Mass Digitization Research Articles

The e-COL+ Project, an Opportunity to Reflect on the Concept of Digital Twin

Abstract The mass digitization efforts associated with the e-COL+ project, focusing on French natural history collections, provide an invaluable opportunity to reassess the need to build a comprehensive 3D digital collection to complement existing 2D digital repositories. This article explores the importance of incorporating 3D data into digital collections, highlighting its significant impact on scientific research, conservation efforts, and public outreach campaigns. Although the e-COL+ project faces practical obstacles related to digitization, it also raises important theoretical questions about the complex interplay between physical and digital objects. Here, we challenge the concepts of digital clone and digital twin that are commonly used in the construction of digital collections. The digital twin concept more accurately captures the intricate and adaptive connection between physical and digital entities that results from the precise digitization techniques used and the evolving characteristics of the specimens found in natural history collections.

Peer learning and peer assessment in institutions of higher education

The article examines the types of control and the most important principles of evaluating the knowledge of higher education students; the advantages of the modular rating system for the organization of training and training in "peer-to-peer" or peering training conditions are shown; the basis of peer learning is considered and various definitions of peer assessment are proposed. The basis of peering interaction is Web 3.0 technologies, the Internet, a large number of open educational resources (OER), and mass digitization of various materials. Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU) is an example of peering interaction and its successful functioning system. The system of peering interaction using ICT is revealed and the possibilities for peering assessment, which are provided in the applications of research learning spaces, are shown. The features of peer evaluation and consideration of these features when developing evaluation criteria are described. Based on the results of the ascertainment experiment and the conclusions regarding the renewal and improvement of the educational sector, in general, and the evaluation of higher education applicants, in particular, a model of digital tools and methods of introducing peer evaluation into the educational process of higher education institutions was introduced into the educational process of higher education institutions.

Completing the Completeness Measure: the MIDS Specification

The need to rapidly digitise millions of specimens in natural history collections has seen the development of a staged approach for data capture by institutions that have been carrying out mass digitisation projects. The cost and difficulty of transcribing labels associated with specimens has necessitated an approach that prioritises parts of the data based on research and curatorial requirements as well as ease of transcription and methodology available. This approach means that there is currently a wide variation in the completeness of data capture and imaging of specimens within and between collections. The Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) Minimum Information about a Digital Specimen (MIDS) specification has been designed to provide a framework for measuring and monitoring the completeness of the data transcribed from the specimen and the presence of an image or other media file. This framework enables a consistent and standardised approach to the calculation of the level of digitisation of specimens within a collection and, by extension/extrapolation, to the collection itself. Four levels of digitisation have been defined in the MIDS specification including a pre-digitisation level. These have been developed to correspond to practical requirements and existing large-scale digitisation programmes. MIDS level 0 (Bare): A bare or skeletal record making the association between an identifier of a physical specimen and its digital representation, allowing for unambiguous attachment of all other information. MIDS level 1 (Basic): A basic record of specimen information enabling basic discoverability as well as how the user is permitted to use the data. MIDS level 2 (Regular): A regular level of information including data that have been agreed over time as essential for most scientific purposes. MIDS level 3 (Extended): An extended level of information about a specimen including identifiers enabling connections to be made to other data present or known about the specimen. The scope of MIDS does not directly include the quality of data entered. Instead, MIDS can be seen as a tool to support the continuing improvement of data access and quality. It provides guidance for prioritising the data to be captured as well as recommendations for data standards and mapping structures. Here we present the progress in the development of the MIDS specification and its implementation. The MIDS elements for each of the four levels have now been defined and a draft version is available here. A machine-readable mapping to Darwin Core and ABCD has been compiled following the Simple Standard for Sharing Ontological Mappings (SSSOM). The differing data relevances and priorities for different disciplines have been recognised and the inclusion of required elements at each level is discipline specific (biology, palaeontology and geology). In addition, MIDS level scores have been increasingly implemented in existing specimen management systems, allowing an evaluation of the levels achieved in various contexts. There are two implementations of MIDS calculators that have been developed and are available to test. One, developed at the Meise Botanic Garden, uses a zipped Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) annotated archive (a commonly used GBIF download format based on Darwin Core Archive) and is available here. The other, developed at The Natural History Museum London, interacts directly with the GBIF API and is available here. We encourage users to try these and provide feedback to the TDWG MIDS Task Group.

