#1 Seminar | 8 May 2024 (Wed)
“Semantic Data Modelling Experiences and Advances in Cultural Heritage Collections: A Decade and a Half of Using and Extending CIDOC-CRM”
Time: 3:00-4:30pm
Venue: Digital Scholarship Lab, University Library
Speaker: Prof. Andreas Vlachidis
This seminar will provide 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 will be 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 will delve 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 will discuss 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 will conclude 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 will showcase 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.
#2 Workshop | 9 May 2024 (Thu)
“Knowledge base technologies and semantics for interrogating complex data environments: A case study of the Sloane Lab's Cultural Heritage Collection ”
Time: 3:00-4:30pm
Venue: Digital Scholarship Lab, University Library
Speaker: Prof. Andreas Vlachidis
The workshop will present 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 will underscore 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 delves into the utilization of SPARQL, the RDF query language, as an essential tool for extracting and interrogating data. The workshop will demonstrate 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 is examined.
The workshop also highlights the opportunities afforded by these technologies for creating synthesized views and visualizations that not only cater to academic scrutiny but also engage a broader audience.
Upon completion, participants will gain a thorough understanding of the technological advancements and methodologies that facilitate a deeper, more nuanced interrogation of cultural heritage data, equipping them with the skills to apply these techniques to their respective problems and domains.
About the speaker
Dr. Andreas Vlachidis is Associate Professor in Information Science at UCL's department of information studies, teaching modules in Information Science Technology and in Natural Language Processing and Text Analysis. He is Co-Investigator and Technical Lead of the Sloane Lab and PI of the research projects “MeDoraH: Mixed-methods Digital Oral History” and “Text Analytics for inclusive AI education platforms”. He has a long-term experience working in various research roles for medium and large-scale cultural heritage European and UK projects. His main research interests are in Information Extraction, Semantic Data Modelling and Metadata. He is interested in the application of Natural Language Processing and Semantic Technologies for advancing information integration, FAIR data use and interoperability. He holds a PhD in Semantic Indexing of Archaeological Grey Literature, he is a certified text analyst, a fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a member of the British Computing Society (BCS).