Digital Commons Network^™

The Documentality Of The American Passport, Melissa Adler

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper outlines an agenda for examining the passport in its emergence in the United States. In the earliest U.S. passports, there is already a paradox that mirrors American liberal democracy itself—a nation founded, in Thomas Jefferson’s words, in the vision of an “empire of liberty.” It lays the groundwork for working through the concept of and processes associated with documentality and what documents do, as well as for understanding the extraordinary conditions and implications associated with the inscription of human lives into documentary systems. Studying the emergence of passports within a broader documentary regime of American surveillance and …

Two Versions Of Documentality: Social Ontology And Neo-Documentation (With An Appendix On Artificial Intelligence), Ronald E. Day

Proceedings from the Document Academy

The article discusses two traditions of documentality: that of social ontology and that of neo-documentation, and it contains an appendix on artificial intelligence.

The Politics Of Remembering: Reconfiguring The Diorama Of Monas As Augmented Living Document, Suprayitno Suprayitno, Zulfatun Sofiyani, Rahmi Rahmi

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper examines the Monas diorama as a central apparatus in Indonesia’s politics of remembering, whose narrative consolidation during the New Order rendered it a state-authored monument of national memory. Drawing on Foucault’s distinction between monument and document, Ferraris’s ontology of documentality, and Perret’s concept of document design as projective epistemology, the study reframes the diorama as a documentary assemblage shaped by inscription, power, and institutionalized forgetting. Through diachronic, synchronic, comparative, and experimental analyses, the paper diagnoses failures across the physical, social, and cognitive dimensions of Monas as a document, revealing narrative authoritarianism, representational rigidity, and the absence of plural …

Cerebral Documents And Algorithmic Sensemaking: Searching For Expressions In Human And Artificial Cognitive Collaborations, Rebekah L. Cowell

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Generative Artificial Intelligences (AIs) and current advanced large language models (LLMs) are algorithmically designed to generate text-based conversations as conversational agents (CAs), by replicating human language and conversational communication. Pairing human cognition with generative computationally coded cognition. We have never been here before: cerebral and artificial information collaborations and processing producing expressions that may or may not become visible as second-hand/secondary source documents.

Sensemaking or sense(un)making is a unique autonomous human drive cognitively, our information processing is sensemaking in action and expressions and articulations are evidence of the sensemaking cycle. Documentation [expressed or articulated through various mediums] are a product …

Calibrating Humanness: Winding Our Own Springs—Comparing Human-Generated And Machine-Generated Response Documents, Jodi Kearns, Jennifer Davis

Proceedings from the Document Academy

The permanent exhibitions at the the National Museum of Psychology at The University of Akron, Ohio, USA, are arranged into three strands that tell a history of American psychology: the profession, the science, and the agent of social change. Visitors see historical objects and archival documents exploring such topics as the history of mental wellness treatment, immigration intelligence testing, study of behavior, gender identity, authority, sensory perceptions, animal studies, sensations, and violence. Before leaving the museum, visitors are invited to reflect on what they learned by responding to the following prompt by writing on a note card and leaving it …

The Robot As A Document For Action: Materiality And Corporeality In The Info-Communicational Approach To Robots, Cécile Payeur, Béa Arruabarrena

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This article explores the emerging materialities of mediating artifacts in the field of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). Drawing on the evolution of documentary environments and the growing hybridization of digital and physical spaces, it extends documentary and communication theories to robots taking into account their socio-technical dimension and their info-communicational implications for human interactions. It posits that examining the robot as a mediating artefact of a documentary nature can enhance both the understanding and the design of collaborative logic in HRI. Using Manuel Zacklad's theoretical framework, Documents for Action (DoPA), the research conceptualizes the robot as a semiotic and mediating document …

Toward Transparent Bureaucracy: Nlp-Based Document Classification And Power Dynamics In The Srikandi System, Zulfatun Sofiyani, Suprayitno Suprayitno, Faisal Fahmi, Mega Putri Mahadewi

