CONCEPTUAL MODELING COURSE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE 2013

Information management in Cultural Heritage requires that, sometimes, people without computer skills have to design data structures, chips and other systems of information management. This course aims to introduce these people to conceptual modeling and prepare them to perform tasks such as:

 Decide what types should be documented

 Determine how to describe each kind

 Specify how things relate to each other

This is an official CSIC posgraduate course, aimed to students, teachers, professionals, researchers and other Cultural Heritage specialists who have a need to conceptualize, record, express and display information as part of their work. The course consists of two modules, which can be performed together or individually. The introductory module does not require previous experience in information modeling, or is expected any degree or technical course about it. The development module, however, requires the experience equivalent to that obtained by performing the introductory module.

The main topics dealt with in the course are as follows.

Introductory Module

 Modeling objects, classes and relationships of generalization /specialization, association and whole / part

 Frequent patterns and structures in models

 Process modeling: how to build a model of Cultural Heritage?

 Modeling subjectivity, temporality and vagueness

Development Module

 Using reference models

 Analysis and extension of existing models

 Construction of particular models for specific problems

 Modeling assessable entities, tangible, and performative

 Modeling Agents, evaluations and representations

The course combines a solid and rigorous theoretical component with a strongly staging practice. Students will receive lectures to explain, in an interactive and entertaining way, formalisms in which information modeling is supported, using the conceptual modeling language ConML (www.conml.org) and abstract reference model heritage Cultural CHARM (www.charminfo.org) as basic tools. During the practical sessions some exercises will be held in group, solving specific problems of Cultural Heritage relevant to each student.

The course will be held in Spanish.