Digital 3D Technologies for Humanities Research and Education: An Overview

Digital 3D modelling and visualization technologies have been widely applied to support research in the humanities since the 1980s. Since technological backgrounds, project opportunities, and methodological considerations for application are widely discussed in the literature, one of the next tasks is to validate these techniques within a wider scientific community and establish them in the culture of academic disciplines. This article resulted from a postdoctoral thesis and is intended to provide a comprehensive overview on the use of digital 3D technologies in the humanities with regards to (1) scenarios, user communities, and epistemic challenges; (2) technologies, UX design, and workflows; and (3) framework conditions as legislation, infrastructures, and teaching programs. Although the results are of relevance for 3D modelling in all humanities disciplines, the focus of our studies is on modelling of past architectural and cultural landscape objects via interpretative 3D reconstruction methods

Industrial Design

A new breed of modern designers is on the way. These non-traditional industrial designers work across disciplines, understand human beings, as well as business and technology thus bridging the gap between customer needs and technological advancement of tomorrow. This book uncovers prospective designer techniques and methods of a new age of industrial design, whose practitioners strive to construct simple and yet complex products of the future. The novel frontiers of a new era of industrial design are exposed, in what concerns the design process, in illustrating the use of new technologies in design and in terms of the advancement of culturally inspired design. The diverse perspectives taken by the authors of this book ensure stimulating reading and will assist readers in leaping forward in their own practice of industrial design, and in preparing new research that is relevant and aligned with the current challenges of this fascinating field

DATAM: Digital Approaches to Teaching the Ancient Mediterranean

DATAM: Digital Approaches to Teaching the Ancient Mediterranean provides a series of new critical studies that explore digital practices for teaching the Ancient Mediterranean world at a wide range of institutions and levels. These practical examples demonstrate how gaming, coding, immersive video, and 3D imaging can bridge the disciplinary and digital divide between the Ancient world and contemporary technology, information literacy, and student engagement. While the articles focus on Classics, Ancient History, and Mediterranean archaeology, the issues and approaches considered throughout this book are relevant for anyone who thinks critically and practically about the use of digital technology in the college level classroom. DATAM features contributions from Sebastian Heath, Lisl Walsh, David Ratzan, Patrick Burns, Sandra Blakely, Eric Poehler, William Caraher, Marie-Claire Beaulieu and Anthony Bucci as well as a critical introduction by Shawn Graham and preface by Society of Classical Studies Executive Director Helen Cullyer.https://commons.und.edu/press-books/1015/thumbnail.jp

Virtual Reality for Preservation: Production of Virtual Reality Heritage Spaces in the Classrooom

The Bethel AME Church was the oldest African American church in Indianapolis. In November 2016, the congregation moved out of downtown, and the building that had housed the congregation since 1869 was sold. It is now being redeveloped into a hotel. Through the Virtual Bethel project, faculty and students in the Media Arts and Science (MAS) program at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) created a 3D virtual space of the physical sanctuary to preserve the cultural heritage of Bethel. During its creation, Virtual Bethel served as a curricular and co-curricular experience for the undergraduate students in the 3D graphics and animation specialization within class N441 3D Team Production, which was co-taught by Albert William and Zebulun Wood. Virtual Bethel, finished in 2018, was the first historical and cultural preservation project that used VR within our class, program, school, and Indiana University (IU) campus. Users can interact with various types of primary sources (e.g., photographs, video, audio, text) to learn about the underrepresented history of African Americans associated with the church. Virtual Bethel was created in a series of classes within the MAS Program in the School of Informatics and Computing (SoIC), IUPUI. Methods of teaching a team of students to preserve historic spaces using VR are discussed, as are our philosophies toward productions when working with varying stakeholders’ priorities related to data preservation, asset preservation, and cultural preservation

Analytical Framework for a Comparative Analysis of Accessible Technology Law and Policy

