Digital Artifacts Research Articles

Enriching Museum Collection with Virtual Design Objects and Community Narratives: Pop-up-VR Museum

In the Pop-up-VR Museum, a selection of design objects from the Design Museum collection can be explored as virtual reality experience together with stories and comments collected in workshops organized with senior communities and museum visitors amongst others. The collaboration between the museum and the Aalto University Department of Art and Media in the EU Horizon 2020 project SPICE (2020–2023), seeks to increase social cohesion and inclusion through cultural heritage. Using semantic tools designed and developed in the project, it studies ways to promote novel forms of “citizen curation” activities. The article discusses the co-design process between media designers, heritage professionals, and different user communities, with varying understandings and needs regarding museum data and Finnish design heritage. In the museum, community-based data raises practical as well as ethical issues. Also the new digital artifacts challenge existing systems: what and how should be preserved in the museum collection from the dialogue with the user that takes place in the Pop-up VR Museum and does this new data demand re-assessing earlier information and, how does should the process of creating new digital artifacts be documented and described.

Platform success in the international marketplace: reconfiguring digital resources for marketing agility

PurposeThis paper explores how platforms reconfigure versatile digital resources to achieve marketing agility in international markets.Design/methodology/approachWe draw on a case study of a Chinese digital platform to explore the processes and mechanisms of reconfiguring during marketing agility development. Data from different sources are collected, including interviews, informal dialogue and archival data.FindingsVersatile digital resources create productive applications for previously less amendable marketing and nonmarketing resources to be malleable, editable and reconfigurable in marketing agility development. This study identifies and clarifies three versatile digital resource-enabled reconfiguration activities in marketing agility building: recombining digital artifacts, repurposing human capital and cross-pollinating markets.Research limitations/implicationsSince our study adopts a case study method, future research can extend our insights by using quantitative methods to test and verify our theoretical framework.Practical implicationsFirst, we provide insights into how organizations can reconfigure versatile digital resources to achieve the benefits of marketing agility in international markets. Second, while recruiting new employees during internationalization is vital, we suggest that assisted by digital artifacts, firms can repurpose the existing workforce, such as via multitasking, swift task-switching and flexible job redirecting to satisfy dynamic international business requirements with lower adjustment costs. Third, we offer two localization approaches in which firms can use digital artifacts as the enabler to remix sociocultural elements with local adaptations to develop glocal content and decentralize content production to generate inclusive local content.Originality/valueWe provide a process model that specifies how platforms reconfigure versatile digital resources to achieve marketing agility in international markets. Furthermore, we provide novel insights into the literature on marketing agility in international markets and localization.

Heritage sites in the 21st century: virtual tours and digital artefacts, an online example

ABSTRACT Former asylums are often significant heritage sites for their architecture and what they can tell us about mental health care practices. One example is the historic Mayday Hills asylum in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. Built in Italianate style and set in extensive grounds, it is under National Trust protection for its heritage and historical significance. In this article, we outline the creation of a pilot online virtual tour of Mayday Hills and the nearby Beechworth Cemetery. We used curation as a methodology, informed by the concept of crystallisation. Innovative digital imagery was crafted through drone footage and virtual technology. The website includes narratives and reminiscences from former staff and others associated with the institution, along with a blog written by the research team. Maydayhills.org.au demonstrates the feasibility of using virtual technology to depict how mental illness was once treated in Australia. The website is available to anyone unable to travel to Beechworth and to enrich the experience of those visiting in person. This online digital space is now essential for the preservation of history, memories and material culture given that many original buildings are being repurposed. It complements the built and natural environment of Mayday Hills asylum and Beechworth Cemetery.

