CAVA
A Human Communication Audio-Visual Archive
(Video removed)
Co-funded by UCL and the JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee)
April 2009 – August 2010
Matt Mahon, Language and Communication, UCL
Martin Moyle, UCL Library Services
Merle Mahon, Developmental Science, UCL
Suzanne Beeke, Language and Communication, UCL
Background
• Much research in human communication is based on experimental
data, but a different understanding comes from examining natural
audio-visual data
• Despite advances in online resources there is no centralised AV
archive in the UK to support such work and to share data
– UKDA (ESDS Qualidata): no video
– TalkBank: prescribed formats for accompanying data
• CAVA focuses on videotaped interactions - conversations, interviews,
assessments - between a person who has atypical communication
(due to a condition such as stroke, deafness etc) and their spouse,
teacher, or another communicator.
CAVA project aims
• establish a digital video repository for human communication sciences,
initially populated with an existing (and growing) body of rights-cleared
digital content owned by UCL researchers
• house this within the UCL Library Services Digital Collections service
which uses the Ex Libris DigiTool repository platform
• catalogue each video to a discipline-specific descriptive standard, IMDI
• deposit transcripts and other supporting material wherever available
• develop procedures and processes for managing access (restricted to
bona fide researchers)
• look at options for long-term digital preservation of the master files,
with help of UKDA
Depositor
Project name
Hours of data
72
Merle Mahon, UCL
HMM-DOH deaf children
Suzanne Beeke, UCL/
ESRC aphasia
37.5
Suzanne Beeke/Firle
Conversation therapy project
137.5
Cooper, UCL
18
Kathleen McCarthy, UCL HLE interviews
9
Adam Schembri, UCL
BSL Deaf Corpus
480
30
Sarah Collins, UCL
Diabetes consultations
Dementia conversations
Sarah Worsford, Soton
Deaf children 11-13
25
18
Juliette Corrin, UCL
JRC-DHCS single-word multiword
translation
18
Workflow 1
START
Get consent
forms, data and
metadata from
depositor
(Project officer is
available to help
with completion of
the metadata)
Convert file
formats if
necessary
Archive
preservation files
separately (if
required)
Associate versions of each
recording in the metadata record
Assign rights and
upload files to
DigiTool
The project is given a
browse structure
online and made
available to
appropriate users.
Example of data
• [Video removed]
Workflow 2
START
Depositor
completes
metadata form
and licences
CAVA team
receives
metadata form,
licences and the
data itself
Data is uploaded
in batches
(Project officer is
available to help
with completion of
the metadata)
START
Prospective user
completes
licence forms
Project officer
prepares data for
upload to the
repository
CAVA team
arranges user
access to the
repository
The data is made
available through the
repository, and
appropriate users are
given access
Using the archive for teaching and learning
• Remote access to data
• Security
• CAVA for research students
Further information
• CAVA website
– http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ls/cava
• UCL Digital Collections
– http://digital-collections.lib.ucl.ac.uk
• DigiTool
– http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/category/DigiToolOverview
• Project Team
– lib-cava@ucl.ac.uk