Browsing by Subject "cultural heritage"
Now showing items 1-12 of 12
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(2021)The political and economic crises of the recent decades as well as the new changes brought on by globalization and digitalization have contributed to exacerbate social inequalities and injustice and revealed different social realities in Europe. The EU increasingly deals with social issues in its cultural and heritage policy. In this article, we explore the construction of this social dimension and advance the concept of 'social Europe' by exploring its cultural aspect based on our analysis of a recent EU heritage action, the European Heritage Label. In this action, the narrations of the European past and the attempts to foster common cultural heritage in Europe function as building blocks to create Europe as an intertwined cultural and social entity and to socialize a new generation of European citizens. We scrutinize the European Heritage Label and its notion of heritage from two perspectives. First, we analyse how the selection reports of these heritage sites construct a notion of social Europe. Second, we examine how visitors to these sites construct social Europe in their qualitative interviews. Key elements in this construction are narratives related to various values, mobility, and diversity.
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(2021)This paper introduces a design framework for mixed reality urban exploration (MRUE), based on a concrete implementation in a historical city. The framework integrates different modalities, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and haptics-audio interfaces, as well as advanced features such as personalized recommendations, social exploration, and itinerary management. It permits to address a number of concerns regarding information overload, safety, and quality of the experience, which are not sufficiently tackled in traditional non-integrated approaches. This study presents an integrated mobile platform built on top of this framework and reflects on the lessons learned.
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(Helsingfors universitet, 2017)The rise of the political Islam has been affecting every sphere of life in Turkey during the last decade. The policies of the Turkish government and the discourses of the current Turkish president, Erdoğan aim to control the female participation in public space. However, the change in gender roles in space does not always evolve simultaneously with the political trend. This situation can be seen among the female artisans and artists of the Samanpazarı district of Ankara. Women are the main social actors who transform the area with the participation in the district and with the work they do. This thesis analyzes the everyday life of the female artisans and artists in the Samanpazarı district of Ankara, Turkey. The data was collected during a period of three months of ethnographic fieldwork. Different methods were used during this period. Participant observation and interviews were the main methods. In addition to these, gender map was sketched to understand the gendered use of space. The historical background of the area was also investigated. The aim of the thesis is to examine how female artisans and artists started to participate and to create businesses in the abandoned trading center of Ankara. The thesis also aims to investigate the period after female artisans moved in the district, because this is the period during which the area has gained a new identity and, the social and economic relations have changed. The main result of this thesis is that women used traditional craft skills and the history of the area to create a space for themselves and to participate in Samanpazarı. After they moved in, they started to gain more control in the area through the social and economic relations they created.
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(Helsingfors universitet, 2014)Suomenlinna is a sea fortress that consists of eight islands and it is a very popular tourist attraction in Helsinki. The vegetation of Suomenlinna has been influenced by its location in the outer archipelago and by the previous military use. The primary aim of this study was to explore the composition and abundance of plant species in soil seed banks of dry meadows at Kustaanmiekka. The established vegetation of the dry meadows was studied in 2009. Soil seed samples were collected in April 2011 from ten dry meadows located around Kustaanmiekka. The samples were taken from two different soil layers: 0-4,5 cm and 4,5-9 cm. Seedling emergence method was chosen to study the seed banks. It was carried out from May to October 2011 in the Viikki campus greenhouse at the University of Helsinki. A total of 5887 seeds from 83 taxa germinated from the soil seed bank samples. The most common species were Berteroa incana (L.) DC., Festuca rubra L. and Potentilla argentea var. argentea. The seed banks contained a few polemochorous species (Berteroa incana, Epilobium hirsutum L. and Silene latifolia Poir. ssp. alba (Mill.) Greuter & Burdet which were brought in Finland with military troops. Noteworthy species found only in the seed bank were Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl and Matricaria recutita L.. The seed density varied from 5030 to17600 seeds/m2. Compared to the short-lived species, the amount of perennial species and their seeds was greater in the seed banks. The number of species and seeds differed between the dry meadows. A 2 luonnonalue had the highest number of species while Makeavesialtaiden luonnonalue and Kustaanmiekan sisäosan hiekkataso had the highest number of seeds. The total number of species and the average number of seeds didn´t correlate with the content of the main nutrients or humus in the soil, nor with soil pH or soil type. The soil seed banks could be utilized in the maintenance of the dry meadows in Kustaanmiekka by uncovering and breaking the soil. Rare meadow species that reproduce from seeds and that are still present in the vegetation would also benefit from this. More research is needed to determine the best method to utilize the soil seed banks when seeking to recruit as many species from the seed bank as possible.
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(2021)Ethnic minority villages across Southwest China have recently experienced a dramatic increase in cultural heritage projects. Following new policies of rural development and the growth of tourism, villages are being converted into heritage sites to preserve the aesthetics of rurality and ethnicity. This article describes how architect scholars plan to create a ‘Chinese Traditional Village’ in a Dong autonomous district of Guizhou province, focusing in particular on the constraints of those plans and the negotiations. Rather than looking at plans as the end product, this article sheds light on the social dynamics of planning to reconsider the capacity for compromise between the interests and perspectives of planners, officials, and local inhabitants. Lasting compromises appear specifically in the materiality of buildings, pathways, and public space.
