MaDiH: Mapping Digital Heritage in Jordan
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: King's Digital Laboratory
Abstract
MaDiH: Mapping Digital Cultural Heritage in Jordan, will contribute to the long-term sustainable development of Jordan's digital cultural heritage, identifying key systems, datasets, standards, and policies, and aligning them to government digital infrastructure capabilities and strategies. Defining a robust technical and operational architecture for digital cultural heritage will assist the Department of Antiquities in their planning processes, help product development teams develop their systems, facilitate the aggregation of valuable datasets held in disparate repositories, and ensure data generated from research activity is properly stored and widely accessible. Analysis will also result in the identification of infrastructural gaps and opportunities for further development, including system development, data aggregation, and online learning. Practical prototyping will ensure analysis and lessons learned are cost-effective and aligned to real-world scenarios, and a series of workshops with stakeholders from the cultural heritage, research, government, and technology sectors, will ensure the project fulfils the needs of the local community. A hackathon, led by the Jordanian Open Source Association will ensure analysis and lessons learned are aligned to educational and commercial opportunities. Key outputs from MaDiH, which will be made available online, will include:
- A policy white paper, identifying relevant national and international policies, frameworks, and standards and making recommendations for their future adoption and/or implementation.
- A technical white paper, listing requirements for improvements to existing infrastructure, systems, and tools and make recommendations for their future implementation.
- A prototype National Data Catalogue, listing the datasets found over the course of the project.
- A prototype National Heritage Portal, indicating the potential for future systems development and data aggregation.
- Training in Research Software Engineering, delivered by King's Digital Lab (King's College London).
- A policy white paper, identifying relevant national and international policies, frameworks, and standards and making recommendations for their future adoption and/or implementation.
- A technical white paper, listing requirements for improvements to existing infrastructure, systems, and tools and make recommendations for their future implementation.
- A prototype National Data Catalogue, listing the datasets found over the course of the project.
- A prototype National Heritage Portal, indicating the potential for future systems development and data aggregation.
- Training in Research Software Engineering, delivered by King's Digital Lab (King's College London).
Planned Impact
This project places Jordanian cultural heritage sector professionals, and the wider government, technology and open source sectors that support them, at its centre. With three key partners outside HEIs, and events designed to engage and tighten existing networks across the government and technology sectors, impact is expected to be wide and continue after the end of the project. Four work packages (Knowledge Transfer; Training and Capacity Building; Research Outputs; Digital Publications) will deliver a range of outcomes that will deliver impacts detailed below:
The high-level objectives and specific measurable indicators (with sources where relevant) of MaDiH within its project lifetime are:
1. Cultural heritage / early career research staff trained in Research Software Engineering: 7 Jordanian, 2 UK.
2. Jordanian datasets identified and added to a prototype national data catalogue: 50.
3. Jordanian cultural heritage stakeholders exposed to digital cultural heritage research software engineering techniques: 80 via workshops.
4. Jordanian students exposed to digital cultural heritage research software engineering techniques: 50 via workshops and hackathon, 100 via online course.
5. Jordanian technology companies exposed to digital cultural heritage datasets and product development requirements: 20.
6. Global digital cultural heritage professionals exposed to Jordanian digital cultural heritage activities / opportunities via MaDiH website, conferences, journal articles, white papers: 1000.
Additional impact around these goals is expected beyond the lifetime of the project. Impact for the following goals will be achieved in the longer term through participation and outputs arising from the project:
1. Jordanian datasets identified and added to a prototype national data catalogue: 200.
2. Jordanian datasets converted to international standards and made available online: 20.
3. Jordanian students exposed to digital cultural heritage research software engineering techniques: 200 via online course.
The project team will maintain a dashboard focused around the development, delivery and measurement of impact. A range of mechanisms, impact track record and management approach to achieve these outcomes for the relevant beneficiaries are outlined in the 'pathways to impact'. The resources required have been budgeted and are indicated in the attached 'justification of resources'. Evidence for impact will be captured and recorded in relevant systems such as Researchfish or the forthcoming Knowledge Exchange Network system.
