Profiles of Individual Radicalisation in Australia (PIRA): Introducing an Australian Open-Source Extremist

The disclosure of public information is an important issue in government practice. Freely used and accessible data produced by government bodies presumably encourages citizen participation and makes government more transparent and accountable. However, there is limited evidence that citizens would take advantage of open data and on what drives that usagee. This study expands the technology acceptance model to take into account citizens’ perception of open data's potential societal risks as well as potential advantages to society and the advantages of delivering positive social outcomes. The analysis of results from of an online survey conducted in Taiwan in May 2017 confirms that a majority of respondents agree that open crime data has advantages compared with aggregate-level statistical data, while risks involved in the adoption of open crime data is are indeed a concern for a majority of respondents. Both help to explain citizens’ intentions of using to use open crime data. Citizens’ perception of usefulness is positively related to their intention to use open data. However, perceived ease of use of open crime data is not significantly associated with the intention to use open crime data directly. Future research should consider other ways to reach citizens who do not use the internet regularly. A better understanding of citizens’ responses to open data helps government design continued improvements to open data.

If data are the building blocks to generate information needed to acquire knowledge and understanding, then geodata, i.e. data with a geographic component (geodata), are the building blocks for information vital for decision-making at all levels of government, for companies and for citizens. Governments collect geodata and create, develop and use geo-information - also referred to as spatial information - to carry out public tasks as almost all decision-making involves a geographic component, such as a location or demographic information. Geo-information is often considered “special” for technical, economic reasons and legal reasons. Geoinformation is considered special for technical reasons because geo-information is multi-dimensional, voluminous and often dynamic, and can be represented at multiple scales. Because of this complexity, geodata require specialised hardware, software, analysis tools and skills to collect, to process into information and to use geoinformation for analyses. Geo-information is considered special for economic reasons because of the economic aspects, which sets it apart from other products. The fixed production costs to create geo-information are high, especially for large-scale geo-information, such as topographic data, whereas the variable costs of reproduction are low which do not increase with the number of copies produced. In addition, there are substantial sunk costs, which cannot be recovered from the market. As such, geo-information shows characteristics of a public good, i.e. a good that is non-rivalrous and non-excludable. However, to protect the high investments costs, re-use of geo-information may be limited by legal and/or technological means such as intellectual property rights and digital rights management. Thus, by making geo-information excludable, it becomes a club good, i.e. a non-rivalrous but excludable good. By claiming intellectual property rights, such as copyright and/or database rights, and restricting (re-)use through licences and licence fees, geo-information can be commercially exploited and used to recover some of the investment costs. Geo-information is considered special for a number of legal reasons. First, as geo-information has a geographic component, e.g. a reference to a location, geoinformation may contain personal data, sensitive company data, environmentally sensitive data, or data that may pose a threat to the national security. Therefore, the dataset may have to be adapted, aggregated or anonymised before it can be made public. Secondly, geo-information may be subject to intellectual property rights. There may be a copyright on cartographic images or database rights on digital information. Such intellectual property rights may be claimed by third parties involved in the information chain, e.g. a private company supplying aerial photography to the National Mapping Authority. The data holder may also claim intellectual property rights to commercially exploit the dataset and recoup some of the vast investment costs made to produce the dataset. Lastly, there may be other (international) legislation or agreements that may either impede or promote publishing public sector information, whereby in some cases, these policies may contradict each other. It has been recognised that to deal with national, regional and global challenges, it is essential that geo-information collected by one level of government or government organisation be shared between all levels of government via a so-called Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). The main principles governing SDIs are that data are collected once and (re-)used many times; that data should be easy to discover, access and use; and that data are harmonised so that it is possible to combine spatial data from different sources seamlessly. In line with the SDI governing principles, this dissertation considers accessibility of information to include all these aspects. Accessibility concerns not only access to data, i.e. to be able to view the data without being able to alter the contents but also re-use of data, i.e. to be able to download and/or invoke the data and to share data, including to be able to provide feedback and/or to provide input for co-generated information. Accessibility to public sector geo-information is not only essential for effective and efficient government policy-making but is also associated with realising other ambitions. Examples of these ambitions are a more transparent and accountable government, more citizens’ participation in democratic processes, (co-)generation of solutions to societal problems, and to increase economic value due to companies creating innovative products and services with public sector information as a resource. Especially the latter ambition has been the subject of many international publications stressing the enormous potential economic value of re-use of public sector (geo-) information by companies. Previous research indicated that re-users of public sector information in Europe encountered barriers related to technical, organisational, legal and financial aspects, which was deemed to be the main reason why in Europe the number of value added products and services based on public service information were lagging compared to the United States. Especially the latter two barriers (restrictive licence conditions and high licence fees) were often cited to be the main barriers for reusers in Europe. However, in spite of considerable resources invested by governments to establish spatial data infrastructures, to facilitate data portals and to release public sector information as open data, i.e. without legal and financial restrictions, the expected surge of value added products based on public sector information has not quite eventuated to date and the expected benefits still appear to lag expectations. When this research started a decade ago, the debate around accessibility of public sector information focussed on access policies. Access policies ranged from open access (data available with a minimum of legal restrictions and for no more than marginal dissemination costs) to full cost recovery, whereby all costs incurred in collection, creation, processing, maintenance and dissemination costs to be recovered from the re-users. Most of the public sector bodies in the European Union adhered to a cost recovery policy for allowing re-use of public sector information. In 2003, the European Commission adopted two directives to ensure better accessibility of public sector information Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC, the so-called Access Directive, provided citizens the right of access to environmental information. Citizens should be able to access documents related to the environment via a register, preferably in an electronic form and if a copy of a document was requested, the charges must not exceed marginal dissemination costs. Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the re-use of public sector information, the co-called PSI Directive, intended to create conditions for a level playing field for all re-users of public sector information. However, the PSI Directive of 2003 left room for public sector organisations to maintain a cost recovery regime with restrictive licence conditions. In spite of these directives, access policies for geographic data were slow to change in most European nations. At the end of the last decade, accessibility of public sector information received two major impulses. The first major impulse was the implementation of Directive 2007/2/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE), the cocalled INSPIRE Directive, established a framework of standardisation rules for the data and publishing via web services, which significantly contributed to the accessibility of public sector geo-information. The second major impulse was the development of open data policies following the Digital Agenda for Europe adopted in 2010 and the USA Open Government Directive of 2009 and the Digital Agenda for Europe of 2010. These two impulses were the main drivers in Europe to start a careful move from cost recovery policies to open access or open data policies and for more public sector information to be made available as open data. Thus, of the four barriers to re-use of public sector information data cited in Chapter 1 (legal, financial, technical and organisational barriers), two barriers should have been lifted to a large degree due to open data. This shift to open data provided an excellent opportunity to test the hypothesis that the main barriers for re-users of public sector information were indeed restrictive licences and high fees as suggested by earlier research. Chapter 2 showed that by 2008, most European Union Member States had transposed and implemented the 2003/98/EC PSI Directive, however, in various ways and with considerable delay. By 2008, the effects of the PSI Directive were only slowly starting to emerge. A number of Member States reviewed their access policies and more public sector information became available for re-use. Some Member States made the information available free-of-charge or reduced their fees significantly. In many cases, where re-use fees were reduced the number of regular re-users increased significantly and total revenue even increased in spite of lower fees. Although the 2007/2/EC INSPIRE Directive paved the way for technical interoperability by providing guidelines for web services and catalogues, neither the INSPIRE Directive nor the PSI Directive had tackled the issue of legal interoperability. Chapter 2 also demonstrated that a major barrier to creating a level playing field for the private sector was the fact that some public sector bodies acted as value added resellers by developing and selling products and services based on their own data. Thus, the level playing field envisioned by the European Commission had not been realised. Chapter 3 researched the aspect of harmonised licences as a first step towards legal interoperability. Earlier research had indicated that one of the biggest barriers for re-users were complex, intransparent and inconsistent licence conditions, especially for re-users wanting to combine data from multiple sources. A survey of licences used by public sector data providers in the Netherlands demonstrated that although there were differences in length and language, there were also many similarities. The conclusion was that the introduction of a licence suite inspired by the Creative Commons concept would be a step towards increased transparency and consistency of geo-information license agreements. This chapter introduced a conceptual model for such a geo-information licence suite, the so-called Geo Shared licences. Both Creative Commons and Geo Shared licence suites enable harmonisation of licence conditions and promote transparency and legal interoperability, especially when re-users combine data from different sources. The Geo Shared licence suite became a serious option for inclusion into the draft version of the INSPIRE Directive as an annex. Unfortunately, the concept of one licence suite for the entire European Union came too early in 2006. The Geo Shared licences were further developed and implemented into the Dutch National Geo Register. In 2009, the European Commission recognised that PSI was the single largest source of information in Europe and the potential for re-use of PSI needed to be highlighted in the digital age. As part of a review of the 2003/98/EC PSI Directive, the European Commission carried out a round of consultations with stakeholders to seek their views on specific issues to be addressed in the future in 2010. In addition, the Commission commissioned a number of studies. These studies included a review of studies on public sector information re-use and related market studies, an assessment of the different models of supply and charging for public sector information and a study on public sector re-user in the cultural sector. The first study, carried out by Graham Vickery in 2011, showed that the overall economic gain from opening up public sector information as a resource for new products and services could be in the order of €40 billion per annum in the European Union. Both the Vickery Report and the second study, the so-called POPSIS Study, showed that for most public sector data providers their revenues from licence fees were relatively low in comparison to their total budget. After the evaluation, Directive 2013/37/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 amending Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information was adopted and came into force on 17 July 2013. Chapter 4 described the main changes of the 2013/37/EU Amended PSI Directive, including the recommendation to employ open data licences. This chapter continued with a review of the various open data licences in use in Europe and analysed their interoperability. Although adoption of open data licences for public sector information should have addressed legal interoperability barriers for re-users, in practice, the different types of open data licences might not be so interoperable after all. Effectively, only a public domain declaration, such as a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) declaration, is suitable for open data re-users requiring with cross-border data sets and that such a public domain declaration is published in a prominent place to remove uncertainty for re-users. Without a public domain declaration, re-use of open data is still impeded as re-users are loathe to invest time into the development of value added products or services when it is uncertain if and which restrictions may be applicable and what the impact may be on their product or service. This dissertation also researched the financial and economic aspects of public sector information accessibility. Chapters 1 and 2 indicated that a cost recovery regime for dissemination of public sector information provided a financial barrier for private sector re-users because the fees charged were perceived to be too high. However, in 2008, there were still many advocates for maintaining