Report: The future of scholarly communication: building the infastructure for cyberscholarship

September 28, 2007 at 11:37 pm · Filed under collaboration, digital humanities, e-science, humanities computing, web2.0

A report has just been released from an April meeting between JISC in the UK and the NSF in the US. (link)

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LONDON SEMINAR IN DIGITAL TEXT AND SCHOLARSHIP

September 28, 2007 at 1:44 am · Filed under digital humanities, events, humanities computing

The London Seminar in Digital Text & Scholarship focuses on the ways in which the digital medium remakes the relationship of readers, writers, scholars, technical practitioners and designers to the manuscript and printed book. Its discussions are intended to inform public debate and policy as well as to stimulate research and provide a broad forum in which to present its results. Although the forum is primarily for those working in textual and literary studies, history of the book, humanities computing and related fields, its mandate is to address and involve an audience of non-specialists. Wherever possible the issues it raises are meant to engage all those who are interested in a digital future for the book. The Seminar is sponsored by the Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King’s College London, and the Institute of English Studies, University of London. Convenor: Dr Willard McCarty (King’s College London). NB:

Wednesday 10 October 2007; Room ST274 (Stewart House, 2^nd Floor)
David Ganz, (Professor of Palaeography, King’s College London)
‘Medieval Libraries in the Digital Age’

Thursday 15 November 2007; 6.00pm; ST274 (Stewart House, 2^nd Floor)
Paul Eggert (University of New South Wales)
‘Text as Algorithm and as Process: A Critique’

Thursday 13 December 2007; 5.30pm; NG15 (Senate House North Block)
Jan-Christoph Meister
‘The Myth of the Digital or: Why Humanities Computing is Really Business as Usual’

Thursday 17 January 2008; 5.30pm; Room ST274 (Stewart House, 2^nd Floor)
James E. Tierney
‘British Periodicals, 1660-1800: An Electronic Index’

Thursday 21 February 2008; 5.30pm; Room ST275 (Stewart House, 2^nd Floor)
Andrew Prescott
‘Digital Manuscripts: Retrospect and Prospects’

Thursday 13 March 2008; 5.30pm; Room ST274 (Stewart House, 2^nd Floor)
Charles Henry
‘The Talisman of Format: Celebrating the End of the Book’

Thursday 17 April 2008; 5.30pm; Room ST274 (Stewart House, 2^nd Floor)
Marilyn Deegan
‘I’ve read the news today, oh boy!’

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E-Research: Strengthening institutional partnerships

September 26, 2007 at 7:24 pm · Filed under collaboration, digital humanities, humanities computing

Whether it’s e-research in Australia, cyberinfrastructure in the USA, the grid in Europe, or e-science in the UK, a transformation is occurring in research practice, a transformation that will have a profound impact on the roles of researchers and information professionals working in higher education, according to University of Melbourne Vice-Principal (Information) Linda O’Brien. “Research is becoming more multidisciplinary, more collaborative, and more global,” she says. “These changes provide new opportunities and challenges for information professionals. E-research is vital in strengthening institutional partnerships. It challenges us to think globally and act locally in building collaboration between information services and the research community.” Ms O’Brien outlines here the shape, role and significance of e-research in an article adapted from one she had published recently in the education journal EDUCAUSE Review (link).

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THE HENRY III FINE ROLLS PROJECT

September 25, 2007 at 2:52 am · Filed under digital humanities, humanities computing

There is a fine roll for each of the fifty-six years of Henry III’s reign and the current project aims to publish those from 1216 to 1248. (further funding will be sought to publish the rolls to the end of Henry’s reign) The fine rolls contain offers of money to the king for a multiplicity of concessions and favours, as well as a great deal of other material. They are of the first importance for the study of political, governmental, legal, social, and economic history (link).

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Peer review and evaluation of digital resources for the arts and humanities

September 25, 2007 at 2:12 am · Filed under digital humanities, history, humanities computing

The mechanisms for the evaluation and peer review of the traditional print outputs of scholarly research in the arts and humanities are well established, but no equivalent exists for assessing the value of digital resources and of the scholarly work which leads to their creation. This project proposes to establish a framework for evaluating the quality, sustainability and impact over time of digital resources for the arts and humanities, using History, in its broadest sense, as a case study (link).

