The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) today issued the first public appraisal of the Digging into Data Challenge, an international grant programme first funded by JISC, the US National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the US National Science Foundation and the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Their findings are presented in One Culture, along with a series of recommendations for researchers, administrators, scholarly societies, academic publishers, research libraries, and funding agencies. The recommendations are “urgent, pointed, and even disruptive,” write the authors. “To address them, we must recognize the impediments of tradition that hinder the contemporary university’s ability to adapt to, support, or sustain this emerging research over time.”
The Digging into Data Challenge was launched in 2009 to better understand how “big data” changes the research landscape for the humanities and social sciences. Scholars in these disciplines now use massive databases of materials that range from digitized books, newspapers, and music to transactional data such as web searches, sensor data, or cell phone records. The Challenge seeks to discover what new, computationally based research methods might be applied to these sources.
In its first year, the Digging into Data Challenge made awards to eight teams of scholars, librarians, and computer and information scientists. Over the following two years, report authors Christa Williford and Charles Henry conducted site visits, interviews, and focus groups to understand how these complex international projects were being managed, what challenges they faced, and what project teams were learning from the experience.
Brett Bobley, chief information officer and director of the NEH Office of Digital Humanities, heads the Digging into Data Challenge. "Do we have big data in the humanities and social sciences? Yes—buckets of it,” he says. “But our ability to produce huge quantities of digital data has outstripped our ability to analyze and understand it. One Culture helps us to see not only why we would want a computer to assist us with our work, but how big data is changing the very nature of traditional humanistic research."
Co-author and CLIR president Charles Henry said, "This report discloses the complexity and sophistication of humanities and social sciences research in a digital era. It underscores the excitement and potential of new discovery through deep collaboration across disciplines and affirms the continuity of traditional values and perspectives of scholarly communication in a data-dependent milieu. The report also seeks to animate a collective responsibility to more concertedly appreciate, extend, fund, and provide adequate services to sustain this remarkable research."
In 2011, four additional funding bodies joined the four original cooperating agencies in support of fourteen new international collaborative research projects. These funders include the Institute of Museum and Library Services (US); the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK); the Economic and Social Research Council (UK); and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.
Stuart Dempster, director at JISC, said, “We are proud to be a partner in this trans-Atlantic endeavor which aims to assist individual researchers, academic departments, and research institutions to succeed with the ‘data deluge’ in the humanities. For the UK to continue to punch above its weight in terms of digital scholarship and research it is vital for it to collaborate in ‘smart partnerships,’ which foster innovation in the development of tools, skills, and new research findings. This report shows that success in action.”
“The CLIR report is an excellent assessment of this unique and exciting international partnership,” said Gisèle Yasmeen, Vice-President, Research, at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. “The Digging into Data Challenge project is generating innovative computation and data analysis techniques to better advance research and we look forward to its continued success.”
"NSF has found the Digging into Data Challenge to be an excellent mechanism for enabling collaborative, data-intensive research in the social sciences and humanities," said Elizabeth Tran, programme officer in NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering. "It has significantly reduced some the key barriers to conducting research across borders and has resulted in a number of truly international outstanding research projects."
The report is available online in pdf format; an extended version with case studies is also available in html format. Print copies are available for ordering through the website.
The report, One Culture. Computationally Intensive Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, was made public today at the Joint Conference on Digital Libraries JCDL 2012 conference in Washington, DC.
CLIR is an independent, nonprofit organization that forges strategies to enhance research, teaching, and learning environments in collaboration with libraries, cultural institutions, and communities of higher learning.
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Listen to the podcast (Duration 8:33)
JISC EMBEDDED OBJECT
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John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning launched two new JISC TechDis tools this week as part of our work to improve access to education for all abilities.
The tools TechDis Voices and TechDis Toolbox will improve text to speech and provide a one-stop toolbox of resources, aimed primarily at helping people with disabilities or other difficulties to improve their work and learning.
TechDis voices will improve the computerised voice people hear when they choose to listen to a voice read out text from a device.
The new TechDis voices are two high quality, youthful and modern voices Jack and Jess that can be used with text-to-speech tools.
JISC TechDis have worked with hundreds of learners and the specialist synthetic voice company Cereproc to ensure that Jess and Jack meet high standards.
“Jack’s pronunciation is the best I have heard for a long time. Jess is even better than Jack – brilliant!” says Sid Cameron, assistant manager of Soundwell learning resource centre, City of Bristol College.
Sal Cooke, Director of JISC TechDis says, “We are hoping that Jess and Jack will help bring text-to-speech out of the shadows and into the light of mainstream education provision. There are so many benefits for so many different types of people.”
For instance, this software could help you multitask and listen to texts whilst travelling or exercising. TTS is especially useful for people with print impairments, such as dyslexia, and can also be very helpful to those who are more confident with spoken rather than written English.
The second tool is TechDis Toolbox, a collection of resources which give useful hints and tips on technologies that can help individuals work smarter, quicker and more efficiently.
While written primarily for those with disabilities or difficulties, it is useful for anyone who wants to gain or improve on the skills most valued by employers.
