Bringué, M; Fensome, R A; Galloway, J M. Geoconvention 2020 abstracts; 2020 p. 1-2
<a href="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20190494.jpg"><img src="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20190494.jpg" title="Geoconvention 2020 abstracts; 2020 p. 1-2" height="150" border="1" /></a>

Ontology evaluation is an integral and important part of the ontology development process. Errors in ontologies could be catastrophic for the information system based on those ontologies. As per our experiments, the existing ontology evaluation systems were unable to detect many errors (like, circulatory error in class and property hierarchy, common class and property in disjoint decomposition, redundancy of sub class and sub property, redundancy of disjoint relation and disjoint knowledge omission) as defined in the error taxonomy. We have formulated efficient algorithms for the evaluation of these and other errors as per the extended error taxonomy. These algorithms are implemented (named as OntEval) and the implementations are used to evaluate well-known ontologies including Gene Ontology (GO), WordNet Ontology and OntoSem. The ontologies are indexed using a variant of already proposed scheme Ontrel. A number of errors and warnings in these ontologies have been discovered using the OntEval. We have also reported the performance of our implementation, OntEval.

Aim/Purpose: This paper reports our implementation of a prototype system, namely PRATO (Proposals Reviewers Automated Taxonomy-based Organization), for automatic assignment of proposals to reviewers based on categorized tracks and partial matching of reviewers’ profiles of research interests against proposal keywords. Background: The process of assigning reviewers to proposals tends to be a complicated task as it involves inspecting the matching between a given proposal and a reviewer based on different criteria. The situation becomes worse if one tries to automate this process, especially if a reviewer partially matches the domain of the paper at hand. Hence, a new controlled approach is required to facilitate the matching process. Methodology: Proposals and reviewers are organized into categorized tracks as defined by a tree of hierarchical research domains which correspond to the university’s colleges and departments. In addition, reviewers create their profiles of research interests (keywords) at the time of registration. Initial assignment is based on the matching of categorized sub-tracks of proposal and reviewer. Where the proposal and a reviewer fall under different categories (sub-tracks), assignment is done based on partial matching of proposal content against re-viewers’ research interests. Jaccard similarity coefficient scores are calculated of proposal keywords and reviewers’ profiles of research interest, and the reviewer with highest score is chosen. The system was used to automate the process of proposal-reviewer assignment at the Umm Al-Qura University during the 2017-2018 funding cycle. The list of proposal-reviewer assignments generated by the system was sent to human experts for voting and subsequently to make final assignments accordingly. With expert votes and final decisions as evaluation criteria, data system-expert agreements (in terms of “accept” or “reject”) were collected and analyzed by tallying frequencies and calculating rejection/acceptance ratios to assess the system’s performance. Contribution: This work helped the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), a funding agency at Umm Al-Qura University, in managing the process of reviewing proposals submitted for funding. We believe the work can also benefit any organizations or conferences to automate the assignment of papers to the most appropriate reviewers. Findings: Our developed prototype, PRATO, showed a considerable impact on the entire process of reviewing proposals at DSR. It automated the assignment of proposals to reviewers and resulted in 56.7% correct assignments overall. This indicates that PRATO performed considerably well at this early stage of its development. Recommendations for Practitioners: It is important for funding agencies and publishers to automate reviewing process to obtain better reviewing quality in a timely manner. Recommendation for Researchers: This work highlighted a new methodology to tackle the proposal-reviewer assignment task in an automated manner. More evaluation might be needed with consideration of different categories, especially for partially matched candidates. Impact on Society: The new methodology and knowledge about factors influencing the implementation of automated proposal-reviewing systems will help funding agencies and publishers to improve the quality of their internal processes. Future Research: In the future, we plan to examine PRATO’s performance on different classification schemes where specialty areas can be represented in graphs rather than trees. With graph representation, the scope for reviewer selection can be widened to include more general fields of specialty. Moreover, we will try to record the reasons for rejection to identify accurately whether the rejection was due to improper assignment or other reasons.

