Ph.D. Research

Designing support for digital cultural heritage
Halina Gottlieb
University of East London, London UK

About the research

This thesis involves much of my experience gained in the projects developed for digital cultural heritage at the Interactive Institute from 2004 - 2007. The aim of this research is to investigate processes that facilitate the use of new technology for the purpose of enhancing communication between cultural heritage and its beholder.

The research will be conducted primarily in the context of cultural heritage institutions, but has strived to identify general principles that apply to cultural heritage as a whole. A key factor here is how to stimulate collaboration between professionals and researchers in the field of cultural heritage, the Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry and the creative industry.

Main research questions

What are the hurdles against, and possibilities of trans-professional collaboration when considering:
· How to share good practices
· Management of interdisciplinary projects
· Establishing SMEs in this sector
· Implementation and transfer of technology
· Vocational training

What benefits can be identified for the stakeholders in the case studies developed in this research?

Can case studies contribute to the building of a consensus and to the creation of synergy between stakeholders?

Conclusions

Conclusions will be drawn from experiences and data gained from a set of conducted case studies. These have been designed according to ethnographic guidelines that rely on focus groups as a primary method for data collection. The theoretical work will be influenced by the research fields of Interaction Design and Social Constructivism. My thesis will hopefully provide a structure of how to support the cultural heritage domain using new technology.