Digital Commons Network^™

“Living Document”: From Documents To Documentality, From Mimesis To Performative Indexicality, Ronald E. Day

Proceedings from the Document Academy

In this article, in distinction to documentation as an epistemic understanding of documents, I will discuss the epistemology of documentality as an indexical theory of documental functions, which I will develop through Bruno Latour’s notion of information. This notion of indexicality is different than Suzanne Briet’s notion of indexicality (which I have discussed elsewhere (Briet, 2006)).

I will begin this paper with an historical problem that illustrates the issues of viewing documents as content representation. This is the problem identified by Vincent Debaene (Debaene, 2014) in early and mid-twentieth century French field anthropology of the “two book” phenomenon, which attempted …

Scholarly Communication And Documentary Fragmentations In The Public Space: A Functional Citation Study, Fidelia Ibekwe, Lucie Loubère

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper studies how academic content published in Open Edition.org, an online publication platform in the Social Sciences and Humanities is re-appropriated by members of the public. Our research is therefore concerned with the public appropriation of science and Open science. After extracting the contexts of citation of these content and mapping them, we propose a typology of citation functions as well as of citers (their origins and types). Our preliminary results indicated that academic literature is repurposed and cited by members of the public mainly as scientific warrant (support for their argumentation). We also found that academic content is …

Recent Semantic Changes For The Term "Digital", Tore Brattli

Proceedings from the Document Academy

The term digital originates from the Latin word for finger/counting and has for many years been used to denote discrete signals and information, as opposed to analog. Discrete representation is an important principle, not only in computers, but also for (printed) text, music scores and even our genes. Recently however, the use of the term has increased and the meaning expanded to include almost everything related to information technology, e.g. digital natives and digital addiction. This study investigates the core principles of digital representation and compares this concept with the recent usage, with a focus on Norwegian media. The purpose …

If It Looks Like A *Uck: A Provocation On B*D Words, Jodi Kearns, Brian C. O'Connor

Proceedings from the Document Academy

For some decades, we’ve been considering (and using) “b*d” words. Such a large part of the document space is made up of words; it seems necessary, upon occasion, to explore the crooked little paths and messy gutters occupied by some words. We invite your company on such a little exploration now.

Toward Augmented Document: Expressive Function Of Catalog, Caroline Courbieres, Sabine Roux, Benoît Berthou

Proceedings from the Document Academy

A library catalog constitutes a communicational tool which allows access to a collection of documents. It contributes to the circulation of knowledge by signaling and locating informational objects. This referencing consists in deconstructing/reconstructing documents according to principles of standardization: the actualized document is then decomposed into diverse characteristics. With the development of online public access catalog (OPAC), catalogs diffuse their own content beyond the documentary space that they are supposed to represent. Thus the communicational models specific to the bibliographic catalog must be deepened. If a catalog could appear as a documentary showcase, the possibility to comment on documents extends …

Two King Lears: The Meaning Potentials Of Writing And Speech For Talking Books, Anna Hampson Lundh, Bradley Smith

Proceedings from the Document Academy

The talking book is a type of assistive technology where original print text is audio recorded and marked-up in order to make it accessible for people with print-disabilities, such as visual impairments or dyslexia. In this pilot study, we explore the implications of remediating a written text, the script of Shakespeare’s King Lear, into spoken text. We compare two readings of the play: a talking book version; and a commercial audiobook recording. We examine intonation choices in an excerpt from the play in the two readings. The analysis shows significant variation in choices of intonation, and thus the meanings …