bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preserving Art and the Environment through Sustainable Museum Buildings
Authors: Frantz Sara L.
Published: January 2019

This project analyzes the intersection between two highly specialized fields, sustainable building practices and the environmental controls crucial to art conservation maintained in art museum buildings. Art museums often cite these highly specialized light and atmospheric controls as an impediment to sustainable building. My goal is to bring these fields more closely together so that art museums can build sustainable facilities that cause less harm to the environment while simultaneously meeting art conservation needs.
Who Cares about Public Art? Commissioning and Conservation Concerns
Authors: Rajer Anton
Published: January 2019

This article discusses the various steps in commissioning new public art and the issues related to conservation and the national conservation effort known as SOS! (Save Outdoor Sculpture). It reviews the history of SOS! and explains how the effort operates. It articulates some challenges to and benefits of the SOS! process, using the State of Wisconsin's projects as examples. This article also offers general guidelines on contracting artists, which can be molded to suit a variety of projects.
Considerations for Implementing a Bar Code System in a Museum
Authors: Fishman-Armstrong Susan E. , Van Horn Deborah Rose
Published: January 2019

Bar coding has been used in museums since the early 1990s. Bar codes can increase the efficiency of a collections database and help the museum's staff with a great number of tasks. While many museums have expressed interest in bar code systems, few have implemented them. This article will provide the reader with a starting place for a bar coding project. The reader will have an effective understanding of the common parts of a bar code system and its limitations as well as a basic understanding to assess the feasibility and appropriateness of installing a bar code system in their institution.
A Work in Progress Development of United States National Park Service Museum Collection Significance Evaluation Criteria
Authors: Racine Laurel , McDonald Greg , Fremd Ted , Weasma Ted , Bayless J.W. , Bohnert Allen , Landrum Christine Jacobs , Hutchins Louis , Vecchioli David
Published: January 2019

This article describes the National Park Service's (NPS) progress in an ongoing effort to develop museum collection significance criteria for its geology, paleontology, biology, archeology, ethnography/ethnology, history, and archival collections. The goal is to create sets of significance criteria that are practical, flexible, recognize the associative value of the NPS's collections, and provide continuity and context for the stewardship of collections over time. Effective significance criteria will increase the intellectual understanding of collections; inform and record collection acquisition and deaccession; and assist in management decisions related to collections. This is an immense undertaking complicated by differences among disciplines and a large geographic scope. The significance criteria effort requires agency support through a national staff coordinator and funding for the final development and implementation phases.
Leadership in the Museum: A Possible Shift in Gender Representation
Authors: Wieners Carrie J.
Published: January 2019

Gender bias is a broad social issue, combining historical and current stereotypes that affect both the for-profit and non-profit workforce. Furthermore, phenomena such as the glass ceiling, the wage gap, and feminization develop the perception of gender bias in society, including that part involving the museum community. to determine the extent that gender bias exists in museum leadership positions, data of current museum leaders were obtained from 9,475 museums by using the directory of the American Association of Museums. Data were statistically analyzed according to geographical region, museum size, and museum type. From this research it is determined that there are a small number of cases of gender bias for both men and women in museum leadership. trends from the data, correlated with a historical context, indicate the possibility of an increasing feminization of the profession.
Stop! Thief! The Theft of Community Treasures: How One Small Museum Dealt with Artifact Theft
Authors: Macek Jo
Published: January 2019

Theft of artifacts or art worth millions warrant major network news coverage. Theft from a small rural museum does not. Yet, thefts from smaller institutions are just as heartbreaking and costly to the community. This article discusses how one small rural museum dealt with artifact theft and steps other small museums can take to prevent such a tragedy.
The Aftermath of Schiele and the Museum of Modern Art
Authors: Conneely Deirdre
Published: January 2019

The collections of many museums are being undermined daily by claims of ownership. When an object in the collection of a public institution is in contention, then, the real loss is to the audience. Two areas of concern have increased: government intervention and the repercussion of the looting during World War II. At an art museum, for example, precious objects that often play a major part in the museum fulfilling its mission may be plagued with Nazi era provenance issues. A recent exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) focusing on the work of Austrian painter Egon Schiele sparked fear as questions of provenance came forward and, subsequently two works were seized by the District Attorney of New York. In the aftermath of such events, museums may wonder if putting contested works on view may be the demise of their collection.
Imagining an Indigital Interface: A

r

a Irititja Indigenizes the Technologies of Knowledge Management
Authors: Thorner Sabra
Published: January 2019