This study attempts to present the variety of possible uses for iPads, in the learning process. The objective is to evaluate a unique implementation model that was tried out at a teacher training college in Israel. The methodology is based on a qualitative research paradigm. The findings show that students’ use the iPads in various contexts: (a) for ongoing personal use; (b) for planning lessons; (c) for active integration in the classroom; and (d) for reading and developing content and games. These findings are summarized in a chart that shows the different uses as levels in a hierarchical taxonomy. Analysis of the iPad’s pedagogical uses may shed light on the various skills students need to acquire in order to become teachers in 21st century. In addition, understanding the various iPad uses and their frequency can affect decision-making at the level of policy in the field of implementation of the use of mobile technologies in educational institutions.

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium) is part of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase programme, the RMCA has five grants available for a 3-month training programme in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes.

The training includes three subsets:

1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes; and
3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

The main focus of the training is on fish biodiversity data and their integration into FishBase, and on how to use and contribute data to FishBase. The context of these contributions may vary and can also include the knowledge on common names, fish ecology, fisheries statistics, aquaculture and many other areas of fish biology.

After the training, the participants should be able to make their own contribution to fish biology and continue to work on FishBase. They are encouraged to teach their newly apprehended skills to new/local users, to help in completing the database and keeping it up to date, and to spread the use of FishBase as a source of information and a fisheries tool.

This course has been offered annually since 2005 and is held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium).

To apply for traineeship and for more information, go to:
http://www.africamuseum.be/research/collaborations/training/group?set_language=en&cl=en

Please note that for 2014, this course will be given in French only.

Contact: Dimitri Geelhand de Merxem (dimitri.geelhand@africamuseum.be)

To read more about the courses and to register, visit the official DEST webpage: http://www.taxonomytraining.eu/content/modern-taxonomy-course-programme-2013-2014

The European Journal of Taxonomy is a peer-reviewed international journal in descriptive taxonomy, covering the eukaryotic world. The content range from descriptions of new species to large inventories of different groups - so far more than 400 new species are described in EJT. Its content is fully electronic and Open Access. It is published and funded by a consortium of European natural history institutions. Neither authors nor readers have to pay fees.

The 100th issue of EJT, which was published 24 October 2014, comprises a beautifully illustrated monograph on African millipedes, adding 20 new species to our list of new taxa. Author is Professor Henrik Enghoff from The Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen.

No 100 (2014): A mountain of millipedes I: An endemic species-group of the genus Chaleponcus Attems, 1914, from the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Odontopygidae). Henrik Enghoff

EJT normally is an e-only journal, but on this occasion the editorial team has decided to print a limited number of hard copies, to be distributed amongst the Natural History Institutions around the world.

Professor Henrik Enghoff represents EU BON partner UCPH.

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium) is part of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase program, the RMCA has five grants available for a 3-month training program in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes.

The training includes three subsets:

1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes;
3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

This course has been offered annually since 2005 and is held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium). To apply for traineeship and for more information, please click HERE or HERE. Please note that for 2015, this course will be given in English only.

Questions? Contact Dimitri Geelhand de Merxem (dimitri.geelhand@africamuseum.be).

The  4th edition of the DEST course ‘BASICS of TAXONOMY’ will take place from 5 to16 October 2015 at the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences, Kristineberg, Sweden.

Taught by renowned experts in their field, the course topics are:

- DELTA
- Digital drawing
- Scientific illustration
- Scientific writing and communication
- Scratchpads, a tool to build, publish and share information on the web

Target audience: MSc students, PhD students, early career researchers

Thanks to funding of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, this 2-weeks course is offered at a discounted rate of 550 EUR.

Fee includes accommodation and meals.                                                                                                                                          

More info: http://taxonomytraining.eu/content/basics-taxonomy-describing-illustrating-and-communicating-biodiversity

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium) is part of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa in the FishBase database. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase program, the RMCA has five (5) grants available for a 3-month training program in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes.

The training will have three subsets:

1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes;
3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

This course has been offered annually since 2005 and is held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium). For more information and to apply for this three-month training grant, see: http://fishbase.africamuseum.be or www.fishbaseforafrica.org. Please note that for 2016, this course will be given in French only.