Talking about “bioluminescence” and “puppies of the ocean”: An anti‐deficit exploration of how families create and use digital artifacts for informal science learning during and after an aquarium visit

AbstractFamilies commonly document their outings by capturing their experiences through digital photographs and videos. However, little is known about the ways in which families engage their personal mobile devices to document educational family outings and how they subsequently talk about the digital artifacts that captured their informal learning experiences. This paper presents new evidence on family digital artifact creation during an informal science institution (ISI) visit, the expected and actual uses of their digital artifacts after the visit, and family conversations reminiscing about the ISI visit with the digital artifacts. Using a concurrent triangulation mixed‐methods design, data on family digital artifact creation during an aquarium visit (N = 204) and digital artifact use after the visit (n = 67) were collected using parent surveys. Audio‐recorded parent‐child conversations with a subset of families (n = 25) document whether and how families use their digital artifacts to reminisce about the aquarium visit. Quantitative findings detail family digital technology practices during informal learning experiences, and qualitative findings suggest evidence of informal science learning in the everyday interactions of the families who elected to continue the study. The study indicates that family storytelling and digital technology practices may help to bridge informal science learning from ISI to home and frames family non‐participation within an anti‐deficit perspective.

Snapchat's disappearing messages: Balancing entertainment and privacy in digital communication

Modern instant messaging platforms often default to permanent data retention, raising concerns about data privacy and users' ability to manage their digital artifacts. In contrast, emerging applications like Snapchat introduce ephemeral communication, where messages automatically vanish after being viewed. This paper investigates the motivations and experiences of users utilizing Snapchat's disappearing message feature. The study employs semi-structured interviews with young adults aged 18-24, who are active Snapchat users. Findings reveal that Snapchat's primary appeal lies in entertainment, creative expression, and maintaining casual relationships. While the disappearing feature contributes to privacy perceptions, users' trust in the feature's privacy protection is not absolute. The paper highlights the challenge of conducting task-oriented or deep conversations due to the ephemerality, emphasizing Snapchat's utility for informal and lighthearted interactions. Ultimately, the study underscores the importance of aligning user experiences with application design, providing insights for practitioners seeking to enhance user-centered product development in the evolving landscape of digital communication.

Bite-sized language teaching in the digital wild: Relational pedagogy and micro-celebrity English teachers on Instagram

While ‘social media influencers’ have predominantly been studied in marketing and advertising, there has been an increase in language teachers' engagement in content creation on social media platforms. Informed by the principles of relational pedagogy (Kern, 2015, 2018), the present study explores how a group of Turkish teachers of English (n = 10) each with over 100,000 followers on Instagram navigate around the material, social, and individual multimodal semiotic resources to create English language teaching content. The data sources which include reels from teachers' public accounts and netnographic fieldwork notes were analyzed informed by the principles of social semiotics (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2001). The findings revealed that the teachers create digital artefacts relying on creative relationships between words, contexts, and situations and provide opportunities to practice simple conversations, learn vocabulary in context, and distinguish nuances in the pronunciation of challenging words. The multimodal meaning-making practices demonstrate how social, material, and individual affordances shape, reframe, or recontextualize linguistic meanings in various forms. These findings highlight the facilitative power of social media for noticing linguistic forms, interaction, participation, and multimodal communication with important implications for teacher education, identity, and professional development in the evolving landscape of language teaching in the digital wild.

The role of technology in disaster preparedness for digital collections in libraries

In the digital age, libraries have transitioned from being repositories of printed materials to custodians of vast digital collections, including manuscripts, photographs, research data, and cultural artifacts. The preservation of these digital collections is vital for the continuity of our cultural and academic heritage.The purpose of the study to highlight how technology plays a pivotal role in disaster preparedness for digital collections in libraries. It delves into the unique challenges digital materials face, such as hardware failure, cyber threats, and obsolescence, and highlights the ethical and legal considerations. Through case studies and best practices, it showcases how libraries are harnessing technology, including cloud storage, digital asset management systems, and backup protocols, to mitigate risks and ensure data continuity. This research underscores the increasing significance of technology in safeguarding digital collections, offering practical recommendations and insights for libraries seeking to protect their digital heritage.

