Ronan, thanks for the simplification.  It is good to have input
from folks in the training sector.  You picked up on two significant
matters--"gender" and "language ability."  I had gender on my
HTML version but omitted it from my embedded ascii text.
Language ability is interesting.  The IEEE LOM captures
not only the language of the resource being described (i.e.,
DC.language) but the primary language of the intended
target user of the resource.  For a while, we at GEM (Gateway
to Educational Materials) have toyed with the use of "role" with
DC.languae to provide for this issue (but have waited to see
how the DC qualifier work progressed).

Stuart
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Stuart A. Sutton                                      (206) 685-6618 (V)
University of Washington                          (206) 616-3152 (F)
School of Library and Information Science
Box 352930
Seattle, WA 98195-2930           [log in to unmask]
GEM                                         http://geminfo.org (Project)
                                                http://www.TheGateway.org
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-----Original Message-----
From: Bradford TAP [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, November 26, 1999 6:07 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: re: "Audience" category


Dear colleagues, 
In response to the first step made by Stuart I have some observations on the
Audience question.
I should preface these by saying that I work in an environment that deals
with training courses 
(i.e. DC.type - event) and training materials. I set out below an
alternative (perhaps even more 
crude) analysis of the audience category.
I agree with Stuart's approach but in practice I think that it is overly
complex. The first 
distinction made between Education and Training is to my mind not required.
Based on the ERIC 
thesaurus definitions, education is the highest order, so we should in fact
be deciding between 
learning or training given that we already know that we are concerned with
educational resources.
The choice then between a learning (audience) and a training
(audience),again based on ERIC definitions        
seems to be tied up with "defining skills relating to particular functions
or activities".  But, 
elsewhere in the schema we already do this. For example the occupation and
personnel characteristics 
but also the yet to be explored pedagogy may inform this somewhat. 

Therefore we might regard learning to be a preferred expression for
education and/or training. 
This has the further advantage of simplifying Stuart's first offering while
retaining all of the 
options concerned with schemes and value qualifiers. 

Within the audience population descriptors I have added two others which
from experience seem to
crop up now and again. The first is GENDER - fairly self-explanatory - but
should this be in 
physical/emotional ? We have training resources targetted at a women/men
only audience. The 
second is  LANGUAGE ABILITY used for resources targeted at those for whom
English (or whatever)
is not the native language. Example resource title: English for speakers of
Gujerati. This may 
have implications for the LANGUAGE core element i.e. they may be confused.


Finally, I have amended (for clarity) the title of the Occupation
characteristic of the 
audience. I have added an further example to Personnel characteristic
because in the UK the 
SOC (Standard Occupational Code) is used to describe what I think Stuart is
referring to in 
the personnel group.     

AUDIENCE (FOR AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE)
     
          ADMINISTRATOR:
                    --Learning professional
                    --Student
                    --Parent
              

          BENEFICIARY:
             AUDIENCE POPULATION DESCRIPTORS:
                    ---Intelligence/ability (controlled vocabularies)
                    ---Physical/emotional (controlled vocabularies)
                    ---Socio-economic status (controlled vocabularies)
                    ---Ethnic groups (controlled vocabularies)
                    ---Learning level (controlled vocabularies)
                    ---Grade level (controlled vocabularies)
                    ---Age level (age and age range)
                    +++Gender (controlled vocabularies (?))
                    +++Linguistic ability (controlled vocabularies (?))
                    -++Occupational Sector (controlled vocabulary (e.g., SIC
codes (?)))
                    -++Personnel groups (?) (controlled vocabularies e.g.
SOC (?))



Best wishes 

Ronan O'Beirne 
Senior Information Officer



 
Bradford Training Access Points 
Shipley Library, 2,Wellcroft
Shipley, West Yorkshire
BD18 3QH
 http://www.bradtec.co.uk/tap
Tel: +44 (01274) 757155
Fax: +44 (01274) 530247


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