The high-level objectives and specific measurable indicators (with sources where relevant) of MaDiH within its project lifetime are:
1. Cultural heritage / early career research staff trained in Research Software Engineering: 7 Jordanian, 2 UK.
2. Jordanian datasets identified and added to a prototype national data catalogue: 50.
3. Jordanian cultural heritage stakeholders exposed to digital cultural heritage research software engineering techniques: 80 via workshops.
4. Jordanian students exposed to digital cultural heritage research software engineering techniques: 50 via workshops and hackathon, 100 via online course.
5. Jordanian technology companies exposed to digital cultural heritage datasets and product development requirements: 20.
6. Global digital cultural heritage professionals exposed to Jordanian digital cultural heritage activities / opportunities via MaDiH website, conferences, journal articles, white papers: 1000.
Additional impact around these goals is expected beyond the lifetime of the project. Impact for the following goals will be achieved in the longer term through participation and outputs arising from the project:
1. Jordanian datasets identified and added to a prototype national data catalogue: 200.
2. Jordanian datasets converted to international standards and made available online: 20.
3. Jordanian students exposed to digital cultural heritage research software engineering techniques: 200 via online course.
The project team will maintain a dashboard focused around the development, delivery and measurement of impact. A range of mechanisms, impact track record and management approach to achieve these outcomes for the relevant beneficiaries are outlined in the 'pathways to impact'. The resources required have been budgeted and are indicated in the attached 'justification of resources'. Evidence for impact will be captured and recorded in relevant systems such as Researchfish or the forthcoming Knowledge Exchange Network system.
Organisations
- King's College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Collaboration)
- Jordan Open Source Association (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Hashemite University (Collaboration)
- Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) (Collaboration)
- Council for British Research in the Levant (Project Partner)
- Hashemite University (Project Partner)
- Department of Antiquities (Jordan) (Project Partner)
Publications
Alessandra Esposito
(2020)
MaDiH (????) Mapping the Digital Cultural Heritage in Jordan Project. Datasets Identification and Publication Protocol (Arabic versio)
in Zenodo
Arianna Ciula
(2020)
MaDiH: Research Software Engineering Training
Bala'awi F
(2022)
MaDiH: Mapping Digital Cultural Heritage in Jordan (2020-2021)
in Archaeology in Jordan
Iwaya LH
(2023)
On the privacy of mental health apps: An empirical investigation and its implications for app development.
in Empirical software engineering
MaDiH Team
(2020)
MaDiH Vocabulary English and Arabic
Mubaideen S
(2020)
MaDiH (????) Instance on CKAN: User Guide (English version)
Mubaideen S
(2022)
Assessing the MaDiH CKAN catalogue as an engagement tool for the Jordanian cultural heritage community
in Levant
Description | The project has completed policy and a technical white papers, containing 80 recommendations to improve Jordan's digital cultural heritage infrastructure, community, and broader capability. Peer reviewed conference papers and journals articles have shared lessons learned with the international academic community, and the project has been showcased on Jordanian television. The project's recommendations are designed to enable cultural heritage management but also enhance the role of cultural heritage in Jordan's tourism and technology sectors. A data catalogue initially designed as a prototype for the immediate purposes of the project has been migrated to Jordan for long-term maintenance because of its value to the Jordanian cultural heritage sector. |
Exploitation Route | Journal articles will allow basic research to be taken forward, including the methods used to produce the policy and technical white papers, and design and populate the digital cultural heritage data catalogue. The white papers (published in English and Arabic) will transfer knowledge from the project to professional, community, and government stakeholders in Jordan and the wider regional and international digital cultural heritage communities. Jordanian stakeholders are considering developing a national digital cultural heritage centre based on the project's recommendations. |
Sectors | Creative Economy Education Leisure Activities including Sports Recreation and Tourism Government Democracy and Justice Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
Description | The MaDiH project has contributed to the development of Research Software Engineering (RSE) in the UK by making the RSE community aware that RSE techniques can be applied to digital cultural heritage in Jordan. This is a novel application of RSE methods. MaDiH has started the process of building understanding of RSE in Jordan too, a country where the practice is not well known. As a trans-national project, MaDiH has increased the capacity of King's College London to undertake research projects with colleagues in Jordan, through better understanding of local culture, administration, and priorities. The project has a solid profile in Jordan, through its Facebook page, with other 460 followers (a good number for a cultural heritage project). |
