Category: Text Searching/Guest Lecture

     In general, the way we look at texts, and history has changed. Yes, you can still go in person to the library and research, however, nowadays everything has been digitalized. I can go online and search up anything from the library of congress. I can search through a specific text by using a program to look for one sentence. The whole historical research process has become easier. This is especially beneficial for students. With tight deadlines, we need to use every second of the time we have. So instead of spending hours reading books looking for the information you need, you can cut that time in half with the web. It, of course, is not as engaged or hands on, but you are still learning the information you need to succeed. Digital projects can also make significant social change. Everyone is online now and would be more likely to come across an article or paper than if they were only printed. Not many people read hard copy newspapers anymore either. Because of this, more article can be included in the online newspapers with links and sources, allowing people to continue their own research. This creates a domino effect almost. One article with a bunch of good sources will bring light to those sources that all address a topic. Then these sources get read and passed on through another article, and so on. With so many articles on one serious topic, the more people that would be informed, the more social changes that are made. Of course, there are some things that are lost with the use of digital media. The hands on feeling of turning pages and feeling the history is lost. You would no longer be able to feel really connected with the history. When reading a text that was written so long ago, and reading it in person gives a different feeling. It is a more hands on feeling with history. However, we do gain a lot from digital media. We gain access to texts from all over the world. We can find translations of texts. We can save time doing research and would then have more time to focus on portraying the information to its fullest.

Kelseyfritz. “The Good and Bad of Digital Media.” Digital History Methods, 17 Jan. 2011, www.dighist.org/2011/01/the-good-and-bad-of-digital-media/.

Milligan, Ian. “Illusionary Order: Online Databases, Optical Character Recognition, and Canadian History, 1997–2010.” The Canadian Historical Review, University of Toronto Press, 27 Nov. 2013, muse.jhu.edu/article/527016.

I found Tony’s presentation to be very interesting and informative. He shared his experience on text searching and how that plays into digital history. I, myself, have used text searching in places like google to gather information whether for a research project or for my own curiosity. Tony presented options for text searching through the George Mason library that can help expand the information gathered through text searching. This will help broaden the amount of information I am exposed to.
Text searching has greatly specified the information that I search for. It allows me to search for specific information without having to comb through lots of other information as in a physical library or book. This saves me a great deal of time when researching and also opens up doors to related information to the one I am researching.
Digital projects certainly have the potential to make social change especially through exposure. Considering how online our modern world is, it is very possible for a digital project like Mason Legacies or Enslaved Children of George Mason to be seen and have an impact on people. These projects would do most of their social change through informing rather than actually presenting new ideas and forming new thoughts. I am a firm believer in the saying “Those who do not learn their history are doomed to repeat it”, so I think these digital projects that teach and inform people about the past can significantly prevent people from making similar mistakes in the future. ¹
When using digital media we can lose a sense of tone and identity that comes with being just another user online. Information presented on the internet can be misinterpreted as it is one sided and is not a conversation where thoughts and ideas can be clearly exchanged. Digital media also runs the risk of being lost in the massive information database that is the world wide web. With all the websites and information on the web their is the possibility of these digital media projects being lost and never really garnering the attention they deserve. The positives of digital media are far more significant however, with the ability to reach people across the country and world in so many places.

1. Mason’s Legacies. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://masonslegacies.org/

Enslaved Children of George Mason(n.d.). Retrieved from https://ecgm.omeka.net/

Text searching has allowed our generation as a whole to get the quickest information any generation has ever received. We live and thrive off of Google’s brain and it has even shaped what our education systems deem to be useful information now ². Text searching has allowed our generation as a whole to get the quickest information any generation has ever received. We live and thrive off of Google’s brain and it has even shaped what our education systems deem to be useful information now. I feel confident that there is a privilege that millennials have because of our ability to instantaneously keyword search. I am on the speech team here at Mason, and we have a whole class before the season starts on keyword searching and how to do it effectively, especially when working with databases. I do believe that you can use digital projects to create social change. They can function as educational tools for people studying those topics, facets for famous people to see issues and donate, or simply as a place to create community. 

As for what is gained or lost using digital media, it is clear that a lot is gained but some pretty important senses are lost. What is gained is a vast ability to access anything and everything whenever one chooses. Many people would not normally have access or “stumble” upon many primary sources that they do. Or, the detail in which these sources are presented. These databases lead us right to what we are looking for including the “date, newspaper page number, the section it appears in, and a further click brings you to the entire page, scanned at a decently high resolution, search terms highlighted for convenience”. You can look up any old artifact like the one Tony Guidone presented in class (coins), and be able to see it almost as well as he showed it even though he had the real one. And, again, it reiterates the privilege that accompanies the commodity of the Internet. 