Ara Irititja exemplifies how Indigenous ontologies are reshaping the technologies of information and cultural heritage management. A project that began in 1994 with the digital repatriation of photographs, oral histories, film recordings, and documents to remote communities in Central Australia, Ara Irititja is transitioning from an object-based FileMaker Pro database into a multimedia knowledge management system. In this article, I build on two years of anthropological fieldwork to interrogate three tools of knowledge preservation and transmission often taken for granted and/or presumed neutral — databases, archives, and the Internet—to argue that they can and must be actively re-worked as contemporary Aboriginal people imagine, produce, and safeguard their own cultural futures.1
Museums, Do you Copy?: Standards on the Care and Handling of Facsimiles Exhibited in Museums
Authors: Park Jocelyn
Published: January 2019

This project aims to analyze the current practices of the care and handling of facsimiles in museums in the United States. Once exhibited in the museum, facsimiles become part of the history of the museum. However, my research reveals that facsimiles are often mistreated because they are categorized as facsimiles, unattributed, or are not part of the museum's collection. With this project, I present guidelines to the museum collections management and registration field on proper care and handling methods for facsimiles exhibited in the United States so that museums may avoid mistreating what was once exhibited in their galleries, and give the attention that facsimiles deserve as they serve a didactic purpose, and represent the artists’ intention and integrity of the original.
The Pedagogical Value of Special Collections
Authors: Tilford John Daniel
Published: January 2019

This essay examines the pedagogical value of academic collections of fine art, artifacts, and archival papers often collectively referred to as Special Collections. It is imperative that original source materials play a stronger role in the university curriculum by moving beyond digital surrogates and teaching from the work itself. Specific acquisitions are then examined in order to illustrate how the University of the South sought to fill voids in their collections to better serve the curricular needs of faculty and students. In addition, the care of the collections themselves is shown to provide benefit to the student in terms of processional development. Finally, an interdisciplinary research project focusing on a particular work of art from special collections illustrates the multiple benefits to be derived from utilizing such objects in the classroom.
Re-Establishing Context for Orphaned Collections
Authors: Voss Barbara L. , Kane Megan S.
Published: January 2019

While the primary rationale for curating orphaned archaeological collections is to restore the collections’ research potential, in practice such research programs are rarely actualized because of the challenges in reconstructing archaeological context. This article presents the results of a concerted effort undertaken to re-establish the context of the Market Street Chinatown archaeological collection. We outline the history of the excavation of the Market Street Chinatown, the subsequent “orphaning” of the collection, and the early efforts that uncovered the untapped research potential of the collection. Next, we describe the methods and results of the four-stage process we used during 2010–2011 to develop historical and archaeological context for research on the collection: archive analysis, methods analysis, feature context, and research potential assessment. While some of these procedures were tailored to the specific circumstances of the Market Street Chinatown collection, the overall process provides a model for re-establishing context for research purposes on other orphaned and endangered collections.
Archiving Everyday Life
Authors: O'Connor Mary
Published: January 2019

In an age of reality television, what is radical about turning our attention to the everyday? This paper proposes a framework for collecting and archiving everyday life, based on the insights offered by theorists both of everyday life and of the archive, as well as by artists who have incorporated everyday life and/or the process of archiving into their work. Everyday Life Studies offers tools for understanding everyday life as overlooked and structured by systems of power, while also holding within it spaces for alternative ways of being that go unnoticed. Recent archive theory has problematized the power of the archive to structure ways of thinking and to determine whose stories will be told. This paper benefits from these discussions and proposes attending to everyday life (even in the act of collecting and archiving) as a project of critique that reveals a lack and indicates the possibilities for change.
Visual Materials in the Research Library
Authors: Barnhill Georgia B.
Published: January 2019

The success of the Center for Historic American Visual Culture (CHAViC) at the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) is based on a variety of programs that other libraries could imitate in order to exploit collections that for various reasons are not been utilized fully by scholars, teachers, and the general public. In the United States, there are libraries and historical organizations with vast collections of prints and photographs, but few of these visual materials reach the hands of scholars or teachers. CHAViC is a concerted effort by the governing board and senior administration of AAS to find new audiences for visual materials through an improved access to collections; workshops, seminars, and conferences; publications; and a dedicated fellowship program. The overarching goal of CHAViC is to encourage the use of visual materials by historians as evidence, not merely as illustration.1 Forour purposes, visual materials should be seen through the lens of history. This essay describes activities that we hope will lead to this outcome.
The Marriage of Risk Assessment and Significance Assessment
Authors: Bullock Veronica M.
Published: January 2019

The results of risk assessments and significance assessments can help collecting organisations set work priorities. However, the complementary nature of the two methods, deriving from different professional traditions, means that recommended priorities may differ. The desire of cultural heritage risk analysts to include significance determinations in their workings is understandable. In the more comprehensive risk analysis systems, this inclusion depends on the quantification of changes in value due to changes in states of objects or collections, which can be difficult to deliver. Significance assessment purists reject the reduction of complex, shifting meanings to numerical values because of the apparent rigidity and certainty this implies.

