Skip to main content
Top

2024 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

Digitization of Written Parliamentary Questions from the Historical Archive (1974–1977) of the Hellenic Parliament

Authors : Fotios Fitsilis, Basilis Gatos, Konstantinos Palaiologos, Panagiotis Kaddas, Charalambis Kyrkos, Maria-Eleni Georgoulea, Yiannis Armenakis, Christina Tasouli, George Mikros, Olivier Rozenberg, Eleni Kiousi

Published in: Document Analysis and Recognition – ICDAR 2024 Workshops

Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

This article outlines the digitization process and methodology applied to the archive of parliamentary questions from the 1st Parliamentary Term (1974–1977) in the Hellenic Parliament. A collaborative pilot project involving parliament, academia, and a research center facilitated the conversion of printed material to open data. The main tasks of the project include capturing digital images, a custom Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software solution employing machine learning, and rigorous validation for accuracy of a fragmented and of variable quality polytonic corpus in a variety of modern Greek language called Katharevousa. The article discusses the approach and challenges as well as the initial results of the digitization effort, emphasizing ongoing research steps. Overall, 1,674 images were digitally processed corresponding to 1,338 questions. Following algorithmic training, character recognition accuracy is over 98.5%. Successful implementation streamlines further similar digitalization operations in the vast parliamentary archives, while enabling in-depth studies on parliamentary control in the turbulent period of the immediate post-junta era in Greece. A preliminary comparative analysis with a corpus of newer parliamentary questions (2009–2019) provides insights and incentives for the further study of the characteristics and evolution of the Greek language.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe




 

