John Clews

Submitted : Tue, 03 Oct 1995 10:52:02 GMT

John Clews
Director
SESAME Computer Projects
8 Avenue Road
Harrogate, HG2 7PG
UK

Phones: +44 (0) 1423 888 432
FAX:    +44 (0) 1423 888 432 (Currently, ring to check for possible new 
         number)
eMAIL:  john@sesame.demon.co.uk


Computing and Arabic script (Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Uighur, Uzbek, Kazakh);
Character sets; character coding; computer standards; library databases;
transliteration; cataloguing.

DESCRIPTION

My major research interest is how different script have incluenced each
other, and how scripts, languages and cultures have interacted.

My principal expertise is in information technology in libraries, particularly
involving multilingual issues. I have also edited a journal covering these
areas (SESAME bulletin) and written the book Language automation worldwide:
the development of character set standards (Harrogate: SESAME Computer
Projects, 1988), and have presented a number of published conference papers
over the last few years, which included Arabic library automation, including
at national and some international conferences. These included ICEMCO (London),
IFLA Satellite Conference on Non-Roman script automation (Barcelona) and
International Conference on Applications of Information Technology in South
Asian Languages (New Delhi).

I have undertaken consultancies for UNESCO, IFLA and the British Library.
These consultancies covered training in the use of libraries, the development
of integrated bibliographic systems for the United Nations, classification
and indexing systems. More recently I covered library automation of Arabic
and other non-roman scripts, involving specification. procurement and
implementation. As a result, there are now Arabic language catalogues at the
Public Technical Library in the Sultanate of Oman and the Pontifical
Institute for the Study of Arabic and Islamic Affairs in Rome.

I also developed various language modifications to enable the CDS/ISIS
database to work under various languages, and also developed the SEDIT
editor, now both being used in a multilingual email context under MS-DOS.
These both allow all European languages and scripts to be used in databases
and text files and in email. An Arabic version of CDS/ISIS using this system
has also been implemented. I have also developed a multilingual word
processor, running under MS-DOS, and a version for Windows is planned for the
future. All European languages and scripts are included, as well as Arabic,
Farsi and Urdu. I also assisted in developing an Arabic-Urdu-Farsi version of
the Locoscript word processor in the mid-1980s.

International standards work relating to Middle Eastern langauges and scripts

Since the mid 1980s I have represented the United Kingdom on standards
committees in the International Standards Organization. Principal work was on
8-bit character sets for non-Latin scripts, and on the Multiple-Byte
character set standard ISO 10646, in particular the repertoire of the Basic
Multilingual Plane (identical to the UNICODE 16-bit character set). I have
also been a member of the ECMA Task Group on Arabic, which has worked closely
with ASMO in developing standards like ASMO 449 and ASMO 708 and I also work
on European multilingual standards work through CEN TC 304.

From September 1995 I am also chairman elect of ISO/TC46/SC2 (Transliteration).
I have also done practical work on transliteration systems, including
automatic transliteration, both in a library transliteration context,
involving ISO, LC and other standard schemes, and work of a more general
application.

Other work

I have also run seminars and workshops in this area. In 1990 I ran a two day
workshop on non-roman script character set technology for Digital Equipment
Corporation (DEC), and in 1991 I organised a one-day seminar in the UK on
Arabic Bibliographical Databases on behalf of the Middle-East Libraries
Committee.