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Abstract Digital Image Modelling is becoming a standard approach in epigraphic studies, mostly expressed in the diffusion practice of research groups which want their materials being publicly accessible. However, there is an important lack of works which seek for the use of 3D tools to improve the epigraphic analysis and text reading. Therefore, this paper attempts to show the application of Photogrammetry Structure from Motion and Digital Image Modelling to 3D record and analyse inscriptions that are in poor state of preservation, aiming to resolve some text-restitution problems and contribute towards the definition of new methodologies in Roman epigraphy.

The article presents a method for automatic semantic indexing of archaeological grey‐literature reports using empirical (rule‐based) Information Extraction techniques in combination with domain‐specific knowledge organization systems. The semantic annotation system (OPTIMA) performs the tasks of Named Entity Recognition, Relation Extraction, Negation Detection, and Word‐Sense Disambiguation using hand‐crafted rules and terminological resources for associating contextual abstractions with classes of the standard ontology CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM) for cultural heritage and its archaeological extension, CRM‐EH.Relation Extraction (RE) performance benefits from a syntactic‐based definition of RE patterns derived from domain oriented corpus analysis. The evaluation also shows clear benefit in the use of assistive natural language processing (NLP) modules relating to Word‐Sense Disambiguation, Negation Detection, and Noun Phrase Validation, together with controlled thesaurus expansion.The semantic indexing results demonstrate the capacity of rule‐based Information Extraction techniques to deliver interoperable semantic abstractions (semantic annotations) with respect to the CIDOC CRM and archaeological thesauri. Major contributions include recognition of relevant entities using shallow parsing NLP techniques driven by a complimentary use of ontological and terminological domain resources and empirical derivation of context‐driven RE rules for the recognition of semantic relationships from phrases of unstructured text.

AbstractThe interdisciplinary field known as digital humanities (DH) is represented in various forms in the teaching and research practiced in iSchools. Building on the work of an iSchools organization committee charged with exploring digital humanities curricula, we present findings from a series of related studies exploring aspects of DH teaching, education, and research in iSchools, often in collaboration with other units and disciplines. Through a survey of iSchool programs and an online DH course registry, we investigate the various education models for DH training found in iSchools, followed by a detailed look at DH courses and curricula, explored through analysis of course syllabi and course descriptions. We take a brief look at collaborative disciplines with which iSchools cooperate on DH research projects or in offering DH education. Next, we explore DH careers through an analysis of relevant job advertisements. Finally, we offer some observations about the management and administrative challenges and opportunities related to offering a new iSchool DH program. Our results provide a snapshot of the current state of digital humanities in iSchools which may usefully inform the design and evolution of new DH programs, degrees, and related initiatives.

Since the 1990s digital storytelling, as an extension of the traditional narrative theory set against the backdrop of the “digital turn” (Noiret, 2018), has received significant attention in several fields that are concerned with human expression and experience, such as media research, public history, and education. Digital storytelling, understood here as a movement or method for creating, expressing, and sharing information using digital tools and new media forms, has been viewed as a “democratization of culture” (Clarke & Adam, 2011). It draws attention away from the mainstream and gives a voice to the marginalized, the minority, the overlooked and forgotten. Effective storytelling is based on the full participation of the both speaker and listener, providing a means of expression that can resonate both cognitively and emotionally (Chaitin, 2003). Despite ongoing discourse and practice in literary, education, and media research, its theory construction and practice in DH projects is still at an exploratory stage. This presentation examines how digital storytelling has been used as a critical research method in the DH project A Journey from Wukang Road at Shanghai Library. Taking the site of Wukang Road and its associated buildings as the framework, this project uses knowledge organization methods and linked data to extract the relevant narrative elements and related details about people, events, activities, and historical changes from the appropriate library collection resources (including newspapers, old photos, books, maps, videos, etc.). In this way, the project reconstructs and restores the historical evolution of Wukang Road over more than 100 years by using the memories of the people connected with it (Xia et al., 2021). By organizing cultural resources based on their narrative elements, the evolutionary history can be reconstructed and decolonized with a more complete and clear storyline. It also engages citizens by having them upload photos and personal accounts of their memories and experiences of the road, restoring a rich picture of diverse voices from the community, challenging the established historiography and sociopolitical bias in the sources (Noble, 2018). Using digital storytelling as a primary research method unlocks the diverse possibilities for reconstructing its history and the expression of existing narrative materials to meet the needs of different aims, contexts, and communities. It also supports inference from the resources to supplement and discover “new” knowledge that was always there but never before included in the story. Through the process of collecting, organizing, storing, linking, and displaying historical and cultural information, including the voices of the people, with the support of digital tools, this project is in essence a process of attaching consciousness and various perspectives on the past, retelling the story by rebuilding the complete picture. Digital storytelling in this DH project emphasizes "reconstruction", a way to integrate, relate, and restore existing resources with the affordances of digital tools, thereby encouraging diverse expression, sharing, and even stimulating civil creativity. It is also collective behavior that discusses the perspectives on history and arouses public engagement, particularly in consideration of Shanghai cultural identity in this former home to the colonial powers.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the role and contribution of natural language processing techniques, in particular negation detection and word sense disambiguation in the process of Semantic Annotation of Archaeological Grey Literature. Archaeological reports contain a great deal of information that conveys facts and findings in different ways. This kind of information is highly relevant to the research and analysis of archaeological evidence but at the same time can be a hindrance for the accurate indexing of documents with respect to positive assertions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a method for adapting the biomedicine oriented negation algorithm NegEx to the context of archaeology and discusses the evaluation results of the new modified negation detection module. A particular form of polysemy, which is inflicted by the definition of ontology classes and concerning the semantics of small finds in archaeology, is addressed by a domain specific word-sense disambiguation module. Findings – The performance of the negation dection module is compared against a “Gold Standard” that consists of 300 manually annotated pages of archaeological excavation and evaluation reports. The evaluation results are encouraging, delivering overall 89 per cent precision, 80 per cent recall and 83 per cent F-measure scores. The paper addresses limitations and future improvements of the current work and highlights the need for ontological modelling to accommodate negative assertions. Originality/value – The discussed NLP modules contribute to the aims of the OPTIMA pipeline delivering an innovative application of such methods in the context of archaeological reports for the semantic annotation of archaeological grey literature with respect to the CIDOC-CRM ontology.

