These sites are about UNESCO's work and an organisation in Virginia which aim to preserve their heritage digitally through digital modeling - and it brings up a lot of interesting points which I have looked at in my project;
"The General Conference,
Considering that the disappearance of heritage in whatever form constitutes an impoverishment of the heritage of all nations,
Recalling that the Constitution of UNESCO provides that the Organization will maintain, increase and diffuse knowledge, by assuring the conservation and protection of the world’s inheritance of books, works of art and monuments of history and science, that its “Information for All” Programme provides a platform for discussions and action on information policies and the safeguarding of recorded knowledge, and that its “Memory of the World” Programme aims to ensure the preservation and universal accessibility of the world’s documentary heritage,
Recognizing that such resources of information and creative expression are increasingly produced, distributed, accessed and maintained in digital form, creating a new legacy – the digital heritage,
Aware that access to this heritage will offer broadened opportunities for creation, communication and sharing of knowledge among all peoples,
Understanding that this digital heritage is at risk of being lost and that its preservation for the benefit of present and future generations is an urgent issue of worldwide concern"
"Guarding against loss of heritage
Article 3 – The threat of loss
The world’s digital heritage is at risk of being lost to posterity. Contributing factors include the rapid obsolescence of the hardware and software which brings it to life, uncertainties about resources, responsibility and methods for maintenance and preservation, and the lack of supportive legislation.
Attitudinal change has fallen behind technological change.
Digital evolution has been too rapid and costly for governments and institutions to develop timely and informed preservation strategies. The threat to the economic, social, intellectual and cultural potential of the heritage – the building blocks of the future – has not been fully grasped.
Article 4 – Need for action
Unless the prevailing threats are addressed, the loss of the digital heritage will be rapid and inevitable. Member States will benefit by encouraging legal, economic and technical measures to safeguard the heritage. Awareness-raising and advocacy is urgent, alerting policy-makers and sensitizing the general public to both the potential of the digital media and the practicalities of preservation.
Article 5 – Digital continuity
Continuity of the digital heritage is fundamental. To preserve digital heritage, measures will need to be taken throughout the digital information life cycle, from creation to access. Long-term preservation of digital heritage begins with the design of reliable systems and procedures which will produce authentic and stable digital objects."
"Responsibilities
Article 10 – Roles and responsibilities
Member States may wish to designate one or more agencies to take coordinating responsibility for the preservation of the digital heritage, and to make available necessary resources. The sharing of tasks and responsibilities may be based on existing roles and expertise.
Measures should be taken to:
(a) urge hardware and software developers, creators, publishers, producers and distributors of digital materials as well as other private sector partners to cooperate with national libraries, archives, museums and other public heritage organizations in preserving the digital heritage;
(b) develop training and research, and share experience and knowledge among the institutions and professional associations concerned;
(c) encourage universities and other research organizations, both public and private, to ensure preservation of research data."
"Baudrillard‟s main arguments about postmodernity can be summarized under the term "simulacrum‟ in which signs no longer represent any reality, implode in their meaning and simulatetheir own hyper-reality (Baudrillard, 1983:3). Even though these ideas could support theargument that we now live in a qualitativelynew information society, this essay dismisses Baudrillard‟s postmodern simulacrum as idiosyncratic, passive and epistemologically flawed."
"Postmodernists believe that we now experience an information society
in which the media no longer broadcasts high culture in a one-to-many direction, but that the
media has become more fluent, individualistic and superficial. Lyotard argues that „in order to
discuss knowledge in the most highly developed contemporary society, we must answer the
preliminary question of what methodological representation to apply to that society‟ (Lyotard,
1984:46)."
Lyotard, J.F. (1984), The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, Minneapolis, University of
Minnesota Press.
