Project Proposals for Fall 2015

[ebeshero]

First, read our Course Project Guidelines, and think about research questions that you might investigate with XML, based on the four Pitt-Greensburg-based projects we've been discussing this week. Post a proposal for what a small group of you might work together to produce this semester, based on the following projects, and referring to [our previous brainstorming discussion]: (https://github.com/ebeshero/DHClass-Hub/issues/12)

• The Nell Nelson Project.
• Digital Mitford Project: Letters Introduction.
• Digital Archives and Pacific Cultures
• Emily Dickinson's Fascicle 16: Eleven Poems

  Stage 1:

By Saturday September 19, by 11:59 PM at the latest, each of you post a proposal for a proof-of-concept project that you would like to work on with a small team. Address both of the following: 1) Identify a research question you'd like to investigate in connection with XML markup--either markup that's already present, or markup you might add or develop to an existing project. What information would you want to collect and display, and why it might be a benefit to the project in question? 2) What site improvements would you like to try applying to make a better digital resource on the project you've chosen?

Stage 2:

On Sunday Sept. 20, by 11:59 PM at the latest, review the posted proposals and respond to at least one other student's proposal to indicate what looks especially interesting, offer suggestions and feedback, and/or suggest a connection with your own proposal. Since we ask each of you to make proposals but we're pulling you together into teams, your responses to each other are going to help us put teams together in class on Monday Sept. 21.

@amielnicki @RJP43 @ghbondar @KariWomack @blawrence719 @brookestewart @nlottig94 @CodyKarch @rmz14 @rCarls @spadafour

[ebeshero]

I've just added a direct link here from the syllabus page on newtFire. I'll try to keep up with that--but if any of you notice I'm missing links there, please ping me!

[spadafour]

I'd like to work on Becca's Nell Nelson project. Specifically, I want to produce more data visualization. What language is associated with the different issues of the time that Nelson was writing about? Which voices (male/female) were associated with those issues? I think that there are enough elements already in place to bring out these answers, which would further help to visualize Nelson's interpretation of Chicago's industrialization.

The text itself needs to be placed on the site, too, and I'd like to help with that as well. I'm not entirely sure how much work this would be. @RJP43 , sound like too much or not enough?

[nlottig94]

I would like to work on the Emily Dickinson's Fascicle 16: Eleven Poems project. There is much to be shown on the project that simply isn't there right now but would help readers understand what is really going on with the site. As Dr. B. explained, Dickinson may or may not have intended for these eleven poems to be read with the alternative variations of words and phrases in certain places. Also, we now know that, at the time of the first publications, these variations were cut out of the poems, and what was included in the publications may have been altered, such as punctuation and cutting lines of text. Therefore, I would like to answer questions, such as: 1. What exactly did the editors of the early publications change, add, or exclude to/from the original poems? and 2. What differences would this make when trying to read or analyze Dickinson's original poems in contrast with the published versions?

The site improvements I would like to see would be to have a clear homepage that explains what Dr. B. told us about the site. I would also like to see more text on the pages with the poems that explains and points out the differences between the original poems and the edited and published versions, which would help the reader identify how the meaning of the poems may have changed after publication.

[brookestewart]

I would also like to work on the Emily Dickinson's Fascicle 16: Eleven Poems project. I believe the site has a lot of potential that could be reached with a little more organization. I really like the questions that @nlottig94 wants to explore. In addition, we could look at why she bound those particular poems together. (What they have in common, etc.) I think it would help contextualize the poems and provide more background.

For the improvements on the site, I would like to add a homepage to clarify what the project is about. Also, I think having the manuscripts of the poems in more order with clear explanations that match up with the picture would really help with site navigation.

[RJP43]

@spadafour The ideas you have expressed for development on the Nell Nelson site are exactly the basics of work that need to be developed for the project's growth. What is awesome about getting a solid group together to work on this project is that we can easily launch this project in a direction similar to the complexity of the Pacific Island project (Mitford is much larger in comparison).

In response to getting text on site: There are some other basic and semi-quick fixes the project needs before making all of the texts available. What needs done: the original articles are all hand keyed transcriptions and there are plenty of articles yet to be transcribed. Also the two book versions have rough OCR that needs fixed using regular expressions and an editor's eye (certainly after you learn regular expressions we could do some of this work, if anyone is interested). To make the HTML out of the xml files the project needs the development of XSLT style sheets for each of the sources the site represents. By having the style sheets done once more of the texts are transcribed or fixed they can be made into HTML (website ready) with a simple transformation (you all will be learning how to do this soon and your help making the projects XSLT would be much appreciated). With the style sheets we can make the few texts we do have transcribed (the couple articles and book chapters) available on site as examples of what will come. How we style the XSLT will lead to further aesthetic website development for those interested in that aspect of the project's growth as well.

