Under Construction: Alternative Spaces of Discourse at the National Library of Israel (Critical Essay)

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (01) ◽  
pp. 59-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Kargon
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
Institutional Transformation ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
National Library ◽  
Alternative Spaces ◽  
Under Construction ◽  
Alternative Designs

AbstractA new building for the National Library of Israel (NLI), scheduled for completion in 2021, is the culmination of a two-decade process of institutional transformation. Formerly known as the Jewish National and University Library, the NLI has historically served simultaneously as Israel's official state repository, as the Hebrew University's central library, and as a “library of the Jewish people.” Like other national libraries around the world, including elsewhere in the Middle East, the National Library of Israel has had to grapple with accelerated changes in management of library collections due to the proliferation of digital media. More fundamental, however, have been changes in the cultural expectations about how libraries should function. Since 1998, the NLI has sought to expand its mission to promote not only scholarship but also cultural “discourse” among Israel's diverse constituencies. The architectural design of NLI's new edifice was intended, therefore, to do more than house the functional requirements of a modern library. It was commissioned to express through its design the significance of the transformed institution for the Israeli public. Towards that goal, a highly publicized competition for the NLI's design was held in 2012. The original two-stage competition ended in controversy after the architect endorsed by the jurors was dismissed. Yet a review of designs submitted by four Israeli architects in that first competition shows how public spaces, affiliated with public institutions, are expected to foster public discourse in Israel. Whether that discourse is cultural or political, contentious or contradictory, these alternative designs for the NLI illustrate common themes based upon specific environmental tropes, familiar across a broad spectrum of Israeli society.

scholarly journals COVID-19 crisis response at the National Library of Israel: Confronting challenges and maximising opportunities

2021 ◽  
pp. 095574902098014
Author(s):  
Zack Rothbart
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
Its Region ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
National Library ◽  
National Memory ◽  
Strategic Goals ◽  
Under Construction ◽  
State Of Israel ◽  
Dual Mandate

Founded in 1892, the National Library of Israel (NLI) serves as the vibrant institution of national memory for the Jewish people worldwide and Israelis of all backgrounds and faiths. Its four core collections – Israel, Judaica, Islam and Middle East, and the Humanities – tell the historical, cultural and intellectual story of the Jewish people, the State of Israel and the Land of Israel and its region throughout the ages. The NLI’s current transformative renewal aims to encourage diverse audiences in Israel and across the globe to engage with these treasures in meaningful ways through a range of innovative educational, cultural and digital initiatives. The most tangible manifestation of this transformation is the new NLI campus, now under construction adjacent to the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in Jerusalem, and on schedule to open its doors in 2022. NLI’s renewal and dual mandate requiring it to engage diverse domestic and international audiences, as well as the massive construction project underway, have in many ways magnified the challenges posed by this difficult period, as well as – and perhaps even more so – the opportunities it presents. While the response to these unprecedented and unforeseen circumstances has largely been ad hoc, the NLI approach has been guided by the goal of protecting the health and welfare of its staff and users, and identifying strategic opportunities to not only make the most of the difficulties presented by this complex new reality but also build programs and initiatives to help achieve strategic goals. Following a brief summary of the crisis in Israel, this article presents a number of examples of the physical, logistical and programmatic adaptations NLI has implemented in attempting to maximise potential opportunities in best fulfilling its mission during this time.

scholarly journals What we talk about when we talk about interactivity: Empowerment in public discourse

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1052-1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marguerite Barry ◽  
Gavin Doherty
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Dominant Mode ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
Flexible Approach ◽  
Communication Events ◽  
Action Context ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Using Data

This study offers new insights into interactivity by examining its association with empowerment in public discourse. Using data from 20 years of newspaper coverage, a mixed methods analysis reveals different ‘modes’ of interactivity in discourse. Empowerment is the dominant mode of interactivity despite substantial changes in technologies and uses over this time. A content analysis shows that older discourses associate interactivity with specific technologies, while recent discourses use more universal terms. The discourse analysis illustrates the range of empowerment found in different interactive experiences, from basic data access to collaboration across communities, even reaching beyond communication events. The study offers a new model for understanding interactivity and empowerment based on the potential in communications for action, context, strategies and outcomes. This layered and flexible approach has appeal for digital media research and production.