First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
Sector | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
Description | Research software engineering (RSE) training |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Participants were introduced to RSE best practice, data modelling, and 3D imaging. A lunch was attended by colleagues form the Department of Classics and Department of Digital Humanities. The workshop increased professional understanding across the joint UK - Jordanian project team, and helped develop a common professional language to collaborate with. |
Title | MaDiH CKAN Repository |
Description | The MaDiH CKAN repository is the primary digital output the project. It is an open access dataset, describing cultural heritage datasets related to Jordan, stored inside and outside Jordan. The database was conceived as a prototype national digital cultural heritage portal, forming the basis of a dataset that could be extended to become a permanent asset in the future. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The database was initially intended to exist until 2024 (two years after funding ceased) but it has been migrated to Hashemite University in Jordan for long-term (10 year) maintenance due to its significance for the country. |
URL | https://madih.hu.edu.jo/ |
Title | Nabataean and Roman Periods Datasets Analysis from the MaDiH (????) Catalogue |
Description | Data analysis spreadsheets associated with Esposito A. forthcoming, Digital assets for the study of Jordanian heritage in the Nabataean and Roman periods. The data from the MaDiH (????) project. Analysis spreadsheets by Alessandra Esposito based on the data entry on MaDiH (????) CKAN catalogue (https://madih.hu.edu.jo/) done by Alessandra Esposito and Shatha Mubaideen, checked (and some entry) by Pascal Flohr. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Nabataean_and_Roman_Periods_Datasets_Analysis_from_the_MaDiH_C... |
Description | Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) |
Organisation | Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | King's Digital Lab (KDL) provide scholarly and technical leadership for the MaDiH project, acting as lead UK HEI. This brings CBRL research grant funding, allowing them to fulfil their core mission of enabling research in the region. KDL are also helping CBRL build their understanding of and capacity in digital humanities and research software engineering. |
Collaborator Contribution | Assistant Director of CBRL, Dr. Andrea Zerbini (1984-2019), was instrumental in developing the AHRC bid for MaDiH: Mapping Digital Heritage in Jordan and building the core project partnerships. It is highly unlikely the project would have occurred without Dr. Zerbini's leadership. His premature passing soon before the project started required a reset of the project, with CBRL Director Carol Palmer taking on many of his duties. CBRL bring essential local cultural and administrative, and research domain knowledge to the project. They provide knowledge related to Jordanian cultural heritage that the UK team does not have, and hold key relationships in cultural heritage and government the project relies on for its key deliverables. A project manager and research assistant for the project are based at CBRL in Amman, and they have hosted requirements elicitation workshops that are central to the project's outcomes. |
Impact | Research Software Engineering (RSE) Training (2-5 July 2019); Asset identification and requirements elicitation (28-29 October 2019); http://madih-jordan.org/; https://madih-data.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Hashemite University |
Organisation | Hashemite University |
Country | Jordan |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I am UK PI for the MaDiH project, in collaboration with Hashemite colleagues. My research team, King's Digital Lab (KDL), provided Research Software Engineering (RSE) training in July 2019 to our colleagues from Hashemite and are leading development of technical outputs for the project. We host a MaDiH Research Associate in KDL. |
Collaborator Contribution | Hashemite University are the lead Jordanian HEI in the MaDiH: Mapping Digital Heritage in Jordan project. Dr. Fadi Balaawi is Jordanian PI. Dr. Balaawi and I are co-leads for the project, working closely together and communicating closely regarding scholarly, administrative, and financial decisions. Dr Shaher Rababeh and Dr Sahar Idwan of Hashemite University are Co-investigators. Hashemite University bring essential local cultural and administrative, and research domain knowledge to the project. They provide knowledge related to Jordanian cultural heritage that the UK team does not have, and hold key relationships in cultural heritage and government the project relies on for its key deliverables. |
Impact | Research Software Engineering (RSE) Training (2-5 July 2019); Asset identification and requirements elicitation (28-29 October 2019); http://madih-jordan.org/; https://madih-data.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Jordan Department of Antiquities |