In response to your research question: @spadafour I'd like to see you formalize your research question so we can discuss the proper direction to take in making a data visualization that represent your inquiries. By formalizing your question we can add this to a proposal I am submitting to the UNRH conference (check out the other issue on this matter: https://github.com/ebeshero/DHClass-Hub/issues/17) and there is possibility for you to join me as a co-editor in presenting the Nelson research at an undergraduate digital humanities conference in North Carolina this November. In addition to formalizing the question give me an idea of what kind of data visualization you are interested in making (i.e. graph, table, chart). The sooner you can formalize this question the greater likelihood i could include it in my proposal which is due tomorrow.
Your interesting research question would be a fantastic exploration of the series and certainly could represent a significant contribution to the project.

WHO ELSE IS INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING SIMILAR ASPECTS OF THE NELSON PROJECT? AND WHAT OTHER RESEARCH QUESTIONS OR AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT INTEREST YOU?

[RJP43]

@amielnicki @KariWomack @blawrence719 @CodyKarch @rmz14 @rCarls

Just a reminder we want to hear from each of by the end of tonight... we need everyone's input on this discussion post because this is more than just points and a discussion grade this is how we will be deciding what project you will be working on for the rest of the semester.

[blawrence719]

Like @nlottig94 and @brookestewart I also wanted to work on the Dickinson project. I like Nicole's question of what difference it would make if we are looking at the original poem or the published version. It is interesting to see what changes were made and what impact that had on the meaning of the poem.

As far as improvements for the site, I definitely think it needs to be organized with a homepage letting everyone know exactly what is going on in the project. I also agree with @brookestewart that there should be more text explaining exactly what is going on. Everything is very confusing and I think that reorganizing and adding more detailed text would help to solve part of the issue.

[CodyKarch]

I think that I would be interested in the Digital Mitford Project. The thing that really catches my intrigue is that there is all of these letters to be explored and possibly a usurp of little concepts, meanings, or connections to be found; and the main thing that hooked my thought was how most of her texts are unedited. Thus, I have a curiosity for the small amount that WERE edited. I think it would be a good research question to delve upon: what texts were edited, why they were edited, how it connects (or disconnects to the unedited works), and most supremely how this reflects, or draws the character of Mary R. Mitford. With this summed up into some manner, I think the site could grow stronger in the "humanistic" perspective {of the project}. But with the site improvement, I was feeling a bit more direct. It seems like only some parts, like the presentation, and website connections could be reconfigured. I know that this is already a sturdy project, but giving it more levels and a "fresh coat of paint" is something I would really like to do.

[rCarls]

I too am interested in the Digital Mitford project. I think it could be neat to compare letters with different addressees against each other, look at her speech patterns, see if she gossips to this person more than another, etc. That could also lead us to draw similarities between real-world people she knew and characters in her published works. I also think everything @CodyKarch mentioned is worth doing.

The majority of my ideas, however, are site improvements. Most of my free time (or all of it, depending on how you define "most") is spent on the internet, and I've done some light tidying for websites in the past. The fundamentals of the Digital Mitford site are all solid; it's like an unfinished living room, all the furniture is there and the carpet is clean, but some baseboard and maybe a few sconces would tie it all together. First off, I'd want to standardize the site, from page to page. I.E. on some pages the bank of links is in a menu on the right, while on others it's a bar under the heading. Some pages have text drawn into tight and manageable blocks running down the center, and some have each line drawn across the entire page (pages like this are sort of a pain in the ass to read, columnar text is more comfortable). I noticed while looking at the letters that some of the notes say "refer to note #" or something along those lines at the bottom, and that gave me the idea for another menu of links under the site navigation menu that would bring the user to whatever note is in question. The format of the notes themselves seems a little jumbled as well, like this http://puu.sh/khshp/873e69e2f6.png -- the text stating the person's birth runs directly into that for his death, whether that's a display-specific issue or what, it'd be easier to read if birth and death dates were separated by a line. Maybe I'd throw some borders around menus to make them pop out from the background a little more. I have a lot of this kind of housekeeping ideas in mind.

