Digital cultural heritage standards: from silo to semantic web

This paper is a survey of standards being used in the domain of digital cultural heritage with focus on the Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS) created by the Library of Congress in the United States of America. The process of digitization of cultural heritage requires silo breaking in a number of areas—one area is that of academic disciplines to enable the performance of rich interdisciplinary work. This lays the foundation for the emancipation of the second form of silo which are the silos of knowledge, both traditional and born digital, held in individual institutions, such as galleries, libraries, archives and museums. Disciplinary silo breaking is the key to unlocking these institutional knowledge silos. Interdisciplinary teams, such as developers and librarians, work together to make the data accessible as open data on the “semantic web”. Description logic is the area of mathematics which underpins many ontology building applications today. Creating these ontologies requires a human–machine symbiosis. Currently in the cultural heritage domain, the institutions’ role is that of provider of this open data to the national aggregator which in turn can make the data available to the trans-European aggregator known as Europeana. Current ingests to the aggregators are in the form of machine readable cataloguing metadata which is limited in the richness it provides to disparate object descriptions. METS can provide this richness.

Digital Cultural Heritage

This chapter aims to give information about how the digitalization process is using technologies suitable for today's conditions in the transmission of cultural heritage to future generations and its preservation, what methods are being employed, the concept of digital heritage, the developments that took place and the projects that were carried out in the digitization of cultural heritage. In addition, it is also aimed in this chapter to evaluate the cultural heritage sites within the framework of this new understanding and to examine how these areas can be redefined with new technical possibilities. At this point, after reviewing the literature about the cultural and digital heritage, the importance of cultural heritage is referred to in detail. Finally, a case study is conducted by the authors via compiling the V-must.net website established to develop virtual museums, blog comments, and academic studies carried out in respect to this project.

Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Digitalization Process

This chapter will initially introduce the concept of intangible cultural heritage. After establishing the relationship between intangible cultural heritage and tourism, changes in intangible cultural heritage components will be expressed through the digitization and COVID-19 processes. “Digital intangible cultural heritage,” “digital cultural heritage,” “digital safeguarding” concepts will be described because they attracted great attention during this time. Additionally, the other aspect of the research is the use of digital applications to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage. In the final part, the pilot projects concerning the safeguarding and promoting the intangible cultural heritage implemented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey will be discussed.

Towards effective management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources: an exploration of contextual factors in Ghana

<p>In today’s world of digital technologies, cultural heritage institutions, particularly in developed countries, are seeking ways to create national digital memories for the future of the citizenry. However, rapidly developing technologies and their concomitant technological obsolescence put future memories at risk. The challenge is enormous in developing countries that, when compared to their developed counterparts, lack adequate resources and technologies for effective digital resources management and preservation. As a developing country, Ghana appears ready to face the challenges of effective digital resources management. The country has developed programmes and a national policy on information and communication technologies (ICTs) for accelerated development. However, Ghana does not appear to be effective in managing or preserving digital cultural heritage resources. An interpretive case research design involving 27 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from 23 institutions was used to explore the various contextual factors influencing the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources (or DPM). Rogers’ (2003) “diffusion of innovation” (DOI) theory and Davies’ (2000) “policy, strategy and resources” (PSR) troika model provided a basis for a preliminary model of factors to guide the research. Although the DPM innovation was not fully diffused in Ghana, related activities at the base, middle and higher levels of the Ghanaian social system were unintentionally fostering the adoption process. Four main clusters of contextual factors that were influencing the DPM adoption process in Ghana were identified: attitudinal, resources-related, policy-related, and managerial factors. Key stakeholders perceived the design of appropriate strategies, adequate resource allocation, and proper implementation of policies as key enabling factors for effective adoption of DPM in Ghana. However, a general lack of interest in cultural institutions (libraries, archives and museums) and in information management on the part of decision makers and the Ghanaian stakeholders as a whole was found to hinder DPM adoption. This study extends Information Systems (IS) research involving DOI theory and the PSR troika model into a developing country context. Attitudinal-based complexities involving misunderstandings among various tribal groups in Ghana, and resources-based complexities surrounding technology access and use, were found from the interview data and were added to the initial model which was expanded to aid in understanding the various contextual factors that influence DPM adoption in Ghana. In addition to the study contributing to theoretical understandings in IS research, it provides Ghanaian policy developers with an empirical base for accelerating adoption of DPM in Ghana. It also provides New Zealand and other digital preservation advanced countries with a deeper understanding from which to provide contextually designed advisory services to other developing countries (particularly in the Pacific Island regions) as it enables the contextual understanding of the factors from Ghana.</p>

