The role of metadata in the presentation of türbe in digital environment

Savremene tehnologije omogućavaju prezentaciju raznolikih objekata pokretnog i nepokretnoga kulturnog naslijeđa u digitalnom okruženju na nove i kreativne načine, što je na međunarodnom nivou rezultiralo izgradnjom brojnih i raznovrsnih digitalnih zbirki koje su kreirale informacijske i druge ustanove. Budući da je vidljivost takvih zbirki u virtualnom prostoru ovisna o bogatstvu metapodataka dodijeljenih izvorima u zbirkama, očekivano je ove inicijative pratio i razvoj u domeni metapodataka. S tim u vezi, a s obzirom na to da do sada nije istražena uloga metapodataka u predstavljanju turbeta kao vrlo specifičnih objekata bosanskohercegovačkog nepokretnog kulturnog naslijeđa u online okruženju, cilj ovoga istraživanja je identificirati koji standardi metapodataka ili njihove kombinacije mogu biti korišteni za obradu turbeta u Omeka Classic okruženju, a na tom tragu, kreirati zbirku odabranog korpusa turbeta, dostupnu u otvorenom pristupu, pri čemu se korpus istraživanja odnosi na turbeta koja su proglašena nacionalnim spomenicima u Federaciji Bosne i Hercegovine. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da se unutar radnog prostora Omeka Classic platforme za publiciranje sadržaja na webu, korištenjem predefiniranih polja metapodataka Dublin Core i VRA Core u kombinaciji, mogu zadovoljiti elementarne potrebe obrade korpusa, na pregledan, ujednačen i informativan način, ali se u tom pogledu donose i naznake budućeg razvoja zbirke u kontekstu njenog semantičkog bogaćenja.Modern technologies enable the presentation of diverse movable and immovable cultural heritage objects in a digital environment in new and creative ways, which at the international level has resulted in the development of numerous and diverse digital collections created by information and other institutions. Since the visibility of such collections in the virtual environment depends on the wealth of metadata assigned to the sources in the collections, as expected, these initiatives were accompanied by development in the metadata domain. In this regard, and considering that the role of metadata in the presentation of turbe as very specific objects of the immovable cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the online environment has not been examined so far, the goal of this research is to identify which metadata standards or their combinations can be used for the description of turbe in Omeka Classic environment, and consequently to create a collection of the selected corpus of turbe, available in open access, whereby the corpus of research refers to turbe (türbe/tomb) that are named as national monuments in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results of the research indicate that within the workspace of the Omeka Classic web publishing platform by using the predefined Dublin Core and VRA Core metadata fields in combination, the basic needs of corpus description can be met in a clear, uniform, and informative way, but in this regard, indications of the future development of the collection in the context of its semantic enrichment are also provided

Data modeling for museum collections

The relationship between cultural heritage, digital technologies and visual models involves an increasingly wide area of research, oriented towards the renewal of archives and museums for the preservation and promotion of culture. Recent research activities are the result of the progressive strengthening of digital technologies and the needs of a new generation of “digital” users, which requires museums to update their means of communication using Semantic Web languages and technologies shaped by a social conceptualization of a graph-based representation of information. The growth of several digitized heritage collections increases the necessity of proper methodologies to develop a structured system able to access to these collections and the large amount of data, metadata and paradata related to the digitized objects in a structured and organized way, defining a set of collection information models (CIM), that considers not only the digitizing process but also the data collection process, layered by an Upper Ontology level structure, based on CIDOC-CRM

DATA MODELING FOR MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

The relationship between cultural heritage, digital technologies and visual models involves an increasingly wide area of research, oriented towards the renewal of archives and museums for the preservation and promotion of culture. Recent research activities are the result of the progressive strengthening of digital technologies and the needs of a new generation of “digital” users, which requires museums to update their means of communication using Semantic Web languages and technologies shaped by a social conceptualization of a graph-based representation of information.The growth of several digitized heritage collections increases the necessity of proper methodologies to develop a structured system able to access to these collections and the large amount of data, metadata and paradata related to the digitized objects in a structured and organized way, defining a set of collection information models (CIM), that considers not only the digitizing process but also the data collection process, layered by an Upper Ontology level structure, based on CIDOC-CRM.</p

