH Sets - and Open Archives Initiative Object Reuse and Exchange (OAI-ORE)? 4. How do we handle natural language differences in metadata? 5. How can ontologies be effectively used with metadata? 6. How do we encourage production of good metadata? 7. How can a global, decentralised biodiversity network best share metadata? 8. Are there any other things we can do immediately to facilitate the interchange of metadata between our projects? 9. How should we avoid duplication of metadata records as they are harvested and aggregated in different locations? 10. Are there pilot activities around which we can test some of these ideas? 11. How should we establish ongoing collaboration within TDWG on this topic (wiki, mailing list, convenor, etc.)?
To make effective use of the limited time for such a broad subject, we propose to offer a semi-open format for the discussion. This will revolve around a series of maximum-5-minute, 2-PowerPoint-slides presentations from represented projects on i) current metadata strategy and standards; ii) issues they need to see addressed. We require pre-submission and circulation of these slides to help build a sense of collaboration around a process and to create an "Introductory Statement" that will guide and inform our discussions on the day. A metadata wiki will be established prior to the meeting to aid our discussions.
If you are interested in participating in the meeting, please contact the convenors Donald Hobern (Donald.Hobern@csiro.au) and Éamonn Ó Tuama (eotuama@gbif.org). If you wish to make a presentation, please submit your slides to the convenors by 1 September 2008.
We are looking for someone to extend and establish the generality of the concept extraction methods from scanned literature developed by Lu et al (2008), targeting the biodiversity domain. The applicant will have at least a functional understanding of image analysis (feature extraction), document layout (reverse-engineering a DTD), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and a broad familiarity with taxonomic systems relating to biodiversity (for concept relationships). Ideally you will have expertise in one or more of these areas and the ability to learn quickly is essential.
The job will be based at the Open University in Milton Keynes, collaborating with The Natural History Museum, London, and is initially a 1 year contract. Part of the job will be developing further grant proposals which may extend the period of employment. Salary is in the region of £30,000 pa.
Further details of the application process will be available shortly but will include a CV plus, if you feel it is not clear from your CV, a statement of your skills or experience relevant to this project. The project will start on 1st October.
Further details are available at http://editwebrevisions.info/content/jobs.
Expressions of interest are invited. Please contact: Dr David Morse (email: d.r.morse_at_open.ac.uk, phone +44 (0) 1908 858 463, fax +44 (0) 1908 652 335).
The Open University and the Natural History Museum are seeking a postdoctoral researcher for a year (approx. 28k pa) to work on concept extraction from scanned taxonomic literature.
Scanned texts contain errors introduced by imperfect OCR and other sources, so techniques are required that are robust in the face of such errors. The successful applicant will develop techniques that use typographical and contextual cues to identify and tag relevant document content.
The ideal candidate would have a PhD (or equivalent experience), and experience in one or more of the following: - natural language processing/information extraction/information retrieval, in particular from noisy data; - image analysis and feature extraction; - document layout (reverse-engineering a DTD); - XML for mark-up and term annotation; - broad familiarity with biological systematics.
Good programming skills are essential, as is the ability to learn quickly. Applications from candidates with a background in the biological sciences who can demonstrate appropriate computing skills are encouraged.
For project description see http://editwebrevisions.info/content/jobs
Apply through to http://www3.open.ac.uk/employment, or email the Recruitment Secretary at MCS-Recruitment_at_open.ac.uk quoting the reference number. Closing date: 16th October 2008.
For enquiries about the research project, please contact: David Morse [d.r.morse_at_open.ac.uk].
participants (2)
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Dave Roberts -
Eamonn O Tuama