The purpose of this essay is to provoke discussion. Should risk assessment or significance assessment come first when decisionmaking for collections? Who has the power of veto if opinions differ? Do concepts of ‘value,’ as differentiated from significance, assist? Will professional demarcations doom the marriage of these two hopefuls?
Disaster Risk Assessment Methods and Response Plans for Cultural Heritage in Taiwan
Authors: Chien Shen-Wen , Lien Chun-Chieh , Sie Huei-Ru , Song Yi-Ting
Published: January 2019

Precaution and preparation, as established in emergency plans, are the most effective means of disaster mitigation and heritage protection. Emergency plans should include evaluation of cultural heritage assets, including buildings, both contents and structures, as well as surroundings and landscapes. These frameworks are based on common experience and reflect viewpoints shared worldwide. However, due to regulations imposed in Taiwan, it is difficult to achieve the goal of preserving cultural and historical heritages.

This project analyzes the fire risk assessment of historical architectures and develops a new fire risk assessment method, as well as improved protection recommendations for Lukang Lung–shan Temple, an important national heritage property in Taiwan. The survey techniques and assessment procedures used in this case study can also be modified and applied to all heritage buildings. This enables heritage property managers and supporting organizations to construct fire emergency preparation and damage control plans suitable to a specific case.
Risk Analysis and Sustainability
Authors: Linden Jeremy R. , Reilly James M. , Herzog Peter H.
Published: January 2019

Strategic equipment shutdowns are common strategies for saving energy in buildings during unoccupied times. The Image Permanence Institute is testing whether it is possible to significantly reduce energy usage in libraries and other cultural institutions through carefully monitored and risk-managed shutdowns of air-handling units during unoccupied hours in select spaces without compromising the quality of the preservation environment. This paper concentrates on the identification and mitigation of risks and the decision-making process related to experimental shutdown procedures in the currently in-progress three-year project, federally funded in the United States by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Potential risk factors are identified for candidate spaces and shutdown procedures, options for qualitative and quantitative analyses are presented, and potential benefits in both preservation quality and energy savings are described.
A Step Further in the History of Protection of Romanian Heritage
Authors: Bernath Andrea
Published: January 2019

Museums in Romania have cared for their cultural property for a long time. In recent years, however, conservation and protection of heritage has made major step changes and is following new directions. In this context, focus is shifting from restoration of objects to preventive conservation of collections. This is an important concept change in our country which has previously considered mostly treating individual objects as the first option for improving preservation of heritage.

In this regard, two important events brought to Romania were the International ICCROM Course Reducing Risk to Collections, as well as the Directions in Preventive Conservation international conference, both held in 2007 at ASTRA Museum in Sibiu. At the national level, they were meant to introduce the most recent knowledge in this field and to create a starting point for specialists to adopt or adapt new ideologies and strategies in their museums.

For our museum it was a very good gantry as the case studies which were carried out during the ICCROM course clearly revealed deficiencies in the storage conditions for our collections. It also offered us a tool for expressing the urgent need of changing the past situation as well as for making possible successful application for external funds for building a new storage facility. The ASTRA Centre for Heritage has been established and is functioning as an example for many other museums in Romania.
Problems and Solutions in Resolving Old Artifact Loans
Authors: Dalia David A.
Published: January 2019

This article examines practical problems encountered in resolving old loans, and will explore a variety of possible approaches and solutions. Common problems encountered by museum curators in this area include documenting and determining loan status versus donation status, and dealing with remote heirs in a fair and logical manner, with a minimum burden on the heirs or on the museum. Other problems can include determination of accurate family trees, determination of whether 100% of the heirs have been identified, determining intestacy status, and legal strategies for dealing with absent heirs such as the appointment of curators for absent heirs, and the viability of hold harmless clauses.
Abandoned Property Laws
Authors: Solek VivianLea
Published: January 2019

