The University of Arizona Library is a vital participant in the AgNIC Rangelands project and has contributed to the initiative in many ways. For example, in the mid-to-late 1990â s the Library digitized the backfiles of the Journal of Range Management for open access on the web. Funding and completing digitization projects such as this is a complicated process and requires many decisions along the way. This paper outlines the process taken by the Library to manage a more recent project to scan back issues of the journal Rangelands. It starts with the decision to develop a project plan and request funding from the National Agricultural Library (NAL). It continues on to describe negotiating agreements with project partners, the process for outsourcing of scanning, the design of the technical infrastructure needed to support digitized content, and issues of sustainability that any digital library encounters.

Contrairement à l'opinion dominante, les nouvelles technologies n'ont pas toujours un impact positif sur la qualité des métadonnées dans le secteur culturel. Après dix ans d'expérience avec les projets de numérisation dans nos musées, bibliothèques et archives, une réflexion critique se montre plus que jamais nécessaire pour évaluer à quelles conditions ce genre de projets d'informatisation peuvent offrir une valeur ajoutée pour la documentation de notre patrimoine culturel. Cette réflexion se base, entre autres, sur un ensemble de case studies représentatifs dans un contexte international. A cette fin, nous présenterons et définirons un cadre méthodologique et conceptuel original concernant l'impact des technologies sur la qualité des métadonnées. Sur cette base, nous proposons et expérimentons trois approches opérationnelles novatrices en vue d'améliorer la qualité des systèmes d'information déployés dans le secteur culturel.

Photography has been exposed as an infinitely complex series of intersecting technologies, industries, discourses and socio-cultural desires. Figured as an image-making medium that bears the direct trace (light) of reality, it has become a fundamental method through which we construct identity, capture memories, communicate knowledge and reflect and shape reality. Its resulting conceptualization as a discourse-laden visual language, that enables the (co)articulation of subject (self), object (device) and truth, has located it as a central locus of ethical consequence. While there has been a significant amount of research into an ethics of photographic representation, there has been very little consideration of the importance of reconsidering the intersection of photography (in and of itself) and ethics in light of digitization. While this thesis will function to map out a number of theoretical and practical trajectories, its central purpose will be to draw upon a rich understanding of analogue and digital photography in order to critically re-imagine ethics in light of digitization. This thesis begins by mapping out a series of continuities and discontinuities in the technological, sociological and practical engagements of photography as a result of digitization. Following in this vein, it will engage in a comparative review of past and present (analogue and digital) photographic practices and theories in an effort to expand the conceptual frames of these trajectories further through an inter-disciplinary and sociological lens. Following this review, and in response to a number of proposed digital novelties, this thesis will revisit past conceptualization of photographic ethics, demonstrate and legitimize their short-comings in the digital age, and begin to imagine alternative means of tackling the ‘impossible possibility’ of digital ethics. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-29 15:12:36.414

The management of photographic collections present certain unique problems due to their heterogeneous nature. The purpose of this study is to analyse these potential problem areas and to determine how these can be resolved through the digitisation of photographic collections. The following areas are addressed: the capturing and enhancement of photographic images; data formats and storage; metadata and the retrieval of photographic images. In order to determine to what extent the principles and findings set out in the study are applied in practice, a case study was done of the Digitisation Project of the MuseumAfrica. This was followed by an evaluation of the findings of the case study as well as recommendations with regard to elements of the Museum's project that could possibly be improved upon or done differently. In conclusion a summarised overview is presented of the findings of the study as well as some remarks on possible future developments regarding the management of photographic collections within a digital environment. / Dissertation (MA (Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Information Science / unrestricted

published_or_final_version / abstract / Architecture / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This dissertation examines how information technology can help acquirers to improve the performance of their acquisition targets. An acquisition creates value when the acquirer can generate more returns from the acquired business than its former owner can, a condition we call the acquirer's parenting advantage. Then, we introduce two IT-related sources of parenting advantage. Acquirers with more extensive process digitization can provide richer digitized resource to serve their newly acquired businesses, and acquirers with more related process digitization can unlock more synergies between the newly acquired and existing business units. So, as we argue, digitization extensiveness enables a digitization-revitalization mechanism for acquisition value creation, and digitization relatedness enables an integration-synergy-creation mechanism. Both mechanisms can be carried out through digital accommodation activities after acquisitions. Furthermore, the digitization gap between acquirers and targets is a major contingency for digital accommodation, with the second mechanism functioning mostly when the target has already had advanced digitization achievements. We empirically validated these hypothesized relationships by tracking the IT and performance changes in 109 U.S. hospitals before and after they were acquired, using a 7 year study timeframe. / text