a cost recovery regime. Especially public sector bodies that are not funded by the national Treasury, the socalled self-funding agencies, needed revenue from data sales to cover a substantial part of their operational costs. A sustainable source of revenue was viewed as essential to maintain the data at an adequate level, and to ensure actuality and continuity. Chapter 5 explored the potential business models and pricing mechanisms for public sector INSPIRE web services. Although, depending on the type of web service, and type of re-user, there might have been an argument for employing a subscription model as a pricing mechanism, business models based on generating revenue from public sector information would not be viable in the long run and were not in the spirit of the INSPIRE Directive. This research concluded that public sector information web services employing different pricing regimes were counterproductive to achieving financial interoperability. In Chapter 6, business models for public sector data providers were revisited, this time from an open data perspective. Government agencies, including self-funding government agencies are under increasing pressure to implement open data policies. This chapter analysed the business models of self-funding agencies either already providing open data or under pressure to provide (some) open data in the near future. The analysis showed which adaptions might be necessary to ensure the long-term availability of high quality open data and the long-term financial sustainability of self-funding agencies. The case studies confirmed that providing (raw) open data does not necessarily lead to losses in revenue in the long term as long as the organisation has enough flexibility to adapt its role in the information value chain, especially when revenue from licence fees represents only a relative small part of their total budget. The case studies indicated that switching to open data has resulted in internal efficiency gains. In practice, it is difficult to isolate and quantify the internal efficiency gains that are solely attributable to open data as the researched organisations continuously implement efficiency measures. However, the reported decreases in internal and external transaction costs due to open data are in line with the case study carried out in Chapter 7. Open data also provided an excellent opportunity to assess the effects of open data ex ante as baseline measurements could be carried out. To develop both quantitative and qualitative indicators to assess the success of a policy change is a challenge for open data initiatives. In Chapter 7, a model to assess the effects on the organisation of an open data provider was developed. Liander, a private energy network administrator mandated with a public task, planned to publish some of their datasets as open data in the autumn of 2013. This offered an excellent opportunity to apply the developed assessment model to provide an insight into internal, external, and relational effects on Liander. A benchmark was carried out prior to release of open data and a follow-up measurement one year later. The benchmark provided an insight into the then work processes and into the preparations required to implement open data. The follow-up monitor indicated that Liander open data are used by a wide range of users and have had a positive effect on the development of apps to aid energy savings. However, it remains a challenge to quantify the societal effects of such apps. The follow-up monitor also indicated that regular re-users of Liander data used the open data to improve existing applications and work processes rather than to create new products. The case study demonstrated that private energy companies could successfully release open data. The case study also showed that Liander served as a best-practice case for open data and had a flywheel effect on companies within the same sector. By 2015, nearly all energy network administrators had published similar open data. The monitoring model developed in this project was assessed to be suitable to monitor the open data effects on the organisation of the data provider. The assessment model developed and tested in Chapter 7 proved to be suitable to monitor the effects of open data on organisational level. However, to provide a more complete picture of the effects of open data and to assess if there are other barriers for re-users, a more holistic approach was required to assess the maturity of open data. Therefore, a holistic open data assessment framework addressing the supplier side, the governance side, and the user side of the open data was developed and applied to the Dutch open data infrastructure in Chapter 8. This Holistic Open Data Maturity Assessment Framework was used to evaluate the State of the Open Data Nation in the Netherlands and to provide valuable information on (potential) bottlenecks. The framework showed that geographic data scored significantly better than other types of government data. The standardisation and implementation rules laid down by INSPIRE Directive framework appear to have been a catalyst for moving geographic data to a higher level of maturity. The maturity assessment framework provided Dutch policy makers with useful inputs for further development of the open data ecosystem and development of well-founded strategies that will ensure the full potential of open data will be reached. Since the publication of the State of the Open Data Nation in 2014, a number of the recommendations have already been implemented. This dissertation demonstrated that many aspects that should facilitate accessibility, such as standardised metadata, have already been addressed for geodata. This research also showed that for other types of data, there is still a long way to go. There is a growing demand for other types of data, such as financial data and healthcare data. Public sector organisations holding such types of data need hands-on guidelines to enable publication of their datasets, preferably as open data. However, data published as open data are forever and cannot be recalled. Therefore, the decision to publish public sector data as open data is complex: datasets are often of a heterogeneous nature and may contain microdata (data that quantify observations or facts, such as data collected during surveys) Although microdata may not necessarily contain personal data, the datasets will probably have to be processed before publication to address confidentiality and data quality issues. In addition, there is a tension between open data and protection of personal data. The big question remains to which level the data need to be aggregated and/or anonymised to ensure protection of personal data now and in the future, and at the same time keeping sufficient significance to be re-usable. Another issue that needs further research is data-ownership of sensor data and co-created data. Increasingly, sensor data generated by e.g. smart phones, smart energy meters and traffic sensors are collected by the public sector and the private sector and become part of a big data ecosystem. In addition, public sector organisations cooperate with other public sector organisations and the private sector to create information from their data, so-called co-created information. Citizens also collect data or complement information on a voluntary basis, e.g. bird counts data. Co-created information will become more commonplace in the coming decades, as will the contribution of sensor data to a big data ecosystem. However, the aspect of who owns the data in which part of the information value chain has not been researched. Uncertainty related to third party rights will pose a barrier to publishing open data. Therefore, the aspect of data-ownership for sensor data and for co-created data should be further researched.