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The World Universities Forum

September 24, 2007 at 8:39 pm · Filed under conferences, politics

13 October 2007 is the proposal deadline in the call for papers for the:

The World Universities Forum
Davos, Switzerland, 31 January to 2 February 2008
http://universitiesforum.com

The World Universities Forum was created in the belief that academe must better engage today’s most crucial questions, and that higher education itself must be included as part of the wider discussion of global change. The Forum encourages the participation of university executives, administrators, scholars and research students, as well as journalists, policy makers, business and political leaders, and others who understand that the importance of the university extends well beyond campus.

All presenters may choose to submit written papers for publication in the fully refereed Journal of the World Universities Forum. If you are unable to attend the Forum in person, virtual registrations are also available which allow you to submit a paper for review and possible publication in the Journal, and provide access to the online edition of the Journal.

To submit your proposal, please visit the Submit Proposal link on the Forum website http://universitiesforum.com

We look forward to receiving your proposals and hope you will be able to join us in Davos in January 2008.

Yours Sincerely,

Professor Fazal Rizvi
Department of Educational Policy Studies
University of Illinois
Urbana, Illinois, USA
For: The International Advisory Board of the World Universities Forum

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Sustainability of Digital Resources in the Arts and Humanities

September 22, 2007 at 2:27 am · Filed under digital humanities, humanities computing

On 29 November 2006, the Methods Network convened an Expert Seminar to address a range of issues concerning the long-term sustainability of digital resources, approaching these from a variety of perspectives. Representatives from the AHRC ICT Programme; the Research Information Network; the Andrew W Mellon Foundation; the Humanities Research Institute, University of Sheffield; an AHRC ICT Strategy Project; and PIs from major academic research projects presented papers which were followed by a series of extensive discussions (link).

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Report: After the AHDS: the end of national support?

September 18, 2007 at 12:48 am · Filed under digital humanities, e-science, education, humanities computing, web2.0

A panel discussion at the opening of the recent Digital Resources in the Humanities and Arts conference at Dartington College of the Arts posed the question what happens after the end of the Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS); is this the end of national support?

The Arts and Humanities Data Service is a national service with the primary role to preserve, curate, and provide access to the digital output of the humanities in the UK. The Service is also active in the enhancement and promotion of digital scholarship in the UK as well as internationally. After eleven years of service, the AHDS recently lost its funding from the JISC (Joint Information Services Committee) and the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council). The Service will cease to exist in its present form in March of 2008.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Online Democratic Deliberation in a Time of Information Abundance

September 14, 2007 at 11:17 pm · Filed under collaboration, communuity informatics, deliberation, design, digital humanities, gemeinschaft, governance, humanities computing, political communication, politics, social media, software, web2.0

This article of mine recently appeared in the journal, Fast Capitalism.

The intensified use of the Internet by civil society groups and governments for political purposes has left many questions unexplained—especially in terms of the Internet’s effects upon deliberative democratic processes. The Internet was first imagined as a means to revitalize deliberative processes. However, poor design and lack of usability research meant that many ambitions went largely unrealized. With a new wave of Internet technologies, ‘deliberative design’ has become even more important to stem what many claim is a trend towards political fragmentation and disaggregation. In a time of ‘information abundance’ mounting political communication online may also undermine collectivist, deliberative democratic processes, distinct from the ambition to renew these processes. There is therefore a pressing need to design Internet technologies that serve deliberative democracy, rather than unwittingly undermine it (link)

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Pollies embrace Google for the ‘e-election’

September 14, 2007 at 7:58 pm · Filed under political communication, politics, web2.0

From the Melbourne Age

John Howard says the internet is “not some sort of gimmick” and has invited voters to have a conversation with him on YouTube.

Peter Garrett believes the web will play a “really really critical role” in the upcoming election, which Joe Hockey has dubbed the “e-election campaign”.

The Prime Minister, opposition environment spokesman and Workplace Relations Minister broadcasted the comments over YouTube this morning in glowing endorsements of Google’s new federal election website. (link)

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