Questions? Contact Dimitri Geelhand de Merxem (dimitri.geelhand@africamuseum.be).

The Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST), an initiative under the CETAF umbrella and managed by RBINS, has launched its training programme for 2015-2016.  

Check out the Expert-in-training programme enabling trainees to develop and strengthen their taxonomic research skills through on-the-job-training and the Modern Taxonomy programme offering intensive theoretical courses in various subjects.

The Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) was established within the framework of the EU funded project  European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT) and under the umbrella of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF). The EDIT consortium agreement lasted from March 2006 until March 2011. Since then, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) remains responsible for the continued management of DEST, organization of courses and related logistical matters. The DEST currently includes a network of around 100 training providers from 60 institutions.

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium) is part of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase programme, the RMCA has five grants available for a 3-month training programme in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes.

The training includes three subsets:

1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes; and
3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

The main focus of the training is on fish biodiversity data and their integration into FishBase, and on how to use and contribute data to FishBase. The context of these contributions may vary and can also include the knowledge on common names, fish ecology, fisheries statistics, aquaculture and many other areas of fish biology.

After the training, the participants should be able to make their own contribution to fish biology and continue to work on FishBase. They are encouraged to teach their newly apprehended skills to new/local users, to help in completing the database and keeping it up to date, and to spread the use of FishBase as a source of information and a fisheries tool.

This course has been offered annually since 2005 and is held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium).

To apply for traineeship and for more information, go to:
http://www.africamuseum.be/research/collaborations/training/group?set_language=en&cl=en

Please note that for 2014, this course will be given in French only.

Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) is organizing a course in Philosophy of Biological Systematics targeted at MSc students, PhD students, early career researchers,  professional systematists/taxonomists and anyone who is interested in the philosophy of Biological Systematics. The course has a duration of one week and will take place between 8-12 September 2014.

Deadline for registration: 16 June 2014, extended until Friday 20 June 2014. To register and to learn more about the course visit the official webpage: http://www.taxonomytraining.eu/content/philosophy-biological-systematics

Approaching the subject from the perspective of the philosophical foundations of scientific inquiry, this course offers critical examinations of the principles required to judge the scientific merits of systematic/taxonomic procedures by way of the following topics:

• The goal of science
• The goal of biological systematics
• Causal relationships in systematics
• The nature of why-questions
• Three forms of reasoning: deduction, induction, abduction
• The uses of deduction, induction, and abduction in science
• Evidence and reasoning
• Fact, theory & hypothesis
• Theory & hypothesis testing
• Systematics involves abductive reasoning
• Inferences of systematics hypotheses, i.e. taxa
• Implications for ‘phylogenetic’ methods
• Causal explanations, not ‘trees’ or cladograms
• Parsimony, likelihood, Bayesianism: are they relevant to abductive reasoning, thus phylogenetic inference?
• The requirement of total evidence
• The errors of cladogram comparisons & character mapping
• Homology, homogeny & homoplasy
• Character coding
• Mechanics of hypothesis testing: implications for cladograms
• Character data cannot test phylogenetic hypotheses
• The nature evidential support
• The proper testing of phylogenetic hypotheses
• The myths of bootstrap, jack-knife & Bremer ‘support’
• Implications for nomenclature
• Defining biodiversity and conservation

Participants will be provided reprints covering the topics in the course, as well as a PDF file with all course slides (>800) and associated notes.

Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) is organizing a Zoological Nomenclature training course targeted at MSc students, PhD students, early career researchers,  professional systematists/taxonomists and anyone who is interested in the philosophy of Biological Systematics. The course has a duration of one 5 days and will take place between 22-26 September 2014 at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.

Deadline for registration: 16 June 2014, extended until Friday 20 June 2014. To register and to learn more about the course visit the official webpage: http://www.taxonomytraining.eu/content/zoological-nomenclature-3

Course description:
Taxonomists need a common language worldwide. This is provided by the international codes of nomenclature. Although several codes exist, according to the organisms at stake, they all follow a similar mode of allocation of names to taxa (through "types") and of establishment of the valid name for a taxon (priority, first-reviser, usage). As biological nomenclature is rarely taught in academic formations, many taxonomists have difficulties mastering it. This training will provide an overview of the history and epistemology of biological nomenclature, and a discussion of the relationships between phylogeny, taxonomy and nomenclature. The zoological code will be presented in detail, the other codes (including the botanical one) more briefly. The recent problems and projects of nomenclature, including alternative systems, will be discussed.