From access to re-use: a user’s perspective on public sector information availability

OPEN ACCESSMarch 15, 2013Online Adolescent Suicide Risk Assessment Virginia Sue Biddle, MSN, PhD Virginia Sue Biddle, MSN, PhD Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.9352 SectionsAbout ToolsDownload Citations ShareFacebookTwitterEmail AbstractAbstractThis web-based suicide risk assessment training module is geared towards primary care providers and other clinicians who want to identify youth at risk for suicide in their practices. The program focuses on the assessment of background and subjective risk factors using the well-known Home, Education, Activities, Drug use and abuse, Sexual behavior, and Suicidality (HEADSS) interview instrument for psychosocial risk assessment. It is designed for providers who need basic knowledge concerning suicide risk assessment. Review questions that users must answer are displayed periodically throughout the module. These questions reinforce the content and help users assess their learning.A pilot study was conducted to test the effectiveness of the program in increasing the knowledge of 26 graduate nurse practitioner and nurse midwife students in assessing adolescents for suicide risk. A pre-and posttest design and statistical analysis using a paired t-test (to test the difference between mean scores for the pretest and posttest) were employed to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Pre- and posttest questions from videotaped vignettes were grouped into the following subscales: setting the stage, psychosocial assessment, depression assessment, triage, recognition, and intervention. Using an alpha level of .05, the paired t-tests for each subscale, as well as all subscales combined, were statistically significant. The results indicated that student knowledge regarding assessing adolescents for suicide risk increased at a statistically significant level after participating in the training.The online suicide risk assessment training has been completed by 201 pediatric nurse practitioners or other advanced practice nurses via the Web site of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. They rated the program 4.5 or higher on a 5-point Likert scale for meeting each educational objective and their own expectations, as well as for appropriateness of content, and their ability to integrate concepts learned into clinical practice. All scores improved from the pretest to the posttest. Of the 29 participants who were willing to be surveyed at a later date, all indicated that they made changes to their clinical practice after the training. Eighty-five percent reported that they made at least four changes and 15% reported that they made at least one change.The significance of the program is that it provides students and clinicians with a way to learn basic suicide risk assessment in an online format, enables them to apply knowledge gained to clinical scenarios via videotaped vignettes, and allows them to assess their knowledge before and after the training. Educational Objectives By the end of this module, learners will be able to: Explain the role of clinicians in the prevention of suicide.State the prevalence of youth suicide.Explain why youth suicide occurs.Set the stage for an adolescent interview.Assess adolescents for suicide risk by inquiring about background risk factors (using the Home, Education, Activities, Drug use and abuse, Sexual behavior, and Suicidality interview) and subjective risk factors.Refer adolescents at risk for suicide for the appropriate level of care.Identify possible treatments and measures of success.Assess family needs, strengths, resource, and supports. Sign up for the latest publications from MedEdPORTAL Add your email below FILES INCLUDEDReferencesRelatedDetails FILES INCLUDED Included in this publication: Instructor's Guide.doc PandPTestUpdate.doc scenario1.jpg scenario2.jpg ASRA Content Folder Video Players Folder To view all publication components, extract (i.e., unzip) them from the downloaded .zip file. Download editor’s noteThis publication may contain technology or a display format that is no longer in use. Copyright & Permissions© 2013 Biddle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.KeywordsYouthSuicideRiskHEADSS Disclosures None to report. Funding/Support None to report. Loading ...

