Preservation Decisions Research Articles

How Conservation Can Unveil the Story of a Manuscript. An Arabic Qurʾan Commentary from the Yemen

Ancient items have a long and often adventurous story to tell, which forms a significant part of their historical value. Knowing how to make an artefact tell this narrative is as much a part of a conservator’s job as taking care of its physical form. Manuscript Or. 78a from the Library of Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei e Corsiniana in Rome is an emblematic case. This uncatalogued and damaged specimen disclosed its rarity and value during the conservation intervention. Its story begins in 14th-century Rasulid Yemen, but presents a Mamluk-style miniature, traces of different sewings and several possession notes, unveiling its journey to join Prince Leone Caetani’s collection between 1888–1911. This article retraces the steps that brought it from its original home to its present location and then to the conservator’s bench, and explains the conservation and preservation decisions taken in light of the item’s unique vicissitudes.

Admit or Reject? Preserve or Drop?

Server failures on the cloud introduce acute operational dilemmas as now the cloud management entity needs to handle existing task preservations in addition to new task admissions. These admission and preservation decisions have significant impact on the cloud performance and operational cost, as they impact future system decisions. Should a cloud manager prefer to use resources for new task admissions and increase the risk of dropping an already admitted task in the future? Or should he/she prefer to maintain resources for potential future task preservations at the expense of new task admissions? These dilemmas are even more critical in Distributed Cloud Computing (DCC) due to the small scale of the micro Cloud Computing Center (mCCC). In this paper we will address these questions through the use of Markov Decision Process (MDP) analysis. We will show that even though the problem appears to be rather complicated (as the two decision rules are coupled), our analysis reveals that it can be significantly simplified (as one of the rules is of a trivial form). These results enables us to compose a holistic framework for cloud computing task management.

Evaluation of Non-Reference Quality Assessment Algorithms to Curate Born-Digital Video Collections

As the production, the variety, and the consumption of born-digital video grows, so does the demand for acquiring, curating and preserving large-scale digital video collections. A multidisciplinary team of curators, computer scientists and video engineers we explore the use of Non-Reference Image and Video Quality Algorithms (I/VQA), specifically of BRISQUE in this paper, to automatically derive ranges of video quality. An important characteristic of these algorithms is that they are modeled to human perception. We run the algorithms in a High Performance Computing (HPC) environment to obtain results for many videos at the same time, accelerating time to results and precision in computing per-frame and per-video quality assessment scores. Results, which were evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively, suggest that BRISQUE identifies the distortions in which it was trained, and performs well in videos that have natural scenes and do not have drastic scene changes. While we found that this particular model is not apt for evaluating collections with varied content, the results suggest that research into other I/VQA models is promising, and that their implementation at large scale can narrow the problem of curating very digital video collections and lead to preservation and access decisions based on informed priorities.

Social Media in Archives and Libraries: A Snapshot of Planning, Evaluation, and Preservation Decisions

Abstract This paper reports the findings from research which explored decision making and practices underpinning the implementation or non-adoption of social media in archives and libraries worldwide. Archives and libraries continue to face demands, whether from senior management, funding agencies, the government, or taxpayers to demonstrate accountability. Evaluation provides evidence to meet such demands and to gain, validate, or sustain support for programs and activities. Being able to show success is a key step for archives and libraries that need to rationalize or win support for the continuance of their social media efforts. Related to this are questions about whether or not there should be a preservation strategy for the content of social media as well as a plan for sustainability of infrastructure to support these activities. Our survey findings suggest that archives and libraries know that they are not necessarily choosing the evaluation methods that can best demonstrate the achievement of their intentions, and furthermore that they lack strategies and policies for preservation and sustainability.

