[humanmarkup-comment] newbie intro

["James.Landrum" <James.Landrum@ndsu.nodak.edu>]

Dear list,

Per discussion with Ranjeeth Thunga and Rex Brooks, I have joined OASIS
and am opting in as a prospective member of the HumanMarkup Language
Technical Committee (TC).
I'll be as brief as possible here, and provide some basic
personal/professional background information.

Background Summary:
I have over two decades professional and academic experience in the
fields of anthropology, archaeology, and cultural resources management,
and more recently, about 5 years emphasis in information technology,
databases, web development and distance education, and computational
archaeology and anthropology.

I am currently the Database Manager for the North Dakota State
University (NDSU) Archaeology Technologies Laboratory (ATL) and the
Digital Archive Network for Anthropology (DANA). DANA is a National
Science Digital Library (NSDL) for Anthropology. It is a distributed
database network for scholarly research and education in anthropology
that will connect remote systems around the globe via the Internet. The
DANA application interface provides the means for delivering all forms
of multimedia including two-dimensional (2D)  imagery (e.g.,
photographs, maps, and other 2D digital graphics), accurate, scalable
and measurable three-dimensional (3D) models of artifacts (e.g., stone
tools; adzes) and fossils (e.g., hominid skeletal remains and cranial
endocasts), and streaming media,  (e.g., video).

Among the key goals of DANA is the creation and implementation of the
Anthropology Markup Language (AnthML).  Currently AnthML is in the
conceptual framework development phase.  Creation of AnthML is an
ambitious undertaking and will require widespread cooperation and
collaboration from members of the anthropology profession (and all
subfields) and related fields and also computer sciences and information
technology fields.

For further information on DANA, I direct your attention to the ATL web
site (http://atl.ndsu.edu), and also to the Journal of Digital
Information (JoDI) special issue on Interactivity in Digital Libraries,
Volume 2, Issue 4 (peer-reviewed) paper on the DANA project at
http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v02/i04/Clark/

Please note that our server is currently being upgraded, and due to this
the DANA application is offline until later next week. I'll post to the
list when it is available for access.

Discussion: Relevance to Human Markup Language:
The HumanMarkup Language initiative incorporates the term 'artifact' in
the base schema, and there are a variety of contexts and semantic issues
that effect meaning and usage of the term 'artifact.'  It is my hope
that I can contribute meaningfully to further qualifications and
appropriate usage of the term artifact, with regard for archaeological
and related (e.g., paleontological) contexts.  Similarly, as DANA and
AnthML will also address human and (ancestral) hominid biological and
physical elements, traits and characteristics, including both fossil and
non-fossil (e.g., bone) remains (e.g., skeletal remains) and associated
artifacts and other specimen types (e.g., associated ecofacts) in both
archaeological and paleoanthropological settings (e.g., site contexts),
it is my hope that we can have meaningful discussions on these aspects
as well.

Ultimately, within the framework of the broader Semantic Web context, it
is important for both initiatives to have agreement on definitions,
descriptions and contexts in which the term 'artifact' is applied, and
it is my hope that by coordinating with the HumanMarkup TC that we can
establish, at a minimum, a reasonable crosswalk.

I am also enthusiastic about potentials for Human Markup within the
broader context of other ATL undertakings, which include development of
Immersive Virtual Environments (IVE) for scholarly research education,
in collaboration with the NDSU World Wide Web Instructional Committee
(WWWIC; see http://www.ndsu.edu/wwwic/). For example, we are in the
preliminary phase of developing the Virtual Archaeologist, and also the
Fishhook Immersive Environment for Education (see
http://vcell.ndsu.nodak.edu/fishhook/). We are also in the preliminary
phase of development  for a Diabetes health care interactive game,
called Native Dancer, in collaboration with the White Earth Band Tribal
Council. More on this in future posts, as this will entail deeper
discussion especially with regard for motion capture and bodylocator and
related items.

If anyone on this list has further interest in our undertakings, or is
in need of additional information about me or how we can best interface
our agendas, please feel free to contact me at anytime.



--
>From the desk of James [Jim] E. Landrum III
NDSU Archaeology Materials and Technologies Laboratories
URL = http://atl.ndsu.edu
Digital Archive Network for Anthropology (DANA).
DANA URL = http://atl.ndsu.edu/archive
Email: <James.Landrum@ndsu.nodak.edu>
Phone: 701-231-8059
FAX: 701-231-1047
Voice Mail: 701-231-4228