Author: amymchan

I am excited that we get to 3D modeling this week as I think it is an incredibly powerful and appealing tool. Since I intend on using Digital Humanities for archaeology, I believe that 3d imaging and modeling is a great way of bringing the past back to life. Some good examples might be an app called Sites in 3D which is a collected system of images from mosques, tombs, palaces, and other areas from around Western Asia and Europe. Digital Roman Forum is also a good learning tool as well as any video game which utilizes 3D imaging. Even as children playing Sims building and creating in the digital world has always been appealing. In cases for archaeology I have done 3D scanning of artifacts as well as 3d photography where pictures are taken from every angle and compiled in a computer so that the artifact can constantly rotate and pose a new view.
I appreciate digital recreations because it gives an interactive method of learning for visual learners. It is far better to see something in person than to read about it in a book and since we cannot take people to other countries to learn, it is necessary to bring the places to them. In the models, data can even be built in to create interaction with the certain parts of the model where texts or media can pop up. This is why I think video games are so appealing to the current generation. Just as “Meaning in Motion” states, these projects can be incorporated into larger databases like Google Earth to be utilized by the general public. Another example of this would be Digital Karnak which is incorporated into Google Earth and geocoded over the site itself. Included are 3D models of each building and a timeline that when altered, shows each building being constructed or moved. On the website itself you can take tours through the models and view the architecture as it was in the time of its creation (as interpreted by archaeologists).
In my opinion, there is a large future to this sort of work especially in the way of education. To younger students who are unable to read, 3D models will also create a attraction to learning and a desire to interact with worlds other than the one immediately around them. While nothing may ever take away from the necessity of reading, viewing places and objects in whole, visually will help to create a better and more comprehensive study.

Starting with knotted line, it is important to understand how crucial a good web layout is. This particular program in my opinion is incredibly frustrating as there are no instructions and it does not cooperate as I would like it to. I only barely get an understanding of what they are trying to argue which makes the whole website useless. I found the Freedom’s Ring website slightly more easier to understand as it provided some instruction before launching you into the interactive website. Comparing these to the 8 rules, it is a good example of what is functional and impossible to work with. I feel like a good website is self explanatory and can be navigable without training or assistance. One example that comes to mind is the obvious Facebook. One of the common jokes I hear in regards to Facebook’s design is that in the first week everyone complains when the layout is altered yet no one remembers anything the week after. To me, this is a testimony of a good layout that is easy to adapt to and can be altered when necessary.

The problem with designs is that if they are made too simplistic, the design can be considered ugly and made for children. If the design is too complicated, no on will be able to understand it. Of course no designer is particularly proud of following a set pattern made by a website creator company and therefore many attempt to design there own. The best websites are the most used and are usually shopping websites like Amazon. In fact, I must assume that most shopping websites all have common themes like gender, age, and clothing type divisions along with search ability, store locations, and return policies. With this situation I do not think all of these websites agreed to these categories in a large meeting but I think that happenstance and previous consumer responses have led many companies to adopt the same standards. For this reason feedback is important to designing the ideal website and this same feedback can lead to many similar website designs. That also makes me wonder about copyright. Is it possible for a company or an individual to hold copyright for a specific design or terminology. How specific does it have to be in order to claim it as your own? Either way, the web layout is the main attractor for a website and the thing that keeps people coming back.

Gregory’s subsection on space and time in Historical GIS reminded me quite a bit of its historical and present day implications. The presentation of the past is easily manipulated, as is any data however, analysis can easily be incorrect. Currently, I am in a GIS class and I have learned that how you divided the data, choropleth maps can give stronger impressions than what the truth may actually be. In some cases, the truth is better kept secret. Location is a valuable thing on the individual scale as well as the international scale. GPS was first developed by the Defense Department and kept secret from the public. Eventually they sold it to the public with a certain margin of error put in to ensure public access to locations could not be as specific as the military’s. However, many mathematicians easily got around the error and eventually Clinton threw the switch and allowed the public full access to the data. The military feared that if exact locations of secret facilities were known, enemies within and outside the US would target them. As a personal experience, I recall working with pinpointing locations of sites in Northern Sudan for an archaeology class on Google Maps. My professor told us that in order to protect the sites, we had to use our better judgement on where to pinpoint the temples. The problem being if a site was precisely labeled on an international GIS database like Google Maps, others across the globe would also have access to it. The next day, we might receive a report saying that the site had numerous pits dug all over and that the temple had been raided by people who saw the location online. It is for this reason that my professor directed us to put our labels several meters off from the actual site.
Not every individual though is out to get rich. In fact, citizen science can provide large amounts of data over a short period of time without costing much money. Another one my professors recently pointed me to EBirds, a collection of bird sitings provided by birdwatchers across the globe that allow researches to track migrations and populations of birds. Just as with Google Maps, I do believe collective input in an international database is helpful to solving problems. I do think however, that we must be wary of who has access to this kind of information.

