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Abstract Internationally, the value and usefulness of museum zoological specimens are compromised when supporting contextual data are lost or disconnected from the specimen. In this pilot study, twelve Macropodidae Thylogale (pademelon) skins with known provenance from the Australian Museum (Sydney) were analysed using portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and principal component analysis. Elemental composition of preservative residues was assessed to establish if common patterns existed and could be associated with particular field collectors. Specimens were differentiated, and the field collector deduced, based on elemental analysis of preservative residues on skins. Each of the nineteenth century field collectors, in this study, were found to have applied the same or similar preservatives to zoological specimens over a number of years, which showed a consistent pattern of practice. Additionally, the specimens obtained by each of the field collectors could be distinguished from one another based on the preservative residues. These discoveries provide exciting prospects for the use of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to couple museum specimens with unknown contextual data via their field collector and associated archival evidence, and hence, enable a considerable enhancement of their value as museum and research objects.

Abstract Cellulose nitrate transparent plastic film was used by photographers and movie filmmakers from its release in the 1880s to the 1950s. The storage of this material is a challenge for cultural institutions because of its instability and hazardous nature, as nitrate is highly flammable and deteriorates over time. Historically, cellulose acetate gradually began to replace cellulose nitrate as it is not flammable. Despite its non-flammable properties, leading to cellulose acetate being called ‘safety’ film, over time it became clear that it also deteriorates in hazardous ways. Identification of cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate in collections is necessary for preservation and risk management to collections and humans. Both cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate are found in gallery, library, archive and museum photographic collections. As a result, identification and management of this material might be the responsibility of curators, librarians, archivists, collection managers, registrars or conservators, depending on the institution staffing and structure. Currently, there is no single identification method readily available to heritage institutions that meets the requirements to identify and distinguish between cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate reliably, non-destructively and rapidly. In this study samples from both the Sydney University Museums and Australian National Maritime Museum collections have been analysed using infrared total reflectance spectroscopy, a novel approach which demonstrates great potential for rapid and non-invasive identification particularly when combined with multivariate statistical analysis methods. Principal component analysis (PCA) allowed for non-subjective data mining and the development of a model which is hoped to be used in the future for predicting sample identification. After calculation of the PCA model, the novel application of the Parsimax orthogonal rotation method potentially provides a means of determining the level of chemical deterioration in the cellulose nitrate film.

Abstract Raman spectroscopic analysis of shards recovered from two Portuguese shipwrecks, the Santo Espirito (1608) and the Santa Maria Madre de Deus (1643), believed to be carrying porcelains of the Ming period have revealed some interesting and novel results that inform historical ideas of porcelain production. The porcelain body of two of the four shards from the Santa Maria Madre de Deus were found to contain anatase, a low temperature polymorph of titanium dioxide, and β-wollastonite a mineral characteristic of soft-paste porcelains that are made at medium-temperature firing conditions. Previously, β-wollastonite has been found in a range of sixteenth to nineteenth century European porcelains but this is the first report of its detection in porcelain believed to be from the Ming period. These same shards exhibited unusual spectral features that were attributed to the resonance enhancement of rare earth elements that resulted from excitation using a near-infrared source.

A longstanding barrier to deploying robots in the real world is the ongoing need to author robot behavior. Remote data collection–particularly crowdsourcing—is increasingly receiving interest. In this paper, we make the argument to scale robot programming to the crowd and present an initial investigation of the feasibility of this proposed method. Using an off-the-shelf visual programming interface, non-experts created simple robot programs for two typical robot tasks (navigation and pick-and-place). Each needed four subtasks with an increasing number of programming statements (if statement, while loop, variables) for successful completion of the programs. Initial findings of an online study (N = 279) indicate that non-experts, after minimal instruction, were able to create simple programs using an off-the-shelf visual programming interface. We discuss our findings and identify future avenues for this line of research.