Featured Collection Introduction: Open Water Data Initiative

BackgroundStroke in younger women is rare, however, pregnant women have a significantly increased risk around delivery and in early postpartum. Despite known risk factors, such as high blood pressure, the...

In the aftermath of several wars within the last century, seminal research forewarned against the rising tide of radicalization and violent extremism (VE) among military veterans. Building on the pioneering work, the current study explores risk and protective factors related to military veteran extremism. Utilizing the retrospective thick description approach, the study utilized both primary (e.g., interviews) and open-source (e.g., court transcripts) data to examine and contextualize the VE trajectory across the military lifecycle (premilitary, military, postmilitary), as informed by people from various social networks (e.g., family, civilian/premilitary). The select sample comprised 30 VE veterans and 30 VE civilians who committed/planned a VE act between 2003 and 2019, and a comparison group of 10 non-VE veterans (i.e., veterans who resisted radicalization and VE). Directed content analyses results yielded a conceptual model reflecting three general risk factors (Transmission of Prejudice, Trauma and Adversity, and Transition) common among civilian and veterans alike. In addition, behavioral and cognitive strategies related to three general protective strategies (Resistance against Transmission of Prejudice, Addressing Trauma and Overcoming Adversity, Navigating Transitions) were found to steer veterans away from radicalization and VE across the military lifecycle. Implications for future research are discussed.

