Aeiou Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
AEIOU is a free online
collection of reference work
s in both German
and English
about Austria
-related topics.
, or Austria was in the year 996. The content was based on the German-language Österreich-Lexikon, first published in a printed version in 1995. Additional material was acquired, including more images and also audio and video files, and AEIOU soon grew into a multimedia
information system
.
The title AEIOU —the "Annotatable Electronic Interactive Oesterreich Universal Information System"— is an allusion
to the old Habsburg
motto, A.E.I.O.U.
. Suggestions for the improvements to articles can be made by reader; however, the aeiou Encyclopedia is not a wiki
.
With an ever-increasing number of Austrian classrooms having Internet
access, the encyclopedia is today widely used by Austrian students at both high school and university levels and, generally, by people all over the world interested in Austria's history and culture. In the spring of 2005, Ministry headed by Elisabeth Gehrer
decided, for pecuniary reasons, to shut down Internet access to the encyclopedia effective April 1
. After strong protest the Ministry reversed its previous decision, and access was restored. There have been recent talks and negotiations on how in the future the encyclopedia could be regularly updated.
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
collection of reference work
Reference work
A reference work is a compendium of information, usually of a specific type, compiled in a book for ease of reference. That is, the information is intended to be quickly found when needed. Reference works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end...
s in both German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
about Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
-related topics.
Background
The AEIOU project was launched in 1996 by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research as part of Austria's millennial celebrations. The first mention of the name OstarrîchiOstarrîchi
The German name of Austria, , derives from the Old High German word . A variant is recorded in the Ostarrîchi Document of 996. This word is thought to be a translation of Latin Marchia Orientalis into a local dialect. This was a march, or borderland, of the Duchy of Bavaria created in 976. Reich...
, or Austria was in the year 996. The content was based on the German-language Österreich-Lexikon, first published in a printed version in 1995. Additional material was acquired, including more images and also audio and video files, and AEIOU soon grew into a multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
information system
Information system
An information system - or application landscape - is any combination of information technology and people's activities that support operations, management, and decision making. In a very broad sense, the term information system is frequently used to refer to the interaction between people,...
.
The title AEIOU —the "Annotatable Electronic Interactive Oesterreich Universal Information System"— is an allusion
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
to the old Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
motto, A.E.I.O.U.
A.E.I.O.U.
AEIOU, or A.E.I.O.U., was a symbolic device utilised by the Habsburg emperors. Emperor Frederick III , who had a fondness for mythical formulae, habitually signed buildings and objects with the acronym...
. Suggestions for the improvements to articles can be made by reader; however, the aeiou Encyclopedia is not a wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
.
With an ever-increasing number of Austrian classrooms having Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access, the encyclopedia is today widely used by Austrian students at both high school and university levels and, generally, by people all over the world interested in Austria's history and culture. In the spring of 2005, Ministry headed by Elisabeth Gehrer
Elisabeth Gehrer
Elisabeth Gehrer is a Conservative Austrian politician. From 1995 until January 2007 Gehrer was Federal Minister of Education, Science and Culture, at first in grand coalition governments headed by Franz Vranitzky and Viktor Klima , and, since 2000, in Wolfgang Schüssel's coalition government...
decided, for pecuniary reasons, to shut down Internet access to the encyclopedia effective April 1
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
. After strong protest the Ministry reversed its previous decision, and access was restored. There have been recent talks and negotiations on how in the future the encyclopedia could be regularly updated.
External links
- The AEIOU homepage | Table of Contents | Search
- Alternative access to aeiou via Austria-Forum, another service by the Graz University of TechnologyGraz University of TechnologyThe Graz University of Technology is the second largest university in Styria, Austria, after the University of Graz. Austria has three universities of technology – in Graz, in Leoben, and in Vienna. The Graz University of Technology was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria. TUG, as the...
- The genesis of the project
- Copyright information