Towards effective management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources: an exploration of contextual factors in Ghana

<p>In today’s world of digital technologies, cultural heritage institutions, particularly in developed countries, are seeking ways to create national digital memories for the future of the citizenry. However, rapidly developing technologies and their concomitant technological obsolescence put future memories at risk. The challenge is enormous in developing countries that, when compared to their developed counterparts, lack adequate resources and technologies for effective digital resources management and preservation. As a developing country, Ghana appears ready to face the challenges of effective digital resources management. The country has developed programmes and a national policy on information and communication technologies (ICTs) for accelerated development. However, Ghana does not appear to be effective in managing or preserving digital cultural heritage resources. An interpretive case research design involving 27 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from 23 institutions was used to explore the various contextual factors influencing the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources (or DPM). Rogers’ (2003) “diffusion of innovation” (DOI) theory and Davies’ (2000) “policy, strategy and resources” (PSR) troika model provided a basis for a preliminary model of factors to guide the research. Although the DPM innovation was not fully diffused in Ghana, related activities at the base, middle and higher levels of the Ghanaian social system were unintentionally fostering the adoption process. Four main clusters of contextual factors that were influencing the DPM adoption process in Ghana were identified: attitudinal, resources-related, policy-related, and managerial factors. Key stakeholders perceived the design of appropriate strategies, adequate resource allocation, and proper implementation of policies as key enabling factors for effective adoption of DPM in Ghana. However, a general lack of interest in cultural institutions (libraries, archives and museums) and in information management on the part of decision makers and the Ghanaian stakeholders as a whole was found to hinder DPM adoption. This study extends Information Systems (IS) research involving DOI theory and the PSR troika model into a developing country context. Attitudinal-based complexities involving misunderstandings among various tribal groups in Ghana, and resources-based complexities surrounding technology access and use, were found from the interview data and were added to the initial model which was expanded to aid in understanding the various contextual factors that influence DPM adoption in Ghana. In addition to the study contributing to theoretical understandings in IS research, it provides Ghanaian policy developers with an empirical base for accelerating adoption of DPM in Ghana. It also provides New Zealand and other digital preservation advanced countries with a deeper understanding from which to provide contextually designed advisory services to other developing countries (particularly in the Pacific Island regions) as it enables the contextual understanding of the factors from Ghana.</p>

A Web GIS-Based Integration of 3D Digital Models with Linked Open Data for Cultural Heritage Exploration

In recent years, considerable efforts have been made by cultural heritage institutions across the globe to digitise cultural heritage sites, artifacts, historical maps, etc. for digital preservation and online representation. On the other hand, ample research projects and studies have been published that demonstrate the great capabilities of web-geographic information systems (web-GIS) for the dissemination and online representation of cultural heritage data. However, cultural heritage data and the associated metadata produced by many cultural heritage institutions are heterogeneous. To make this heterogeneous data more interoperable and structured, an ever-growing number of cultural heritage institutions are adopting linked data principles. Although the cultural heritage domain has already started implementing linked open data concepts to the cultural heritage data, there are not many research articles that present an easy-to-implement, free, and open-source-based web-GIS architecture that integrates 3D digital cultural heritage models with cloud computing and linked open data. Furthermore, the integration of web-GIS technologies with 3D web-based visualisation and linked open data may offer new dimensions of interaction and exploration of digital cultural heritage. To demonstrate the high potential of integration of these technologies, this study presents a novel cloud architecture that attempts to enhance digital cultural heritage exploration by integrating 3D digital cultural heritage models with linked open data from DBpedia and GeoNames platforms using web-GIS technologies. More specifically, a digital interactive map, 3D digital cultural heritage models, and linked open data from DBpedia and GeoNames platforms were integrated into a cloud-based web-GIS architecture. Thus, the users of the architecture can easily interact with the digital map, visualise 3D digital cultural heritage models, and explore linked open data from GeoNames and DBpedia platforms, which offer additional information and context related to the selected cultural heritage site as well as external web resources. The architecture was validated by applying it to specific case studies of Australian cultural heritage and seeking expert feedback on the system, its benefits, and scope for improvement in the near future.

