Digital Cultural Heritage Research Articles

Hierarchical Modelling of Smart Digital Cultural Heritage Spaces: An XML-Based Approach

Extensible Markup Language or XML was created with the aim of making information self-describing. In contrast to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), XML is not seen as a markup language but rather as a toolkit for creating mark-up languages. Immersive technologies provide Cultural Heritage spaces with the opportunity to implement a smart digital immersive user journey, but an inclusive design should be prioritised as it is a fundamental right for all individuals to participate in cultural life as stated by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). A well-formed XML schema can allow museum curators to implement a smart digital immersive system and strategically position technological devices to optimise interactivity in the user journey. An objective of this paper is to review the theoretical background of XML and determine its suitability to model smart digital Cultural Heritage spaces. Design Science Research (DSR) will also be analysed and applied to the design of an initial XML schema to provide a hierarchical structure for a smart digital immersive user journey. The schema will be applied to an artificial Cultural Heritage setting which is manually designed in this paper to illustrate an example of a smart digital immersive environment and does not represent a real location. The results indicate that XML can support Cultural Heritage professionals to digitise their user experience in a way that is human-centred and harnesses the beneficial aspects of digital technologies.

The Art of Memory: Archiving Street Art using the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model

This paper presents a detailed discussion of the data modelling and functional implementation of a semantically-enabled knowledge base related to the creation, digitisation and archiving of large-scale public art works. Based on principles of international best practice, standards and interoperability, the paper focuses on the use of the CIDOC-CRM ontology used in conjunction with the Arches Digital Cultural Heritage data management system to model street art-related entities and their semantic relationships. The work presented here is an extension of the work of the mementoArtem Digital Street Art Archive Project being carried out in conjunction with the INSYTE-Cooley Research Laboratory (I-CRL), South East Technological University (SETU), Waterford, Ireland.

Semantic Solutions for Democratizing Archaeological and Numismatic Data Analysis

Museums, heritage agencies and other institutions responsible for managing archaeological cultural heritage across Europe are engaged in developing digital platforms to better open their collections to the public as a common resource for the purposes of discovering, learning about, and sharing our common past. This paper explores the potential of new semantic computing technologies in democratizing not only public access to digital cultural heritage records, but also to computational and Linked Open Data -assisted data analysis and knowledge discovery. As a case study, we consider archaeological and numismatic Open Data services in Finland, and discuss the research results obtained during the ongoing development work for the CoinSampo framework for opening Finnish and international numismatic data. Existing digital cultural heritage services are often built with the needs of professional collections management in mind. The presentation of the records is typically structured after the familiar format established for the printed catalogues of yesteryear, with few analytical tools that would take advantage of the potential of digital data to probe and visualize internal relationships and patterns within the full body of the opened material. CoinSampo, however, will provide scientific tools to new audiences among the non-professional public who have not enjoyed such a level of access to numismatic data. The broad range of target audiences we envisage includes collections managers, who will benefit from enhanced access to their own data for updating records and for error detection and correction, as well as academic researchers interested in using the material in scientific analysis. Importantly, it also includes non-professional groups such as coin collectors, educators, local historians, and the archaeological hobby metal-detectorists who produce most of the new coin finds entering the national collections in Finland and in other European countries where detecting is legal. By adopting a citizen science and participatory heritage approach in the development of Open Data services, we aim to promote a technological model for cultural heritage dissemination that addresses the needs of a wide spectrum of different user audiences inside and outside the professional sphere.

Cultural heritage on the Semantic Web: The Europeana Data Model

The Semantic Web allows data to be linked on the Web and structures information for use by humans and machines. Furthermore, it makes relationships between data explicit, enabling the creation of Linked Data. Based on a literature review, the principles and technologies underlying Linked Data are presented – namely, the Resource Description Framework and models developed for libraries, archives and museums. Europeana aggregates European institutions’ digital cultural heritage, having developed a model that follows linked-data principles. For a deeper understanding of this model, the Europeana Data Model is presented with examples of two representation approaches and the advantages of metadata enrichment in information discovery. The experience of the University of Coimbra with Europeana is briefly explained. Finally, the authors discuss the challenges that cultural heritage institutions face in adopting these models and freeing their information from the silos it is in, taking advantage of the potential that Linked Data provides.

