The final report has been archived in the University of Tartu DSpace repository and can be referenced/cited/linked via: http://hdl.handle.net/10062/66924
Friday, 30 November 2018
NASA International Space Apps Challenge 2018 Hackathon organized in Tartu
Monday, 24 September 2018
Some really nice geospatial podcasts to enlighten your day
Geodorable: https://geodorable.com/
- If you like maps and location then you might find listening to a couple of middle-aged guys from the land of the long white cloud (New Zealand) chat irreverently about geospatial stuff just the ticket!
Isn't That Spatial: http://isntthatspatial.net/
GeoGedöns (in German): http://geogedoens.de/
Radio OSM (in German): http://podcast.openstreetmap.de/
- "Isn't That Spatial" is the podcast bringing everyday geography and urbanism into your earspace.
The Mappyist Hour: http://themappyisthour.com/
- Geographer and Geo types talking about how incredible their profession is "after hours"
The Scene From Above Podcast: https://www.geoger.co.uk/podcast
- The #scenefromabove podcast aims to present an informal podcast looking at the world of modern remote sensing and Earth observation, fuelled by their passion for all things raster and geospatial: a mix of news, opinion, discussion and interviews.
- Ein Podcast von zwei enthusiastischen Satellitennavigationsbegeisterten, die gerne Technik testen und Spiele spielen, die sich am Handy bzw Smartphone abspielen und für die meist eine Lokalisation via Satelliten nötig ist.
Radio OSM (in German): http://podcast.openstreetmap.de/
- Berichte und Neuigkeiten rund um OpenStreetMap, die freie Wiki-Weltkarte
Everyday Geo: http://soundcloud.com/everydaygeo
- JBGeoPro - Joe Bob Penor (United States), Soundcloud Podcast
- Discussions on Geography and geospatial technologies. The VerySpatial blog is intended to be a location for the hosts and participants of A VerySpatial Podcast to link to interesting sites and articles on Geography and related information.
Tuesday, 11 September 2018
2018 Visit Tartu Observatory
In the beginning of September 2018, Evelyn and myself went to visit the Tartu Observatory, located in Töravere, about 20 minutes car drive South-east of Tartu. We had the pleasure to meet with the director of the observatory, Dr Anu Reinart. We used to the meeting to introduce our intention to host a NASA Space Apps Challenge hackathon, jointly with Tartu Observatory, which is in fact the Estonian Space Agency. The idea was greatly welcomed and organising the event proceeded.
Dr Anu Reinart gave us the honour of a short guided introduction to the buildings, departments and exhibition areas of the observatory. It was very interesting to learn about the 3 main pillars of work and research at the facility:
First and foremost, space exploration, astronomy, analysing space imagery from telescopes on Earth and in orbit. Secondly, Earth Observation and Remote Sensing. This is a field of joint interest and increasing collaboration between Tartu Observatory and the Department of Geography. And finally, a smaller fraction also works on innovation and satellite technology.
Tartu Observatory website: https://www.to.ee/
 |
| Tartu Observatory main building. It was renovated and houses the staff and research offices. |
 |
| Various impressions from inside the main building. Baltic Sat Apps is a innovation / incubator program, supported by ESA, on uptake of Sentinal / Copernicus data. |
 |
| Various impressions from inside the main building. History of satellite missions the observatory has participated in. |
 |
| Various impressions from inside the main building. The main satellite payload that was launched where Estonia's first own little satellite - the EstCUBE cubesat - was also lifted into space. |
 |
| Various impressions from inside the main building. Educational and research information on space. |
 |
| Various impressions from inside the main building. A nice open area, after the renovation of the building, the hallways have been redesigned in order to create more open spaces. |
Tuesday, 14 August 2018
Friday, 20 July 2018
Considerations for Data Management Plans in Research
It's grant writing time again. Actually, it's somehow always grant writing time. But even if you are currently a team member in a publicly funded research programme, you might want to consider your data management.
A recent editorial of the Nature journal had it as prime topic: "Everyone needs a data-management plan". They sound dull, but data-management plans are essential. Funders must explain why, and the ones who want to get funded, need to explain how:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-03065-z
Keeping your research data freely available is crucial for open science — and your funding could depend on it. A related companion article describes simple steps, "Data management made simple":
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-03071-1
Robert-Jan Smits, the EU's outgoing director-general for research, science and innovation, recently been appointed the EU's special envoy on open access, tasked with helping make all publicly funded research in Europe freely available by 2020, says that this should consequently also include the data.
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/open-access-scientific-publications-must-become-reality-2020-robert-jan-smits_en.html
Imagine if all the billions we are now putting into these expensive subscription journals could be put into research. There are already a good variety of open access repositories like Zenodo, OpenAire etc.
