AAASS roundtable: databases

[Chris 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