On September 30, 2010, Connecticut began its journey to the passage of an Abandoned Property/Old Loan Law. On this day, Kendall F. Wig-gin, Connecticut State Librarian; Barbara Austen, Florence M. Crofut Archivist, Connecticut Historical Society; Dianne Lee, Collections Manager, Connecticut Historical Society; and I met for the first time. We discussed the need for the legislation, how we might tackle the work and planned for our next meeting. From this humble beginning, we undertook a journey that culminated on June 15, 2012, when history was made for Connecticut's museums, libraries and archives. On this day, Governor Dannel Malloy signed Public Act 12-171 into law. While it is not a perfect example of abandoned property/old loan legislation, it is an effective tool that was needed badly by Connecticut's cultural institutions. With it, they can now proceed to clear titles to abandoned property and old loans following best practices and being more effective stewards of our shared cultural heritage.
Use of QR Code Labels in Museum Collection Management
Authors: Sendino Maria Consuelo
Published: January 2019

The results presented here are from a pilot project using QR labels, apparently for the first time in museum collection management. This new method for labelling significantly enhances collection management, enabling more information to be recorded than any other method on very small labels (from 1.5 cm) that can be read by a mobile smartphone. QR labels have already been used in museums for displayed specimens, but it is shown here that they also have value in the management of reference collections, research, and loans.
Archaeological Curation and the Research Value of Archaeological Collections
Authors: Luby Edward M. , Lightfoot Kent G. , Bradshaw Victoria
Published: January 2019

In this paper, we examine the curatorial and collections management-related efforts undertaken to establish the research value of an “old” archaeological collection housed in a museum in California for over one hundred years. The archaeological collection assessed is associated with one of the most important archaeological sites in the region, the Ellis Landing shell mound, a site excavated in 1906 by one of North America's leading archaeologists. First, after core issues in archaeological curation are examined, basic features of the site and its excavation are outlined. Next, the process of curating, reanalyzing, and establishing the research potential of the collection is described, recent archaeological analyses of the curated collection are presented, and the implications of this work for the museum profession and the research community are explored. Finally, to best manage these “old” archaeology collections, it is concluded that it is critical to recognize how much their research value has changed.
Museums and Meaning-Making
Authors: Müller-Schwarze Nina K.
Published: January 2019

Scholarly narratives and local museums often focus on distinguishing geographical origins and interpretations of culture, racialized identities, resistance, and/or religion for behaviors designated as “voodoo.” When are such practices in everyday New Orleanian life referred to, accepted, and rejected within such interpretations? Museum Studies students in a class taught by the author visited local museum displays about “voodoo” and wrote term papers that comment on these practices within the contexts of their quotidian social groups. The Historic New Orleans Voodoo Museum describes the Mardi Gras character Baby Doll as a “voodoo” practice, and the author reflects upon her long term participation and expression as such a Baby Doll and in Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs. Baby Dolls are united in dance performance, and function as a social group that provides support among emotionally marginalized women. Descriptions of phenomena through external form are contrasted with the meanings attributed by participants.
Innovative Use of Transportation Enhancement Funds to Develop a Historical Archive and Digital Database
Authors: Zaletel Hank
Published: January 2019

In 2004, concerned employees of the Iowa Department of Transportation, with management approval, formed a committee that sought to identify, preserve, and provide access to the historic photo and document collections at the agency. Utilizing the U.S. Federal Highway Administration's Transportation Enhancement Program (TEP), the committee applied for and received a grant of $50,000. A plan of action was subsequently developed, which included a mission statement and a vision for the future. In 2005, a Request for a Proposal (RFP) to hire an archival consultant was developed and posted. In February of the following year, a consultant was hired. After a site visit, the consultant prepared a report on preliminary findings and a possible plan of action; Phase I of the TEP grant had been completed. During Phase II, amendments to the budget and plan of action were secured; a policy and procedures manual was developed; interns were hired; a climate-controlled, secure archive room was established; and digital image databases were created, thereby fulfilling the implementation requirements of the grant. This paper documents the steps involved in this process and demonstrates how Transportation Enhancement Funds were used to develop a historical archive and digital database.
Different Approaches to Caring for Historic Collections
Authors: Wood Barbara
Published: January 2019

The “National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty” (NT) is called upon daily to address such questions at over 300 historic houses which form part of its holdings of buildings, countryside and coast. This paper will consider five case studies which demonstrate different methods of presentation and conservation of collections in the historic house context. None are traditional museums, but all are places that are exploring new ways of thinking and may perhaps appeal to less traditional historic house audiences or be relevant to different communities. All have been the focus of internal discussion to define management and interpretative processes relevant to the individual property which place conservation and interpretation at the core of the visitor experience. All use the “real thing” as the foundation for the offer that they make, yet have been required to debate and identify what the “real thing” actually means in the context of their property.
Upstairs-Downstairs Active Learning and Compelling Interpretation
Authors: Sinclair Janet
Published: January 2019

