Poster for the Interface 2009, the 1st Internationan Symposium for Humanities and Technology, 9th-1-th July 2009, University of Southampton, UK. By Henriette Roued-Cunliffe.  

The aim of the project was to enable the use of eSAD developed image-processing algorithms within theframework developed within the VRE-SDM. This means bridging the gap between the use of the NGS for imageprocessing and the web based access mechanisms used by this research community. [paper accepted for presentation at AHM 2009] by Wallom, D.;  Tarte, S. M.; Hu, P.; Tang, K. and Ma, T.

The abstract for the Digital Humanities Conference in June 2009. Has been accepted for the conference. By Roued Olsen, H.; Tarte, S. M.; Terras, M.; Brady, J. M.; Bowman, A. K.

Abstract: Transcribing ancient inscribed texts is a complex task. The “e-Science, Imaging Technology and Ancient Documents” project aims at supporting Classicists in this task. The resulting intelligent system will offer image processing facilities tailored to the Classicists’ needs as well as ways to handle reasoning under uncertainty and share transcriptions and documents. We present here our first steps towards building such a system, concentrating on the imaging processing functionality, in particular illumination and background correction. Regular transcription sessions allow us to evaluate if these processed images respond to the Classists’ requirements and their impact on the legibility of the documents. By Ségolène Tarte, Michael Brady, Henriette Roued Olsen, Melissa Terras and Alan Bowman

Title: "A puzzling letter form, or how ways-of-seeing and ways-of-looking differ". Abstract: This talk will present how, in the context of building an Interpretation Support System for the transcription and interpretation of ancient and damaged documents, we are working on developing strategies to port perception and interpretation into the Digital world. Based on a specific example, I will briefly present our digitization process, which aims to mirror the experts’ real-world strategy, and the image processing algorithms we developed to enhance the images. I will then elaborate further on the chain of reasoning that progressively unravels when experts set to discover meaning to a text-bearing artefact. Building on previous work that identified 10 levels of reading in the transcription process, I will present some of the strategies that the experts adopt, and how the jumps between reading levels occur. Throughout, examples will be given of the continuous tension and search for balance between ways-of-seeing and ways-of-looking, between intentionality and serendipity, between what the text-bearing object allows and what it invites; all in an effort to make explicit, some of the key implicit mechanisms that cause perception and interpretation to be so tightly intertwined. By S. M. Tarte