Internationalisation of SIF and harmonisation with other specs/standards

The purpose of this CWA is twofold: 1. Identify those elements within the SIF Data Model that should be extended in order to be used in a worldwide environment. For this, special attention was paid to the identification of issues related to multicultural and multi-lingual environments. 2. Harmonise the SIF Data Model with other existing specifications/standards in the e-learning domain. Also, for those aspects not directly related to e-learning (e.g. bus routes, cafeteria tickets, etc.) this CWA presents whether standards in those areas exist or not. Although the purpose of this CWA is to internationalise SIF in a worldwide context, special emphasis was put on those issues that may affect the multicultural and multilingual Europe. The use of the SIF data model in a multicultural and multilingual environment raises some issues about localisation and/or correct interpretation of attributes used in different contexts. For this reason it is mandatory to identify those SIF data elements that are culturally dependent, need to be further detailed or are not clearly explained. The purpose is to support the global applicability and understanding of the SIF Data Model, investigating both general cultural topics (different calendars, languages, etc) and more specific technical issues (character sets, standards for dates, etc.). This work will support the outputs of the OASIS project that enable different applications and systems to share information. This CWA is intended to be used by OASIS and other initiatives worldwide which would like to localise the SIF specification in their particular contexts, and to develop their own data models taking into account existing standards/specifications that may be reused and internationalisation issues that may have been left out of the SIF specification. At the same time the SIF specification developers may consider this CWA for future updates of the specification.