record

Thesis Info

LABS ID
00866
Thesis Title
Online Cultural Heritage: facilitating complex query making through Tangible User Interfaces
Author
Javier Pereda
2nd Author
3rd Author
Degree
PhD
Year
2016
Number of Pages
329
University
University of Southampton
Thesis Supervisor
Graeme Earl
Supervisor e-mail
graeme.earl AT kcl.ac.uk
Other Supervisor(s)
Leif Isaksen, Yuanyuan Yin
Language(s) of Thesis
English
Department / Discipline
Web Science, Humanities, Art and Design
Languages Familiar to Author
English, Spanish
URL where full thesis can be found
eprints.soton.ac.uk/420887/
Keywords
Tangible User Interfaces, Cultural Heritage, User Centred Design, Cultural Heritage, Semantic Web, Linked Data, Human Information Interaction
Abstract: 200-500 words
This thesis presents a novel approach to reduce the complexity and overload of information in Cultural Heritage (CH) on the Web through the use of a Tangible User Interface (TUI). It discusses how the Web and its technologies such as the Semantic Web have changed the interoperability and reach that knowledge, data and information can have. These technologies have allowed to link knowledge across CH organisations and helped to reduce uncertainty about the information used to create it. Nevertheless, it is cumbersome for a vast majority of online users to find relevant content, due to the overload of information available and the complexity of its nature. This research argues that this is because two main factors. The first factor is the dependency of Graphical User Interfaces on the Web that hinder complex exploration and technologic engagement for general users. The second factor identifies a requirement for CH organisations to become part of an Online Cultural Heritage ecosystem engaged through an interactive system on the Web. As a result, CH organisations do not have a meaningful system for their users to explore their content. This research addresses these problems by [1] developing an understanding on how CH knowledge is integrated across different organisations and different ways in which users engage and manipulate it and, [2] exploring how a TUI can facilitate the production of complex queries that enables the user to engage with the conceptual and technical information used to describe the knowledge about OCH collections.