Lecture topics:

• What is taxonomy? What is nomenclature? Name, taxon, nomenclatural rank, taxonomic category. Species and supraspecific taxa. The relationships between phylogeny, taxonomy and nomenclature
• History and epistemology of the international codes of nomenclature
• The international code of zoological nomenclature
• The other international codes (plants and fungi, bacteria, viruses, cultivated plants)
• The alternative nomenclatural systems

Seminar topics:

• Nomenclature of higher taxa in zoology
• The Phylocode and other phylogenetic nomenclatural systems
• Zoobank and electronic publications

Practical experiences will include: exercises in zoological nomenclature and transforming phylogenetic data into a taxonomy and a nomenclature.

Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) is organizing a Botanical Nomenclature training course targeted at MSc students, PhD students, early career researchers,  professional systematists/taxonomists and anyone who is interested in the philosophy of Biological Systematics. The course has a duration of one week and will take place between 26-30 January 2015 at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.

Deadline for registrationis 10 October 2014. Participants will receive notification by 24 October 2014 whether accepted to the course. To register and to learn more about the course visit the official webpage: http://www.taxonomytraining.eu/content/botanical-nomenclature-3

Course description
This in-depth course will teach the principles of plant nomenclature according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (ICN) so that participants can apply good nomenclatural practice when undertaking taxonomic revisions, compiling checklists etc. This will be achieved by lectures illustrated with examples from the ICN, workshop sessions applying what has been learned to "real life" cases, and by encouraging participants to discuss nomenclatural problems they have encountered.

Participants will have time to pursue their own research interests using the collections at Kew, with the emphasis on identifying and solving nomenclatural problems.
Short seminars will give participants the opportunity to present nomenclatural problems relevant to their own research.

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium) is part of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase program, the RMCA has five grants available for a 3-month training program in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes.

The training includes three subsets:

1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes;
3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

This course has been offered annually since 2005 and is held at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium). To apply for traineeship and for more information, please click here or here. Please note that for 2015, this course will be given in English only.

Questions? Contact Dimitri Geelhand de Merxem (dimitri.geelhand@africamuseum.be).

The  4th edition of the DEST course ‘BASICS of TAXONOMY’ will take place from 5 to16 October 2015 at the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences, Kristineberg, Sweden.

Taught by renowned experts in their field, the course topics are:

- DELTA
- Digital drawing
- Scientific illustration
- Scientific writing and communication
- Scratchpads, a tool to build, publish and share information on the web

Target audience: MSc students, PhD students, early career researchers

Thanks to funding of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, this 2-weeks course is offered at a discounted rate of 550 EUR.

Fee includes accommodation and meals.                                                                                                                                          

More info: http://taxonomytraining.eu/content/basics-taxonomy-describing-illustrating-and-communicating-biodiversity

The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren (Belgium), member of the FishBase Consortium and responsible for the information on the fresh- and brackish water fishes of Africa in the FishBase database, is organizing  the 'FishBase and Fish Taxonomy Training Session 2016'. This course has been offered annually since 2005 and held regularly in the RMCA located at Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium. Through an agreement with the Belgian Development Cooperation and as part of the FishBase program, the RMCA has five (5) grants available for this year's 3-month training program (from 07 March up to 27 May 2016) in the use of FishBase and the taxonomy of African fishes. To apply for traineeship and for more information, see: http://fishbase.africamuseum.be or  www.fishbaseforafrica.org.

The training course will have three (3) subsets:

1. A detailed explanation of FishBase in all its aspects;
2. A training in the taxonomy of African fishes;
3. A case study based on data from FishBase or on taxa for which taxonomic problems have been encountered.

*For 2016, this course will be given in French only.