Unraveling the Productivity Paradox: Evidence for Germany

Abstract Despite massive digitization efforts, the German economy has experienced a marked slowdown in its productivity growth. This paper empirically analyzes three prominent explanations for this development. First, using a novel quarterly utilization-adjusted total factor productivity measure for the German economy, we find that the slowdown in U.S. productivity growth since the mid-2000s had only a negligible impact on the German productivity trend. Second, the structural shift towards services in the German economy explains a sizeable share of the weaker aggregate productivity gains. This transformation process is associated with a strong labor market performance. And third, employing a novel identification procedure, we show that technological progress in the German information and communication technology (ICT) producing sector stimulates both, aggregate output and employment growth. Its effect on aggregate productivity is, however, small.

Ten lessons learned from the mass digitisation of a herbarium collection.

Worldwide, herbaria maintain collections of reference specimens representing global plant diversity. These collections are a valuable resource for fundamental botanical research and applied scientific research across various disciplines, and play a significant role in addressing major societal challenges such as biodiversity conservation. The digitisation of herbarium specimens and their online dissemination is one of the most important recent developments in the curation of these collections. Digitisation significantly enhances access to the collections for the research community and facilitates large-scale analysis of biodiversity data. Digitisation also provides a means for preserving the physical specimens, as it reduces the need for handling and transportation. Rapid technological developments have greatly accelerated the rate of databasing and digital imaging of collections. Meise Botanic Garden recently completed a six-year project to mass digitise its herbarium collections of about 3 million specimens mounted on sheets and through this process we have learned valuable lessons. We have captured our experience in 10 recommendations for other collection-holding institutions to take inspiration from as they start planning their own digitisation efforts. We also present case studies where we delve deeper into certain topics as examples.

Digitizing Historical Aerial Images: Evaluation of the Effects of Scanning Quality on Aerial Triangulation and Dense Image Matching

In the last decade, many aerial photographic archives have started to be digitized for multiple purposes, including digital preservation and geoprocessing. This paper analyzes the effects of professional photogrammetric versus consumer-grade scanners on the processing of analog historical aerial photographs. An image block over Warsaw is considered, featuring 38 photographs acquired in 1986 (Wild RC10, Normal Aviogon II lens, 23 × 23 cm format) with a ground sampling distance (GSD) of 4 cm. Aerial triangulation (AT) and dense image matching (DIM) procedures are considered, analyzing how scanning modalities are important in the massive digitization of analog images for georeferencing and 3D product generation. The achieved results show how consumer-grade scanners, unlike more expensive photogrammetric scanners, do not possess adequate recording quality to ensure high accuracy and geometric precision for geoprocessing purposes. However, consumer-grade scanners can be used for time and cost-efficient applications where a partial loss of data quality is not critical.

Digital Learning and its Design in the Context of Mass Digitization

Mass digitization and high-technological advances have transformed the educational landscape and the ways people learn. In this context, the article explores the key digital learning trends that shape its intricate and diverse nature and contribute to the transition towards more complex design, aiming to guide professionals in the field who seek to provide engaging learning experiences for their learners. While many of these trends have emerged in the past, today they resurge with new impact.

Empowering new survivors with old lessons? Insights from the Bosnian war aftermath applied to upcoming Ukrainian post-realities

ABSTRACT In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, media narratives drew stark parallels with the violent disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, instigating discussions on historical similarities and current sociopolitical relations. This paper explores the responses of Bosnian war rape survivors and activists to the gender-based violence during the invasion and draws insights or potential lessons learned for application in Ukraine. As survivors and activists advocate for documentation and warn of the prolonged journey to justice, they navigate triggering narratives reminiscent of Bosnia’s past. Utilizing qualitative content analysis of English and Bosnian-Croatian-Serb language media articles from March to December 2022, the study identifies recurring themes and patterns, referencing the Bosnian conflict as a point of comparison. Using “post” as a temporal and analytical framework, the focus narrows to trauma narratives, the dynamics of breaking the silence, and the distinctive feature of mass digitization in the Ukrainian context. The empowerment of survivors through digital platforms is explored, shedding light on the evolving nature of information dissemination. The paper aims to provide a foundation for understanding the challenges and opportunities for post-conflict recovery and gender trauma healing in the Ukrainian context, based on social factors rather than clinical ones.

