FIT5206 Digital continuity
Digital continuity
Hello, dear friend, you can consult us at any time if you have any questions, add WeChat: THEend8_
FIT5206 Digital continuity
Assignment 2: Developing a Community Archive
Community Group: Yarra Riverkeeper Association
1. Introduction
In this report, we will argue about the Yarra RiverKeepers Association which focuses
on preserving the Yaara River, and letting this river be used in future generations. To
achieve their aim, the Yarra Riverkeeper Association organises and holds various
activities with local communities, and related records are produced more and more.
The direct result is that physical records cannot satisfy associations' requirements,
and the trend of using digital records is larger and larger because of the technology
developed. Besides that, the Yarra Riverkeeper Association does not have a fixed
and long-term management strategy for their digital records. That means this
organisation may use different tools and platforms to store the records of the same
objective. If someone wanted to view past records, they would have to spend more
time and energy looking for them. Therefore, the Yarra Riverkeeper Association
needs a viable and long-term archive solution which is used to manage their digital
records for activities and communities.
This report's objective is to search for a kind of long-term digital records archive
solution by analysing the Yarra Riverkeeper Association's factors in each aspect,
including the regulatory environment, risk, resources etc. The archiving solution uses
three software tools and two hosting platforms to manage this organisation's digital
records. Then, there is a usage guideline of the archive solution in this report and
displays this solution's availability. Finally, the archiving solutions are discussed to
identify their strength, weakness and the impacts, especially on resources.
2. Background and characteristics
2.1. Background of the Yarra River Keepers Association
The Yarra River is the most popular and important waterways in this region. Yarra
River's full length is 242 Km, hundreds of plants and animals live near the riverbank,
it also provides 70% piped water for Melbourne. However, Yarra RiverKeeper
Association finds the heavy destruction on this river because of the waste pollution,
disorderly city development, people supply requirements, etc. Besides that, Yaara
River is an important human cultural heritage as well. To protect this river and its
surrounding ecosystems and ensure this river can still be used by future generations,
3
the Yarra RiverKeeper Association was established. It is a non-profit environmental
organisation and its location is Victoria, Australia.
2.2. Mission and Core Business of the Yarra River Keepers
Association
The Yarra Riverkeeper Association mission and core business is to protect and
promote the sustainability of the Yarra River and its nearground. There are some key
components and activities involve in their missions and core business:
Protection And Conservation
The association works to protect and restore the Yarra River's natural environment.
This includes efforts to preserve the river's water quality, protect its ecosystems, and
to maintain its biology numbers and variables. The related activities may involve the
planting of native plants , water quality monitoring , and the animals' habitat
restoration etc.
Advocacy
Yarra River Keeper Association can advocate some long-term policies that can be
used for the river's sustainability and orderly development. Besides that, the
association can be opposed to the development policy which may destroy the river
environment. The activities include providing current environment data to engage
with the government bodies to advocate some friendship policies or make some
opposition activities of wrong policies.
Community Engagement
The association actively collaborates with the local community, encouraging and
organising the public to enter the river preservation activities. That can improve the
river protection's management and participate in the awareness of the public. The
specific examples are the workshops or litter recycling activity etc.
Education And Awareness
The final mission and core business is about the education and awareness aspect.
The Yarra RiverKeeper Association focuses on educating the public to identify the
4
Yarra River's importance in their life and future. Let's the public recognize that river
preservation is necessary and urgent. The activity to achieve this mission includes
producing and spreading the education materials, conducting introductory classes in
school etc.
2.3. Structure and Core Functions of the Yarra River Keepers
Association
In this part, the report will simply introduce the Yarra RiverKeeper Association’s staff
structure and the core functions from the above missions.
Structure
The association operates with a typical non-profit organisation structure. That may
include: the four people in the Board of directors, and three staff members, on the
association’s website. The Board of directors responsible for planning the future
strategy and making decision-making. Warwick Leeson OAM is the president and
chair, ever as a former councillor and mayor. So he has abundant experiences of
politics and laws. So, he can make the legal and best choices of the decisions.
Rachel Fenshm is the deputy Chair and vice president of the Yarra RiverKeeper
Association. She has extensive work experience in digital and creative areas.
