diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/BulkEditChange.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/BulkEditChange.java
index 52dc879237..8a4153cd97 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/BulkEditChange.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/BulkEditChange.java
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ import org.dspace.content.DCValue;
 import org.dspace.content.Collection;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
 
 /**
  * Utility class to store changes to item that may occur during a batch edit.
@@ -54,23 +55,23 @@ public class BulkEditChange
     /** The item these changes relate to */
     private Item item;
 
-    /** The ArrayList of hashtables with the new elements */
-    private ArrayList<DCValue> adds;
+    /** The List of hashtables with the new elements */
+    private List<DCValue> adds;
 
-    /** The ArrayList of hashtables with the removed elements */
-    private ArrayList<DCValue> removes;
+    /** The List of hashtables with the removed elements */
+    private List<DCValue> removes;
 
-    /** The ArrayList of hashtables with the unchanged elements */
-    private ArrayList<DCValue> constant;
+    /** The List of hashtables with the unchanged elements */
+    private List<DCValue> constant;
 
-    /** The ArrayList of the complete set of new values (constant + adds) */
-    private ArrayList<DCValue> complete;
+    /** The List of the complete set of new values (constant + adds) */
+    private List<DCValue> complete;
 
-    /** The Arraylist of old collections the item used to be mapped to */
-    private ArrayList<Collection> oldMappedCollections;
+    /** The list of old collections the item used to be mapped to */
+    private List<Collection> oldMappedCollections;
 
-    /** The Arraylist of new collections the item has been mapped into */
-    private ArrayList<Collection> newMappedCollections;
+    /** The list of new collections the item has been mapped into */
+    private List<Collection> newMappedCollections;
 
     /** The old owning collection */
     private Collection oldOwningCollection;
@@ -262,7 +263,7 @@ public class BulkEditChange
      *
      * @return the list of elements and their values that have been added.
      */
-    public ArrayList<DCValue> getAdds()
+    public List<DCValue> getAdds()
     {
         // Return the array
         return adds;
@@ -273,7 +274,7 @@ public class BulkEditChange
      *
      * @return the list of elements and their values that have been removed.
      */
-    public ArrayList<DCValue> getRemoves()
+    public List<DCValue> getRemoves()
     {
         // Return the array
         return removes;
@@ -284,7 +285,7 @@ public class BulkEditChange
      *
      * @return the list of unchanged values
      */
-    public ArrayList<DCValue> getConstant()
+    public List<DCValue> getConstant()
     {
         // Return the array
         return constant;
@@ -295,7 +296,7 @@ public class BulkEditChange
      *
      * @return the list of all values
      */
-    public ArrayList<DCValue> getComplete()
+    public List<DCValue> getComplete()
     {
         // Return the array
         return complete;
@@ -306,7 +307,7 @@ public class BulkEditChange
      *
      * @return the list of new mapped collections
      */
-    public ArrayList<Collection> getNewMappedCollections()
+    public List<Collection> getNewMappedCollections()
     {
         // Return the array
         return newMappedCollections;
@@ -317,7 +318,7 @@ public class BulkEditChange
      *
      * @return the list of old mapped collections
      */
-    public ArrayList<Collection> getOldMappedCollections()
+    public List<Collection> getOldMappedCollections()
     {
         // Return the array
         return oldMappedCollections;
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/DSpaceCSV.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/DSpaceCSV.java
index c42c8eaef4..e56b28e866 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/DSpaceCSV.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/DSpaceCSV.java
@@ -56,10 +56,10 @@ import java.io.*;
 public class DSpaceCSV
 {
     /** The headings of the CSV file */
-    private ArrayList<String> headings;
+    private List<String> headings;
 
     /** An array list of CSV lines */
-    private ArrayList<DSpaceCSVLine> lines;
+    private List<DSpaceCSVLine> lines;
 
     /** A counter of how many CSV lines this object holds */
     private int counter;
@@ -485,7 +485,7 @@ public class DSpaceCSV
      *
      * @return The lines
      */
-    public ArrayList<DSpaceCSVLine> getCSVLines()
+    public List<DSpaceCSVLine> getCSVLines()
     {
         // Return the lines
         return lines;
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/DSpaceCSVLine.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/DSpaceCSVLine.java
index 624792321f..ca40007881 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/DSpaceCSVLine.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/DSpaceCSVLine.java
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Hashtable;
 import java.util.Enumeration;
 import java.util.Iterator;
+import java.util.List;
 
