Metadata Augmentation for Semantic- and Context- Based Retrieval of Digital Cultural Objects

Cultural objects are increasingly stored and generated in digital form, yet effective methods for their indexing and retrieval still remain an open area of research. The main problem arises from the disconnection between the content-based indexing approach used by computer scientists and the description-based approach used by information scientists. There is also a lack of representational schemes that allow the alignment of the semantics and context with keywords and low-level features that can be automatically extracted from the content of these cultural objects. This paper presents an integrated approach to address these problems, taking advantage of both computer science and information science approaches. The focus is on the rationale and conceptual design of the system and its various components. In particular, we discuss techniques for augmenting commonly used metadata with visual features and domain knowledge to generate high-level abstract metadata which in turn can be used for semantic and context-based indexing and retrieval. We use a sample collection of Vietnamese traditional woodcuts to demonstrate the usefulness of this approach

Semiotic Principles for Metadata Auditing and Evaluation

This is an electronic version of an article published in Cataloging and Classification Quarterly. This article is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01639374.2015.1133750Metadata auditing is a common practice used to assess quality by drawing on a selection of documents to create a representative sample of the corpus. This article examines common techniques involved in auditing and argues that underlying semiotic principles should be considered before remediation and transformation work are undertaken. This article provides an inquiry into the structural nature of metadata, records, and corpora to analyze the semiotic processes and boundaries that can affect audits. Suggestions for effective auditing practices are offered as well as what can be obfuscated when transformations are undertaken without concern for the sign-functions of metadata

Social shaping of digital publishing: exploring the interplay between culture and technology

The processes and forms of electronic publishing have been changing since the advent of the Web. In recent years, the open access movement has been a major driver of scholarly communication, and change is also evident in other fields such as e-government and e-learning. Whilst many changes are driven by technological advances, an altered social reality is also pushing the boundaries of digital publishing. With 23 articles and 10 posters, Elpub 2012 focuses on the social shaping of digital publishing and explores the interplay between culture and technology. This book contains the proceedings of the conference, consisting of 11 accepted full articles and 12 articles accepted as extended abstracts. The articles are presented in groups, and cover the topics: digital scholarship and publishing; special archives; libraries and repositories; digital texts and readings; and future solutions and innovations. Offering an overview of the current situation and exploring the trends of the future, this book will be of interest to all those whose work involves digital publishing

TOWARDS DEEP LEARNING FOR ARCHITECTURE: A MONUMENT RECOGNITION MOBILE APP

Abstract. In recent years, the diffusion of large image datasets and an unprecedented computational power have boosted the development of a class of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms referred to as deep learning (DL). Among DL methods, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have proven particularly effective in computer vision, finding applications in many disciplines. This paper introduces a project aimed at studying CNN techniques in the field of architectural heritage, a still to be developed research stream. The first steps and results in the development of a mobile app to recognize monuments are discussed. While AI is just beginning to interact with the built environment through mobile devices, heritage technologies have long been producing and exploring digital models and spatial archives. The interaction between DL algorithms and state-of-the-art information modeling is addressed, as an opportunity to both exploit heritage collections and optimize new object recognition techniques.</p