Practical applications of multi-agent systems in electric power systems

The transformation of energy networks from passive to active systems requires the embedding of intelligence within the network. One suitable approach to integrating distributed intelligent systems is multi-agent systems technology, where components of functionality run as autonomous agents capable of interaction through messaging. This provides loose coupling between components that can benefit the complex systems envisioned for the smart grid. This paper reviews the key milestones of demonstrated agent systems in the power industry and considers which aspects of agent design must still be addressed for widespread application of agent technology to occur

Urban heritage conservation and rapid urbanization : insights from Surat, India

Currently, heritage is challenged in the Indian city of Surat due to diverse pressures,  including rapid urbanization, increasing housing demand, and socio‐cultural and climate changes.  Where rapid demographic growth of urban areas is happening, heritage is disappearing at an  alarming rate. Despite some efforts from the local government, urban cultural heritage is being  neglected and historic buildings keep being replaced by ordinary concrete buildings at a worryingly  rapid pace. Discussions of challenges and issues of Surat’s urban area is supported by a qualitative  dataset, including in‐depth semi‐structured interviews and focus groups with local policy makers,  planners, and heritage experts, triangulated by observation and a photo‐survey of two historic  areas. Findings from this study reveal a myriad of challenges such as: inadequacy of urban  conservation management policies and processes focused on heritage, absence of skills, training,  and resources amongst decision makers and persistent conflict and competition between heritage  conservation needs and developers’ interests. Furthermore, the values and significance of Surat’s  tangible and intangible heritage is not fully recognized by its citizens and heritage stakeholders. A  crucial opportunity exists for Surat to maximize the potential of heritage and reinforce urban  identity for its present and future generations. Surat’s context is representative of general trends  and conservation challenges and therefore recommendations developed in this study hold the  potential to offer interesting insights to the wider planners and conservationists’ international  community.  This  paper  recommends  thoughtful  integration  of  sustainable  heritage  urban  conservation into local urban development frameworks and the establishment of approaches that  recognize the plurality of heritage values

Gestures of appropriation in the pictorial universe of painting through the use of a tangible surface

It is in the crossroads between art museum and technology where this project here presented is born. We are referring to a prototype designed to provide involvement of museum visitors through experiences of enjoyment, creation and sharing. The prototype is an interactive application that combines an enjoyment area with a creative exploration area. In the creative exploration area the visitors may, individually or in collaboration, create visual compositions and share them in social networks. This presentation contemplates the description as regards the investigation scenario and the analysis of the first tests results

Museum Experience Design: A Modern Storytelling Methodology

In this paper we propose a new direction for design, in the context of the theme “Next Digital Technologies in Arts and Culture”, by employing modern methods based on Interaction Design, Interactive Storytelling and Artificial Intelligence. Focusing on Cultural Heritage, we propose a new paradigm for Museum Experience Design, facilitating on the one hand traditional visual and multimedia communication and, on the other, a new type of interaction with artefacts, in the form of a Storytelling Experience. Museums are increasingly being transformed into hybrid spaces, where virtual (digital) information coexists with tangible artefacts. In this context, “Next Digital Technologies” play a new role, providing methods to increase cultural accessibility and enhance experience. Not only is the goal to convey stories hidden inside artefacts, as well as items or objects connected to them, but it is also to pave the way for the creation of new ones through an interactive museum experience that continues after the museum visit ends. Social sharing, in particular, can greatly increase the value of dissemination

Multilingual Multimedia Thesaurus for Conservation and Restoration - Collaborative Networked Model of Construction

Standardization and systematization of terminology within the area of cultural heritage preservation in Croatia will be done by a construction of a model of multilingual multimedia thesaurus through collaboration of experts for conservation and restoration implying the participation of different competences in a community of practice in a network based environment by use of information technologies. A model of controlled dynamic vocabulary with hierarchically connected concepts will be constructed. The source language for thesaurus construction will be Italian, based on three basic relationships terms: equivalence, hierarchical and associative. The number of terms will be limited to cca. 500 preferred terms subdivided into hierarchies. The hypertextual and hypermedial thesaurus would be placed on a web for online browsing and upgrading. The multilingual lexical organization followed by multimedia presentations could be a benefit for the development of conservation and restoration profession in the field of cultural heritage preservation and for joining future European cultural projects. It could also play a significant role in the mobility initiatives aimed at study, conservation, restoration and the appreciation of historic and artistic heritage

Historic gardens and parks: challenges of development in the context of relevant regulations, definitions and terminology

