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GLOSSARY
The source of the definitions for terms is provided in brackets; web addresses for sources are provided in parentheses.
Attachment: A document (such as a word processing document, a sound file, or a hot-link) that is associated with another document (usually an electronic mail message) by being appended to or embedded in and transmitted with it. In this paper, we consider the attached document to be an integral part of an e-mail message, rather than a separate entity, so that both documents form the record. We have also used the term "compound document" to describe electronic messages containing attachments.
Authenticity: A record is authentic when it is the document it claims to be. [Duranti, 1995] Authenticity implies that the record has not been altered or manipulated in any way.
Convenience Record: Extra copies of records maintained for ease of access and reference. They are not usually considered to be an official organizational record and are not scheduled in corporate record retention schedules.[ARMA, 1985]
Data Migration: The periodic transfer of data from one hardware or software configuration to another, or from one generation of computer technology to a subsequent generation. Migration is a necessary action for retaining the integrity of the data and for allowing users to search, retrieve, and make use of data in the face of constantly changing technology.
Database Management System: A software system used to access and retrieve data stored in a database. [NARA's Managing Electronic Records Instructional Guide]
Document: Information contained in a particular medium, generated in the normal course of business operations. All records are documents but not all documents are records. The distinction between a record and a document is not altogether clear. We suggest that documents may contain information created in a business context, but do not necessarily represent evidence of business activities. Documents can serve as envelopes which point to other types of documents.
Document Management System (DMS): Software that indexes and profiles documents based on content; controls documents using such functions as check in/check out, version control, audit trails, and security of information; and facilitates searching by profile values or by some other hierarchical structure such as folders and files. DMS creates structure and access methods for electronic documents and provides a database of documents that can be searched and retrieved. A DMS does not directly address retention management and disposition, rather, it manages versions of documents currently being worked on. A DMS should be used in conjunction with a records management application (RMA).
Electronic Mail Message: We have adopted the Department of Defense's definition of an e-mail message for the purposes of this paper: A document created or received on an electronic mail system including brief notes, more formal or substantive narrative documents, and any attachments which may be transmitted with the message. [DoD 3.2.41] (http://www.dtic.dla.mil:80/c3i/stdfb.html#DETAILED"). We also include the associated metadata or header information to be a vital part of the message.
Hot-link: A hypertext link that is embedded in an e-mail message, which allows the user to go directly from the e-mail application to a website. Essentially, it links together two different documents. This capability exists only in some electronic mail systems.
Metadata: Data describing stored data, that is, describing the structure, data elements, interrelationships and other characteristics of electronic information. [DoD 3.2.55] The DoD uses the terms "record profile data" and "metadata" interchangeably, which we have also adopted in this paper. We have used the term metadata to refer to transmission and receipt information, such as sender, addressee, cc, path, subject, date, and time. We assume that metadata is the information entered into a document management system to describe or profile a message, and that it provides descriptive indexing terms used for searching and retrieval of messages stored in a database. Metadata is not index terms drawn from a controlled vocabulary. For more information see (http://www.lis.pitt.edu/~nhprc/meta96.html)and (http://purl.org/metadata/dublin_core_elements).
Non-Record: Materials that lack evidence of an organization's business activities or lack information of lasting value to the company. Non-record e-mail might include announcement of a staff party, or purely private transactions, for example. What distinguishes an e-mail record from a non-record is the determination of the value of its content to the organization.
Official Record: A record which is legally recognized as establishing some fact or as evidence of a business transaction. [ARMA, 1985]
Record: Documentary materials or information, regardless of physical media or characteristics, made or received by an office in connection with the transaction of official business and preserved by that office as evidence of the organization's functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of that office or because of the value of data in the record. [NARA Records Management Handbook] (http://www.dtic.dla.mil:80/c3i/stdfb.html#DETAILED"). The value of a record depe nds upon its reliability and authenticity. To be maintained as records, the content, structure, and context of an e-mail message must be preserved.
Records Management: A discipline that provides life cycle management of all records from their creation or receipt through their processing, distribution, organization, and retrieval to their ultimate disposition.
Records Management Application (RMA): DoD and NARA use this term to describe the actual software used by an organization to manage its records. Its primary management functions are to categorize, locate, and identify records due for disposition, as well as store, retrieve, and document the disposition of the electronic records stored within its repository. [DoD 3.2.74]
Record Profile: The DoD uses this term interchangeably with metadata. A profile is information about a record that is used by the RMA to file, search, and retrieve the record. Information fields such as date, subject, to, from, record number, version number, and originating organization can serve as indexing terms. [DoD 3.2.76]
Record Series: A group of related records that are used and arranged in accordance with a filing system. These records are normally kept together because they relate to a particular subject or function, result from the same activity, have a particular form, or have some relationship arising from their creation, receipt, use, or disposition. They can be evaluated as a unit for retention scheduling purposes. [DoD 3.2.78]
Reliability: Refers to the authority and trustworthiness of records as evidence. Reliable records can be trusted due to their form, their completeness, the degree of control exercised on their creation, and their author's reliability. [Duranti, 1995]
Workflow: The electronic analog of how paperwork moves through the work environment. Richard Johnson describes workflow as "document transport". Workflow requires a networked environment which supports electronic routing of work from one user to the next, and links documents to the underlying business process. E-mail facilitates workflow because it allows better dissemination of information and has no physical boundaries; workflow can bring discrete databases together and preserve the accessibility of the information to each user. Workflow makes possible collaborative workgroup computing. [Koulopoulos and Frappaolo, 1995]
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