Invited by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Technical Co-I of the Sloane Lab Associate Professor Andreas Vlachidis delivered a seminar on Sloane Lab at CUHK’s Digital Scholarship Lab, hosting also a workshop on the Sloane Lab Knowledge Base. Video recordings of both the seminar and the workshop are available on the Sloane Lab YouTube channel and you can also watch the below!
Seminar
Semantic Data Modelling Experiences and Advances in Cultural Heritage Collections: A Decade and a Half of Using and Extending CIDOC-CRM
This seminar provided a comprehensive exploration of the advancements and applications of the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CIDOC-CRM) across various digital humanities projects over the past fifteen years. The focus of the presentation was on illustrating the extended capabilities of CIDOC-CRM, especially through adaptations and extensions and their significant impact on digital humanities and cultural heritage collections.
The seminar delved into various research projects that have employed and extended CIDOC-CRM over the years, starting from the application of semantic and knowledge-based technologies to enhance digital archaeology. Through the use of extension of CIDOC-CRM semantic modelling of archaeological grey literature, new methodologies were fostered for linking digital archive databases, vocabularies, and the associated grey literature, enhancing accessibility and interpretation.
Furthermore, the seminar discussed sophisticated structures of semantic definitions and formalisms developed to facilitate interoperable connections between cultural heritage datasets. Such connections have been instrumental in redefining users’ engagement with history, promoting a reinterpretation of historical knowledge through the lens of cross-border interconnections among cultural heritage artifacts, diverse viewpoints, and physical venues.
The seminar concluded by exploring a data model that facilitates digital access to historical and contemporary information from Sloane’s collections, held by institutions such as the British Museum, Natural History Museum, and British Library. The seminar showcased expertise and experience in the application of CIDOC-CRM and its extensions across transformative projects. Through a series of case studies, the seminar will highlight the model’s adaptability and its critical role in enhancing the documentation and interpretation of cultural heritage within the digital landscape.
WORKSHOP
Knowledge base technologies and semantics for interrogating complex data environments: A case study of the Sloane Lab’s Cultural Heritage Collection
The workshop presented a detailed case study of the Sloane Lab’s Cultural Heritage Collection, focusing on the application of Knowledge Base Technologies and Semantic Web tools. Focusing on the intersection between cultural heritage and digital technology, the workshop underscored the critical concept of ‘Collections as Data’ and the potential of data-driven research methods in enhancing the accessibility and interpretability, discovery and analysis of these collections.
The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is adopted by the collection as the main data representation technology to interconnected data and to create a rich structure of complex relationships with the various cultural artifacts. The workshop delved into the utilization of SPARQL, the RDF query language, as an essential tool for extracting and interrogating data. The workshop demonstrated how SPARQL has supported analysis of data from Sloane Lab’s collection to enable the support of detailed research questions and data-driven insight.
Further, Linked Data principles and the strategy of semantic enrichment are explored for their capabilities in seamlessly connecting disparate data sets. By embedding these into the Sloane Lab’s workflows, the collection benefits from enriched contexts, broadening research horizons and interpretations. Additionally, the role of semantic enrichment via external resources such as Wikidata, and domain-specific vocabularies and authority files like VIAF was examined. The workshop also highlighted opportunities afforded by these technologies for creating synthesised views and visualizations that not only cater to academic scrutiny but also engage a broader audience.
Watch more recorded lectures and videos on the Sloane Lab YouTube Channel.