A Cultural Semiotic Aesthetic Approach for a Virtual Heritage Project

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-215
Author(s):  
Chrysanthos Voutounos ◽  
Andreas Lanitis ◽  

This paper presents an integrated framework applied towards the design and evaluation of a virtual museum of Byzantine art that combines the theorized fields of semiotics, virtual heritage (VH), and Byzantine art. A devised semiotic model, the case study semiosphere, synthesizes important principles from the theoretical background justifying the overall design and evaluation methodology. The approach presented has theoretical extensions to the understanding of the role technology plays in promoting a consummatory aesthetic experience for Byzantine art in virtual environments, complementing the experience received from traditional Byzantine art media. Part A of the work presents the development of the semiotic foundation of the study prior to presenting the applied potential of the approach in design and evaluation of VH for Byzantine art, which appears in Part B. The final task of the proposed approach aims to support a meaningful interpretation, assisting in the promotion of the significance (value) of the virtual museum to potential interpreters/visitors.

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-261
Author(s):  
Chrysanthos Voutounos ◽  
Andreas Lanitis ◽  

Continuing from Part A (2016), in which we discuss the semiotic foundation for designing a virtual museum of Byzantine art, Part B presents an applied methodology for the representation of cultural artifacts through virtual technologies and semiotic techniques. We discuss how our semiotic model, case study semiosphere, contributes to design and evaluation research of such unique art-form representation and why the approach contributes as a whole to the field of Virtual Heritage (VH). Theorizing further the design implications integrating the overall approach including the evaluation experiment of three VH applications with the participation of young users and its semiotic analysis, we formulate design guidelines that can be applied also to other types of cultural heritage and art.


Author(s):  
WITOLD PŁOTKA ◽  

Phenomenology originates in a critical assessment of descriptive psychology. In this regard, scholars emphasize mainly the problem of psychologism. Yet, the question of a methodological divide between both approaches is rather at the margins of contemporary scholarship. In the present paper, I analyze and discuss the 1931–32 debate held by Irena Filozofówna and Leopold Blaustein as a case study of the phenomenology-psychology divide. The debate addresses the structure of aesthetic experience, as well as a methodological background for describing psychic life. My main task is to present arguments, concepts, and methodologies of the opposing positions. To do so, in Sect. (1) I outline biographical sketches of Filozofówna and Blaustein. They were members of the Lvov-Warsaw School, but they presented different approaches: whereas Filozofówna advocated descriptive and experimental psychology, Blaustein—educated not only by Twardowski, but also by Ingarden, and Husserl—referred to the phenomenological tradition too. Sect. (2) summarizes Blaustein’s phenomenological aesthetics. His approach consists in analyzing aesthetic experience as a combination of nonreducible presentations. His key observation is that different types of art require different presentations, say, imaginative, schematic, or symbolic. In Sect. (3), I analyze Filozofówna’s criticism of this approach. Her main argument consists in emphasizing judgments as a necessary element of every lived experience. She claims that Blaustein comprehends acts as intentional, i.e., as presenting their objects as “such and such,” but by doing so, he confuses presentations with judgments. In this section I follow Blaustein’s replies to Filozofówna’s criticism. In Sect. (4), I analyze Filozofówna’s argument that Blaustein adopted an ineffective method, since he was too hasty in accepting unjustified hypotheses. In Sect. (5), I ask about a theoretical background of Filozofówna’s criticism, and I juxtapose both positions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-49
Author(s):  
Teresa Paiva

Background: The theoretical background of this article is on the model developed of knowledge transfer between universities and the industry in order to access the best practices and adapt to the study case in question regarding the model of promoting and manage innovation within the universities that best contribute with solution and projects to the business field. Objective: The development of a knowledge transfer model is the main goal of this article, supported in the best practices known and, also, to reflect in the main measurement definitions to evaluate the High Education Institution performance in this area. Methods: The method for this article development is the case study method because it allows the fully understanding of the dynamics present within a single setting, and the subject examined to comprehend what is being done and what the dynamics mean. The case study does not have a data collection method, as it is a research that may rely on multiple sources of evidence and data which should be converged. Results: Since it’s a case study this article present a fully description of the model proposed and implemented for the knowledge transfer process of the institution. Conclusion: Still in a discussion phase, this article presents as conclusions some questions and difficulties that could be pointed out, as well as some good perspectives of performed activity developed.


