scholarly journals The woes of Swedish private archival institutions

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Proscovia Svärd
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
National Narrative ◽  
Digital Repository ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Organization And Management ◽  
Long Term Preservation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the long-term preservation challenges that the Swedish private archives are faced with. In as much as they offer a complement to the public archives and hence offer a nuanced national narrative, they lack both financial and human resources to effectively deal with the digital information management environment. Design/methodology/approach Participatory Action Research (PAR) was used to identify the challenges of long-term preservation together with the six private archives institutions that were involved in the collaboration. The collaboration was financially facilitated by the Södertörn University. PAR is defined as a systematic investigation, with the collaboration of those affected by the issue being studied, for the purposes of education and taking action or effecting social change. What is distinctive of PAR is the active involvement of people whose lives are affected by the phenomenon under study. Findings The private archival institutions face long-term preservation challenges such as lack of a digital repository that would facilitate the capture, organization and management of digital records that are of different formats and in a dispersed environment. There are no stringent legal requirements to facilitate the creation and management of the records in a standardized way and the institutions fear that imposing such requirements might deter their clients from depositing archival materials with them. The institutions will also need to espouse the business-oriented archival descriptions where private organizations are concerned to identify relevant archival materials and to promote participatory archival descriptions that would allow the creators to tag their records with metadata. Digital information requires a proactive approach, that is, planning for the long-term preservation of the information before it is created. Private archives need to invest in education packages that will facilitate their clientele’s understanding of the challenges of digital long-term preservation. Research limitations/implications The findings cannot be generalized to all private archival institutions, as it was only six institutions that participated, but the issues discussed are relevant to most archival institutions. Practical implications A lot of research has been carried out in the area of long-term preservation, but researchers have not paid enough attention to the woes of the private archives. To sustain a nuanced national narrative, the private archives need all the support to be able to live up to their mission of preserving archives of the private sector that are not captured by the public archival institutions. This is important in a pluralistic society such as Sweden. Highlighting the challenges might enable the institutions to work towards finding common challenges. Social implications The private archives are part of Sweden’s national heritage. Their preservation matters to the society as a whole and to enhancing the voices of the underrepresented. Originality/value The literature review revealed that not much research has paid attention to the challenges being faced by the private archives. This paper, therefore, contributes to this knowledge gap.

Ethics and digital collections: a selective overview of evolving complexities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mindel
Keyword(s):  
Digital Information ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Equity And Access ◽  
Nature Of Information ◽  
User Expectations ◽  
Digitized Documents ◽  
Long Term Impact

PurposeDigital collections are becoming more commonplace at libraries, archives and museums around the world, creating potential for improved accessibility to information that may otherwise remain hidden and further support for intellectual exploration. As a result of the growing potential for digital collections to inform and influence, the conversation surrounding ethics and digital collections needs to be continually examined and adapted as technologies evolve, user expectations change and digital information plays an increasing role in our everyday lives. In this context, this paper presents an overview of multifaceted ethical realities that impact the how, why and what digital information is created, accessed and preserved.Design/methodology/approachWritten from the perspective of a digital collections librarian, this paper relies on existing research in presenting ethical considerations and complements that research with professional observations in providing subsequent reflections on addressing challenges in the age of digital information.FindingsThere are and should be considerations given to not only what information is contained in a given collection, but also how that information is selected, accessed and consumed by the public. The conclusions offered are designed to provoke reflection on the evolving and interconnected nature of information and ethics in the context of digital collections.Originality/valueInformation ethics is multifaceted, with one of those facets relating directly to digital collections. This paper demonstrates that digital collections are more complex than simply a collection of digitized documents and photographs. As the field of information management continually evolves and adapts, so, too, do the ethical realizations identified in this paper, all of which go beyond the (virtual) walls of a library, archive or museum, and carry the potential to have a long-term impact concerning information and its integrity, equity and access.