The toolbox explores many common workplace technologies such as Microsoft Office and Google and explains how to get the most out of them. It also suggests different tools for different needs. For example, people with a visual impairment may find screen magnifiers or text-to-speech tools useful; individuals with dyslexia or memory problems might like to use task lists, calendars and reminders.
JISC Techdis decided on the contents of the Toolbox by asking groups of former students “what should your tutor have told you but never did?” Their answers shaped the final resource, so the toolbox now contains bite-size videos, short guides, animations and brief audio files.
The two new tools were announced in Hayes’ plenary speech at the 7th National Digital Conference.
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Historical events such as the Aberfan disaster in 1966, the Miners’ Strike in 1984 and the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 are some of the important events to have been documented and placed on the website, created by Aberystwyth University as part of Jisc's investment in opening up valuable content online.
Paola Marchionni, programme manager at Jisc, said: “The TV audiences that our popular programmes enjoy today is nothing like the peak figures reached by the nation’s favourite programmes in the eighties and nineties. The television was a really key part of our culture. Jisc’s suite of work to support the digitisation of collections like this one and the gathering of people’s memories of these events, shows our commitment to preserving our national treasures and opening them up for the benefit of education and research.”
As well as interviews with contributors and film footage the website, which is called Media and Memory in Wales, also includes maps, documents and photographs.
Working in four areas of Wales – Caernarfon, Carmarthen, the Rhondda and Wrexham – researchers interviewed people about how television affected their lives and the way they saw the world around them at that time.
Professor Iwan Rhys Morus, from the Department of History and Welsh History and leading the project, explains: “The website will be a vital resource for academic researchers, professionals in the media and policy makers. You could easily spend hours searching through the stories that are collected here.If you are inspired to share your own memory of watching these events and of the impact of television on your life, you can contribute to People’s Collection Wales.
“The archive resulting from this project will provide a significant resource for understanding the politics of television. For much of the fifty years in question, television formed a key battleground in struggles for linguistic and national identity.
“The new website includes an extremely important archive which explains the role of television in the lives of Welsh people over fifty years. I am sure there is something of interest to everyone here."
The project was carried out by Aberystwyth University’s History and Welsh History Department with support from project partners Culturenet Cymru.
Other partners are BBC Wales whose footage of the events provided an important spur for peoples’ memories, and the National Screen and Sound Archive at the National Library of Wales where the content will be archived.
Image by brizzlebornandbred on Flickr
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Listen to the podcast (Duration 6:21)
JISC EMBEDDED OBJECT
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The UK public sector already saves £28.6 million by using open access. The reports make it clear that both the public sector and the voluntary sector would see further direct and indirect benefits from increased access to UK higher education research publications.
Already, more Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations use open access than pay for subscriptions, despite the fact that subscription journals make up the vast majority of journals on offer.
image by mollyali on flickr
The UK public sector spends £135 million a year, made up of subscriptions and time spent trying to find articles, accessing the journal papers it needs to perform effectively. Each extra 5% of journal papers accessed via open
access on the web would save the public purse £1.7 million, even if no subscription fees were to be saved.
The UK's valuable voluntary and charitable sector would also benefit from open access to academic research. For survey respondents, the two most frequently mentioned barriers to accessing research were cost (80%) and lack of time (46%).
Professor Martin Hall, vice-chancellor at the University of Salford and chair of the OAIG, says, “These findings mark a turning point in the quiet revolution of open access. There are many good reasons for making research available on an open access basis, and the reports are clear that one reason is because open access makes economic sense. The UK Open Access Implementation Group is committed to helping the public, private and academic sectors benefit from UK research and I am proud that these reports further that cause."
Making more research free at the point of access, and easier to search across could produce significant savings, but could also lead to better decisions based on all the available evidence. As one senior scientific officer in a specialist scientific unit of large department of state observes “Open access would allow a lot more speculative reading and reading around the subject which is really useful for a holistic and high quality view to be developed."
This, in turn, offers benefits back to researchers, boosting the impact of their research by increasing its reach outside the academy.
These findings are borne out across all three reports in this series, and this body of new, quantitative work provides compelling evidence that increasing open access to research articles will have direct financial and practical benefits for the UK as a whole, benefits that are especially valuable in a time of austerity.
Professor Martyn Harrow, executive secretary of Jisc, which is a member of the OAIG, said: “Jisc is pleased to contribute expertise and assistance to the important work of the OAIG and we welcome this report.”
The reports make a number of recommendations around increasing awareness of open access in these two important sectors. These include promoting the value of the information produced as a result of public research funding and exploring ways of improving relationships between academic researchers and workers I other sectors who rely on their research to do their jobs well.
The UK OAIG is working to add value to the work of the member organisations to increase the rate at which the outputs from UK research are available on open access terms, and these reports show how important that work is to the UK.
Read the report Benefits of Open Access to Scholarly Research to the Public Sector
Read the report Benefits of Open Access to Scholarly Research for Voluntary and Charitable Sector Organisations
See the references for this press release on the OAIG website
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The audio-visual archives of the BBC contain a wealth of material gathered since it was founded in the 1920s, but they remain largely inaccessible, held on film or videotape and managed to serve the needs of programme-makers within the BBC.