Besides that, she also established a better partnership with many communities,
therefore she can use his relationship to let the organisation carry out community
practices.
The final two people on the boards are Gillian Jervis and Janet Bolitho. Hosted and
revised many influential environmental strategic laws by Janet. That means she has
extensive knowledge and experience in strategy, advocacy, and governance. So, she
can help to propose some useful sustainability policies for Yarra River. Gillian is an
accountant and she is responsible for the association's resource management.
The final structure part is the staff member. There are three members on its website,
Charlotte Sterrett, Anthony Despotellis, and Andrew Wood. Charlotte is a
riverkeeper, she always swims and canoes in the Yarra River. Her results can reflect
5
some river's situations such as the river's water quality. Anthony is a Litter officer and
graphics Designer, he always recycles litter and reports the degree of the
environmental disturbances. Besides that, he is a designer who can design
educational documents and references. Final staff member is Andrew Wood, he is a
specialist advisor who provides some restore ecosystem advice.
Core Function
The core function of the Yarra RiverKeeper Association is opposite and solves the
association's core business. First function is to monitor the environment and restore
the river's ecosystem. However, the records in this process need to be stored and
easier to view, like water quality data, amount of animal's type, and habitat size. The
second one is to develop and advocate sustainability policies. The association must
collaborate closely with the governance bodies, they can monitor the development
and implement policy process. Ensure the sustainable development of the Yarra
River. Next, the association can organise some community engagement activities or
edit some education materials, that can raise residents' awareness of the Yarra
River's situations and importances. For example, the litter recycling activity or
making educated speeches. The final function is to ensure organisational funds,
labour, and supplies can get effective control and distribution.
To achieve these functions, a large amount, timely and efficient data records is
necessary. But the current data store ways of the Association are complicated and
there are no stable save sites. That increases the usage difficulty degree for these
functions. So, a new and useful archive solution of the data records needs to be
found.
3. Analysis of the Yarra River Keepers Association
3.1. Regulatory Environment and Access Rights
The Yarra Riverkeeper Association (YRKA) operates within a regulatory environment
aligned with several Australian and Victorian state environmental laws, ensuring the
protection and preservation of the river. The major ones will be discussed in the
following context including the Yarra River Protection Act 2017, Water Act 1989, and
the Planning and Environment Act 1987.
6
The Yarra River Protection Act 2017 is the first legislation established in Australia
which is specifically designed for the Yarra River to provide a clear framework for the
river’s protection. According to the Victoria State Government (2023), the inclusion of
Woi-wurrung language in the act acknowledges the Traditional Owners’
custodianship in the management of the river in terms of the preservation. It
emphasises the cultural connection of the river to the Traditional Owners in
acknowledging the indigenous knowledge while protecting the Yarra River.
The other acts surrounding the protection of Yarra River ensure the environmental,
planning, and water management issues are addressed. According to Melbourne
Water (2022), the Water Act 1989 controls the management, protection, and use of
Victoria’s water resources. The act supports the rights related to Yarra River on the
water usage and conservation, ensuring the maintenance of Yarra River’s health and
water quality. The Planning and Environment Act 1987 provides a framework for the
plan, use, development, and protection of land in Victoria (Victoria State
Government, 2023). The plan suggests that the land use surrounding the Yarra River
is regulated to minimise the environmental impacts, ensuring the development along
the riverbanks are sustainable and do not negatively impact the river’s condition.
Public open space and access of the river ensures development on public land close
to the Yarra River provides appropriate access and minimises built form impacts.
Yarra River has implemented the planning control policies to control the access of
individuals to the use of the river. Victoria State Government (2017) suggested that
‘a permit system is required for managing construction of building sites and
infrastructure to minimise the pollution to the environment around the Yarra River. It
is significant to prevent unplanned development that poses a threat to the
preservation of the river such as leading to water pollution and the disruption of the
river’s flow.
Public access to the river is restricted only to a few activities with specific conditions.
Activities such as anchoring, personal watercraft, and frequency on radio channels
are not permitted around the river (Parks Victoria, n.d.). Through these restrictions,
YRKA aims to maintain the river as a safe environment and achieve its vision of
protecting and preserving the river for the current and the future generation. The
7
restrictions present its respect to the indigenous groups, ensuring the river remains
of cultural significance for them.
