Biodiversity Information Standards: are we going wrong, or just not quite right?

1. Biodiversity Information Standards: are we going wrong, or just not quite right? Jim Croft Australian National Herbarium

2. Australian National Herbarium Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research Australian National Botanic Gardens Parks Australia Taxonomy Research and Information Network Parks Australia Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts

3. TDWG IN Australia

4. INSTITUTIONS – Queensland INSTITUTIONS – Northern Territory Darwin Darwin Perth Townsville Maroochydore Brisbane Lismore Adelaide Armidale Perth Orange Gosford Canberra Adelaide Sydney Melbourne Devonport Hobart Launceston Hobart Australian National Insect Collection (CSIRO) v Australian National Herbarium (CSIRO) v Australian National Wildlife Collection (CSIRO) v GAUBA Herbarium v Australian Biological Resources Study v Devonport Launceston TDWG in Australia Alice Springs

5. Australian examples • Australian Plant Name Index • Australian Plant Census • Australian Fauna Directory • Australia’s Virtual Herbarium • Online Zoological Catalogue of Australian Museums • Flora of Australia On-line • Atlas of Living Australia • Identify Life • Taxonomy Research and Information Network

6. Australian examples • Australian Plant Name Index • Australian Plant Census • Australian Fauna Directory • Australia’s Virtual Herbarium • Online Zoological Catalogue of Australian Museums • Flora of Australia On-line • Atlas of Living Australia • Identify Life • Taxonomy Research and Information Network

7. HISCOM • Herbarium Information Systems Committee • Representatives at TDWG 2008 • Ben Richardson, Alex Chapman (PERTH) • Bill Barker (AD) • Alison Vaughan (MEL) • Karen Wilson (NSW) • Donna Lewis (DNA) • Jerry Cooper (CHR, NZ) • Helen Thompson (ABRS) • Greg Whitbread, Jim Croft (CANB) • The crucible of biodiversity informatics creativity

8. TDWG principle # 0 • A good idea has a thousand fathers • A bad one is a bastard

9. TDWG: making anarchy chaos the standard

10. TDWG principle # VI-a “Before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos. Before a brilliant person begins something great, they must look foolish in the crowd.” - I Ching

11. TDWG: the art of herding cats

12. TDWG: changing standards, or making change the standard?

13. TDWG: Standardizing stuff... orstuffing standards?

14. Outline • What is TDWG? • TDWG and ‘Standards’ • Where TDWG Standards are needed • Some TDWG projects • TDWG Standards compliance • Tensions for TDWG • Future

15. What is TDWG?

16. TDWG Mission • Develop, adopt and promote standards and guidelines for the recording and exchange of data about organisms • Promote the use of standards through the most appropriate and effective means and • Act as a forum for discussion through holding meetings and through publications

17. TDWG Mission • Develop, adopt and promote standards and guidelines for the recording and exchange of data about organisms • Promote the use of standards through the most appropriate and effective means and • Act as a forum for discussion through holding meetings and through publications

18. Who are we? ‘TDWG is us’

19. Who are we? • Intersection of specimens, taxonomy, knowledge, information management • Biologists, taxonomists, computer scientists • Each with an interest in the other’s domains • Each with something to offer each other’s domains

20. Who are we? • If TDWG did not exist, we would have to invent it • Successful • Enduring • Popular • Moderately well recognized

21. When are we? • Phases of TDWG • Phase 0 (1985) • seemed like a good idea at the time • phase 1 (first decade) • Data dictionaries, data models • phase 2 (second decade) • E-R models, DIGIR, DwC, XML, etc. • phase 3 (nowish) • Schemas, ontologies, RDF • Phase 4 (?) • ?

