|
US National Science Foundation Project
Recently, ISIS staff attended a meeting with the US National Science Foundation (NSF) regarding a project on which we have been collaborating. This program, Integrated Primate Biomaterials and Information Resource (IPBIR) has been viewed as widely successful.
For the last five years, ISIS has received funding from NSF through the Zoological Society of San Diego to provide zoological pedigree data supporting genomic research with primate DNA in the ISIS database. This funding has supported the ISIS Data Quality Campaign and ISIS database modernization.
Four institutions collaborate on this project – San Diego’s CRESS, Coriell, Princeton University and ISIS. This project has, among other improvements, increased advanced primate DNA for research from three species to nearly 100.
Orlando ZIMS Data Standards Meeting
More than 70 attendees from around the world came together for the final discussion of data standards at the end of May in Orlando, Florida, USA.
ZIMS Data Standards Workshops are designed to help our software developer determine the necessary defaults for each type of data. (For example, when ISIS software users input the sex of an animal, data standards determine the choices you have to describe that animal’s sex.)
We have held data standards sessions at the Perth Zoological Gardens in Perth, Australia; the Rotterdam Zoo in Rotterdam, Netherlands and Disney's Animal Kingdom/The Living Seas in Orlando, Florida USA.
Zoo and aquarium experts from across the globe have enthusiastically participated in these workshops. A larger community will now review these standards.
International Animal Data Information Systems Committee (IADISC) says thank you to former chair; appoints new chair
Sue Dubois, senior systems analyst, Disney’s Animal Kingdom/The Living Seas, has resigned her position as co-Chair of IADISC due to work commitments. Sue has served as the chair of IADISC from 2003 until May 2005.
Sue has been involved with the ZIMS Project since its inception and served as the ZIMS Project Manager during the initiation phase. Without a doubt, Sue has been one of the major contributors to the ZIMS Project during this time, and has given thousands of hours of her own time to work on the project.
When asked to comment, co-chair Kevin Johnson said, “Most of the volunteers who have worked on the ZIMS Project over the past five years will have worked with Sue at some stage. I think everyone of us would agree that it has been a pleasure to work with her. She has passed on a huge amount of professionalism and knowledge to us all, and the project would not be where it is today without her untiring efforts.”
Kevin Johnson will now take on the role of chair of IADISC and will serve on the ISIS Board in this capacity. “I will attempt to fill some very large shoes that Sue has left behind. A hard task indeed!!” said Kevin.
Thank you Sue and congratulations Kevin!
World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy under way
Threats to wildlife are steadily increasing, the need for conservation has intensified and the role of zoos and aquariums continues to grow and be defined. To meet this challenge, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) has launched the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy. This initiative is presented in WAZA’s publication “Building a Future for Wildlife: the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy.”
Containing advice from more than 350 zoological experts across the globe, this strategy consolidates and increases zoo and aquarium support and involvement in conservation. Complemented by resources on the WAZA Web site, this document provides a basis for zoos, aquariums, national and regional associations and WAZA itself to develop and implement conservation plans.
For more information or to order, see www.waza.org. (http://www.waza.org/conservation/index.php?main=conservation&view=strategies).
Is your organization using the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy; or are you undertaking another exciting conservation strategy? If so, send a quick update on your project to news@isis.org. We will publish conservation news from as many organizations as we can.
ZIMS Project Update
The ZIMS Project is on time and on budget. We are just over halfway through our two-year ZIMS development plan. We are currently in the detailed part of the design phase – with a lot more work ahead involving users worldwide saying exactly what they want ZIMS to do.
Actual construction will occur during the next seven months. We should have a working prototype by December 2005.
Currently, we are inviting Building ZIMS: the Campaign for ISIS financial contributing organizations to be considered for selection as one of a relatively small number of institutions that will use ZIMS before it is completed. These pre-release users will focus on helping strengthen the integration aspects of ZIMS design (interactions among the multiple animal care staff roles at a single institution) and becoming the final test sites as we release ZIMS builds for testing. These “early adopters” will help us assure that ZIMS will meet institutional needs and may be mentor to other institutions as they move to using ZIMS.
ZIMS Project Funding Update
We are also just past the half-way mark in committed funds for the project. We have commitments for US $5.5 million of a total
US $10 million needed. More than 140 zoos and aquariums have pledged US $4.2 million. (Thank you!) In addition, we have received US $1.3 million in grants and appropriations and the Boeing Company has contributed US $100,000.