 /**
  * Utility class to store a line from a CSV file
@@ -116,7 +117,7 @@ public class DSpaceCSVLine
      * @param key The metadata key
      * @return All the elements that match
      */
-    public ArrayList<String> get(String key)
+    public List<String> get(String key)
     {
         // Return any relevant values
         return items.get(key);
@@ -139,7 +140,7 @@ public class DSpaceCSVLine
      * @param headings The headings which define the order the elements must be presented in
      * @return The CSV formatted String
      */
-    protected String toCSV(ArrayList<String> headings)
+    protected String toCSV(List<String> headings)
     {
         StringBuilder bits = new StringBuilder();
 
@@ -172,7 +173,7 @@ public class DSpaceCSVLine
      * @param values The values to create the string from
      * @return The line as a CSV formatted String
      */
-    private String valueToCSV(ArrayList<String> values)
+    private String valueToCSV(List<String> values)
     {
         // Check there is some content
         if (values == null)
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/MetadataExport.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/MetadataExport.java
index bc1119d7ab..70a936d1d1 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/MetadataExport.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/MetadataExport.java
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ import org.dspace.handle.HandleManager;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
+import java.util.List;
 
 /**
  * Metadata exporter to allow the batch export of metadata into a file
@@ -116,7 +117,7 @@ public class MetadataExport
      * @return The list of item ids
      * @throws SQLException
      */
-    private ArrayList buildFromCommunity(Community community, ArrayList itemIDs, int indent)
+    private List buildFromCommunity(Community community, List itemIDs, int indent)
                                                                                throws SQLException
     {
         // Add all the collections
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/MetadataImport.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/MetadataImport.java
index 5f14a5fb67..4d6ad213c7 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/MetadataImport.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/bulkedit/MetadataImport.java
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ import java.io.InputStreamReader;
 import java.io.BufferedReader;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
+import java.util.List;
 
 /**
  * Metadata importer to allow the batch import of metadata from a file
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@ public class MetadataImport
     Context c;
 
     /** The lines to import */
-    ArrayList<DSpaceCSVLine> toImport;
+    List<DSpaceCSVLine> toImport;
 
     /** log4j logger */
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(MetadataImport.class);
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ public class MetadataImport
      * @param c The context
      * @param toImport An array of CSV lines to examine
      */
-    public MetadataImport(Context c, ArrayList<DSpaceCSVLine> toImport)
+    public MetadataImport(Context c, List<DSpaceCSVLine> toImport)
     {
         // Store the import settings
         this.c = c;
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ public class MetadataImport
      *
      * @throws MetadataImportException if something goes wrong
      */
-    public ArrayList<BulkEditChange> runImport(boolean change,
+    public List<BulkEditChange> runImport(boolean change,
                                                boolean useWorkflow,
                                                boolean workflowNotify,
                                                boolean useTemplate) throws MetadataImportException
@@ -127,7 +128,7 @@ public class MetadataImport
                     BulkEditChange whatHasChanged = new BulkEditChange(item);
 
                     // Has it moved collection?
-                    ArrayList<String> collections = line.get("collection");
+                    List<String> collections = line.get("collection");
                     if (collections != null)
                     {
                         // Sanity check we're not orphaning it
@@ -189,7 +190,7 @@ public class MetadataImport
                     }
 
