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Between 30.5.-1.6.1997 the first meeting of leading international data-collectors took place in Bruxelles. Participants were (-amongst others): Jany Bessière (B), Grazia Bordoni (I), Ernesto Cordero (E), Marc McDonough (USA), Anne Elliott (AUS), Francoise Schneider-Gauquelin (F), Didier Geslain (F), Michaël Mandl (B), Luc de Marré (B), Lois Rodden (USA), Selma Schepel (NL), Hans-Hinrich Taeger (IRL/D), Daisy van de Vin(F).Subjects of discussion were (a.o.) the two rating systems via Rodden (AA,A,B,C,DD) and Taeger(1*,1,1F,2M,2F,2P,2B,2R,3,4,6,1*d etc.). Because both systems have already a wide dissemination it was decided that both rating systems will exist beside each other. A possibility of conversion between both rating systems in the field of electronic data transfer is conceivable.
There was a general agreement, that data without exact and well researched sources don't fulfill a professional standard and should be rated under group 3 (C) or even group 4 (DD). There was a common sense of reaching the goal that all data publications (-may it via book, articles or CD-ROM) should be verified via B.C., hospital records, written personal statement, biography, autobiography, written statements of the parents etc. At this occasion it was warned again that the source references of the Lescaut data-book series should be handled with care.
For taking bigger data amounts (-more than 10 % of a special data publication) one should contact the data collector resp. publisher for a written permission. In addition one should quote the data-collection and the main source with accuracy like it is common use in the world of science.
Most important subject of the conference was the discussion of data ethics. There were already several written frameworks which will be discussed and refined in the near future. Many data-collectors have had the experience that their published data collections on whom they worked on for decades and which they continously update were copied and marketed completly by irresponsible software-companies. Many of this pirate editions are full of mistakes or based on old and not updated data publications.
Other subjects of the conference were to find a common exchange-format for electronic data-exchange. The exchange format for astrological data (AAF), designed by Martin Garms and Bernd Happel and represented by Taeger found much interest. A final decision is not yet made.
An alignment of the biographical selection criteria for CD-ROM publications and electronic data exchange as they are used in the Taeger- and the Rodden-archives is in discussion.
ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONALDATACOLLECTORSAs a first step to fight this bad and irresponsible behaviour and to establish new data standards and ethics Grazia Bordoni, Lois Rodden and Hans-H. Taeger founded the ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL DATA COLLECTORS (APDC) (*31.5.1997, 23h 37m MET/S, Brussels) (click for chart).
Lois Rodden Hans-H. Taeger Grazia Bordoni Bordoni (email: grabor@tin.it, Fax: 0039-2-89501860), Rodden (email: lrodden@aol.com, Fax 001-909-797-1546) and Taeger (email: taeger@iol.ie, Fax 00353-74-59331) work also as a provisional board of directors until the association gets a joint structure. The world-wide coordination of this association will be in the hands of Grazia Bordoni. The APDC invites all seriously interested data collectors around the world to join the association and sign the code of ethics as soon as this document has a common agreement of all main data collectors.
- It was decided that the next international conference of data-collectors would take place in Milano/I (- organized by Grazia Bordoni).
SECOND APDC - MEETING
- Milan/I, 26. 6. 1998
- REPORT by Hans-Hinrich Taeger (-emailed on the 28th of June 1998)
Dear friends, colleagues, APDC-members,
The following report is a rough sketch of what we discussed at the second APDC meeting in Milano (26. 6. 1998). Participants: Grazia Bordoni (I), Thomas Siegfried (IRL), Mark McDonough (USA), Maurizio Malagoli (I), Hans-Hinrich Taeger (Chair/IRL).
With just a few partitipants we couldn't make any decisions above your heads, but we collected a few ideas for a further discussion forum.