Chronicle makes part of that archive available to UK higher and further education by digitising news and current affairs programmes from the BBC Northern Ireland’s vaults.
This gives teachers, students and researchers the chance to explore and immerse themselves in the events over an important period (1963-1976) of Northern Ireland’s history, delivering a rich and contextual experience from a political, historical and cultural perspective.
After several years of informal collaboration between the BBC and JISC, today also marks the start of a new partnership as the two organisations sign a Memorandum of Understanding, to support the promotion of their common purposes, especially with regard to education, learning and culture.
Signed by Caroline Thomson, BBC Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Secretary, Professor Martyn Harrow at the New Broadcasting House and managed by a joint steering committee, the MOU will enable the two organisations to develop their joint interest in encouraging the creation and use of a wide range of audio visual and cultural assets to support education, research and public use.
Chronicle will provide authenticated users with access to digitised copies of news and current affairs material covering Northern Ireland and ‘The Troubles’, along with web-based tools allowing them to be searched, viewed and annotated.
Other advantages of this project are considerable, not least as there exists very little audiovisual content, covering Northern Ireland historically, politically or culturally during the sixties and seventies in any depth, even though a number of organisations and academics have indicated a ‘significant need’ for such materials.
Additionally, there was a strong archival need to digitise the material from the period: between 1963 and 1981 news material was recorded on 16mm film and a significant proportion of this footage is now in need of preservation while coverage from 1981 onward was recorded on Beta or Digibeta tape and at much less risk of deterioration.
The project has also been shaped by an academic steering group made up of scholars from participating institutions (University of Westminster, Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Ulster, St Mary’s University College and Royal Holloway University of London) who are reviewing the academic value of the project as it runs.
Martin Doherty, Department of Social and Historical Studies, University of Westminster says: “The value of the BBC Northern Ireland News footage cannot be overstated. Access to this corpus of materials means that at the same time as fostering understanding and appreciation of ‘The Troubles’ within education, the academy is also given the opportunity to build on this through new avenues of research using innovative techniques.”
Caroline Thomson, chief operating officer of the BBC, says: “The BBC is committed to making the best possible use of its enormous archive, and this project is an important step forward in finding ways to use archive material to serve both the academic community and the BBC's broader public purposes. We are very excited to be able to share this significant collection, not only because of the light it will shed on recent history but because we will be able to apply the expertise gained to other archive-related activities across the BBC.”
Martyn Harrow, executive secretary of JISC, says: “Partnerships like this one with the BBC are extremely important to us. We are able to share our respective knowledge, skills and resources for the ‘common good’ of British creativity, ingenuity and economic growth. Working together shows how archive content can be ‘opened up’ for the benefit of higher and further education which in the case of this project means it provides the opportunity for rich content to be embedded into teaching, learning and research.”
Luís Carrasqueiro, chief executive of the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC), says: “I am delighted that this unique collection – which has not been seen since broadcast – will be available for learning and research. Television news is arguably the most dominant medium informing and reflecting public opinion. This news coverage is essential in understanding the history of Northern Ireland: including the Troubles but also fashion, architecture, journalism, religion, sports, and daily life. The BUFVC has worked for more than 60 years in placing the moving image alongside text as a scholarly asset, this new resource is yet another step in that direction.”
I don't have a .ac.uk email address but I'd like to preview the Northern Irish footage
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The research shows that in the seven institutions surveyed, a FOI request takes a university an average of 5 hours 2 minutes to respond, at a cost of £99 rising to £121 when employment overheads are taken into consideration.
However, the report suggests that there are factors influencing these costs including the size of the institution, the nature of the request and possibly the maturity of the institution’s records management system.
As Steve Bailey, the senior adviser at JISC infoNet who managed the research, explains: “From the data we have there appear to be certain elements responsible for influencing the costs involved in processing requests over which the institution has no control; its size, for example, where the bigger the institution the more complex and therefore more costly the process is likely to be. There will also always be an element of luck involved with a question which one institution might find relatively easy to answer proving difficult and vice versa, simply due to the exact wording of the request and the way in which each institution functions. However, a good records management system seems to have the potential to streamline the identification, location and access of required information; whilst ensuring staff at the most appropriate grade are engaged in each stage of the process may also help universities deal with requests more efficiently.”
The research tracked 36 different FOI requests in seven institutions during January 2012.
Now that the methodology underpinning this research has proved successful JISC infoNet plans to collect similar data for a further 140 requests over five months later this year. The work was inspired by discussions with UUK.
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of UUK, said: “Universities are committed to openness and transparency and JISC research has shown that universities respond efficiently to the majority of FOI requests. But this latest research shows that the costs are considerable. We want the Government to look closely at how FOI affects universities and particularly at aspects such as the charging rules, and how FOI relates to unpublished research. Meanwhile, this research will help universities develop their capacity to deal with these requests.”
