Abstract
Present virtual heritage projects are mostly focused either on ‘process’ or ‘product’ but rarely consider ‘users’ (end-users' perception of the content) with project contents predominantly developed with an ‘ocular-centric’ tendency. There is no significant interpretation method or principle for interpreting digital heritage like other disciplines such as archaeology. This paper argues that, for better interpretation and experience of a digital heritage site, a comprehensive interpretation method is required, which should address end-users with various background, overcome the linearity in narrative level and subjectiveness in content creation. This paper also argues that instead of predetermined instructional sequences or descriptive interpretation, the interaction setting can be participatory and contributive, where the end-users and environment may engage in ‘dialogic-interaction’. In terms of methodology, ‘Interpretation’ is first conceptualized by assimilating definitions from various heritage scholars and interpretation organizations. Notions of interpretation-practice and level of interaction are identified from reviewing some online digital heritage projects. By identifying weaknesses, this paper finally proposes a conceptual model for developing a comprehensive interpretation method for future digital heritage projects.
References
1. | Smith, L. , Uses of Heritage, London, New York, Routledge, 2006. Google Scholar | Crossref |
2. | Graham, B. , Heritage as Knowledge: Capital or Culture?, Urban Studies, 2002, 39(5-6), 1003–1017. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI |
3. |
UNESCO, Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage , 32nd
Session: The General Conference of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, UNESCO, 2003. Google Scholar |
4. | Roussou, M. , Virtual Heritage: From the Research Lab to the Broad Public, Virtual Archaeology, 2002, 93–100. Google Scholar |
5. | Addison, A.C. , Emerging Trends in Virtual Heritage, IEEE Multimedia, 2000, 7(2), 22–25. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |
6. | Tost, L.P. and Champion, E.M. , A Critical Examination of Presence Applied to Cultural Heritage, The 10th Annual International Workshop on Presence Barcelona, Spain, 2007, 245–256. Google Scholar |
7. | Preece, J., Benyon, D., Davies, G., Keller, L., Preece, J. and Rogers, Y. , A Guide to Usability: Human Factors in Computing, Wokingham, England, Addison-Wesley, 1993. Google Scholar |
8. | Thomas, J. , The Great Dark Book: Archaeology, Experience, and Interpretation, in: Earle, T., Peebles, C.S., eds., A Companion to Archaeology, Blackwell Publishing, 2004, 21–36. Google Scholar |
9. | Tunbridge, J.E. and Ashworth, G.J. , Dissonant Heritage: The Management of the Past as a Resource in Conflict, Chichester, New York, J. Wiley, 1996. Google Scholar |
10. | Gillings, M. , Plans, Elevations and Virtual Worlds: The Development of Techniques for the Routine Construction of Hyperreal Simulation in: Barcelo, J.A., Forte, M., Sanders, D.H., eds., Virtual Reality in Archaeology, Archaeopress, Oxford, England, 2000, 59–69. Google Scholar |
11. | Affleck, J. and Kvan, T. , Memorey Capsules: Discursive Interpretation for Cultural Heritage through New Media in: Kalay, Y.E., Kvan, T., Afflek, J., eds., New Heritage: New Media and Cultural Heritage, Routledge, New York, 2008, 92–111. Google Scholar |
12. | Tan, B.K. and Rahaman, H. , Virtual Heritage: Reality and Criticism, in: Tidafi, T., Dorta, T., eds., CAADfutures 2009: Joining languages, cultures and visions, Montreal, Canada, 2009, 143–156. Google Scholar |
13. | Thornton, M. , Think Outside the Square You Live In: Issues of Difference and Nation in Virtual Heritage, Proceedings of 13th international conference on Virtual System and Multimedia (VSMM 2007), Brisbane, Australia, 2007, 302–311. Google Scholar |
14. | Kaptelinin, V. and Nardi, B.A. , Do We Need Theory in Interaction Design?, in: Nardi, B., Kaptelinin, V., Foot, K., eds., Acting with Technology: Activity Theory and Interaction Design, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England, 2006. Google Scholar |
15. | Tilden, F. , Interpreting Our Heritage, University of North Carolina Press, 1977. Google Scholar |
16. | ICOMOS , The Icomos Charter for the Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites2007, Proposed Final Draft: Available from: http://www.enamecharter.org/downloads/ICOMOS_Interpretation_Charter_EN_10-04-07.pdf. Google Scholar |
