Cultural heritage and development: the M’hamid Oasis in Southern Morocco

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oriol Domínguez Martínez ◽  
Marta Colmenares Fernández ◽  
Alejandro García Hermida
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Cultural Exchange ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Intangible Heritage ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Main Activity ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The M’Hamid Oasis is the last of the palm groves in the Drâa Valley, in Southern Morocco. The 13 villages (ksar/ksour in Arabic) in M’Hamid share many sociological, urban, and architectural similarities with the ksour located in the pre-Saharan valleys. These similarities range from environmental threats, such as extreme climate, to the current social and economic model. As a result, the settlements are being abandoned, and the tangible and intangible heritage of the Drâa Valley is in a progressive disappearance. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach To deal with the complexity of this problem, a progressive approach beginning at the territorial scale must be developed. In this regard, a lasting solution can be found only by promoting development that integrates nature, culture, and architecture, as well as by finding a new balance of these elements within the current social and economic requirements. Findings This paper presents part of the research conducted by the team of the Terrachidia Association, which allows an overall understanding of the place. To this aim, the new social and economic context of the Drâa Valley is pointed out, as well as the characteristic features of M’Hamid architecture and urbanism. In this regard, the principles and requirements of its conservation are presented, and the project of the Terrachidia Association is also described. Finally, the project’s impact is assessed and the results of the set of interventions are evaluated. Practical implications Since 2012, the activity of the Terrachidia Association has focussed on the study, promotion, preservation, and restoration of the architectural and cultural heritage of M’Hamid. The main activity of the association focusses on the organization of workshops, which are attended mainly by university students and professionals from around the world. Social implications In total, 13 workshops were organized since 2012, thanks to the engagement of the local population. In this period, around 300 participants from more than 15 different countries attended these workshops, working with approximately a 100 local craftsmen. All of them share a similar commitment to the work that Terrachidia is developing. These workshops allow the participants to know places and people in a way hardly achievable through conventional tourism. At the same time, this awareness is also achieved in the local population, and cultural exchange strengthens its identity. Originality/value The purpose of the workshops organized by Terrachidia is manifold, and the participants actively take part in the restoration works while they interact and exchange experiences with a reality that is generally unknown in western societies. The local population also benefits from this cultural exchange by strengthening their identity, which is linked to architecture, and demonstrating the economic possibilities of conservation through responsible tourism. And these aims are achieved through a self-managed project, which benefits all involved.

Segmentation in intangible heritage of humanity (ICH) events: the Oruro Carnival

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Claudio Pérez-Gálvez ◽  
Gema Gomez-Casero ◽  
Juan Choque Tito ◽  
Carol Angélica Jara Alba
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emotional Bonding ◽  
Cultural Event ◽  
Emotional Perception ◽  
Intangible Heritage

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to characterize the international tourists who visit a cultural event, such as the Oruro Carnival (Bolivia), that is catalogued as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this purpose, a segmentation is made based on the combination of two theoretical models used and contrasted in similar research: the model of McKercher (2002), based on the cultural motivations to go to a destination, and that of Poria et al. (2003), based on the emotional perception of the visitor in relation to the heritage they visit. Findings Four types of tourists are thus identified: alternative, cultural, emotional and patrimonial. Likewise, the research includes an assessment of the most relevant tourist attributes linked to the Oruro Carnival, which is much more positive among international tourists with greater cultural motivation and emotional bonding. Originality/value The principal originality factor and innovation is analysing the cultural motivations and the emotional perception of the visitor in relation to the heritage they visit.

scholarly journals Cognitive styles within an exploratory search system for digital libraries