P.S. I hope this was coherent enough, I was up at 4 AM to leave for Maryland and was gone all day, so I'm a little wonky right now.

Peace

[RJP43]

@amielnicki @KariWomack @rmz14

We need your input. Do you have interests in any of the three projects being mentioned and/or is there interest in doing something more with the Digital Archives and Pacific Cultures Project. In what ways have you considered contributing to these projects? Please share your ideas so we can begin to form groups for next week. If you are having an issue with posting a comment on this issue feel free to email!!! rjp43@pitt.edu and ebb8@pitt.edu

[KariWomack]

I apologize for the super-late response, I have been ill all weekend, but i did want to convey my interest in the Nell Nelson project. I am very interested in @spadafour 's suggestion on the languages associated with the issues of the time, but would also like to work with the site's aesthetic appeal as well, since even @RJP43 noted that it needed to be worked on! Very excited to get started!!!!! Hopefully we can discuss this further on Monday, I have not been given the OK to go back to school yet :(

[nlottig94]

I really like @brookestewart 's idea about finding out why Dickinson bound these specific poems together. I think that the Dickinson site could be very functional and easy to use if @brookestewart , @blawrence719 , and I could rework it. Adding a homepage that would explain what the site is all about and having text throughout the site that explains why there are so many extra scanned in images would indeed, make the Dickinson site very easy to use for research.

[blawrence719]

I agree with @nlottig94 and @brookestewart that the site needs a homepage that should explain what the project is trying to accomplish. I also agree that there should be text explaining everything. The site currently has text, but it very confusing as to what the text is trying to tell users and it is unclear which poem the text is trying to explain. If we could put forth these changes, then I think that we could definitely make the site more user-friendly and less confusing.

[alexthattalks]

I would like to work on the Dickinson project as well. The clear homepage as well as improved organization would really make the site useful, as mentioned by @brookestewart and @nlottig94 . The improvements that I could contribute are a cleaner, more modern design for the pages. I have significant experience in the realms of CSS and HTML that I could greatly improve the look and feel of the site. Paired with what we will be learning in the way of XSLT and XPath, we could be well on our way to a great site!

[brookestewart]

I feel like @nlottig94 , @blawrence719 , @amielnicki an I are all on the same page with the Dickinson project. The main focus would be on the homepage and general layout, as well as providing information to clarify what the project is all about.

[CodyKarch]

The prospects that @rCarls mention seem quite important too, now that I've seen what he said about it. I like his concept of setting the environment of the site into a redesign. We seem to both have similar ideas for this project, does this sound smart to anyone else?

[spadafour]

Okay, @RJP43 , I'm not entirely sure about the specifics of formalizing my thoughts, but this is what I'm thinking about, hopefully more specific:

Create bar graphs to visually compare the differences in language that Nell Nelson used in relation to both gender and societal issues.

You have already applied both political (wageDesc and workDesc) and emotional (positive, negative, and camaraderie) attributes to the elements livingConditions and workingConditions (it also might be helpful to flesh out the 'industry' element in the same fashion). If we were to make a distinction between these types of attributes, we could represent some interesting things. Is there a different choice of language between male and female voices in the text when discussing living and working conditions? What about male and female language references to political issues? What about emotional issues? It might shed some light on the way that Nelson represented the difference in effects of Chicago's industrialization in relation to males and females. There are 5 main bar graphs that, I think, would help visualize and answer this:

1. gender voice vs. frequency of livingConditions and workingConditions
2. gender voice vs. frequency of political attributes (livingConditions)
3. gender voice vs. frequency of political attributes (workingConditions)
4. gender voice vs. frequency of emotional attributes (livingConditions)
5. gender voice vs. frequency of emotional attributes (workingConditions)

I hope this makes sense, because it would be much easier to understand by looking at it. Any thoughts on this? Is it worthwhile? What could I do to formalize this thought further?

[RJP43]

@spadafour That was exactly what I meant by a formalized question. Here you have provided me with all of the information I need for writing the conference people if the Nell Project is approved and you (and any others joining the Nelson Project) decide to co-present with me at the UNRH conference. I closed out the other issue this morning after hearing from the conference people that they will not be accepting any late entries due to the obundance they recieved already, but please anyone interested in the Nell proposal and attending the Conference (resume builder) please refer to my closing comment in the discussion from the Conference Issue (https://github.com/ebeshero/DHClass-Hub/issues/17).