An investigation to examine the most appropriate methodology to capture historical and modern preserved anatomical specimens for use in the digital age to improve access: a pilot study

Anatomico-pathological specimens constitute a valuable component of many medical museums or institutional collections but can be limited in their impact on account of both physical and intellectual inaccessibility. Further concerns relate to conservation as anatomical specimens may be subject to tissue deterioration, constraints imposed by spatial or financial limitations of the host institution, or accident-based destruction. In awareness of these issues, a simple and easily implementable methodology to increase accessibility, impact and conservation of anatomical specimens is proposed which combines photogrammetry, object virtual reality (object VR), and interactive portable document format (PDF) with supplementary historical and anatomical commentary. The methodology was developed using wet, dry, and plastinated specimens from the historical and modern collections in the Museum of Anatomy at the University of Glasgow. It was found that photogrammetry yielded excellent results for plastinated specimens and showed potential for dry specimens, while object VR produced excellent photorealistic virtual specimens for all materials visualised. Use of PDF as output format was found to allow for the addition of textual, visual, and interactive content, and as such supplemented the virtual specimen with multidisciplinary information adaptable to the needs of various audiences. The results of this small-scale pilot study indicate the beneficial nature of combining these established techniques into a methodology for the digitisation and utilisation of historical anatomical collections in particular, but also collections of material culture more broadly

Building the Glasgow Digital Library and its components

Describes the co-operative project to build a digital library by for and about the city of Glasgow. The library is built round a number of smaller projects which allowed participants to gain experience in building and managing digital collection

Usability evaluation of a virtual museum interface

The Augmented Representation of Cultural Objects (ARCO) system provides software and interface tools to museum curators to develop virtual museum exhibitions, as well as a virtual environment for museum visitors over the World Wide Web or in informative kiosks. The main purpose of the system is to offer an enhanced educative and entertaining experience to virtual museum visitors. In order to assess the usability of the system, two approaches have been employed: a questionnaire based survey and a Cognitive Walkthrough session. Both approaches employed expert evaluators, such as domain experts and usability experts. The result of this study shows a fair performance of the followed approach, as regards the consumed time, financial and other resources, as a great deal of usability problems has been uncovered and many aspects of the system have been investigated. The knowledge gathered aims at creating a conceptual framework for diagnose usability problems in systems in the area of Virtual Cultural Heritage

Shaping Metrics for HEI Cultural Engagement - Knowledge Transfer

An application was submitted to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for support for a project that would identify and define activities deemed relevant to Knowledge Transfer (KT) - Cultural Engagement (CE), and propose appropriate means to evaluate them. It was acknowledged from the outset that efforts at agreeing “metrics” for the impact of such activities had been attempted before, albeit with limited success. (One such notable example has been lately provided by the Higher Education and Business Community Interaction Survey (HEBCIS) which has collected some data on social, community, and cultural engagement for some years; however, the robustness and consistency of the data for these purposes have often been questioned.

Rethinking Change

UIDB/00417/2020 UIDP/00417/2020No seguimento da Conferência Internacional sobre Arte, Museus e Culturas Digitais (Abril 2021), este e-book pretende aprofundar a discussão sobre o conceito de mudança, geralmente associado à relação entre cultura e tecnologia. Através dos contributos de 32 autores, de 12 países, questiona-se não só a forma como o digital tem motivado novas práticas artísticas e curatoriais, mas também o inverso, observando como propostas críticas e criativas no campo da arte e dos museus têm aberto vias alternativas para o desenvolvimento tecnológico. Assumindo a diversidade de perspectivas sobre o tema, de leituras retrospectivas à análise de questões e projectos recentes, o livro estrutura-se em torno de sete capítulos e um ensaio visual, evidenciando os territórios de colaboração e cruzamento entre diferentes áreas de conhecimento científico. Disponível em acesso aberto, esta publicação resulta de um projecto colaborativo promovido pelo Instituto de História da Arte, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa e pelo maat – Museu de Arte, Arquitectura e Tecnologia. Instituição parceira: Instituto Superior Técnico. Mecenas: Fundação Millennium bcp. Media partner: revista Umbigo. Following the International Conference on Art, Museums and Digital Cultures (April 2021), this e-book seeks to extend the discussion on the concept of change that is usually associated with the relationship between culture and technology. Through the contributions of 32 authors from 12 countries, the book not only questions how digital media have inspired new artistic and curatorial practices, but also how, conversely, critical and creative proposals in the fields of art and museums have opened up alternative paths to technological development. Acknowledging the different approaches to the topic, ranging from retrospective readings to the analysis of recent issues and projects, the book is divided into seven sections and a visual essay, highlighting collaborative territories and the crossovers between different areas of scientific knowledge. Available in open access, this publication is the result of a collaborative project promoted by the Institute of Art History of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, NOVA University of Lisbon and maat – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology. Partner institution: Instituto Superior Técnico. Sponsor: Millennium bcp Foundation. Media partner: Umbigo magazine.publishersversionpublishe

Smart Heritage for Urban Sustainability: A Review of Current Definitions and Future Developments

Smart heritage is still novel in heritage discourse, with a few relevant review articles. In this regard, a specific interpretation of smart architectural heritage and a framework for instructing its development is lacking. This article reviews the literature on smart heritage in sustainable development to fill the knowledge gap. As a methodology for this study, the integrative review approach and thematic analysis are adopted to review references located at the crossroads of historic, smart, and sustainable disciplines. The review and interpretation draw on literature from relevant fields to understand implementations, current states, and support to interpret smart heritage. Review outcomes indicate that smart heritage is becoming dynamic as technologies are increasingly applied to more detailed heritage branches. This article lists the factors that heritage should possess to be defined as smart, and it provides a framework that might be followed to achieve the aims of this discourse by stating that smart heritage discussions are relevant to smart cities, as they may have a mutual effect and interact to promote each other.

Comparison of engagement and emotional responses of older and younger adults interacting with 3D cultural heritage artefacts on personal devices

The availability of advanced software and less expensive hardware allows museums to preserve and share artefacts digitally. As a result, museums are frequently making their collections accessible online as interactive, 3D models. This could lead to the unique situation of viewing the digital artefact before the physical artefact. Experiencing artefacts digitally outside of the museum on personal devices may affect the user's ability to emotionally connect to the artefacts. This study examines how two target populations of young adults (18–21 years) and the elderly (65 years and older) responded to seeing cultural heritage artefacts in three different modalities: augmented reality on a tablet, 3D models on a laptop, and then physical artefacts. Specifically, the time spent, enjoyment, and emotional responses were analysed. Results revealed that regardless of age, the digital modalities were enjoyable and encouraged emotional responses. Seeing the physical artefacts after the digital ones did not lessen their enjoyment or emotions felt. These findings aim to provide an insight into the effectiveness of 3D artefacts viewed on personal devices and artefacts shown outside of the museum for encouraging emotional responses from older and younger people

Libraries and Museums in the Flat World: Are They Becoming Virtual Destinations?

In his recent book, “TheWorld is Flat”, Thomas L. Friedman reviews the impact of networks on globalization. The emergence of the Internet, web browsers, computer applications talking to each other through the Internet, and the open source software, among others, made the world flatter and created an opportunity for individuals to collaborate and compete globally. Friedman predicts that “connecting all the knowledge centers on the planet together into a single global network…could usher in an amazing era of prosperity and innovation”. Networking also is changing the ways by which libraries and museums provide access to information sources and services. In the flat world, libraries and museums are no longer a physical “place” only: they are becoming “virtual destinations”. This paper discusses the implications of this transformation for the digitization and preservation of, and access to, cultural heritage resources