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 970-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Goodale ◽  
Paul David Clough ◽  
Samuel Fernando ◽  
Nigel Ford ◽  
Mark Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Search System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
User Attitudes ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of cognitive style on navigating a large digital library of cultural heritage information; specifically, the paper focus on the wholist/analytic dimension as experienced in the field of educational informatics. The hypothesis is that wholist and analytic users have characteristically different approaches when they explore, search and interact with digital libraries, which may have implications for system design. Design/methodology/approach – A detailed interactive IR evaluation of a large cultural heritage digital library was undertaken, along with the Riding CSA test. Participants carried out a range of information tasks, and the authors analysed their task performance, interactions and attitudes. Findings – The hypothesis on the differences in performance and behaviour between wholist and analytic users is supported. However, the authors also find that user attitudes towards the system are opposite to expectations and that users give positive feedback for functionality that supports activities in which they are cognitively weaker. Research limitations/implications – There is scope for testing results in a larger scale study, and/or with different systems. In particular, the findings on user attitudes warrant further investigation. Practical implications – Findings on user attitudes suggest that systems which support areas of weakness in users’ cognitive abilities are valued, indicating an opportunity to offer diverse functionality to support different cognitive weaknesses. Originality/value – A model is proposed suggesting a converse relationship between behaviour and attitudes; to support individual users displaying search/navigation behaviour mapped onto the strengths of their cognitive style, but placing greater value on interface features that support aspects in which they are weaker.

The sociocultural impact of adaptive reuse of immovable cultural heritage from the perspective of direct users and the local community

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zdzisława Elżbieta Niemczewska
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose is to show the results of research on sociocultural impact – as one of the pillars of sustainable local development which can be stimulated among others by immovable cultural heritage. The research concerned two groups of respondents: the local community, which does not directly use heritage re-adopted to commercial functions and the community using the heritage in a direct way.Design/methodology/approachSurveys and in-depth interviews were used for the study. Two groups of respondents were surveyed: direct users of immovable re-adopted heritage who have the possibility to use it directly by buying services offered in the studied heritage and the local community representatives for which access to the re-adopted heritage is limited.FindingsIn the case of heritage re-adopted to commercial functions, there are differences in sociocultural impact. The very presence of heritage and only awareness of its existence in a given area is not enough for creating a sociocultural function by it in some aspects. Such heritage does not use its potential fully.Practical implicationsResults of the study may be taken into account by some stakeholders in the case of giving heritage resources contemporary functions especially commercial ones (owners of re-used cultural heritage resources, representatives of local authorities as well as entities responsible for the protection, appropriate use of cultural heritage resources and decision-making processes) to eliminate negative or insufficient effects in creating the sociocultural function of heritage in sustainable local development.Social implicationsSuggested actions undertaken on the basis of this research can increase the impact of immovable cultural heritage adapted for commercial purposes on a larger range of beneficiaries especially the local community. Hence, the extent of such heritage's impact on the sociocultural pillar of sustainable development would increase.Originality/valueSo far, studies on the differences in the sociocultural impact of immovable cultural heritage adapted to commercial, contemporary functions on direct users and no-direct users have not been conducted. Results obtained by this study supplement a certain gap regarding the sociocultural impact of heritage resources on this two groups of stakeholders: groups that have direct access to the heritage resource and groups that have no access to them or this access is limited.

Using digital corpora for preserving and processing cultural heritage texts: a case study

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 408-421
Author(s):  
Eleni Galiotou
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Greek Language ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Digitized Documents ◽  
Processing Techniques ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the creation and exploitation of a historical corpus in an attempt to contribute to the preservation and availability of cultural heritage documents. Design/methodology/approach – At first, the digitization process and attempts to the availability and awareness of the books and manuscripts in a historical library in Greece are presented. Then, processing and exploitation, taking into account natural language processing techniques of the digitized corpus, are discussed. Findings – In the course of the project, methods that take into account the state of the documents and the particularities of the Greek language were developed. Practical implications – In its present state, the use of the corpus facilitates the work of theologians, historians, philologists, paleographers, etc. and in the same time, prevents the original documents from further damage. Originality/value – The results of this undertaking can give useful insights as for the creation of corpora of cultural heritage documents and as for the methods for the processing and exploitation of the digitized documents which take into account the language in which the documents are written.