Peculiarities of Europeana Metadata as a Set of Information for Describing Digital Cultural Heritage

The relevance of the research. European integration is the main and unchanging foreign policy priority of Ukraine. Further development and deepening of relations between Ukraine and the EU are the main direction of its development. A new stage in the development of EU-Ukraine treaty relations, which began with Ukraine’s accession to the EU candidate status in June 2022, requires further raising awareness of Ukraine’s European integration among all members of society. Libraries can contribute to the formation of objective motivations among the population by understanding the practical benefits of cooperation with the EU. One of the ways of such integration for Ukrainian libraries is to become part of the European library network.
 The purpose of research is to identify the features of Europeana metadata for further digitization of library collections in Ukraine in order to preserve cultural heritage.
 The methodology. To achieve this goal, theoretical and general scientific research methods, such as analysis, synthesis, induction, and deduction, were used. The data visualization method and the method of generalization were used to present the Europeana data models.
 The results. The article defines the types of the Europeana operational model, provides a general overview of the classes defined in the Europeana data model and the process of interaction between Europeana data and wikidata.
 The scientific topicality. The article summarizes previous, primarily foreign, research on the peculiarities of the development of the Europeana funds. The article presents the data models of the Europeana that function to fill the web portal.
 The practical significance. The results of the research are presented in the form of Europeana data models and the definition of Europeana metadata types (descriptive, structural, administrative, markup language).
 The conclusion. The current operating model of Europeana uses the Open Archives Initiative’s Metadata Collection Protocol (OAI-PMH) and the Europeana Data Model (EDM) to import data through Metis, Europeana’s data collection and aggregation service. However, OAI-PMH is an outdated technology that is not web-oriented, resulting in high maintenance costs, especially for smaller institutions. Metadata can be divided into several categories, or types, for different data management purposes. Traditional library cataloging focuses, for example, on the identification and description of resources, but there are obviously other types of metadata that carry valuable information (structural, administrative, markup language).

Saving temporary exhibitions in virtual environments: The Digital Renaissance of Ulisse Aldrovandi – Acquisition and digitisation of cultural heritage objects

As per the objectives of Project CHANGES, particularly its thematic sub-project on the use of virtual technologies for museums and art collections, our goal was to obtain a digital twin of the temporary exhibition on Ulisse Aldrovandi called “The Other Renaissance”, and make it accessible to users online. After a preliminary study of the exhibition, focusing on acquisition constraints and related solutions, we proceeded with the digital twin creation by acquiring, processing, modelling, optimising, exporting, and metadating the exhibition. We made hybrid use of two acquisition techniques to create new digital cultural heritage objects and environments, and we used open technologies, formats, and protocols to make available the final digital product. Here, we describe the process of collecting and curating bibliographical exhibition (meta) data and the beginning of the digital twin creation to foster its findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability. The creation of the digital twin is currently ongoing.

Digital Preservation and Conservation of Library Collections in the Digital Age: Issues and Challenges

The concept of digital preservation is explored in this article, delving into the challenges and best practices involved in safeguarding and conserving digital materials within library settings. It explores the importance of preserving digital collections in order to ensure their availability for future generations and the various technologies and tools used to preserve and conserve digital materials. It also highlights the role of libraries in preserving digital cultural heritage and the importance of collaboration and partnerships in digital preservation and conservation. The article concludes by emphasizing the constant evolution of the field and the need for libraries to stay adaptable to new technologies and challenges. Overall, the article is useful for librarians, library professionals, and researchers to understand the challenges and best practices of digital preservation and conservation in libraries.

Digital Cultural Heritage, Cybersecurity, and the Human Factor

Abstract Digital heritage, with its intellectual and cultural identity value, constitutes a significant asset. This also makes it an important asset in the cyber market. Cultural heritage institutions, recognising the vital role of digital assets, confront various information security risks and must adopt cyber threat related strategies to counter potential cyber-attacks. This paper first investigates the susceptibility of digital heritage objects to cyber threats by examining their distinctive characteristics. The study subsequently poses research enquiries concerning the cybersecurity proficiency and general awareness of cultural heritage professionals. A conducted survey in Croatia among these professionals analyses their information and computer practices related to the storage and preservation of digital cultural heritage. Findings reveal that while overall cybersecurity awareness is commendable, there exists a deficiency in cybersecurity and data protection training among cultural heritage professionals, even at the basic level. Additionally, the study highlights insufficient technical support and equipment for cybersecurity within cultural heritage institutions.

