Digitising the paper Panopticon

Digitising the paper panopticon

Claudine Chionh

University of Melbourne

linux.conf.au, January 2009

Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, 1968

One can venture to prophesy, looking forward to thequantitative history of the 1980s, that in this area atleast, tomorrow’s historian will have to be able to[program] a computer in order to survive.

Quantitative history

This talk

◮ ‘Digital history’

◮ Founders and Survivors project

Old Bailey Online

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

Founders and SurvivorsTransportation to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania)

A well-recorded population

A conduct register

‘stealing some bread’or: ‘administering poison to my wife on a piece of bread’

‘stealing one sheep’or: ‘bestiality with a sheep in a field’

Quantitative data analysis

◮ SQL

◮ Perl

◮ Python

◮ R

◮ etc.

XML

◮ Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) http://www.tei-c.org/

◮ BaseX http://www.basex.org/

John Cozins

<name>

<surname>Cozins</surname>

<forename>John</forename>

</name>

<shipName>William Metcalf</shipName>

<dateArr>4/Sep/1834</dateArr>

<sentencePlace>Oxford Asss</sentencePlace>

<dateTrial>1/Mar/1834</dateTrial>

<sentenceLength>Life</sentenceLength>

<transportedFor>Beastiality</transportedFor>

<reportGaol>imprisoned before, bad in every

respect</reportGaol>

<reportHulk>orderly</reportHulk>

<marital>Single</marital>

<offenceStated>having connexions with a Sheep, once

for Apple Stealing 3 Months</offenceStated>

Mary Ann Armstrong

<name>Armstrong, Mary Ann.</name>

...

<remarks>Remarks.

<complexion type="fair">Fair</complexion>

<pockmarks>pockpitted</pockmarks>.

<scar location="nose">Scar on Nose.</scar>

<scar location="left leg">Scar on left leg.</scar>

</remarks>

Challenges

◮ Technical

◮ Social, cultural

Future plans

◮ Web interface to database.

◮ Parsing textual data into XML.

◮ Sharing data with genealogists.

◮ Tracing descendants of convicts (forwards) ↔ ancestors oflater generations (backwards).

◮ Involvement in WWI, WWII, Vietnam . . . lives ofpoor/disadvantaged Australians. Like convicts, soldiers arewell documented.

Contact

claudine@chionh.org

http://www.foundersandsurvivors.org/

Photo credits

Jeanniot, La ligne de feu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lignedefeu16August.jpg

Bread

http://flickr.com/photos/jillslivingroom/2372428684/

Sheep http://flickr.com/photos/tambako/2890664794/