Application of cloud technology in digital cultural heritage: an analysis of public culture cloud platforms in China

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significant advantages of cloud technology in digital cultural heritage construction by analyzing public culture cloud platforms in China. The authors hope to provide references for other countries and regions on the applications of cloud computing techniques in digital cultural construction. Design/methodology/approach The primary research methods involved interview and case analysis. A comprehensive understanding of cloud technology and China’s culture cloud platforms were gained through research into extensive amounts of literature. Analyzing 21 culture cloud platforms offers a general understanding of culture clouds, while the Hunan Public Culture Cloud acts as a representative sample that gives detailed insight. Findings This paper explores the considerable advantages of cloud computing in digital cultural construction from four aspects: integration of decentralized heterogeneous resources, coordination and cooperation, accurately matching user needs and promotion of balanced service development. Originality/value Existing studies fall short of comprehensive investigations of culture cloud platforms and in-depth analysis of the advantages of cloud technology applications. This paper uses the construction of public culture cloud platforms in China as the research object. Further, this paper compares the construction status of different culture cloud platforms.

PREFACE: PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE OF DIGITAL CULTURAL HERITAGE

Co-hosted by Tsinghua University, ICOMOS China, Tsinghua Heritage Institute for Digitization, and Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, the CIPA2021 symposium (28th biennial symposium of the international scientific committee for documentation of cultural heritage) was held online successfully at Tsinghua University during August 28th to September 1st, 2021. This is the first time CIPA held a biennial symposium in mainland of China and in online format since its establishment in 1968. The theme of the symposium is “Great Learning &amp; Digital Emotion”. During the 5-day online symposium, opening ceremony &amp; keynote-speech session-1, education session, outstanding youth forum, 12 sub-theme forums, and keynote-speech session-2 &amp; closing ceremony were organized, which included 130 more presentations and attracted more than 1,000 online participants from more than 30 countries on five continents to conduct academic exchanges and seminars.Among all the presentations, four of them are keynote speeches. These include: 1) “deep learning for cultural heritage” by Professor Christian Heipke (President of ISPRS), 2) “space technology in support of world heritage” by Professor Huadong Guo (Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences), 3) “digital culture heritage and territorial spatial planning — China's practice and perspective” by Professor Jun Chen (Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering), and 4) “documentation — foundation of any heritage policy” by Professor Teresa Patrício (President of ICOMOS). Besides these keynotes, all other 120 more presentations are selected from the publication papers of ISPRS Annals and Archives.The progress and prospects of research and practice of digital cultural heritage all over the world can be summarized as theory, technology, and method of CHIM that will be described as follows. Basically, CHIM refers of Cultural Heritage Information Modelling. However, based on CIPA2021 symposium and the paper publications, CHIM is not just Modelling and Model, but the current progress and future prospects of digital cultural heritage research and practice, such as “C” represents Collection, Collaboration, Coordination, and Conference; “H” represents High-Speed, High-Quality, High-Tech. and High-Education; “I” represents Integration, Interpret, International, and Intelligent; and “M” represents Multi-Classes, Methodology, Multidisciplinary, and Management. And all of the aspects are included into the following table (see Table 1) and it is clear that CHIM is not only a Model for documentation but also a platform for future intelligent conservation.