Roundtable on database issues

[christopher k cosner]

****Please forward to others not on this list who may be interested****

I would like to organize a roundtable for the AAASS meeting in
St. Louis, November 18-21, 1999. The working title:

The Digital Filing Cabinet: Using Database Technology for
Individual Research and Instruction in Slavic Studies

The focus will be on databases created by individuals for their own
use in research or pedagogy. Anyone who has dealt with issues related to
this topic, even if they themselves do not program, should feel welcome
to send me their proposed roundtable contribution. Ideally we would
have a range of professors and graduate students from different
disciplines (literature, history, anthropology, linguistics). Except for
pedagogy, the databases discussed would be the type that one keeps
on a personal computer or provides via a home page, not institutional
on-line databases.

Topics this roundtable could include:
--a database used to provide interactive pedagogical material on the web.
--issues involving the creation and use of a database for historical,
anthropological, literary, linguistic, or other research.
--keeping your data durable while using Cyrillic or other Slavic alphabets
that do not convert well to new platforms or programs. What are some
general principles one can use in addressing the problems of durability
and convertibility?
--database technology vs. word processors, or more traditional notecards
and file folders (yes, databases have their drawbacks).
--bibliography on your personal computer (I would limit this topic to one
 participant, with the request that the focus be directly on issues in
Slavic Studies).

This roundtable would NOT cover:
--institutional on-line databases and library databases.
--specific commercial software or platforms.
--statistical databases and software, such as those used by economists.

My own proposed contribution: "What's in a Category?: Issues in
Programming a Database for Your Literary Research"

If I have left something out of the above that you think should be
 included, please feel free to suggest it. Also, if you are thinking of
organizing a similar panel, we could try to coordinate our topics and
participants.

Please reply off-list to:
Chris Cosner
c-cosner at uiuc.edu
-------------------------
http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~c-cosner