User versus institutional perspectives of metadata and searching: an investigation of online access to cultural heritage content during the COVID-19 pandemic

Findings from log analyses of user interactions with the digital content of two large national cultural heritage institutions (National Museums of Scotland and National Galleries of Scotland) during the COVID-19 lockdown highlighted limited engagement compared to pre-pandemic levels. Just 8% of users returned to these sites, whilst the average time spent, and number of pages accessed, were generally low. This prompted a user study to investigate the potential mismatch between the way content was indexed by the curators and searched for by users. A controlled experiment with ten participants, involving two tasks and a selected set of digital cultural heritage content, explored: (a) how does the metadata assigned by cultural heritage organisations meet or differ from the search needs of users? and (b) how can the search strategies of users inform the search pathways employed by cultural heritage organisations? Findings reveal that collection management standards like Spectrum encourage a variety of different characteristics to be considered when developing metadata, yet much of the content is left to the interpretations of curators. Rather, user- and context-specific guidelines could be beneficial in ensuring the aspects considered most important by consumers are indexed, thereby producing more relevant search results. A user-centred approach to designing cultural heritage websites would help to improve an individual’s experience when searching for information. However, a process is needed for institutions to form a concrete understanding of who their target users are before developing features and designs to suit their specific needs and interests.

Application of a stand-alone RTI measuring system with an integrated camera in cultural heritage digitisation

The Multi-Light Image Collection (MLIC) data, in most cases processed with the Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) technique, is one of the popular methods of documentation and digital representation of movable finds from an archaeological excavation. The manual (hand-held) approach to collecting this data is technically simple and still popular in the case of archaeology. However, an extensive amount of work during image collection is a strong motivation for building RTI acquisition systems, which are also popular, in most cases, in the shape of domes. The research presented in the article focuses on two aspects of building such a device. First, the study examines the effect of the placement and number of lights on the resulting RTI model for a system based on LED stripe-shaped circuits. Secondly, the camera component was studied.Recent development in the area of low-cost accessories for microcomputers resulted in a few new industrial-grade USB cameras with the possibility to take high-resolution images. Cameras designed for use with microcomputers offer broad control of the focus or exposition parameters and provide the possibility to build RTI domes with the fully integrated camera, therefore, almost complete automatization of the capturing and processing of MLIC data.This paper presents the main assumptions and elements of the dome-shaped measurement system, which enables automatic RTI data acquisition and processing together with the evaluation of light configuration used to build relightable models. Amphoras handles with stamps and ancient pottery were used as an objects to evaluate the quality of the relightable models generated from the images acquired by a programmable miniature Arducam camera. Results of comparison with professional high-quality mirrorless cameras show that the quality of images from miniature cameras can be satisfactory for some archaeological objects.

Space Connected, Emotion Shared: Investigating Users of Digital Chinese Cultural Heritage

Empowered by the Internet and digital technology, Chinese cultural heritage can intuitively convey its historical stories and share its esthetic art with online users via “social + intelligence + sharing.” Using a survey (N = 783) and semi structured interview (N = 20), adapting and extending the theoretical framework of the third space and interactive ritual chain, this paper analyzes online users’ perceptions, emotions, and actions toward digital Chinese cultural heritage. The results indicate that the technology-enabled communication of digital cultural heritage can construct a kind of third cultural space (immersion & interculturality) where the interactive ritual chain can continuously drive and superimpose online users’ emotional energy. Such emotional energy is a kind of common human emotion that can transcend nationalities. During this process, traditional Chinese culture, popular culture, and global culture are connected.

Consolidating Research Data Management Infrastructure: Towards Sustainable Digital Scholarship

The sustainability of digital research outputs, particularly in the humanities where these frequently comprise archives of digital cultural heritage material, has always offered a challenge to the researchers and institutions who have responsibility for them. The amount of upfront care, effort, and funding that goes into developing a research project during the active (and funded) research phase is rarely replicated within the post-project maintenance and curation of the delivered digital assets or archives. What often defines the sustainability of a research project and its archive is a combination of research method and expected life span for the digital collection. Innovation in research data design is often at the expense of its longevity. But this does not need to be so. The tradeoff between longevity and functionality is a false dichotomy. Yet what is clear is that care and consideration in planning the research data storage or archive for a project can make a big difference. A data management plan that meets grant funder requirements is asked for for many research projects, but it is more than simply a funding document. Good research data management ensures that outputs are available online for years to come and available for future research and innovation. This article offers a practical insight to the methods being employed at the University of Oxford to support Digital Humanities scholars (and beyond) safeguard their digital legacy for future generations.