Reading about networks I had an interesting thought in regards to the TV show CSI and a concept I had learned of from the show. Six degrees of separation is a concept developed by Frigyes Karinthy in 1929 theorizing that everyone in the world was somehow “related” (by friendship or some association) to everyone else up to the sixth degree. Essentially, a friend of a friend of a brother of a coworker…etc. This concept has been popularized in mass media. For instance, Strangers on a Train, associates to the second degree with the main characters killing the other’s enemy so as to avoid blame. This is where the show CSI brought in the example. I also recall an old teacher telling me how she and her friends played the game “Kevin Bacon” in school. The game uses the concept of six degrees of separation by naming a random movie or something in TV and the players have to relate that film or actress or director back to Kevin Bacon.
Later apparently, Microsoft used billions of messaging systems to confirm this theory. All people are connected up to the sixth degree. I am curious however as to whether or not this system works temporally. can we all be connected going back in time? If so, how many degrees? I am aware that Kindred Britain tests this idea but how closely can all human beings who ever lived be related? For the Paul Revere article, the woman was doing the same thing with her data. Using information she was not necessarily familiar with, she could form a network of relationships thereby determining how closely people were interconnected. It is a strange thought to think that we are all somehow socially related to the Pope or Queen Elizabeth II how important are these relationships? Aside from determining an immediate circle of friends why should we care how an individual is related to another? Everyone loves to learn about their own genealogy but are distant social relationships something to actually care about? Or is it just another boasting war? For past individuals and research I can understand how this would be relevant in determining social environments. The degree to which everyone knows each other is determined by how tight knit the community is. This would affect how news spreads, social views, childhood, and emotional availability of an individual. However, until we cannot interview the individual in person, I see no need for networks to be used.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/aug/03/internet.email

Reading through “Humanities Approaches to Graphical Display” I was slightly taken aback by the thought that humanities should develop their own methods of display and analyzing graphics. While it would be great to have designs built with digital humanities in mind, the role of a researcher is not to design technology but to research. The presence of the technology is a bonus that allows us to further explore information we already have and present it in a fashion the public is already familiar with. An example I thought of would be methods of survey in archaeology. Almost every method was developed for another purpose be it geology, military, or geography. GIS, metal detectors, GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) and others were never meant to be used for archaeology and yet they are adaptable to our field (https://www.utexas.edu/courses/denbow/labs/survey2.htm.) Archaeologists use these technologies but do not spend time inventing materials of their own; that is the job of computer scientists and statisticians.
Another possible problem with creating digital visualizations of our own is that the public user may not be as familiar with the format as they are with others. The current designs in existence take marketing and public interest into account more often than do researchers designing tools for themselves. The point is, any visualization tool designed for digital humanities scholars will never be truly meant for everyday users.
Academia is essentially nothing but borrowed ideas manipulated to fit our study and improved upon. I would argue that current methods of visualization are still valuable as they present a basis from which to work off of and possibly improve.
“Humanistic methods are counter to the idea of reliably repeatable experiments or standard metrics that assume observer independent phenomena.” This definition of the humanities struck me as rather odd. While the author is arguing that the humanities are not the sciences and should be kept as human as possible, I would like to point out the irony of putting these human concepts in computers. What is digital humanities but the combination of the humanities and science? Experimental science also lends validity to concepts brought up through theories. Visualization and data analysis are scientific approaches to understanding humanistic data. It would seem rather possessive for the humanities to remain only with the social scientists. We have to admit that there is a possibility of realizing new ideas through the application of scientific methods. Research should not be limited to one area or department but can be combined with other disciplines entirely different from our own.

Currently I am taking a course on GIS which forces us to use a system called QGIS. Using shapefiles, we create maps with layers of “data” applied to them. When looking at the database of names in the African Slave Trade website, it looked almost exactly like the attribute tables that we use for GIS. Indeed these are databases except they are organized and linked in a way as to be applied to a map. With the right equipment, mathematics can be done on the nominal data. Another example of a database would be our course catalog. It holds information about class descriptions, id’s, professors, units, requirements, time, and place. All students are familiar with using this database and the organization of it ensures easy selection of classes for the coming quarter. The odd thing about this system is that classes leave and enter the database based on availability. While there is a database with each class,, most students will only ever see the ones being offered. The database is therefore redesigned each quarter based on the need of certain classes. Data is taken out of the complete database and is formulated into a comprehensible catalog with only the necessary information. In this perspective, the database is specific to the problem being addressed: finding classes for next quarter.

