Archival Intelligence: Diplomatic Correspondence, Information Overload, and Information Management in Italy, 1450–1650

Author(s):  
Filippo de Vivo

The rise of permanent diplomacy in the 15th century and the expansion of diplomatic networks in the 16th resulted in a massive surge in correspondence between ambassadors and their masters back home. Historians justly inscribe this phenomenon in the early modern information revolution, but news only turns into information and information into useful knowledge if it is packaged and retrieved for re-circulation. Information overload requires new management techniques, which were honed by chancellors and secretaries. Archives were centres of information long before they became repositories of sources for historians. Focusing on Italy in the period 1450–1650, this article discusses the gathering and circulation of diplomatic letters and dispatches, systems for managing correspondence on receipt, techniques for processing information, and the storage of correspondence in archives. It compares the arrangements adopted in republics and principalities to underline their differences as well as similarities.

2003 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Rosenberg

Author(s):  
Ana Lúcia Terra

In this chapter email overload is presented as a component of information overload and some of its causes and consequences are identified. Furthermore, an analysis on the skills required to deal with information overload is made. Then, a critical literature review about the concept of email overload is realized, stressing aspects such as the amount of messages, personal characteristics and skills or technological issues. Solutions for this organizational problem are presented based on relevant case studies from the literature review. Key components to consider in email overload management are also identified, including information management techniques and technological options, training, time management and information behavior (individual and organizational).


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Garnett ◽  
Ray Siemens ◽  
Cara Leitch ◽  
Julie Melone

This annotated bibliography reviews scholarly work in the area of building and analyzing digital document collections with the aim of establishing a baseline of knowledge for work in the field of digital humanities. The bibliography is organized around three main topics: data stores, text corpora, and analytical facilitators. Each of these is then further divided into sub-topics to provide a broad snapshot of modern information management techniques for building and analyzing digital documents collections.


1997 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 178-181
Author(s):  
John E Simkln

Contrasts technical vs professional aspects of the practice of indexing, and concludes that indexers must take professionalism seriously if they are to raise their own status or contribute to the development of modern information management.


Author(s):  
Константин Сергеевич Носов

В работе рассматриваются взгляды на военное зодчество двух итальянских архитекторов XV в. - Леона Баттисты Альберти и Антонио Аверлино (Филарете). Трактат Альберти «Десять книг о зодчестве» стал первым архитектурным трактатом со времен Витрувия, а Филарете писал свой «Трактат об архитектуре» параллельно с руководством строительными работами в Кастелло Сфорцеско. Проводится сопоставление представленных в этих трактатах теоретических взглядов на военное зодчество с реализацией их на практике на примере строившегося в то же время этого миланского замка. В результате исследования было выявлено, какие рекомендации Альберти и Филарете нашли воплощение на практике, а какие остались лишь в теории. Самым удивительным представляется тот факт, что главная воротная башня Кастелло Сфорцеско, даже получившая название Башня Филарете в честь строившего ее архитектора, не имеет практически ничего общего с описанием ворот как цитадели, так и города Сфорцинды из трактата. Сравнение описаний военного зодчества в трактатах Альберти и Филарете позволило выявить как черты сходства, так и отличия. К чертам сходства автор работы считает возможным отнести общую концепцию планировки города с цитаделью и главной башней внутри и одинаковый концептуальный подход к фортификации - оба архитектора относятся еще к эпохе башенной фортификации, описания бастионов в их работах нет. Различия состоят в подходе к источникам и общем осмыслении системы обороны. Если Альберти в основном следует античной традиции, Филарете опирается на реалии современной ему итальянской фортификации. Однако в трактатах обоих архитекторов есть новаторские идеи, которые начнут широко применяться только в Новое время в так называемой «новой фортификации». У Альберти это гласис, у Филарете - треугольный равелин перед воротами. The work deals with the views on military architecture of two 15th century Italian architects - Leon Battista Alberti and Antonio Averlino (Filarete). Alberti’s treatise “De re aedificatoria” became the first architectural treatise since Vitruvius, while Filarete wrote his “Libro architettonico” while directing the building works in Castello Sforzesco. Theoretical views on military architecture presented in these treatises are compared here with their realization in Milan castle (Castello Sforzesco), erected at the same time. The research reveals which of Alberti’s and Filarete’s recommendations were implemented and which remained only in the realm of theory. The most surprising is the fact that Castello Sforzesco’s main gate tower, named Filarete Tower after the architect who erected it, has nothing in common with either the citadel gate or the city Sforzinda gate described in the treatise. Comparing military architecture described by Alberti and Filarete reveals similarities as well as differences. The general conception of the city - with the citadel and the main tower inside - and identical conceptual approach to fortification can be attributed to similarities in their approaches: both architects belong to the era of tower fortification, their works lack any descriptions of bastions. The differences constitute their approach to sources as well as their general comprehension of defense systems. Whereas Alberti mainly follows ancient tradition, Filarete is guided by realistic contemporary Italian fortification. Both treatises, however, are comprised of new ideas, which will begin to be widely used only in the Early Modern period in the so-called fortificazione alla moderna. They are Alberti’s glacis and Filarete’s triangular ravelin in front of the gate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-161
Author(s):  
Milan Miljković