Organisation | Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities |
Department | Department of Antiquities |
Country | Jordan |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The MaDiH project is delivering technical consultancy and outputs that will help Jordanians better understand the data held inside and outside Jordan related to cultural heritage. The project is also running research software engineering requirements elicitation workshops in Jordan, involving a wide range of cultural heritage stakeholders. |
Collaborator Contribution | Department of Antiquities, through Dr. Samia Khouri, Director of Museums and Public Engagement, provide essential access to key project stakeholders, and work in close collaboration with partners such as Hashemite University and CBRL. They hold essential information related to datasets, both inside their national cultural heritage network, and outside. |
Impact | Research Software Engineering (RSE) Training (2-5 July 2019); Asset identification and requirements elicitation (28-29 October 2019); http://madih-jordan.org/; https://madih-data.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Jordan Open Source Association |
Organisation | Jordan Open Source Association |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | My research team, King's Digital Lab (KDL), provided Research Software Engineering (RSE) training in July 2019 to our colleagues from Jordan Open Source Association (JOSA) and are working with them to fulfil their mission of enabling open source culture, policy, and products in Jordan. |
Collaborator Contribution | Jordan Open Source Association (JOSA) have essential knowledge of Jordanian digital policy and strategy, and related economy and culture. They have strong ties with local digital cultural heritage and tech sector communities, and work closely with the Jordanian government regarding open source issues. They are acting in a consultant capacity, and contributing expertise and community connections to project workshops. |
Impact | Research Software Engineering (RSE) Training (2-5 July 2019); Asset identification and requirements elicitation (28-29 October 2019); http://madih-jordan.org/; https://madih-data.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Asset identification and requirements elicitation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 40 people attended a workshop held at the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) to elicit requirements for the MaDiH project. Participants included a wide range of professional involved in academic and the cultural heritage sectors in Jordan, including managers from the Department of Antiquities, academics from Hashemite University, and colleagues from NGOs such as UNESCO. Talks were given by the MaDiH project team, followed by a description of the project and a group discussion. Post-workshop surveys were positive, noting the value of the project and the workshop. The workshop explained relatively complex project goals to a key stakeholder audience, resulting in stakeholder support, expansion of the project's network, and goodwill. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://madih-jordan.org/thoughts-and-reflections-from-madih-team-4/ |
Description | Community and Collaboration - Research Software Engineering in Jordan - The MaDiH (????) Project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation of the MaDiH project at the Fourth Conference of Research Software Engineering held at the University of Birmingham and delivered by the UK-based MaDiH PI James Smithies. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://rseconuk2019.sched.com/event/QSRH/4a1-community-and-collaboration-research-software-engineer... |
Description | Heritage in Jordan presentation at the Premodern Digital Cultural Heritage workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation on the Jordanian Heritage infrastructure and the MaDiH project delivered by James Smithies at the Premodern Digital Cultural Heritage: Networking Open-Access Image Repositories of Ancient and Medieval Content workshop (Oxford, UK/Zoom) on the 29th of January 2021.l |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | MaDiH (????) Project virtual workshop. Identifying datasets on Jordanian Cultural Heritage. A user-feedback Webinar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The webinar provided the opportunity to share the MaDiH data repository with cultural heritage academics, professionals and students to provide the team with insights on the datasets, user-experience, opportunities and limitations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | MaDiH Closing Event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The closing event of the first phase of the MaDiH: Mapping Digital Cultural Heritage Project was attended by more than 40 people, representing the project team, decision makers and academics from the cultural heritage field in Jordan. Phase one has demonstrated how cultural heritage and digital technologies can successfully work together to protect and promote cultural heritage. In future, the project aims to encompass all types of heritage across all sectors. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://cbrl.ac.uk/news/mapping-digital-cultural-heritage-in-jordan-madih-project-closing-event/ |