Deliverable 7.1 poses the basis of the comparative analysis to be conducted throughout the whole WP 7 and reviews existing studies on accessible technology and accessibility law and policy in Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Serbia, Sweden and the UK. Deliverable 7.1 is divided into two main sections: an Analytical Framework and an Annotated Bibliography. The Analytical Framework discusses the interrelation between accessible technology and ‘active citizenship’, and defines the scope, the main concepts and the methodology of the research conducted under WP 7. It also positions WP7 within current legal scholarship, highlighting its innovative contribution. The Annotated Bibliography, annexed to the Analytical Framework is composed of two main complementary parts (i.e. parts A and B), each one preceded by a roadmap. Part A reviews selected sources on accessibility law and policy in Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Serbia, Sweden and the UK. Even though it cannot be regard as exhaustive, it aims to give a ‘big picture’ of current official legislation and policy on accessibility, and scholarship on accessibility. It is intended to be an immediate and easy to read bibliographic tool for scholars approaching accessibility law and policy in Europe. Part B has complements Part A: it does not list legislation or policy programmes on accessible technology, but focusses on the most recent literature on accessible technology

Voices from the South

This volume captures the status of digital humanities within the Arts in South Africa. The primary research methodology falls within the broader tradition of phenomenological hermeneutics, with a specific emphasis on visual hermeneutics. Some of the tools utilised as part of the visual hermeneutic methods are geographic information system (GIS) mapping, sensory ethnography and narrative pathways. Digital humanities is positioned here as the necessary engagement of the humanities with the pervasive digital culture of the 21st century. It is posited that the humanities and arts, in particular, have an essential role to play in unlocking meaning from scientific, technological and data-driven research. The critical engagement with digital humanities is foregrounded throughout the volume, as this crucial engagement works through images. Images (as understood within image studies) are not merely another form of text but always more than text. As such, this book is the first of its kind in the South African scholarly landscape, and notably also a first on the African continent. Its targeted audience include both scholars within the humanities, particularly in the arts and social sciences. Researchers pursuing the new field of digital humanities may also find the ideas presented in this book significant. Several of the chapters analyse the question of dealing with digital humanities through representations of the self as viewed from the Global South. However, it should be noted that self-representation is not the only area covered in this volume. The latter chapters of the book discuss innovative ways of implementing digital humanities strategies and methodologies for teaching and researching in South Africa

Learning environments in higher education: Their adaptability to the 4th industrial revolution and the 'social transformation' discourse

The South African higher-education sector is currently undergoing a significant phase in its transition. The phase is marked by a sense of uncertainty felt across institutions and entities that make up the sector. This uncertainty, to a large extent, is brought about by the socio-political realities the transition entails. Compounding this situation is the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution (Hadden), a phenomenon to which the higher-education sector needs a heightened degree of adaptability. The learning environments provided by the higher-education sector are therefore crucial in terms of advancing the cause of positive social change as a realisable educational objective. Against this backdrop, this conceptual article examines the issue of social change as a moral imperative. The purpose is therefore to contribute to the 4IR discourse currently evolving in the context of South African higher education and its social change agenda, with cognitive capitalism as a theoretical lens. Significant scholarly work has been done on the issue of technological advancement and its implications for the social practice of education. However, a concerted effort has not been undertaken to examine the 4IR as an inevitable educational experience with potential to be both materialistically transformative and morally enslaving. The article concludes that, as 4IR unfolds into a magnificent event and starts to control every aspect of human life in general, and education in particular, the moral and ethical affirmations that support the experience of education may run into troubled waters