The context for this paper is Stansted Park, an historic Edwardian house in southern England, given by the 10th Earl of Bessborough (d. 1993) to Stansted Park Foundation which now owns, conserves and administers the house, its moveable property and furnishings, and forested estate. The house has been open to the public since the 1980s but is no longer lived in by the family. This article describes differing yet complementary methods of interpretation, with specific examples of activities undertaken to fully involved and engage visitors of all ages and abilities through real life stories, while protecting the collections. Firstly, it discusses where, why and how collection items, their owners and their stories are presented. Secondly, how this engenders and enables an informal self-directed learning relationship between visitors and objects. Finally, more formal learning structures around school-age visitor activities are described, and outcome is documented by visitor feedback. The author is a member of the Attingham Society1 and Curator at Stansted Park, where she was House Manager 2008–12. During this period Stansted Park won two Quality Badges for Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) and was highly commended as best Small Attraction in South East England. Each award recognized high levels of active learning, accessibility and sustainable interpretation, balanced by the conservation issues.2
Permanent Collection
Authors: Cooks Bridget R.
Published: January 2019

This article presents a case study of how a university museum increased its collection of art by African Americans through a collaboration involving a curator, faculty member, and undergraduate students. The article offers an examination of what students want to see in the permanent collection of their university museum and shares student definitions of African American art. Further, the acquisition project provided insight into the relationship between education in the classroom and the museum, object interpretation, cultural representation, art, and race.
“In Love at First Sight Completely, Hopelessly, and Forever with Chinese Art”
Authors: Chudzicka Dorota
Published: January 2019

The Agnes and Eugene Meyer collection of Chinese bronzes, paintings, and sculptures came to the Freer Gallery of Art through Agnes Meyer's donations in the 1960s, her bequest in 1971—the largest single expansion of the Freer Gallery's collection to date—and her children's donations in the 1990s and 2000s. Research on this collection reveals that the Meyers, who were active supporters of avant-garde art in New York, also acquired their Asian collection in the years between 1910–20. The study of the Meyer collection, and the circumstances of its acquisition, provides a fascinating look at the rapidly expanding Asian art market in the United States in the World War I era, and especially of the influence of Charles Freer on the collectors during this era. Encouraged and guided by Freer, Agnes and Eugene Meyer acquired Chinese art objects from many newly established dealers of Chinese art in the U.S. While the Meyers’ personal acquisition activities began to dwindle in the 1920s, Agnes Meyer remained closely involved in shaping the Freer Gallery's collection in subsequent years.
Breaking through Borders
Authors: Zierold Thorid
Published: January 2019

Keeping a museum attractive and alive requires public awareness and community engagement. Engagement programs from Museums of Ethnology, History, or Art are well documented, whereas comparable activities of Natural History Museums are rare in recent times. This paper highlights a unique cooperation project between the Natural History Museum Chemnitz and a secondary school in which a group of students assumed the role of Young Curators to create a special exhibition. They decided the exhibition's theme; set up the layout; and created displays, hands-on and established panels, and graphics. Presented in 2011, “Living in Extreme” was a journey through distinct habitats, including the rainforest, the desert, the deep sea, and the polar region. For this project, the Young Curators delivered high quality and amazing results. The feedback of the visitors and media was very positive and overall the project enhanced the public awareness on both the museum as well as the school side.
Archival and Genealogical Cultures
Authors: Tucker Susan
Published: January 2019

This article looks at the French and Spanish colonial judicial records of Louisiana and uses these records as a prism into the history of genealogy. The trajectory of the records’ creation and care over three centuries takes readers on a journey of varying archival cultures, ephemera, philosophies, and economies of care and neglect. This is also an essay about the city as a main character—as a symbol for the foundation of an archival and genealogical culture. Records are at the center of the practice of family history for many people, and thus their stories tell us about a significance beyond a specificity of place. Nevertheless, specific cultures represent varying archival and genealogical practices, and New Orleans especially has a distinctive recordkeeping past worthy of study.
Fossils, Federal Lands, and the Public Interest
Authors: Leib Susan E.
Published: January 2019

One of the greatest challenges of fossil collecting relates to location, Recent issues regarding the discovery, sale, and donation of fossils (particularly dinosaur fossils) have led to the realization that better laws must be put into place to protect paleontological specimens. As many natural history museums contain unique paleontological specimens, understanding the rules and regulations of ownership currently in place may help to dispel future problems.
History, Manufacturing Techniques, and Preservation of Decals
Authors: Baker Whitney
Published: January 2019

