1.
Westerlund, Parvaneh, 1985-
(författare)
Designing for Automated Digital Preservation : Model, Pre-Ingest, and Error Handling
2020
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
With the rapid increase in the amount and complexity of data that is needed to be preserved, manual preservation activities produce complex, lengthy, and costly processes. Therefore, automation of preservation processes, together with modeling of workflows and streamlining, can help reduce costs and enhance the focus on preservation processes. Accordingly, the research question is defined as: “How to establish an automated many-to-many interaction between Information Systems and digital preservation systems?”This research proposes a model and instantiation of middleware as a standalone system, which could be hosted in the cloud, for bridging between ISs and DPSs including three sub-parts making both many-to-many capacity and automation of interactions possible: pre-ingest workflow, Context-aware Preservation Manager (CaPM), and error-handling workflow. A Design Science Research (DSR) approach was taken to conduct this research consisting of three design cycles to design and develop each of the three sub-parts of the solution artifact, i.e. the middleware. The middleware consists of several action-based components and an administrative component (CaPM) which carries out the automation of the tasks in the middleware. The action-based components are designed to complete a pre-ingest workflow to prepare digital content sent from an information system to be transferred into a digital preservation system. The path for the pre-ingest workflow, i.e. which components are going to process the digital content and in what order, is automatically defined by CaPM according to the information system’s preservation policies. Standard interfaces are used for middleware’s internal or external communications to promote its scalability in the long run as well as its capability of embedding additional workflows or processes developed in the future, e.g. post-access workflow.An additional outcome of this research is proposing five design principles aiming to contribute to the knowledge for future design practices: DP1. Provide rule-based definition of workflow execution path so that the middleware affords IS to implement their preservation policy and metadata extraction requirements. DP2. Provide capability of executing alternative workflow routes so that the middleware affords IS to ensure a successful encapsulation and submission of SIP. DP3. Provide features for gathering preservation data in the middleware so that the middleware affords preservation planning support. DP4. Provide an automated error-handling workflow with compensating action so that the middleware affords to minimize manual intervention in case of errors in a workflow. DP5. Provide capability of executing concurrent workflows so that the middleware affords IS and DPS many-to-many interactions via the middleware.The results of this thesis contribute to the state-of-the-art in a few aspects:Compared to existing solutions, such as pre-ingest tool developed for Finnish National Archives and UAM for Estonia, that need to be installed on a user’s system, integration with the middleware is carried out with less complexity. This is achieved by designing the middleware as a standalone system that could be hosted in the cloud along with using standard communication interfaces, which further make the middleware adaptable to changes or upgrades in the environment it operates in. Such capability of the middleware in handling many-to-many interactions goes beyond what was introduced in previous middleware architectures for Digital Preservation System’s integration with Information Systems.The middleware solution for pre-ingest in this thesis, in comparison with the similar recent solutions, promotes automation capabilities especially for preserving complex digital content (e.g. databases, workflows), automatic execution of the pre-ingest workflow, or in case of a need for using multiple external digital preservation solutions or services.CaPM monitors the execution of workflows and can update or abort a workflow path if needed. An aborted workflow caused by an error/failure will automatically be replaced by an error-handling workflow with compensation action, hence increasing the level of automation. Automation of such functionalities, as well as the approach for handling errors, has not been applied in previous tools.CaPM can also contribute to the current stream of research on decisions making regarding preservation planning and strategies by providing logged data about the digital objects passing through the middleware.While the solution artifact of this research provides middleware to perform as a bridge for automated many-to-many interactions between information systems and digital preservation systems, the resulted design and implementation of the middleware components cover only one direction of such interaction, from information system to digital preservation system (pre-ingest).
2.
Andersson, Ingemar, et al.
(författare)
Web archiving using the collaborative archiving services testbed
2011
Ingår i: eChallenges e2011 Conference Proceedings. - : IIMC International Information Management Corporation. - 9781905824274
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Websites constitute one category of official records and as such should be preserved for the long term in compliance with Swedish legislation. Collaborative Archiving Services Testbed (CAST) supports actors involved in the selective web archiving process, from harvesting to the creation of an information package ready for transfer to a long-term archive at National Archives of Sweden. CAST is developed in compliance with the ISO standards Open Archival Information System (OAIS) and Producer-Archive Interface Methodology Abstract Standard (PAIMAS), and do also consider other well-known and established standards and recommendations in digital preservation area. CAST promotes cooperation, knowledge acquisition and sharing among users in an experimental step-by-step workflow, encouraging a proactive approach resulting in authority websites better adapted to digital preservation recommendations. CAST is developed at LDP Centre, a national competence centre in Sweden, within the digital preservation area.
3.
4.
Randers, Frode, et al.