Extended Skin: Designing Interactive Content for Ubiquitous Computing Materials

Current research is inspired by the impact of digital media on disciplinary division. Sim- ultaneously, recognizes the difficulty of engineering (applied science) to consider the humani- ties as fundamental contributors in the process of making. Steaming from a design perspective, the intersection between art (design) and science, questions if these relations can open per- spectives on the matter of designing within a U.C. context, and fundamentally, introduces the question on how this can be done Furthermore, the motivation for this research arises from considering that innovation in technology is happening in the fields typically identified as engineering. And, despite this, the in-corporation of these inventions in life, considering some discussed exceptions, has not typ- ically been present in the concerns of design action and methods. Therefore, the challenge of current research is to contribute to the realm of ubiquitous computing, routed by design, to some degree aiming to contribute to the field. A deeper analysis into the subject of U.C., there is the realization that there is minority presence of the humanities in the discussion of U.C. (Dourish and Bell, 2011). Technological disruption offers continuous inspiration for design innovation within U.C. Furthermore, the inquiry labeled as “material turn” contextualizes a dialogue between nano- technology and traditional materials. Nanotechnology is applied to project development, while considering a human centred design approach. This focus is present throughout this disserta- tion. The research proposal describes SuberSkin, as a responsive surface that works as a screen. The exploration of aesthetical effects is focused on visual properties – using high con- trast between natural cork colors, dark and light brown. The proposal is highly experimental, and ultimately, aims to explore potential routes on cork research, linked to that of U.C. Thus, recreating and transforming this material into an intelligent surface. In sum, this thesis discusses displacement of disciplines suggested as having a positive impact in interdisciplinary thought and for future design. Therefore a methodology, "research through techne" is presented that illustrates this intention.A presente pesquisa é inspirada pelo impacto exercido pelos media digitais na divisão disciplinar. Simultaneamente, reconhece a dificuldade da engenharia (ciência aplicada) em considerar as humanidades como contribuintes fundamentais no processo de fazer. Partindo de uma perspectiva de design e da interseção entre arte (design) e ciência, questiona-se se essas relações poderão abrir perspectivas na criação no âmbito da Computação Ubíqua. Fun- damentalmente, introduz a questão de como poderá ser feito. A motivação para esta pesquisa decorre de considerar que a inovação tecnológica acontece nas áreas normalmente identificadas como engenharia. E, apesar disso, a incor- poração dessas invenções na vida, considerando as exceções discutidas, normalmente não está presente nas preocupações, ação e métodos de design. Portanto, o desafio da pesquisa é con- tribuir para o domínio da Computação Ubíqua, orientada pelo design. Uma análise mais pro- funda sobre o tema da Computação Ubiqua, constata que há na sua discussão uma presença minoritária das humanidades (Dourish e Bell, 2011). A disrupção tecnológica oferece inspiração contínua para inovação de design, e o mesmo se aplica no âmbito da Computação Ubíqua. Além disso, a pesquisa intitulada como “material turn” contextualiza um diálogo entre a nanotecnologia e os materiais tradicionais. A nanotecnologia é aplicada ao desenvolvimento de projetos, considerando uma abordagem de design centrada no ser humano. Este foco está presente ao longo desta dissertação. O projecto de pesquisa descreve SuberSkin, uma superfície responsiva. A exploração centra-se nos efeitos estéticos da cortiça, recorrendo a um contraste entre as suas cores natu- rais: castanho escuro e claro. A proposta é experimental e, em última análise, visa explorar potenciais linhas de investigação ligando a cortiça à Computação Ubíqua. E assim, recriar e transformar este material numa superfície inteligente. Em suma, esta tese discute o deslocamento disciplinar como tendo um impacto posi- tivo no pensamento interdisciplinar e no futuro da prática do design. Consequentemente, apresenta uma metodologia, "investigação através da techne" que a exemplifica

Co-creation dynamics in a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). The case of the DARIAH-ERIC Working Groups.

This PhD research studies the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) and the research communities that take part in them. In particular, it examines the case study of the DARIAH-ERIC, the Research Infrastructure for the (digital) Arts and Humanities, and its Working Groups. These are communities of researchers gathered around similar research interests with the aim of providing concrete solutions to scholarly challenges. This research investigates collaborative practices taking place in the DARIAH Working Groups, by focussing on the epistemic and socio/political dynamics created by the interaction of practices and governance models proper of Research Infrastructures and Research Communities. Finally, this research asks, do Research Infrastructures encourage collaboration among researchers? In this research, I couple an institutional perspective - which has deeper roots in the field of Research Policy - with a research methodology (including ethnographic methods) originating in Science and Technology Studies and Philosophy of Science. Drawing on existing literature and empirical research, I identify the concept of co-creation as central in dynamics of knowledge creation in Research Infrastructures. Concluding, I argue that within Research Infrastructures, co-creation becomes societally and culturally relevant because of its crucial role in knowledge and technology transfer between stakeholders. As an example, the DARIAH Working Groups connect several actors, such as researchers, research managers, policymakers or citizens, from different disciplines and background, and provide an answer to concrete social or scholarly challenges