Draft:Theory of Digital Objects: Difference between revisions

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{{AFC submission|d|cv-cleaned|https://web.archive.org/web/20150413041851/http://pear.accc.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3033/2564|u=Vimalendra Singh|ns=118|decliner=MCE89|declinets=20250829112146|ts=20250829110659}} <!-- Do not remove this line! -->

{{User sandbox|Vimalendra Singh}}

{{AFC submission|d|reason|This draft has no links to other articles. This is a problem both for the reader and for the reviewer. The reader will not be able to determine how this article relates to other articles, and the reviewer cannot evaluate whether this draft is a useful addition to the encyclopedia.

This draft appears to be [[WP:OR|original research]] because the author is proposing a theory, and the theory should be published in a computer science journal, after which a draft article, with proper links, can be included in Wikipedia.

'''THEORY OF DIGITAL OBJECTS'''

Please either rework this draft to show that the theory has already been published in a journal, and reference the publication, and any subsequent references, or submit this paper to a journal.|u=Vimalendra Singh|ns=118|decliner=Robert McClenon|declinets=20250825194857|reason2=context|small=yes|ts=20250825193442}} <!-- Do not remove this line! -->

The Theory of digital objects and digital systems based on the adoption, adaptation, and extension of existing theories of ontology, semantics, and semiotics. This is a realist theory that does not countenance the independent existence of nonmaterial objects in the world.

{{Short description|A Theory of Digital Objects}}

Theory of digital objects explores the nature and attributes of digital content, particularly regarding its persistence, identification, and preservation in an environment of constant change. Unlike physical artifacts, digital objects are inherently mutable, distributed, and reconfigurable, presenting a unique set of challenges for memory institutions like libraries and archives.

{{Draft topics|stem}}

{{AfC topic|stem}}

{{Underlinked|date=August 2025}}

The concept is a core component of the Digital Object Architecture (DOA), a framework for managing information over the internet developed by <ref>{{Cite book |last=Erwin |first=Charlotte |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.14596 |title=Kahn, Robert |last2=Levi |first2=Erik |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |series=Oxford Music Online}}</ref>Robert Kahn, a co-inventor of the <ref>{{Citation |title=Appendices |date=2002-10-29 |work=The ABCs of TCP/IP |url=https://doi.org/10.1201/9781420000382.bmatt |access-date=2025-08-25 |publisher=Auerbach Publications |isbn=978-0-8493-1463-6}}</ref>TCP/IP protocol.

'''THEORY OF DIGITAL OBJECTS'''

The aim is to delve deeply into the technology, to understand precisely how the new technology is different from previous as it interacts with social variables.

'''Defining a digital object'''

A digital object is defined as a sequence of bits, or a set of bit sequences, that incorporates a work or other information. A key element is a persistent, globally unique identifier that is distinct from the object's storage ___location.

A digital object is not the same as a traditional computer file, though it may contain one or more files. Instead, it is a conceptual entity that bundles together the following components:

* Data files: The digital content itself, such as text, images, or audio

* Metadata: Structured data that provides information about the object.

* Persistent identifier: A unique, long-lasting ID, such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), that points to the object and its metadata.

'''Key attributes of digital objects'''

A 2010 paper in ''First Monday''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Geersten |first=Anders |date=1998-12-07 |title=First Monday Evolves: Editorial |url=https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v3i12.630 |journal=First Monday |volume=3 |issue=12 |doi=10.5210/fm.v3i12.630 |issn=1396-0466}}</ref> identified several key attributes that distinguish digital objects from physical artifacts and challenge traditional archival practices:

* Editability: Digital objects are pliable and can be modified continuously. This contrasts with physical artifacts, where information is "as viscous as molasses and as difficult to manipulate" once inscribed. This continuous editing destabilizes the concept of an original, authoritative version.

* Interactivity: Digital objects are designed to be interactive, requiring specific software and hardware to be rendered and used. This dependence on technology makes them fragile and susceptible to obsolescence.

* Openness: Digital objects can be accessed and modified by other digital objects and programs, allowing for a deeper interpenetration of content and code than with physical media. This openness drives increasing interoperability across systems.

* Distributedness: Digital objects are often temporary assemblies of functions and content spread across different parts of a network. The distributed nature of the internet makes them borderless, weakening the importance of any single component.

The Theory of digital objects and digital systems based on the adoption, adaptation, and extension of existing theories of ontology, semantics, and semiotics. This is a realist theory that does not countenance the independent existence of nonmaterial objects in the world.