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(Helsingfors universitet, 2015)Aim of the study. Society has become more diverse during the last decade. Tolerance is the key to today's society. Knowing cultural heritage helps to construct cultural identity. Understanding cultural heritage and cultural identity helps to understand other cultures better. Museums have an important role in cultural heritage education. Museums can offer visitors things they can relate to and identify with. In this way museums can help to construct cultural identity. The aim of this study is to find out how different cultures are taken into account in museums according to professionals. The aim is also to find out how museums can help to construct cultural identity. Methods. This study is a qualitative case study. The data was collected from two professionals in museum field. The research data was collected by individual interviews using theme interviews. Data from the interviews was analysed by qualitative content-based analysis. The data was analysed by themes utilizing the themes from the interviews. Results and conclusions. The results show that the aim in museums is to have an interactive relationship with the museums visitors. Museums have also tried to get more diverse spectrum of visitors. The professionals consider multiculturalism as an important topic. Multiculturalism and the increasing diversity of society create new challenges for museums. Multiculturalism also brings new possibilities and new perspectives. Museums have an important role in the society as an advocate of tolerance. The professionals are worried that tolerance education is not appreciated enough in the society though. Museums can increase tolerance by providing information about different cultures. It is important to provide culture for the minorities also. Professionals see that museums can support the process of constructing cultural identity. It is important that museums highlight the issues visitors can identify with.
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(ICOFOM, 2021)This book is a handbook for everyone who is interested in museums and the wider cultural and cultural heritage debates. In the spirit of lifelong learning, it aims to connect the humanistic discipline of museum studies with the wider context of society. Museums possess power as safekeepers of our memories. This book will, in its own small way, take part in the discussion of making our past and future memories matter, to show how important it is for us to understand our past. In our contemporary culture it often seems that no time is allowed for this kind of understanding; the constant flow of issues and “must dos” often hinders us from seeing the connections between our past and present. In this turmoil, things in the past can too easily be regarded as non-urgent and less important. We, the editors, wish to shed light on why museums matter; we believe that it is important to launch a book that is directed both to readers within the arts and cultural heritage sector and readers outside of it. It is clear that readers within the sector tend to agree with one another on the major cultural issues. For these readers, our book offers up-to-date knowledge on the latest developments that have taken place in Finland. It is as important to make these issues visible to readers who situate themselves outside the sector and to connect these issues with the wider context of society. The knowhow of cultural heritage disciplines will aid in understanding the changes we are facing in the 21st century and help give them perspective. Museum Studies – Bridging Theory and Practice is an edited collection of 27 chapters by leading scholars and practitioners, most of whom work in Finland. The book will, for the first time, give a concise presentation of current research and practice in Finnish museum studies to a wider international audience, as well as to students and museum professionals in the field in Finland. The book combines current theoretical and practical approaches to museum studies, thus making it the first English-language handbook of Finnish museology.
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(Archaeological Society of Finland, 2022)Monographs of the Archaeological Society of FinlandThe article analyses representations of maritime archaeology in 136 newspaper articles published in Helsingin Sanomat and Hufvudstadsbladet between 2017 and 2020. In both newspapers, maritime archaeology is dominantly represented through underwater (nautical) source material. This corresponds with the focus in Finnish maritime archaeological research where sites and materials situated on land receive less attention. Following on from these observations, it is argued that the maritime cultural heritage on land remains an untapped research potential. As increasingly attractive tokens of maritime heritage on land, special attention is paid to the phenomenology of lighthouses.
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(2021)Conducting archaeological site surveys is time consuming, and large sites may have many small features or structures that are difficult to locate and interpret. Vegetation cover and dense forest hide small structures, like cairns, while at the same time forest cover can cause problems for LiDAR tools. In this case study, drone-based ALS (airborne laser scanning) was tested as an archaeological site survey tool. The research site was complex and located partially in a forested area, which made it possible to evaluate how forest cover affects data. The survey methods used were rather simple: visual analysis, point density calculations in the forest area, and, for site interpretation purposes, digitizing observations and viewshed analysis. Using straightforward methods allowed us to evaluate the minimum time and skills needed for this type of survey. Drone-based ALS provided good results and increased knowledge of the site and its structures. Estimates of the number of cairns interpreted as graves more than doubled as a result of the high-accuracy ALS data. Based on the results of this study, drone-based ALS could be a suitable high-accuracy survey method for large archaeological sites. However, forest cover affects the accuracy, and more research is needed.
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(2021)This is the introduction to the special issue on video games and cultural heritage.
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(2022)Game development and production practices are complex and highly reflected processes-worldwide. This explorative article discusses video game development as a cultural and creative industry in India, including the industry's history and introducing recent trends which indicate profound transformations-the use and implementation of Indian cultural heritage in game settings. In the rather short history of Indian game development as compared to other countries-a significant number of games made in India first were produced around 2010-the industry has already lived through big changes and challenges. This article aims at introducing Indian game development and argues that especially independent (so-called indie) game studios in their search for their own, region-specific game development and stand-alone characteristics for Indian games increasingly turn to what they perceive as their own cultural heritage, including, for example, elements from history, art (music, dance, dress styles, and others), and architecture.
