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The Global Rock-Art Database The Global Rock-Art Database: Centralizing Heritage Data Collections using a Collaborative, Information Structure and Data Visualization Approach in an Open Source Application Author Haubt, Robert Alexander Published 2016 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/3082 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367148 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au The Global Rock-Art Database Centralizing Heritage Data Collections using a Collaborative, Information Structure and Data Visualization Approach in an Open Source Application Mr. Robert Alexander Haubt BA (Hons), MA School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences Griffith University Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2016 Statement of Originality This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. _____________________________ Robert A. Haubt I Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Prof. P.S.C. Taçon for the support of my PhD research during the last four years. His patience, motivation and knowledge helped guide me through my research and I could not have imagined a better mentor for my PhD studies. Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank Dr. Duncan Wright, Dr. Tim Humphrey and Dr. Jason Nelson for their guidance and support as my associate supervisors. My sincere thanks also go to Dr. Jondi Keane and Brett Leavy who inspired me through long conversations and their creative practice to take on this journey. Lastly I would like to give special thanks to my fellow PhD students and friends Alison Kerr, Andrea Jalandoni, Attila Acs, Belinda Hilton, Chantelle Bayes, Dr. Charles Zuber, Dr. Chika Fujimoto, Laura Rodriguez Castro, Lijuan Chen, Mari Okada, Nicola Winn, Shanene Ditton, Stefano Barone and Veronica Folkmanova for their support and endless conversations, I couldn’t have done this without your help. II Acknowledgement of Published and Unpublished Papers Included in this Thesis Acknowledgement of Published and Unpublished Papers Included in this Thesis Included in this thesis are papers in Chapters 3, 6 and 7 for which I am the sole author. The bibliographic details (if published or accepted for publication)/status (if prepared or submitted for publication) for these papers are: Chapter 3: Haubt, R. A. (2013). Virtual Heritage Archives: Building a Centralized Australian Rock Art Archive. Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XL-5/W2, 319-324. Chapter 6: Haubt, R. A. (in press). A Radical Collaborative Approach: Developing a Model for Learning Theory, Human-Based Computation and Participant Motivation in a Rock-Art Heritage Application. Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., 2016. Chapter 7: Haubt, R. A. (2015). The Global Rock Art Database: Developing a rock art reference model for the RADB system using the CIDOC CRM and Australian heritage examples, ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., II-5/W3, 89-96. Additionally included in the thesis is one paper in Chapter 8 which is co-authored with another researcher. My contribution to the paper is outlined at the front of the relevant chapter. The bibliographic details (if published or accepted for publication)/status (if prepared or submitted for publication) for this paper including all authors, are: Chapter 8: Haubt, R.A., Taçon, P.S.C. (in press). Visualization of Rich-Media Formats and Abstract Data in a Centralized Rock-Art Heritage Platform. Journal of Archaeological Science. III Acknowledgement of Published and Unpublished Papers Included in this Thesis Appropriate acknowledgements of those who contributed to the research but did not qualify as authors are included in the paper. (Signed) _________________________________ (Date) 17th May 2016 Name of Student: Robert A. Haubt (Countersigned) ___________________________ (Date) 17th May 2016 Supervisor: Prof. P.S.C. Taçon IV Abstract Abstract The Rock-Art Database (RADB) is a non-for profit online project at PERAHU, Griffith University in Australia. It seeks to improve theory and practice in the digital curation of rock-art data through building a centralized global rock-art heritage hub. Through the use of new technologies the database explores new ways to look at rock-art information and explores the potential within its digital curation. The system can be accessed on the World Wide Web at http://www.rockartdatabase.com. Australia alone features over 100,000 rock art sites, important heritage places for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and a testament to over 10,000 years of human activity, including interactions with other peoples and the environment. Many of these sites have not been documented or recorded and are threatened by natural and cultural agents. It is becoming increasingly important to develop conservation models for the protection and preservation of sites. Indigenous cultural heritage in particular is difficult to manage on a local government level due to complex human / time / environment relationships and the importance of intangible cultural heritage. Currently no centralized Australian or global database system exists to curate, present and promote rock-art. This project aims to fill this gap by exploring the potential of collaborative approaches, information structure and visualization of semantic and rich- media formats using Australian rock-art heritage as examples for a centralized global platform. V Index Index ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................... II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED PAPERS INCLUDED IN THIS THESIS .............................................................................................................. III ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... V INDEX ................................................................................................................ VI LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ XI LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ XV ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................... XVI 1. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND ............................................................................ 1 1.2 PAST EFFORTS TO CENTRALIZE ROCK-ART DATA ....................................... 4 2. FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................. 7 2.1 ROCK-ART ............................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 What are the Main Preservation Issues in Rock-Art? ...................... 8 2.2 FINDING A FRAMEWORK FOR ROCK-ART MANAGEMENT ............................. 11 2.3 DATA COLLECTION: ROCK-ART DATA AND COLLABORATIVE PLATFORMS ..... 13 2.3.1 Rock-Art Research Data Collection ............................................... 13 2.3.2 Online Data Collection: A Radical Collaborative Approach ........... 15 2.4 DATA MANAGEMENT ............................................................................... 18 2.4.1 The Problem of Information Structure and the Semantic Web ...... 19 2.4.2 Data Visualization to assist with Access and Search Optimization 25 2.5 EXPLORING A SUITABLE FRAMEWORK AND DEPLOYMENT PLATFORMS ......... 28 2.5.1 The Digital Earth ........................................................................... 28 2.5.2 Open Source Content Management Systems ............................... 31 2.6 SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 35 3. A REVIEW OF ORGANIZATIONS, NETWORKS AND TECHNOLOGIES IN INTERNATIONAL AND AUSTRALIAN HERITAGE AND ROCK-ART PRACTICE ......................................................................................................... 38 3.1 THE GREATER CULTURAL HERITAGE SECTOR ........................................... 40 3.1.1 International Heritage Organizations ............................................. 40 3.1.2 International Heritage and Applied Technologies .......................... 46 3.1.3 Australian Public Heritage Sector Organizations .......................... 49 3.1.4 Australian Public Heritage Sector and Applied Technologies ....... 53 3.1.5 Australian Private Heritage Sector Organizations ......................... 58 3.1.6 Australian Private Heritage Sector and Applied Technologies ...... 61 3.1.7 Cultural Heritage Summary ........................................................... 62 3.2 ROCK-ART HERITAGE ............................................................................. 63 3.2.1 International Rock-Art Organizations ............................................ 63 VI Index 3.2.2 International Rock-Art and Applied Technologies ......................... 65 3.2.3 Australian Government Organizations and Rock-Art ..................... 68 3.2.4 Australian
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