Proceedings from the Document Academy

As the Indonesian government advances digital document management through the SRIKANDI system, challenges persist regarding fragmented and subjective classification practices. This study proposes the integration of Natural Language Processing (NLP)-based classification within SRIKANDI to enhance consistency, transparency, and accountability in document management. Framed by an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation, the study synthesizes Michael Buckland’s document theory, viewing documents as dynamic social evidence, with Michel Foucault’s theory of power, highlighting classification as an exercise of institutional authority, and NLP methodologies that enable automated, content-driven categorization. The study positions documents as both technological artifacts and political constructs, whose classification practices simultaneously structure meaning …

Mediating Cultural Messages Through Technology: A Case Study Of The Paras Nusantara Program In The National Museum Of Indonesia, Ciwuk Musiana Yudhawasthi, Rowella Reyes Parrucho, Truly Wangsalegawa

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Museums increasingly adopt interactive technologies such as gamification to communicate complex historical and cultural messages in ways that are accessible to the public. In response to the growing need for more engaging and inclusive cultural education, the National Museum of Indonesia has introduced Paras Nusantara, an innovative program that merges artificial intelligence (AI) with historical portraiture to foster public awareness of Indonesia’s rich ethnic diversity. "Paras Nusantara," which translates to "Faces of the Archipelago," utilizes AI-driven facial recognition to match visitors’ facial features with one of 78 ethnographic portraits created by artist Raden Mas Pirngadie in 1935. By transforming …

Ai-Generated Content And Cultural Preservation: Toward A Research Agenda, Ryo Shiozaki

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper maps the theoretical and practical challenges of preserving AI-generated content (AIGC) and proposes a coordinated research agenda rather than policy prescriptions. AIGC reveals the networked, processual nature of cultural production, challenging assumptions about human authorship, singular intentionality, and linear transmission. We identify forces that dissolve boundaries—indistinguishability, distributed intentionality, and recursive training loops—examine legal patchworks across jurisdictions, and consider evolving social perceptions that shape cultural recognition. Extending document theory toward evaluation that gives priority to function and drawing on social ontology, we argue that preservation and recognition are mutually constitutive. We outline a coordinated agenda across three fronts: theoretical …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Personal Archiving At The Crossroads Of Ai, Aging, And Documentation, Vanessa Reyes

Proceedings from the Document Academy

As we age, our relationship with our personal archive evolves as we experience cognitive shifts. This is even more so if we experience a reality that is shaped by Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is increasingly managing personal information through automated curation and personalized AI software interactions tailored to users (Hayes & Downie, 2024), sometimes completely unbeknownst to users. Meanwhile, AI-driven automated curation is also helping older adults manage their archives, influencing their ability to maintain agency over their life documentation practices. Older adults use a variety of health-monitoring technologies, such as the Apple Watch, the Samsung Smartwatch, and the Fitbit. …

Ai In The Family Archive: A Collaborative Exploration, Vanessa Reyes, Bhuva Narayan, Annemarie Zijlema, Mary Anne Kennan

Proceedings from the Document Academy

In this paper, the authors engaged in a structured exploration based on their personal experiences and professional expertise. Together they examine how AI impacts personal and collective memory, preservation efforts, and the ethical concerns around personal archives. As GenAI becomes more accessible to anyone with digital online access, new questions arise about the authenticity, continuity, and transformation of our documents. The questions we asked of ourselves and each other are: How has AI changed our understanding of the authenticity of the documents in our personal and family archives? Do AI-generated narratives and images enhance or distort our family and collective …

Docemes And Document Embeddings, John Kausch

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This position paper takes Niels’ Lund concept of doceme and applies it to an analysis of a contemporary information retrieval system for Wikipedia, constructed using the Vector Database system “Upstash Vector.” It begins with a theoretical analysis of the capacity for machine learning models to comprehend language, situating its position within that wide debate. It proceeds to discuss issues between the use of the term “semantic” in an data science vs. information science context. Finally, it applies theories from Lund’s doceme and Ron Day’s Documentarity to an analysis of the Upstash Vector dataset located on hugging face, closing with a …

A Documentalist Critique Of Information Science, Michael K. Buckland

Proceedings from the Document Academy

The paper examines the claim that new developments in document theory, sometimes referred to as “neodocumentalism,” constitute a radical challenge to orthodox information science theory. Related terminology is clarified and the disparate language needs of information practice and information theory are identified. The use of metaphor and figurative language is beneficial for practice, but detrimental for theory development. Finally, two linear models of documentary activity (reading and writing; reception and expression) are shown to form a single unified model.

