JISC Research Information Management Projects Final Event

August 25th, 2011 by lisrw

JISC and UKOLN are organising a free conference to showcase the work of the second round of JISC-funded Research Information Management (RIM) projects. The conference is free and will be held at the Manchester Conference Centre on 20 September 2011.

The conference will highlight the work of the following Strand 2 final projects:

  • Brunel Research Under a CERIF Environment (BRUCE) – Brunel University
  • CERIFy – UKOLN, University of Bath
  • Measuring Impact under CERIF (MICE) – Centre for e-Reseach (CeRch), Kings College London
  • Integrated Research Input and Output System (IRIOS) – University of Sunderland

The day will begin with an overview of Strand 2 and its aims and objectives. This will be followed by a sneak preview of the projects’ findings, where each of the projects will make a short presentation to the audience to encourage delegates come to its particular session. After the break four parallel sessions will be held for each of the projects; these sessions will be repeated again in the afternoon. Delegates will therefore have an opportunity to visit at least two project sessions. After the afternoon project sessions, there will be a number of presentations from projects that are building on the Research Information Management strand (e.g. from RMAS, the Research Council, etc). The day will end with a plenary discussion focusing on the way forward.

Further information, a draft programme and a booking form are available from the UKOLN Events Web pages.

The IMPACT Project Conference

August 22nd, 2011 by lisrw

Bookings are now open for the IMPACT Project final conference which will take place on 24 – 25 October 2011 at the British Library. The conference is entitled Digitisation & OCR: Better, faster, cheaper. Solutions of the IMPACT Centre of Competence and future challenges. Full details are available in a news feature on the UKOLN Web site.

Free Open Mapping Workshop

August 15th, 2011 by lisrw

If you are tired of Google Maps and interested in Open Data then you may well be interested in the free GECO / DevCSI Open Mapping Event, to be held in Glasgow on 25 August 2011. During the day participants will be introduced to map-making with free software and open data. The programme will include:

  • Editing and re-using OpenStreetmap
  • Getting started with the PostGIS geographic database
  • Interactive maps on the Web with OpenLayers
  • Map styling tools

The event is being organised by DevCSI and Edina (Geospatial Engagement Community and Outreach – GECO). As a sample dataset the workshop will be working with some data on common good land in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Participants are encouraged to bring along their own data, problems and plans.

Registration will open at 9 a.m. on Thursday 25 August. The workshop will begin at 10 a.m. A free lunch and refreshments will be provided. Further information is available from the UKOLN Web site.

KRDS Digital Preservation Benefits Analysis Toolkit Version 2

August 9th, 2011 by Manjula Patel

The JISC-funded KRDS-I2S2 Digital Preservation Benefits Analysis Tools Project is pleased to announce a new version of the KRDS-I2S2 Toolset (version 2). The worksheets, guidance documentation and exemplar test cases can be downloaded from the Project Web site.

The Toolkit consists of two tools: the KRDS Benefits Framework (Tool 1); and the Value-chain and Benefits Impact tool (Tool 2). Each tool consists of a detailed guide and worksheet(s). Both tools have drawn on partner case studies and previous work on benefits and impact for digital curation/preservation. This experience has provided a series of common examples of generic benefits that are employed in both tools for users to modify or add to as required.

The KRDS Benefits Framework (Tool 1) is the “entry-level” tool requiring less experience and effort to implement and can be used as a stand-alone tool in many tasks. It can also be the starting point and provide input to the use of the Value-chain and Impact analysis.

The Value-chain and Benefits Impact analysis (Tool 2) is the more advanced tool in the Toolkit and requires more experience and effort to implement. It is likely to be most useful in a smaller sub-set of longer-term and intensive activities such as evaluation and strategic planning.

The combined Toolkit provides a very flexible set of tools, worksheets, and lists of examples of generic benefits and potential metrics. These are available for use in different combinations appropriate to needs and level of expertise.

Guides for the toolkit and each individual tool and case studies of completed examples of the worksheets provide documentation and support for your own implementation. They are also available from the Project Web site.

Free DevCSI Workshop: Agile Prototyping Techniques

August 9th, 2011 by lisrw

DevCSI and Hedtek are organising a one-day workshop on agile prototyping in Bristol, to be held on Tuesday 23 August 2011. The workshop is designed for developers, their managers and senior managers who are interested in the range of paper-based techniques currently in use.

The day will include sessions on:

  • The use of card-based techniques in agile development
  • The use of (and co-development) of paper prototypes with users
  • The ergonomics of doing design
  • Development of sketching ability, encompassing both paper and whiteboards

A free lunch and refreshments will be provided. Further information and a booking form are available on the UKOLN Web site.

UKOLN Update July 2011

August 4th, 2011 by Thom Bunting

The recently released issue of UKOLN Update, a monthly newsletter, provides an overview of UKOLN work during July 2011.  It highlights key news features, blog posts, presentations, and events related to staff activities.

Most frequently used words in UKOLN blogs, July 2011

Most frequently used words in UKOLN blogs, July 2011

Registration Opens for DCC Oxford Roadshow

August 3rd, 2011 by lisrw

Registration is now open for the 4th Digital Curation Centre Roadshow. Full details are availble in a news feature on the UKOLN Web site.

IWMW 2011: Systems Approach

July 26th, 2011 by lisrw

Paul Walk, Deputy Director, UKOLN, and Thom Bunting, Web Manager (eFramework and JISC IE Technical Foundations), UKOLN, will both be contributing to sessions on 27 July 2011 at the Institutional Web Management Workshop 2011 (IWMW 2011). Thom in a computer-lab-based session entitled Doing Drupal: quick start deployments via distributions will focus on a distribution providing automated content and data aggregation, tagging, mapping, and trend visualisation. Paul,  conscious of the the lack of career options for successful Web developers in many HE institutions will explore the possible development of a new role in the sector – The Strategic Developer – a developer who has both technical and domain experience, and who can contribute to strategic planning and decision making.

Ariadne Issue 67

July 26th, 2011 by lisrw

Issue 67 of Ariadne has appeared recently. A summary of the main articles and next steps is available in a news feature on the UKOLN Web site.

The Economical Way to Amplify Your Event

July 25th, 2011 by Marieke Guy

Marieke Guy and Brian Kelly will be facilitating a parallel session at this year’s Institutional Web Management Workshop entitled The Economical Way to Amplify Your Event.

Web teams are increasingly involved in supporting events by delivering resources, streaming content and promoting outputs. This session will consider what you need to do to amplify an event successfully, the free and not-so-free tools that are out there for you to use, and what equipment it would be useful to have. It will also take a look at  event amplification at IWMW2011 and consider what has worked and what hasn’t over the past few years.