Long‐term preservation of digital information in China: some problems and solutions

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiazhen Liu ◽  
Peng Du
Keyword(s):  
Research Work ◽  
Electronic Records ◽  
Records Management ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Data Backup ◽  
Small Medium Enterprises ◽  
Electronic Records Management ◽  
Long Term Preservation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper to describe the research work on the long‐term preservation of Chinese digital information funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) since 2001.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides an overview, in text and figures, of ways in which e‐documents originating in China, in now obsolete formats, can be made readable again. Also, results of a recent survey of electronic records management in government and corporations are given.FindingsThe lifecycle management gap with respect to electronic records is highlighted and the main factors that restrict the Chinese anti‐disaster data backup plan are analysed. It is suggested that the data backup centre which can be accepted by small medium enterprises should be the e‐government disaster recovery centre for local government.Originality/valueAll the research results are useful for those who need to understand the long‐term preservation of Chinese digital information and electronic records management.

Long-term hearing preservation after surgery for vestibular schwannoma

2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone A. Betchen ◽  
Jane Walsh ◽  
Kalmon D. Post
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Preservation ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Images ◽  
Class I ◽  
Repeated Testing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Long Term Preservation ◽  
Fine Print

Object. Vestibular schwannomas (VSs) are now amenable to resection with excellent hearing preservation rates. It remains unclear whether immediately postoperative hearing is a durable result and will not diminish over time. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of long-term preservation of functional hearing following surgery for a VS and to examine factors influencing hearing preservation. Methods. All patients eligible for hearing preservation (Gardner—Robertson Class I or II) who had undergone resection of a VS by a single surgeon were reviewed retrospectively. Follow-up audiograms and magnetic resonance images were obtained. Of 142 patients deemed eligible for hearing preservation surgery, 38 had immediate postoperative hearing confirmed by an audiogram. In these patients with preserved hearing, the audiographic results demonstrated functional hearing in 30 (85.7%) of 35 patients who underwent repeated testing at a mean follow-up time of 7 years. Delayed hearing loss occurred in five (14.3%) of the 35 patients and did not correlate significantly with the size of the tumor. Hearing improved one Gardner—Robertson class postoperatively in three (7.9%) of the 38 patients. Conclusions. Long-term functional hearing was maintained in 85.7% of patients when it was preserved immediately postoperatively and the result was independent of tumor size. The results of this study emphasize that long-term preservation of functional hearing is a realistic goal following VS surgery and should be attempted in all patients in whom preoperative hearing is determined to be Gardner—Robertson Class I or II.

scholarly journals Digital curation: the development of a discipline within information science

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1318-1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Curation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Financial Ecology

Purpose Digital curation addresses the technical, administrative and financial ecology required to ensure that digital information remains accessible and usable over the long term. The purpose of this paper is to trace digital curation’s disciplinary emergence and examine its position within the information sciences domain in terms of theoretical principles, using a case study of developments in the UK and the USA. Design/methodology/approach Theoretical principles regarding disciplinary development and the identity of information science as a discipline are applied to a case study of the development of digital curation in the UK and the USA to identify the maturity of digital curation and its position in the information science gamut. Findings Digital curation is identified as a mature discipline which is a sub-meta-discipline of information science. As such digital curation has reach across all disciplines and sub-disciplines of information science and has the potential to become the overarching paradigm. Practical implications These findings could influence digital curation’s development from applied discipline to profession within both its educational and professional domains. Originality/value The disciplinary development of digital curation within dominant theoretical models has not hitherto been articulated.

scholarly journals Letter to the Editor: Authentic Digital Objects

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-7
Author(s):  
Andrew Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Rich Source ◽  
Digital Certificate ◽  
Digital Repository ◽  
Letter To The Editor ◽  
Digital Objects ◽  
Letter Writer ◽  
Long Term Preservation

Long-term preservation of digital objects requires curators to be able to guarantee the archival authenticity of the objects in a digital repository. In IJDC 4(1), Ronald Jantz suggested that a digital certificate is sufficient to ensure authenticity. The letter writer takes issue with this view and points out some of the archival misinterpretations in the Jantz article. He maintains that the archival literature is a rich source for discussions of authenticity that has been ignored to the detriment of Jantz’s arguments.

scholarly journals Lost in migration: document quality for batch conversion to PDF/A

2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Erwin Suri ◽  
Mohamed El-Saad
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Batch Processing ◽  
Digital Archives ◽  
Adobe Acrobat ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Text Document ◽  
File Formats ◽  
Long Term Preservation