Increased interest in open government data initiatives stems from long debates about state modernization. This study investigates the challenges imposed on public administration regarding data publishing from an open data perspective to propose a maturity diagnosis model for open data portals, aiming at the provision of in-depth, consistent, efficient, and transparent government information. The research comprised three phases. Firstly, we conducted a pre-test on open data portals from the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Ireland, motivated by studies on the history of the open data movement as well as the current panorama of initiatives, evolution stages and challenges, which defined the fundamental analytical dimensions for the proposed maturity model. Secondly, we developed a maturity diagnosis model for open government data portals. Finally, the model was applied and validated on the pre-tested portals. Results from the diagnosis instrument can guide public administration in realizing a more efficient and responsible data governance, benefiting the government, the open data movement and civil society.

PurposeThis study aimed to develop a taxonomy of research areas in open government data (OGD) through a bibliometric mapping tool and a qualitative analysis software.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors extracted metadata of 442 documents from a bibliographic database. The authors used a bibliometric mapping tool for familiarization with the literature. After that, the authors used qualitative analysis software to develop taxonomy.FindingsThis paper developed taxonomy of OGD with three research areas: implementation and management, architecture, users and utilization. These research areas are further analyzed into seven topics and twenty-eight subtopics. The present study extends Charalabidis et al. (2016) taxonomy by adding two research topics, namely the adoption factors and barriers of OGD implementations and OGD ecosystems. Also, the authors include artificial intelligence in the taxonomy as an emerging research interest in the literature. The authors suggest four directions for future research: indigenous knowledge in open data, open data at local governments, development of OGD-specific theories and user studies in certain research themes.Practical implicationsEarly career researchers and doctoral students can use the taxonomy to familiarize themselves with the literature. Also, established researchers can use the proposed taxonomy to inform future research. Taxonomy-building procedures in this study are applicable to other fields.Originality/valueThis study developed a novel taxonomy of research areas in OGD. Taxonomy building is significant because there is insufficient taxonomy of research areas in this discipline. Also, conceptual knowledge through taxonomy creation is a basis for theorizing and theory-building for future studies.

Cities in the United States are increasingly embracing open data as a means of advancing a variety of interests. Promoting transparency, facilitating public engagement, proactively managing records requests, and fostering innovation in the public and private sectors are among the commonly cited motivations for this phenomenon. While there is an extensive literature on the benefits and challenges of open government data, there are far fewer empirical studies that explore and document how these initiatives are unfolding at the local government scale. This article asks what kinds of data are being made open in U.S. cities and to what extent do open data policies and related regulatory actions matter in shaping the content and structure of public-facing repositories. The authors conclude that population size and regulatory actions exert a positive influence on the amount and variety of datasets provided through municipal open data portals. Implications for the design and governance of open government data initiatives at the local level are also discussed.