Evaluating Sustainable Conceptual Designs Using an AHP-Based ELECTRE I Method

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Thi Bich Ha Nghiem ◽  
Ta-Chung Chu
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Numerical Comparison ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Furniture Manufacturing ◽  
Conceptual Designs ◽  
Electre Method ◽  
Electre I ◽  
Alternative Designs

Evaluating sustainable conceptual designs is a crucial part of the development of new products in various sectors because it contributes to the survival and prosperity of companies. Such designs must be compatible with a product’s functional requirements and be sustainable in economic, environmental, and social terms. Various criteria, some qualitative and others quantitative, are considered when evaluating sustainable conceptual designs; some criteria may also have sub-criteria, and these criteria and sub-criteria may differ in importance. How to effectively evaluate various criteria and sub-criteria and weight them are the major research problem. This study developed an analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based ELECTRE I method to resolve the evaluation problem; the method entails a two-level hierarchical structure to depict the relationships between the major criteria and sub-criteria and their corresponding weights, with weights obtained through an AHP. Furthermore, an extension based on the addition of net concordance value and net adjusted discordance value is proposed for ranking alternative designs; this extension yields more distinguishable results than the method of [Nijkamp and Van Delft Multi-Criteria Analysis and Regional Decision-Making, Vol. 8 (Springer Science & Business Media, 1977)], and the proposed extension in the ELECTRE I method captures more information in the modified summation matrix when aggregating values in the concordance matrix and the modified discordance matrix, representing an advantage over the method of [Zhang et al. Virtual network embedding using node multiple metrics based on simplified ELECTRE method, IEEE Access 6 (2018) 37314–37327]. In addition, to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, the example of the evaluation and selection of sustainable conceptual designs in the furniture manufacturing industry is presented. Finally, a numerical comparison is made to show the advantages of the proposed method.

Democracy, digitisation and public libraries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Skøtt
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
National Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Media Types

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate what democratic challenges the digitisation of the public libraries in Denmark has entailed. Using the concepts from a national library professional strategy from 2012, an analysis of 9 librarians’ experiences with digital dissemination in practice is conducted. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a part of a larger research project called “If digitisation is the answer, then what was the question?”. This sub study builds on the semi-structured interviews with library staff members, case-descriptions of two central providers of digital public library materials, as well as literature studies of missions, vision and strategies from different public library policy institutions. To frame the study, a literature review has been conducted. Findings The author detects the presence of several incompatible conditions in digital dissemination. These conditions are predominantly of an organisational nature, potentially containing major consequences for citizens’ free and equal access to information, knowledge and culture. Among other things, the Danish public libraries risk substantiating an already existing and problematic polarisation between technologically capable and incapacitated groups of people. Originality/value The digital transformation of society has only just begun. Therefore, it is important to examine the consequences of the transition to digital media types for central cultural institution such as the public libraries. The present study is an early and minor contribution to the illumination of a process requiring many more and large-scale studies.

Design and Deployment of Service Oriented Applications with Non-Functional Requirements

2011 ◽  
pp. 315-339
Author(s):  
László Gönczy ◽  
Dániel Varró
Keyword(s):  
Architectural Design ◽  
Model Transformations ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Application Development ◽  
Tool Chain ◽  
Model Driven ◽  
Enterprise Application ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
Early Validation ◽  
Service Oriented

As the use of SOA became a mainstream in enterprise application development, there is a growing need for designing non-functional aspects of service integration at the architectural level, instead of creating only technology specific assets (configuration descriptors). This architectural design supports flexibility and early validation of requirements. This chapter presents a model-driven method supporting the automated deployment of service configurations. This deployment technique is supported by an extensible tool chain where (i) service models are captured by a service-oriented extension of UML enabling to capture non-functional requirements, and (ii) configuration descriptors for the target deployment platform are derived by automated model transformations within the VIATRA2 framework.

scholarly journals More than a trivial pursuit: Public order policing narratives and the ‘social media test’

2020 ◽  
pp. 174165902091863
Author(s):  
Justin R Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Excessive Force ◽  
The Social ◽  
Police Accountability ◽  
Trivial Pursuit ◽  
Media Narratives ◽  
Depth Interviews

Social media has transformed public discourse on policing and the contest of control over the police image. This article draws on original, empirical research to conceptualise the phenomenon of the ‘social media test’ – the evolution of social media into a legitimate measure of police performance. Through in-depth interviews with police and non-police respondents the article maps the genealogy of, and provides perspective on, one of the first viral cases of bystander video of police excessive force in Australia filmed and uploaded to YouTube. The study shows the video’s impact on hegemonic mainstream and police news media narratives, processes of criminalisation and police accountability and the merit of narrative criminology in unpacking these phenomena. Police alluding to the ‘social media test’ in in-depth interviews shows that digital media in general and social media in particular can no longer be dismissed as peripheral or subsidiary to public discourse on policing in a digital society.

