Glossary

The following definitions explain how terms are used within The London Charter. They are not intended to be prescriptive beyond that function.

COMPUTER-BASED VISUALISATION

The process of visually representing information with the aid of computer technologies.

COMPUTER-BASED VISUALISATION METHOD

The systematic application, usually in a research context, of computer-based visualisation in order to address identified aims.

COMPUTER-BASED VISUALISATION OUTCOME

An outcome of computer-based visualisation, including but not limited to digital models, still images, animations and physical models.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

The Charter adopts a wide definition of this term, encompassing all domains of human activity which are concerned with the understanding of communication of the material and intellectual culture. Such domains include, but are not limited to, museums, art galleries, heritage sites, interpretative centres, cultural heritage research institutes, arts and humanities subjects within higher education institutions, the broader educational sector, and tourism.

DEPENDENCY RELATIONSHIP

A dependent relationship between the properties of elements within digital models, such that a change in one property will necessitate change in the dependent properties. (For instance, a change in the height of a door will necessitate a corresponding change in the height of the doorframe.)

INTELLECTUAL TRANSPARENCY

The provision of information, presented in any medium or format, to allow users to understand the nature and scope of "knowledge claim" made by a computer-based visualisation outcome.

PARADATA

Information about human processes of understanding and interpretation of data objects. Examples of paradata include descriptions stored within a structured dataset of how evidence was used to interpret an artefact, or a comment on methodological premises within a research publication. It is closely related, but somewhat different in emphasis, to "contextual metadata", which tend to communicate interpretations of an artefact or collection, rather than the process through which one or more artefacts were processed or interpreted.

RESEARCH SOURCES

All information, digital and non-digital, considered during, or directly influencing, the creation of the computer-based visualisation outcomes.

SUBJECT COMMUNITY

A group of researchers generally defined by a discipline (e.g. Archaeology, Classics, Sinology, Egyptology) and sharing a broadly-defined understanding of what constitute valid research questions, methods and outputs within their subject area.

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY

A strategy to ensure that some meaningful record of computer-based visualisation processes and outcomes is preserved for future generations.