                     // Check it has an owning collection
-                    ArrayList<String> collections = line.get("collection");
+                    List<String> collections = line.get("collection");
                     if (collections == null)
                     {
                         throw new MetadataImportException("New items must have a 'collection' assigned in the form of a handle");
@@ -412,8 +413,8 @@ public class MetadataImport
             ((changes.getAdds().size() > 0) || (changes.getRemoves().size() > 0)))
         {
             // Get the complete list of what values should now be in that element
-            ArrayList<DCValue> list = changes.getComplete();
-            ArrayList<String> values = new ArrayList<String>();
+            List<DCValue> list = changes.getComplete();
+            List<String> values = new ArrayList<String>();
             for (DCValue value : list)
             {
                 if ((qualifier == null) && (language == null))
@@ -482,7 +483,7 @@ public class MetadataImport
      * @throws MetadataImportException If something goes wrong to be reported back to the user
      */
     private void compare(Item item,
-                         ArrayList<String> collections,
+                         List<String> collections,
                          Collection[] actualCollections,
                          BulkEditChange bechange,
                          boolean change) throws SQLException, AuthorizeException, IOException, MetadataImportException
@@ -748,17 +749,17 @@ public class MetadataImport
      * @param changed Whether or not the changes have been made
      * @return The number of items that have changed
      */
-    private static int displayChanges(ArrayList<BulkEditChange> changes, boolean changed)
+    private static int displayChanges(List<BulkEditChange> changes, boolean changed)
     {
         // Display the changes
         int changeCounter = 0;
         for (BulkEditChange change : changes)
         {
             // Get the changes
-            ArrayList<DCValue> adds = change.getAdds();
-            ArrayList<DCValue> removes = change.getRemoves();
-            ArrayList<Collection> newCollections = change.getNewMappedCollections();
-            ArrayList<Collection> oldCollections = change.getOldMappedCollections();
+            List<DCValue> adds = change.getAdds();
+            List<DCValue> removes = change.getRemoves();
+            List<Collection> newCollections = change.getNewMappedCollections();
+            List<Collection> oldCollections = change.getOldMappedCollections();
             if ((adds.size() > 0) || (removes.size() > 0) ||
                 (newCollections.size() > 0) || (oldCollections.size() > 0) ||
                 (change.getNewOwningCollection() != null) || (change.getOldOwningCollection() != null))
@@ -1037,7 +1038,7 @@ public class MetadataImport
 
         // Perform the first import - just higlight differences
         MetadataImport importer = new MetadataImport(c, csv.getCSVLines());
-        ArrayList<BulkEditChange> changes;
+        List<BulkEditChange> changes;
 
         if (!line.hasOption('s'))
         {
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/DCInputsReader.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/DCInputsReader.java
index c18b3c3fd9..cb4f23e835 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/DCInputsReader.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/DCInputsReader.java
@@ -99,24 +99,24 @@ public class DCInputsReader
      * Reference to the collections to forms map, computed from the forms
      * definition file
      */
-    private HashMap whichForms = null;
+    private Map whichForms = null;
 
     /**
      * Reference to the forms definitions map, computed from the forms
      * definition file
      */
-    private HashMap formDefns  = null;
+    private Map formDefns  = null;
 
     /**
      * Reference to the forms which allow, disallow or mandate files to be
      * uploaded.
      */
-    private HashMap formFileUploadDefns = null;
+    private Map formFileUploadDefns = null;
 
     /**
      * Reference to the value-pairs map, computed from the forms definition file
      */
-    private HashMap valuePairs = null;    // Holds display/storage pairs
+    private Map valuePairs = null;    // Holds display/storage pairs
     
     /**
      * Mini-cache of last DCInputSet requested. If submissions are not typically
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ public class DCInputsReader
      * Check that this is the only field with the name dc-element.dc-qualifier
      * If there is a duplicate, return an error message, else return null;
      */
-    private String checkForDups(String formName, HashMap field, List pages)
+    private String checkForDups(String formName, Map field, List pages)
     {
         int matches = 0;
         String err = null;
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/SubmissionConfigReader.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/SubmissionConfigReader.java
index 0b55142b57..858a9b63a9 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/SubmissionConfigReader.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/SubmissionConfigReader.java
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ public class SubmissionConfigReader
      * which collection, computed from the item submission config file
      * (specifically, the 'submission-map' tag)
      */
-    private HashMap collectionToSubmissionConfig = null;
+    private Map collectionToSubmissionConfig = null;
 
     /**
      * Reference to the global submission step definitions defined in the
@@ -396,7 +396,7 @@ public class SubmissionConfigReader
                             "There are two step elements with the id '" + stepID + "' in 'item-submission.xml'");
                 }
 
-                HashMap stepInfo = processStepChildNodes("step-definition", nd);
+                Map stepInfo = processStepChildNodes("step-definition", nd);
 
                 stepDefns.put(stepID, stepInfo);
             } // ignore any child that is not a 'step'
@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ public class SubmissionConfigReader
                         // check for an 'id' attribute
                         String stepID = getAttribute(nStep, "id");
 
-                        HashMap stepInfo;
+                        Map stepInfo;
 
