DELTA Workshop

[David G Green]

                        ----------------------------------------
                           INTRODUCTION TO THE DELTA SYSTEM
                           (DEscription Language for TAxonomy)
                        ------------- a workshop -------------

                              January 17th - 21 st 1994
                                       ANU-CSIRO
                                Canberra, Australia

The DELTA (DEscription Language for TAxonomy) format in the internationally
recognised standard for coding descriptive taxonomic information.  The
associated programs, which have been under development since the mid
1970's, have facilities for maintaining data, producing natural language
descriptions and keys, interactive identification and information
retrieval, and converting data to formats required by programs for
cladistic and phenetic analysis.

Large sets of data have already been prepared for flowering plant families,
grasses, sedges, legumes, beetles (adults and larvae), plant viruses etc.
Some datasets incorporate numerous line, grey-scale and colour
illustrations.  Several of these datasets are available on the Interned and
will be available at the workshop.

The DELTA system combines traditional taxonomic practice with modern
information science to produce a key tool of the emerging science of
bioinformatics.  A working knowledge of the system is a valuable skill for
all involved in the practice of teaching of biological information storage,
analysis and dissemination.

This DELTA workshop is aimed at those teaching particularly in Australian
universities in taxonomy, systematics and evolution.  Numbers are
restricted to about 20 participants, working singly or in pairs on MS-DOS
microcomputers.  In will be led by Drs Mike Dallwitz (CSIRO Division of
Entomology) and Les Watson (Research School of Biological Sciences, ANU)
and colleagues.

VENUE:
        Bioinformatics seminar room, Research School of Biological
Sciences, Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University,
Canberra

WORKSHOP PROGRAM:

Mornings:

Monday
Character lists and data coding. Checks. Natural language descriptions.

Tuesday
Interactive identification and information retrieval (INTKEY)

Wednesday
Generating printed keys; optimising by weighting and parameter adjustment

Thursday
Typesetting. Diagnostic and group descriptions.  Extracting subsets.  Images.

Friday
Phenetic and cladistic programs.  Tree comparisons

Afternoons:

Development by participants of their own data sets; exploration of existing
data sets.

COST/FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:

The workshop is FREE and financial assistance (for both travel and
accommodation) is available where need is shown.  Course notes,
morning/afternoon teas and a workshop dinner are also provided free of
charge.

Note: workshop places are limited and enrolment is on a first come basis.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, REGISTRATION OR INCLUSION ON FURTHER DELTA
WORKSHOP MAILING LISTS PLEASE MAIL OR FAX YOUR REQUEST TO:

PLANT SCIENCE CENTRE WORKSHOPS
RSBS, ANU
GPO BOX 475
CANBERRA     2601
PH: 06-249.2878
FAX: 06-247.5896

ALTERNATIVELY E-MAIL TO:

DENNIS.BITTISNICH at ANU.EDU.AU
_____________________________________________________________________________

Dr Dennis Bittisnich
Plant Science Centre, ANU
P.O. Box 475, Canberra, 2601 AUSTRALIA
E-mail; dennis.bittisnich at anu.edu.au; ph: 06.249.2878