Growing the use of Virtual Worlds in education : an OpenSim perspective

The growth in the range of disciplines that Virtual Worlds support for educational purposes is evidenced by recent applications in the fields of cultural heritage, humanitarian aid, space exploration, virtual laboratories in the physical sciences, archaeology, computer science and coastal geography. This growth is due in part to the flexibility of OpenSim, the open source virtual world platform which by adopting Second Life protocols and norms has created a de facto standard for open virtual worlds that is supported by a growing number of third party open source viewers. Yet while this diversity of use-cases is impressive and Virtual Worlds for open learning are highly popular with lecturers and learners alike immersive education remains an essentially niche activity. This paper identifies functional challenges in terms of Management, Network Infrastructure, the Immersive 3D Web and Programmability that must be addressed to enable the wider adoption of Open Virtual Worlds as a routine learning technology platform. We refer to specific use-cases based on OpenSim and abstract generic requirements which should be met to enable the growth in use of Open Virtual Worlds as a mainstream educational facility. A case study of a deployment to support a formal education curriculum and associated informal learning is used to illustrate key points.Postprin

Valuing Historic Places: Traditional and Contemporary Approaches

Decisions about which older buildings, structures, and places should be conserved are fundamental to the practice of architectural conservation. Conservation professionals use the interrelated concepts of integrity, authenticity, and historical value to determine which historic places are worthy of importance. Traditionally, these concepts are predicated on preserving the object rather than conserving the meaning and values associated with the object. In other works, the goal is to benefit the object and not the people who value the object. This method, which has roots in antiquated nineteenth-century Western scientific traditions, deprecates the importance of people, processes, and meanings in how places are valued and conserved. Thus, conservation professionals produce “objective” meanings for other conservators, but not for everyday people. The net result is a failure to understand how local populations actually value their historic places. A recent movement in architectural conservation is to emphasize the role of contemporary social, cultural, and personal meanings in valuing historic places and the processes in which places develop these values overtime. This pluralistic perspective recognizes that different populations and cultures will have diverse ways of valuing historic places. Ultimately, for places such as Iraq, we have very little, if any, data to support conservation decisions that understand and respect local cultures and tradition. The danger is in applying traditional, Western, concepts that still dominate the conservation profession to non-Western contexts. There is a tremendous learning opportunity to engage in the cross-pollination of ideas from the perspectives of the Western and Eastern traditions and to learn how the citizens of Iraq value their cultural heritage. This information, once gathered, can then inform how to best approach the conservation of Iraqi urban centers

Iranian hospitality : from caravanserai to bazaar to reporting symbolic experience

This paper reports case studies seeking to address one of the great problems of social science: namely, the extent to which is it possible or desirable accurately to report conscious experience (Hulburt & Scwitzgebel 2007). An interpretive ethnographic approach is used to address this problem. Caravanserais and bazaars in Iran have always offered multi-sensual experiences and represented aspects of symbolic interaction, as well as facilitating physical exchange, between travellers and locals. This is true in their origins, in their nineteenth and twentieth century usage, and in their contemporary roles which increasingly include heritage tourism accommodation or heritage retailing. Using two case studies the paper explores the role that hospitality has played and shows that it has been fundamental to their evolution and remains so, particularly for the commercial caravanserais and tea houses which now exist as refurbished heritage accommodation and restaurants

Integrating Western and non-Western cultural expressions to further cultural and creative tourism: a case study

The term cultural industries was coined more than half a century ago, but at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the broader concept of creative industries, covering a wide range of cultural, design and digital activity, captured the imagination of public policymakers at national and city levels. Paralleling these developments has been the recognition of the phenomenon of cultural tourism and, more recently, the emergence of the idea of creative tourism, that is, tourism programmes designed to engage tourists actively in cultural activity. This paper presents a case study of a creative tourism event which took place in 2012 in the City of Manchester in the UK. The festival, which celebrated West African culture, utilised existing cultural institutions of the city and drew on the talents of local and visiting members of West African community to engage not only tourists but also indigenous and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) residents of Manchester in a variety of cultural activities. It thus used the focus of creative tourism to seek to foster community and cultural development as well as tourism

A Cultural Approach to Education via Master Plan Culture, Education, and Community Leaders

For decades, native Hawaiian public schools have been at the bottom of the national educational ladder. As Hawaiʻi’s education system progresses into the 21st century, there is need for contemporary education to address and support the annual intake of 70,000 school children. Twentieth century curricula is based solely on what we learn and fails to focus on how we learn. Contemporary educational environments in Hawaiʻi need to differentiate from that of the 20th century to provide quality education to our youth. By integrating technological advancements and innovative teaching methods in which are driven by cultural awareness, the contemporary education system will provide our children with the learning environments that suit their individual learning behavior, thus paving the way for community growth and future prosperity for Hawaiian children. Hawaiʻi is unique, as it is sensitive to its place, heritage, and people. All of which are factors that are rooted in its distant cultural past. Culture-based education research states that cultural and ethnic identity builds self-esteem and confidence – leading to resiliency among youth and adults. The culture-based education model seeks to mobilize this growing body of knowledge of improving the educational outcomes of individuals, families, and communities. Hawaiian-focused charter schools are innovators in the development of experiential and place-based learning, and are the leaders in focusing on cultural identity as the foundation for social and emotional well-being. Culture is the continuity of unique languages and practices, thus strengthening familial social connections and support systems.1 Therefore, the integration of cultural awareness into educational spaces within the architectural design process would improve how we learn. This integration transforms current learning environments that extend beyond the traditional classroom by embracing its surrounding landscape, resulting in the development of an innovative education curriculum. This thesis explores a culturally informed conceptual master plan for a hybridized educational model that merges traditional Hawaiian worldviews, guiding principles, values, and learning styles into the contemporary context