scholarly journals The effect of fervid attachment to religious rites on tourism: evidence from the Holy Week in Southern Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Sestino ◽  
Giovanni Pino ◽  
Gianluigi Guido
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism Destinations ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is aimed to examine natives' Fervid Attachment to religious rites, as a part of cultural heritage, in its extrinsic (sense of belonging, rituality) and intrinsic (intimate bond, emotionality) characteristics, by shedding light on how leveraging on these characteristics could be emphasized to promote sustainable local development.Design/methodology/approachBased on the principles of an ethnographic research approach based on observational methods, this paper analyzes the rites of Holy Week in Taranto, a city located in the Southern Italy, by capturing individuals' behavior according the concept of Fervid Attachment.FindingsResults show that tourism destinations preserving their traditions and religious rites as part of their cultural heritage can satisfy tourists' spirituality needs and, by promoting the interaction with the local population (natives) in terms of relationship between them and tourists, supporting local communities' development. Moreover their Fervid Attachment in terms of sense of belonging, rituality, intimate bond and emotionality could be empathized to promote sustainable local development.Practical implicationsOur results provide suggestions on how local policymakers and tourism marketers could leverage natives' attachment to religious rites to boost religious tourism.Originality/valueThis paper shows from a new perspective based on the concept of natives' Fervid Attachment how local people are relevant in promoting a tourism destination.

Post-diagnostic support for dementia

2018 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 320-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Ann Levin ◽  
Stephen Lithgow ◽  
Martine Miller ◽  
Jill Carson
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Method ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Client Group ◽  
Mobile Working ◽  
Method Approach ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Diagnostic Support

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine three interpretations of post-diagnostic support (PDS) for dementia, to understand how best to support people recently diagnosed with dementia. Design/methodology/approach A sequential mixed-method approach was used which included analysis of the data collected by each sector, a focus group and interviews with PDS linkworkers and other staff. Findings All three sectors used a mix of supported self-management workshops and one-to-one PDS, however sectors varied by linkworker’s affiliation, caseload management and client group. Caseload varied greatly between sectors. Stage of disease and socioeconomic make-up of the local population were raised as factors determining the form of PDS offered. Some pillars appeared to be more easily achieved than others. There was a general agreement among all staff that “caseload” was misleading and that a measurement of workload would be preferable. Agile/mobile working was preferred by linkworkers. Even within teams there was variation in perceptions of PDS; some felt the linkworker role to be one of signposting, while others felt more involved with their client group, and for longer than 12 months. Practical implications Guidance at the outset of the PDS programme was sparse. The findings of this study should inform future development of the PDS model and a supporting guidance framework. Originality/value There is a growing interest in PDS for dementia. However, little is known about what a model of PDS should look like. This study attempts to capture the most important aspects of PDS delivery.

Maximizing agreement on diverse ontologies with “wisdom of crowds” relation classification

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 616-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maayan Zhitomirsky-Geffet ◽  
Eden Shalom Erez
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Wisdom Of Crowds ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Limited Size ◽  
Relation Classification ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Ontologies are defined as consensual formal conceptualisation of shared knowledge. However, the explicit overlap between diverse ontologies is usually very low since they are typically constructed by different experts. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to suggest to exploit “wisdom of crowds” to assess the maximal potential for inter-ontology agreement on controversial domains. Design/methodology/approach – The authors propose a scheme where independent ontology users can explicitly express their opinions on the specified set of ontologies. The collected user opinions are further employed as features for machine classification algorithm to distinguish between the consensual ontological relations and the controversial ones. In addition, the authors devised new evaluation methods to measure the reliability and accuracy of the presented scheme. Findings – The accuracy of the relation classification (90 per cent) and the reliability of user agreement annotations were quite high (over 90 per cent). These results indicate a fair ability of the scheme to learn the maximal set of consensual relations out of the specified set of diverse ontologies. Research limitations/implications – The data sets and the group of participants in our experiments were of limited size and thus the presented results are promising but cannot be generalised at this stage of research. Practical implications – A diversity of opinions expressed by different ontologies has to be resolved in order to digitise many domains of knowledge (e.g. cultural heritage, folklore, medicine, economy, religion, history, art). This work presents a methodology to formally represent this diverse knowledge in a rich semantic scheme where there is a need to distinguish between the commonly shared and the controversial relations. Originality/value – To the best of the knowledge this is a first proposal to consider crowd-based evaluation and classification of ontological relations to maximise the inter-ontology agreement.

