Technology-Powered Strategies to Rethink the Pedagogy of History and Cultural Heritage through Symmetries and Narratives

Recent advances in semantic web and deep learning technologies enable new means for the computational analysis of vast amounts of information from the field of digital humanities. We discuss how some of the techniques can be used to identify historical and cultural symmetries between different characters, locations, events or venues, and how these can be harnessed to develop new strategies to promote intercultural and cross-border aspects that support the teaching and learning of history and heritage. The strategies have been put to the test in the context of the European project CrossCult, revealing enormous potential to encourage curiosity to discover new information and increase retention of learned information

Technology-Powered Strategies to Rethink the Pedagogy of History and Cultural Heritage through Symmetries and Narratives

Recent advances in semantic web and deep learning technologies enable new means for the computational analysis of vast amounts of information from the field of digital humanities. We discuss how some of the techniques can be used to identify historical and cultural symmetries between different characters, locations, events or venues, and how these can be harnessed to develop new strategies to promote intercultural and cross-border aspects that support the teaching and learning of history and heritage. The strategies have been put to the test in the context of the European project CrossCult, revealing enormous potential to encourage curiosity to discover new information and increase retention of learned informatio

A Prototype that Fuses Virtual Reality, Robots, and Social Networks to Create a New Cyber–Physical–Social Eco-Society System for Cultural Heritage

With the rapid development of technology and the increasing use of social networks, many opportunities for the design and deployment of interconnected systems arise that could enable a paradigm shift in the ways we interact with cultural heritage. The project described in this paper aims to create a new type of conceptually led environment, a kind of Cyber−Physical−Social Eco-Society (CPSeS) system that would seamlessly blend the real with virtual worlds interactively using Virtual Reality, Robots, and Social Networking technologies, engendered by humans’ interactions and intentions. The project seeks to develop new methods of engaging the current generation of museum visitors, who are influenced by their exposure to modern technology such as social media, smart phones, Internet of Things, smart devices, and visual games, by providing a unique experience of exploring and interacting with real and virtual worlds simultaneously. The research envisions a system that connects visitors to events and/or objects separated either in time or in space, or both, providing social meeting points between them. To demonstrate the attributes of the proposed system, a Virtual Museum scenario has been chosen. The following pages will describe the RoboSHU: Virtual Museum prototype, its capabilities and features, and present a generic development framework that will also be applicable to other contexts and sociospatial domains

Desarrollo de un Prototipo de Aplicación Móvil para Sistemas de Recomendación Proactivos

En la actualidad, el exceso de información se puede volver un problema durante el uso de la tecnología. La capacidad de abordar y manejar grandes cantidades de información de las personas es limitada, lo que unido al exceso de contenido irrelevante empaña la usabilidad del sistema. Los sistemas de recomendación juegan un papel clave en esta problemática. Estos sistemas ayudan a los usuarios a elegir entre una gran variedad de diferentes opciones facilitando su toma de decisiones. En los últimos años, gracias a los avances obtenidos en la tecnología móvil ha crecido el interés por los sistemas de recomendaciones para estos usuarios móviles: los llamados Context-Aware Recommender Systems (CARS), pasan a considerar no solo las preferencias del usuario sino también las condiciones de su contexto. El objetivo del proyecto es continuar esta tendencia, explotando las opciones que ofrece la captura y análisis del contexto para diseñar un sistema proactivo, en el cual el usuario esté totalmente liberado en las tareas de ofrecer una entrada al recomendador y sea automáticamente y gracias a la información de su contexto como se generen recomendaciones interesantes para el mismo. Para ello se utiliza el modelo definido en investigaciones previas realizadas por investigadores de la Universidad de Zaragoza siendo el artículo titulado “Push-Based Recommendations in Mobile Computing Using a Multi-Layer Context” y publicado en el congreso MoMM 2015 donde se propone una arquitectura basada en el concepto de entornos y gestiona el impacto de eventos dinámicos y los actores envueltos en el proceso de recomendaciones. Una vez analizada la literatura sobre la que se establece el proyecto y visiones auxiliares, se ofrece la arquitectura sobre la que se implementará el proyecto. El trabajo se centra en el desarrollo de un prototipo de aplicación móvil que permite conocer y profundizar sobre el concepto estudiado. Permite conocer las limitaciones y carencias del modelo en la tecnología actual, pero también las ventajas obtenidas en la experiencia de usuario. Además de la aplicación móvil, se realiza el desarrollo del otro componente fundamental del sistema, el gestor de entorno, que incluye el sistema de recomendaciones. Estas implementaciones tienen como objetivo verificar la arquitectura realizada y conocer con mayor profundidad los desafíos actuales en los sistemas de recomendaciones. Asimismo, todo el desarrollo realizado es utilizado también para conocer las diferentes tecnologías disponibles, tanto en el desarrollo de aplicaciones móviles, como en el de sistemas de recomendación. El proyecto propone una arquitectura sobre la que trabajar con el prototipo de aplicación móvil desarrollado. Ésta aplicación se espera que pueda servir de herramienta para futuras investigaciones orientadas al desarrollo de sistemas de recomendaciones para usuarios móviles, permitiendo conocer el contexto de cada usuario para poder ofrecer recomendaciones de mayor precisión

Using VGI and Social Media Data to Understand Urban Green Space: A Narrative Literature Review

Volunteered Geographical Information (VGI) and social media can provide information about real-time perceptions, attitudes and behaviours in urban green space (UGS). This paper reviews the use of VGI and social media data in research examining UGS. The current state of the art is described through the analysis of 177 papers to (1) summarise the characteristics and usage of data from different platforms, (2) provide an overview of the research topics using such data sources, and (3) characterise the research approaches based on data pre-processing, data quality assessment and improvement, data analysis and modelling. A number of important limitations and priorities for future research are identified. The limitations include issues of data acquisition and representativeness, data quality, as well as differences across social media platforms in different study areas such as urban and rural areas. The research priorities include a focus on investigating factors related to physical activities in UGS areas, urban park use and accessibility, the use of data from multiple sources and, where appropriate, making more effective use of personal information. In addition, analysis approaches can be extended to examine the network suggested by social media posts that are shared, re-posted or reacted to and by being combined with textual, image and geographical data to extract more representative information for UGS analysis

The Moving Page

This paper investigates transitional states of spaces between images, moving images, and the use of sketchbook/page works through a questioning and auto-ethnographic approach to research and practice. Viewing illustration as a refexive space, the investigations demonstrate exchangesbetween authorship, interaction, narrative, time, and space. Valuing the ‘in-between’ states that exist between the unfnished and fnished, the research questions notions of in-fux, moving, nebulous states. Through alternative publishing forms, the research concerns dissemination through emerging digital platforms

The Moving Page

This paper investigates transitional states of spaces between images, moving images, and the use of sketchbook/page works through a questioning and auto-ethnographic approach to research and practice. Viewing illustration as a refexive space, the investigations demonstrate exchangesbetween authorship, interaction, narrative, time, and space. Valuing the ‘in-between’ states that exist between the unfnished and fnished, the research questions notions of in-fux, moving, nebulous states. Through alternative publishing forms, the research concerns dissemination through emerging digital platforms