The collection and analytical work of modern intelligence services faces numerous challenges because the environment in which the services operate is characterized by the need for rapid data collection, analysis and decision-making, almost in real time. When we consider security work, the growing dependence on modern information technology makes the information structure of services sensitive and "vulnerable" to information attacks. Also, the application of information operations as a form of performing secret actions has been updated. Information technology has also changed the relationship between the service and users, introduced the possibility of applying the "pull" architecture for obtaining information, which, in addition to the good sides, also brings certain challenges. Due to all the above, the intelligence services are adapting to the technological, organizational and cultural changes brought about by the information revolution. The paper reviews the challenges in the work of modern intelligence services, primarily from the aspect of the impact of mass application of modern information technology on operational and analytical work, as well as the application of secret actions in the work of services. The aim of this paper is to point out the numerous challenges that the information revolution brings to modern intelligence services. A comparative analysis of the presented research material leads to the conclusion that the services encounter new tasks and ways of functioning in all their activities, which ultimately raises the sensitive issue of their reform. The conclusion reached in this paper is that the reform of intelligence services in the "information age" is in any case necessary, but that its implementation should not be revolutionary, but must be carried out evolutionarily.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Isam Mrah ◽  
Hicham Tizaoui

<em>As today’s students spend substantial time online, there is an increasing tendency to utilize the Internet as their primary source of information. With the proliferation of user-generated content platforms and the shrinking influence of traditional gatekeeping, there is a growing abundance of misinformation available to the public that coexists alongside accurate information. In this paper, we explored the attitudes and perceptions of teenage students towards misinformation online. To this end, a web-based survey was administered to both Moroccan high school teachers and students to collect and analyze their responses regarding the issue being debated. Additionally, the present study investigated the extent to which EFL textbooks in Morocco enable learners to build skills necessary for identifying fake news. The study adopted content analysis as the primary research method for data analysis and interpretation. The results obtained are in line with the hypothesis guiding this research that a fair majority of teenage students are vulnerable to misinformation online due in large to the overwhelming information overload available at the touch of a button along with their lack of exposure to effective strategies for processing information online.  Based on the findings obtained, schools are required to develop appropriate approaches to teach digital literacy skills, particularly in empowering young learners to distinguish credible sources from unreliable ones. Equally important, teachers are called upon to help students keep up with the new, fast-moving knowledge economy, which is driven by information and technology.</em>


Author(s):  
David B. Ruderman ◽  
Francesca Bregoli

The term “early modernity” as the name of a period roughly extending from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century has been only recently employed by historians of Jewish culture and society. Despite a plethora of new studies in the last several decades, few attempts have been made to define the period as a whole as a distinct epoch in Jewish history, distinguishable from both the medieval and the modern periods. Some historians have remained indifferent to demarcating the period, have simply designated it as an extension of the Middle Ages, or have labeled it vaguely as a mere transitional stage between medievalism and modernity without properly describing its distinguishing characteristics. A few historians have used the term “Renaissance” to apply to the cultural ambiance of Jews living in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries alone without delineating the larger period and the more comprehensive geographical area. The bibliographical survey that follows focuses on the entire period of three hundred years and attempts to provide a panoramic view of European and Ottoman Jewries both as distinct subcommunities and in their broader connections with each other.


Author(s):  
Anna Garcia Busquets

Resum: A l’antiga Grècia i Roma els epitalamis actuaven com a preludi eròtic de la nit nupcial. Claudià, a l’antiguitat tardana, va tractar el motiu del desflorament com a pugna amoris amb lasciu refinament. A partir del Quattrocento italià, l’Europa moderna va reprendre amb profusió aquesta tradició laudatòria d’erotisme estilitzat amb cants consagrats a la unió de les famílies il·lustres. El poeta barroc Francesc Fontanella (1622-1682/83) va compondre quatre magnífics epitalamis dedicats a les noces d’un enigmàtic personatge: el ‘galant Alba’. Diversos estudis han intentat, sense èxit, desvelar-ne la identitat. En aquestes composicions, Fontanella va emprar un llenguatge refinat i metafòric per descriure gradualment els estadis que porten a la unió carnal entesa com a lluita amorosa: els versos, rics en imatges florals i minerals, s’han de reconvertir al seu sentit concret a través d’una doble lectura. L’estudi inclou l’edició crítica dels textos i la contextualització del cicle dins del corpus epitalàmic europeu, així com una argumentació sobre la possible identitat dels protagonistes. Paraules clau: literatura catalana moderna; poesia barroca; epitalami; Francesc Fontanella Abstract: In ancient Greece and Rome, epithalamia acted as an erotic prelude to the wedding night. In Late Antiquity, Claudian explored the theme of deflowering as pugna amoris with lascivious refinement. As of 15th century Italian poets, modern Europe recommenced this laudatory tradition of stylised eroticism with songs devoted to the union of illustrious families. The Baroque poet Francesc Fontanella (1622-1682/3) composed four magnificent epithalamia dedicated to the wedding of an enigmatic character: ‘gallant Alba’, of whom several studies have tried, unsuccessfully, to reveal his identity. In these compositions, Fontanella employed refined, metaphorical language to gradually describe the stages of carnal union understood as a love battle: the verses, rich in floral and mineral imagery, must be transformed into their particular meaning through double reading. The study includes the critical edition of the texts and a contextualisation of the series within the European corpus of epithalamia, as well as an argument on the possible identity of the protagonists. Keywords: Early modern Catalan literature; Baroque poetry; epithalamium; Francesc Fontanella


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document