Leading Global Cities In The Russian-Language Segment Of Internet: How Do They Look Like At The Beginning Of The 21st Century?

In the XXI century, the factors of the development of megacities are changing rapidly, the competitiveness of which increasingly depends on their image in different social environments. The purpose of the study is to identify main common features of the current image of the leading global cities (London, Paris, New York and Tokyo) in the Russian–language segment of the Internet (Runet). The research was based on a combination of methods of socio-economic geography, quantitative and qualitative methods of sociology. To reflect the objective reality of megacities, international statistics were used; to assess the role of Internet information resources influencing the formation of the image, the number of search queries in Runet and the context of publications about cities in social media were analyzed; to identify the configuration of the image, the data of a sociological survey were studied. It was revealed that the perception of megacities in Runet is based on a comparable volume of information flow in social networks (the number of published messages is 20 thousand per day for Paris and London, 15 thousand for New York, 4 thousand for Tokyo) and on similarity of publications’ context (2/5 are in the categories “entertainment” and “personality”). Despite certain limitations of the methods used and the relevance of the digital artifacts obtained, the image structure of the centers under consideration is characterized by the predominance of objective over subjective and cognitive (knowledge and ideas about “physical” givens) over affective (emotions, feelings, sensations) components with the key role of four collective categories: common features of large cities, idealized imagery of the country, prestigious urban locations and world architectural brands; as well as high stability in time and space. The continuation of research based on the proposed principles, while improving the methodology and involving cities of different classes, will contribute to the adaptation of foreign experience in designing of images of ambitious Russian cities in the face of new global challenges.

What Do the Internet Memes About Physical Education Tell Us?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the internet memes about physical education (PE) to understand how these digital artifacts represent the attitudes and perceptions toward PE. Method: Using the netnography approach, this is a qualitative study in nature. A total of 241 digital artifacts were collected from nine different digital platforms. A visual content analysis was implemented to understand the conveyed messages and meanings using the social cognitive theory as a framework, which emphasized that human behavior is determined by cognitive, situational, and behavioral factors. Results: Three main themes emerged along with their respective subthemes: “Behavioral Factor: Attitudes toward PE,” “Cognitive Factor: Attitudes toward PE Teacher,” and “Situational Factor: Social Climate in PE.” These findings provide insight into the varied perceptions and stereotypes surrounding PE in popular culture as reflected through internet memes. Discussion/Conclusions: Memetic communication has become an integral part of contemporary society, reproducing beliefs and attitudes. Internet memes can be considered as collective reflections of people on digital platforms, which may help to understand the joint online culture shaped around the attitudes toward PE.

From Methodological Symmetry to Gaia: Latour’s Legacy and Untapped Potential for IS Research

A defining concern for information systems (IS) is how to theorize its primary object of study, the digital artifact. Historically, approaches in IS have oscillated between technological determinist and social determinist ones. Bruno Latour’s works contributed to recalibrating a more symmetrical treatment of the two, and he played a distinctive role in stimulating the evolution of empirically committed, process-oriented theorizing in the IS field. We commemorate Latour’s work by revisiting his early influence on IS research and discuss some of the direct and indirect influences on contemporary IS, such as infrastructure studies and sociomateriality. With the interest in agentic technologies via AI, Latour’s perspectives on technological agency are more relevant than ever. In addition, we explore ideas that are relevant to IS but have yet to be taken up, thus representing untapped theoretical and methodological potential for future IS research—for example, approaching data as circulating reference or how his work could contribute to sustainability discussions in IS.