Mexico’s Tradition and Culture Entering the Digital Age: The Mexican Cultural Heritage Repository Project

Mexico is a country with a vast and extraordinary cultural heritage, which is the result of a rich history of cultural exchange, syncretism and transculturation. This rich culture has been materialized through the consolidation of a long and prestigious museum tradition, which at the same time is sadly characterized by an endemic lack of technological resources rather than professional skills. As a result, we have found that Mexican museums produce very heterogeneous forms of documentation, which are often not even managed using information technologies. Furthermore, most museums deploy ad hoc solutions that directly limit the usefulness and value of the documentation process itself. In response, the recently founded Mexican Ministry of Culture is undertaking the development of the Mexican cultural heritage data model (Modelo de Datos México), which is aimed at contributing to the cultural heritage domain of our country through the correct characterization and documentation of its cultural objects. It is the first documented experience in Mexico of a large-scale data model inspired by CIDOC-CRM, which is complemented by a set of terminological tools that attempt to capture the singularities and idiosyncrasies of the Mexican cultural sector. In the present paper, we will describe the motivations and decisions made so far to optimize the data model to the Mexican reality and the development of the project that will define a set of local terminologies built on the expertise of linguists, information architects, developers and especially, museum professionals.This research was funded by the Secretaría de Cultura of Mexico

Possibilities of establishing interoperability among metadata schemas in museum environment

