The CIDOC CRM a Conceptual Model for Cultural

The CIDOC CRM, a Conceptual Model for Cultural Documentation Martin Doerr Center for Cultural Informatics Institute of Computer Science Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas Heraklion, April 26, 2001 ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 1

The CIDOC CRM Scope q Aspects of cultural information: u Collection description (art, archeology, natural history…. ) u Archives and literature (records, treaties, letters, artful works. . ) u Administration, preservation, conservation of material heritage u Science and scholarship – investigation, interpretation u Presentation – exhibition making, teaching, publication ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 2

The CIDOC CRM Scope Conceptual framework Research disciplines int o p w e i Activities Current cultural priorities r de to Communication or es v ser maps v Collection Management System how Precision/ detail how talks about Info - Objects ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 Technical complexity

The CIDOC CRM Historical Archives…. Type: Title. Subtitle: Date: Creator: Publisher: Subject: Text Protocol of Proceedings of Crimea Conference II. Declaration of Liberated Europe February 11, 1945. The Premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The President of the United States of America State Department Postwar division of Europe and Japan Metadata Documents About… ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 “The following declaration has been approved: The Premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the President of the United States of America have consulted with each other in the common interests of the people of their countries and those of liberated Europe. They jointly declare their mutual agreement to concert… …. and to ensure that Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace of the world…… “ 4

The CIDOC CRM Images, non-verbose… Type: Title: Date: Publisher: Source: Copyright: References: Image Allied Leaders at Yalta 1945 United Press International (UPI) The Bettmann Archive Corbis Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin Photos, Persons Metadata About… ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 5

The CIDOC CRM Places and Objects TGN Id: 7012124 Names: Yalta (C, V), Jalta (C, V) Types: inhabited place(C), city (C) Position: Lat: 44 30 N, Long: 034 10 E Hierarchy: Europe (continent) <– Ukrayina (nation) <– Krym (autonomous republic) Note: …Site of conference between Allied powers in WW II in 1945; …. Source: TGN, Thesaurus of Geographic Names Places, Objects About… Title: Yalta, Crimean Peninsula Publisher: Kurgan-Lisnet Source: Liaison Agency ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 6

The CIDOC CRM Explicit Events, Object Identity, Symmetry E 52 Time-Span E 39 Actor E 53 Place 7012124 February 1945 par tici pat at most within ed in took place at E 7 Activity “Crimea Conference” E 39 Actor ref ers falls within E 38 Image to E 65 Creation * E 39 Actor out d e rri ca at least covering ha sc rea ted E 31 Document “Yalta Agreement” E 52 Time-Span 11 -2 -1945 ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 7

The CIDOC CRM The Role of the CRM Conceptualization ? ab str ac ts approximates fro m explains, motivates Data structures & Presentation models organize er f e r World Phenomena ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 to Data Legacy bases systems Data in various forms 8

The CIDOC CRM Metaschema of the CIDOC CRM refer to / refine refer to / identifie Appellations Types Conceptual Objects Actors Physical Entities participate in affect or / refer to location Temporal Entities Time-Spans ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 within at Places 9

The CIDOC CRM The Temporal Entity Hierarchy ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 10

The CIDOC CRM Temporal Entity q. Temporal Entity u This is an abstract entity and has no examples. It groups together things such as events, states and other phenomena which are limited in time. It is specialized into Period, which holds on some geographic area, and Condition State, which holds for, on, or over a certain object. — consists of related or similar phenomena, — Is limited in time, is the only link to time, but not time itself — spreads out over a place or object (physical or not). — the core of a model of physical history, open for unlimited specialisation. ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 11

The CIDOC CRM Temporal Entity- Subclasses q. Period u binds together related phenomena u introduces inclusion topologies - parts etc. u Is confined in space and time u the basic unit for temporal-spatial reasoning q Event u looks at the input and the outcome u the basic unit for causal reasoning u each event is a period if we study the process q Activity u brings the people in u adds purpose ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 12

The CIDOC CRM Temporal Entity- Main Properties q. Temporal Entity u Properties: has time-span (is time-span of): Time-Span q. Period u Properties: consists of (forms part of): Period q. Event u falls within (contains): Period took place at (witnessed): Place Properties: had participants (participated in): Actor occurred in the presence of (was present at): Stuff q. Activity u Properties: carried out by (performed): Actor had specific purpose (was purpose of): Activity had as general purpose (was purpose of): Type was intended use of (was made for): Man-Made Object ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 13

Metadata and the CIDOC CRM Instantiation sample of the CIDOC CRM ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 14

The CIDOC CRM Place q. Place u A place is an extent in space, determined diachronically wrt a larger, persistent constellation of matter, often continents - by coordinates, geophysical features, artefacts, communities, political systems, objects - but not identical to. u A “CRM Place” is not a landscape, not a seat - it is an abstraction from temporal changes - “the place where…” u A means to reason about the “where” in multiple reference systems. u Examples: figures from the bow of a ship, African dinosaur footprints in Portugal ( to which degree are “fiat objects” places? ) ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 15

