e-Arts and Humanities Scoping an e-Science Agenda

1
e-Arts and HumanitiesScoping an e-Science Agenda

• Sheila Anderson
• Arts and Humanities Data Service
• Kings College London

2
e-Arts and Humanities

• e-Science is about an enabling infrastructure
  tools , technologies, computing power etc.
  supporting research
• We have defined it as the development and
  deployment of a networked infrastructure and
  culture through which resources be they
  processing power, data, expertise, or person
  power can be shared in a secure environment,
  and in which new forms of collaboration can
  emerge, and new and advanced methodologies
  explored

3
Aims and Objectives

• Raise awareness and understanding of e-science,
  and how e-science might relate to and support the
  different disciplines within the arts and
  humanities
• Enable scholars engaging with ICT in their
  research practice to find about and take
  advantage of the outputs and tools arising from
  the e-science and e-social science programmes
• Assist the AHRC in the development of an arts and
  humanities e-Science research agenda

4
The Scoping Survey

• Scoping survey methodology
• Identify, collate and analyse information on
  e-science technologies, projects and outputs
• Match these against methods and challenges for
  research practice in the arts and humanities
  this done through a series of expert seminars
• Dissemination to a wider community for comment
  and to raise awareness
• Create an on-line information base for
  consultation by arts and humanities scholars

5
Expert Seminars key to this process

• Exchange ideas and knowledge
• Identify use of ICT in research practice and
  grand challenges and opportunities
• Identify e-Science potential
• Identify priority areas for research and practice
• Recommendations for future action
• Priorities for research
• Priorities for tools development

6
Based around subject domain

• Library and Information Studies Melissa Terras
• Archaeology William Kilbride
• Literary and Textual Studies Peter Robinson
• History Mark Greengrass
• Visual Arts Sue Gollifer
• Performing Arts Angela Picini
• Linguistics and Languages Paul Rayson

7
Format of the Seminars

• Driven from research needs and research practice
• Identify ICT use
• Identify Grand Challenges
• Identify where e-Science might help address the
  grand challenges
• Identify needs, priorities, and recommendations
• Wish list tools and projects

8
Outputs

• Report from each seminar circulated more widely
  for comment and suggestions
• Final report drawing out common themes and
  priorities and unique requirements
• On-line information resource as part of AHeSSC
  maintained and updated
• Draft report end July
• Final report mid-August

9
Early thoughts

• Must come from, and be embedded in, research
  practice and research needs
• Be innovative and push barriers
• BUT, be sensitive to those less engaged
• Re-imagine the concept of e-Science (and even
  the name) challenge existing e-Science
  technologies
• International, scalable, sustainable

10
Early thoughts

• Content
• Highly dispersed content joined up through the
  grid and appropriate tools ontology connectors
• Deep mining (inc. image and sound) using
  different methods deep log analysis for
  connecting folksonomies data and text mining
• Large scale images, moving images, sound, etc.
  managed and accessed through the grid
• Capturing the creative process
• Annotation, collation, visualisation, simulation
• Content from across disciplines

11
Early thoughts

• Collaboration
• Strong possibilities
• New forms of critical editions
• New forms of curation
• Democratisation
• Dynamic, interactive BUT secure and trusted -
  provenance
• Push the access grid further for collaborative
  research and teaching
• Across disciplines