PurposeChanges in file format specifications challenge long-term preservation of digital documents. Digital archives thus often focus on specific file formats that are well suited for long-term preservation, such as the PDF/A format. Since only few customers submit PDF/A files, digital archives may consider converting submitted files to the PDF/A format. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe authors evaluated three software tools for batch conversion of common file formats to PDF/A-1b: LuraTech PDF Compressor, Adobe Acrobat XI Pro and 3-HeightsTMDocument Converter by PDF Tools. The test set consisted of 80 files, with 10 files each of the eight file types JPEG, MS PowerPoint, PDF, PNG, MS Word, MS Excel, MSG and “web page.”FindingsBatch processing was sometimes hindered by stops that required manual interference. Depending on the software tool, three to four of these stops occurred during batch processing of the 80 test files. Furthermore, the conversion tools sometimes failed to produce output files even for supported file formats: three (Adobe Pro) up to seven (LuraTech and 3-HeightsTM) PDF/A-1b files were not produced. Since Adobe Pro does not convert e-mails, a total of 213 PDF/A-1b files were produced. The faithfulness of each conversion was investigated by comparing the visual appearance of the input document with that of the produced PDF/A-1b document on a computer screen. Meticulous visual inspection revealed that the conversion to PDF/A-1b impaired the information content in 24 of the converted 213 files (11 percent). These reproducibility errors included loss of links, loss of other document content (unreadable characters, missing text, document part missing), updated fields (reflecting time and folder of conversion), vector graphics issues and spelling errors.Originality/valueThese results indicate that large-scale batch conversions of heterogeneous files to PDF/A-1b cause complex issues that need to be addressed for each individual file. Even with considerable efforts, some information loss seems unavoidable if large numbers of files from heterogeneous sources are migrated to the PDF/A-1b format.

Afghan aid flows will resume, bypassing the Taliban

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Female Employment ◽  
Service Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Security Service ◽  
Wage Payment

Significance The Taliban government has allowed UN agencies to start paying salaries directly to teachers and healthcare workers. It initially stalled on this, but has now conceded for fear of losing legitimacy if it fails to address the looming crisis. Impacts Western concerns about reprisal killings of former security service members will further complicate relations with the Taliban. The public-sector wage payment scheme established by UN agencies may become the norm for many years. Taliban restrictions on female employment will have long-term economic impacts but will fall down the list of Western priority concerns.

Accounting for gaming in the time of plague: COVID-19 in Macau

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Noronha ◽  
Jieqi Guan ◽  
Sandy Hou In Sio
Keyword(s):  
Critical Event ◽  
Gaming Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Account ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose While the COVID-19 virus has been spreading worldwide, some studies have related the pandemic with various aspects of accounting and therefore emphasized the importance of accounting research in understanding the impact of COVID-19 on society as a whole. Recent studies have looked into such an impact on various industries such as retail and agriculture. The current study aims at applying a sociological framework, sociology of worth (SOW), to the gaming industry in Macau, the largest operator of state-allowed gambling and entertainment in China, which will allow for its development during the COVID-19 pandemic to be charted. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the theory of SOW as a framework and collects data from various sources, such as the government, gaming operators and the public, to create timelines and SOW frameworks to analyze the impact of the virus on the gaming industry and the society as a whole. Findings Detailed content analysis and the creation of different SOW matrices determined that the notion of a “lonely economy” during a time of a critical event may be ameliorated in the long term through compromises of the different worlds and actors of the SOW. Practical implications Though largely theory-based, this study offers a thorough account of the COVID-19 incident for both the government and the gaming industry to reflect on and to consider new ways to fight against degrowth caused by disasters or crises. Social implications The SOW framework divides society into different worlds of different worths. The current study shows how the worths of the different worlds are congruent during normal periods, and how cracks appear between them when a sudden crisis, such as COVID-19, occurs. The article serves as a social account of how these cracks are formed and how could they be resolved through compromise and reconstruction. Originality/value This study is a first attempt to apply SOW to a controversial industry (gaming) while the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are ongoing. It offers a significant contribution to the social accounting literature through its consideration of the combination of unprecedented factors in a well-timed study that pays close attention to analyses and theoretical elaboration.

scholarly journals Robust Tools and Services for Long-Term Preservation of Digital Information

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph JaJa ◽  
Sangchul Song
Keyword(s):  
Digital Information ◽  
Long Term Preservation
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