Many elderly people struggle with switching to e-readers because they like the feeling of paper in their hand or feel that television is biased in how they receive their news. I feel like this is what is lost in technology. The experience of the artifact. The act of searching for something in the library and finding it or locating the one person who has what you need and igniting conversation about their journey with the item is something that absolutely can not be transferred in technology. 

Overall, the digital world has been extremely beneficial in helping us understand anything at lightning speed but it does not come without the cost of leaving behind the experience. But, for many new generations, it’s a price they’re willing to pay for the immediacy of information. 

I feel confident that there is a privilege that millennials have because of our ability to instantaneously keyword search. I am on the speech team here at Mason, and we have a whole class before the season starts on keyword searching and how to do it effectively, especially when working with databases. I do believe that you can use digital projects to create social change. They can function as educational tools for people studying those topics, facets for famous people to see issues and donate, or simply as a place to create community. 

As for what is gained or lost using digital media, it is clear that a lot is gained but some pretty important senses are lost. What is gained is a vast ability to access anything and everything whenever one chooses. Many people would not normally have access or “stumble” upon many primary sources that they do. Or, the detail in which these sources are presented. These databases lead us right to what we are looking for including the “date, newspaper page number, the section it appears in, and a further click brings you to the entire page, scanned at a decently high resolution, search terms highlighted for convenience”. You can look up any old artifact like the one Tony Guidone presented in class (coins), and be able to see it almost as well as he showed it even though he had the real one. And, again, it reiterates the privilege that accompanies the commodity of the Internet. 

Many elderly people struggle with switching to e-readers because they like the feeling of paper in their hand or feel that television is biased in how they receive their news. I feel like this is what is lost in technology. The experience of the artifact. The act of searching for something in the library and finding it or locating the one person who has what you need and igniting conversation about their journey with the item is something that absolutely can not be transferred in technology. 

Overall, the digital world has been extremely beneficial in helping us understand anything at lightning speed but it does not come without the cost of leaving behind the experience. But, for many new generations, it’s a price they’re willing to pay for the immediacy of information. 

Tony Guidone gave a great informative presentation on digitization and keyword searches. Before this presentation I had never thought about how digitizing an artifact can make a difference in the way we interpret a scenario. For example newspapers that have been digitized. Not every newspaper that has been published online. When looking back at a certain time period, this has to be accounted for. ³. Tony made a great point when asking the class “ did the Toronto Star deserve to be cited?”. It brought up the topic of availability. This doesn’t mean that the paper is the best source of information but rather it is the source that is most easily available. 

One of the ways text searching has changed the way we engage in information is that it speeds up the process. If we are looking for information on a specific topic, person or date we can quickly find it rather then reading through pages of information. I think word searching can also cause a negative outcome in research if not done correctly. Before conducting a word search I think an individual must be familiar with the language of the time period and understand context surrounding a person or thing. These two factors play a huge role in relaying information correctly.

Although artifacts online are great because they are easily accessible there is a downfall in them. Digital artifacts can lose original meanings conveyed by touch. For example in Tony’s presentation he passed out two coins. One coin was made from a heavier and thicker material than the other. This shows that the older coins were made better as opposed to the newer ones which felt more cheap. This element would be lost if there was only a picture of the coin online. 

I think digital projects have the ability to make significant social change. Everything these days is online. Newspapers and magazines are sold as much and billboards don’t generate enough attention like they used to. Digital products are the new way to relay information. Social movements in a digital project would generate more of a response and effect than anything else.

Milligan, I. (2013). Illusionary Order: Online Databases, Optical Character Recognition, and Canadian History, 1997–2010. The Canadian Historical Review 94(4), 540-569. University of Toronto Press. Retrieved September 16, 2019

Today, text searching has allowed us to navigate through databases by simply looking up words and phrases. It is convenient as words are searched and indexed, enabling one to find other key terms and or resources that correlate, expanding their research. “Keyword searches enables large-scale media searching: representations of a specific word, etc”. 