Strategies for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage of Yi Ethnic Groups in the Context of Informatization and Its Practice in Regional Culture

Abstract The digitization of intangible cultural heritage provides the basis for its protection and inheritance. In this paper, we extracted the classes and interrelationships corresponding to each element for the content of Yi Intangible Cultural Heritage, constructed the data model and accomplished the relationship abstraction of different classes. Based on the structure of different data classes, the correlation between spatial change and non-heritage status is explored. The data model is proposed to cluster non-heritage data based on SWC-WMD distance, which improves the similarity calculation based on WMD distance. The association analysis of non-heritage item classes was performed using Yi folk dance as an example, and the overall non-heritage data was analyzed by clustering. In Yi folk dance, the association formed a network correlation graph with N2, N3, and N12 as the three main centers, in which the dance class items associated with N2, N3, and N12 were 9, 9, and 8, respectively. Mining out the relationships among NH items helps to better the overall NH protection.

Epistolary of P. Kulish on the Websites of the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine

The purpose of the article is to study and characterise the available sources and projects of digitisation and virtualisation of P. Kulish’s epistolary heritage on the websites of the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine (hereinafter – VNLU) to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of Ukraine. Research methods. The work uses a set of scientific methods based on an interdisciplinary approach, which includes analytical (for analysing electronic resources and the Internet), historical (for tracing the process of digitising P. Kulish’s manuscript heritage), information and library science aspects. Scientific novelty. Kulish studies (a scientific discipline that studies the life and work of P. Kulish) are widely represented and introduced into scientific and information circulation thanks to the electronic resources of the VNLU. The electronic resources are filled with the digitized documentary heritage of P. Kulish: a small part of his epistolary works, fiction and scientific works, photographic documents, and VNLU reference books, which contain information about the funds where the writer’s paper documents are stored. The created digital objects of P. Kulish’s epistolary works are an integral part of the digital cultural heritage. Conclusions. P. Kulish’s epistolary heritage is not digitised to the full extent to which it is presented in paper form and requires an urgent digitisation process. Ukrainian society is deprived of the opportunity to freely use the national heritage in the form of P. Kulish’s epistolary heritage, which is a historical source and generally identifies Ukrainians as an original nation with an authentic cultural heritage. Today, the formation of an informative electronic environment aimed at highlighting national achievements is the main strategic task for the development of not only the leading library institutions of Ukraine but also public policy in general.

Archival Records Related to Cultural Heritage in the Croatian Memorial Documentation Center of the Homeland War

Amid war and occurring natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, protecting and preserving cultural heritage as well as records related to it is of the most significant importance. The Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia has recognized the importance of the preservation of national cultural heritage leading the project “E-culture – digitization of cultural heritage“. The Croatian Memorial Documentation Centre of the Homeland War also aspires to join and participate in the project. Besides records of the military and civil institutions related to the Homeland War, the Croatian Memorial Documentation Center of the Homeland War aims to include documents on broader areas of activities from the Homeland War and related to the War in its collections. Accordingly, one of the most important collections is the one with archives of records related to the Croatian cultural heritage in Homeland War. The aim of the paper is to describe the quantity, characteristics and contents of the archive records related to the Croatian cultural heritage destroyed during the Homeland War in Croatia that is stored in the Croatian Memorial Documentation Center of the Homeland War.

Digitalization of Historical Monuments in the Context of Architecture and Urban Planning: Creating Virtual Museums and Platforms

The process of digitalization has emerged as a transformative force in preserving and presenting Ukraine's historical heritage. The article titled "Digitization of Historical Landmarks in Ukraine: Creating Virtual Museums and Platforms" delves into the integration of modern information technologies in the realm of architecture and urban planning. Focused on the specialization of Architecture and Urban Planning, this research examines the impact of digitization on Ukraine's historical sites and the creation of virtual museums and platforms. The study explores the multifaceted effects of digitization, elucidating its role in safeguarding cultural heritage from various threats. Leveraging advancements in technology, the research assesses the application of virtual reconstructions as a means of preserving architectural treasures that have been damaged or destroyed over time. Additionally, it investigates the potential of virtual museums and platforms to offer immersive experiences that enable individuals to interact with historical landmarks in unprecedented ways. The article emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of this endeavor, highlighting the collaboration between architects, historians, and technologists. It scrutinizes the challenges and opportunities presented by this digital transformation, including issues related to accuracy, accessibility, and the meaningful communication of historical and cultural significance to users. Furthermore, the paper addresses the importance of aligning cultural and information policies, streamlining methodologies, and technological approaches to ensure a cohesive and comprehensive approach to the digitization process. In the field of Architecture and Urban Planning, this research offers insights into the evolving landscape of historical preservation and presentation. By investigating the fusion of digital technologies and cultural heritage, the article contributes to the discourse on how Ukraine's historical landmarks can be effectively preserved, shared, and experienced in a rapidly advancing technological era. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for architects, urban planners, historians, and policymakers, enabling them to make informed decisions that harmonize modern technology with the rich legacy of Ukraine's architectural and cultural heritage.