The JISC figures appear to be broadly in line with data released earlier this week from the Ministry of Justice study (PDF) into the costs associated with FOI. That study suggested an average response time of 5 hours 21 minutes at a cost of £164 for non-central government departments, rising to 6 hours 10 minutes and £184 for central government departments.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives anyone the right to access information held by public authorities, which includes most UK colleges and universities.
For advice on how to deal with FOI requests, and the legal issues surrounding them, read JISC Legal’s guidance.
Read Steve Bailey’s blog post about the research
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Through The Faculties website, universities are already working to reach A-level students more effectively to improve recruitment and better retain students who understand what to expect from university.
The new site, funded by JISC and supported by the major exam boards, is providing free educational video podcasts by university lecturers on subjects taken directly from the A-level/IB curricula.
Professor Michael Arthur, vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds, said: “The Faculties provides an excellent platform for academics at UK universities to bring their expertise into the A-level classroom. Podcasts of short university lectures on topics from the A-level/IB curriculum should help prepare 16-18 year olds for university. There is great potential in the project.”
Professor Martyn Harrow, chief executive of JISC which is funding the website, said: “At JISC we are very conscious of the demands being placed on universities at the moment – what The Faculties shows is how smart use of technology can help universities minimise the expense of outreach and reach a range of prospective students at very low cost.”
The project was supported by the JISC Content and BCE programmes which helps universities to use digital content and technologies to engage with other institutions both inside and outside academia.
Students and teachers have already embraced the site. In less than three months, The Faculties has attracted over 134,000 pageviews from 32,000 unique users.
“We’re only just beginning,” says Faculties director and history lecturer Dr James Harris. “University departments have a strong interest in contributing lectures not only because they better prepare students for university but also because they make a powerful tool for outreach and recruitment. We also encourage companies that recruiter UK graduates to sponsor podcasts. Companies help defray the cost of production and we show 16-18 year olds what job opportunities will open to them if they continue their studies. Given that they’re looking at paying up to £27,000 for their degrees, it something they want to know.”
The podcasts are so-called ‘stretch and challenge’ resources that explore the richness and complexity of the topics and help students prepare for post-secondary education.
Colin McCausland, ICT development manager at Ashfield Girls’ High School in Belfast, said: “Thanks for such a brilliant resource. It is going to be of real benefit now when pupils need that little bit of extra revision, which the Faculties have done in a very engaging way.”
The Faculties is already being used in around 20% of classrooms across the UK and the site has received hundreds of requests for new titles and for similar resources in other fields.
Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters, said: “I think the concept of theFaculties is brilliant. For years I have been pleading for better sources of information to help students choose the right universities and degree courses. This new website goes a long way towards helping students make informed decisions. With the increasing financial commitment that students make, the site’s appearance is timely as well as welcome.”
All the resources are licensed under creative commons so other universities and colleges can set up similar sites or reuse the podcasts as they wish.
Find out more about the JISC project
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Universities and researchers will be able to improve the efficiencies of their research and remove obstacles in their collaborations, thanks to a new strategic partnership between the UK and Canada.
The Consortia Advancing Standards in Research Administration Information (CASRAI), a community-driven membership organisation founded in Canada, has invited JISC to be its first UK member. The two organisations will work together to advance a standard data dictionary for research and to advance a common global approach to research interoperability.
CASRAI’s vision is for all research teams around the world to have a single authoritative and reusable 'file' on themselves and their projects and be able to quickly produce and exchange any information needed, without retyping.
David Baker, CASRAI Executive Director, explains, “The research community in every country captures largely the same types of data. But three obstacles divide us: meaning, structure and format. These include the classic 'lift vs. elevator' problem - same concept with different labels - and the persistent problems of clashing data elements and software systems that can't speak to each other. A standard dictionary implemented in our systems and exchanges removes these obstacles while keeping freedom of choice in implementation.
"Thanks to this leadership from JISC, we look forward to bringing UK subject-matter expertise and perspective to this evolving international dictionary. In Canada, leading organisations (funders, universities, vendors) have come together to collaboratively advance this mandate. We hope to mirror this broad representation within the UK community.”
In both Canada and the UK research has shown much time is spent administrating rather than conducting research. This was confirmed by an American survey in 2009 that found an average of 42% of research time was spent on administration.
Josh Brown, JISC programme manager, adds, “JISC has a strong history of working with UK universities to deliver time and cost savings within the research administration process and contribute towards making research accessible, discoverable and easier to share.
“We know that one way to increase the visibility of research internationally and increase efficiencies in the research process is to establish a common language for research. This is so researchers, funders and universities have the opportunity to reduce their research administration and concentrate on the job of delivering their work. In just one example, imagine a universal 'auto-correct' that resolves terminologies between countries and disciplines and frees the researchers to focus on the concepts. We are delighted to be invited to be part of CASRAI to see how we can help to make this happen.”
The first areas of focus for this partnership will be research impact and research datasets. CASRAI is already an active participant in the JISC-funded DESCRIBE project on research impacts and the partnership will build on that collaboration.
For datasets, JISC and CASRAI will work together to form a joint UK/Canada committee (with associated review circle) to explore how we can incorporate the discovery and accessibility of scientific datasets into the standard dictionary.
View the CASRAI dictionary.