Text searching through various databases has made academic research less of a task. It is easy for me to type in a common word and watch it appear in many other documents, files, and images. Milligan states that “historical databases have profoundly reshaped the foundation upon which Canadian historiography is constructed”.He also states “historians have overwhelmingly embraced these online tools”. 

The use of text searching has also allowed for the rise of digital projects. Digital projects have the ability to create social change by focusing on specific topics/issues, gathering detailed information, and drawing audiences that may potentially further findings of such research. The application of digital projects have added to scholarships. It has enhanced digital media by creating new research tools and new and emerging subdisciplines.

Over time, digital media has had some losses which have included mail digitization. It was often an issue for documents to be read through digital processors. Magazines and newspapers alike were the issue. Physical, paper copies were done away with as they were microfilmed, digitized, and as a result, data was lost. However, digital media has made it possible to access worldwide information. Giving many “new and different perspectives through online exchange to create and collaborate”. The development of digital media creates an understanding of synthesized information from across the globe which has added to existing as well as generated knowledge. Digital sources today are in many ways different from the traditional ones. Though evolved, features that call for a better experience is needed for future digitization projects. 

References:

Milligan, Ian. (December 2013). Illusionary Order:Online Databases, Optical Character Recognition, and Canadian History, 1997–2010. The Canadian Historical Review, Volume 94(4). Retrieved from https://muse-jhu-edu.mutex.gmu.edu/article/527016

A, Menten. Five Ways To Use Technology And Digital Media For Global Learning. Retrieved from https://asiasociety.org/education/five-ways-use-technology-and-digital-media-global-learning

Techopedia. What Is a Full- Text Search. Retrieved from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/17113/full-text-search

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been using text searching without actually realizing it.  Google has become synonymous with looking up information, which in fact has become its own phrase to look up information, “Google it”.  Text searching, and more importantly, keyword searching changes the way I engage with information in a couple of ways.

For one, when I need to look up information, I have to figure out which keywords are important for the information I’m looking for.  When using JSTOR or other library databases for looking up articles, I don’t look up specific information, rather I use a few words that might give the database a general idea of what I want.

Secondly, due to the keyword searching, I don’t always get the exact kinds of articles I need for said information.  Instead, I get information from the same resource as many other people.  This can create a problem, which has been documented before in Ian Milligan’s article ⁴, where numerous different people get the same information from one source.  This can skew information towards what that one article had to say.

I believe digital projects can create social change, if that’s what the projects intended purpose was in the first place.  However, there needs to be a balance of interactivity with the project, good UI to assist the user, and good information to garner interest.  However, many projects seem to be ignored by the mass public, which shows that it can be rare for one project to have much effect.

While digital media can increase the ease of gaining information, you lose the ability of many of your senses.  For instance, feeling an object can be much more effecting at showing how old it is, or what it’s made of rather than just looking at it.  In the case of Tony’s presentation, the nazi coin is something we could feel the difference in, not just see.  By losing the ability to sense an object fully, we lose the ability to gain all the information possible from that object.

Citations:  Milligan, Ian. “Illusionary Order: Online Databases, Optical Character Recognition, and Canadian History, 1997-2010.”  The Canadian Historical Review, vol. 94 no. 4, 2013, pp. 540-569.  Project MUSE, muse.jhu.edu/article/527016.

Text searching, or keyword searching as was stated by Professor Guidone, has been a constant in the way that I search larger databases for the information needed. Typically used for research projects or academic papers, looking through a document by inputting a more simple word or phrase always seemed like the fastest option to drive results. Other uses of the text search would be the infamous Google search engine, or even the control F function commonly used on any document reachable by computer. By the end of Professor Guidone’s presentation, it was learned that this is not usually the case, and keyword searching can limit the possibility of receiving the results that are desired of the reader. ⁵

               Digital projects are a faster, more efficient way to present information to the public, and make artifacts readily accessible outside of their place of origin. Because of the constant, growing prevalence of technology in today’s world, a digital project holds the strength and power to push boundaries, and thus create social change by bringing information to the people. The Enslaved Children of George Mason project that was reviewed in class is an excellent example of this. For example, they present documentation that exhibits the life of George Mason, and how he interacted with his slaves. A letter included within the project details the proof of vaccination against small pox that was given to Mason’s slaves, of which it is mentioned that he “owned” over 100. This is an excellent source to use to drive social change because it is angering to see that somebody, after whom we named our acclaimed university, was able to see other humans as property similarly to how we see dogs. ⁶

Yes, these powerful figures from history have done great things, but because of the ability to see what happened around them, it’s now possible to think about the cost at which these great things were achieved. I believe that this new outlook is due to the concept of digital projects.

