of {$slidecount} close 
ICE

The Integrated Content Environment for Research and Scholarship

Context

  • Fits in to national research infrastructure

  • e-Framework

  • Complements RAMP

  • Related to APSR's 'Digital Scholar's Workbench

    Dr Ian Barnes

New infrastructure

  1. A version-controlled, distributed 'working repository' for documents in progress.

  2. An application for managing the process of writing research efficiently, for flexible delivery and long-term preservation.

  3. A proof of concept reporting system, a 'dashboard' that will allow institutions to better manage their research activities by allowing dynamic reporting on work in progress.

Collaboration

ARROW
Integrate ICE-RS with the Vital repository.
APSR
Integrate ICE -RS with DSpace, share code and collaborate to make repositories more flexible.
RUBRIC partners
The following RUBRIC partners will particpate in at least one pilot deployment of ICE-RS. USQ, USC, Massey.
e-JIST
e-Journal of Instructional Science and Technology- an international peer reviewed journal
A trial using ICE for submission and peer review will be undertaken.
JISC
JISC has expressed interest in assisting ICE-RS staff in undertaking a UK based trial. (Contact was made with Amber Thomas, Programme Manager, Information Environment).

Benefits t the research community

  • Providing advice and freely available software to researchers for efficient authoring.

  • Reducing institutional document processing costs through standardisation of work practices.

  • Maximising the benefits of Institutional Repository projects by:

    • Making them able to deliver content more flexibly.

    • Improving sustainability by using standards-based document formats.

    • Reducing costs and increasing the amount of content captured by integrating repository ingest with research workflows.

There are three main issues to be addressed

  1. Ending the 'PDF only' nature of institutional repositories and expanding them to allow more flexible delivery.

  2. Promoting document sustainability.

  3. Increasing efficiency for researchers writing-up their research.

Workbench and Dashboard functionality

Workbench
The ICE tool; with enhancements for research reporting.
Dashboard
Management views on content.

  • How many words / citations / links?

  • When is the paper / thesis / draft due?

  • How many overdue conference papers in my department?

  • How 'good' is my latest draft?

Establish pilots at USQ and across the RUBRIC partner network:

  1. At least five each of honours, masters and PhD theses, with infrastructure enabling them to go from authoring to examination to ingest into the institutional repository.

  2. At least ten research articles for peer review, including both journal and conference papers, and associated presentations.

  3. At least two books.

Establish pilots at USQ and across the RUBRIC partner network:

  1. Produce 'how to' guides for writing-up research using the ICE template.

  2. Develop proof-of-concept ICE template to article / book formatters for one or more publishers or conferences.

  3. Develop proof-of-concept repository ingest for Fez / DSpace / Vital (the recommended Institutional Repository software coming out of the FRODO projects) for ICE documents.

    ARROW and APSR have indicated that will collaborate with ICE-RS to program repository integration.

  4. Integrate with MAMS security projects, and RAMP to allow fine-grained control over access to resources and parts of resources.

  5. Develop a set of guidelines for using bibliographic software with the ICE template.

  6. Add full-text indexing with title and subject indexed for resource discovery.

  7. Add an annotation / voting / approval system for collaborative editorial review processes (not peer review in the formal sense)

    Allow documents to be labeled with states such as 'first draft' or 'submitted for examination' so that dashboard reporting systems can be used to summarize the state of a set of working documents.

2006 Q4 – 2007 Q1

  1. Recruit staff.

  2. Train staff in ICE.

  3. Recruit pilot users and train them in ICE.

  4. Add ICE configuration and features to support new document types for research.

  5. Hold introductory workshops with pilot users.

  6. Scope work needed to integrate with RAMS.

2007 Q2

  1. Implement full-text indexing and metadata in ICE

  2. Support pilots.

  3. Begin augmenting ICE documentation and training materials.

  4. Add features for RAMS integration as appropriate.

  5. Begin configuration for conversion to required journal, conference and book formats.

  6. Scope Repository Ingest.

  7. Hold workshops with pilot users to determine further development priorities.

2007 Q3

  1. Develop an institutional dashboard proof of concept to report on the state of research documentation held in ICE.

  2. Support pilots.

  3. Continue configuration for conversion to required journal, conference and book formats.

  4. Scope Repository Ingest.

  5. Freeze new features for the next quarter.

2007 Q4

  1. Finalize pilots or organize for ongoing support post ICE-RS project.

  2. Publish final documentation.

  3. Produce final software release.

  4. Report on project outcomes at an event to be held in conjunction with RUBRIC.

The End.