Arizona has an exceptionally rich cultural heritage, and yet only a small fraction of this legacy has been digitized and made available online through the Arizona Memory Project and other collections. With IMLS funding, the University of Arizona’s DigIn program is carrying out research (grant ending 2012) on digital collection development and digital curation activities in a diverse sampling of Tucson-area cultural heritage institutions, especially those representing underserved communities. We are gathering data on a range of factors influencing the decision to start digital projects, and the sustainability of digitization at a time of limited resources. Our goal is to assess the feasibility of new or expanded digital projects, and to define best practices for institutions pursuing small-scale digitization efforts especially. In this program we will share our preliminary results and discuss future efforts to advance the digitization of cultural heritage by librarians and information professionals across Arizona and the West.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be a powerful paleontological tool. This project’s goal was to digitally reconstruct a large, mostly-articulated mastodon (Mammut sp.) excavated from the Gray Fossil Site during the 2015 to 2018 field seasons. This was done by compiling total station survey data, field notes, sketch maps, and cataloged specimen data within ArcGIS Pro. Field drawn sketch maps were geo-referenced to relevant survey points. Then, a polygon layer was created by tracing the spatially referenced field drawings. Each polygon was given the specimen’s designated field number and connected to a table containing all associated field data. The result was a polygon layer that displayed all major bones and bone fragments of the mastodon which was linked to museum catalog information. Researchers can use this digital product to interpret site taphonomy, examine the distribution of skeletal elements or fossil taxa, or potentially identify areas of interest for future excavations. This workflow will streamline future specimen digitization efforts at the Gray Fossil Site.

The basic aim of this mini-dissertation was to explore the prospects of digitisation at the University of Ghana Library System (UGLS). The research followed a qualitative approach and a case study research design was adopted. A thorough literature study was conducted. The primary purpose of the literature was to inform the research on the questions and objectives raised on the aspects of digitisation to understand the dynamics and complexity of digitisation. Six staff from the UGLS digitisation programme were purposively sampled for in-depth interviews for their direct involvement in the UGLS digitisation programme. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with UGLS digitisation managers and the current IT and digitisation operations staff to collect data. During the interviews, the following issues associated with digitisation were addressed: policy, planning, goals and priorities, selection criteria, skills and expertise, digital preservation and long-term access, issues and challenges; solutions and recommendations to digitisation constraints of the UGLS. These issues were used to identify and develop themes where thematic analyses of research data were done. Specific recommendations were also develop to share with UGLS to address the digitisation policy and planning issues, selection issues, human resource and skills requirements; the critical challenges, resource requirements, long-term preservation and access of digitised content and the sustainability of digitisation programme. Final recommendations were made based on the findings and conclusions of the research to advise on the sustainability of the UGLS digitisation programme. / Mini Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Information Science / MIT / Unrestricted

Healthcare around the world is facing strenuous times, whereby there is a need for reduced costs, improved efficiency, and effectiveness. Digitalization is a transformational phenomenon argued to solve the many problems of healthcare. As of such, this thesis studies digitalization in a healthcare setting - considering how digitalization is achieved in practice, and what elements hamper and enable sociotechnical changes required for digitalization. To study these aspects, a qualitative case study was carried out on the recently implemented mandatory electronic dental card among the dental care professionals from a Baltic country. The study allowed contributions to digitalization research by looking at the phenomenon from industry-level analysis, also revealed the elements that hamper and enable digitalization, outlined the different digitalization patterns, and argued that digitalization relies on the extent by which the new system provides value to the users without interfering with professional expertise and ethics.