Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2013 The Description and Indexing of Editorial Cartoons: An Exploratory Study Christopher Ryan Landbeck Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION THE DESCRIPTION AND INDEXING OF EDITORIAL CARTOONS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY By Christopher Ryan Landbeck A Dissertation submitted to the School of Library and Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2013 Chris Landbeck defended this dissertation on January 16, 2013. The members of the supervisory committee were: Corinne Jörgensen Professor Directing Dissertation Lois Hawkes University Representative Michelle Kazmer Committee Member Paul Marty Committee Member Besiki Stvilia Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii I dedicate this to my wife, Rebekah Sariah Landbeck. Even when it’s bad, it’s better than most. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the following people as integral to the completion of this work: Corinne Jörgensen; whose time and effort have not gone unnoticed; Casey McLaughlin; whose help with the steve.tagger software was crucial to this work; Nicole Alemanne; whose pointing out of certain mistakes proved to be a lifesaver; Mai Lustria; whose example I will follow in many, many ways; David Miner; whose counsel and wisdom kept me on the right path; Diane Rasmussen; whose insights and ear helped me in times of uncertainty; And Gary Van Osdell; whose offhand comment “History majors can always become librarians” led me to where I am. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ v List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ xiii 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Background of the Problem ................................................................................................ 2 1.2 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 3 1.4.1 How are editorial cartoons described in a tagging environment? And how do those tags fall into Jörgensen’s 12 Classes of image description? ............................................... 3 1.4.2 How are editorial cartoons described in a simulated query environment? And how do those tags fall into Jörgensen’s 12 Classes of image description? ................................. 3 1.4.3 How do the tagging terms compare to the querying terms? ...................................... 4 1.4.4 How might these findings affect the practices of both editorial cartoonists and image professionals? ........................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Importance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 4 1.6 Scope of the Study .............................................................................................................. 5 1.7 Definition of Terms............................................................................................................. 5 1.7.1 Cartoon vs. comic ...................................................................................................... 5 1.7.2 Editorial vs. political .................................................................................................. 6 1.8 Limitations .......................................................................................................................... 6 2 Literature Review......................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Examination of the problem................................................................................................ 8 2.1.1 Editorial cartoons: Indexing and Interpretation ......................................................... 8 2.1.1.1 Cartoons themselves ......................................................................................... 9 2.1.1.2 Problems in cartoon interpretation .................................................................. 12 2.1.2 Examples of cartoon collections .............................................................................. 15 2.1.2.1 Sources ............................................................................................................ 15 2.1.2.2 Resources ........................................................................................................ 17 2.2 Conceptual Basis ............................................................................................................... 21 2.2.1 Theory: Panofsky, iconography, and Shatford-Layne ............................................. 21 2.2.1.1 Panofsky’s iconology ...................................................................................... 22 2.2.1.2 Panofsky and Shatford-Layne ......................................................................... 25 2.2.2 Image indexing......................................................................................................... 28 2.2.2.1 Indexing Considerations ................................................................................. 28 2.2.2.2 Concerns ......................................................................................................... 32 2.2.2.3 User Behavior ................................................................................................. 41 2.2.2.4 Domain-based approach.................................................................................. 44 2.2.2.5 Jörgensen’s 12 Classes .................................................................................... 47 2.2.2.5.1 The Classes. ........................................................................................... 47 2.2.2.5.2 Description. ............................................................................................ 49 2.2.2.5.3 Queries. .................................................................................................. 50 2.3 Practical Applications ....................................................................................................... 51 v 2.3.1 Metadata ................................................................................................................... 52 2.3.1.1 Metadata as a concept ..................................................................................... 53 2.3.1.2 Metadata – types and functions....................................................................... 55 2.3.1.3 Metadata schema ............................................................................................. 57 2.3.1.4 Current Relevant Metadata Schema................................................................ 58 2.3.2 Folksonomies ........................................................................................................... 62 2.3.2.1 Definitions....................................................................................................... 62 2.3.2.2 Criticisms ........................................................................................................ 63 2.3.2.3 User Behavior ................................................................................................. 65 2.4 Not relevant at this time .................................................................................................... 68 2.4.1 Cataloging ................................................................................................................ 68 2.4.2 Archiving ................................................................................................................. 69 2.4.3 Information Retrieval ............................................................................................... 69 2.4.4 Content-based image retrieval ................................................................................. 70 2.4.5 Word and Image Studies .......................................................................................... 70 2.4.6 Research simply about cartoons............................................................................... 71 3 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 72 3.1 Overview ..........................................................................................................................