Editorial, Sascha Donner

Proceedings from the Document Academy

DOCAM 2025 was a special gathering for me personally. As Chair, I had the honor of welcoming our international community to Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, an institution and a city whose rich history and vibrant intellectual spirit felt particularly fitting for the conversations we needed to have. This was DOCAM's first time at Humboldt University and its first time in Germany. I was fortunate to host it at the Berlin School of Library and Information Science, where the current Head of School, Vivien Petras, had already been part of DOCAM's earliest days. It was a very special occasion for her to …

Conditioned Feed Aversion As A Means Of Conditioning Livestock To Avoid Consuming Toxic Plants Growing In South Africa : An Overview, Leendert D. Snyman, Frederick D. Provenza

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

Significant economic losses to the livestock industry are caused by the ingestion of toxic plants in South Africa, among which the most dangerous ones are Moraea pallida (geeltulp), Urginea/Drimea sanguinea (rooislangkop), Senecio latifolius (Staggers Ragwort), and Geigeria ornativa (vermeerbos). Conditioned feed aversion is a potential means to address this issue. Treating animals with an aversive substance along with an extract of the sensory characteristics of a specific plant conditions animals to avoid the plant. Geigeria ornativa, unlike the other three plants, is non-aversive. Following treatment for aversion, the induced aversion fades with time and eventually breaks down. Continuous exposure …

Cv: Jennifer Tello Buntin (Sociology), Jennifer Tello Buntin

Sociology Department Faculty Curricula Vitae

No abstract provided.

Our Own 'Miss Alabama' Pam Long Leaves Saturday For Atlantic City, The Flor-Ala

Documents

Miss UNA and Miss Alabama Pam Long busily gets ready for the Miss America Pageant 1974.

Battles Busy; Miss America Could Be Next, Kaye Franklin Veal

Documents

Miss Alabama Pam Battles looks to the future and the Miss America Pageant.

Best Of State's Beauties Competing For A Crown As 1986 Miss Alabama, The Birmingham News

Documents

Miss Alabama 1986-Amy Beth Jones and DeLon Smith pictured.

Battles Wins Miss Alabama, The Timesdaily

Documents

Miss UNA 1982 Pam Battles wins Miss Alabama 1983.

Past Miss Point Mallard Winners, Decatur Daily

Documents

No abstract provided.

Yesteryear, Athens News Courier

Documents

25 Years ago... Karen Pressnell of Elkmont was crowned Miss UNA during a pageant at the University of North Alabama in Florence.

Florence State Junior Wins Miss Alabama Title, Associated Press

Documents

Miss UNA 1974, Pam Long, wins the title of Miss Alabama at Birmingham-Southern College Theater.

They'll Know Susie "Country Girl' Is Going City (Atlantic), Cindy Greene

Documents

Interviewing Susie Vaughn on her upcoming trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey and the Miss America Pageant.

*Article in The TimesDaily*

The Miss America Pageant, Miss America Pageant

Documents

The Miss America Pageant Program 1974

To Be Busier, The Times-Journal

Documents

Miss Alabama Pam Battles

Goodbye, Pam, Jim Hannon/Staff

Documents

Off to crown the next Miss Alabama.

Pamela Kaye Long 'Our' Miss Alabama, Sara Prater

Documents

News article and photographs of Miss Alabama Pamela Kaye Long, who also was the first Miss UNA 1974.

Local Girls Miss Crown But Take Scholarships, Daily Mountain Eagle

Documents

Miss Alabama Pageant 1984

Temperature And Sex Ratios At Birth, Jasmin Abdel Ghany, Joshua Wilde, Anna Dimitrova, Ridhi Kashyap, Raya Muttarak

Publications, Reports and Presentations

Human sex ratios at birth (SRBs) shape population composition and are closely linked to maternal health and gender discrimination. In the context of environmental change, SRBs may theoretically be skewed by physiological or behavioral responses to exposure to extreme heat. However, evidence for this is limited. In this study, we estimate the effect of prenatal exposure to temperature on birth sex by linking survey data on 5 million live births in 33 sub-Saharan African countries and India with high-resolution temperature data. To distinguish between spontaneous and induced abortions, we exploit sociodemographic differentials, exposure timing, and regional differences in son preference. …