                         // if this step has an id, load its information from the
                         // step-definition section
@@ -567,7 +567,7 @@ public class SubmissionConfigReader
      * and the value is the field value.
      * 
      */
-    private HashMap processStepChildNodes(String configSection, Node nStep)
+    private Map processStepChildNodes(String configSection, Node nStep)
             throws SAXException, ServletException
     {
         // initialize the HashMap of step Info
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/SubmissionInfo.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/SubmissionInfo.java
index ef077ef51c..267d45fa5b 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/SubmissionInfo.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/app/util/SubmissionInfo.java
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ public class SubmissionInfo
     * second page of Step 5) Values are the Headings to display for each step
     * (e.g. "Describe")
     **************************************************************************/
-    private HashMap progressBar = null;
+    private Map progressBar = null;
     
     /** The element or element_qualifier to show more input boxes for */
     private String moreBoxesFor;
@@ -583,7 +583,7 @@ public class SubmissionInfo
      * 
      */
     private static void saveProgressBarToCache(HttpSession session,
-            HashMap progressBarInfo)
+            Map progressBarInfo)
     {
         // cache progress bar info to Session
         session.setAttribute("submission.progressbar", progressBarInfo);
@@ -601,9 +601,9 @@ public class SubmissionInfo
      * @return progressBarInfo HashMap (if found), or null (if not)
      * 
      */
-    private static HashMap loadProgressBarFromCache(HttpSession session)
+    private static Map loadProgressBarFromCache(HttpSession session)
     {
-        return (HashMap) session.getAttribute("submission.progressbar");
+        return (Map) session.getAttribute("submission.progressbar");
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/BrowseDAOOracle.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/BrowseDAOOracle.java
index 258ba09908..c02aea9b3c 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/BrowseDAOOracle.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/BrowseDAOOracle.java
@@ -132,8 +132,8 @@ public class BrowseDAOOracle implements BrowseDAO
     // administrative attributes for this class
 
     /** a cache of the actual query to be executed */
-    private String    querySql    = "";
-    private ArrayList queryParams = new ArrayList();
+    private String querySql    = "";
+    private List   queryParams = new ArrayList();
 
     private String whereClauseOperator = "";
 
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/BrowseDAOPostgres.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/BrowseDAOPostgres.java
index 00a03c966a..0c97ea7284 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/BrowseDAOPostgres.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/BrowseDAOPostgres.java
@@ -132,8 +132,8 @@ public class BrowseDAOPostgres implements BrowseDAO
     // administrative attributes for this class
 
     /** a cache of the actual query to be executed */
-    private String    querySql    = "";
-    private ArrayList queryParams = new ArrayList();
+    private String querySql    = "";
+    private List   queryParams = new ArrayList();
 
     /** whether the query (above) needs to be regenerated */
     private boolean rebuildQuery = true;
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/CrossLinks.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/CrossLinks.java
index 61b080a475..e501b037bf 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/CrossLinks.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/browse/CrossLinks.java
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 package org.dspace.browse;
 
 import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.dspace.core.ConfigurationManager;
 
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ import org.dspace.core.ConfigurationManager;
 public class CrossLinks
 {
 	/** a map of the desired links */
-	private HashMap links = new HashMap();
+	private Map links = new HashMap();
 	
 	/**
 	 * Construct a new object which will obtain the configuration for itself
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/ItemIterator.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/ItemIterator.java
index 9ae1ccbe90..82651a0028 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/ItemIterator.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/ItemIterator.java
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import java.sql.SQLException;
 
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
 
 import org.dspace.core.Context;
 import org.dspace.storage.rdbms.TableRow;
@@ -97,7 +98,7 @@ public class ItemIterator
      * @param iids
      *            the array list to be iterated over
      */
-    public ItemIterator(Context context, ArrayList iids)
+    public ItemIterator(Context context, List iids)
     {
     	ourContext = context;
     	iditr = iids.iterator();
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/MetadataField.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/MetadataField.java
index 5bbf2e70cc..0babe95ba9 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/MetadataField.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/MetadataField.java
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ import java.sql.SQLException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
 import org.dspace.authorize.AuthorizeException;
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ public class MetadataField
     private TableRow row;
 
     // cache of field by ID (Integer)
-    private static HashMap id2field = null;
+    private static Map id2field = null;
 