The title and contents of this article have emerged after trying to summarize international scientific knowledge and theory, regulations by relevant international organizations, as well as several national legislative provisions issued in the area of development of historical landscapes, environment and sites. Various definitions related to the subject, changing and newly introduced terminology have originally caused some embarrassment and provoked a series of questions, such as: who is who and what is the difference? In this respect, a historical garden or park as a significant area is defined as a ‘Living Monument’, ‘Tangible Heritage’ or even ‘Intangible Heritage’, because there is no doubt that the garden is a dynamic and ever changing environment. The applied terminology and definitions on historical gardens and parks are also undoubtedly related to the issues of heritage awareness. Differences in the national legislations are significant too, whereas historical gardens and parks are classified both, as architecture and natural monuments and heritage immovable property. An analysis at the theoretical level of the legislation and scientific statements provided in conclusion gives a certain insight into the significance of each projective aspect in the planning development of the historical gardens and parks and forms the base for further relevant issue researches. Article in English. Istoriniai sodai ir parkai: vystymosi iššūkiai reglamentavimo, apibrėžčių ir terminijos kontekste Santrauka. Straipsnio pavadinimas ir turinys susiformavo apibendrinant mokslines žinias ir teoriją tarptautiniu mastu, tarptautinių organizacijų teisinį reglamentavimą, taip pat kelis nacionalinius teisės aktus, reguliuojančius istorinio kraštovaizdžio, aplinkos ar vietovės kaitą. Įvairūs susiję apibrėžimai, besikeičianti ir atnaujinama terminologija iš pradžių kelia sumišimą ir nemažai klausimų: kas yra kas ir kokie skirtumai? Šiuo atžvilgiu istorinis sodas ar parkas, kaip reikšminga teritorija, apibrėžiama kaip gyvas paminklas, materialusis paveldas ar net kaip nematerialusis paveldas, nes nėra abejonių, kad sodas yra dinamiška ir nuolat kintanti aplinka. Probleminė yra istoriniams sodams ir parkams taikoma terminija ir paveldo sampratos apibrėžimai. Akivaizdžių skirtumų esama valstybių teisės aktuose, kur istoriniai sodai ir parkai klasifikuojami kaip architektūros ar gamtos paminklai ar nekilnojama kultūros vertybė, atitinkamai skirtingai reglamentuojant. Teorinio teisės aktų ir mokslinės minties tyrimo apibendrinimas leidžia suvokti kiekvieno projektavimo aspekto svarbą istorinių sodų ir parkų plėtrai ir yra tolesnių aktualių tyrimų atspirtis. Raktiniai žodžiai: istorinis parkas ir sodas; teisės aktai; apibrėžimai; terminologij

Affordances of Historic Urban Landscapes: an Ecological Understanding of Human Interaction with the Past

Heritage has been defined differently in European contexts. Despite differences, a common challenge for historic urban landscape management is the integration of tangible and intangible heritage. Integration demands an active view of perception and human-landscape interaction where intangible values are linked to specific places and meanings are attached to particular cultural practices and socio-spatial organisation. Tangible and intangible values can be examined as part of a system of affordances (potentialities) a place, artefact or cultural practice has to offer. This paper discusses how an ‘affordance analysis’ may serve as a useful tool for the management of historic urban landscapes

Surveying and Actioning the Tangible and Intangible dimensions of Rural Heritage in RURITAGE H2020 Project

Rural Heritage is as important as it is difficult to circumscribe, identify and survey but it can also play a major cultural, social and economic role. This paper focuses on the methodology developed by the funded Horizon 2020 Project “Ruritage” where digital tools constitute a focus strategy for the regeneration process for rural regions. In this process the cultural and natural heritage of rural regions includes both tangible and intangible features the identification and visualization of which are very important for the new understandings created and effectiveness of its potential to be developed by local communities. An Atlas permits a simultaneous contextualization of various pilots for the uses required by the project where several pilots create networks for mutual learning process. A digital platform including a web GIS, based on OpenStreetMap, and a database constitute Atlas final output. It is part of a set of digital tools devised to support local stakeholders and monitor territorial developments. The paper will discuss different kinds of contaminations: (i) highlighting cultural and natural heritage together with other resources; (ii) processing different kinds of data for a common purpose (iii) matching direct involvement of individuals and digital tools; (iii) creating a multilevel approach to combining tangible and intangible heritage through a multidisciplinary team. Critical issues of the developed methodologies will also be discussed

O Storytelling como processo pedagógico de apropriação artístico-cultural : viagem na obra de Hieronymus Bosch mediatizada por uma superfície tangível

Com este trabalho, pretende-se conceber um novo modelo de comunicação para uso em museus. Este modelo será realizado com recurso à tecnologia de superfícies tangíveis e enquadrado na metodologia do desenvolvimento. Será concebido e desenvolvido um protótipo (conteúdo a ser usado numa mesa multitoque) com base na obra “O Último Julgamento” do pintor Hieronymus Bosch. Este modelo permite que o visitante experimente a manipulação digital da obra de arte conferindo-lhe novas leituras. Mediante um conjunto de ações que permitem apropriar-se da obra é possibilitada a constituição de um modelo subjetivo de interpretação e de análise da obra. O modelo/protótipo permite também consultar, escrever e gravar no sistema, as suas histórias, as suas impressões e as suas opiniões. A metodologia de trabalho inclui um estudo de caso exploratório para avaliação do protótipo, das interações e para verificação da nossa hipótese de trabalho, ou seja, verificar se: a possibilidade de manipulação da obra pictórica, mediada por uma superfície táctil associada à possibilidade de criação e partilha de narrativas textuais e visuais sobre essa experiência, potencia a apropriação da obra de arte e promove a construção de conhecimento sobre ela.With this work we intend to design a new communication model with an interactive base to be used in museums, thereby promoting literacy and consequently a greater enjoyment of works of visual art. This model will be conducted using the surfaces technology (multi-touch table). The case study will include the development of a prototype which uses the work "The Last Judgment" by Hieronymus Bosch. In this model, the visitor can digitally manipulate the works giving them new readings. Through a series of actions that allow ownership of the work, the establishment of a model of subjective interpretation and analysis of the work is made possible. The model/prototype also allows to consult, write and record in the system, their stories, their impressions and their opinions. The work methodology includes an exploratory case study to evaluate the prototype, and for checking the interaction of our hypothesis, that is, to check whether the possibility, considering of images and their manipulation, to create narratives, constitute an act of knowledge construction? Our working hypothesis is that the possibility of manipulation of pictorial work, mediated by a tactile surface, coupled with the possibility of creating and sharing textual narratives about the experience enhances the appropriation of the artwork and promotes the construction of knowledge about it