Questions? Contact Dimitri Geelhand de Merxem (dimitri.geelhand@africamuseum.be).

The 5th edition of the DEST course "Basics of Taxonomy" is co-organised with the Scandinavian Research School in Biosystematics (ForBio). The course will take place from 10 to 21 October 2016 at the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences, Kristineberg.

Course topics covered: DELTA, digital drawing, scientific illustration, scientific writing and communication, Scratchpads.

For more infromation and to register, please go to: http://taxonomytraining.eu/content/basics-taxonomy-describing-illustrating-and-communicating-biodiversity-0

Tagging the content at the article and sub-article level will make it easier to surface content more precisely relevant to the SSP community

Viruses and mobile genetic elements are molecular parasites or symbionts that coevolve with nearly all forms of cellular life. The route of virus replication and protein expression is determined by the viral genome type. Comparison of these routes led to the classification of viruses into seven "Baltimore classes" (BCs) that define the major features of virus reproduction. However, recent phylogenomic studies identified multiple evolutionary connections among viruses within each of the BCs as well as between different classes. Due to the modular organization of virus genomes, these relationships defy simple representation as lines of descent but rather form complex networks. Phylogenetic analyses of virus hallmark genes combined with analyses of gene-sharing networks show that replication modules of five BCs (three classes of RNA viruses and two classes of reverse-transcribing viruses) evolved from a common ancestor that encoded an RNA-directed RNA polymerase or a reverse transcriptase. Bona fide viruses evolved from this ancestor on multiple, independent occasions via the recruitment of distinct cellular proteins as capsid subunits and other structural components of virions. The single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses are a polyphyletic class, with different groups evolving by recombination between rolling-circle-replicating plasmids, which contributed the replication protein, and positive-sense RNA viruses, which contributed the capsid protein. The double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses are distributed among several large monophyletic groups and arose via the combination of distinct structural modules with equally diverse replication modules. Phylogenomic analyses reveal the finer structure of evolutionary connections among RNA viruses and reverse-transcribing viruses, ssDNA viruses, and large subsets of dsDNA viruses. Taken together, these analyses allow us to outline the global organization of the virus world. Here, we describe the key aspects of this organization and propose a comprehensive hierarchical taxonomy of viruses.

Movie robots fall into one of three categories: the cutesy ones who do repairs (C3PO), the menacing bad guys designed to inflict pain (Mechagodzilla), and the child-like naifs who learn about the wonders and horrors of the world through experience. Angry Nerd explains why Neill Blomkamp’s new sci-fi flick “Chappie” falls into the third group and he breaks down why we need more movies that cast robots as the wide-eyed outsider.

With the release by the Office of Management and Budget of an updated Standard Occupational Classification (2018 SOC), the O*NET Program is moving forward with the transition to this new SOC standard. The technical report Updating the O*NET-SOC Taxonomy: Incorporating the 2018 SOC Structure describes the new O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy based on the 2018 SOC. The report summarizes code, title, and definition changes and the overall relationship between the 2018 SOC and the O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomies.

To help with the transition to the new structure, related crosswalks are now available: Crosswalk O*NET-SOC 2019 to 2018 SOC, Crosswalk O*NET-SOC 2010 to O*NET-SOC 2019 and Crosswalk O*NET-SOC 2010 to 2018 SOC.

For more information, including an interactive summary graphic, a variety of occupational listings, and additional transition plans, visit O*NET Resource Center–O*NET-SOC Taxonomy.

With the release of the O*NET 25.1 Database in November 2020, O*NET Web Services will transition to the O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy. This taxonomy, based on the 2018 SOC, introduces several changes to the occupations returned by our services. It includes 1,016 occupational titles, 923 of which represent O*NET data-level occupations. For more information on these changes, see the O*NET-SOC Taxonomy page at the O*NET Resource Center.

To help O*NET Web Services users with the upcoming taxonomy transition, Taxonomy Services are now available to enable developers to connect occupational data between existing systems based on the O*NET-SOC 2010 taxonomy, and the future O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy-based O*NET Web Services.

Rea, Alexander James