               Through the use of digital media, the original meanings of the source can be lost. This was evident in the organization of the newspaper, the Essex Register, Professor Guidone showed. Information was presented in a specific way in the 1800s and digitizing that source could mess with the original layout of the publication. The meanings of objects that would typically be conveyed by touch is another example of what could be lost, as the reader of the digital media would not be able to feel the exact materials of that time, and would not necessarily know the meaning behind why that material was used. ⁷

A large point made by Professor Guidone was that the access to artifacts and information is democratized through the use of digital media, and we as readers are able to come into contact with this information at a much faster pace, which leads to new questions in our research. He mentioned that everything before 1920 has been digitized, and we have gained access to a wealth of knowledge that was made possible by the use of technology. ⁸

References

Bracey, A., Farrow, K., Fatima, A., Perez-Garcia, E., & Murshed, F. (2017). The Enslaved Children of George Mason. Retrieved from https://ecgm.omeka.net/

Guidone, T. (2019). Digitization and Keyword Research [PowerPoint Slides].

I am left with many thoughts after Tony Guidone’s presentation in class, mainly reminding me of one of our tasks for the class, to see history “in it’s context.” His example when giving tips about keyword searches, for example, stressed the importance of considering history this way. He showed us how crucial it can be to consider even the language of the time period we are researching in order to get accurate results. He did this by showing us that when he searched “China,” he was met with few results, but was very successful in finding relevant hits when searching “East Indies” instead. This reminded me as well of Ian Milligan’s point in explaining the illusion we are faced with when using keyword searches; we are under the impression that we are conduction an all-inclusive, all-encompassing, omnipotent search when in reality we are missing every resource that hasn’t been digitized, and more importantly we are inadvertently missing large portions of every resource that hasn’t been digitized to 100% accuracy. This made me aware of how my keyword searching, both academically and recreationally, is affected by that very illusion.

As Milligan pointed out, “false positives,” or hits that aren’t actually relevant but carry the searched keyword, are easily dismissed, but “false positives,” or resources that are relevant but for one of many possible reasons was not retrieved by the keyword search, could have been exactly what we were looking for and may have made a significant difference on our results and conclusions. It is obvious how this dilemma could have disastrous effects in academia, but I can see how it affects even my recreational use of digital engagement. For example, when I search on Instagram the first name of someone I recently met, I could be met with countless results of people with similar names and all combinations of various last names. This bounty of results is almost deceptive though- it’s relatively easy for me to select any result seemingly close and examine further, and it’s quite simple to just dismiss this result and move onto the next if it isn’t who I’m looking for. However, if they are known on Instagram by a nickname I’m not aware of, or if their Instagram username doesn’t include their name at all, my search may harvest an optimistic number of results, but in actuality could not be retrieving that one single person I went through the process to search for. In this instance, keyword searching will have failed me entirely if I haven’t considered various alternative keywords to search.

            Tony Guidone showed us two examples in which digital media projects created the possibility for social change. Digital projects like Mason’s Legacies and the Enslaved Children of George Mason provide the necessary historical context behind primary resources that allow us to compare and contrast views that are controversial and problematic now, but at the time were widely accepted views. This can certainly alter our perspective on historical figures like George Mason, who is known for many accomplishments, but has and is himself a controversial past. Another example of a kind of digital project I’ve witnessed impact social change through providing historical context is a simple but meaningful one: a Twitter thread on the “Untold Stories of 9/11” from the perspectives of peoples of Middle Eastern descent living in the US who faced discrimination and mistreatment as a result of the generalized fear many Americans faced after September 11^th. Projects like these enable us to reflect on history and see it from the perspective of individuals whose stories were overlooked at the time. They create social change by encouraging us to change our perspective now and put action into that cliché saying, “don’t let history repeat itself.”

            On that note, digital media has the potential to provide significant detail and context, such as videos and pictures from September 11^th that visually and audially portray the emotion of the historical event. In comparison, Tony Guidone showed us the sad reality of digitizing older resources, through the use of German coins. Digital renderings of the coins would not portray the physical observation necessary to realize the different weight of the coins due to the changes in metal uses during the war. This leaves us without crucial historical context in knowing how the German people must have felt using recently minted coins at the time and noticing the change in weight. This dilemma forces us to rely on the publisher of the source to provide minute, explicit details about the original source. Otherwise, we are literally losing parts of history.

