Jason Hare's Data Management Blog

 

  By Dennis D. McDonald, Ph.D Hearing about an open data program like the EPA's makes you realize how the many interrelated program components can impact open data program planning in a complex organization. Inventorying the assets of such an organization makes you aware of this very quickly, especially when you step back and evaluate where each data element in the inventory came from, where each data element is going, and how it's going to get there. Each data element in a data asset inventory has its own "lifecycle" that when properly managed provides a framework for tracking and optimizing how data are used from creation through obsolescence. In most cases data are managed in groups. Data groupings can be defined in a myriad of ways. Some approaches reflect how data are physically organized. Other groupings involve development different categories of metadata that have been standardized for use across different data sets. An example of the latter is shown in India’

                    Engage with your citizens and choose the right open data platform by using BaleFire Global CityNet Services OPEN DATA IS CHANGING HOW CITYNEXT CITIES OPERATE For the first time in history, more than 50 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and by 2050 nearly 70 percent of the global population will live in cities. That is an additional 2.7 billion people. Cities are gathering places for higher education, they drive advances in public safety, healthcare, and the modernization of public services – they are the engines of new ideas and businesses that will drive technology adoption and breakthroughs in the future. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BALEFIRE GLOBAL AND MICROSOFT CITYNEXT  Microsoft CityNext is a global people-first initiative to position Microsoft as a trusted advisor and vendor of choice for regions, cities and municipalities. It is an umbrella campaign that brings together the breadth of Microsoft technology tailored to the needs of local and regio

  PI First Manifesto This is a well written manifesto from David Thoumas at OpenDataSoft proclaiming that the ODS strategy will always be API [First]. Below I have slightly edited the content written by David. I want to bring attention to the fine work this company does and why I and my company, BaleFire Global have such high regard for what they do: At  OpenDataSoft , David and team are building and operating a cloud based data management platform. This platform is built 'API first'. This means that any feature that can be accessed from the portal is also available as an API call. The portal is itself the first consumer of the API. Available APIs ( source ) include: Dataset catalog APIs (keyword and faceted search of datasets within the catalog). Dataset APIs (search within dataset records, geo clustering of geo dataset records, numerical aggregations of dataset records).        David Thoumas from OpenDataSoft So, not only can one fetch raw data from the portal through API cal

This article is a reprint of a Durham Press Release. A wealth of public data exists, but accessing it can sometimes be time consuming. Now, thanks to a new local government partnership, “open data” in Durham is just months away from becoming a reality. The City of Durham and Durham County Government are embarking on an open data partnership that will lay the groundwork for businesses, non-profits, journalists, universities, and residents to access and use the wealth of public data available between the two government organizations, while becoming even more transparent to the residents of Durham. A relatively new concept according to technology industry analyst Gartner, Inc., “open data” refers to the idea that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other forms of control. “This is a unique collaborative effort that demonstrates a regional commitment,”

Temple University has discovered a way to eliminate the virus from cells Anti LGBT Protest in San Francisco. Creative Commons License attribution to:  Jenny Mealing The elimination of HIV/AIDS will transform society. It would be a historic moment in medicine and give us a chance to examine ourselves and the history of tolerance toward the disease and those at high risk for contracting HIV. I am part of GenX and graduated from high school in 1985 and from college in 1994. I have lived my entire adult life under the threat of infection from HIV. In the early 1990s I lost several friends to the disease. I had one very harrowing experience in 1990 being tested for HIV and being certain that I was infected. It turns out I was not infected. HIV/AIDS has had such an impact on our culture and how we interact with others. As muc

By Dennis D. McDonald, Ph.D. Introduction Earlier this week in USAID’s Evolving Open Data Culture I applauded that U.S. government agency’s efforts to make its open data useful. In this post a dive a little deeper into the topic of “open data usefulness.” Background I came to my interest in open data by way of a career that has mostly involved technology-related projects and consulting. Major goals have been to make or support products or services that are useful to somebody. For private sector clients this usually involved impacting cost or revenue targets. For government agencies or nonprofits work has focused on objectives that have both quantitative and qualitative aspects. In either case, “usefulness” has meant that the actions taken by people as a result of using the product or service are viewed by them in a beneficial or positive light because it helps them accomplish their objectives. As a result of this perspective I’ve thought it would be shortsighted or incomplete not to