Improving accessibility of digitization outputs: EODOPEN project research findings

PurposeThe current predominant delivery format resulting from digitization is PDF, which is not appropriate for the blind, partially sighted and people who read on mobile devices. To meet the needs of both communities, as well as broader ones, alternative file formats are required. With the findings of the eBooks-On-Demand-Network Opening Publications for European Netizens project research, this study aims to improve access to digitized content for these communities.Design/methodology/approachIn 2022, the authors conducted research on the digitization experiences of 13 EODOPEN partners at their organizations. The authors distributed the same sample of scans in English with different characteristics, and in accordance with Web content accessibility guidelines, the authors created 24 criteria to analyze their digitization workflows, output formats and optical character recognition (OCR) quality.FindingsIn this contribution, the authors present the results of a trial implementation among EODOPEN partners regarding their digitization workflows, used delivery file formats and the resulting quality of OCR results, depending on the type of digitization output file format. It was shown that partners using the OCR tool ABBYY FineReader Professional and producing scanning outputs in tagged PDF and PDF/UA formats achieved better results according to set criteria.Research limitations/implicationsThe trial implementations were limited to 13 project partners’ organizations only.Originality/valueThis research paper can be a valuable contribution to the field of massive digitization practices, particularly in terms of improving the accessibility of the output delivery file formats.

The Kazakh Language Requires Reform of its Writing

The article provides information about modern problems of writing the Kazakh language, the importance of its role and development in the context of mass digitization using artificial intelligence technologies and computational linguistics methods. The incorrectness of the current alphabet of the Kazakh language based on the Cyrillic alphabet is proved in connection with the inclusion of Cyrillic letters in it, denoting phonemes that are not included in its sound structure. The necessity of reforming the Kazakh writing by replacing the incorrect alphabet is substantiated. Errors and contradictions are shown in the approved version of the Kazakh alphabet based on the Latin alphabet, as well as the alphabet proposed as a replacement for the approved one, in which some previous errors are repeated. In both cases, no analysis and clarification of the sound system of the Kazakh language, which is the basis of any alphabet, is carried out. In this study, to clarify the sound system of the Kazakh language, experiments were carried out to determine the articulation and acoustic features of Kazakh sounds with the help the computer programs used for many natural languages. In the articulation analysis, special attention was paid to vowels, which give rise to various contradictions in the Kazakh letter. It is proposed to use a new classification of vowels according to four binary features, rather than the traditional classification according to three binary features. Acoustic analysis uses the method of formant analysis, which is aimed at identifying certain formants in the spectrogram. The formant is obtained using a spectrograph. Quantitatively, the formants correspond to the maxima in the speech spectrum and usually appear on spectrograms as horizontal bands. After determining the composition and classification of the sound system of the Kazakh language, two variants of the alphabet based on the Latin alphabet are proposed: the first one is based on the Turkish alphabet using diacritical marks; the second is based on the English alphabet using digraphs. The second option offers ways to solve problems that arise when using digraphs. In conclusion, information is provided on the ongoing and ongoing work in Kazakhstan related to the creation of smart systems in the Kazakh language based on the methods and technologies of artificial intelligence and computational linguistics, the results of which are reflected in the list of sources.

Possibilities and prospects for the professional development of university teachers in the conditions of digitalization

Relevance. The relevance of the study is due to insufficient study of the issue of implementation of measures to develop the professional competences of university teachers, taking into account available digital technologies and gadgets in the Republic of Kazakhstan.Purpose. This article is aimed at identifying the most promising teacher training programs, taking into account the mass digitization of the educational environment, which can practically lead to an increase in the efficiency of higher education in Kazakhstan and, as a result, contribute to the economic development of the state.Methodology. The leading approach to the study of this problem is the method of a natural experiment, with the help of which it was possible to assess the effectiveness of classical and innovative methods of professional development of university teachers. In addition to the natural experiment method, the article used system analysis, logical analysis, synthesis, deduction, classification, comparative analysis, observation and interviewing of respondents.Results. The article presents the results of a cross-sectional study: the digital literacy skills necessary for a university teacher are described, which allow for the safe and productive use of digital technologies and gadgets, the five spheres of a university teacher's activity are presented, which are constituent elements of a teacher's professional activity, formal and informal ones are disclosed educational events aimed at the development of professional competences, two educational programs were developed and implemented; a comparative analysis of the results of the survey of respondents and their assessment of the effectiveness of the completed programs was carried out, the parameters for evaluating the prospects of the teacher's professional development in the conditions of digitalization were proposed.Conclusions. The materials of the article represent practical value, as in practice they demonstrate the effectiveness of digital technologies used for the professional development of university teachers.

E-WOM: How do Fake Reviews in the Saudi Tourism Sector Impact Consumers’ Purchasing Intentions?

e-WOM (Electronic Word of Mouth) is a practical way of exchanging and discussing views on the quality of goods, services, ideas, and organizations that provide them. In the age of mass digitalization, people find it easy and practical to review/rate the output of any institution through Social Media channels available to them. However, the ease of Mass-communication is itself responsible or at least a contributor to fake/false/biased reviews of purchased products and services. This research will investigate e-WOM as expressed by service reviewing in the Saudi Tourism/Hospitality sector, which has been booming in recent years due to the 2020-2030 transformative Plan. We propose to study how different variables may influence the service provider (Brand Reputation), the consumers’ attitudes towards it, the quality of the information provided, and the ease of accessibility of them. To our surprise, we found no significant impact of e-WOM on Brand Reputation, while for Customer purchase intentions, all the above-mentioned factors proved to impact significantly.