22. Why are we? • Collaboration and sharing is essential • Taxonomy has become too big • Too diverse • Too complex • No one person can do it all • A ‘complete’ treatment requires collaboration • Collaboration requires consistency, standards

23. ** notes ** Biodiversity Tower of Babel

24. Why are we? • Untangle the ‘biodiversity Babel’ • Develop common communication • Harness efficiency of collaboration • Economic pressures to reduce duplication

25. Why are we? • Science of information meets science of information technology • Take advantage of new technology • Taxonomy needs to be seen to be evolving • “Business as usual is not an option”

26. Why are we? • An annual excuse to meet in warm places when it is cold elsewhere?

27. Where do we fit? xkcd.com computerists TDWGinformaticists taxonomists

28. Where have we come from? • Frustrated taxonomists • Looking for a better way • Largely self taught • Bored computer scientists • Looking for excitement, challenge • Misfits and visionaries • In search of a ‘Brave New World’ • Egomaniacs • In search of glory, fame, power, riches

29. What are we now? • Frustrated taxonomists • Looking for a better way • Largely self taught • Bored computer scientists • Looking for excitement, challenge • Misfits and visionaries • In search of a ‘Brave New World’ • Egomaniacs • In search of glory, fame, power, riches

30. Where are we going? ?

31. Where are we going? • Did we go wrong? • Where did we go wrong? • Why did we go wrong? • Lost the plot? • Regain credibility? • Our community? • Our funders? • Ourselves?

32. Where are we going? • Perceptions of TDWG? • First decade • Taxonomists organizing their domain • Content focused • Understandable by taxonomists • Second decade • Taxonomists reaching limitations • Engaging technologists • Protocol and systems focussed • Opaque to taxonomists • Third decade?

33. Where are we going? • Perceptions of TDWG? • First decade • Content • Data dictionaries • Lists, vocabularies • Second decade • Protocols • Formats, structure • Applications • Third decade? • Ontologies? • Semantics?

34. Where are we going? • What should TDWG be about? • The data? • The technology? • The applications? • The community?

35. TDWG Impediments • Resources, funds • Time • Impetus, will, drive • Complexity, domain knowledge • Conservatism • Rivalry • Intellectual property, revenue advantage

36. The TDWG Vision

37. A vision for TDWG • Our domain in biodiversity? • Taxonomy? • Systematics? • Collections? • Biodiversity? • Publications? • Knowledge Management? • Knowledge discovery? • All of the above?

38. A vision for TDWG • Our Community? • Herbaria and museums? • Researchers? • Government and policy? • Conservation agencies? NGOs? • Natural resource management? • Education? • Public? • All of the above?

39. A vision for TDWG • Our questions? • What is it? How can I find out? • What does it look like? • Where does it occur? • Was it still there? When? • What occurs there with it? • What might occur there with it? • What is it related to? • Who says so? • How? Why? • All of the above?

40. A vision for TDWG • Our Products? • Data content standards? • Data storage standards? • Data communications protocols? • Data management applications? • Data management infrastructure? • Data visualization applications? • Data analysis applications? • All of the above?

41. Knowledge pyramid Wisdom Knowledge Information Data Samples The Real World

42. TDWG and Standards

43. What is a standard? • In common English: • A flag • An upright pole or beam • A backing for currency • American automobile • A bush on a long stalk • An ideal to be judged against • Model of authority or excellence • A basis for comparison • 1,980 board feet of wood • A newspaper • An established norm

44. What is a standard? • Rarely implies: • Requirement • Obligation • Compulsion • Compliance • ‘The law’ • But not so ‘technical standards’ • Specify behaviour • Mandate behaviour

45. What is a standard? • “an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, or service” - (ATSM International)

46. TDWG Standards

47. TDWG Standards categories • Technical specification (TS) (3) • Protocol, service, procedure, format • Applicability statement (AS) (1 draft) • How a tech. spec. might be applied • Best current practice (BCP) (0) • A description of good behaviour • Data standard (DS) (0) • Content or controlled vocabularies

48. TDWG Standards status • Current standard • (3) • Current 2005 Standard • (3?) • Draft Standard • (3) • Prior Standard • (7 tech specs; 6 data standards) • Retired Standard • (0)

49. The Standards Process

50. ISO Standards process • ISO standards are: • Consensus • Industry wide • Voluntary