Sustainable Management of International Partnerships for Cultural Heritage Digitization in Brazil

The demand for digitized cultural heritage has increased over the last few decades; digitization is indeed considered a powerful means to preserve and enhance cultural heritage and make it accessible to the wider public for education and research purposes. However, digitizing cultural heritage is a complex process, requiring specific competencies, skills, software, technologies, and, therefore, human and financial resources. Cultural organizations are therefore rethinking their traditional business models, often deciding to outsource their digitization projects or implementing PPPs—public–private partnerships. This is particularly evident in developing countries, where it is also challenging to find the required resources locally and international cooperation is sometimes necessary. However, international PPPs for the digitization of cultural heritage present several unsustainable aspects. There is therefore a need for a deeper understanding of which practices should be implemented to sustainably manage these collaborations. This paper aims to investigate this topic using a case study analysis of two international PPPs for the digitization of cultural heritage in Brazil. The analysis highlights relevant managerial choices that led these projects to positively impact local social, economic, and environmental development, thus bringing early insights to advance the academic and practice discussions on the above-mentioned topic.

Research on character tone trend clustering of Kunqu Opera based on quantum adaptive genetic algorithm

Abstract Kunqu, one of the oldest forms of Chinese opera, features a unique artistic expression arising from the interplay between vocal melody and the tonal quality of its lyrics. Identifying Kunqu’s character tone trend (vocal melodies derived from tonal quality of the lyrics) is critical to understanding and preserving this art form. Traditional research methods, which rely on qualitative descriptions by musicologists, have often been debated due to their subjective nature. In this study, we present a novel approach to analyze the character tone trend in Kunqu by employing computer modeling machine learning techniques. By extracting the character tone trend of Kunqu using computational modeling methods and employing machine learning techniques to apply cluster analysis on Kunqu’s character tone melody, our model uncovers musical structural patterns between singing and speech, validating and refining the qualitative findings of musicologists. Furthermore, our model can automatically assess whether a piece adheres to the rhythmic norms of ‘the integration of literature and music’ in Kunqu, thus contributing to the digitization, creation, and preservation of this important cultural heritage.

THE APPLICATION OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY IN AUDIO-VISUAL ART (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM “ADVERTISING AND VIDEO ART” AT KSADA)

Over the past few years, photogrammetry has attracted the attention of researchers worldwide in different aspects and branches of science. Ecological issues and environmental changes update research related to the digitisation and preservation of cultural heritage and museum exhibitions. Photogrammetric methods also find their place in video production – creating virtual doubles of people, buildings, or landscapes. This article brings up the question of the use of photogrammetric methods in the educational process at the educational professional program “Advertising and video Art” specialty 021 Audio-visual Art of the first degree of higher education at KSADA. Selected and detailed knowledge and skills obtained as a result of studying mandatory educational components (processing of static images, photography theory, work with video editors, compositing programs, colour theory, colour correction, grading, theory and practice of 3D modelling programs), which contribute to the study of the discipline of choice “Fundamentals of photogrammetry”. Following the analysis, the technology to create a photogrammetric project is considered step by step, the steps of this process are outlined and described, namely: the shooting process, processing of the captured material, creating a cloud of points, polygonization of the three-dimensional model, retopology of the model, texturing and texture baking. The main fields of application of the photogrammetry method in audio-visual art are identified: “practical” photogrammetry (digital conservation of architectural and sculpture monuments, copy of museum exhibitions); construction of models for further use in the production of films and videos; using photogrammetric models as objects of artistic creativity, including advertising; the use of unusual textures, perspectives, physical processes that cannot be implemented in the real world; creating large-scale copies of historic buildings and 3D printing sculptures.

Protecting and Accessing Indigenous Peoples’ Digital Cultural Heritage through Sustainable Governance and IPR Structures - the case of Sámi Culture

This article addresses the clash between Western and Indigenous understandings of how cultural heritage should be governed, protected and treated through law, especially in the digital environment. Specifically, the focus is on the ways in which the Western intellectual property rights (IPR) system often stands in contrast with Indigenous practices and ethics. This problem is approached through a single, intrinsic and descriptive case study related to the digital cultural heritage of the Sámi people: the Digital Access to Sámi Heritage Archives project. The article shows how the current IPR framework governing Indigenous cultural heritage is often misaligned with Indigenous worldviews. However, the study reveals that there is room to develop more sustainable, just and inclusive practices by complementing the existing legal rules with soft-law mechanisms, such as norms and customs, co-created with Indigenous communities.