The CIDOC CRM Place - Main Properties q. Place u names identify non-uniquely places - TGN-like reasoning u places form 2, even 3 -dimensional topologies. u Properties: is identified by (identifies): Appellation consists of (forms part of): Place falls within (contains): Place ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 16

The CIDOC CRM Time-Span - Main Properties q. Time-Span : u determined by specific dates, expressions, “the time when…” u intervals: distinguish uncertainty from duration: Processes have characteristic durations, our interest has a certain scale. A suitable “time-primitive” should support temporal reasoning. (Allen’s logic is not for uncertainty !) u forms one-dimensional topologies. u Properties: is identified by (identifies): Time-Appellation at least covering: Time Primitive at most within: Time Primitive consists of (forms part of): Time-Span falls within (contains): Time-Span ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 17

The CIDOC CRM Time Uncertainty, Certainty and Duration at least covering duration before “intensity” after time at most within ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 18

The CIDOC CRM Activities CIDOC Notion String has notes 0, n CIDOC Entity 1, 1 1, n has type is type of 0, n Type Event Activity ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 19

The CIDOC CRM Activities: Measurement Attribute Assignment Measurement 0, n was measured (measured) 0, n observed dimension (was observed) 0, n Physical Entity 0, n ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 has dimension (is dimension of) Dimension 0, n value unit 20

The CIDOC CRM Activities: Condition Assessment Activity carried out by (performed) 0, n Actor in the role of Condition Assessment 0, n Temporal Entity 0, n assessed by (concerns) has identified (identified by) 0, n Condition State has conditions (condition of) Physical Entity 0, n ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 1, 1 21

The CIDOC CRM Activities: Acquisition Activity Acquisition acquires title of (transferred title to) 0, n surrenders title of (transferred title from) 0, n transferred title of (changed ownership by) 0, n Actor 0, n is current owner of (has current owner) 0, n Physical Object 0, n is former or current owner of (has former or current owner) ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 22

The CIDOC CRM Activities: Move has specific purpose (was purpose of) 0, n Activity 0, n had as general purpose (was purpose of) Type Move 0, n moved by (moved) 0, n moved to (occupied) moved from (vacated) has current location (currently holds) Physical Object 0, 1 0, n has former or current location (is ~ of) 0, n Place 0, n has current permanent location (is ~ of) ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 23

The CIDOC CRM Activities: Modification/Production Activity carried out by (performed) in the role of 0, n Modification 0, n Actor 0, n used general technique (was technique of) Type 0, n Physical Entity has produced (was produced by) 0, n consists of (is incorporated in) used specific technique (was used by) 0, n Man-Made Entity 0, n Design or Procedure 0, n ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 usually employs (is usually employed by) Material 0, n 24

The CIDOC CRM Entity 11: Modification Properties: is called (identifies): Period Appellation has type (is type of): Type had participants (participated in): Actor carried out by (performed): Actor (in the role of : Type) has produced (was produced by): Physical Man-Made Stuff took into account (was taken into account by): Conceptual Object occurred in the presence of (was present at): Stuff used object (was used for): Physical Object (mode of use: String) used general technique (was technique of): Type used specific technique (was used by): Design or Procedure was motivation for (motivated): Conceptual Object motivated the creation of (was created for): Conceptual Object was intended use of (was made for): Man-Made Object (mode of use: String) had specific purpose (was purpose of): Activity had as general purpose (was purpose of): Type ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 inherited properties declared properties inherited properties 25

The CIDOC CRM Some Major Ideas q Fundamental categories: u Temporal Entity, “Stuff”, Actors, Place, Date, Appellation, Types q Event-centric: u Actors, Stuff, Place and Date connect ONLY through Temporal Entities (events and states). u Date is subordinate to event relations, auxiliary. q Reasoning on world names: u Naming activities as historical facts q Unlimited decomposition: u Any Date, Place, Period, Object may subdivide into parts q Extensibility: u Creation of subclasses, subproperties, indirection of properties ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 26

The CIDOC CRM Conclusions q The CIDOC Model is the first international data standard for the cultural area q It is a rich intellectual framework for the analysis of cultural contents (physical world) q It is a powerful component for implementation of information systems q Its extensibility should give it a long validity. ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 27

Applications: The CIMI-Harmony test q Transformation of 4 cultural sources into one common representation q Two models: CRM and ABC-Harmony in XML u 200 Relational records from National Museum of Denmark u transformation of sources “ 1 -1” into XML u transformation of “ 1 -1” into CRM compatible form u creation of a simple CRM compatible DTD to transport correct instances. Therefore — CRM properties mapped as elements. — CRM Entities mapped as data : <in_class>E& Activity</in_class> u Well readable with simple style-sheet ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 28

Applications: The Spectrum DTD q Attempt by MDA to create a general DTD for museum documentation q Try to satisfy data entry, genericity and presentation q Based on CRM: mapped entities as elements, propertie ignored q Draft stage, still under development. ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 29

Applications: The FORTH-GNM Project q Management of documentation for 15 museum departments, 1. 5 million objects. q Each department a different XML DTD q Global consistency control on: accession numbers, inventory number. q Authority control on: Object types, persons, periods, places. q Control enforced by underlying data base. q Other queries by contents and tags. ICS-FORTH April 26, 2001 30