Digitizing the USPTO patent backfile

Abstract The digitization of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) backfile of six million patents undertaken between 1951 and 2001 was a five-decade struggle, featuring several media transitions from print and microfilm to CD-ROMs and, finally, the Web. This mass digitization project is on a similar scale to Google Books and the Internet Archive, but it is rarely discussed within critical digitization scholarship or for its significance as a tool for knowledge production. In this article, I focus on the USPTO’s patent document’s digital and physical material form and how the current paradigm of access and storage of the digital backfile emerged. Through this case study, I build upon Ian Milligan’s distinction between the ‘text’ and ‘platform’ layers of a digitization project to demonstrate how historical decisions regarding format and metadata continue to influence how users retrieve and interpret documents, such as patents, online.

The GETAMEL Model: Features of the Adaptation of Teachers in the Transition to On-Line Learning

The mass digitization of education in recent years presents a series of challenges for the implementation of online learning. While there is a considerable amount of literature dedicated to student adaptation, the intricacies of effective implementation from the teacher’s perspective remain less explored. This article investigates the impact of various factors on the teacher adaptation process to new learning conditions, particularly in the transition to an online format. The study involved 670 teachers from five provinces in China, divided into two groups based on their experience with technology. Key factors influencing teachers’ use of digital technologies were identified through the General Extended Technology Acceptance Model (GETAMEL) framework. The research findings reveal that the more confident a teacher is in using online services and conducting lessons, the more likely students will adapt quickly without a significant decrease in the effectiveness of learning. It was also found that the level of technology used by teachers has a substantial influence on the adaptation process and the efficiency of the teaching process. Connections were identified between factors such as Normative Pressure, Management Support, and Experience: less experience among respondents leads to greater pressure and less administrative support. Specifically, respondents with significant experience scored high in Experience (9 out of 10), moderate in Normative Pressure (5), and high in Management Support (9). In contrast, those with less experience scored lower in Experience (5), higher in Normative Pressure (7), and lower in Management Support (6). The results of this article can serve as a foundation for developing programs and initiatives to train teachers in the use of digital technologies in education. Educational institutions can utilize these data to create professional development programs that provide teachers with practical skills and confidence in working in the online environment. Additionally, recommendations for supporting less experienced teachers can be implemented at the education management level to ensure adequate support and resources. Furthermore, companies and organizations providing professional development for teachers can use these results to tailor their programs to the specific needs and levels of experience of teachers.

DIGITAL COLONIZATION AS A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY

Today, digital transformation is one of the national goals of all developed and developing countries of the world. At the same time, mass digitalization also reveals negative consequences, which include the digital divide, the transformation of labor markets, the technocratization of the social and political spheres, etc., which largely stimulate the process of colonization com- ing from leading IT corporations and countries claiming the status of digital empires. In this vein, new tasks arise for states to ensure national security, due to the need to form sustainable digital sovereignty. This article is aimed at identifying the specifics, main problems and consequences of digital colonialization. The authors pay special attention to the US colonial policy in the context of understanding the phenomenon of digital empires; conceptual understanding of “digital sovereignty”; the risks of the digital age. The key research questions of the work are the following: What challenges does ultra-fast digitalization entail? How is the digital colonial policy formed and implemented? What are the main problems of digital colonialism? How to form and maintain sustainable digital state sovereignty? The significance of the presented study lies in the combination of theoretical approaches and real political practice, which makes it possible to characterize the whole variety of processes and effects of digital colonialization. In conclusion, the authors discuss the possibilities of import substitution in this area, and also offer practical recommendations for the implementation of the import substitution policy in modern Russia, emphasizing the need for a balanced development of the regulatory, legal, technological, competence, political, economic and managerial components of national digital sovereignty.