Almost a century ago Modernism challenged the structure of the city and reshaped its physical space in order to, amongst other things, accommodate new transportation infrastructure and road networks proclaiming the, nowadays much-debated ‘scientificated’ pursuit of efficiency for the city. This transformation has had a great impact on the way humans still design, move in, occupy and experience the city. Today major cities in Europe, such as Paris and London, are considering banning vehicles from their historic centers. In parallel, significant effort is currently underway internationally by designers, architects, and engineers to integrate innovative technologies and sophisticated solutions for energy production, management, and storage, as well as for efficient energy consumption, into the architecture of buildings. In general, this effort seeks for new technologies and design methods (e.g., DesignBuilder with EnergyPlus simulation engine; Rhicoceros3D with Grasshopper plugin and Ecotect, Radiance and EnergyPlus tools) that would enable a holistic approach to the spatial design of Near-Zero Energy buildings, so that their ecological benefits are an added value to the architectural design and a building’s visual, and material, impact on its surrounding space. The paper inquires how the integration of such technological infrastructure and performance-orientated interfaces changes yet again the structure and form of cities, and to what extent it safeguards social rights and enables equal access to common resources. Drawing from preliminary results and initial considerations of ongoing research that involve the construction of four innovative NZE settlements across Europe, in the context of the EU-funded ZERO-PLUS project, this paper discusses the integration of novel infrastructure in communal spaces of these settlements. In doing so, it contributes to the debate about smart communities and their role in the sustainable management of housing developments and settlements that are designed and developed with the concept of smart territories.

Research e-infrastructures, digital archives, and data services have become important pillars of scientific enterprise that in recent decades have become ever more collaborative, distributed, and data intensive. The archaeological research community has been an early adopter of digital tools for data acquisition, organization, analysis, and presentation of research results of individual projects. However, the provision of e-infrastructure and services for data sharing, discovery, access, and (re)use have lagged behind. This situation is being addressed by ARIADNE, the Advanced Research Infrastructure for Archaeological Dataset Networking in Europe. This EU-funded network has developed an e-infrastructure that enables data providers to register and provide access to their resources (datasets, collections) through the ARIADNE data portal, facilitating discovery, access, and other services across the integrated resources. This article describes the current landscape of data repositories and services for archaeologists in Europe, and the issues that make interoperability between them difficult to realize. The results of the ARIADNE surveys on users’ expectations and requirements are also presented. The main section of the article describes the architecture of the e-infrastructure, core services (data registration, discovery, and access), and various other extant or experimental services. The ongoing evaluation of the data integration and services is also discussed. Finally, the article summarizes lessons learned and outlines the prospects for the wider engagement of the archaeological research community in the sharing of data through ARIADNE. International audience