(författare)
Inherent problems in cooperative planning for future access to information
2013
Ingår i: Norsk konferanse for organisasjoners bruk av informasjonsteknologi, NOKOBIT 2013. - Trondheim : Tapir Akademisk Forlag. - 9788232103737
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat) abstract
Successfully preserving information for the future draws upon multiple domains of knowledge, specifically knowledge about effects of technological and social change. The preservation process should accommodate for these effects in order to provide future access to the preserved information. If information production and information preservation occur in different organizations, such as when an organization uses external preservation services, special attention has to be given to the planning of the preservation process. Studies in the project ENSURE (Enabling kNowledge Sustainability Usability and Recovery for Economic value) indicate that the preservation planning is a joint effort drawing upon distinct knowledge that each organization have – knowledge about the information and knowledge about the preservation process. We describe some inherent problems emanating from cooperatively planning how to preserve information.
5.
Runardotter, Mari, et al.
(författare)
The information life cycle : issues in long-term digital preservation
2006
Ingår i: Arkiv, samhälle och forskning. - 0349-0505. ; :1, s. 17-29
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
In this paper a new view of the life cycle of information is described. Information never dies. The constituentes for information are: the context in which information is born and flows, internal attributes which enrich and gives better understanding of information, and the tools used for managing ditributing, dissemination, access and availability of information.
6.
Runardotter, Mari, et al.
(författare)
The information life cycle : issues in long-term digital preservation
2005
Ingår i: IRIS 28.
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat) abstract
In this paper a new view of the life cycle of information is described. Information never dies. The constituentes for information are: the context in which information is born and flows, internal attributes which enrich and gives better understanding of information, and the tools used for managing distribution, dissemination, access and availability of information.
7.
Päivärinta, Tero, et al.
(författare)
Integrating Contemporary Content Management and Long-Term Digital Preservation : A Design Problem
2015
Ingår i: Nordic Contributions in IS Research. - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 9783319217826 - 9783319217833 ; , s. 92-107
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat) abstract
The fields of long-term digital preservation (DP) and enterprise content management (ECM) have remained, until recently, rather separated. Along with increasing amounts of digital content and evolving DP services, there is a need for maximal automation of preservation processes from ECM systems instead of continuing current resource-consuming practices. This paper aims at a design problem definition on the integration of ECM and DP solutions. In order to motivate and to define the problem in more detail, we conducted a review on ECM and DP literatures touching the issue. The review reveals a research gap addressing a need for designing new middleware solutions for interactive processes between ECM and DP. We suggest a general-level model of three such processes between ECM and DP: preservation administration, pre-ingest, and access. The article concludes with avenues for future research on novel solutions for integrating DP with contemporary ECM and other information systems in organizations.
8.
Rad, Parvaneh Afrasiabi, et al.
(författare)
Administration of Digital Preservation Services in the Cloud Over Time : Design Issues and Challenges for Organizations
2014
Ingår i: The Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Cloud Security Management. - Reading, UK : Academic Conferences and Publishing International Ltd. - 9781910309636
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat) abstract
In organizations, information systems produce increasing amounts of digital information that needs to be preserved. Simultaneously, human intervention in preservation activities needs to be minimized, due to scarce resources available for preservation. Thus, digital preservation services need to be integrated with other organizational information systems as seamlessly as possible, and preservation activities need to be maximally automated. Selection of adequate cloud-based preservation services poses yet another set of challenges for reaching the seamless integration and automation. Two sources of challenges relate to administrating integrated digital preservation and information systems. Firstly, information systems change over time. Secondly, digital preservation services change over time. This paper contributes by identifying and analyzing scenarios and design issues of administering digital preservation in connection to the changes in information systems and preservation services over time. We also suggest seven generic tasks of the “preservation administration” component, which are needed between digital preservation services and information systems and discuss about the choices of locating the operative responsibilities and middleware.
9.
Westerlund, Parvaneh, et al.
(författare)
Towards automated pre-ingest workflow for bridging information systems and digital preservation services
2019
Ingår i: Records Management Journal. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0956-5698 .- 1758-7689. ; 29:3, s. 289-304
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
PurposeThis paper aims to automate pre-ingest workflow for preserving digital content, such as records, through middleware that integrates potentially many information systems with potentially several alternative digital preservation services.Design/methodology/approachThis design research approach resulted in a design for model- and component-based software for such workflow. A proof-of-concept prototype was implemented and demonstrated in context of a European research project, ForgetIT.FindingsThe study identifies design issues of automated pre-ingest for digital preservation while using middleware as a design choice for this purpose. The resulting model and solution suggest functionalities and interaction patterns based on open interface protocols between the source systems of digital content, middleware and digital preservation services. The resulting workflow automates the tasks of fetching digital objects from the source system with metadata extraction, preservation preparation and transfer to a selected preservation service. The proof-of-concept verified that the suggested model for pre-ingest workflow and the suggested component architecture was technologically implementable. Future research and development needs to include new solutions to support context-aware preservation management with increased support for configuring submission agreements as a basis for dynamic automation of pre-ingest and more automated error handling.Originality/valueThe paper addresses design issues for middleware as a design choice to support automated pre-ingest in digital preservation. The suggested middleware architecture supports many-to-many relationships between the source information systems and digital preservation services through open interface protocols, thus enabling dynamic digital preservation solutions for records management.
10.