Description | MaDiH Hackathon Demo Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | The hackathon took place on the 14/04/2021 and was led by the Jordan Open Source Association (JOSA). Two teams of developers participated in a contest with cash prices judged by senior MaDiH members. The team presented an app to visualise 3D scans of monuments and artefacts on phones and tablets, and the second proposed a conceptual re-vamp of the ckan repository. The projects and the discussion following the presentations enriched our understanding of the commercial and heritage sector potential of the repository for future phases of the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Project Presentation at the Alan Turing Institute |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation of the MaDiH project in the 'Research Showcase' session delivered by Dr James Smithies at the Humanities & Data Science Group meeting at the Alan Turing Institute in London. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Project Presentation at the British Musuem, London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation of the MaDiH Project by Dr Alessandra Esposito at the Baydha Project Lecture organised by the Palestine Exploration Fund at the British Museum on the 7th of November 2019. The presentation and the following networking event allowed for the exchange of contacts with interested users of the MaDiH platform as well as for informing the team of potential datasets to include in the MaDiH database. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://m.facebook.com/CBRLAmman/posts/1215843448576759 |
Description | Project presentation at the 4th Heritage and Archaeology Diwan Webinar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | MaDiH presentation delivered by Shatha Mubaideen and Arzazq Yousef at the round table organised by the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL), the German Jordanian University, the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology (GPIA), and the Institut français du Proche-Orient (Ifpo) to increase public awareness of research on heritage and archaeology in Jordan. The event involved invited specialists and students to discuss the latest developments and themes in archaeology and heritage practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.ifporient.org/webinar-4th-heritage-and-archaeology-diwan/?fbclid=IwAR2mxq4RWNaztH2pxRTSf... |
Description | Project presentation at the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Virtual Annual Meeting 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation of the MaDiH project delivered by Shatha Mubaideen in the 'Digital Archaeology and History I' session of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) virtual annual meeting. This presentation was crucial to promote the project in general and the platform in particular to professionals and academics in the United States. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ASOR_VAM20_Schedule_2020_11_21.pdf |
Description | Project presentation at the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation of the MaDiH project delivered by Dr Pascal Flohr in the 'Legacies' session of the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology Conference hosted at the University of Oxford. - presentation of the early prototype of the MaDiH platform on CKAN and discussion of its uses as a research tool for archaeologists - promotion of the MaDiH platform as a way to showcase Jordanian and international heritage projects |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | http://banealcane.org/banea/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/BANEA-2020-Paper-and-Poster-Sessions-... |
Description | Research Software Engineering (RSE) Training |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Training about research software engineering (RSE) for the MaDiH project team, held at King's College London in July 2019. Jordanian colleagues from Hashemite University, EAMENA, and Jordan Open Source Association attended. This was the first time many participants had learned about RSE, and the first formal RSE training delivered by King's Digital Lab (KDL). Participants were introduced to RSE best practice, data modelling, and 3D imaging. A lunch was attended by colleagues form the Department of Classics and Department of Digital Humanities. The workshop increased professional understanding across the team, and helped develop a common professional language to collaborate with. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/blog/madih-research-software-engineering-rse-training-london/ |
Description | Spotlight in the PRAXIS Heritage for Global Challenges 2021 Report |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The Heritage for Global Challenges 2021 Report by PRAXIS examined 87 Arts and Humanities projects implemented in 49 countries funded by the UK's Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Newton Fund. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://changingthestory.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/110/2021/02/Heritage-for-Global-Challe... |