A PRESENÇA DE MEMES EM PROVAS DE CIÊNCIAS DA NATUREZA

ABSTRACT: The present study aimed to investigate how the multimodal meme genre has been mobilized in tests in the area of Natural Sciences (Chemistry, Physics, and Biology), using as material for analysis the traditional and serial entrance exams of state and federal public universities applied in the recent years (from 2001 to 2021), using the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy. This is a qualitative-quantitative, documentary-type research, perfomed through data collection and analysis. The results show that only five memes were present in the tests analyzed and that three of the identified memes presented the dimension of effective/factual knowledge, while the other two, in turn, expressed conceptual knowledge. The dimensions of the perceived cognitive processes concern the first three levels: remember (level 1), understand (level 2), and, finally, apply (level 3) through problematization, in a humorous way. Regarding the content covered in the memes, four are from Chemistry (acids and bases; general characteristics of the liquid state; periodic properties; covalent bonds), and one is from Biology (cytology: cytoplasmic organelles). We did not find any memes focused on the area of Physics. The study also revealed an initial number of memes in the entrance exams of the universities analyzed, thus pointing to the need for a more comprehensive promotion and investigation of this digital culture artifact.

Metaverse and Museum: a Case Study

The Metaverse concept has developed so rapidly in recent years that it has also reached the cultural sector by defining new ways of visiting museums, archaeological parks, exhibitions and other events. The objective of this research paper is to present the experience conducted with the MAV - Museo dell’Artigianato Valdostano located in Fènis in Valle d’Aosta, which saw the design and implementation within the Metaverse of an exhibition space containing digital artistic artifacts obtained by digitizing real ones. The purpose of the virtual museum is to create a complementary environment to the real one, expanding its potential for enjoyment and enhancing its contents globally. In this paper, an attempt was first made to define, through a study of the state of the art, which technologies underlie the Metaverse and which make the visit a realistic and immersive virtual experience. Then, the methodology for defining the exhibition space and its art objects was identified based on the studies conducted. As a first step, the objects to be displayed in the virtual museum were digitized and modelled, through dedicated software, using laser scanner-based scanning methodologies. Once the digital element was obtained, the virtual museum environment was modelled within which the objects were placed. Next, an in-depth study of the interaction between humans, space, and objects was conducted to study how the avatar, guided by the user, relates within a virtual space, and based on the feedback provided by the users’ use of the space, the final organization of the museum arrived. At this stage, the fundamental concept of interaction emerged, which was implemented and highlighted by applying motion and audio triggers to make the environment more immersive. For optimal viewing of the space, while also being accessible through classic devices such as smartphones or PCs, a six-degree-of-freedom visor was used to accentuate the sense of presence within the environment.

A study for innovation of methodologies and processes in digitisation and digital creation for improving the interaction with the Cultural Heritage

This paper describes the path of approach, knowledge and development of awareness relating to digitisation and digitalisation processes identifiable as the cultural heritage (CH) of digital transformation (DT). The state-of-the-art contemporary cultural scenario is outlined uninterruptedly, constantly comparing academic reality and the cultural and creative sectors. Pros and cons are analysed to outline good practices for the innovative production of digital cultural artefacts and proposals. Finally, two suggestions concerning digital education and the creation of user-centred digital products are briefly described as services of a newborn start-up CRHACK LAB Bari - Officine di Cultura Digitale providing, representing the end of three years of PhD research.

Research on Conservation and Restoration Methods of Museum Artifacts in the Context of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract In the era of artificial intelligence, the conservation and restoration of museum artifacts encounter both new possibilities and hurdles. The limitations of conventional conservation techniques, in terms of efficiency and accuracy, are becoming increasingly apparent. This study explores the potential of 3D reconstruction technologies, SIFT algorithms, and Poisson’s equation to revolutionize the digital restoration of cultural relics. These advanced approaches allow for precise, efficient restorations and the ability to undertake complex projects without risking harm to the original items. Our approach integrates cutting-edge algorithms to tailor 3D reconstruction strategies for museum artifacts, culminating in creating a comprehensive digital artifact database. Through the innovative use of feature point detection and texture synthesis, we have achieved notable successes, including a 12% improvement in 3D model accuracy and a significant enhancement in the automation of the restoration process. With an SSIM value of 0.9964 for restored images, our method demonstrates superiority over traditional restoration techniques, marking a significant stride towards the efficient digital preservation of cultural heritage.