1. APDC should have the main aims of helping astrology and the astrological community to get better data standards, using the knowledge and experience of professional data collectors. APDC should not be seen as a commercial-orientated data-warehouse. If data collectors want to sell data to others or give data for free, that's their private decision and not part of APDC. I would like to suggest that we should give data generously to astrologers who want to do scientific research and whom we trust. In this way we should understand ourselfes as protégés/sponsors, giving astrology a future. We should try to think 'big' and put our data-collector-ego aside when we have the impression that our data are used in a correct and useful way (e.g. for research projects, books, articles, netgroups...). We should cultivate the main and basic attitude of offering a service. Marketing our work is o.k., but should come second. We also should develope the spirit to respect each others work, be it a bigger or smaller data-collection and show a positive attitude towards cooperation amongst data collectors and researchers. Free of jealousy and negative thinking and not forgetting that we all have in common that we work for the sake of astrology, queen of all sciences.
2. We should have a kind of a flexible structure for APDC. I suggested to have a team of 4 chairmen with no hierarchic structure (-maybe for the time of 2 years), an APDC secretary, a treasurer and somebody who takes care for updating the APDC-website. For the time beeing I will act as a chairman and host for a third APDC-meeting in Dublin next year. But we should have as soon as possible three additional chairmen and I would suggest Grazia Bordoni (I), Lois Rodden (USA) and Michael Mandl (B). Is there anybody who would like to work as APDC's secretary, treasurer or webmaster? - My work (-and the work of Thomas) on other projects doesn't allow to much time. Not discussed on our meeting, but worth thinking of: Should we intriduce the option to have 'members of honour' for dedicated collectors like Fr. Gauquelin-Schneider, André Barbault, Marc Penfield, Ed Steinbrecher (...) or outstanding astrologers (advisory board) who demonstrated with their books and articles that they handled data in a professional way?
3. Members of APDC who did sign the Code of Ethics (-which encludes how to cite data according to APDC-standards) should have the option of using the APDC-logo on their publications, articles, books, CD-ROM's etc.
4. We should introduce a small annual fee of ~ 20.- US $ (price can be discussed) for correspondence and making up a APDC-website, which could be used as a part of individual websites of APDC-members also. The fee should be transferred to an APDC bank account, established by the treasurer.
5. APDC should offer resp. recommend certain data standard abbreviations as e.g. Rodden's and my time-zone standards (-published in the appendix of my 4th data vol. of the 'Internationales Horoskope Lexikon' and by Lois in 'Mountain Astrologer') as well as the two rating systems introduced by Lois (Rodden-Rating) and me (Taeger-Rating). Additionally I would recommend the abbreviations for countries, major data collections, astrological magazines etc. as they are used by the Taeger-Archives (-see appendix of my data books). To avoid tensions between data collectors who have their own abbreviation codes everybody should feel free to recommend their own system and put them on the APDC-website for discussion.
6. As APDC we should understand us as an *educational* association to improve the poor data standards, the way how to cite data correctly and help the astrological community as much as possible to learn how to handle data. Some magazines have improved their standards but in most cases it is just a 1 or 2 page data section (-corner), while in the articles which also contain data and horoscopes this standards are very often ignored. I would suggest that every magazine which states that it uses APDC standards should take care that *every* horoscope in their publication has to cite the source in a correct way (-not just in the data section).
7. Citing a data source should follow the scientific and international accepted rules of how to cite. Nick Campion suggested following standard for data books:
a. author's (data collectors) name
b. full title of data source
c. date of publication
d. place of publication
e. date of edition
f. page number
(I would like to add):
g. rating system (e.g. Rodden or Taeger)Alternativly one should use the abbreviation of the according data collection (-as used in the Taeger-Archives) like ROD-1 = Rodden: Profiles of Women, AFA-Publications, Tempe/AZ/USA, 1979 (1st ed.). In this case one just has to cite: e.g. ROD-1, p. 57, BC via STB (=Steinbrecher) (AA). The used abbreviations should be explained at the end of a book or an article. This kind of citing is especially useful when there are many data of two or three major data collections.
For citing periodicals Campion suggested to give following informations:a. title of periodical
b. date of edition
c. place of publication
d. page number
e. column number (if necessary)
(I would like to add):
f. title of article
g. author of article
h. rating system (e.g. Rodden or Taeger)Alternativly one should use abbreviations as used in the Taeger-Archives, like P/53 for 'Datasophia' (ed. Michael Mandl, Bruxelles/B) with the addition of date, page, rating (e.g.: P/53, No. 12, Nov. 1996, p. 17, via TAE (=Taeger) via BC, documented (1*d)).