Preservation practices of new media artists

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 716-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Post
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Art Museums ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Media Art ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the preservation practices of new media artists, in particular those working outside of the scope of major collecting institutions, examining how these artists preserve new media artworks in their custody. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds case studies of seven new media artists of differing practices and artistic approaches. For each case study, semi-structured interviews with the artists were conducted in conjunction with visits to the artists’ studios. Findings The study finds that new media artists face a number of shared preservation challenges and employ a range of preservation strategies, and that these challenges and strategies differ markedly from that of art museums and cultural heritage institutions. Research limitations/implications This study considers preservation practices for new media artists generally. Further research into specific communities of artistic practice could profitably build upon this overall framework. Practical implications The findings of this research pose a number of implications for art museums and cultural heritage institutions, suggesting new ways these institutions might consider supporting the preservation of new media artworks before works enter into institutional custody. Originality/value The literature on new media art preservation emphasizes the importance of working with artists early in the life cycle of digital artworks. This study advances this by investigating preservation from the perspective of new media artists, deepening the understanding of challenges and potential preservation strategies for these artworks prior to entering or outside of institutional custody.

International tourism and the UNESCO category of intangible cultural heritage

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Lopez-Guzman ◽  
Francisco Gonzalez Santa-Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Heritage Tourism ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The development of heritage tourism has experienced a great development in recent years, mostly centred in the cities that are World Heritage. This paper aims to present an analysis of the relationship between Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) declared by UNESCO and tourism development associated therewith. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used in this research consisted of a fieldwork to determine the socio-demographic profile and perceptions of foreign tourists participating in this intangible cultural event. Additionally, the features of this tourist destination are also analysed. Findings The main results of this research shows the high cultural level of tourist respondents, the significant economic level of travellers and the perceptions of heritage tourists in participation in the Festival. Research limitations/implications The expansion of this line of research is to include other ICH; this should contribute to the generalisation of the knowledge acquired in this subject. Practical implications The main practical implications are centred on better understanding of the key factors involved in the relation between intangible cultural heritage and tourism. Social implications This study highlights the features that a heritage tourist destination must have to create a sustainable tourism destination with a combination of culture and tourism. Originality/value Heritage, generally tangible cultural heritage, is used as a resource in the destinations. This paper analyses the relationship between intangible cultural heritage and tourism, an aspect little studied by the scientific literature.

Tourist loyalty and intangible cultural heritage: the case of Popayán, Colombia

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-188
Author(s):  
Francisco González Santa Cruz ◽  
Tomas Lopez-Guzman ◽  
Luz Stella Pemberthy Gallo ◽  
Pablo Rodríguez-Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
True Meaning ◽  
The City ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the loyalty of the tourists who visit a city with an important heritage event: The Holy Week Processions in the city of Popayán (Colombia), recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Design/methodology/approach This research focuses on determining the mediating effect of the perception of the processions and the evaluation of the elements of the destination during a visit to the city by using a sample of 615 tourists. The software tool used in this research is the Smart partial least squares. Findings Results show that the motivations of the visitor are not enough by themselves to guarantee loyalty regarding the destination, but other variables are needed such as the perception of the processions and the evaluation of the elements of the destination, through which the motivation acquires a true meaning to secure the tourist’s loyalty. Practical implications The principal practical implication of this research is offering to the stakeholders involved in the promotion and organisation of this event an opportunity to undertake and review actions for improvement. Originality/value This research seeks to enlighten the interaction between heritage, sustainability and heritage in Latin America.

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