3.2. Factors Influencing the Development of Digital Archives
The emergence of technological advancement has transformed the way information
is stored and accessed. While dealing with digital archives with Yarra River and its
regulatory framework and access rights, the development of archives could pose
some significant challenges.
One primary factor comes from the regulatory framework related to the Yarra River.
The set regulations and access rights could potentially restrict the type of records
that can be collected. The restrictions are designed to ensure that the digital archives
are in alignment with the existing laws and policies overseeing the Yarra River and
its environment. Some of these regulations may require specific data storage,
sharing, and accessibility, ensuring the archives align with best practices in digital
preservation (Digital Preservation Coalition, 2014). It is then significant to handle
certain sensitive information more carefully especially while concerning indigenous
groups like the Wurundjeri people. Such data involving cultural significance need to
be encrypted and stored in specific ways to ensure its security and confidentiality.
The other factor influencing the development of digital archives is the need for data
preservation and update of the YRKA’s existing records. With the evolution of
technology changes, it is essential to ensure that digital content remains accessible
and usable over time (National Archives of Australia, 2021). YRKA handles critical
environmental data such as water quality assessment and land usage (Yarra
Riverkeeper Association, 2021); It emphasises the needs of having a secure robust
database. It does not only act as a repository but also a tool to facilitate the
monitoring and analysis of the river conditions over time. The river’s condition
requires consistent data monitoring and updating.
8
3.3. Participants and their Resources and Digital Capabilities
In managing digital archives of the Yarra River, there are few key participants with
their resources and digital capabilities, ensuring the protection and preservation of
the river for the generations.
Firstly, YRKA’s collaboration with the government could offer a repository of
information including gaining access to resources including legislative documents,
historical records, and other official documents. These resources capture information
on the laws, rights, and policies related to the river. Such documents can offer
insights into the river’s historical significance with its evolution over time, along with
the legal frameworks that protect it. Besides, the government’s advanced digital
infrastructure is notable. Government’s implementation of the Preservation
Digitisation Standards (PDS) is in line with Yarra River’s mission to ensure the
preservation for both the current and future generations (National Archives of
Australia, 2021). The collaboration provides a secure database designed for
extensive data storage and specialised digital platforms for data management and
analysis.
Furthermore, the YRKA’s teams including both members and volunteers play a
significant role in digital archiving. These individuals possess a range of skills and
expertise from research and data collection to multimedia content creation. The
reports containing the multimedia content such as videos and photos provide a clear
view on the river’s states and condition. The team’s digital capabilities extend to the
management of the organisation’s online presence through the organisation’s
website, social media channels, and a database system that stores the collected
data, ensuring the public is informed and engaged. Their contribution ensures that
the digital archives remain updated, relevant, and easily accessible to the public
concerning the Yarra River’s health and preservation.
3.4. Major Risk Analysis
The development of digital archives for the YRKA presents various challenges. One
of the most major concerns is the data security and privacy issue. The rise of digital
9
threats poses risk of unauthorised access and potential data breaches. This is
particularly significant to sensitive information such as the financial statements,
records on the Traditional Owners, and detailed environmental assessments.
Unauthorised access and misuse of the information may result in damage to the
reputation of the association as it may lead to a loss of trust from the community and
stakeholders with legal compliance associated with YRKA.
However, challenges are not limited to data security. The cost of implementing a
robust database system is another concern relating to YRKA. YRKA as a non-profit
organisation may not have sufficient funds to maintain and preserve the digital
archives. The rapid evolution of technology could potentially lead to an obsolescence
of the current database system, posing threat to the reliability and accessibility of the
stored data. One potential mitigation strategy could be forming partnerships with
other NGOs that share the same value of protecting and preserving the Yarra River.
Through these partnerships, YRKA could leverage shared resources or obtain
funding to support digital archiving initiatives.
4. Selection of the preferred archive solutions
4.1. Selection criteria
In implementing the YRKA's digital archive project, choosing the right platform and
tools is essential. The appropriate technology selection can not only meet the
project's current needs but also adapt to future development and provide solid
support for the association's long-term goals. This section briefly explains the
importance of choosing the right platforms and tools and outlines the guidelines and
rationalization process for developing these choices. Through clear selection criteria
and processes, we ensure that the selected platforms and tools best meet the needs
of the association while also preparing for the challenges that may arise in the future.
