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from community website to (social) knowledge base?. The Influence and Impact of Web 2.0 on e-Research Infrastructure, Applications and Users (25/03/2009) Dr Torsten Reimer Centre for e-Research, King’s College London. Centre for e-Research. Based at King’s College London
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from community website to (social) knowledge base? The Influence and Impact of Web 2.0 on e-Research Infrastructure, Applications and Users (25/03/2009) Dr Torsten Reimer Centre for e-Research, King’s College London
Centre for e-Research • Based at King’s College London • The Centre Previously Know As AHDS (Executive) and ICT Methods Network • Main areas of operation: • Contributing to the College wide e-research andteaching agenda; developing a VRE for King's • Research centre: e-infrastructures, e-research methods • Postgraduate teaching and training in digital asset management • Host for national and international projects and services • Provider of consultancy, training, and services for data creation, curation and preservation
arts-humanities.net • A community portal forthe arts and humanities • Mission: advance andsupport digital researchmethods and the useand creation of digitalresources • Web 2.0 technologies / approaches such as user contributed content, wiki, blogs, content aggregation and user profiles
Origin: Methods Network • AHRC ICT Methods Network • AHRC funded programme, 2005-2008 • Remit, aims, programme: • To promote, support and develop the use of advanced ICT methods in the arts and humanities • To support, and provide a forum for, the cross-disciplinary network of practitioners from the UK • To develop a programme of activities and publications on advanced ICT tools and methods • To ensure the broadest participation by means of an open call for proposals • Funded some 50 seminars, workshopsand conferences • Published case studies, working papers, reports and a book series
Interdisciplinary Network Archaeology History Language Literature Music Performance Media Visual Arts Information Religion Philosophy Law
MN Community Site • Support events and activities (before,during and after) • Keep outputs alive (through contribution) • Virtual support for communities • Facilitate networking => Capture (outputs), expand and sustainthe Network
A New World • Simultaneous end of funding for both Methods Network and AHDS • Community and sustainability gone • JISC to the rescue
Merger with ICT Guides • Knowledge base: • Projects • Tools • Training • Methods • Taxonomy of Methods
Statistics • 988 registered users • 17 user groups • 2200+ postings • 200-300 unique visitors per day • Most popular content: • job adverts • events calendar • digital tools (software) descriptions
User Contributed Content • Members willing to contribute/share • where they see benefit (recognition) • when it is easy (UI) • when ‘encouraged’ • Quality control no issue - quantity is • Almost no spam or ‘misbehaviour’ • Controversial content encourages debate • Activity needs to be encouraged
Sense of Community • Very wide and diverse field, makes common goal on a-h.net hard to define • Closer sense of community among members of centres and with specific communities of practice • Concern about own reputationand (visual) identity • Individual members not visible enough • Community does not ‘happen by itself’
Community-built Knowledge Base • Work with and (help to develop) those centres and communities that are actively concerned with the wider field of digital arts and humanities • Develop specific projects and collaborations and build community around it • Improve UI (task oriented and focus on members) and structure (research lifecycle) • Content distribution channel (aggregation)
Community 2: NoC • Network of Expert Centres • A collaboration of centres with expertise in digital arts and humanities, in the sense of data creation, curation, preservation, management, access and dissemination, and methodologies of data use and re-use. • Supporting its members in: • the advocacy and promotion of the value, understanding and use of ICT in arts and humanities research • the development and exchange of expertise, knowledge, standards and best practices • awareness raising, dialogue with relevant stakeholders, identifying and representing the needs of the research community. • Participants: ADS; CCH and CeRch; CDDA; HDS; HATII; HRI; OTA; VADS http://www.arts-humanities.net/noc
Project 1: Shared Taxonomy • Methods Taxonomy • Document researchprojects/outcomes • DHO and othernational andinternational partners • Build and develop a shared resource • Exchange of content and mapping between partners
Project 2: Aggregate & Disseminate • Events calendar (automatic tagging and categorisation; avoid duplicates) and event distribution channels • Tie in more closely with social networking services • Collaborate more with thoseproviding relevant resources => Reduce need for (duplicated) user activity
Summary: Lessons on ‘Users’ • Clear benefit of contributing • Clearly structured • UI clearly focused on tasks • Contributors clearly recognisable • Bring together a clear core groupof active contributors