The document discusses the use of free and open source software (FOSS) for collaborative humanities research. It describes how FOSS allows researchers to digitize collections, perform data analysis on large datasets, and enable public access and collaboration. However, it also notes challenges like the differences between technical and humanities cultures, questions around the role of digital humanities professionals, and how to evaluate such projects.

1. Unlocking the ivory tower
FOSS in collaborative humanities research
Claudine Chionh
University of Melbourne
20 January 2010 / LCA2010
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2. Unlocking the ivory tower
1 Founders and Survivors
2 Humanities computing
3 Why FOSS?
4 Challenges
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3. Founders and Survivors
The Claudine
Woolwich 24/aug/1821 to Hobart 15/dec/1821 – 113 days at sea
160 male convicts boarded, 159 survived/landed (not a bad record)
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4. Founders and Survivors
Journal
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5. Founders and Survivors
Conduct registers
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6. Founders and Survivors
Archives of Tasmania convict index
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7. Founders and Survivors
Founders and Survivors
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8. Founders and Survivors
Van Diemen’s Land
Transportation period, 1803-1853
∼ 13,000 female convicts
∼ 25,000 male convicts
∼ 1 million rows of data
Quantifiable data: conduct registers, BDM. . .
Text: journals, newspaper reports
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9. Founders and Survivors
Genealogists
What happened to convicts after they were freed?
Links with genealogists for lives of convicts and their families.
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10. Founders and Survivors
The ‘factory plan’
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11. Humanities computing
‘Humanities computing’
Or ‘digital humanities’ ?
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12. Humanities computing
Old questions, new tools?
Digitisation
Analyse large[r] amounts of material
Public access and collaboration
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13. Humanities computing
The Valley of the Shadow
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14. Humanities computing
The Valley of the Shadow
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15. Humanities computing
Old Bailey Online
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16. Humanities computing
Perseus Digital Library
Virgil’s Aeneid
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17. Humanities computing
Literary and linguistic applications
Index Thomisticus (1946)
Perseus
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18. Humanities computing
Historical applications
Digitisation
Data analysis
Collaboration
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19. Humanities computing
Digitisation
Documents
Images
Linked/cross-referenced presentation of sources
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20. Humanities computing
Tasmanian Police Gazette, 1861-1933
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21. Humanities computing
Surgeon’s journals
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22. Humanities computing
Conduct registers
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23. Humanities computing
Data analysis
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24. Humanities computing
GIS
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25. Humanities computing
Collaboration
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26. Why FOSS?
Why FOSS?
Use of resources
Community of developers
Using and adapting tools
Access
Values
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27. Why FOSS?
Use of resources
Expenses:
Processing power
Storage
Bandwidth
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28. Why FOSS?
Community of developers
Mutual support
Don’t reinvent the wheel
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29. Why FOSS?
Using and adapting tools
e.g. TEI, GEDCOM
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30. Why FOSS?
Access
Make archival sources and research results accessible to general public
e.g. online museums
Sharing data with other researchers
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31. Why FOSS?
Values
Public interest
Free access, free expression
Dialogue
Public participation
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32. Challenges
The Two Cultures
The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution
CP Snow, Rede Lecture, 1959
Literature/humanities vs science/tech
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33. Challenges
Many cultures?
Translating between academics, IT professionals, diverse public
audience
Different priorities, research questions
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34. Challenges
Geeks and non-geeks
Non-geeks may not understand the values behind FOSS
Technology as magic
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35. Challenges
Where do developers belong?
Identity crisis
‘Digital humanities professional’ ?
Background – IT or academic?
Autonomy
Career progression
Where do humanities computing projects belong?
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36. Challenges
Resources and evaluation
Resource needs and output not like in traditional academic projects
In: computer resources, not just research time
Out: software, web, data, not just articles
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37. Challenges
Evolving field
Challenging
Exciting
Where to from here?
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38. Challenges
Links
The Valley of the Shadow http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/
Old Bailey Online http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
Perseus Digital Library http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/
Index Thomisticus http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/it/
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39. Challenges
Links
Founders and Survivors http://www.foundersandsurvivors.org/
Mapping Our Anzacs http://mappingouranzacs.naa.gov.au/
Australian Newspapers (National Library)
http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/
Essays in Humanities Computing
http://www.digitalhumanities.org/Essays/
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40. Challenges
This presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/claudinec
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