Welcome to the Fall 2010 issue of Databits wherein 18 authors contribute from 11 sites and 2 institutes in 3 countries. Seven relevant and insightful feature articles relate to growth and refinement of systems. All three editorials share the theme of continuous change. And both the suggested readings reflect on past adaptations. Even the two tools recommended prove their worth in how they handle revision.
Keeping pace with evolving standards in information management may seem like “it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.” – Lewis Carroll. This ongoing challenge is captured in the Red Queen Principle, proposed by the late professor emeritus L. van Valen in 1973: “for an evolutionary system, continuing development is needed just in order to maintain its fitness relative to the systems it is co-evolving with.” The LTER Network has remained relevant through 30 years of change and was just last May recognized for its contributions by the American Institute of Biological Sciences. We continue to raise expectations for our practice. Within the large scope of information management we may feel small and progress may appear slow. Databits captures a twice annual snapshot of information management co-evolving with Network needs. Now that all years’ issues are gathered within one site, the progress of LTER IM practice may be viewed like time-lapse photography. Enjoy!
DataBits continues as a semi-annual electronic publication of the Long Term Ecological Research Network. It is designed to provide a timely, online resource for research information managers and is supported by rotating co-editors.
—– Co-editors: M. Gastil-Buhl (MCR), Philip Tarrant (CAP)
Table of Contents
| Featured Articles | ||
| Coweeta Supports Citizen Science Initiative; Collaboratively Redevelops and Piblishes Long-Term Biomonitoring Database | John F. Chamblee | 1 |
| Implementing ProjectDB at the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER | Wade Sheldon, John Carpenter | 2 |
| IMC Governance Working Group: Developing a Terms of Reference | Karen Baker, Nicole Kaplan and Eda Melendez-Colom | 4 |
| Addressing Scaling Issues Associated with Data Access | James Conners | 5 |
| Dataset Attributes and the LTER IMC: A First Step | Corinna Gries, Wade Sheldon, Karen Baker | 6 |
| Note on Category Formation | Karen Baker | 7 |
| Using the OBOE Ontology to Describe Dataset Attribute | Margaret O’Brien | 7 |
| Commentary | ||
| Enactment and the Unit Registry | Mason Kortz | 10 |
| Transitions and Comparisons | Lynn Yarmey | 11 |
| Virtualization, Thin Clients, and Cloud Computing: Potential uses in LTER | John Porter | 11 |
| News Bits | ||
| 2010 IMC Annual Meeting, Kellogg Biological Station | Marharet O’Brien and Don Henshaw | 12 |
| GIS Working Group holds successful workshop at HJ Andrews Experimental Forest | Theresa Valentine | 13 |
| On Site with TFRI | Benjamin Leinfelder | 14 |
| Good Tools and Programs | ||
| Making the Work Flow with Kepler | John Porter, Chau-Chin Lin, Jennifer Holm, Ben Leinfelder | 15 |
| SchemaSpy: No dust will collect on this Database Documentation | M. Gastil-Buhl | 16 |
| Good Reads | ||
| Evolution of Collaboration in Ecology | Karen Baker and Eda Melendez-Colom | 17 |
| Healthy Tensions, Challenges in Achieving Data Sharing | M. Gastil-Buhl | 17 |
| FAQ | ||
| Is there a preferred stable URL for the EML schema? | Mark Servilla, Margareet O’Brien, Wade Sheldon | 18 |
| Calendar | 18 |
