Abstract
The University of Ulster received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to undertake a two-year project entitled ‘Remembering’: Victims, Survivors and Commemoration in Northern Ireland. The project resulted in a digital archive related to the issues surrounding victims in the region. A team of researchers based at the Magee campus of the university documented the developments that have taken place in this subject area since 1997. Information that was collected during the project was made available through the existing CAIN Web site (cain.ulster.ac.uk). CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet) is a Web site which provides a wide range of information and source material on the Northern Ireland conflict and politics in the region from 1968 to the present. The CAIN Web site has been available on-line since 1997.Following the completion of the original project the AHRC announced additional capital funding and called for proposals to the Digital Equipment and Database Enhancement for Impact (DEDEFI) Scheme. CAIN submitted a proposal for a second project which was designed to improve the access to, and the impact of, the databases which were compiled during the first project. Crucial to its success was the provision of a visual dimension enhancing the databases collected during the first project. These databases included a new database of information and photographs of physical memorials across Northern Ireland, and an updated version of Malcolm Sutton’s Index of Deaths which included recently obtained latitude and longitude co-ordinates. A key element of the second project involved mapping location data related to victims and commemoration onto the Web. This was undertaken using both Google maps/earth and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to locate and add the latitude and longitude values for each record in the databases. GIS software was also used to analyse the data and to produce high quality maps. These maps show the location of deaths and memorials related to the conflict, correlated with various socio economic factors. They are designed to provide a spatial dimension and context for the data which they exhibit. This paper discusses the techniques used to create these maps and highlights some of the key findings to arise from them. An additional element of the project was the development of a virtual educational space in Second Life. The project has produced innovative material, which will be made publicly available on the CAIN website during 2011, and insights for those studying or researching the conflict within and about Northern Ireland.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Unknown Host Publication |
Publisher | Conflicts in Cities and the Contested State |
Pages | 1-28 |
Number of pages | 28 |
Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 21 May 2011 |
Event | Urban Conflicts: Ethno-National Divisions, States and Cities - Queen’s University Belfast Duration: 21 May 2011 → … |
Conference
Conference | Urban Conflicts: Ethno-National Divisions, States and Cities |
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Period | 21/05/11 → … |