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Humanities and social science researchers are being invited to help JISC Collections understand the future of the monograph through an online survey [http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/oapenukresearcher]
In an open access model the monograph is made freely available, but the process requires some investigation to establish the priorities for such a business model. Readers or their libraries do not have to pay to read it online because the costs of the publishing process such as typesetting and marketing are recovered through alternative routes such as research grants, institutional funding or perhaps through readers purchasing print editions or particular formats for their iPad or Kindle.
Caren Milloy, head of projects at JISC Collections said: “We’re six months into the project and, following a series of focus groups, have identified some key questions for researchers – both as authors and readers. The findings from this survey will combine with interviews and surveys of other stakeholder groups to help us understand the big issues and priorities that an open access publishing model must accommodate.”
To thank you for your help, if you complete the survey before 16 April 2012 you will be entered into a draw for Amazon vouchers – there are three £100 vouchers, three £50 vouchers and three £25 vouchers to win.
OAPEN-UK is an Arts and Humanities Research Council and JISC funded project exploring the issues impacting upon the publishing of scholarly monographs in the humanities and social sciences (HSS).
The project is working with Taylor & Francis, Palgrave Macmillan, Berg Publishers, Liverpool University Press, University Wales Press, research funders and universities, to understand the challenges and steps required to move towards an open access publishing model for scholarly monographs. Further information on OAPEN-UK is available on the project website:
OAPEN-UK has two strands: an open access pilot gathering data on the usage, sales and citations of 60 monographs, and a wider research project which explores the environment for open access publishing.
If you’d like any further information, please contact Ellen Collins ellen.collins@researchinfonet.org or Caren Milloy c.milloy@jisc-collections.ac.uk
Read more about the project and its findings to date on the OAPEN-UK website
Follow the project on Twitter @oapenuk
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He shares his vision for the US and warns of the danger in commercialising public content: "The whole idea is to make the public heritage available to the public... It's crucial to maintain open access as a fundamental commitment and not fence off any cultural assets from the cultural commons that really belong to everyone."
Read more and watch videos of Robert Darnton here
Also in JISC Inform, we look at how universities and colleges are embracing the web to showcase their expertise and work smarter with seven predictions from JISC’s Sarah Porter on the future for tech-enabled universities.Jennifer Jones, research associate, shares a day in her life as an open researcher, with many of the technology channels she uses being supported by JISC.
Comment boxes allow you to upload your own video links and comments to add to the articles and we welcome your feedback to Rebecca O'Brien or Nicola Yeeles.
Each article also has its own url, which means if you find a particular topic or article of interest, you can forward it on to colleagues or add the #jiscinform tag to blog and Tweet about it.
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Technology which translates sign language into text is being developed by scientists in Aberdeen as part of a small business research initiative (SBRI) managed by JISC TechDis, a leading UK advisory service on technology and inclusion.
The software application is the first of its kind in the world which can be used on portable devices and allows users to customise sign language to their own specific needs.
The technology has the potential to transform how sign language users – from the profoundly deaf to those who have lost hearing in later life – communicate.
The development of the portable sign language translator is funded by £150K from the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) sponsored by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and managed by JISC TechDis. JISC TechDis has also facilitated user testing so that the products developed are fit for purpose.
Sal Cooke, JISC TechDis director says, “The fact that BIS and TSB entrusted the project management to us is a wonderful endorsement of our expertise. Our direct links with the learners who may benefit most ensures that the end product will be fully tested and fit for purpose.”
Computing scientists at Technabling, a spin-out company of the University of Aberdeen, are behind the technology which aims to bridge the gap between sign language and more standard forms of communication.
Dr Ernesto Compatangelo, a lecturer in computing science at the University of Aberdeen, and founder and director of Technabling said: “The aim of the technology – known as the Portable Sign language Translator (PSLT) - is to empower sign language users by enabling them to overcome the communication challenges they can experience, through portable technology. The user signs into a standard camera integrated into a laptop, netbook, Smartphone or other portable device such as a tablet. Their signs are immediately translated into text which can be read by the person they are conversing with.
Did you know? The number of people in the UK whose first or preferred language is BSL is estimated to be between 50,000 (Action on Hearing Loss) and 70,000 (British Deaf Association).
The team will now work to develop an app to be used on different devices including Smartphones, laptops and PC.
The tool has the potential to be used with a range of sign languages including British Sign Language (BSL) and Makaton.
Dr Compatangelo continued: “One of the most innovative and exciting aspects of the technology, is that it allows sign language users to actually develop their own signs for concepts and terms they need to have in their vocabulary, but they may not have been able to express easily when using BSL.”
“Whilst the technology has the potential to transform the lives of all sign language users, a key target market has been identified.
Find out more about the other projects in this investment programme on the JISC TechDis website
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A new JISC report shows that text mining - a complex and innovative method of searching and analysing data - has huge potential benefits for the UK economy and knowledge base, but its use is being held back by copyright law and other barriers. Read the report
Sir Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust, said of the recommendations in the report: "This is a complete no-brainer. This is scholarly research funded from the public purse, largely from taxpayer and philanthropic organisations. The taxpayer has the right to have maximum benefit extracted and that will only happen if there is maximum access to it."