17. | Rahaman, H. and Tan, B.K. , Interpreting Digital Heritage: Considering End-User's Perspective,
in: Dave, B., Li, A.I.-k., Hyoung, N.G., eds., 15th International
Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia,
CAADRIA, Hong Kong, 2010, 93–102. Google Scholar |
18. |
Moscardo, G. , Making Visitors Mindful: Principles for Creating Quality
Sustainable Visitor Experiences through Effective Communication, Sagamore Publishing, Champaign, Illinois, 1999. Google Scholar |
19. | Moscardo, G. , Mindful Visitors: Heritage and Tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 1996, 23(2), 376–397. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |
20. | Hodder, I. , Interpretive Archaeology and Its Role, American Antiquity, 1991, 56(1), 7–18. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |
21. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/audiovideo/sites/galleries/pages/digitalstorytelling.shtml [24-10-2009]. Google Scholar |
22. | Lowenthal, D. , The Past Is a Foreign Country, Cambridge University Press Cambridge, Cambridge, 1985. Google Scholar |
23. | Kalay, Y.E. , Preserving Cultural Heritage through Digital Media in: Kalay, Y.E., Kvan, T., Afflek, J., eds., New Heritage: New Media and Cultural Heritage, Routledge, New York, 2008, 01–10. Google Scholar |
24. | Fitch, J.M. , Historic Preservation: Curatorial Management of the Built World, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1982. Google Scholar |
25. | UNESCO , Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, 32nd Session: The General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, UNESCO, 2003, 1–15. Google Scholar |
26. | Dourish, P. , Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction, Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press, 2001. Google Scholar |
27. | http://bdhritage.info [07-04-2011]. Google Scholar |
28. | Cohen, D.J. and Rosenzweig, R. , Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. Google Scholar |
29. | Bateson, G. , Steps to an Ecology of Mind, University of Chicago Press ed, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2000. Google Scholar |
30. | Bonini, E. , Building Virtual Cultural Heritage Environments: The Embodied Mind at the Core of the Learning Processes, International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism, 2008, 1(2), 113–125. Google Scholar | Crossref |
31. | Champion, E. and Dave, B. , Where Is This Place?, in: Proctor, G. , ed., 22st Annual Conference ACADIA 2002: Thresholds Between Physical and Virtual, Cal Poly Pomona, CA, USA, 2002, 87–97. Google Scholar |
32. | Champion, E., Dave, B. and Bishop, I. , Interaction, Agency and Artefacts,
in: Chiu, M., Tsou, J., Kvan, T., Morozumi, M., Jeng, T., eds., 10th
International Conference on CAAD Futures'2003: Digital Design: Research
and Practice, Taiwan, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Doordrecht, The Netherlands, 2003, 249–258. Google Scholar |
33. | Harrison, R. , Manual of Heritage Management, Oxford; Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1994. Google Scholar |
34. | Beck, L. and Cable, T. , Interpretation for the 21st Century, Champaign, Illinois, Sagamore Publishing, 1998. Google Scholar |
35. | Copeland, T. , Constructing Pasts: Interpreting the Historic Environment, in: Hems, A., Blockley, M.R., eds., Heritage Interpretation, Routledge, London, New York, 2006, 83–95. Google Scholar |
36. | Snodgrass, A. and Coyne, R. , Interpretation in Architecture: Design as a Way of Thinking, London and New York, Routledge, 2006. Google Scholar |
37. | Forlizzi, J. and Battarbee, K. , Understanding Experience in Interactive Systems, Proceedings of the 5th conference on Designing interactive systems: processes, practices, methods, and techniques, 2004, 261–268. Google Scholar |
38. | McMillan, S. , Exploring Models of Interactivity from Multiple Research Traditions: Users, Documents, and Systems, in: Lievrouw, L., Livingston, S., eds., Handbook of New Media, Sage, London, 2005, 205–229. Google Scholar |
39. | Parés, N. and Parés, R. , Interaction-Driven Virtual Reality Application Design (a Particular Case: El Ball Del Fanalet or Lightpools), Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments, 2001, 10(2), 236–245. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |
40. | http://icip.lefora.com [07-04-2011]. Google Scholar |