Pledges are still coming in! We continue to invite other members of the global zoo and aquarium community to contribute to the ZIMS Project and are working on approaches to foundations, corporations and governments to raise the remaining US $4.5 million needed.
Do you have questions about the ZIMS Project or application?
ZIMS Project Manager Syed Hassan will be available to answer
members' questions about the upcoming ZIMS application in a series of one-hour conference calls.
20 July, 3:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) To schedule this meeting in your time zone, see www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_UTC.aspx?y=2005&mo=7&d=20&h=15&mn=0
17 August, 9:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) To schedule this meeting in your time zone, see www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_UTC.aspx?y=2005&mo=8&d=17&h=21&mn=0
21 September, 3:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) To schedule this meeting in your time zone, see www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_UTC.aspx?y=2005&mo=9&d=21&h=15&mn=0
19 October, 9:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) To schedule this meeting in your time zone, see www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_UTC.aspx?y=2005&mo=10&d=19&h=21&mn=0
16 November, 4:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) To schedule this meeting in your time zone, see www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_UTC.aspx?y=2005&mo=11&d=16&h=16&mn=0
14 December, 10:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) To schedule this meeting in your time zone, see www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_UTC.aspx?y=2005&mo=12&d=14&h=22&mn=0
To participate in these question-and-answer sessions, call the conference line at
+1-651-209-9277. Use the pass code 675982.
|
Corrections
In the ISIS Seven-Year Business Plan, we inadvertently missed a member in our member listing (Appendix F).
Miejski Ogrod Zoologiczny w Lodz, Lodz, Poland is a member of ISIS.
Correction: ECOTARIUM is located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA (not Worcesher, Maine)
We deeply regret these oversights. You may view a copy of the business plan here. ISIS Seven-year Business Plan (This 44-page document is formatted for A4 paper size. Using the PDF format, you may select any pages you would like to print separately.) |
ISIS technical updates – tips for data synchronization and the lists on your EDU report
Discrepancies between data in the ISIS global database and your institution’s ARKS4 records can happen for a number of reasons. Here are some simple examples:
1. You deleted the animal, but the submission containing that delete record was lost. (This may happen if a floppy disk was damaged.) The result is the ISIS global database has an animal even though you do not.
2. You added an animal, but the submission containing that addition was lost. (Again, this may happen if a floppy disk was damaged.) The result is that you have an animal that the ISIS global database does not.
3. You may accidentally enter an animal twice. In that case, you will see two records for that animal (“123” and the duplicate is “124”) and you should delete the “124” record from the global data.
Here is how to determine what should be done when discrepancies are discovered.
Tip: If you find a specimen listed in the ISIS global database that is not in your local ARKS4 database
• Substantiate the data
• Add that specimen to your ARKS4 data
NOTE: You should not add any data to your ARKS unless you can substantiate it yourself.
Tip: If you find specimens listed in your local ARKS4 database that are not in the ISIS global database, you should resend those animals’ records to ISIS.
• Un-check the "send to ISIS" box on the animal record's specimen tab
• Re-check the "send to ISIS" box on the animal record's specimen tab.
Tip: If you determine that the global record does represent a real animal that was accidentally deleted from your ARKS4 data (e.g. if you find paper records to support its existence)
• Look at each animal's specimen report by clicking on the "view" button on your EDU report.
• If you are sure that it is an incorrect animal, click on the "delete" button.
NOTE: Clicking the delete button adds the animal to a list to be deleted by ISIS staff. You may still see that animal on your EDU reports until ISIS staff actually deletes it.
For additional help with these or other issues, contact ISIS support at +1.651.209.9250; support@isis.org.
ISIS News volunteers/staff
Reviewers/contributors
Frands Carlsen, Copenhagen Zoo
Robert Erhardt, Zoological Society of San Diego
Kevin Johnson, ARAZPA
Translators
Chinese: Wenlei Fang, ISIS
Danish: Britta Scholz, Givskud Zoo; Henrik M Hestbech
French: Aude Desmoulins, Lille Zoo; Anne Fletcher-Jones, The Living Desert
German: Ulrike Rademacher, Stuttgart Zoo
Japanese: Kazu Takami, Osaka Municipal Tennoji Zoo
Polish: Barbara Zalewska
Spanish: Magaly Ojeda, National Foundation of Zoos & Aquaria (FUNPZA)
Russian: Tanya Arzhanova, Moscow Zoological Park
Web designer Yasir Wasi
Editors Michele Peters; Elisabeth Hunt news@isis.org
Contact ISIS central offices +1.651.209.9240 isis@isis.org
ISIS support: +1.651.209.9250 support@isis.org |