Text mining draws on data analysis techniques such as natural language processing and information extraction to find new knowledge and meaningful patterns within large collections.
Torsten Reimer, JISC programme manager, explains, “Text mining is already producing efficiencies and new knowledge in areas as diverse as biological science, particle physics, media and communications. It has been used to hypothesise the causes of rare diseases and how pre-existing drugs could be used to target different diseases.
“The technique was also used recently to analyse the vast amount of text produced on websites, blogs and social media such as Twitter - where copyright holders allowed - and showed that the messages exchanged on Twitter during the English riots of 2011 were not to blame for inciting riots," added Torsten.
The business benefit of text mining is in identifying emerging trends, and to explore consumer preferences and competitor developments. Text mining is particularly used in larger companies as part of their customer relationship management strategy and in the pharmaceutical industry as part of their research and development strategy.
The report shows that such techniques could enable researchers in UK universities to gain new knowledge that would otherwise remain undiscovered because there is just too much relevant literature for any one person to read. Such discoveries could lead to benefits for society and the economy.
The UK has a number of strengths that put it in a good position to be a key player in text mining development, such as the existence of good framework conditions for innovation and the natural advantage of its native language.
Professor Douglas Kell, chief executive of the BBSRC, says, “This report shows the importance of implementing the recommendations of the Hargreaves Review as current copyright law is also imposing restrictions, since text mining involves a range of computerised analytical processes which are not all readily permitted within UK intellectual property law. In order to be ‘mined’, text must be accessed, copied, analysed, annotated and related to existing information and understanding. Even if the user has access rights to the material, making annotated copies can be illegal under current copyright law without the permission of the copyright holder.
“The report also shows that text mining can add enormous value to the benefit of the UK economy, as long as the text is freely available and unencumbered. Otherwise there is a real risk that we will miss discoveries that could have significant social and economic impact.”
Torsten added, “These laws are inhibiting text mining’s wider usage and making academic institutions nervous of taking it up. Without wider usage, the potential for text mining to generate gains for the economy and society cannot be exploited and the UK economy will be less able to take advantage of its strong public research base. There is a danger that the UK may be left behind as other countries such as Japan adopt a more liberal approach that encourages text mining usage.”
The report identifies a number of barriers that we need to overcome to make best use of text mining tools in the future. Firstly, text mining is a complex technical process that requires skilled staff; secondly it requires unrestricted access to information sources; thirdly copyright can be a barrier.
The report authors conclude that more work needs to be undertaken to raise awareness of the potential benefits and value of text mining to UK further and higher education.
An event at the Wellcome Trust last night started the process of looking at how publishers, researchers and policy makers can make this happen.
Read a blog post sharing opinions on the report from the event at the Wellcome Trust
Find out how this work fits in with JISC's planned investments
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• Explore the case studies to understand how others are working
• Follow @JISC on Twitter this week for new and interesting open resources
• Keep up to date with #openeducationweek and #UKOER
The case studies are examples of how institutions working in an open way can enjoy cost savings, a better student experience and make resources easier to find.
The stories come from a range of staff around the UK working in colleges and universities and in various fields including research, teaching and information services, some of whom are planning events for open education week [link to blog].
Amber Thomas, programme manager at JISC, said: “These case studies paint a rich picture of how institutions are already making use of open approaches to further their distinctive missions. JISC is supporting many academics and managers in their exploration of new ways of working and the OER Programme in particular is highlighting some really innovative and forward-thinking work.”
The case study launch marks Open Education Week which is being coordinated by the OpenCourseWare Consortium.
Mary Lou Forward, chief executive of the OpenCourseWare Consortium said: “The vision of the OER movement is to improve teaching and learning globally through free and open sharing. OER give people access to the educational content they desire, independent of time or location. Open Education Week is going to showcase projects, resources, people and ideas so more people around the world can see its potential and its benefits.”
JISC project managers from across the UK are planning various events which you can get involved in around the UK – find out more here.
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A new tool launched by Cardiff University’s information services directorate and JISC allows people to assess the popularity and use of e-resources so they continue to deliver value for money.
Eileen Brandreth, director of university IT at Cardiff, said: “I am confident that Raptor will make a real difference to education institutions looking to maximise value from investments in e-resources. The information that Raptor provides will enable institutions and individual Academic Schools to assess the best value and most useful e-resource subscriptions for their students and researchers.”
People using Raptor can produce statistics on e-resource use whenever they are needed in as much detail as they require - for example, usage by an individual university department.
Chris Brown, JISC e-Research Programme Manager, added: “The Raptor tool has successfully gone through beta testing and incorporated user feedback prior to the release of this version, which is ready for production deployment. With universities looking at the potential cost savings and efficiencies, the Raptor tool provides valuable statistics on resource usage. It can analyse a variety of log files and present important information, not only promptly, but most importantly, in an easy to understand and visual way.”
The fully-released Raptor system lets institutions view usage statistics from different access management systems in use across the education sector.