Rational and behavioural predictors of pre-retirement cash-outs

Given the worldwide concern that individuals are not saving sufficiently for retirement, many governments are taking action to try and rectify this tendency. A key focus area is implementing policies to dissuade individuals from accessing accumulated retirement funds when changing jobs. While traditional economic theories assume that individuals act rationally and make optimal decisions without outside intervention, current policy interventions support behavioural theories of decision-making where sub-optimal choices occur due to limitations in human decision-making. Therefore, interventions are based on the assumption that individuals act irrationally. Despite these interventions, many individuals still access their funds suggesting that current interventions may not be sufficiently aligned with the factors influencing decision making in this environment.The main research objective of this study was to test empirically both rational and behavioural factors that could potentially influence retirement preservation decisions, to determine which factors were the best predictors of whether an individual preserved funds when changing jobs. A research instrument was designed using a combination of existing psychometric measures and customised questions to form an analytical survey. This was used to test the factors that predicted the preservation decisions of a sample of 256 academic and non-academic personnel at a tertiary education institution in South Africa.The study found that behavioural factors play an important role in predicting preservation decisions. In particular, behavioural factors related to bounded rationality, due to the computational complexity of the decision-making environment, emerged as important explanatory variables, indicating that interventions such as decision support and guidance may assist individuals in making optimal decisions.

Fertility Preservation Decision Aid Increases Knowledge and Decreases Decision Conflict

Advances in reproductive technology offer many options for fertility preservation (FP) for women with a new cancer diagnosis. However, this decision is often made quickly and under stressful conditions due to the urgency of initiating treatment. The complexity of FP options provided at an initial consult can be overwhelming. Our previous work has demonstrated patients present with a lack of knowledge of FP options at initial visit and that their post-visit information retention was poor.1 Patients also struggled with decisional conflict and regret months after their final decision.

The role of demographics and diagnosis on fertility preservation decision making among female cancer patients of reproductive age

The role of demographics and diagnosis on fertility preservation decision making among female cancer patients of reproductive age

A Domain-driven Approach to Digital Curation and Preservation of 3D Architectural Data: Stakeholder Identification and Alignment in the DURAARK Project

DURAARK is an interdisciplinary EU FP7 project which researches and develops processes and methods for the digital preservation of architectural three dimensional data. Challenges addressed within the project relate to different aspects of the curation and preservation process, including semantic and geometric enrichment, consistent naming schemas and ontologies, as well as pre-ingest tasks in OAIS compliant digital preservation workflows. In a first step, the project identified stakeholders for methods and processes. Since the project strives for a holistic digital preservation approach, different models were taken into account to align the identified stakeholders with the overall curation and preservation workflow. This alignment leads to a better understanding of stakeholder involvement in the process and of the implications this involvement has on preservation decisions. It furthermore outlines the basis for future work in this area.

The rationality of retirement preservation decisions: A conceptual model

Low retirement savings rates, coupled with a lack of preservation of retirement funds when individuals move jobs, could have adverse repercussions on a person’s ability to retire with sufficient funds. The traditional response to low preservation levels has been to impose taxes on cash withdrawals and in some cases to mandate preservation. However, without a complete understanding of the factors that drive low levels of preservation, these policy interventions might do more harm than good. This study carries out a critical, interdisciplinary literature review to construct a conceptual model of the factors which potentially lead to low preservation levels and outlines proposed interventions. The resultant model highlights the distinct differences in the drivers of rational and irrational behaviour and therefore, the distinctly different interventions required. Little is known about the rationality or otherwise of the decision making process of individuals in the retirement preservation context, however current interventions only assist if individuals display bounded willpower. It is essential that a better understanding of the decision making process is obtained to determine whether existing solutions address the problem adequately.

Joint location, inventory, and preservation decisions for non-instantaneous deterioration items under delay in payments

This study models a joint location, inventory and preservation decision-making problem for non-instantaneous deteriorating items under delay in payments. An outside supplier provides a credit period to the wholesaler which has a distribution system with distribution centres (DCs). The non-instantaneous deteriorating means no deterioration occurs in the earlier stage, which is very useful for items such as fresh food and fruits. This paper also considers that the deteriorating rate will decrease and the reservation cost will increase as the preservation effort increases. Therefore, how much preservation effort should be made is a crucial decision. The objective of this paper is to determine the optimal locations and number of DCs, the optimal replenishment cycle time at DCs, and the optimal preservation effort simultaneously such that the total network profit is maximised. The problem is formulated as piecewise nonlinear functions and has three different cases. Algorithms based on piecewise nonlinear optimisation are provided to solve the joint location and inventory problem for all cases. Computational analysis illustrates the solution procedures and the impacts of the related parameters on decisions and profits. The results of this study can serve as references for business managers or administrators.