UNESCO and Digital Preservation
"Attitudinal change has fallen behind technological change"
"The General Conference,
Considering that the disappearance of heritage in whatever form constitutes an impoverishment of the heritage of all nations,
Recalling that the Constitution of UNESCO provides that the Organization will maintain, increase and diffuse knowledge, by assuring the conservation and protection of the world’s inheritance of books, works of art and monuments of history and science, that its “Information for All” Programme provides a platform for discussions and action on information policies and the safeguarding of recorded knowledge, and that its “Memory of the World” Programme aims to ensure the preservation and universal accessibility of the world’s documentary heritage,
Recognizing that such resources of information and creative expression are increasingly produced, distributed, accessed and maintained in digital form, creating a new legacy – the digital heritage,
Aware that access to this heritage will offer broadened opportunities for creation, communication and sharing of knowledge among all peoples,
Understanding that this digital heritage is at risk of being lost and that its preservation for the benefit of present and future generations is an urgent issue of worldwide concern"
"Guarding against loss of heritage
Article 3 – The threat of loss
The world’s digital heritage is at risk of being lost to posterity. Contributing factors include the rapid obsolescence of the hardware and software which brings it to life, uncertainties about resources, responsibility and methods for maintenance and preservation, and the lack of supportive legislation.
Attitudinal change has fallen behind technological change.
Digital evolution has been too rapid and costly for governments and institutions to develop timely and informed preservation strategies. The threat to the economic, social, intellectual and cultural potential of the heritage – the building blocks of the future – has not been fully grasped.
Article 4 – Need for action
Unless the prevailing threats are addressed, the loss of the digital heritage will be rapid and inevitable. Member States will benefit by encouraging legal, economic and technical measures to safeguard the heritage. Awareness-raising and advocacy is urgent, alerting policy-makers and sensitizing the general public to both the potential of the digital media and the practicalities of preservation.
Article 5 – Digital continuity
Continuity of the digital heritage is fundamental. To preserve digital heritage, measures will need to be taken throughout the digital information life cycle, from creation to access. Long-term preservation of digital heritage begins with the design of reliable systems and procedures which will produce authentic and stable digital objects."
"Responsibilities
Article 10 – Roles and responsibilities
Member States may wish to designate one or more agencies to take coordinating responsibility for the preservation of the digital heritage, and to make available necessary resources. The sharing of tasks and responsibilities may be based on existing roles and expertise.
Measures should be taken to:
(a) urge hardware and software developers, creators, publishers, producers and distributors of digital materials as well as other private sector partners to cooperate with national libraries, archives, museums and other public heritage organizations in preserving the digital heritage;
(b) develop training and research, and share experience and knowledge among the institutions and professional associations concerned;
(c) encourage universities and other research organizations, both public and private, to ensure preservation of research data."
SAVE - Serving and Archiving Virtual Environments
SAVE stands for "Serving and Archiving Virtual Environments." Once launched, SAVE will be the world’s first on-line, peer-reviewed journal in which scholars can publish 3D digital models of the world’s cultural heritage (CH) sites and monuments. Research done with generous support from the National Science Foundation (NSF grant: 0535118) indicates that over 90% of the scholars making CH models think that creation of such an outlet is a high priority.
As its name suggests, SAVE aims both to preserve 3D digital CH models and to provide access to them for the scholarly public. SAVE can be seen as part of a larger trend to recognize our duty to preserve our new born-digital heritage. This recognition is perhaps most clearly expressed in the 2003 UNESCO Charter on the Preservation of Digital Heritage.
Theories on Simulation
"Baudrillard‟s main arguments about postmodernity can be summarized under the term "simulacrum‟ in which signs no longer represent any reality, implode in their meaning and simulatetheir own hyper-reality (Baudrillard, 1983:3). Even though these ideas could support theargument that we now live in a qualitativelynew information society, this essay dismisses Baudrillard‟s postmodern simulacrum as idiosyncratic, passive and epistemologically flawed."
"Postmodernists believe that we now experience an information society
in which the media no longer broadcasts high culture in a one-to-many direction, but that the
media has become more fluent, individualistic and superficial. Lyotard argues that „in order to
discuss knowledge in the most highly developed contemporary society, we must answer the
preliminary question of what methodological representation to apply to that society‟ (Lyotard,
1984:46)."
Lyotard, J.F. (1984), The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, Minneapolis, University of
Minnesota Press.
http://www.essex.ac.uk/sociology/documents/pdf/ug_journal/vol7/2012SC224_ChristopherJacobi_FINAL.pdf
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