How to make research data publicly available and how to plan for and address it in your Data Management Plan:
EU FAIR DATA PRINCIPLES
https://eudat.eu/events/webinar/joint-eudat-openaire-webinar-%E2%80%9Chow-to-write-a-data-management-plan%E2%80%9D
1. Making data findable
Several datasets may be included. This should consider the dataset reference and name; origin and expected size of the data generated/collected; data types and formats, metadata, persistent and unique identifiers e.g., DOI
- catalogues, data citing etc
2. Making data openly accessible
This should consider which data will be made openly available and if some datasets remain closed, the reasons for not giving access; where the data and associated metadata, documentation and code are deposited (repository?); how the data can be accessed (are relevant software tools/methods provided?)
- https://www.re3data.org/
- https://www.openaire.eu/opendatapilot-repository
The Registry of Research Data Repositories provides a useful listing of repositories that you can search to find a place of deposit.
3. Making data interoperable
The Research Data Alliance provides a Metadata Standards Directory that can be searched for disciplinespecific
standards and associated tools.
- http://rd-alliance.github.io/metadata-directory/standards/
Which standard or field-specific data and metadata vocabularies and methods will be used
4. Increase data reuse
Consider what data will remain re-usable and for how long, is embargo foreseen; how the data is licensed; data quality assurance procedures
- http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/how-guides/five-steps-decide-what-data-keep
More aspects:
- Allocation of resources and data security
- Note that costs related to open access to research data are eligible as part of the Horizon 2020 grant (if compliant with the Grant Agreement conditions).
Consider the estimated costs for making the project data open access and potential value of long-term data preservation; procedures for data backup and recovery; transfer of sensitive data and secure storage in repositories for long term preservation and curation
DMPOnline is an online tool that can help you building your Data Management Plan. DMPonline is based on the open source DMPRoadmap codebase, which is jointly developed by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and the University of California Curation Center (UC3). The DCC & UC3 work closely with research funders and universities to produce a tool that generates active DMPs and caters for the whole lifecycle of a project, from bid-preparation stage through to completion.
https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk
A recent editorial of the Nature journal had it as prime topic: "Everyone needs a data-management plan". They sound dull, but data-management plans are essential. Funders must explain why, and the ones who want to get funded, need to explain how:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-03065-z
Keeping your research data freely available is crucial for open science — and your funding could depend on it. A related companion article describes simple steps, "Data management made simple":
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-03071-1
Robert-Jan Smits, the EU's outgoing director-general for research, science and innovation, recently been appointed the EU's special envoy on open access, tasked with helping make all publicly funded research in Europe freely available by 2020, says that this should consequently also include the data.
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/open-access-scientific-publications-must-become-reality-2020-robert-jan-smits_en.html
Imagine if all the billions we are now putting into these expensive subscription journals could be put into research. There are already a good variety of open access repositories like Zenodo, OpenAire etc.
How to make research data publicly available and how to plan for and address it in your Data Management Plan:
EU FAIR DATA PRINCIPLES
https://eudat.eu/events/webinar/joint-eudat-openaire-webinar-%E2%80%9Chow-to-write-a-data-management-plan%E2%80%9D
1. Making data findable
Several datasets may be included. This should consider the dataset reference and name; origin and expected size of the data generated/collected; data types and formats, metadata, persistent and unique identifiers e.g., DOI
- catalogues, data citing etc
2. Making data openly accessible
This should consider which data will be made openly available and if some datasets remain closed, the reasons for not giving access; where the data and associated metadata, documentation and code are deposited (repository?); how the data can be accessed (are relevant software tools/methods provided?)
- https://www.re3data.org/
- https://www.openaire.eu/opendatapilot-repository
The Registry of Research Data Repositories provides a useful listing of repositories that you can search to find a place of deposit.
3. Making data interoperable
The Research Data Alliance provides a Metadata Standards Directory that can be searched for disciplinespecific
standards and associated tools.
- http://rd-alliance.github.io/metadata-directory/standards/
Which standard or field-specific data and metadata vocabularies and methods will be used
4. Increase data reuse
Consider what data will remain re-usable and for how long, is embargo foreseen; how the data is licensed; data quality assurance procedures
- http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/how-guides/five-steps-decide-what-data-keep
More aspects:
- Allocation of resources and data security
- Note that costs related to open access to research data are eligible as part of the Horizon 2020 grant (if compliant with the Grant Agreement conditions).
Ethical aspects
Consider whether there are any ethical or legal issues than can have an impact on data sharing. For
example, is informed consent for data sharing and long term preservation included in questionnaires
dealing with personal data?
Last but not least, don't forget to refer to other national/funder/sectorial/departmental procedures for data management that you are using / supposed to be using (if any)
DMPOnline is an online tool that can help you building your Data Management Plan. DMPonline is based on the open source DMPRoadmap codebase, which is jointly developed by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and the University of California Curation Center (UC3). The DCC & UC3 work closely with research funders and universities to produce a tool that generates active DMPs and caters for the whole lifecycle of a project, from bid-preparation stage through to completion.
https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)