Resisting the Real Through Imagined Interiors and Social Media’s Spaces of Uncertainty

A distinct visual genre has emerged of digitally realised interiors and architectural spaces emblematic in their dreamlike, surreal, and imagined condition, exemplified by digital practitioners including Charlotte Tayler, Andrés Reisinger, and Six N. Five. These virtual spaces, which have predominantly been circulated and popularised via image-based social media platforms, contribute to a stratum of images of the interior, or more precisely, the ‘interior-as-image’. As such, their consumption via the digital screen agitates an uncertain condition between imagined and real. Indeed, some of these designs have become emergent into the actual, transitioning from imaginings for the digital screen into inhabitable interior spaces, to further trouble the uncertainties of virtual and real, digital and physical. This emergent category of interior-as-image can potentially be located under cultural theorist Jean Baudrillard’s ‘hyperreality’, a hyperreal visuality that eliminates the difference between image and reality. With the replacement of reality with the sign/image, signification is suspended for the interior-as-image. However, these digitally rendered interiors are not absent of potential meaning and external reference despite the immediacy of their activation and engagement. Through their instrumentalisation as Non-Fungible Token (NFT) artefacts and unique, commodified digital objects, these uncertain interiors are entangled with energy-hungry machine processes in their production. In the contemporary era of climate crisis and the critique of progressive modernity, where the capacity to envision a sustainable future is itself challenging, this category of digital artefact has the potential to intensify a precarious and uncertain time to come. Moreover, the infrastructural condition(ing) of the circulation and consumption of the interior-as-image via social media platforms has the potential to encode an ‘algorithmic anxiety’, a doubling of embedded uncertainty. This text-based essay proposes to define and contextualise this particular category of digital interioras-image, designating its critical and contemporary mode of uncertainty. In addition to establishing its artefactual status as a discrete yet materially entangled digital object, the potential significance for the discipline of interior design will be questioned. In investigating a number of spatial projects for which the digital image is a primary mode of engagement, this essay reflects on the intersection of the virtual and physical for interior design, and deliberates on the potential of imaginaries of virtual worlds for unlocking new interior materialities.

Teachers’ Collaborative Reflections on Classroom Materials: From Traditional Consumers to Digital Materials Developers and Teacherpreneurs

L2 teachers, no longer considered to be predominantly passive coursebook consumers, act as mediators between pedagogy and materials in the current era of technology-assisted language instruction and should be empowered to digitalize language learning materials to meet the immediate needs of the digital generation. In this study, we aimed to investigate L2 teachers’ collaborative reflections on the current gaps in their classroom coursebook that could be bridged by the purposeful use of digital tools and address their attitudes towards their changing roles as digital materials developers. The findings demonstrated that, in their critical reflections, from a pedagogical perspective, the teachers pinpointed the dominance of passive language usage, the absence of personalized strategy-based instruction, and the lack of interactive content in the coursebook. From a task design perspective, they referred to the dominance of edutainment-free tasks, the prevalence of artificial peer tasks, the lack of multimodal scenario-based tasks, and the absence of adaptive feedback. The teachers further highlighted their shifting roles. As digital materials developers, they could create digital content for the “digital natives,” make digital mini-lessons for classrooms, attend project-based training courses, and co-produce digital content and tasks with students’ assistance. As digital teacherpreneurs, they could run private social media-based businesses, join Edu-Tech co-working spaces, and produce digital artifacts in edutainment centers. As digital materials designers, they could collaborate with computer-assisted language learning (CALL) stakeholders and do interdisciplinary projects in virtual communities. This study promises implications for L2 teachers, teacher educators, and materials developers.