Patients’ Perception of Patient–Provider Communication in Fertility Preservation Decision Making Among Young Women With Cancer

Fertility preservation (FP) for patients with cancer is an emerging field. With the advancement of technology, patients may face a complex decision-making process about whether to preserve fertility. The purpose of this article is to explore how young women with cancer perceive patient–provider communication in FP decision making. In this study, 25 women between the ages of 18 and 39 were interviewed retrospectively. They were interviewed one time to learn about their decision-making process related to FP. Results of this analysis indicate that patients seek support and involvement from providers throughout the process of decision making. They prefer providers to be directive when referring to the fertility clinic. Later in the process, they expect a supportive style of communication from providers. Patient-accessible language, supportive and reassuring styles of communication, and an existing relationship with providers may enhance well-being of the patients.

Revising Established Tenets in Paper Conservation

This paper discusses two of the established tenets in paper conservation that permeate the existing relevant literature and define the conservation practice, in the light of recent findings.The idea that washing and deacidification can only be beneficial and that effects on ink and colours excluded, there are no negative side effects to paper properties, has been openly expressed and supported in many publications. New research and scattered uncommented results in the relevant literature though indicate that aqueous treatments may have a detrimental effect on the mechanical properties of paper, especially tensile strength and folding endurance. It is suggested that according to the principle of minimum intervention, washing and deacidification should be applied to acidic paper, and then followed by consolidation.Another tenet with important implications on conservation and preservation decision making concerns the rate of ageing. Research based exclusively on accelerated ageing tests has shown that ageing is at first a linear process which decelerates after a certain point. Nevertheless, the applicability of this scheme to the natural process of paper ageing has been argued, and another model based on accelerated ageing tests done in closed environments has been proposed which is believed to simulate natural ageing better than the previous one. In the early stages of ageing, both models give similar results, but overall, the linear model dramatically overestimates the useful life of paper. The newer model indicates that natural paper ageing in libraries and archives can be an accelerating process and puts to question the foundations of conservation research and preservation practice.

What to do now? How women with breast cancer make fertility preservation decisions

ObjectivesThere has been increased attention paid to cancer-related infertility and fertility preservation. However, how cancer patients decide whether or not to pursue fertility preservation has not been fully examined.MethodsThe data...

Scalable preservation decisions: A controlled case study

This article reports on a systematic, controlled case study where a preservation plan is created for a large collection of audio material using the planning tool Plato 3, and takes this study as a starting point to assess the state of art in scaling up decision making processes in preservation planning. We report on the effort required for specific preservation planning activities such as the evaluation of potential preservation actions and the specification of evaluation criteria. We compare this with a number of improvements to the planning process and tool that are developed as part of the SCAPE project, analyze the status of improvements and the limits of automation, and outline future steps towards scalable preservation decisions.

Option value and the price of teardown properties

The introduction of uncertainty over the future price of structural capital into a model of teardowns implies a value to delaying the demolition vs. preservation decision, and that the market price of a redeveloped property may increase with its quantity of structural capital. Using data from an active teardown market, we test the model’s prediction that hedonic price function coefficients depend on the expected time between sale and demolition. As predicted, structural variables have significant effects on the sales prices of both teardown and non-teardown properties, and the effects are generally much larger the lower the estimated teardown probability.