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Literature
1.
go back to reference Saalfeld, T.: Members of parliament and governments in Western Europe: agency relations and problems of oversight. Eur. J. Polit. Res. 37(3), 353–376 (2000)CrossRef Saalfeld, T.: Members of parliament and governments in Western Europe: agency relations and problems of oversight. Eur. J. Polit. Res. 37(3), 353–376 (2000)CrossRef
2.
go back to reference Mavrias, K.: Syntagmatikó Díkaio [Constitutional Law], 6th edn. Ekdoseis P.N. Sakkoulas, Athens (2022) Mavrias, K.: Syntagmatikó Díkaio [Constitutional Law], 6th edn. Ekdoseis P.N. Sakkoulas, Athens (2022)
3.
go back to reference Martin, S., Rozenberg, O. (eds.): Roles & Functions of Parliamentary Questions. Routledge, Abingdon (2012) Martin, S., Rozenberg, O. (eds.): Roles & Functions of Parliamentary Questions. Routledge, Abingdon (2012)
4.
go back to reference Kaliviotou, M.: Koinovouleftikós Élenchos – Syntagmatikó plaísio kai ória [Parliamentary Scrutiny – Constitutional framework and limits]. Ekdoseis Sakkoula, Athens (2017) Kaliviotou, M.: Koinovouleftikós Élenchos – Syntagmatikó plaísio kai ória [Parliamentary Scrutiny – Constitutional framework and limits]. Ekdoseis Sakkoula, Athens (2017)
5.
go back to reference Lauvaux, P.: Le contrôle, source du régime parlementaire, priorité du régime présidentiel. Pouvoirs 134, 23–36 (2010)CrossRef Lauvaux, P.: Le contrôle, source du régime parlementaire, priorité du régime présidentiel. Pouvoirs 134, 23–36 (2010)CrossRef
6.
go back to reference Griglio, E.: Parliamentary Oversight of the Executives. Tools and Procedures in Europe. Hart, Oxford (2020)CrossRef Griglio, E.: Parliamentary Oversight of the Executives. Tools and Procedures in Europe. Hart, Oxford (2020)CrossRef
7.
go back to reference Rozenberg, O., Martin, S.: Questioning parliamentary questions. J. Legislative Stud. 17(3), 394–404 (2011) Rozenberg, O., Martin, S.: Questioning parliamentary questions. J. Legislative Stud. 17(3), 394–404 (2011)
8.
go back to reference Raunio, T.: Parliamentary questions in the European Parliament: representation, information and control. J. Legislative Stud. 2(4), 356–382 (1996)CrossRef Raunio, T.: Parliamentary questions in the European Parliament: representation, information and control. J. Legislative Stud. 2(4), 356–382 (1996)CrossRef
9.
go back to reference Lazardeux, S.: Une Question Ecrite, Pour Quoi Faire? The causes of the production of written questions in the French Assemblée Nationale. French Politics 3, 258–281 (2005)CrossRef Lazardeux, S.: Une Question Ecrite, Pour Quoi Faire? The causes of the production of written questions in the French Assemblée Nationale. French Politics 3, 258–281 (2005)CrossRef
10.
go back to reference Martin, S.: Parliamentary questions, the behavior of legislators, and the function of legislatures: an Introduction. J. Legislative Stud. 17(3), 259–270 (2011)CrossRef Martin, S.: Parliamentary questions, the behavior of legislators, and the function of legislatures: an Introduction. J. Legislative Stud. 17(3), 259–270 (2011)CrossRef
11.
go back to reference Cornacchione, T., Tuning, R.: Women behaving differently: anti-establishment party membership and female parliamentary activity. J. Women Polit. Policy 41(4), 457–476 (2020)CrossRef Cornacchione, T., Tuning, R.: Women behaving differently: anti-establishment party membership and female parliamentary activity. J. Women Polit. Policy 41(4), 457–476 (2020)CrossRef
12.
go back to reference Brack, N., Costa, O.: Parliamentary questions and representation of territorial interests in the EP. In: Costa, O. (ed.) The European Parliament in Times of EU Crisis: Dynamics and Transformations, pp. 225–254. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham (2019)CrossRef Brack, N., Costa, O.: Parliamentary questions and representation of territorial interests in the EP. In: Costa, O. (ed.) The European Parliament in Times of EU Crisis: Dynamics and Transformations, pp. 225–254. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham (2019)CrossRef
13.
go back to reference Kaniok, P., Kominkova, M.: Parliamentary questions: expressions of opposition(s) within the European Parliament? Baltic J. Eur. Stud. 9(1), 34–56 (2019)CrossRef Kaniok, P., Kominkova, M.: Parliamentary questions: expressions of opposition(s) within the European Parliament? Baltic J. Eur. Stud. 9(1), 34–56 (2019)CrossRef
14.
go back to reference Navarro, J.: Il n’y a pas de question idiote? Les questions des deputés européens à la Commission européenne et au Conseil depuis 1979. Parliaments, Estates and Representation 39(2), 236–256 (2019)CrossRef Navarro, J.: Il n’y a pas de question idiote? Les questions des deputés européens à la Commission européenne et au Conseil depuis 1979. Parliaments, Estates and Representation 39(2), 236–256 (2019)CrossRef
15.
go back to reference Proksch, S.O., Slapin, J.B.: Parliamentary questions and oversight in the European Union. Eur. J. Polit. Res. 50(1), 53–79 (2010)CrossRef Proksch, S.O., Slapin, J.B.: Parliamentary questions and oversight in the European Union. Eur. J. Polit. Res. 50(1), 53–79 (2010)CrossRef
16.