Potaknut činjenicom da u suvremenom umreženom svijetu raste broj korisnika informacija koje nastaju u muzejskom i širem baštinskom okruženju, kao i činjenicom da je otežano pretraživanje i pronalaženje tih informacija jer su one heterogene po strukturi i sadržaju, autor u disertaciji istražuje i analizira mogućnosti uspostavljanja interoperabilnosti među različitim postojećim shemama metapodataka na kojima se temelji muzejska i njoj srodna dokumentacija. Uspostavljanje interoperabilnosti neophodno je za omogućavanje i implementacije konverzija i razmjene metapodataka te omogućavanje združenih pretraživanje, pobiranja metapodataka i pronalaženje informacijskih resursa kulturne baštine u globalnom informacijskom okruženju. Kako u digitalnom i mrežnom okruženju dolazi do promjena značenja i uloga mnogih temeljnih koncepata informacijskih znanosti i muzejske dokumentacije, prvo je poglavlje posvećeno toj problematici, a posebice promjenama vezanim uz ulogu i značenje medija kao nositelja muzejske dokumentacije. U nastavku je predstavljen i kritički preispitan pojam metapodataka. Identificirane su poteškoće unutar postupaka modeliranja i razvoja shema metapodataka u segmentu prepoznavanja i odabira bitnih elemenata koji će reprezentirati potrebne entitete i odnose iz stvarnog svijeta u informacijskom sustavu. Rasprava je pokazala kako je moguće unaprijediti to zahtjevno modeliranje odnosa i pravila iz domene kulturne baštine, ponajprije sustavnim istraživanjem korisničkih potreba te analizom postojećih dokumentacijskih oblika i metoda. U narednom poglavlju prikazani su različiti pristupi i strategije uspostavljanja interoperabilnosti. Pristupi su vrednovani pomoću stvorenog metodološkog okvira, razmotrene su njihove slabosti i jakosti te njihova moguća primjena u muzejskom okruženju. Predložene strategije i metode uspostavljanja interoperabilnosti, omogućuju virtualno povezivanje informacija i u širem baštinskom okruženju, uz istovremeno očuvanje informacijske raznolikosti i vrijednosti podataka. Na tim temeljima autor predlaže višerazinski model te odgovarajuće postupke uspostavljanja interoperabilnosti u globalnom informacijskom okruženju. Ti su postupci usklađeni s mogućnostima suvremenih tehnoloških rješenja, ali i potrebama korisnika, čemu je ovaj rad posvetio posebno poglavlje. Na kraju autor iznosi rezultate komparativne analize istraživanja strukture kataloških jedinica u publiciranim muzejskim katalozima, čime je dan doprinos pronalaženju mogućeg zajedničkog minimalnog skupa podatkovnih elemenata u muzejskoj zajednici te uvažavanju informacijskih specifičnosti pojedinih znanstvenih disciplina u muzejskom okruženju. U ovoj disertaciji uspostavljanje interoperabilnosti muzejske dokumentacije uvijek se promatra i u širem baštinskom te globalnom okruženju, s posebnim naglaskom na mogućnost sudjelovanja muzejskih informacija u globalnom semantičkom webu kulture.In the global networked environment, the number of users that needs information from museum and broader heritage context has increased; and in the same time discovery of cultural information resources is seriously hindered because cultural heritage information is heterogeneous in structure and content. That was the motivation for author to explore and analyse possibilities of achieving interoperability among existing metadata schemas in museum documentation and related information systems. Establishing interoperability is necessary for facilitating and implementing of conversion and exchange of metadata and enabling federated searches, metadata harvesting and cross-domain discovery of cultural information resources in the global information environment. Digital and networked environment causes changes in meaning and function of many concepts basic to information science and museum documentation, therefore first chapter deals with this subject, with special focus on changes related to concept of medium as content carrier in museum documentation. Subsequently, concept of metadata is introduced and critically examined. Problems in modelling and developing metadata schemas, are identified within segment of recognition and selection of important elements which will represent entities and relations from real word in information systems. Discussion shows possibilities of improvement in modelling relationships and rules from domain of cultural heritage, firstly by systematic research user needs and then by analysis of existing documentation forms and methods. Next chapter contains an analysis of methods used for establishing or improving interoperability among metadata schemas and information systems. Existing methodological framework, developed by Zeng and Chan, which considers implementing interoperability at different levels of operation - schema level, record level, and repository level, is extended with new level – global level of establishing interoperability which includes formal ontologies and global infrastructure of metadata schemas, application profiles and ontology registers. By integrating multiple approaches, author develops the multi-level model of establishing interoperability in global information environment. All this strategies and methods are harmonised with contemporary developments in information technology and with consideration of user requirements. Finally, author presents the results of comparative analysis of the research on structure of museum object information published in the museum catalogues. Those results improve findings in establishing common minimal metadata element set in museum information environment with special concern on preserving information diversity of specific scientific discipline approaches. In this dissertation, establishing interoperability of museum documentation, is always considered in broader heritage and global context, with special concern of possibilities of museum information participation in a global semantic web of culture

Spatial ontologies for architectural heritage

Informatics and artificial intelligence have generated new requirements for digital archiving, information, and documentation. Semantic interoperability has become fundamental for the management and sharing of information. The constraints to data interpretation enable both database interoperability, for data and schemas sharing and reuse, and information retrieval in large datasets. Another challenging issue is the exploitation of automated reasoning possibilities. The solution is the use of domain ontologies as a reference for data modelling in information systems. The architectural heritage (AH) domain is considered in this thesis. The documentation in this field, particularly complex and multifaceted, is well-known to be critical for the preservation, knowledge, and promotion of the monuments. For these reasons, digital inventories, also exploiting standards and new semantic technologies, are developed by international organisations (Getty Institute, ONU, European Union). Geometric and geographic information is essential part of a monument. It is composed by a number of aspects (spatial, topological, and mereological relations; accuracy; multi-scale representation; time; etc.). Currently, geomatics permits the obtaining of very accurate and dense 3D models (possibly enriched with textures) and derived products, in both raster and vector format. Many standards were published for the geographic field or in the cultural heritage domain. However, the first ones are limited in the foreseen representation scales (the maximum is achieved by OGC CityGML), and the semantic values do not consider the full semantic richness of AH. The second ones (especially the core ontology CIDOC – CRM, the Conceptual Reference Model of the Documentation Commettee of the International Council of Museums) were employed to document museums’ objects. Even if it was recently extended to standing buildings and a spatial extension was included, the integration of complex 3D models has not yet been achieved. In this thesis, the aspects (especially spatial issues) to consider in the documentation of monuments are analysed. In the light of them, the OGC CityGML is extended for the management of AH complexity. An approach ‘from the landscape to the detail’ is used, for considering the monument in a wider system, which is essential for analysis and reasoning about such complex objects. An implementation test is conducted on a case study, preferring open source applications