Short‐line railroad management system for bridge prioritization

PurposeLimited funding to maintain and preserve short‐line railroad (SLRR) bridge infrastructure requires that important priority decisions be made on an annual basis. The compartmentalized, dispersed, and diverse nature of many SLRR owners and operators is such that there is a need for a coordinated and centralized effort to evaluate the state‐wide system as a whole, to ensure the most effective overall resource allocation and also identify assets that either outperform predictions or consume disproportionate levels of resources for maintenance and operation, allowing for review of design and construction practices. The purpose of this paper is to examine the state of the art for railroad bridge population management and resource allocation decisions and to develop a state‐wide SLRR bridge prioritization methodology, to be used as a tool by a state agency to assist in allocating limited public funding for bridge maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement activities.Design/methodology/approachA literature review examining the state of the art of railroad bridge population management and resource allocation decisions was conducted, which provided the foundation for the development of a bridge prioritization algorithm. A state‐wide survey was conducted to develop a bridge database. A detailed evaluation of a statistically significant sample of bridges was conducted, to determine the structural and maintenance needs and preservation status of sub‐populations. The research team developed methodologies, applicable to the entire population, to develop a ranking of bridge preservation candidates.FindingsA risk‐based prioritization algorithm is proposed to assign a relative risk score to each bridge in the population. The algorithm provides a management tool for making more effective maintenance and preservation decisions. Additionally, the bridge database allows managers to examine sub‐populations according to structural parameters to evaluate performance.Originality/valueThe revisable, modular framework of the prioritization algorithm provides a simple, effective and versatile tool for asset management and evaluation. The present proposal of this new prioritization methodology for SLRR bridges is a valuable tool for agencies faced with making rational decisions with limited information. Such a methodology does not currently exist in the literature and is of significant interest to short‐line owners/operators and state transportation agencies.

Near Infrared Reflectance Imaging Spectroscopy to Map Paint Binders In Situ on Illuminated Manuscripts

In situ analysis: Near infrared imaging spectroscopy (1000–2500 nm) is used to map the use of a fat-containing paint binder, likely egg yolk, in situ on a work of art for the first time. The identification of the use of egg tempera on a 15th century illuminated manuscript leaf (Praying Prophet by Lorenzo Monaco) sheds light on the relationship between painters and illuminators and can inform preservation decisions.

Analysis of public library users' digital preservation practices

This research investigated preservation practices of personal digital information by public library users. This qualitative study used semistructured interviews and two visual representation techniques, information source horizons and matrices, for data collection. The constant comparison method and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. A model emerged which describes the effects of social, cognitive, and affective influences on personal preservation decisions as well as the effects of fading cognitive associations and technological advances, combined with information escalation over time. Because the preservation of personal digital information involves personal, social, and technological interactions, the integration of these factors is necessary for a viable solution to the digital preservation problem.

Decision criteria in digital preservation: What to measure and how

The enormous amount of valuable information that is produced today and needs to be made available over the long-term has led to increased efforts in scalable, automated solutions for long-term digital preservation. The mission of preservation planning is to define the optimal actions to ensure future access to digital content and react to changes that require adjustments in repository operations. Considerable effort has been spent in the past on defining, implementing, and validating a framework and system for preservation planning. This article sheds light on the actual decision criteria and influence factors to be considered when choosing digital preservation actions. It is based on an extensive evaluation of case studies on preservation planning for a range of different types of objects with partners from different institutional backgrounds. We categorize decision criteria from a number of real-world decision-making instances in a taxonomy. We show that a majority of the criteria can be evaluated by applying automated measurements under realistic conditions, and demonstrate that controlled experimentation and automated measurements can be used to substantially improve repeatability of decisions and reduce the effort needed to evaluate preservation components. The presented measurement framework enables scalable preservation and monitoring and supports trust in preservation decisions because extensive evidence is produced in a reproducible, automated way and documented as the basis of decision making in a standardized form.

Using decision trees to enhance interdisciplinary team work: the case of oncofertility

Oncofertility, an emerging discipline at the intersection of cancer and fertility, strives to give cancer patients options when they are confronting potential infertility as a consequence of cancer treatment. Fertility preservation decisions must be made before treatment begins, adding stress to the decision-making process. Healthcare providers need to be aware of the intricacies involved in oncofertility decision making, and the often tight time line that patients face when making these decisions. Cancer patient's perspectives may also change, as the dual burden of a cancer diagnosis and potential infertility can cause great flux in emotions. A provider-facing decision tree was created to enhance patient decision-making capacities and outline the multiple potential intervention points. Decision trees, which highlight the important decision points during which providers can approach patients, can be a useful tool to help providers in counseling patients on fertility preservation.