Chris added: “The team at Cardiff have used their wealth of experience in this area to build a tool that is easy to install, use and is extremely powerful.”
The launch of the tool follows the JISC webinar on the Journal Usage Support Portal which can also help librarians assess their subscriptions.
The Raptor system focuses particularly on federated access systems, where online resources request access authorisation from the ‘home’ institution of the visitor, resulting in easier single sign-on access for users.
Raptor is also now available for both Linux and Windows servers, further widening the potential audience.
See how this project fits into JISC's wider aims
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The broadest single collection of historical maps from around the world is now available online.
The JISC-funded Old Maps Online, described by its creators as like Google for old maps, will act as a central repository to a vast collection of maps held by institutions across the globe. It is the first time that access to such an extensive collection has been made available online.
"By customising existing technology Old Maps Online makes it easy for everybody to find and compare maps through time in a highly visual way without the need for specialist knowledge. JISC is supporting a big step towards widening access to and use of these fascinating resources.”
The service, hosted by the university of Portsmouth, launches with over 60,000 maps which will double by the end of the year.
Project director, the university of Portsmouth’s Dr Humphrey Southall, said: “Our obsession with the past includes an innate curiosity about how the world around us looked, and the sheer global reach of this collection is what sets it apart and makes it unique. But historical records must be accessible in order to be useful. Having a single point of entry to a repository of this scale offers historians and the general public a gateway to some of the most fascinating images from history.”
The site incorporates access to collections at the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Moravian Library in the Czech Republic and the prestigious David Rumsey Collection in California.
Adam Farquhar, head of digital scholarship at the British Library, said: "The Old Maps Online project brings together our cartographic heritage digitally in one place. It supports both researchers and the wider public, aligning beautifully with the strategic goals of the British Library."
Other collections to be added later this year include those from Harvard University, the New York Public Library, the National Library of Wales, the Bodleian Library at Oxford and several major European libraries.
Visit Old Maps Online to search maps by placename, date or collectionAll photos copyright David Rumsey collection
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Today JISC is announcing how, by bringing the leadership from across JISC into a more cohesive structure supported and enabled by the creation of a legal entity, it will reshape itself for the future.
“This is the start of an exciting future for JISC,” said Professor Martyn Harrow, Head of JISC. “We are determined to continue and develop our crucial role in supporting UK colleges and universities and skills providers, keep at the forefront of best practice. This has never been more important than now at a time of tighter funding and unprecedented challenges to the sectors.”
The changes are designed to provide a firm footing for the organisation as it responds to the recommendations made in the Wilson Review in JISC which was published in February 2011. The Review was commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in response to the current economic environment looking at the value of JISC.
“It was important that we take the time to study the recommendations made by Wilson,” continued Professor Harrow. “We therefore set up a Transition Group, made up of expert representatives from across the communities that we serve to go through the Wilson report in detail. The Group, so ably and skilfully led by Professor David Baker, Deputy Chair of JISC, has provided recommendations that will help us secure a better and more sustainable future for JISC and the sectors we serve.”
One of the first changes will see JISC will become a company limited by guarantee on 1 August 2012 managing the JISC offering across its products and services. The new company’s primary focus will be on three distinct areas for UK education and research:
• Infrastructure services: networks, access management, cloud services
• Data and content services: procurement, data hosting, data management and interoperability
• JISC Futures/Solution Services: focussed on supporting education, students, research, and the running of institutions as businesses
JISC will be set up initially as a holding (parent) company and following this, step by step, the current elements of JISC will be brought into this new company structure.
Professor Harrow said, “While it is too early to detail of all the changes, we can say with certainty that our guiding principle will be to ensure that the new model for JISC meets the needs of all our stakeholders. Our challenge is to do the same, or more, with less, but I am determined that the changes will not compromise our record of providing excellent services to UK colleges, universities and skills providers. It is very clear to me that JISC itself must change if we are to meet the challenges that all our sectors are facing, and we must create a new JISC for new times.”
Read the background to JISC's transition
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JISC Advance is inviting proposals to enhance or repurpose existing resources for use in the further education and skills sectors.
This £1.4 million funding will both improve the learner experience and increase efficiencies. JISC Advance is looking for proposals which:
• apply existing resources (from JISC or elsewhere) to their work and adapt them for their needs
• identify gaps in these resources or current uses for technology leading to the development of additional resources for the sector
£900,000 will be available for large-scale projects and £450,000 for smaller projects.
Bids may be submitted from 1 March until noon on 31 May 2012, but the call will be closed once all the funding has been allocated.
The project will be supported by the Regional Support Centres (RSCs) who will provide advice and support for providers in developing and implementing their projects.
Guy Lambert, managing director of JISC Advance, said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the FE and Skills sector and JISC Advance is proud to be leading the project. Not only will it enhance the learner experience, but it will also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of providers, a challenge which everyone is currently facing.”
For more details, contact your local RSC or Nigel Ecclesfield, programme manager at JISC Advance, nigel dot ecclesfield @jiscadvance.ac.uk tel: 07508 531431.
Read full details of the bid and how to apply
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How to gain the best value from journal subscriptions? JISC offers library managers and librarians advice in the first of a number of interactive online seminars this spring.
