Data & Digitalization
After reading chapters two and three in the Digital Humanities Coursebook my definition of digital humanities became clearer in the digital sense. Since these two chapters were more focused on the digital side of digital humanities, I gained more of an understanding of how we as humans can use technology and digital data to further our research and present in it a way where it is understanding and beneficial. Chapter two talks mostly about data and how it is essentially the central focus of almost all digital work, “data drive the world of digital research” (Drucker 27). Without data, we would not be as far in our research and findings as we are in the present. There are many different ins and outs of data that researchers need to consider when collecting, using, repurposing, or presenting data. They need to ask themselves numerous questions to get the best and most ethical results. I found this chapter quite intriguing and eye-opening because I was not aware of all of the work and time that goes into data modeling. In terms of Humanities data, most of it is qualitative and produced from interpretive judgments. How then are we able to measure or present this? Well, “Humanities data are produced by taking documents or artifacts and abstracting from them certain features that be represented explicitly” (Drucker 19). Humanists find ways to extract data from analog objects which are then able to be measured. Chapter three talks about how digital documents are formed, and what type of formats are used. I once again was quite surprised with how many steps it takes to create an HTML and the tags that have to go along with it. Even the “HTML basics” were a little confusing to me, but it did put things into perspective when thinking about digitizing data. It also talks about the certain characteristics that a site has to contain to be labeled accessible like text-to-voice capabilities and roll-over text. Which brings me to the project I chose, On Broadway. On Broadway is an interactive installation that represents life in the 21st century through numerous images and data collected from the 13 miles of Broadway. The project I chose is On Broadway, and it uses analog objects and presents them in a way that is explicit and informational. For example, if you tap on an image it shows what street it was taken on, what year it was taken in, and then it shows a series of data like taxi drop-offs per day, taxi pickups per day, twitter messages per day, and so on. In terms of data ethics, I wonder if the individuals in these photos knew they were being photographed. Is that considered ethical or unethical?
Information presented on the internet, as demonstrated by your 'On Broadway' choice, often seem to mimick their physical counterparts. Bereft of the tradition barriers of the physical world, we seem to fabricate our own to segment information in specific ways. Just like in real life, we fabricate an exibit of information related to a focus, but despite the internet being so connect we close it off and focus it. We impose our own limits on a unique realm to have it mimic our own despite the option being there for true informational freedom.
ReplyDeleteEarly Internet felt more like the wild wild west, albeit without the technological advancements we have at our fingertips today, but fewer rules. It was also this new utopian thing (like the printing press) that was open to possibility. Humans love rules. And gatekeeping.
DeleteI agree that these two chapters in the textbook gave a clearer understanding of the specifics of digital humanities. Data truly is the heart of the digital world and without it we would not have evidence to validate any new research that is being presented. Digital humanities have created such an easy way to access data across all categories of research, allowing for new studies to be done on both new topics and old topics that can be more deeply investigated. I also love how you brought up ethics within your own project because that is a component that can be easily missed but is very important to determine the integrity of the project itself. Especially in this day in age, where consent is crucial before anything is posted to the abyss of the digital world.
ReplyDeleteI also think it is interesting how far we as humans have come with research and data in digital humanities and present those in a beneficial way. There are many different methods on how to collect and organize data. However, in these chapters it is based on how well researchers gather these findings. In reality, collecting data is a multi-step process that is time consuming. A prime example brings us back to setting up an HTML file since it also includes adding tags that go with it. I think that the individuals being photographed in the On Broadway project is only ethical if they are given consent prior. If cameras are hidden and people are not aware that a photo is being taken of them, this would be unethical because it is an invasion of their both privacy and identity.
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ReplyDeleteI also found it eye opening to read about the inner workings of website design, especially the concept of ethics as it relates to the digital realm. I now see why it is important to ask critical questions about website accessibility, mediation of information, and other factors that can inadvertently lead to discrimination on the web. I was also confused by all the tags that make up HTML, but I find it interesting to see the work that goes into standardizing a basic tool for web design. The project you chose sounds really engaging. I wonder if it was possible for the photographers to get consent from the people before taking pictures of them, and if not, what ethical consequences the designers could face.
ReplyDelete"HTML basics" can be overwhelming! It's important to get into these nuts and bolts so we can better understand the processes (lengthy) that go into composing project like these. Then we can better understand how to build them in a meaningful way.
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