Also reading the Kissinger article, I am struck by the age of the comment itself. Nowadays if something is online or in the “cloud” it remains forever. A good example would be nude celebrity photos that are leaked into public space. Anything on the internet will exist forever. I recall a quote from the movie The Social Network, “the internet is written in ink.” I believe Kissinger is wrong. A paper can be destroyed but the internet keeps everything and can at any given point, be retrieved. Ultimately the internet is just a large database of sites and information that can be lost or maintained. In Web of Science, students search for key terms that are stored in the database and referenced in the metadata. With extended searches, you can even narrow down your focus by limiting the search to file types and subject. Oddly enough, it seems that every search engine is just a program/ method for finding something in a large database using key terms. I figure every internet site must therefore have a database behind it if there is to be any hope of organization or storage of information.

http://www.qgis.org/en/site/

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/01/celebrity-naked-photo-leak-2014-nude-women

http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/schedulehome.aspx

While I understand the argument for improved data connection between state and community, I doubt that it is the only problem. Mismatched Ontologies argues that with improved connection, problems will be fixed, siting India as an example. I disagree. Data does not plague these nations and it is the least of their concerns. Every government in the world is corrupt and is essentially nothing but a group of rich citizenry. For example, Alaska has tried many times, and succeeded sometimes, to build a road to nowhere; despite the cost and uselessness of the project.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/20/opinion/20lende.html

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-babbitt-road-to-nowhere-alaska-20140311-story.html

In this case, there is data yet no improvement. The main problem with governments is self-interest and improvement in power and wealth. The governments in most “third world” countries do not answer directly to the people. Even if the people had a problem, there would be no need to listen. Powers are not motivated to act unless there is a threat behind the complaint. For instance, my apartment is brand new and yet the dishwasher was installed so that it only opens half way. Due to lack of communication and intelligence, the dishwasher hits the stove. Even when I make a complaint, maintenance refuses to fix the mistake. When my father makes the complaint, he is the one who pays, people are more inclined to listen. Still the problem has not been fixed. It is the same with every problem in these countries.

Even if the government wanted to listen, growing population and increasing national debt discourage any infrastructure improvement. Most “third world” countries are heavily in debt to their former colonizers that they cannot afford to fix their own problems.  Instead, the poor economic system allows foreign countries to manipulate the poorer workers into working for less. Very few outside organizations will help improve the infrastructure as it is their source of cheap labor.

The fact is, the average citizen has so much working against him that reporting his problems in the correct manner is useless. The only way I can see change in the flooding of India is if a major factory or foreign company becomes water-logged. Only with influence from a rich source can improvements be made; either that or one enormous rebellion. I can only see data collection as solving moderately small communities in wealthy countries; Neighborhoods in a city for example or cities in a county. Places where citizens might actually come face to face with the person in charge of their well-being.

In the past I have worked with metadata in regards to artifacts and documents. Usually, I find these helpful in tracing the history of a piece as well as determining copyright. It is for this reason that I was reminded of several art scandals where background information and metadata can be crucial to understanding the piece. For instance, a few years ago, Steve Martin bought a “newly discovered” Campendonk painting only to discover later that it had been the work of the infamous Beltracchi, an art forger. While not digital, this is a perfect example of where cataloging and metadata can contribute to authenticity. Gilliland states that metadata plays a role in “preserv[ing] cultural heritage information.” I agree that metadata should accompany every document or piece that is exchanged not only in the digital world but also in the physical world. At some point, all information will be available in digital form and to not lose the original work, it is necessary to keep track of metatdata. In the case of the Capendonk painting, pieces such as these should have an incredibly detailed metadata to accompany them. The painting was proven a fake by the type of paint used; information such as this can be applied to other art pieces.  Artwork metadata at its best would consist of the painter, style, dimensions, description, location history, purchase history, chemical analysis, and names of individuals who can attest to the authenticity of the painting.

The Daily Beast, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/06/01/steve-martins-campendonk-painting-art-forgery-scandal.html

Another example I am fond of is the Amber Room; a famous treasure of Russia that was dismantled by the Germans during WWII and remains lost. In this situation, metadata serves to give information about an object that no longer exists. If an artifact is destroyed, researchers must rely on images and stored information rather than the original.  Digital metadata is therefore also a method of preservation or documents or artifacts that no longer physically exist. Also, metadata serves to inform the public of basic information rather than having every researcher investigate copyright, take dimensions, determine authenticity, etc.

Smithsonian Magazine: Amber Room, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-amber-room-160940121/?no-ist

Gillilan has also stated the need for standards in regards to metadata. I agree with the need to standardize the rules of metadata so as to have consistency in reports. I am also curious however that at what point does the metadata overcome the object? Focusing on the upkeep of the metadata, In my opinion, cannot take the place of upkeep of the object. Originals and non-digitized documents are still the responsibility of libraries and while digitization and metadata may make the information more accessible, neglecting the original information is unacceptable.

Anne Gilliland, “Setting the Stage,” from Murtha Baca, ed., Introduction to Metadata (Los Angeles: Getty, 2008)