This thesis is about problems related to design of information systems in which records are born and managed. The proactive approach has been derived from new archival theories suited for electronic recordkeeping, and implies that electronic records must, at the time of creation fulfil their current and future requirements. Information systems where records are born and managed should, based upon a proactive approach, meet recordkeeping requirements. This thesis is based upon a four-year research effort and consists of seven research articles that present the results of the research. The objective is to contribute to knowledge of design recommendations for information systems, in which records are born and managed. The main result of this thesis is identification of five areas that can affect and improve the design of information systems in which records are born and managed. First: A set of empirically and theoretical grounded characteristics of records are presented. Those characteristics have to be complemented with organization-defined characteristics. Second: this research has contributed a conceptualization of use of records and users of records. The notion of known use/user, and unknown use/user has been introduced. Design becomes difficult because requirements of unknown users are difficult to conceptualize. Third: The Recordkeeping Quality Assessment model (RQAM) is presented. The model implies a holistic quality approach to recordkeeping, and intends to be used as a basis for quality assessment, and as a reference model in design situations to achieve high recordkeeping quality. Fourth: Two dominant different views on records are presented. Private organizations appraise records principally upon business values, and public organisations base their appraisal criteria upon accountability and legislative values. The two views on records should be brought into one view and form a risk management-like appraisal. Fifth: Proactivity is a way of thinking and should be applied on several levels in the recordkeeping environment: to the electronic record, to the information system where the electronic record is born and managed, to the organization, and to the user. / Denna avhandling handlar om hur informationssystem skall designas, i vilka arkivinformation skapas och hanteras över tid. Modern arkivteori förordar en proaktiv ansats vid hantering av elektronisk arkivinformation. Proaktiviteten innebär att arkivinformationen senast vid sin tillkomst måste uppfylla arkivvetenskapliga krav. Det medför att design av informationssystem, i vilka arkivinformation skapas och hanteras måste uppfylla arkivvetenskapliga krav och följa en proaktiv ansats. Denna avhandling är ett resultat av fyra års forskning och består av sju vetenskapliga artiklar, vilka utgör avhandlingens resultat. Syftet med avhandlingen har att bidra med ny kunskap till hur informationssystem, i vilka arkivinformation skapas och hanteras över tid, skall designas. Avhandlingens huvudsakliga resultat är fem områden som alla kan påverka och förbättra design av sådana informationssystem. 1. Ett antal karaktäriska egenskaper hos arkivinformation har identifierats utifrån både teori och empiri. Dessa har visats sig behöva kompletteras med organisationsspecifika karaktäristiska egenskaper. 2. Begreppen användare av arkivinformation och användning av arkivinformation har konceptualiserats. Begreppet känd och okänd användare/användning av arkivinformation har introducerats. Design för okända användare är en svår utmaning, bland annat då krav från okända användare är svåra att fånga. 3. En kvalitetsmodell (RQAM) är presenterad som anger att kvalitet kring hantering av arkivinformation måste ske med en holistisk ansats. Modellen skall kunna användas som en hjälp vid kvalitetsmätning, men även som en referensmodell vid design av informationssystem. 4. Två dominerade värderingsperspektiv har identifierats avseende arkivinformation. Privata organisationer värderar arkivinformation mestadels utifrån ett verksamhetsvärde, medan offentliga organisationer värderar arkivinformationen mestadels baserat på legala krav och ansvarsspårbarhet. 5. Den proaktiva ansatsen skall ses som ett strategiskt angreppssätt på hantering av elektronisk arkivinformation. Den skall användas i flera nivåer av hantering av arkivinformation, på arkivinformationsnivå, informationssystemsnivå, organisationsnivå och på användarnivå.

Functional requirements for electronic recordkeeping systems have emerged as a principal tool for archival and records management professionals to communicate electronic recordkeeping standards to both records creators and computer systems designers. Various functional or model requirements have been developed by government and international organizations around the world to serve as tools for the design, evaluation, and implementation of recordkeeping systems that will satisfy these recordkeeping requirements. Through their evolution, functional requirements have become complex guiding documents covering an array of recordkeeping systems and preservation interests. Often misunderstood or simply ignored, the recordkeeping requirements at the heart of these specifications are crucial for ensuring the creation, maintenance, and preservation of electronic or digital records over time, for operational, accountability, archival, and historical purposes. This thesis examines the origins and evolution of these functional requirements, particularly through the contributions of the Pittsburgh project’s study of electronic records as evidence and the University of British Columbia project’s study of the preservation of trustworthy electronic records, which together articulated key foundational assumptions about electronic or digital recordkeeping and the structure of many of the functional requirements circulating today. By looking at their conception, development, and evolution, this thesis sheds light on the content, structure, and context of the most widely-used available functional requirements. It evaluates the merits of their often competing assumptions and deliveries, and suggests that none represent a “silver bullet” that addresses the issues associated with electronic records, as each has limitations resting both with the ability of users to implement the requirements and with the rapid and ever-changing landscape of electronic communication.