Decals, also known as decalcomania or transfer prints, were invented in England and flourished between the 1850s and 1970s, although they are still used today. Applied to a wide variety of materials, they were used primarily for decoration, trademarking, and advertisement on many surfaces. The use of decals greatly speeded manufacture of many consumer goods and made them more affordable. Because decalcomania have not been widely studied in the context of collections management, this paper will discuss the invention and use of decals, categorize types of decals by printing and application methods to aid in identification, and describe preservation strategies for decals found in cultural heritage collections.
A Corner Cupboard Spills Family History
Authors: Harper Cheryl
Published: January 2019

As baby boomers assist their parents in downsizing to their next stage of life, many adult children are inheriting collections that have been passed down through generations. Instead of dispersing objects that may no longer have family stories or information connected to them, one may, with the assistance of Internet search engines, genealogical sites, and historical libraries, discover lost context for these heirlooms. The results may restore history to some objects, create avenues for further research, and identify objects that may be sold within specialized markets and auctions. This case study explains how an art historian with assistance from her amateur genealogist husband approached their family legacy of objects.
The Creation and Evolution of the Transcription Center, Smithsonian Institution's Digital Volunteer Platform
Authors: Gunther Andrew , Schall Michael , Wang Ching-hsien
Published: January 2019

This article discusses the technical design considerations in creating and evolving a digital volunteer platform for transcribing historic documents and collection records. We outline the thought process of our technical team in attempting to architect and build a system that could achieve a mission of collecting knowledge to promote discovery as well as a platform that was extensible, versatile, able to be integrated, and adaptable to future needs. A unique and unexpected aspect of our project is that the digital volunteers not only contributed data but also shaped (and continue to shape) the technical product, user interface, and user experience.
Showcasing Collections from a Community Museum
Authors: Morris Jennifer
Published: January 2019

Crowdsourcing cultural heritage materials presents opportunities and challenges for archives and museums. Successful engagement with collections through crowdsourcing initiatives requires mindful planning and careful selection of materials. This article presents the Anacostia Community Museum's experience with the Smithsonian TC and details the museum's efforts to gather and highlight additional data pertaining to its collection. After providing a brief history of the museum, the article describes the processes undertaken by the collections and curatorial staff for selecting projects, which were informed by exhibitions, reference services, and the museum's mission. Next, the workflow and challenges faced by the museum are discussed before turning to recommendations for improvement.
Planning and Storytelling with Collections
Authors: Bellizzi Courtney
Published: January 2019

The newest Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NAAAAHC), is set to open in the fall of 2016. Since its establishment in 2003, the museum has built a collection to help tell the story of the African American experience and how it shaped—and continues to shape—both America and the world. One of the ways that we hope to share our collections prior to the museum's opening is through the Smithsonian's Transcription Center (TC). The TC allows virtual visitors to explore and interact with Smithsonian materials in a personal way. In order to make this possible, NAAAAHC developed a plan to highlight collections based around the themes of the museum's inaugural exhibits, unexplored collections, and research interests. This article examines how collections are picked for the TC, the establishment and evolution of in-house workflows to sustain the work, and collaboration with curators, researchers, education, and social media staff to enhance the public's online experience.
(Co)Constructing Public Memories: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Creating Born-Digital Oral History Archives
Authors: Harman Ren , Abrahams Tarryn , Kulak Andrew , Cline David , Serra Adrienne , Boggs Ellen , Larkin Shannon , Rogers Jessie , Stant Ashley , Warnick Quinn , Powell Katrina
Published: January 2019

VT Stories, an oral history research project with an interactive, Web-based delivery platform, was designed from initial concept through development to serve multiple purposes and to provide various audiences with a high level of digital engagement. Comprised of a collaborative group of Virginia Tech faculty, staff, and students from multiple disciplines, the VT Stories team collects, analyzes, and shares oral history interviews for several purposes. This article details how these oral histories are fashioned for digital and social media use, incorporated into the university library's Special Collections, and made available for multiple research purposes. The standalone website, linked to the university library's Special Collections Online, is a unique archive that both contributes to the public face of the institution's history and at the same time functions as a repository for exploring multiple avenues of research. The article highlights how an oral history project differs when explicitly designed with such digital end use in mind. We also discuss the hands-on experiences of students as they take related classes, work as website developers, interview as oral historians, and manage the project from story concept to published Web content.
The Brooklyn Listening Project: Using Oral History as a Pedagogical Tool
Authors: Bradley-Sanders Colleen
Published: January 2019

