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BICA Issue No. 8: June 1992

Software

An English Version of Kleio

The pioneering software system Kleio, developed by Dr. Manfred Thaller of the Max Planck Institute für Geschichte at Göttingen, has revolutionised historical computing in the German-speaking world. Starting with the principle of 'source-oriented data processing', which provides historian with a range of sophisticated, discipline-specific tools which enable them to preserve the integrity of their source material while handling that material in a wide variety of ways. To this end, Kleio offers powerful text handling facilities, routines for dealing with varieties of historical dating systems and interlocking currency systems, hierarchical and non-hierarchical relationships, record-matching algorithms, fuzzy and context-sensitive data handling, image retrieval and information exchange routines. The approach has been accurately defined as that of the 'historical workstation'.

Sygap - Système de Gestion et d'Analyse de Population

Sygap is a demographic analysis program particularly suited to long term life-event data (eg. parish registers) for IBM PC compatible micros. It uses files with a .dbf extension (as produced by dBase and Foxbase). The operation is menu based. Measures include: fertility rates, birth intervals, nuptuality, mean age at first marriage, remarriage frequencies, mortality tables, age pyramids, population movement, consanguinity, monthly movements of conceptions, marriages and burials. The program was developed in connection with demographic and genetic research in France and Canada and is freely available with a detailed manual (over 200 pages). At present the program and manual are only available in French and Portuguese.

Further details:

M. Guy Brunet
Institut Européen des Génomutations
86, rue Edmond Locard
69005 LYON
FRANCE

Vacancy

The "English Version of Kleio" Project

A consortium of institution, including the University of Southampton, Queen Mary and Westfield College, London, and the Institute of Historical Research, have agreed to support the development of an English version of Kleio, a package for source-oriented data processing developed at the Max-Planck-Institut für Geschichte, Göttingen.

The person appointed would work with the Directors in preparing and documenting datasets and relevant materials for a tutorial volume to accompany the translation. The materials in the datasets are likely to be derived from English sources, and predominantly of eighteenth and nineteenth century provenance.

The successful applicant is likely to have a degree in an historical discipline and should have some general computing experience. A knowledge of German is not necessary.

The appointment is for six months in the first instance, although it is hoped to extend it to a year, starting not later than 1st September. The person would be expect to work with established teams in both Göttingen and the UK.

Further particulars are available from:

Dr. Frank Colson ,
The HiDES Project, History Department, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO9 5NH

Tel . 0703-593079 Fax 0703-593939

E-mail hii005@uk.ac.soton.ibm

or

Dr. Peter Denley ,
Department of History, Queen Mary & Westfield College (University of London), Hampstead Campus, London NW3 7ST

Tel. 071-435-7141 Fax 071-794-2173

E-mail denley@uk.ac.qmw