 
     /**
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/MetadataSchema.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/MetadataSchema.java
index 9e4d2f594a..65d8881bfe 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/MetadataSchema.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/MetadataSchema.java
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ import java.sql.SQLException;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
 import org.dspace.authorize.AuthorizeException;
@@ -87,10 +88,10 @@ public class MetadataSchema
     private String name;
 
     // cache of schema by ID (Integer)
-    private static HashMap id2schema = null;
+    private static Map id2schema = null;
 
     // cache of schema by short name
-    private static HashMap name2schema = null;
+    private static Map name2schema = null;
 
 
     /**
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/crosswalk/MODSDisseminationCrosswalk.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/crosswalk/MODSDisseminationCrosswalk.java
index a117b45362..a3a104ef10 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/crosswalk/MODSDisseminationCrosswalk.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/crosswalk/MODSDisseminationCrosswalk.java
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ import java.util.Enumeration;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Properties;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
@@ -159,7 +160,7 @@ public class MODSDisseminationCrosswalk extends SelfNamedPlugin
     private static XMLOutputter outputUgly = new XMLOutputter();
     private static SAXBuilder builder = new SAXBuilder();
 
-    private HashMap modsMap = null;
+    private Map modsMap = null;
 
     /**
      * Container for crosswalk mapping: expressed as "triple" of:
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/crosswalk/QDCCrosswalk.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/crosswalk/QDCCrosswalk.java
index ad3a24f247..b953c830eb 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/crosswalk/QDCCrosswalk.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/content/crosswalk/QDCCrosswalk.java
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ import java.util.Enumeration;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Properties;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
@@ -128,10 +129,10 @@ public class QDCCrosswalk extends SelfNamedPlugin
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(QDCCrosswalk.class);
 
     // map of qdc to JDOM Element
-    private HashMap qdc2element = new HashMap();
+    private Map qdc2element = new HashMap();
 
     // map of JDOM Element to qdc DCValue
-    private HashMap element2qdc = new HashMap();
+    private Map element2qdc = new HashMap();
 
     // the XML namespaces from config file for this name.
     private Namespace namespaces[] = null;
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/core/PluginManager.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/core/PluginManager.java
index 0d85019d57..b3fedfbe6d 100755
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/core/PluginManager.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/core/PluginManager.java
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ public class PluginManager
 
     // Map of plugin class to "reusable" metric (as Boolean, must be Object)
     // Key is Class, value is Boolean (true by default).
-    private static HashMap cacheMeCache = new HashMap();
+    private static Map cacheMeCache = new HashMap();
 
     // Predicate -- whether or not to cache this class.  Ironically,
     // the cacheability information is itself cached.
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ public class PluginManager
 
     // cache of config data for Sequence Plugins; format its
     // <interface-name> -> [ <classname>.. ]  (value is Array)
-    private static HashMap sequenceConfig = new HashMap();
+    private static Map sequenceConfig = new HashMap();
 
     /**
      * Returns instances of all plugins that implement the interface
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ public class PluginManager
     }
 
     // Map of cached (reusable) single plugin instances - class -> instance.
-    private static HashMap anonymousInstanceCache = new HashMap();
+    private static Map anonymousInstanceCache = new HashMap();
 
     // Get possibly-cached plugin instance for un-named plugin,
     // this is shared by Single and Sequence plugins.
@@ -246,10 +246,10 @@ public class PluginManager
 
     // Map of named plugin classes, [intfc,name] -> class
     // Also contains intfc -> "marker" to mark when interface has been loaded.
-    private static HashMap namedPluginClasses = new HashMap();
+    private static Map namedPluginClasses = new HashMap();
 
     // Map of cached (reusable) named plugin instances, [class,name] -> instance
-    private static HashMap namedInstanceCache = new HashMap();
+    private static Map namedInstanceCache = new HashMap();
 
     // load and cache configuration data for the given interface.
     private static void configureNamedPlugin(String iname)
diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/event/EventManager.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/event/EventManager.java
index bb4c4ecf2c..dbf0ad62cd 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/event/EventManager.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/event/EventManager.java
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ public class EventManager
     // Keyed FIFO Pool of event dispatchers
     private static KeyedObjectPool dispatcherPool = null;
 
-    private static HashMap<String, Integer> consumerIndicies = null;
+    private static Map<String, Integer> consumerIndicies = null;
 
     private static final String CONSUMER_PFX = "event.consumer.";