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Metadata
 
              
               
 
 
MetaData: Data about data.

Data Dictionary vs MetaData Facility
  • Data Dictionary - Definition
  • Database Management Systems
    • Inventory
    • Stand Alone vs Integrated
    • Active vs Passive
  • Attributes
  • Records
  • Sets
  • Databases
 
MetaData Theoretical Background

Suppose we have two computers, A and B.

If B is capable of describing A, B can be used to simulate the running of A and B will be able to do everything that A can.

B is thus a Turing Machine.

Richard P. Feynman, Lectures on Computation

Proposition: System B is Metadata.

Metadata
  • Attributes - Name, Definition, Type, Size, Encoding, Format, Abbreviation, key, etc.
  • Record - Name, Definition, Attribute(s), Sequence, Key
  • Set - Name, Definition, Record(s), Sequence, Key
  • Database - Name, Definition, Set(s), Relationships
 
Software
  • Browser - Show ({AttributeName})
  • Auditor - Valid({AttributeName}, {Value})
  • Converter - Convert({AttributeName1}, {AttributeName2}, {Value})
  • Reporter - ShowSet, ShowDatabase
  • Production - UserFunction({Command}, ., ., {Attribute}, ., ., {Value}, ., .)
MetaData Objects
  • Actors - Roles, Permissions, etc.
  • Events - Time, Location, etc.
  • Entities
  • Processes
  • Rules
  • Data
  • Documents
  • Relationships
MetaData Services
  • Definition
  • Validation
  • Documentation
  • Help
  • Processing
  • Translation
  • Comparison
Metadata Facility Benefits
  • Standardization - Names, Processes
  • Integrity
  • Economy
  • Information Dissemination
  • Development
  • Scalability
Metadata Facility

Provides facilities for organizing, navigating, comparing, managing and understanding educational standards, data, reports and processes
  • Components
  • Database
  • Programs
 
 
Metadata Examples
 
Definition:     Minimum Daily Requirements: The amount of a particular macronutrients (essential fats, proteins, carbohydrates) or micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) needed each day by a person with no special metabolic needs.
Source: Segen's Medical Dictionary. 2012 Farlex, Inc.
 
 
  • Describes all foods (fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, etc.)
  • Usable by nutritionists
  • Defines deficiencies
  • Usable by food creators (manufacturers, chefs, etc.)
 
Definition:     FEMA resource typing: The categorization and description of resources that are commonly exchanged in disasters via mutual aid, by capacity and/or capability.
Source: FEMA 508.6
 
Definition:     Geospatial metadata: Geospatial metadata describes maps, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) files, imagery, and other location-based data resources.
Source: www.fgdc.gov/metadata
 
See: www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/metadata-and-gis.pdf
 
Metadata Examples - Files
 
 

Cell Tower
 
File Properties
  
  
 
Cell Phone Metadata
 
Other Device Metadata
 
Exercise: Develop a metadata set that would be useful in describing emergencies.
 
Metadata Examples - Browser
 
Your browser relies on Metadata to decide how to process a file. The first example below shows how the browser interprets a file encoded with Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) which is one of the standard ways the browser works. You can achieve this same result by clicking on the link MetadataExample.htm.
 
 
The second example below shows how the browser interprets a file that is encoded as plaintext. The only difference between this and the first example is that the file is named with a ".txt" extension. The contents of the two files are identical. The browser however thinks that this is a text file and renders it appropriately. You can achieve this same result by clicking on the link MetadataExample.txt.
 
 
The Third example below shows how the browser interprets a file that is encoded as an image. The only difference between this and the first example is that the file is named with a ".txt" extension. The contents of the twwo files are identical. The browser however thinks that this is a text file and renders it appropriately. You can achieve this same result by clicking on the link MetadataExamplejpg.jpg.
 
 
 
Metadata Examples - HAZMAT Placard
 

HAZMAT Placard
 
 
Metadata Standards

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)
Australia Recordkeeping Metadata Standard
 
Legionnaire's Disease
 

Legionnaire's Articles by Year
 

Legionnaire's Outbreaks by Year
 

Legionnaire's Authors
 

Legionnaire's Journal
 

Legionnaire's Keywords
 
2001 Anthrax Attacks
 

Legionnaire's Keywords
 
Electronic Records

The creation of the appropriate metadata can raise the legal evidentiary status of electronic records to the level of their paper counterparts.

D. Bearman and K. Sochats "Metadata Requirements for Evidence”

Evidentiary Metadata
    Logical Construction (Horn Clauses)
  • Data – Form, Format
  • Transaction – Time, Date
  • System – Reliability, Auditability, Security
  • User – Authority, Privileges
  • Warrant
  • Generalization
Metadata can be designed to meet any specific application. Eg.
  • Business Intelligence
  • Safety
  • Auditing
  • Emergency Management
 
Call Detail Records

A call detail record contains metadata – that is, data about data – containing data fields that describe a specific instance of a telecommunication transaction, but does not include the content of that transaction. By way of simplistic example, a call detail record describing a particular phone call might include the phone numbers of both the calling and receiving parties, the start time, and duration of that call. In actual modern practice, call detail records are much more detailed, and contain attributes such as:
  • the phone number of the subscriber originating the call (calling party)
  • the phone number receiving the call (called party)
  • the starting time of the call (date and time)
  • the call duration
  • the billing phone number that is charged for the call
  • the identification of the telephone exchange or equipment writing the record
  • a unique sequence number identifying the record
  • additional digits on the called number used to route or charge the call
  • the disposition or the results of the call, indicating, for example, whether or not the call was connected
  • the route by which the call entered the exchange
  • the route by which the call left the exchange
  • call type (voice, SMS, etc.)
  • any fault condition encountered
 
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