'''The Digital Object Architecture (DOA)'''

The theory was proposed by Janis Kallinikos,Aleksi Aaltonen and Attila Marton<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kallinikos |first1=Jannis |last2=Aaltonen |first2=Aleksi |last3=Marton |first3=Attila |date=2010-06-05 |title=A theory of digital objects |url=https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3033 |journal=First Monday |language=en |doi=10.5210/fm.v15i6.3033 |doi-access=free |issn=1396-0466}}</ref>

The DOA is a model for managing digital objects with a persistent identifier, aiming to address the need for long-term information management beyond just data transport.

'''Components'''

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* Registry System: Stores metadata about the digital objects. The metadata is linked to the object's identifier and can be updated even if the object's ___location changes.

Digital objects are often deemed to be hybrid objects that are partially composed of material and nonmaterial objects<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |lastlast1=Faulkner |firstfirst1=Philip |last2=Runde |first2=Jochen |date=2019-12-01 |title=Theorizing the Digital Object1 |url=https://doi.org/10.25300/misq/2019/13136 |journal=MIS Quarterly |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=1279–1302 |doi=10.25300/misq/2019/13136 |issn=0276-7783}}</ref> (e.g., Faulkner & Runde, 2019).

As such, do we now have a new type of reality—a hybrid reality— that is the “digital world”? If so, how do the three worlds relate—the material, the nonmaterial, and the digital? Digital objects have also been characterized as having a “dubious ontology”.

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* Physical form of technological objects underdetermines their functions.

* Functions are assigned to technological objects by social groups.

* Identities of technological objects a real feature of the social world. Kallinikos (2009)<ref>{{Cite webjournal |title=Kallinikos von Petra (281) |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/1873-5363_fgrh.0281.bnjo-2-comm3-eng |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=Jacoby Online |doi=10.1163/1873-5363_fgrh.0281.bnjo-2-comm3-eng }}</ref> How technology of computation shapes and reshapes the ways humans perceive the world. Technological and computational objects are not defined but appear to be similar to, if not the same as, digital objects.

* Computational objects are vertically stratified.

* Computation is performative. Binary nature of computation enables exchanges to occur across qualitatively different domains of “natural, social, and technical reality.”

* Authors Research Focus Definition of Digital Object and Digital System Attributes of Digital Object and Digital System Some Implications Kallinikos, Aaltonen, and Marton (2010) <ref>{{Cite journal |lastlast1=Kallinikos |firstfirst1=Jannis |last2=Aaltonen |first2=Aleksi |last3=Marton |first3=Attila |date=2010-06-05 |title=A theory of digital objects |url=https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v15i6.3033 |journal=First Monday |doi=10.5210/fm.v15i6.3033 |doi-access=free |issn=1396-0466}}</ref>“Provide the conceptual scaffold on which to develop a theory of digital objects.”

* Digital objects include all digital technologies, digital devices, and digital cultural artifacts (e.g., music).

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* · Homogenization of data

· Self-referencing Digital artifacts are embedded into layered, modular architectures that help separate content from devices and information infrastructures. The outcome is “profound changes in a firm’s organizing logic and innovation.”<ref>{{Cite journal |lastlast1=Kallinikos |firstfirst1=Jannis |last2=Mariátegui |first2=José-Carlos |date=October 2011-10 |title=Video as Digital Object: Production and Distribution of Video Content in the Internet Media Ecosystem |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2011.607025 |journal=The Information Society |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=281–294 |doi=10.1080/01972243.2011.607025 |issn=0197-2243}}</ref> Kallinikos and Mariátegui (2011) Understanding the processes by which video production is carried out as digital technologies evolve.

Digital objects are an “ensemble of operations temporarily stabilized.” Digital objects are:

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* Functionally agnostic principles of archival practice: provenance and authenticity

* Digital objects introduce a double instability into information search and retrieval as both the target and displayed content from search engines constantly adapt to each other.

* Digital objects are embedded in larger digital ecosystems where relationships among objects in these ecosystems constantly change. Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2015)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Balkaya |first=Ensar |date=2021-09-15 |title=Andrew McAfee ve Erik Brynjolfsson, Makine-Platform-Kitle: Dijital Geleceği Kucaklamak, İstanbul: Optimist Yayın Grubu, 2018, 423 s. |url=https://doi.org/10.12658/d0298 |journal=Journal of Humanity and Society (insanInsan &amp; toplumToplum) |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=273–277 |doi=10.12658/d0298}}</ref> Impact of rapidly increasing amounts of digital information. Digitization is turning all kinds of information and media into bits.

'''Economic properties of digital information'''

* Use is non-rival

* Low cost to reproduce Increased amounts of digitalized information facilitate better understanding and prediction of how the world works.<!-- EDIT BELOW THIS LINE -->