The Brooklyn College Listening Project is designed to engage students in active learning through the inclusion of an oral history interview assignment in a variety of humanities courses, including history, English, sociology, music, journalism, and more. The products of these interviews, oral history recordings, are creating an archive of student-generated material. The benefits to the students extend beyond the simple completion of an assignment for a grade. With the diversity of races and cultures at Brooklyn College, students make connections with classmates and interview subjects that might not otherwise occur. As one student commented, “There is more to learn and know about the world, than just the people that you look like.”1 Written by the college archivist, this article examines the history of the still-young program and the difficulty in archiving the recordings and making them available to the public.
Telling the Stories of Forgotten Communities: Oral History, Public Memory, and Black Communities in the American South
Authors: Robinson Marco , Cambrice Farrah Gafford , Earles Phyllis
Published: January 2019

Oral histories and ethnographic interviews allow researchers to unearth and recover remarkable stories from our past. Paula Hamilton and Linda Shopes assert, “Oral history is at heart a deeply social practice connecting past and present and, at times, connecting narrative to action.” Likewise, the “authentic” voice of communities and individuals is best accessed through these methods. This article explores oral histories and ethnographic interviews conducted in the “forgotten” Jago community (located in northwestern Mississippi) and the Pontchartrain Park community (located in New Orleans, Louisiana). The analysis of the all-black Jago community, founded during Reconstruction and absorbed by a majority white municipality during the mid-1900s, brings light to historical recovery through utilizing oral history. Additionally, the connections between oral history and public history are explored through examining the local campaign led by historians and community groups to place historical markers in the original section of the Jago community. The exploration of the historically black Pontchartrain Park community recovers the voices of a neighborhood almost wiped from public memory due to Hurricane Katrina and brings light to the ways in which oral interviews help preserve local historical identity and promote public history.
Collections of Historical Markers and Signage and Public Programming Online at Public History Institutions Such as Museums and Archives
Authors: Chung Yun Shun Susie
Published: January 2019

Historical designations are communicated to audiences through interpretive signage. Historic markers as signage for outdoor interpretation constitute a body of managed outdoor collections. Implications for museum and archive professionals to represent and manage these collections, in addition to applying practices for acclimatized collections, are incorporated in this article. Beyond its location at a particular geographic location, a marker's information may be disseminated through websites of public history institutions that aim to share information about the historical markers through digitizing records and mapping these through geospatial information systems. This article examines the historical marker applications and databases of public history institutions, many of which are associated with museums and archives, in the United States as a place-based collection, where suggestions by museums and archives professionals can also take part in the committees and applications. Attention is also paid to meeting the needs of diverse audiences through reinterpretation by museums and archives professionals.
Driver’s lane selection model based on multi-player dynamic game
Authors: Wang Xiao-yuan , Liu Ya-qi , Wang Fang , Liu Zhi-guo , Zhao Hai-xia , Xin Jun-Feng
Published: January 2019

With a view to the background of Internet of Things, the vehicle group situation, especially the propensity of different drivers, and the corresponding vehicle types were given a comprehensive consideration on the basis of the factors which influence driving behavior, and the drivers’ lane selection model based on multi-player dynamic game with complete information was built. The drivers’ payoffs under different combination of lane selection strategies were analyzed, and on this basis, the subgame perfect Nash equilibrium solution was solved through backward induction, and the drivers’ optimal lane selection strategy was obtained. Next-Generation Simulation datasets and other data were applied for model calibration and validation. The results showed that the proposed model can objectively reflect the actual operation characteristic of traffic flow on road section. So, it is of great significance to apply the multi-person dynamic game in the field of intelligent transportation. And the theoretical basis of the research on lane selection decision-making can be provided for the command system of intelligent driving especially anthropomorphic driving under the condition of Internet of Things.
Structural damage identification based on gray cloud rule generator algorithm
Authors: Guo Hui-Yong , Yuan He-Fa , Huang Qi
Published: January 2019

It is difficult for the traditional methods to identify uncertain damage problems caused by noise. Therefore, a gray cloud rule generator algorithm based on cloud model and modal strain energy is presented to solve the problems. Cloud model can simulate both randomness and fuzziness with fixed parameters. Therefore, it is applicable for the uncertain damage problems. First, modal strain energy and modal strain energy dissipation ratio index are introduced. Then, numerical characteristics of a cloud model are described and some cloud generators are analyzed. Finally, a gray cloud rule is proposed and the gray cloud rule generator algorithm based on the gray cloud rule generator and modal strain energy is developed. The interference of uncertain noise is reduced through a large number of cloud droplets. A two-dimensional truss structure model has been used to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. The results indicate that the proposed gray cloud rule generator algorithm is applicable to identify the uncertain damage caused by noise, and the identification results of the proposed method are relatively better than those of modal strain energy dissipation ratio index.
Piezoelectric energy harvesting pedal integrated with a compliant load amplifier
Authors: Zhang YiHe , Lee Chul-Hee
Published: January 2019