The webinar on 29 February at 13.30 will offer a practical demonstration of the Journal Usage Statistics Portal (JUSP), a 'one-stop shop' for academic libraries to download and analyse their journal usage.
Jo Lambert, senior development officer at Mimas and Angela Conyers of Evidence Base will highlight the time and cost saving benefits you can achieve by using JUSP to manage your usage statistics.
Using open source software could also improve the efficiency of your organisation, so the team from OSS Watch will be leading the following two webinars in March.
The first webinar will offer advice to open source project managers on how to increase the chances of sustainable community engagement in your project.
The second webinar will discuss how to increase the longevity and sustainability of your academic project or research outputs by choosing the right open source licence.
Future webinars will explore how to increase citations of your research data, extend your Virtual Learning Environment for the benefit of students and access and use a wealth of free online moving images and sound to enhance your teaching and research.
Find out more about the webinars and register now for the next one
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Do you have a smart idea for using technology in your college or university? If you’re looking for rapid project funding, pitch your idea on a new JISC website and receive feedback from your peers.
The JISC Elevator is a new beta platform for people to pitch ideas for projects up to £10,000 using video and short descriptions.
Once an idea has been submitted to the site, people working and studying in UK higher and further education will be able to vote if they like the idea.
When an idea receives the target number of votes then JISC will decide whether or not to fund the idea.
Andrew McGregor, who is managing the JISC Elevator, said: “JISC’s remit is to fund cutting edge innovation – so we hope that by creating a different platform for bidding we’ll be able to capture the brainwaves of many more people in colleges and universities, perhaps people who haven’t previously bid for JISC funds. The voting mechanisms on the Elevator will also allow us to respond directly to what’s important for people in further and higher education.”
The JISC Elevator is open to all kinds of ideas, with suggestions including:
For details on what kinds of idea we are looking for please see the submission criteria.
Successful projects will be notified in April and expected to complete by the end of July 2012.
Visit the JISC Elevator
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Doctoral theses can attract significant attention when made openly accessible in electronic form according to the respondents of a sector-wide survey of information professionals.
The JISC-funded survey gives a clearer picture of progress toward electronic thesis deposit in the UK, and how universities are achieving it.
The respondents to the survey were library and repository staff from 144 higher education institutions – and their responses suggested that 81% of their organisations will be providing open access to doctoral theses in five years time.Neil Jacobs, programme director at JISC, said: “Doctoral theses are important records of research. Many of them are already openly accessible via repositories and the UK EThOS Service, which most UK universities have joined. The resulting high visibility benefits both researchers and universities, and suggests that electronic theses will have a significant role to play in accelerating sharing our knowledge in the future.”
This publication was a joint venture between UKCGE, and UCL Library Services, based on a JISC project by UCL Library ServicesTina Barnes, senior research fellow at the University of Warwick, is one of the authors of the report. She said: “The move to electronic theses is a very positive development that wholly supports the academic principle of sharing knowledge for the common good and for the advancement of science and human development.”
Paul Ayris, director of UCL library services and co-chair of the DART-Europe partnership, said: “DART-Europe provides access to the full-text of over 280,000 Open Access research theses from 403 European universities in 20 countries. Open Access to such a critical mass of blue skies research is good for research and good for the researcher .”
The report shows there are a number of reasons why researchers may not make their theses available electronically, but the principal reason may be the inclusion of sensitive material.
Concerns regarding third-party copyright, plagiarism and restrictions on future publications are having little impact on access so far.
The report also suggests that theses need to be preserved over the long term - something that the British Library service, EThOS, originally a JISC project, aims to do.
Watch the presentation for more on the key findings of the report
JISC EMBEDDED OBJECT
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Final Report: Digital Monograph Technical Landscape: Exemplars and Recommendations
Listen to the podcast (Duration 6:31)
JISC EMBEDDED OBJECT
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Over 14,000 items of archived TV footage from 17 European countries are now available via the EUscreen online portal.
EUscreen – the result of collaboration between 36 partners across Europe – provides a rich insight into Europe’s television heritage with content dating from the 1920s to the present day.
The portal includes rare footage and commentary on key events in history, including a 1962 interview with Martin Luther King about racial discrimination in the US.
John Ellis, Professor of Media Arts at Royal Holloway and principal investigator on the EUscreen project, said: “This is a valuable resource for anyone interested in social history or indeed TV history, as it brings together tens of thousands of clips from across Europe. The portal is available to anyone (not only academics) and it is very easy to get absorbed and spend hours browsing all of the footage.”
The expansive footage has also proved popular as a learning aid for foreign language students, with clips available in 14 languages.
The British Universities Film & Video Council which is partly funded by JISC, and Royal Holloway, University of London, are the two UK partners in the project.
The three year EUscreen project began in October 2009 and is funded by the European Commission. The project aims to standardise and provide a framework for the diverse collections held throughout Europe and encourage exploration of Europe’s rich and diverse history.
By the end of September 2012, there will be around 30,000 items of digital content freely available on the portal as the European providers continue to add carefully selected material.
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