Milligan, I. (2013). Illusionary Order: Online Databases, Optical Character Recognition, and Canadian History, 1997–2010. The Canadian Historical Review 94(4), 540-569. University of Toronto Press. Retrieved September 16, 2019, from Project MUSE database.

Mason’s Legacies. Accessed September 9, 2019, from http://masonslegacies.org/

Enslaved Children of George Mason. Accessed September 9, 2019, from https://ecgm.omeka.net/

            I thought Tony Guidone had a very interesting presentation. My favorite part was when he brought out the two newspaper articles and the coin to pass around the class. It showed what is lost by using digital media. By that I mean the use of paper and currency is lost through the digital world. I feel as if the physical news and use of currency has become irrelevant due to the fact that they have essentially become nonexistent. From personal experience, my parents no longer get the newspaper due to the fact that the local news and advertisements are free online, and they use credit/debit cards out of convenience. The evolution of digital media can, in my opinion, be seen to be influenced by pure convenience.

            Drawing back towards what we have lost due to digital media, I believe the answer is quite clear. We have lost everything physical to the touch, which in a sense can be seen as we have lost touch with the reality of media. According to Bilal Kaiser, we have lost restaurant reviews in the newspaper, phone books, and libraries. However, when he writes this, he does not put it in a negative light, but more in a hopeful one for the future. He does this by saying, “ It goes without saying that as more technological advances come into the mainstream, we’ll start to walk away from the old ways of doing things and step into a new frontier of the human experience. Which is quite exciting… And won’t require you to rewind before returning” (Kaiser 2011)[1].

            While we have lost a physical connection to media, we have also gained something. I believe we have gained a sense of realization. In her blog, “Simply As That”, Rebecca Cooper explains what she gained when she lost her social media addiction. She claimed it was “disconnecting her from the most important things in life” (Cooper 2018). With this sense of disconnection, her realization grew to be that she needed a break and she states how she “experienced things more fully, with all of her senses” (Cooper 2018). She was brought back to the reality that was lost to digitalization in media[2]. I think that we can use Rebecca’s experience along with many others’ regarding social media hiatuses to further our knowledge in the true impact of digital media.   

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[1] Kaiser, Blial. “7 Things We’ve Lost – and Gained – in the Internet Age.” Legalzoom.com, 21 July 2014, www.legalzoom.com/articles/7-things-weve-lost-and-gained-in-the-internet-age.

[2] Cooper, Rebecca. “What I Gained When I Lost My Social Media Addiction.” Simpleasthatblog.com, 6 May 2018, simpleasthatblog.com/what-i-gained-when-i-lost-my-social-media-addiction/.

On the surface, text searching engines have undeniably changed the game of academic research. Information on just about any topic you might be interested in is at your disposal with a stroke of your fingertips, and with the entire internet available, you’re not confined to just the interests of whatever journals or encyclopedias are locally available. Search engines like Google aren’t just purposed for the classroom, either. I know that I probably look something up online at least two or three times a day, and if I’m not writing an essay, I can guarantee it’s usually not questions of an academic nature. In a way, these engines function much like the FAP, with their core philosophy that art (or information) “should belong to the people as a whole” (Bindas, xii).

The search engine and the greater internet go back hand-in-hand for decades. What were both, after all, if not some of the first digital projects? One of the most common dismissals of internet-era technology is that we got by without it for far longer than we’ve had it, but how many strides forward have been achieved by the instantaneous global connection which the internet and its thousands, if not millions, of digital projects provides? Take the digital archive of early 20th Century writings by African American women that I researched earlier. How many of those writings might have been lost to the ages if someone hadn’t taken the time to immortalize them digitally? Without the arts, there is no culture, and culture is something that constantly evolves out of reaction to what came before. These writings were an important cornerstone for black feminist history, and their online preservation is just one example of something that can benefit a greater social movement.

Of course, the transition of physical media to digital media is an innate compromise of form. While your standard-issue poem or book might look and read about the same online, the person only able to process the information through a digital format loses the experience of holding it in their hands. Things such as physical covers and textual layout aren’t always thought to be carried over, when as much thought might have been put into them by the original publisher as their actual “content”. Printing errors are also often corrected for the well-intentioned purpose of making it easier for them to be read, but these errors can also tell us about what the circumstances surrounding the publication might have been like.