Functional requirements for electronic recordkeeping systems have emerged as a principal tool for archival and records management professionals to communicate electronic recordkeeping standards to both records creators and computer systems designers. Various functional or model requirements have been developed by government and international organizations around the world to serve as tools for the design, evaluation, and implementation of recordkeeping systems that will satisfy these recordkeeping requirements. Through their evolution, functional requirements have become complex guiding documents covering an array of recordkeeping systems and preservation interests. Often misunderstood or simply ignored, the recordkeeping requirements at the heart of these specifications are crucial for ensuring the creation, maintenance, and preservation of electronic or digital records over time, for operational, accountability, archival, and historical purposes. This thesis examines the origins and evolution of these functional requirements, particularly through the contributions of the Pittsburgh project’s study of electronic records as evidence and the University of British Columbia project’s study of the preservation of trustworthy electronic records, which together articulated key foundational assumptions about electronic or digital recordkeeping and the structure of many of the functional requirements circulating today. By looking at their conception, development, and evolution, this thesis sheds light on the content, structure, and context of the most widely-used available functional requirements. It evaluates the merits of their often competing assumptions and deliveries, and suggests that none represent a “silver bullet” that addresses the issues associated with electronic records, as each has limitations resting both with the ability of users to implement the requirements and with the rapid and ever-changing landscape of electronic communication.

Records are a subset of information and recordkeeping requirements demand that a record is managed with maintained authenticity and reliability, i.e. with high quality. Records are evidence of transactions and are used and managed in daily work processes. Records may be preserved for anything from milliseconds to eternity. With computer based information systems the electronic record was born: a record that is born digital. With electronic records problems regarding maintenance of authenticity and reliability have been identified. Electronic records are no longer physical entities as traditional records were. An electronic record is a logical entity that can be spread over different locations in a computer based information system. In this research the aim is to improve the possibility of reaching high quality in recordkeeping systems, i.e. to maintain reliability and authenticity of electronic records, which is necessary if electronic records are to be usable as evidence of transactions. Based on case studies and literature studies, a recordkeeping quality model is presented: a predictive model for attaining quality in recordkeeping. The recordkeeping quality model consists of four major concepts which are interrelated with each other: Electronic records, Records use, Electronic record quality, and Multidimensional perspective. The model is proposed for use when designing and developing computer based information systems which are required to be recordkeeping, systems which manage electronic records. In this research two results beside the recordkeeping quality model are emphasized. The first is that quality in recordkeeping must be seen in a multidimensional perspective, and the second is that recordkeeping systems are information systems with a partially unknown purpose.

While the preservation and sharing of research data are two topics well researched, there is a need to better understand the connections between them, especially from a Swedish perspective. In relation to this, it is interesting to investigate how researchers themselves are involved in these processes – where and how they preserve their data, for what reasons, how they manage their data for preservation and sharing, and furthermore what consequences this might have for the archiving of research data. The method used in this thesis is semi-structured interviews with 10 researchers from various Swedish universities, conducted in person, via Zoom or by e-mail. The researchers were chosen from their sharing activities on research data repositories. The interviews were processed in Taguette, where the data was organized by tags. The tags with their related statements were then organized into themes. Furthermore, a theoretical analysis based on the records continuum model was conducted.  The primary reason that was stated for preservation was data sharing. The researchers expressed a wish for their research data to be reused, as well as stating reasons related to transparency. The researchers also expressed that their data management was influenced by future data sharing. One researcher had archived their data at the university, although most of the participants was positive to doing so in the future. It appears that the researchers in this study takes initiative when it comes to the preservation and sharing of their data. Most of the participants view the data repository as a good platform for preservation, possibly because such platforms can fulfil their reasons for participating in preservation activities. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archival Science.

The starting point of this paper has to do with rapid changes within the information technology and the need for agile and fast systems. The primary goal is to investigate what happens with recordkeeping practices in agile environments like service oriented architecture (SOA). It is in the possible transfer between IT architecture and digital archive the area of this paper resides. The paper relates to the Records Continuum model by which records will be considered historical and active at the time of creation. In the Records Continuum model recordkeeping practices and archival requirements will have to be taken into account at the time of creation. This paper concerns SOA from the perspective of Archival and Information science. It describes the different parts that make it possible to achieve a SOA with emphasis on those parts which have the most impact on the requirements of a digital archive. The main requirements discussed in this paper are the principle of provenance, the need to ensure that records remain authentic, reliable and keep their integrity and usability over time. The issue of keeping track of information and activities in a SOA is also discussed. It is established that records which need to fulfil the requirements mentioned above do exists in a SOA. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether or not the principle of provenance and the archival requirements will be affected by SOA, and whether or not the requirements can be fulfilled over time. Information collection for this paper is basically through studies of literature and information gathering on the Internet. The method is descriptive and comparison between the information gathered has been made. In addition one short interview has been undertaken with Skatteverket, a government that are in the process of implementing both SOA and a digital archive. The main purpose with the interview was to find out if there are any collaboration between SOA and the digital archive at Skatteverket. The results indicate that a lot of the problem concerning preservation of digital records over time also applies for SOA, such as the lack of sustainable format and media and the potential loss of information. However some successful implementations of digital archives based on the OAIS-model with SOA as tool for realising the digital archive has been found. The archival requirements and the principle of provenance will be affected by SOA but it is only when there is a connection between SOA and a digital archive that it is possible to secure some of the archival requirements.