The availability of data supporting scientific publications is becoming more and more critical to the ecological community. Some ESA journals already require that the primary data supporting an accepted paper be made available, and this may eventually be true for all of them. This change parallels a movement in science generally encouraging – and increasingly insisting – that data be publicly accessible. The move toward open data began in a few disciplines where archiving data became customary, and these fields were joined by NASA, which instituted early policies supporting the free and open exchange of scientific data. While scientists often either accept the notion of open data, or resist it personally for a variety of reasons, the motivation for scientists to provide data in support of their publications is not unidimensional. For ecologists, the desire to test theory against larger data compilations is a powerful motivating factor, as each ecologist's individual studies at a particular site may be representative of a more general principle, or may reflect idiosyncratic site conditions. Ecologists are more and more interested in using larger datasets to complement field studies, or even depending on them as their primary research tool. Transparency is also critical, adding credibility to controversial findings because skeptical or supportive colleagues can inspect the data and draw their own conclusions. This is closely linked to the notion of replication. Many ecological studies are difficult or even impossible to replicate when, for example, the result reflects a particular set of environmental conditions, a sequence of weather events, or a disturbance that is not within the researcher's control. In these cases, the goal of replication may be accomplished by another ecologist repeating the analysis, perhaps using a different theoretical framework, but the same data. In Ecological Applications, papers are often used to support management or policy decisions, and this is not uncommon in the other ESA journals, particularly Frontiers. In such cases, the fact that the data underlying a paper are available for scrutiny can greatly strengthen the credibility of the study. In the most contentious decisions, availability of data can be critical, and unavailable or poorly documented data can have serious consequences. Here, careful archiving and documenting of data and metadata can help prevent serious difficulties and legal complications. There are various challenges associated with open ecological data, some unique to our discipline and others that are common across many fields. Data on endangered species are often shielded to some degree by law, and common sense, and journal editors must accommodate this reasonable restriction. Many ecologists make use of data – collected by management agencies – that are partly protected for privacy and commercial concerns, such as fisheries landings or forest data on private land. Usually, this information can be shared after some degree of processing, or after the original request for raw data is properly modified so as to ensure that confidentiality isn't compromised. In the international realm, some nations share environmental data for research but do not allow redistribution of the raw data, and again, in such cases, additional documentation may be required to allow future replication. Documentation and metadata are crucial. Without adequate description, archived data are just so many bits, and with large, complex datasets, researchers are increasingly taking advantage of technology and informatics to document these datasets. While ecologists use a wide enough range of data, from genomics to geophysics, such that no single standard of documentation applies, many groups are working to define and refine documentation and metadata standards, and applying common sense to questions regarding what a future researcher might need goes a long way. When the analytics are applied to the data, or when the raw data are transformed into an analyzed product, it is as important to archive and document those analytics, and the Society's journals also encourage or require this. Open data is an exciting development for ecology. It opens a number of doors for us as researchers, allowing studies across huge areas, creating more context for field studies, and building credibility with the broader public and with each other. It does add an extra set of requirements, which creates another task for already busy researchers, but at the same time it creates opportunity. Key requirements for open data include appropriate repositories, clear standards, and financial support for the additional effort, and these requirements are increasingly being met. Any author who has concerns about depositing data and analytics in support of an ESA journal paper should contact the relevant Editor-in-Chief. David Schimel Editor-in-Chief Ecological Applications Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

Data Governance for open government data is a significant process which defines the roles and responsibilities of the person in charge of data management in a government agency to gain the open government data and to use it correctly, ensure the security of personal data including defining the standardization of data, consistency and effectively link and use open data between the agencies. Many countries have already considered data governance and dissemination of open government data to the citizen imperative. Although Thailand has prescribed a draft of public information act, data governance for government data is still unclear. Hence, this research proposes a conceptual legal framework for open government data in data governance aspects. The results of preliminary studies from the previous research are used in this paper including gap analysis and compare results between Public Information Act of the United States of America, the Republic of Korea and the current draft of Public Information Act of Thailand. The coverage issues are on the organizational structure, organizational roles, and responsibilities of Public Information Committee. The proposed amendments is applied in the current draft of the Public Information act for Thailand. This includes defining the standardization and security on open data by taking the existing data governance framework as a guideline for determining the procedures and compliance according to the data governance framework for Thailand.

While ‘e-Oman’ is a repository of Open Data, its significance in terms of being a potent source for Big Data deserves attention. This paper seeks to underscore how important is the integration of Big and Open Data in e-Oman – the e-government portal of Oman. Drawing evidence from four case studies based on the Higher Education Admissions Center (HEAC) ‘e-Portal’ – an online portal meant for the payment of electricity bills, traffic fines and visa applications – the paper lends support to the implementation of integration of Big and Open Data which, for a number of purposes, could be better harnessed. Thus, while the paper identifies the opportunities entailed in achieving the integration of Big and Open Data in the context of the case studies chosen for the study, there are concomitant challenges impacting this integration that need to be addressed. Specifically, e-Oman needs to be updated with Open Data and the government needs to take steps to build and maintain a robust physical, human and information infrastructure for harnessing the potential of integrating Open and Big Data in the public sector. The paper concludes with directions for future research.

Introduction: A Symposium on Peace, Islam, and Counter-Narratives

ObjectivesUsing the National Child Mortality Database, this work aims to investigate background characteristics and risk factors in the sleeping environment associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and compare the...