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Archive for November, 2013

Progress update, 23 to 29 November 2013 and more material to transcribe

By Tim Causer, on 29 November 2013

Welcome to the progress update for the period 23 to 29 November 2013, during which time further steady progress has been made by Transcribe Bentham volunteers. This week, 8,087 words of Bentham text have been transcribed, along with a further 3,678 words of TEI XML.

6,524 manuscripts have now been transcribed or partially transcribed, which is an increase of 24 on last week’s total. Of these transcripts, 6,259 (95%) have been locked, which is 61 up on last week’s total.

The more detailed state of progress is as follows:

We are delighted to say that a further 1,500 manuscript images have been uploaded to transcribe (and thanks to our colleagues at the University of London Computer Centre for getting them up). Manuscripts from Box 15 mostly pertain to Bentham’s work on Deontology. In this work, Bentham analysed what, according to the principle of utility, constituted virtue and vice, and how they operated in the relationship between interest and duty, and gave examples of how the individual could promote their own happiness while increasing (or at least refraining from reducing) that of others.Bentham did not publish this work during his lifetime, but it exists in manuscript. A version of the text, edited and prepared by John Bowring, was published in 1834, but this is essentially a paraphrasing of Bentham’s text with additions by Bowring, rather than being how Bentham genuinely envisaged the text. Folios 323 to 592 from this box of material are in Bowring’s hand, and are from his version of the text. A new version of ”Deontology”, based upon Bentham’s manuscripts, was published in 1983 as part of the ”Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham”, edited by Amnon Goldworth.

The remainder of this box of material relates to ‘political deontology’, which is distinct from the ‘private deontology’ discussed above. Bentham wrote manuscripts on political deontology largely in 1816 and 1817, but also in later years up until his death. This work appears to have been unfinished, and has not been published.

Manuscripts from Box 169 are a miscellany, containing correspondence, fragments of works, and other collectanea. They include correspondence with one Logan Henderson about ‘Ethereal Matches’, letters to French revolutionary leaders, experimentation with vacuums, letters to European monarchs in which Bentham offered to draw up constitutional codes, and bookbinding instructions. A full list of untranscribed material is also available to consult.

Thank you, as always to everyone who has contributed to Transcribe Bentham during the last seven days. It is greatly appreciated by us all.

Progress update, 16 to 22 November 2013 – 6,500 transcripts up!

By Tim Causer, on 22 November 2013

Welcome to the progress update for the period 16 to 22 November 2013, during which time further excellent progress has been made by Transcribe Bentham volunteers. As the headline suggests, volunteers have just worked on their 6,500th transcript, a milestone which has been reached in little over three years. This is a wonderful achievement, of which everyone who has contributed to Transcribe Bentham should be proud.

This week, 8,727 words of Bentham text have been transcribed, along with a further 3,383 words of TEI mark-up. 6,500 manuscripts have now been transcribed or partially-transcribed, which is an increase of 25 on last week’s total. Of these transcripts, 6,197 (95%) have been approved and locked after passing the quality-control process, 29 up on this time last week.

The more detailed state of progress is as follows:

Eagle-eyed readers may have seen a Transcribe Bentham advert in the December issue of History Today magazine, which hit newsagents across the country yesterday.

Thank you, as always to everyone who has contributed to Transcribe Bentham during the last seven days, and, indeed, since the project began back in September 2010. Your work has helped the project to reach another landmark, and we remain hugely grateful for your efforts.

Progress update, 9 to 15 November

By Tim Causer, on 15 November 2013

Welcome along to the progress update for the period 9 to 15 November, during which time further steady progress has been made by Transcribe Bentham volunteers. 4,987 words of Bentham text have been transcribed, along with a further 1,940 words of TEI XML.

6,454 manuscripts have now been transcribed or partially-transcribed, which is an increase of 21 on last week’s total. Of these transcripts, 6,168 (95%) have been approved and locked after passing the quality control process, which is up 15 on this time last week.

The more detailed state of progress is as follows:

Readers might be interested in the recently-released UCL Audio tour, which features a piece by Professor Philip Schofield (Bentham Project) and Nick Booth (UCL Museums) on Bentham, UCL, and his auto-icon.

Thank you, as always, to everyone who has generously given their time and effort to the project during the last week. It is greatly appreciated by all of us at Transcribe Bentham.

 

Progress update, 2 to 8 November 2013

By Tim Causer, on 8 November 2013

Welcome along to the progress update for the period 2 to 8 November, during which time further great progress has been made by Transcribe Bentham volunteers. 9,058 words of Bentham text were transcribed this week, along with a further 4,539 words of TEI XML.

6,454 manuscripts have now been transcribed or partially-transcribed, which is an increase of 38 on last week’s total. Of these transcripts, 6,153 (95%) are now complete and have been locked.

The more detailed state of progress is as follows:

The newly-uploaded batch of material in Box 5, pertaining to Bentham’s writings on the abuses of the Church of England, have proven particularly popular during the last week. We will be adding yet more material to be transcribed in the near, including another batch of panopticon material which contains the sketches and plans of the proposed prison, drawn by the architect Willey Reveley.

Thank you, as always, to everyone who has kindly given their time and effort to Transcribe Bentham during the last few days. It remains greatly appreciated by us all.

Progress update, 26 October to 1 November 2013

By Kris Grint, on 1 November 2013

Welcome to the progress update for the period 26 October to 1 November 2013, where I am pleased to report further advancement has been made by Transcribe Bentham volunteers towards our goal of full-transcription of the Bentham manuscript collection. During the last week, 5,523 words of Bentham text have been transcribed, along with a further 2,547 words of TEI XML.

6,416 manuscripts have now been transcribed or partially-transcribed, which is an increase of 16 on last week’s total. Of these transcripts, 6,117 (95%) are now complete and been locked, up 17 on this time last week.

The more detailed state of progress is as follows:

Our overall transcription rate dropped from 50% to 46% this week, but recent addition of boxes 1 and 5 to the Transcription Desk accounts for this. The exciting material in both these new boxes, which covers both political economy and religion, is detailed in our previous blog post.

Our sincere thanks to all our volunteers for their continued support of and dedication to Transcribe Bentham. It is greatly appreciated by us all.