scholarly journals Integrating Digital Datasets into Public Engagement through ArcGIS StoryMaps

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-360
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Howland ◽  
Brady Liss ◽  
Thomas E. Levy ◽  
Mohammad Najjar

AbstractArchaeologists have a responsibility to use their research to engage people and provide opportunities for the public to interact with cultural heritage and interpret it on their own terms. This can be done through hypermedia and deep mapping as approaches to public archaeology. In twenty-first-century archaeology, scholars can rely on vastly improved technologies to aid them in these efforts toward public engagement, including digital photography, geographic information systems, and three-dimensional models. These technologies, even when collected for analysis or documentation, can be valuable tools for educating and involving the public with archaeological methods and how these methods help archaeologists learn about the past. Ultimately, academic storytelling can benefit from making archaeological results and methods accessible and engaging for stakeholders and the general public. ArcGIS StoryMaps is an effective tool for integrating digital datasets into an accessible framework that is suitable for interactive public engagement. This article describes the benefits of using ArcGIS StoryMaps for hypermedia and deep mapping–based public engagement using the story of copper production in Iron Age Faynan, Jordan, as a case study.

Author(s):  
Sarah Severson ◽  
Jean-Sébastien Sauve

Over the past 10 years, there has been a noticeable increase of crowdsourcing projects in cultural heritage institutions, where digital technologies are being used to open up their collections and encourage the public to engage with them in a very direct way. Libraries, archives and museums have long had a history and mandate of outreach and public engagement but crowdsourcing marks a move towards a more participatory and inclusive model of engagement. If a library wants to start a crowdsourcing project, what do they need to know?  This article is written from a Canadian University library perspective with the goal to help the reader engage with the current crowdsourcing landscape. This article’s contribution includes a literature review and a survey of popular projects and platforms; followed by a case study of a crowdsourcing pilot completed at the McGill Library. The article pulls these two threads of theory and practice together—with a discussion of some of the best practices learned through the literature and real-life experience, giving the reader practical tools to help a library evaluate if crowdsourcing is right for them, and how to get a desired project off the ground.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Ben Paites ◽  
Emma Reeve

In August 2015, three pottery vessels were discovered in the River Colne in Colchester’s Castle Park. After discussion with the local Hindu temple, these objects were identified as Hindu vessels used during death rites, and subsequently they were entered into the collection of Colchester + Ipswich Museums. These finds acted as a catalyst for an exhibition called After Life, which deployed the wider museum collections, including its archaeological artefacts, to explore through the themes of Body, Soul and Mourning, how people engaged with death in the past and how they continue to do so. This article outlines the public engagement activities conducted during the development of the exhibition, an overview of the exhibition itself, and a discussion of the ‘Death Café’ public event, which took place in the museum during the run of the show. As such, the article offers a case study in public mortuary archaeology in the museum environment.


2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-85
Author(s):  
Marcia McNutt ◽  
Robert D. Ballard

Aquariums and "blue water" oceanographic institutions in America have traditionally had completely separate missions, with the former concentrating on public outreach and education and the latter undertaking basic research. Recently, two new institutions, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and the Mystic Aquarium/Institute for Exploration (MA/IFE), were founded for the expressed purpose of bridging the gap between basic ocean discovery and public education. In both cases, the ability to bring the excitement of undersea exploration to the public has been enabled by sophisticated undersea vehicles that permit the aquarium audience to participate in the research enterprise via telepresence. The fact that the research is constantly in the public eye provides researchers with frequent opportunities to explain the importance and the relevancy of their work for the benefit of society. Despite the efforts over the past 50 years, over 95 percent of the oceans remain unknown and unexplored. This fact combined with the realization that all citizens of the twenty-first century must be well informed on the consequences of their actions on the health of this ocean planet makes it likely that such partnerships between research and educational institutions will proliferate.


Author(s):  
A. Rodriguez

In three-dimensional models of urban historical reconstruction, missed contextual architecture faces difficulties because it does not have much written references in contrast to the most important monuments. This is the case of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico during the Colonial Era (1542-1810), which has lost much of its heritage. An alternative to offer a hypothetical view of these elements is a typological - parametric definition that allows a 3D modeling approach to the most common features of this heritage evidence.