go back to reference Jensen, C.B., Proksch, S.O., Slapin, J.B.: Parliamentary questions, oversight, and national opposition status in the European Parliament. Legis. Stud. Q. 38(2), 259–282 (2013)CrossRef Jensen, C.B., Proksch, S.O., Slapin, J.B.: Parliamentary questions, oversight, and national opposition status in the European Parliament. Legis. Stud. Q. 38(2), 259–282 (2013)CrossRef
17.
go back to reference Marx, M., Schuth, A.: DutchParl: a corpus of parliamentary documents in Dutch. In: Proceedings of the 10th Dutch-Belgian Information Retrieval Workshop, pp. 82–83, Nijmegen, Netherlands (2010) Marx, M., Schuth, A.: DutchParl: a corpus of parliamentary documents in Dutch. In: Proceedings of the 10th Dutch-Belgian Information Retrieval Workshop, pp. 82–83, Nijmegen, Netherlands (2010)
18.
go back to reference Drobac, S., Sinikallio, L., Hyvönen, E: An OCR pipeline for transforming parliamentary debates into linked data: case ParliamentSampo-Parliament of Finland on the semantic web. Digit. Humanit. Nordic Baltic Countries Publ. 5(1), 287–296 (2023) Drobac, S., Sinikallio, L., Hyvönen, E: An OCR pipeline for transforming parliamentary debates into linked data: case ParliamentSampo-Parliament of Finland on the semantic web. Digit. Humanit. Nordic Baltic Countries Publ. 5(1), 287–296 (2023)
19.
go back to reference Ogrodniczuk, M.: Polish parliamentary corpus. In: Proceedings of the LREC 2018 Workshop ParlaCLARIN: Creating and Using Parliamentary Corpora, pp. 15–19. European Language Resources Association (2018) Ogrodniczuk, M.: Polish parliamentary corpus. In: Proceedings of the LREC 2018 Workshop ParlaCLARIN: Creating and Using Parliamentary Corpora, pp. 15–19. European Language Resources Association (2018)
20.
go back to reference Steingrímsson, S., Barkarson, S., Örnólfsson, G.T.: IGC-Parl: Icelandic Corpus of parliamentary proceedings. In: Proceedings of the Second ParlaCLARIN Workshop, pp. 11–17. European Language Resources Association (2020) Steingrímsson, S., Barkarson, S., Örnólfsson, G.T.: IGC-Parl: Icelandic Corpus of parliamentary proceedings. In: Proceedings of the Second ParlaCLARIN Workshop, pp. 11–17. European Language Resources Association (2020)
21.
go back to reference Fitsilis, F., Schwemmer, C., Saalfeld, T.: Content reconstruction of parliamentary questions - combining metadata with an OCR process. In: Proceedings of the 5th International Virtual Conference on Advanced Scientific Results, pp. 107–112 (2017) Fitsilis, F., Schwemmer, C., Saalfeld, T.: Content reconstruction of parliamentary questions - combining metadata with an OCR process. In: Proceedings of the 5th International Virtual Conference on Advanced Scientific Results, pp. 107–112 (2017)
22.
go back to reference Fitsilis, F., Mikros, G.: Development and validation of a corpus of written parliamentary questions in the Hellenic Parliament. J. Open Humanit. Data 7, 18 (2021)CrossRef Fitsilis, F., Mikros, G.: Development and validation of a corpus of written parliamentary questions in the Hellenic Parliament. J. Open Humanit. Data 7, 18 (2021)CrossRef
24.
go back to reference Kaddas, P., Palaiologos, K., Gatos, B., Katsouros, V., Christopoulou, K.: A system for processing and recognition of Greek Byzantine and Post-Byzantine documents. In: Fink, G.A., Jain, R., Kise, K., Zanibbi, R. (eds.) Document Analysis and Recognition - ICDAR 2023, LNCS, vol. 14190, pp. 366–376. Springer, Cham (2023)CrossRef Kaddas, P., Palaiologos, K., Gatos, B., Katsouros, V., Christopoulou, K.: A system for processing and recognition of Greek Byzantine and Post-Byzantine documents. In: Fink, G.A., Jain, R., Kise, K., Zanibbi, R. (eds.) Document Analysis and Recognition - ICDAR 2023, LNCS, vol. 14190, pp. 366–376. Springer, Cham (2023)CrossRef
25.
go back to reference Kaddas, P., Gatos, B., Palaiologos, K., Christopoulou, K., Kritsis, K.: Text line detection and recognition of Greek polytonic documents. In: Coustaty, M., Fornés, A. (eds.) Document Analysis and Recognition – ICDAR 2023, International Workshop on Machine Learning (4th edition), LNCS, vol. 14194, pp. 213–225. Springer, Cham (2023) Kaddas, P., Gatos, B., Palaiologos, K., Christopoulou, K., Kritsis, K.: Text line detection and recognition of Greek polytonic documents. In: Coustaty, M., Fornés, A. (eds.) Document Analysis and Recognition – ICDAR 2023, International Workshop on Machine Learning (4th edition), LNCS, vol. 14194, pp. 213–225. Springer, Cham (2023)
29.
go back to reference Mackridge, P.: The Modern Greek Language. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1985) Mackridge, P.: The Modern Greek Language. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1985)
30.
go back to reference Malvern, D., Richards, B.: Investigating accommodation in language proficiency interviews using a new measure of lexical diversity. Lang. Test. 19(1), 85–104 (2002)CrossRef Malvern, D., Richards, B.: Investigating accommodation in language proficiency interviews using a new measure of lexical diversity. Lang. Test. 19(1), 85–104 (2002)CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Digitization of Written Parliamentary Questions from the Historical Archive (1974–1977) of the Hellenic Parliament
Authors
Fotios Fitsilis
Basilis Gatos
Konstantinos Palaiologos
Panagiotis Kaddas
Charalambis Kyrkos
Maria-Eleni Georgoulea
Yiannis Armenakis
Christina Tasouli
George Mikros
Olivier Rozenberg
Eleni Kiousi
Copyright Year
2024
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70645-5_8

Premium Partner