Spatial ontologies for architectural heritage

Informatics and artificial intelligence have generated new requirements for digital archiving, information, and documentation. Semantic interoperability has become fundamental for the management and sharing of information. The constraints to data interpretation enable both database interoperability, for data and schemas sharing and reuse, and information retrieval in large datasets. Another challenging issue is the exploitation of automated reasoning possibilities. The solution is the use of domain ontologies as a reference for data modelling in information systems. The architectural heritage (AH) domain is considered in this thesis. The documentation in this field, particularly complex and multifaceted, is well-known to be critical for the preservation, knowledge, and promotion of the monuments. For these reasons, digital inventories, also exploiting standards and new semantic technologies, are developed by international organisations (Getty Institute, ONU, European Union). Geometric and geographic information is essential part of a monument. It is composed by a number of aspects (spatial, topological, and mereological relations; accuracy; multi-scale representation; time; etc.). Currently, geomatics permits the obtaining of very accurate and dense 3D models (possibly enriched with textures) and derived products, in both raster and vector format. Many standards were published for the geographic field or in the cultural heritage domain. However, the first ones are limited in the foreseen representation scales (the maximum is achieved by OGC CityGML), and the semantic values do not consider the full semantic richness of AH. The second ones (especially the core ontology CIDOC – CRM, the Conceptual Reference Model of the Documentation Commettee of the International Council of Museums) were employed to document museums’ objects. Even if it was recently extended to standing buildings and a spatial extension was included, the integration of complex 3D models has not yet been achieved. In this thesis, the aspects (especially spatial issues) to consider in the documentation of monuments are analysed. In the light of them, the OGC CityGML is extended for the management of AH complexity. An approach ‘from the landscape to the detail’ is used, for considering the monument in a wider system, which is essential for analysis and reasoning about such complex objects. An implementation test is conducted on a case study, preferring open source applications

Mining Authoritativeness in Art Historical Photo Archives. Semantic Web Applications for Connoisseurship

The purpose of this work is threefold: (i) to facilitate knowledge discovery in art historical photo archives, (ii) to support users' decision-making process when evaluating contradictory artwork attributions, and (iii) to provide policies for information quality improvement in art historical photo archives. The approach is to leverage Semantic Web technologies in order to aggregate, assess, and recommend the most documented authorship attributions. In particular, findings of this work offer art historians an aid for retrieving relevant sources, assessing textual authoritativeness (i.e. internal grounds) of sources of attribution, and evaluating cognitive authoritativeness of cited scholars. At the same time, the retrieval process allows art historical data providers to define a low-cost data integration process to update and enrich their collection data. The contributions of this thesis are the following: (1) a methodology for representing questionable information by means of ontologies; (2) a conceptual framework of Information Quality measures addressing dimensions of textual and cognitive authoritativeness characterising art historical data, (3) a number of policies for metadata quality improvement in art historical photo archives as derived from the application of the framework, (4) a ranking model leveraging the conceptual framework, (5) a semantic crawler, called mAuth, that harvests authorship attributions in the Web of Data, and (6) an API and a Web Application to serve information to applications and final users for consuming data. Despite findings are limited to a restricted number of photo archives and datasets, the research impacts on a broader number of stakeholders, such as archives, museums, and libraries, which can reuse the conceptual framework for assessing questionable information, mutatis mutandi, to other near fields in the Humanities