Slides of the presentation of the paper Reflections on Cultural Heritage and Digital Humanities by Arianna Ciula and Øyvind Eide in DATeCH 2014. #digidays

1. Reflections on
Cultural Heritage and Digital
Humanities:
Modelling in Practice and
Theory
Dr Arianna Ciula
University of Roehampton
UK
arianna.ciula@roehampton.ac.uk
Dr Øyvind Eide
Universität Passau
Germany
oyvind.eide@uni-passau.de

2. Scope and Aims
• Compare modelling traditions in Cultural
Heritage and Digital Humanities
• Our paper today → investigation into some
modelling practices
• Longer term: comparing the communities
• What is meant by modelling and models?
• How are modelling languages and theories created
and used?

3. Background on Modelling
● Ambiguity of term 'data model' in digital modelling
– from database models to conceptual model
● Process (dynamic nature and epistemic value) vs.
products (data models)
– modelling vs. model
● Models of vs. models for
● Theoretical background

4. Object → Model → Object
0

5. Model Relation
Semiotic Structure
Representation
Object
Oi =1….n
Mode
l
Omod
Kralemann and Lattmann (2013)
Context
(theory, language etc.)

6. Modelling in DH (textual) →
TEI
• Textual features
• No assumption on reference function
• Overview
• From 1987 Research Project, first release 1990, from
2001 TEI Consortium
• One part ISO standard
• XML formalism
• Organisation
• Community
• Modelling as document analysis
• reflects semantics of the standard and contingent
theories/practices

7. Modelling in cultural heritage
(museum documentation) → CIDOC
CRM
• Real world objects as represented in museum
information systems
• Overview
• CIDOC established 1950: museum documentation standards
• From 1996: Conceptual Reference Model, first release 1999
• ISO standard
• Openness with respect to formalism
• Organisation
• Community
• Ontology or conceptual model
• Modelling as mapping
• reflects semantics of the standard and contingent
theories/practices

8. Pragmatic links between the
two standards
●
TEI SIG ontologies
●
To facilitate mapping and integration
●
Established in 2004
●
Focus on links between TEI and external ontologies
●
Previous comparisons between TEI and CIDOC-CRM at
class level
●
Projects to account for and process textual
mobility

9. • TEI XML
• Physical and logical
structure
• Semantic content
• RDF/OWL ontology
• Network of associations
• Additional statements
and interpretative
layers
<rs key="abjuration" type="subject">on the day he abjured the
kingdom<persName key="rumberue_de_thomas">Thomas de
<placeNamekey="rumberue">Rumberue</placeName></persName></rs>
<persName key="ashford_de_william">William de
<placeName key="ashford1">Ashford</placeName>
</persName>
Henry III Fine Rolls
Project

10. 03/06/14
TEI doc
…
<persName>
Oliver Avenel
</persName>
…
Person
Oliver Avanel
isWifeOf
Person
Odo of Wanstraw
isDaughterOf
Person
Agnes Avanel
Relational Model

11. Models for and models of
●
Main purpose of these standards
●
Models for (users)
●
Less evident to users
●
Models of (creators - but affects use)
●
Both perspectives are needed in order to understand
differences between the standards
●
how they are presented
●
how they are formalised
●
how they can be used

12. Comparison in practice
The example of place names

13. TEXTS
text as idea, intention, meaning, semantics, sense, content
TEXTL text as linguistic
code, as series of
words, as speech
TEXTD
text as document:
physical, material,
individual
TEXT
V
text as a visual object,
as a complex sign
TEXTG
text as a version of ..., as a set of graphs, graphemes,
glyphs, characters, etc. (... having modes ...)
TEXTW
text as a work, as
rhetoric structure
Sahle (2012)
luralistic model of text

14. TEX
T
S
TEXTLTEX
T
D
TEXTW
TEX
T
G
TEXT
V
[imag
e]
<placeNam
e
@facs=...>
<placeName
@key=...>
rdf: ...
Pragmatic links - Place name
in TEI
<placeName
@rend=....>
<placeName
@nymRef=...>

15. Pragmatic links - Place name
in TEI
• Name as reference vs. name as source for
onomastic studies, linguistic analysis,
etymology etc.
• Semantic aspects (comparable with
CIDOC-CRM)
Madrid
<p>A conference in
<placeName>Madrid</placeName>.</p>
<nym>
<form>Madrid</form>
</nym
<place>
<placeName>Madrid</placeName>
</place

16. CIDOC-CRM
participate in
E39 Actors
(persons, inst.)
E55 Types
E28 Conceptual Objects
E18 Physical Things
E2 Temporal Entities
(Events)
E41Appellations
refer to / refine
referto/identifie
have location
within
E53 PlacesE52 Time-Spans
at
affect or refer to

17. Classes in CIDOC-CRM

18. Place names in
CIDOC-CRM
London
E48 Place Name
the place London
E53 Place
P87 is identified by
P87 identifies

19. Place names in TEI and
CIDOC-CRM
TEI:
● Usually located in
the context of other
words and marked
up “on location”
● Can also be data
driven
● Hierarchy of
content objects
● Links crossing
hierarchy: from tree
CIDOC-CRM:
● Located in the
context of an
information system
● Class hierachy with
multiple inheritance
● Object graph

20. TEI CIDOC-CRM
Modelling scope expansive focused
Modelling components Descriptive and
interpretative encoding at
same level
Division between the
model as a set of
statements about reality
and interpretative
argument
Modelling discourse Loose and flexible
stucture, mostly
structured by natural
language
Formal ontology, strict
(but multiple) iheritance,
multiple instanciation
Presentation Scopenotes for each
element, narrative texts
describing use as
processes, examples
Scope notes, short
examples, graphical
presentation of class and
object hierachies
Playing different games

21. Thank you!
Dr Arianna
Ciula
University of
Roehampton
UK
arianna.ciula@roehampton.
ac.uk
Dr Øyvind Eide
Universität Passau
Germany
oyvind.eide@uni-passau.de