scholarly journals Inference of Drawing Elements and Space Usage on Architectural Drawings Using Semantic Segmentation

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (20) ◽  
pp. 7347
Author(s):  
Jihyo Seo ◽  
Hyejin Park ◽  
Seungyeon Choo
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Semantic Segmentation ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Architectural Drawings ◽  
Design Alternatives ◽  
Automation Technology

Artificial intelligence presents an optimized alternative by performing problem-solving knowledge and problem-solving processes under specific conditions. This makes it possible to creatively examine various design alternatives under conditions that satisfy the functional requirements of the building. In this study, in order to develop architectural design automation technology using artificial intelligence, the characteristics of an architectural drawings, that is, the architectural elements and the composition of spaces expressed in the drawings, were learned, recognized, and inferred through deep learning. The biggest problem in applying deep learning in the field of architectural design is that the amount of publicly disclosed data is absolutely insufficient and that the publicly disclosed data also haves a wide variety of forms. Using the technology proposed in this study, it is possible to quickly and easily create labeling images of drawings, so it is expected that a large amount of data sets that can be used for deep learning for the automatic recommendation of architectural design or automatic 3D modeling can be obtained. This will be the basis for architectural design technology using artificial intelligence in the future, as it can propose an architectural plan that meets specific circumstances or requirements.

scholarly journals Nation-states, transnational corporations and cosmopolitans in the global popular music economy

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-418
Author(s):  
Keith Negus
Keyword(s):  
Popular Music ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Transnational Corporations ◽  
Nation State ◽  
State Control ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Bounded State ◽  
Financial Power ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
Alternative Spaces

This article assesses changing debates about globalisation in light of the growth of digital media. It stresses how popular music is shaped by enduring tensions between nation-state attempts to control territorial borders, the power of transnational corporations aiming to operate across these borders and emergent cosmopolitan practices that offer a cultural challenge to these borders. It outlines how popular music is influenced by physical place and highlights the cultural and political importance of the nation-state for understanding the context within which musical creativity occurs. It explains how transnational corporations use financial power to work across and to gain entry to national boundaries, and assesses claims that cosmopolitanism musical encounters offer more inclusive and alternative spaces to that of bounded state control and unbounded capitalist competition. It concludes by arguing for a more music-centred approach to the powers and pluralisms through which popular music moves at the meeting of states, corporations and cosmopolitans.

Digital media reflexivities: The Axel Springer Campus in Berlin

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gutzmer
Keyword(s):  
Urban Environment ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Architectural Practice ◽  
Media Work ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
A Current

This article reads the notion of mediatization through a current example of architectural practice: the Axel Springer Campus in Berlin. Based on current theories of mediatization, it shows how this architectural project for a media firm finds new ways for architecture itself to function as a medium. It argues that architect Rem Koolhaas developed an architectural design that has the capacity to mediate images and interpretations of the productivity of media practitioners, of the relationship between media firm and urban environment, as well as of more general transformations of media work in the digital age.

A Jewish National Collection for a Jewish National Library: The Abraham Schwadron Collection, Past and Present

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-79
Author(s):  
Rachel Misrati
Keyword(s):  
Jewish People ◽  
National Library ◽  
Original Source ◽  
The Public ◽  
Entire Collection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Musical Scores ◽  
History Of ◽  
Online Catalogue ◽  
The Many

The fascinating story of the creation and development of this unique collection is matched only by the collection's importance as a resource of primary material for research in the social sciences, the humanities, and even the exact sciences. With over five and a half thousand leading Jewish personalities represented in their original handwriting, Abraham Schwadron's autograph collection is more than just the first Jewish Who's Who. The inscribed visiting cards, literary manuscripts, handwritten letters, and even musical scores are all evidence of a Jewish social milieu and cultural enterprise that stretches from the sixteenth century to the present day. The collection is a written record of the history of the Jewish people as it unfolded. No less dramatic is the man behind the collection, who from his youth in Galicia decided he would build a national Jewish autograph collection for the Jewish people and bring it to Jerusalem. The National Library of Israel is presently working to make this whole collection accessible to the public, first by rendering the collection searchable through the Library's online catalogue and then by digitizing the entire collection of autographs. This article traces the history of the collection, introduces the intriguing figure of Abraham Schwadron and his rationale for building the collection, and reveals the many ways that the collection's rich and fascinating potential can be used as a resource of original source material. At the end of the article there is brief reference to the National Library of Israel's project for digitizing the collection.

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