A Case for Libraries’ Survival in the Internet Age: Mass Digitization of Literary Works and the Legality of Controlled Digital Lending

A Case for Libraries’ Survival in the Internet Age: Mass Digitization of Literary Works and the Legality of Controlled Digital Lending

The Lack of Consciousness of the Presence of the Other in Contemporary Society in the Era of Mass Digitalization

This study discusses how the substantial development of technology, especially of social media platforms, in the past decades has altered the conditions that determine human relationships radically. It provides an overview of how emerging technologies have affected interpersonal human relationships by creating a new environment in which communication takes place, which could be exclusively virtual in the future. Then, it touches on the Levinasian theory regarding the self and its constant consciousness of the Other and aims to explore how Levinas’s theory relates to modern society. It highlights the process of how each person strives to find the Other during his/her existence but is often unable to do that and how, in this process, contact with the Other is essential. It is explained that Levinas stresses the importance of meeting with the Other but indicates that we often fail to do so and end up meeting with the Third, an unoriginal form of the Other. Lastly, it is hypothesized that the inability to find the Other in the modern world can be linked to the development of digitalization because new media are often responsible for creating distance in human relationships and, therefore, cannot be the sole medium of creating relationships with others as face-to-face communication and meeting the other are essential components of developing a meaningful relationship with them.

Ontsluiting van het Amsterdamse notariële archief

The archives of the Amsterdam notaries (1578-1915) are an extremely rich but complex source for historical research. Although well known amongst researchers for decades, it was never possible to search the archive completely due to its enormous size (over 3.5 kilometers of shelve length). From 2016 onwards the Amsterdam City Archives have started a renewed attempt to disclosure this archive with new techniques such as crowd sourcing and Handwritten Text Recognition in the project Alle Amsterdamse Akten. This article provides insight in the way the Amsterdam City Archives unlocks the deeds of the seventeenth and eighteenth century notaries and how researchers can benefit from the results of this mass digitization project.

Color Analysis and Color Management in Mass Digitization of Transparencies at the National Digital Archives in Poland

Color Analysis and Color Management in Mass Digitization of Transparencies at the National Digital Archives in Poland

SENTIMENT ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGY FOR USER FEEDBACK SUPPORT IN E-COMMERCE SYSTEMS BASED ON MACHINE LEARNING

Context. The interaction between a company and its target audience has been studied for centuries. From the very beginning of commercial relations, the relationship between the service provider and the recipient has been valued almost above all else. Trade is built on trust and respect. The image of an entrepreneur is often more important than the product he sells. For hundreds of years, the relationship between the merchant and the buyer, the entrepreneur and the client has not lost its importance, and in the era of mass digitalization, the quality of the relationship between the company and the target audience of different sizes and professional feedback support with clients often start the success of e-business. To provide these additional tools and information technologies to help businessmen monitor e-business development opportunities in a specific location, as well as establish feedback with users through social networks and mass media. Obtaining such tools will significantly expand the vision of market opportunities for ebusiness, it will clarify which of them make sense to invest in, and which ones are not worth paying time for. Also see what idea has the future and what business model needs to be implemented/maintained/developed for the rapid development of territorial/interregional e-business. It will also help to understand which levers have the greatest effect for business changes: what not to touch, and what policies to change to ensure high speed in the implementation of the plan based on the analysis of relevant research results, for example, to receive: direct feedback from customers, the dynamics of changes in overall satisfaction or interest of the target audience and advantages/disadvantages from users using NLP analysis; support for the development of e-business in relation to the location of their enterprise and the best directions; – graphs of business development (improvement/deterioration) depending on the content of comments.
 Objective of the study is to develop information technology to support the development of e-business by analyzing business locations, processing feedback from users, analyzing and classifying customer feedback in real time from social networks: Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and others using deep learning and Natural methods. Language Processing of Ukrainian-speaking and Englishspeaking texts.
 Method. NLP-methods were used to analyze the opinions of users and customers. Among the methods of implementing the main functions of English-language news classification, the following machine learning methods are used: naive Bayesian classifier, logistic regression, and the method of support vectors. The Naive Bayes algorithm was used to classify Ukrainian-language user feedback, as it performs well on small amounts of data, is easy to train and operate, and works well with text data. Naive Bayes classifier is a very good option for our system and considering that the number of responses in the dataset is smaller compared to the averages.
 Results. A machine learning model was developed for the analysis and classification of Ukrainian- and English-language reviews from users of e-commerce systems.
 Conclusions. The created model shows excellent classification results on test data. The overall accuracy of the sentimental model for the analysis of Ukrainian-language content is quite satisfactory, 92.3%. The logistic regression method coped best with the task of analyzing the impact of English-language news on the financial market, which showed an accuracy of 75.67%. This is certainly not the desired result, but it is the largest indicator of all considered. The support vector method (SVM) coped somewhat worse with the task, which showed an accuracy of 72.78%, which is a slightly worse result than the one obtained thanks to the logistic regression method. And the naïve Bayesian classifier method did the worst with the task, which achieved an accuracy of 71.13%, which is less than the two previous methods.