January 29, 2012, Sunday, 28

09-eResearch@Otago

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eResearch at Otago

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eResearch@Otago with be held on the 20th of October 2009

Image:erags09.jpg





Conference Site - registrations: CLICK HERE


Contents

What is eResearch@Otago?

eResearch@Otago is a bi-annual event where researchers from Otago and Southland can come together to share brief presentations about their projects and activities, focusing on the benefits gained through the use of technology to support and advance their Research.

This is a unique opportunity for researchers and those interested in working at the leading edge.

Time to learn more? Time to ask the questions? Make time to join us for eResearch@Otago 09

Where and When

  • 20th October 2009
  • Castle Complex,
  • 10:30am-6:00pm,


Key Note Speakers

Organisers: Russell, Mik, Lindsay

Mark Gahegan - eResearch Director, University of Auckland eResearch: an overview This talk takes a broad view onto the realm of eResearch: what it is, how it is used and how it changes the nature of research communities and how they function. It will describe some of the potential of eResearch to better support the New Zealand research community and enable them to join with their international counterparts in solving the world’s most pressing problems in fields such as plate tectonics, disease dynamics, climate change, bio-informatics, astronomy and many others. It outlines some of the successes to date, and what challenges must yet be overcome to support better collaboration, sharing of expensive hardware and software development costs, archiving of important experimental details, and distillation of new knowledge.


Paul Turnbull, Griffith University, Gold Coast - Via digital feed Digital Humanities: Challenges and Opportunities We are witnessing the emergence of remarkable new opportunities for humanities research and teaching using digital technologies. In Australia and overseas major initiatives are underway by major libraries and other cultural institutions that will increasingly provide researchers, teachers and their students with the ability to understand then human condition using digital surrogates of culturally significant historical and contemporary documents, images and audio- visual materials. By 2015, for example, the National Library of Australia will have substantially completed a free online service offering the entire content of all state and territory newspapers from the early 1800s to the mid-1950s. What is more, there are already software tools that easily allow students to present what they learn from online resources in various multimedia forms.

Yet what are the implications of the humanities “going digital” in our schools and universities? What might the benefits be? What might be the risks?

In this address, I will give a brief account of my use of digital technologies as a historian over the past decade. In doing so, I will also speak about what seem to me the main challenges, the most exciting opportunities, and some of the possible risks of using computer-based tools and modes of communication in making history.

Paul Turnbull is Professor of eHistory at the University of Queensland. He is known internationally for his research on enabling the practice of history in networked digital media, and is the creator of South Seas, a major online resource exploring James Cook’s first Pacific voyage, 1768-1771, located at http://southseas.nla.gov.au. He is currently engaged in developing a knowledge creation, management and publication system for large-scale collaborative historical projects, the conceptual and technical features of which are described in a paper given to the 2009 eResearch Australasian Conference, available at: http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:155362


Presentations - Suggestions

Organisers: Russell, Mik,


BeSTGRID: developing NZ research infrastructure - Nick Jones - Russell to contact re: abstract/description - site logon


KAREN 101 - Emma Bottomore

The KAREN 101 is an introduction to KAREN - the Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network. KAREN provides high capacity, ultra high-speed connectivity between New Zealand research, education and innovation organisations, and the rest of the world. This presentation describes the data, tools and content available on KAREN that enables users to create and share knowledge, communicate and collaborate together. Hear current examples about eResearch in Action over KAREN and other advanced networks both in New Zealand and overseas.


KAREN Computational Grid and the KAREN search engine - Tim Molteno, Physics, University of Otago - Russell to contact re: abstract/description - site logon


New Zealand Virtual World Grid - Melanie Middlemiss

The New Zealand Virtual World Grid (NZVWG) is an initiative established by the University of Otago, the University of Canterbury, the University of Auckland, and supported by Telecom NZ. It is an open access national virtual world grid based on open source software. It operates on NZ-based servers hosted at Otago, Canterbury and Auckland Universities and the Wellington Institute of Technology, and leverages other national investments in IT infrastructure through deployment on the high-speed KAREN (Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network). The grid has been set up with an academic focus and will be used for research and education, as well as for proof-of-concept application deployments and testing. The objectives of the NZVWG initiative are to:

  • 1. Undertake both experimental and routine use of virtual worlds in teaching and research;
  • 2. Develop engaging, interactive in-world content customised for NZ use; and
  • 3. Develop new context-specific plug-ins enabling interaction between the virtual and real (non-virtual) worlds.