8. We should also invite interested astrologers and author's to become members of APDC, so that they are able to use the APDC-logo and get in closer contact to the data scene. A very important issue is to encourage young data collectors in their work and offer them our help, experience and know-how for their fresh start.
9. Astrologers, author's, other data collectors etc. who want to use more than 50 data of one collector should ask for a. updates and b. a written permission. In Central Europe one can cite 25% of any book for scientific research without special permission. Mark mentioned that USA has different rules and regulations and he suggested one should follow the copyright laws of the country where the collection is published. I think nothing can go wrong when we ask each other if we get allowance to cite bigger data amounts.
To get rid of false data I offered all German-language magazines the free service to ask via fax or email if there are updates of our data they republish. We do the same with book authors and researchers who base their work mainly on our archives (-we just ask for a complimentary copy). I would suggest that other APDC members should follow this for the sake of astrology.10. Looking through the different drafts for a Code of Ethics I would recommend the (slightly modified) text of Michael Mandl which was posted to anybody after our Bruxelles-Meeting:
CODE OF ETHICS
The collectors of birthdata, astrologers and researchers, gathered within the APDC (Association of Professional Data Collectors) wish to coordinate their works and the mutual exchanges in a spirit of collaboration and of good feeling.
Deontology:
1. The collectors are totally responsible of their researches and of the informations that they publish
2. The publication of comments and/or articles concerning the data published only pledge the responsability of the author.
3. The APDC (-and the use of it's logo) is used as a quality label to insure the authenticity of the published data.
4. Any compilation of data realized from different sources has to be published with the agreement of the persons concerned (the informants) if these are quoted at least 50 times. In any case, it should specify for all data: the source, the name of the informant and the reference of the publication (magazine or book). Data sources should be cited the same way as in scientific publications: a. author's name, b. full title of data source, c. date of publication, d. place of publication, e. rating system (e.g. Rodden or Taeger). Periodicals should have following informations: a. title of periodical, b. date of edition, c. place of publication, d. column number (-if necessary), f. author, g. rating system.
5. Any information is of public property 5 (2?) years after the date of its publication.
6. If several informants hold the same data, only the first one having obtained an official record is considered and will be mentioned by the others. The same principle applies for the reference of the magazine and/or book which was the first to publish the data in object.
7. In case it is impossible to obtain an official record and mny informations are available, these will all be quoted.
8. Any mistakes concerning the data published will be directly communicated to the informant, who will correct (update) it. Under no circumstances, the rectifications published by others will be critical towards the informant's work.
9. Any decision taken by the APDC will be mentioned in a press release published in the signer's magazines or website and/or others to wish they contribute.
10. The collectors undertake to respect the professional secrecy. With the exception of public personalities - and only as part of their function or of events published by mass media -, they won't use any information with other purposes without the authorization of the concerned person.
11. Every member of APDC is allowed to use the logo for his publications. New rules and regulations, news, data-updates etc. concerning APDC can be found on the official APDC website. Each member should bookmark this URL to the URL-minder service to get automatically informed when the site is updated, Beside occasional email-informations the actual APDC website is the main source concerning all developments of the association. Members who are not internet users should ask the APDC secretary for news and updates at least once a year.
This CODE OF ETHICS maybe revised, enlarged or modified, if necessary, by the majority of two thirds of the APDC.
The member approves this CODE OF ETHICS, he dates and signs it adding the mention 'Read and approved'.
p.s. According to no resp. just negative response (Mercury/Saturn in contrast to Jupiter/Uranus attitudes) Hans-Hinrich Taeger resigned from the chairmenship of APDC on the 9. 7. 1998, 22:47 WET/S (Portsalon/IRL). He and Thomas Siegfried decided that they will stay in friendly contact to APDC and it's members and will rethink their membership in case of a more constructive, open-minded and creative cooperation.
Taeger-Archives/Tables Research Projects Research Projects/Download Research/Letter 150 German Astrologers 150 German Astrologers/Download
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