The criteria for selecting online platforms and tools suitable for YRKA’s digital archive
project should carefully consider the specific needs and objectives of the project. The
10
following are the criteria for selecting online platforms and tools in conjunction with
the Yarra Riverkeeper Association digital archive project:
Security
The YRKA’s Digital Archive project, involves essential data such as river
development planning, water quality and pollution, so the security of the archiving
platform and tools chosen is of Paramount importance. Therefore, the selected
software should provide robust access control and data encryption functions to
ensure data security and privacy. In addition, its security reputation and history are
also critical factors in the selection. By choosing safe and reliable software, the
project can be effectively guaranteed(Zhao&Yang, 2019).
Cost-effectiveness
When selecting an archiving platform and tool for YRKA, cost-effectiveness was
critical due to the organisation's not-for-profit status and budget
constraints(NORTON-WISLA&WYNNE, 2017). It is critical to select an affordable
platform and tools that provide valuable features and services that ensure a positive
return on investment in functionality, increase productivity, minimise the risk of data
loss, and improve data accessibility. It is also essential to be aware of hidden costs,
such as staff training, data migration expenses, and costs associated with integrating
the new platform with existing systems. These considerations are crucial in selecting
an affordable option that meets YRKA's needs and expectations and provides true
cost-effectiveness.
Functionality
Functionality is a critical criterion in selecting archiving platforms and tools, and it
directly impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of the YRKA's digital archive
management project. First, platforms and tools must support multiple file formats and
data types, including text, images, videos and datasets, to ensure that all critical data
can be stored and managed effectively. In addition, to optimise the user experience,
the chosen platform should provide fast and accurate search and retrieval
capabilities, allowing users to quickly find the required archives through keywords,
tags or other metadata. Finally, considering management efficiency and data
11
security, the platform should also support automated data backup and archiving
processes and allow users to customise related settings and processes.
Ease of use
Ease of use is critical in choosing platforms and tools, especially for community
voluntary organisations like YRKA, whose members may not have a professional
technical background, so using platforms and tools must be simple and
straightforward. An intuitive user interface is critical; it can simplify the user's learning
process and improve work efficiency, so the choice of platforms and tools needs to
have a simple design and intuitive operation. In addition, to help users solve
problems encountered during use, the selected platform and tools should provide
adequate user manuals and online help resources. Therefore, when choosing
platforms and tools, preference should be given to those options that provide users
with detailed guidance and quick customer support.
Scalability
With the development of the YRKA’s project and the ongoing focus on the Yarra
River, the volume of data is expected to continue to grow, covering river
development and planning, flow and water supply, water quality and pollution,
biodiversity and related social issues. Therefore, the platforms and tools must be
well scalable to accommodate this data growth without compromising performance
or stability. This means that platforms and tools need to be able to handle large
amounts of data and, as the project evolves, easily add and integrate new functions
or modules to address changing and growing data and information needs. Such
scalability will ensure that the platform and tools can support the YRKA's goals and
tasks over the long term, providing ongoing technical support for the conservation
and management of the Yarra River.
Sustainability
As a long-term community voluntary organisation, the RYKA’s digital archive project
had to ensure that the selected online platforms and tools were sustainable. This
means that the chosen solution can provide stable and reliable support over the long
term to meet the YAKA’s digital archive project needs.During the selection process,
to ensure the availability and reliability of the platform and tools, consider whether
12
the provider has a long-term commitment to technical support and update services
should be considered. In addition, choosing an open-source tool and platform , an
active and supportive community is vital as it can provide an organisation with
ongoing support and resources to help solve technical issues and challenges that
may arise.
Integration
Integration was a core consideration when choosing the platform and tools for the
YRKA's digital archive project. The selected solution should seamlessly integrate into
the association's existing systems, streamlining workflows and increasing efficiency.
Seamless integration helps simplify operations and keep data accurate and
consistent. The open API is critical, allowing custom integration and development to
meet the association's specific needs and providing flexibility and customizability to
make the platform and tools better fit the association's needs. Therefore, choose
platforms and tools that integrate with standard systems and provide open APIs and
detailed documentation to ensure the project is effectively supported and extended.