2017 ◽  
pp. 711-726
Author(s):  
Todor Mitrovic

Determined by its biblical origins, the birth of specifically Christian visual culture had to be given through overcoming the inevitable resistance of early church towards images. In order to find its stable place on late antique cultural scene, early byzantine art, thus, had to rely on support of religious and cultural patterns remote of magisterial artistic trends. Among those, contemporary theory recognizes as especially important: 1) cult of relics and 2) sealing practices. Crossing the possibility of theoretical definition of unique semiotic model standing behind those two cultural- religious practices with the fact that after iconoclasm byzantine art will be systematically distanced from both of them, this research attempts to explore the relation between iconophile theory and byzantine artistic production from a yet unexplored interpretative position. Hypothesis that category of indexical sign, as it is proposed by contemporary semiotics (based on Peircean legacy), can be used for extraction of this unique semiotic model is used here as a specific methodological tool for re-approach to both - 1) the pre-iconoclastic need for accentuating the indexical aspects of iconic images and 2) the mystery of post-iconoclastic radical distancing towards such a semiotic need. On the basis of such an integrated approach it is possible not only to search for more precise explanation of co-relations between artistic practices and contemporaneous (iconophile) theory, but to explain curious historical delay in application of this theoretic knowledge in artistic and liturgical realms, together with a late outburst of iconoclastic behaviour provoked by this very delay. Namely, one of the most prominent incarnations of pre-iconoclastic need for ?indexicalisation? of iconic medium, the mysterious Mandylion from Edessa, had very curious role in historical development of post-iconoclastic plastic arts in Byzantium. This specific object was miraculously and undividedly uniting both key indexical aspects of pre-iconoclastic cognitive settings in one icon - causally connected with the archetypehimself. However, exactly this kind of synthetic, relic-seal-image status turned out to be the specific semiotic stumbling stone in the process of application of iconophile theory in liturgical arts. This is why in XI century byzantine church decided to refrain Mandylion from public life for good and lock it in court chapel, under the protection of the emperor himself. As one of the most curious theological decisions of medieval Christianity, this extraordinary semiotic conversion was, actually, the final step in application of the most advanced achievements of the late iconophile theory, which was, at the same time, the first step in development of artistic system relaxed from the pressure of need for legalistic, causal validation of pictorial language.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 376
Author(s):  
Giacomo Cillari ◽  
Fabio Fantozzi ◽  
Alessandro Franco

Passive solar system design is an essential asset in a zero-energy building perspective to reduce heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation loads. The integration of passive systems in building leads to a reduction of plant operation with considerable environmental benefits. The design can be related to intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence the final performance in a synergistic way. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive view of the elements that influence passive solar systems by means of an analysis of the theoretical background and the synergistic design of various solutions available. The paper quantifies the potential impact of influencing factors on the final performance and then investigates a case study of an existing public building, analyzing the effects of the integration of different passive systems through energy simulations. General investigation has highlighted that latitude and orientation impact energy saving on average by 3–13 and 6–11 percentage points, respectively. The case study showed that almost 20% of the building energy demand can be saved by means of passive solar systems. A higher contribution is given by mixing direct and indirect solutions, as half of the heating and around 25% of the cooling energy demand can be cut off.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwyneth M Jolley

This article reports on the evaluation of an action research project designed to support workforce development in the promotion of healthy nutrition for older people. The evaluation methodology was grounded by the action research approach of the project and focused on case studies of the 10 partner organisations. Findings indicate that the Healthy Ageing—Nutrition Project has resulted in a large increase in awareness and knowledge about healthy ageing and nutrition in the case study organisations, and to a lesser extent, in the broader health and aged care sectors. For the case study organisations it seems likely that transformational change has been made through the project's work of building capacity, mediating and facilitating change and providing resources. Support at board and management level, as well as thoughtful development of the workforce, were critical success factors in bringing about organisational change. The main challenge was identified as time and resources needed. Follow-up evaluation of the health outcomes from nutritional assessment, screening and intervention should also be implemented in order to provide further evidence of the value of this effort.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Leeb ◽  
Doron Friedman ◽  
Gernot R. Müller-Putz ◽  
Reinhold Scherer ◽  
Mel Slater ◽  
...  

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate for the first time that brain waves can be used by a tetraplegic to control movements of his wheelchair in virtual reality (VR). In this case study, the spinal cord injured (SCI) subject was able to generate bursts of beta oscillations in the electroencephalogram (EEG) by imagination of movements of his paralyzed feet. These beta oscillations were used for a self-paced (asynchronous) brain-computer interface (BCI) control based on a single bipolar EEG recording. The subject was placed inside a virtual street populated with avatars. The task was to “go” from avatar to avatar towards the end of the street, but to stop at each avatar and talk to them. In average, the participant was able to successfully perform this asynchronous experiment with a performance of 90%, single runs up to 100%.


Author(s):  
Ricard Huerta

Museari is an online museum dedicated to upholding human rights and sexual diversity through art, history, and education. Museari was born in 2015 and since then more than 70 exhibitions have been presented. This paper analyzes Museari's interest in teacher training, something that has been especially positive during the Covid-19 pandemic. The objective of the research is to reflect on the opportunity to use a virtual museum to address issues of art and education. For data collection, we used assessment instruments specific to the case study, such as diagnoses, discussions, focus groups, and participant observation. We highlight museum’s positive reception by the students, particularly the role it plays in overcoming stereotypes and conventional taboos to achieve inclusive environments.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-151
Author(s):  
Giuliana Bonifati

The current historical context is characterised by a significant change in the economic and social fields that have led to the development of the economy of creativity and knowledge. This condition has laid the basis for the rise of a new social class. This radical change in the productive paradigm has started a series of modifications to urban spaces, setting in place a rooted change in the fabric of the city.The objective of this paper is to understand and interpret the nature of the changes under way and to investigate how what occurred in economic and social fields influenced the processes of urban regeneration. Starting from a theoretical background it will examine the concept of creativity applied to economics and social sciences. Secondly, by identifying the urban environment of London as a case study, it will analyze single cases that will show the root of these practices within urban spaces. The purpose of it will be verified by the possibility of building urban transformation strategies that use creativity as the tool of change.


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