Energy generation technologies that use piezoelectric materials as uninterrupted power supplies are one of the most practical solutions of low-power wireless sensor network. The piezoelectric generator collects mechanical energy from the environment and transforms it into electricity to supply to microelectronic devices. Thus, these alternative energy sources can reduce the consumption of batteries, thereby reducing environmental pollution. Piezoelectric materials can work in the bending, compression, and shear modes, which are named as d31, d33, and d15 modes, respectively. In this study, a piezo stack which worked in d31 mode has been designed and integrated into an energy harvesting pedal. A novel compliant amplifying mechanism has to be designed to amplify the input load so that the high-stiffness piezoelectric stack can achieve a large energy output at a lower input force. This compliant mechanism has been designed by the pseudo-rigid-body and topology optimization methods. The amplification ratios of different sized flexible amplification mechanisms are calculated through the finite element analysis and validated by experiments. Finally, a pedal generator has been made and the test results show that the collected electricity can effectively drive a low-power microcontroller, sensor, and other devices of these kinds.
Analysis of rate dependency on roll force calculation during hot strip rolling based on Karman equation
Authors: Feng Xiawei , Wang Xiaochen , Yang Quan , Sun Jiquan
Published: January 2019

Due to the development of thin slab hot rolling technology, hot rolling thin strip at a higher speed is inevitable. As a result of high-speed rolling, thin slab is deformed at a wide range of strain rate inside the rolling zone. Because the flow stress of steel is strongly dependent on strain rate at elevated temperature, it is imperative to consider its variation when calculating roll force and roll pressure. By substituting time with speed and length, strain rate variation is obtained. A strain rate–dependent flow stress curve for non-oriented silicon steel is implemented into Karman equation to calculate rolling pressure distribution. It is revealed that the rolling force can be effectively reduced by decreasing the radius of work roll. It is further revealed that the appearance of strip/roll surface sticking is more likely at the exit of rolling zone than the neutral point, because strain rate reaches zero and the flow stress drops at the exit. Combined with Influence Function Method for elastic deformation of roll surface, the proposed model can predict roll force with a good accuracy compared with industrial data.
Centering the problem child: Temporality, colonialism, and theories of the child
Authors: Knight Hunter
Published: January 2019

What would it mean to center theories of the child around those who are evacuated from childhood? I propose the idea of the “problem child” as an encapsulation of those who are constructed outside of Western understandings of childhood. In this essay, I explore how the problem child illuminates colonial entanglements between childhood and constructions of time, and the implications this holds for theories of the child. To do so, I position Carla Shalaby’s Troublemakers as a provocation to theories of childhood: her masterful portraits illustrate how problem children are constructed as such temporally, repeatedly narrated as late or out-of-sync. Put otherwise, Shalaby’s centered focus on troublemakers highlights the ways in which temporality is used as a limit to constructions of the child. I build on Shalaby’s provocation to argue that the ways in which childhood and temporality interlock are a production of colonial understandings of subjectivity, in which childhood is co-constructed with linear time. In asking what it might mean to center the problem child, I argue for the contextualization of dominant Western understandings of the child in the colonial violence in which they were produced in order to challenge assumed connections between the child and temporality.
Three laws for paperlessness
Authors: Thimbleby Harold
Published: January 2019

We are familiar with paper and rarely think much about it, except that in healthcare there seems to be too much of it, and it is slow, inefficient, and so old. In contrast, paperlessness promises the future and freedom from paper’s obvious limitations. We need to think clearly how to ensure paperlessness really improves healthcare, hence three simple laws:

1.  Keep in sight the goal of improving healthcare. Paperlessness must be first about improving clinical processes, supporting staff and patients, not about replacing paper with new ‘solutions’.

2.  Only implement evidence-based change. Pursue paperlessness only where there is scientific evidence it is better for the real task. Successful paperlessness depends on user centred design and on quality implementation.

3.  Plan for cultural change and moving goal posts. Culture has to change to take advantage of technology, and technology is changing at pace regardless. Paperless requires planning for monitoring, improvement, revision and, eventually, obsolescence and further innovation. Pay attention to culture, including regulation, and to developing human skills to exploit new technologies.