This presentation will outline the current NZVWG architecture, describe some of the current projects utilising the grid, and describe how you can access and use the grid for your own teaching or eResearch purposes.


Virtual Research Environment - An Otago Experience - Russell Butson


Music & the Digital Diaspora - John Egenes

Musical Connectivity in the 21st Century. For musicians connectivity has always been a key ingredient in the creation of good music. Musicians don’t work in a vacuum. Even when working alone, they need links to other musicians, whether found in the intimate rapport of collaboration or by seeing their colleagues as a mirror, a reflection themselves. This is changing. While musicians still need connections to other musos, they now need to forge new connections to their audience. This paper will address how digital convergence, and the ability of our electronic devices to communicate with each other, have created unprecedented public demand for access and authorship of music. These demands will soon reach other artistic/intellectual domains such as television, film, literature, art, and even teaching. John Egenes lectures in music at the University of Otago. He plays all manner of stringed instruments, loves horses, and thinks YouTube is the single greatest invention of the last 200 years.


Genomic data analysis with GenePattern - Mik Black - a live collaborative analysis of genomic data

As part of the REANNZ-funded project "Integrated Genomics Resources for Health and Disease", the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago has established a local installation of the GenePattern application that allows users to perform web-based analysis of data from genomics experiments. This software, developed at the Broad Institute, provides a powerful and extensible analysis environment, that can easily be used as part of a distributed research collaboration. Here we will provide an overview of the GenePattern system, detail the extensions that have been made as part of the Otago installation, and demonstrate the collaborative use of GenePattern for a simple analysis task.

Event Schedule

Organisers: Lindsay, Russell, Mik

Convener: Peter

  • 10:30 Welcome: Professor Majella Franzmann, DVC Humanities
  • 10:45 Keynote: Mark Gahegan - What is eResearch?
  • 11:30 Emma Bottomore - KAREN 101
  • 12:00 Nick Jones - BeSTGRID: developing NZ research infrastructure
  • 12:30 LUNCH
  • 01:30 Keynote: Paul Turnbull - Digital Humanities: Challenges and Opportunities
  • 02:15 Tim Molteno - KAREN Computational Grid and the KAREN search engine
  • 02:45 Melanie Middlemiss - New Zealand Virtual World Grid
  • 03:15 BREAK
  • 03:45 Russell Butson - Virtual Research Environment : An Otago Experience
  • 04:15 Mik Black - Genomic data analysis with GenePattern
  • 04:45 John Egenes - Music & the Digital Diaspora
  • 05:15 Peter Whigham - Summing up
  • 05:30 Drinks

Venue Setup

Organisers: Mike, Russell,

  • Technology requirements - visitor network access for live connections
  • Linkup - virtual presenter/s
  • Computers avalable for use in breaks ?
  • Equipment Setup - presenters
  • Refreshment area
  • Signage

Promotion Material

Organisers: Russell,

  • ER09 Poster Create posters similar to the 2007 event [Russell]
  • Generate email invitation
  • Email invitations to University Staff and Outside Parties [Lindsay]
  • Blurb for the Bulletin
  • Blurb for the ODT & Southland times

Contributions

...both in funds and in-kind contributions

Funding...

  • eRAG - Confirm + Transfer [Russell]
  • REANNZ - confirm amount + transfer [Vicki Lindsay]
  • DCC Economic Development Unit - confirm amount + transfer [Graham Strong]

Services / Support...

  • Marketing & Communications -  ?
  • Research & Enterprise - admin support ?
  • HEDC - Services
  • ITS - confirmed - IT services

Invitations

List of Otago Research Groups/Organisations


Refreshments Supplied

Contact is Kerry Ryan - Conferences & Events Coordinator


Luncheon Menu - "brown bag lunch" [Lindsay]



Morning & Afternoon Tea Menu

  • Selection of cookies
  • Freshly brewed coffee, selection of teas & herbal infusions

Drinks

  • NZ cheeseboards & breads /dips platters
  • Beverage (Note limit of 2 drinks per person)
  • Selection of Speights Beers
  • Commissioners Block Chardonnay/Viognier/Merlot
  • Pure Squeezed Orange Juice