ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage 

About: ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage is an academic journal published by Association for Computing Machinery. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Cultural heritage & Storytelling. It has an ISSN identifier of 1556-4711. Over the lifetime, 267 publications have been published receiving 4776 citations.

Research challenges for digital archives of 3D cultural heritage models

Abstract: The increasing creation of 3D cultural heritage models has resulted in a need for the establishment of centralized digital archives. We advocate open repositories of scientifically authenticated 3D models based on the example of traditional scholarly journals, with standard mechanisms for preservation, peer review, publication, updating, and dissemination of the 3D models. However, fully realizing this vision will require addressing a number of related research challenges.In this article, we first give a brief background of the virtual heritage discipline, and characterize the need for centralized 3D archives, including a preliminary needs assessment survey of virtual heritage practitioners. Then we describe several existing 3D cultural heritage repositories, and enumerate a number of technical research challenges that should be addressed to realize an ideal archive. These challenges include digital rights management for the 3D models, clear depiction of uncertainty in 3D reconstructions, version control for 3D models, effective metadata structures, long-term preservation, interoperability, and 3D searching. Other concerns are provision for the application of computational analysis tools, and the organizational structure of a peer-reviewed 3D model archive.

A visitor's guide in an active museum: Presentations, communications, and reflection

Abstract: Technology can play a crucial role in supporting museum visitors and enhancing their overall museum visit experiences. Visitors coming to a museum do not want to be overloaded with information, but to receive the relevant information, learn, and have an overall interesting experience. To serve this goal, a user-friendly and flexible system is needed. The design of such a system poses several challenges that need to be addressed in parallel. The user interface should be intuitive and let the visitors focus on the exhibits, not on the technology. Content and delivery must provide relevant information and at the same time allow visitors to get the level of detail and the perspectives in which they are interested. Personalization may play a key role in providing relevant information to individuals. Yet, since visitors tend to visit the museum in small groups, technology should also contribute to and facilitate during-the-visit communication or post-visit group interaction. The PIL project applied at the Hecht museum extended the research results of the PEACH project and tried to address all of these considerations. Evaluation involving users substantiated several aspects of the design.

A serious game model for cultural heritage

Abstract: Serious games present a promising opportunity for learning, but the genre still lacks methodologies and tools for efficient and low-cost production, particularly for teacher and domain experts This article gives an authoring framework that aims to provide structured support, from content design to final implementation In particular, we have abstracted a conceptual model—the SandBox Serious Game - which relies on a generalization of task-based learning theory The model invites players to perform cognitive tasks contextually while exploring information-rich virtual environments We consider it particularly suited for cultural heritage entertainment applications The model defines games that are set in realistic virtual worlds enriched with embedded educational tasks, which we have implemented as minigames This approach simplifies the authoring work, which can easily be supported by visual authoring tools for ontology-based urban 3D modeling and implementation tasks, thus allowing an approach similar to the mind-maps concept We propose a top-down methodology for content preparation, starting from a city-level analysis down to the single points of interest and associated tasks, which are instances of simple predefined minigame/quiz typologies We provide examples and discuss criteria for selecting task typologies according to the authors' cognitive targets Finally, we discuss the results of a user test, which took place in a lab, aimed at verifying the acquisition of cultural heritage knowledge in a pleasant and engaging way Games appear particularly suited for supporting the study of images, especially of iconography Compared to reading text, a game forces the player to focus more strongly on problems, which favors knowledge acquisition and retention Learning complex concepts requires an investigative attitude, which can be spurred by well-designed games Good design involves usability, graphic appeal, appropriate content, and the presence of connections which a player must discover in the content Players should be asked to pay attention to and reason about their whole game activity - including the relationships between the game content, the brief introduction, and concluding texts More comprehensive tests are needed to better investigate the educational effectiveness—however, the first results are promising, especially in terms of user motivation and creation of new opportunities for learning about CH

Integrating a Location-Based Mobile Game in the Museum Visit: Evaluating Visitors’ Behaviour and Learning

Abstract: Location-based systems currently represent a suitable solution to enhance cultural experiences inside museums, as they can satisfy visitors’ needs through the provision of contextualized contents and services. In this framework, a promising approach to captivate the attention of teenagers—a hard to please target audience—is represented by mobile serious games, such as playful activities aiming to primarily fulfil educational purposes. The use of a mobile digital tool during the visit definitely discloses new opportunities for contextual learning scenarios; however, so far, only a few studies have analysed the impact of different communication approaches on visitors’ degree of exploration and acquisition of knowledge. This work aims to enrich this field of research, presenting the conceptual framework; the design principles; and the evaluation results of “Gossip at palace,” a location-based mobile game integrating a storytelling approach. The game was developed for an Italian historical residence to communicate its 18th-century history to teenagers, capitalizing on narrative and game mechanics to foster young visitors’ motivations to explore the museum and facilitate their meaning-making process. Following a mixed-methods perspective, the article firstly describes to what extent the components of the application were appreciated by teenagers as well as by other visitor segments. Secondly, it provides an insight on the effectiveness of the game in facilitating the acquisition of historical knowledge by participants, enriched by considerations on the methods to be adopted when evaluating mobile learning in informal educational settings. Thirdly, players’ degree of use of the digital game throughout the visit is compared to analogous patterns registered for people using a multimedia mobile guide in the same venue. On the one hand, the study pointed out that the game facilitated a wider exploration of the museum; on the other, it highlighted that players mainly gained a superficial knowledge of the proposed contents.

Computational historiography: Data mining in a century of classics journals

Abstract: More than a century of modern Classical scholarship has created a vast archive of journal publications that is now becoming available online. Most of this work currently receives little, if any, attention. The collection is too large to be read by any single person and mostly not of sufficient interest to warrant traditional close reading. This article presents computational methods for identifying patterns and testing hypotheses about Classics as a field. Such tools can help organize large collections, introduce younger scholars to the history of the field, and act as a “survey,” identifying anomalies that can be explored using more traditional methods.