Welcome to the Spring 2007 issue of Databits! Twenty-two authors or coauthors submitted articles for this issue, which is a testament to the committment of Information Managers to sharing information. The articles represent the diversity of interests within the LTER IM community and highlight a number of current topics. Most notably, there is a discussion about proposed changes in the organizational structure of the IM committee that would better integrate the GIS working group and the Technology Committee. Additionally in this issue, several articles focus on Ecological Metadata Language, describing recent developments and applications. Lastly, a number of LTER sites will be having their NSF midterm reviews in the coming months. The Baltimore Ecosystem Study was one of the first sites to be reviewed so Jonathan Walsh provided a list of some things to think about as sites prepare for these visits. We hope you find this issue of Databits informative and helpful and we thank all those who contributed articles. 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 to incorporate rotating co-editorship. Availability is through web browsing as well as hardcopy output. LTER mail list IMplus will receive DataBits publication notification. Others may subscribe by sending email to majordomo@lternet.edu with two lines “subscribe databits” and “end” as the message body. To communicate suggestions, articles, and/or interest in co-editing, send email to databits-ed@lternet.edu.
—– Co-editors: John Campbell (HBR), Sabine Grabner (MCR)
Table of Contents
| Feature Articles | ||
| About this Issue | 2 | |
| Providing Access and Security to Web Forms using CAPTCHA | John Porter | 2 |
| Practical Distributed Computing Approach for Web Enabling Processor-intensive Programs | Wade Sheldon | 3 |
| Updating Arctic (ARC) LTER’s Metadata Form | Jim Laundre | 6 |
| A Query Interface for EML dataTables | Margaret O’Brien and Chad Burt | 8 |
| Database Storage Model Considerations: XML and Relational Database Approaches | James Conners | 11 |
| Information Infrastructure: Transitioning Directory Services | Karen Baker, Jerry Wanetik, Nate Huffnagle, Mason Kortz | 12 |
| Generating EML from a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) | Zhiqiang Yang and Don Henshaw | 14 |
| Down the LTER Data Catalog Rabbit Hole | Mark Servilla | 19 |
| Editorials | ||
| A Web Developer’s View of the Research World and the Entertainment Industry | Shaun Haber | 24 |
| Preparing for your LTER Midterm review | Jonathan Walsh | 25 |
| News Bits | ||
| Information Management Committee: GIS, Technology, and Changing Organizational Structures | Nicole Kaplan, Corinna Gries, Karen Baker, Don Henshaw, Theresa Valentine, John Vande Castle | 27 |
| Strategic Mentoring for LTER IMs | Susan Stafford | 29 |
| LTER Site GIS Survey Results | Barbara Nolen | 30 |
| On-going research collaboration | Florence Millerand | 32 |
| Good Reads | ||
| Computer Systems Development: History, Organization, and Implementation | Karen Baker | 33 |
| Information Ecology: Open System Environment for Data, Memories, and Knowing | Sabine Grabner | 34 |
| Frequently Asked Questions | ||
| What is the rationale for publishing DataBits twice a year? | Karen Baker and John Campbell | 35 |
| Calendar | 35 |