Temida ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-21
Author(s):  
Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic

This paper aims to present German experiences in documenting the crimes of the past using Berlin as a case study. The first part provides a brief overview of the history and the broader social context in which the process of dealing with the past took place in Germany in general, and in Berlin in particular, as well as the most important characteristics of data on crimes that were presented to the public. The second part provides an overview and analysis of the data presented in two memorials: the Topography of Terror and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. These two memorials are examples of presenting information about war crimes that can be considered as fairly inclusive, thus the goal of their presentation is to highlight the potential that these approaches may have in creating a social memory and the overall attitude of society toward the past. The findings presented in this paper are the result of the research carried out by the author in Berlin in June 2011.


Author(s):  
Giuseppe Lo Presti ◽  
Daniele Bianchini ◽  
Francesca Ceccaroni ◽  
Roberto Cioni ◽  
Cinzia Freschi ◽  
...  

Humanities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Jan Alexander van Nahl

Many Humanities scholars seem to have become increasingly pessimistic due to a lack of success in their efforts to be recognized as a serious player next to their science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) colleagues. This appears to be the result of a profound uncertainty in the self-perception of individual disciplines within the Humanities regarding their role both in academia and society. This ambiguity, not least, has its roots in their own history, which often appears as an interwoven texture of conflicting opinions. Taking a stance on the current and future role of the Humanities in general, and individual disciplines in particular thus asks for increased engagement with their own past, i.e., histories of scholarship, which are contingent on societal and political contexts. This article’s focus is on a case study from the field of Old Norse Studies. In the face of the rise of populism and nationalism in our days, Old Norse Studies, with their focus on a ‘Germanic’ past, have a special obligation to address societal challenges. The article argues for the public engagement with the histories of individual disciplines to strengthen scholarly credibility in the face of public opinion and to overcome trenches which hamper attempts at uniting Humanities experts and regaining distinct social relevance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Costas Papadopoulos ◽  
Yannis Hamilakis ◽  
Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika ◽  
Marta Díaz-Guardamino

The image-based discourse on clay figurines that treated them as merely artistic representations, the meaning of which needs to be deciphered through various iconological methods, has been severely critiqued and challenged in the past decade. This discourse, however, has largely shaped the way that figurines are depicted in archaeological iterations and publications, and it is this corpus of images that has in turn shaped further thinking and discussion on figurines, especially since very few people are able to handle the original, three-dimensional, physical objects. Building on the changing intellectual climate in figurine studies, we propose here a framework that treats figurines as multi-sensorial, affective and dynamic objects, acting within distinctive, relational fields of sensoriality. Furthermore, we situate a range of digital, computational methods within this framework in an attempt to deprive them of their latent Cartesianism and mentalism, and we demonstrate how we have applied them to the study of Neolithic figurines from the site of Koutroulou Magoula in Greece. We argue that such methodologies, situated within an experiential framework, not only provide new means of understanding, interpretation and dissemination, but, most importantly, enable researchers and the public to explore the sensorial affordances and affective potential of things, in the past as well as in the present.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 188-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Connolly

AbstractThis paper evaluates attempts over the past seven years to address two archaeological challenges at the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa. The first challenge was the proper curation of 50 years of accumulated collections from a wide array of sources by a staff one-third the size of when the collections were acquired. Second, the Museum faced the challenge of becoming a viable and socially relevant public institution in the twenty-first century. Ultimately, the C.H. Nash Museum embraced a co-creative approach to face the challenges. Co-creative processes resulted in a renewed and expanded base for public engagement, allowing the Museum to maximize the potential for preservation, research accessibility, and the exhibition of cultural materials curated at the institution.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Mendez ◽  
Mercedes Vila-Alonso

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to know, from a three-dimensional perspective (operational, emotional and behavioral), the process of “putting down roots” related with the implementation of Kaizen until it becomes sustainable. The research aims to know how this “putting down roots” process is carried out, what transformations occur, what elements are involved and what role they represent in achieving sustainability. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, a methodology based on the case study has been used, an interpretive approach to reality has been adopted as a paradigm and the Grounded Theory has been applied as an analytical technique. Findings The results suggest the existence of a transformation process that leads to creating new habits, beliefs and feelings, a phenomenon that the authors identify as a three-dimensional learning process (operational, emotional and behavioral). Practical implications This type of learning is perceived as a transition toward an organizational culture that ensures the roots of the Kaizen principles, which is essential for its sustainability and which favors the creation of talent and the well-being of employees, two challenges that the Kaizen of the twenty-first century must face. Originality/value The document includes innovative contributions to the Kaizen sustainability phenomenon, as it is dealt with from a three-dimensional perspective that underlies the inhibitors and enablers known in the current literature.


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