The data awareness framework as part of data literacies in K-12 education

PurposeIn today’s digital world, data-driven digital artefacts pose challenges for education, as many students lack an understanding of data and feel powerless when interacting with them. This paper aims to address these challenges and introduces the data awareness framework. It focuses on understanding data-driven technologies and reflecting on the role of data in everyday life. The paper also presents an empirical study on young school students’ data awareness.Design/methodology/approachThe study involves a teaching unit on data awareness framed by a pre- and post-test design using a questionnaire on students’ awareness and understanding of and reflection on data practices of data-driven digital artefacts.FindingsThe study’s findings indicate that the data awareness framework supports students in understanding data practices of data-driven digital artefacts. The findings also suggest that the framework encourages students to reflect on these data practices and think about their daily behaviour.Originality/valueStudents learn a model about interactions with data-driven digital artefacts and use it to analyse data-driven applications. This approach appears to enable students to understand these artefacts from everyday life and reflect on these interactions. The work contributes to research on data and artificial intelligence literacies and suggests a way to support students in developing self-determination and agency during interactions with data-driven digital artefacts.

Twenty years of research in Information Design: a section of Brazilian scientific production on digital media

With the increasing predominance of the use of digital artifacts, fast technological evolution, and the inherent complexity of the digital era, studies on how to communicate information are relevant since the beginning of the Information Society in the 1990s. With the efficiency of information communication as its central focus, Information Design (ID) can be an important area in the construction of knowledge about digital media. This article presents a systematic review of the Brazilian scientific production of digital media through the look of Information Design to record the development of ID in the country since the first CIDI+CONGIC event in 2003. The review pointed to some prominent themes in these decades, such as infographics and interfaces used for science and education. It also revealed some universities with an emphasis on the type of scientific production investigated. In addition, some difficulties were noticed at the conception of a registry of Brazilian science due to the change in terminologies and the evolution of theoretical approaches over time.

Bridging disciplinary aesthetics: when mathematics meets art through educational technology

In this article, we discuss the way students’ aesthetic experiences can shape the learning of mathematics at higher school levels. We designed a learning environment based on three main design principles: (1) Mathematics as Artistic, where mathematics is used for open artistic creation; (2) Aesthetically rich mathematical experiences, that enable students to appreciate mathematical beauty and aesthetic experiences of wondering, imagining, conjecturing, testing, discovering, making connections, problem posing and solving; (3) Constructionism, where mathematical sense making is interwoven with constructing a personally meaningful digital artefact. Two students of the 11th grade participated in a case study, where they used expressive digital resources for representing, manipulating and exploring periodic functions in order to create an animated artefact based on a piece of music. The collected data fed the formation of a theoretical model for analysing students’ aesthetically driven mathematical meaning making, in an attempt to structure existing theoretical concepts around mathematical aesthetics in education. A part of the analysis of students’ aesthetic experiences based on this model is presented and further reflectively discussed with respect to the prospect of an aesthetically oriented curriculum reform.

Predicting new hackers’ criminal careers: A group-based trajectory approach

The current study employs group-based trajectory modeling to assess the longitudinal attack patterns of new hackers involved in website defacement. Specifically, we track the activity of 241 emergent hackers for one year following their first verified website defacement. In doing so, we find four distinct criminal trajectories: low threat (29.0%), naturally desisting (26.5%), increasingly prolific (22.3%), and persistent threat (22.1%). Hackers classified as low threats engage in few defacements, whereas persistent threats engage in high-frequency attacks. Those labeled as naturally desisting begin their careers with velocity but become less prolific with time. Conversely, those classified as increasingly prolific engage in more attacks as they advance in their criminal careers. Using a series of regression models, we find that digital artifacts and open-source intelligence are predictive of group involvement. The findings presented in this study contribute to our theoretical understanding of the developmental trajectories of hackers, while providing valuable insights in fostering targeted intervention strategies aimed at effectively mitigating and preventing cyber-attacks.