The research presented in this thesis is about recordkeeping in the public sector, focusing especially on the relationship between the public administration and its archives, and selected aspects affecting the way this relationship is developing in the digital era. Two research questions are addressed: RQ1: What are ‘archives’ and ‘recordkeeping’ in the digital context and the developing e-government? RQ2: What are the indications of current and future challenges regarding the cooperation between public administration and archives? Six studies resulting in six papers form the basis of the thesis. Each study explores a unique aspect of how current developments, discussions, and decisions affect contemporary understanding and practices regarding archives and recordkeeping. Public records are authoritative information resources, crucial in the everyday lives of citizens. Public recordkeeping develops continuously alongside administrative practices, technological achievements, and political goals. Examples include the development of shared services within the public sector and the involvement of the private sector in public infrastructure projects through outsourcing. These processes are currently affected both by digital technologies, which offer new possibilities to create, use, and preserve records, and by e-government, characterized by the combination of information and communication technologies with organizational change to improve public services and democratic participation. In these processes, existing practices are reviewed and revised, and the concepts of ‘archives’ and ‘recordkeeping’ redefined. The research was pursued using an interpretive approach. The research methods used were concept analysis; discourse analysis; literary warrant analysis; phenomenography; critical theory; and the records continuum model as a theoretical structure. The results shows that common usage of the terms ‘archive’ and ‘recordkeeping’ is fluid and changing, which can make decision-making challenging and affect the relationship between archives and administration. Efforts to develop recordkeeping strategies may be hampered by factors related to the different ways in which the nature and role of archives and recordkeeping are perceived, including differing understandings of related concepts; varying discourses on what an archive (or e-archive) is or should be, and different ways of interpreting legal frameworks and their significance. / <p>Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbeten opublicerade: delarbete 6 accepterat.</p><p>At the time of the doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished: paper 6 accepted.</p> / God informationsförvaltning / En effektiv digital informationshantering

The first part of this project focused on evaluating aspects of the environmental management practices of Texas chemical industries, particularly waste generation and management of the data related to these processes. The waste generation data included Texas notifications required to track wastes. The next phase consisted of characterizing industrial waste disposal methods, waste container management, and transportation including an overview of required documentation for each activity. This led to identification of issues encountered from inefficient recordkeeping, ineffective internal communication, or inadequate environmental management systems. The result of an ineffective hazardous waste data management program can be fines, damage to the environment, and even adverse impacts on worker health and safety. For example, for the situations outlined in this document, violations could have resulted in penalties totaling $550,000 per day. This led to an effort to evaluate and develop solutions needed to develop a robust management system. The goal was to provide an operating and hazardous waste management program which optimally resulted in “zero findings” by the state regulatory agency. This would be achieved through personal experiences of this environmental engineer while working at a chemical plant augmented by information obtained through observations of others at the facility and a review of published documentation. This document focuses on the redesign and automation of an ineffective, manual environmental management system by making modifications and enhancements with a focus on effective management of various waste media. The criteria used for determining system optimization includes regulatory compliance and noncompliance penalties, internal communication time, onsite storage accumulation time exceedances, recordkeeping efficiency, number of lost waste containers, and time needed to make waste classifications. Optimization is verified against other alternatives by comparing instances and severity of noncompliance with state and federal regulations. The result was a total environmental management system optimized in a way that ensured compliance and achieved the goal of eliminating violations. It also reduced cost, allowed automated data entry, supported rapid asset location and helped track performance.

The chief aims of this study are to determine what, if any, accounting processes were employed during the first millennium BC (1000-332 BC) in Palestine, to determine whether these were the result of the socio-economic requirements of the various centralised polities operative in Palestine during this period, how these processes developed over the course of the first millennium and whether they conform to the definition of accounting provided in Chapter One. I have adopted an archaeological, epigraphic and qualitative approach taking into consideration the historical and socio-economic backgrounds of the different political administrations in control during the period under discussion. The evidence demonstrates that the adopted processes can be regarded as accounting processes since they conform to at least three of the four components of the definition of accounting and that these processes developed over the course of time depending on the particular requirements of the ruling authority. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.A. (Biblical Archaeology)

The chief aims of this study are to determine what, if any, accounting processes were employed during the first millennium BC (1000-332 BC) in Palestine, to determine whether these were the result of the socio-economic requirements of the various centralised polities operative in Palestine during this period, how these processes developed over the course of the first millennium and whether they conform to the definition of accounting provided in Chapter One. I have adopted an archaeological, epigraphic and qualitative approach taking into consideration the historical and socio-economic backgrounds of the different political administrations in control during the period under discussion. The evidence demonstrates that the adopted processes can be regarded as accounting processes since they conform to at least three of the four components of the definition of accounting and that these processes developed over the course of time depending on the particular requirements of the ruling authority. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.A. (Biblical Archaeology)