Center for Embedded Network Sensing

Having a better understanding of the current data practices on the small, local scale will allow us to build more effective large-scale information systems to support the data practices of the various consumers of CENS data. Some of the practices which need to be understood include what exactly falls under the term data, the sharing practices of the different CENS communities, the current state of intellectual property with regards to data collected as a part of CENS, and then how data should be selected and stored to maximize long-term use and preservation. In trying to understand these issues from the bottom up, an ethnographic study of these practices will lead us closer to choosing appropriate tools and standards to support the long-term viability of the CENS project. This will in turn compliment the top down research into theoretical frameworks for data organization we have previously explored.