International Journal of "Computing"

Research Institute of Intelligent Computer Systems

Ternopil National Economic University

2010, Vol. 9, Issue 3


Contents and abstracts

  1. U. Grossmann, M. Herzog, J. Sieck. Editorial. - p. 218-219.
  2. K. Kurdyukova, E. André, K. Leichtenstern. A Decision-Theoretic Approach to Maintain Trust in Ubiquitous Displays Environments. - p. 220-227.
  3. M. Feist, J. Sieck, M. Witt. “Morphing Box” – An Interactive Application for Use in Museums. - p. 228-234.
  4. P. Hoffmann. Loki – Mobile Localization and Wiki-Based Information for Museums. - p. 235-241.
  5. D. Burckhardt, P. Jürgens. Visual search for Catalogs, Collections and Archives. - p. 241-247.
  6. H.-G. Kuper. Employing Semantic Web Technologies to Provide Dynamic Content for Electronic Museum Guides. - p. 248-251.
  7. S. Kozuhovskij, P. Szmidt, B. Hemken, J. Paul, M. Karayel, S. Riemann, M. Jacob, C. Cohrs, A. Molnar, J. Trees, L. Schönke, D. Davydenkova, E. Stöhlmacher, S. Chandrapalan, D. Krannich, R. Schröder-Kroll, R. Malaka. morph! An Interactive Approach to Transform Buildings to Life. - p. 252-256.
  8. G. Marsden, L. Ladeira, T. Reitmaier, N. J. Bidwell, E. Blake. Digital Storytelling in Africa. - p. 257-265.
  9. L. Dieckmann, A. Kliemann, M. Warnke. Meta-Image – A collaborative environment for image discourse. - p. 266-275.

Editorial
Interactive Systems in Culture and Creative Industries

Uwe Grossmann 1), Michael Herzog 2), Juergen Sieck 3)

1) University of Applied Sciences and Arts Dortmund
Faculty of Business Administration
Emil-Figge-Str. 44
44227 Dortmund, Germany
Email: uwe.grossmann@fh-dortmund.de
URL: www.mbms.fh-dortmund.de
2) University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal
Osterburger Str. 25
39576 Stendal, Germany
Email: Michael.Herzog@hs-magdeburg.de
URL: http://www.mherzog.com
3) University of Applied Sciences Berlin
Treskowallee 8
10313 Berlin, Germany
Email: j.sieck@htw-berlin.de
URL: http://inka.htw-berlin.de

This special issue of the International Scientific Journal of Computing includes a selection of papers presented within the Special Stream Wireless Systems at the eighth International Conference on Culture and Computer Science, which was held in Berlin, Germany, 6th–7th May, 2010. The conference was organised by the Alcatel-Lucent Stiftung fur Kommunikationsforschung Germany, the University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Germany (HTW) and the research group information and communication application Berlin, Germany (INKA).
The conference “Culture and Computer Science” focuses on the challenges and prospects of multimedia-based interactive systems in the Cultural and Creative Industries. Research and development approaches concerning the interaction in Museum- and City Information Systems, multimedia-based exhibition concepts, portals for museums and computer games are discussed. The conference addresses employees of the Cultural and Creative Industries, communication scientists, cultural protagonists and artists as well as computer scientists and technicians working on cultural issues.
The focus of the various talks and presentations are primarily on two issues: The media-compatible preparation of information and the intuitive use of multimedia applications. These issues will be demonstrated and discussed using examples of interactive multimedia solutions for the Cultural and Creative Industries. The topics include interactive Museum Information Systems and Multimedia Guides, exhibition planning systems, tourism information and navigation systems as well as Web2.x-solutions for visitor and customer loyalty and self-marketing of digital art and digital cultural assets.
The paper “Trust in Ubiquitous Display Environments” by Andre et al. considers a decision-theoretic approach to trust management for ubiquitous display environments. This approach has been applied to two interactive applications that have been developed as a university-wide ubiquitous display management system. The applications run on public display at Augsburg University. They can be controlled and assisted by mobile phones. In the paper, the authors define decision policies for the applications and investigate their impact on relevant trust factors, such as privacy, comfort of use, transparency and controllability.
The paper “Morphing Box – an Interactive Application for the Use in Museums” by Feist et al. presents an interactive application for usage in museums. This application is developed using algorithms for face detection and morphing. Visitors may generate a hybrid image out of their own portrait and a selected reference picture. The intention is to involve visitors directly into the museum's context.
Within the paper “Loki – Mobile Localisation and Wiki-based Information for Museums” by Peter Hoffmann a research project is introduced which combines the internet for external communication and local technical infrastructures in the exhibitions. Many museums present parts of their exhibitions in a digitised way as virtual exhibitions in the internet. Multimedia, as well as interactive and entertaining elements, is integrated in those presentations. In the real exhibition the digitised information and particularly interactive elements and presentation are used rarely. This situation gave the idea for the Loki-project, which aims at a wiki-based application used in real exhibitions.
The paper “Visual Search for Catalogs, Collections and Archives” by Burckhardt and Juergens presents an approach to deliver search results, which attract the users attention. They use visual search in their approach based on the observation that a large number of slides on a light table allow an easy scanning and ordering. Visual search aims to bring this approach to the web. Additional information can be displayed on demand.
Within his paper “Employing Semantic Web Technologies to Provide Dynamic Content for Electronic Museum Guides” Kuper presents an approach for allowing multiple content providers to input content into a knowledge base in a flexible and collaborative manner by relying on Semantic Web technologies. Applied in museums, the system enables visitors to explore the knowledge base provided on the electronic museum guide in an unrestrained and personalised manner. An initial filtering may be based on a RFID signal returned by a sensor to the electronic guide, providing the visitor with an overview of the information available on the spot.
Malaka et al. present in their paper “morph! – an Interactive Approach to Transform Building to Life” a game-based approach for public interactive art installations and two different implementations based on this concept: an interactive screen with back projection and a light cone installation. The general concept of morph refers to a theory of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe from 1796. Only constantly changing (morphing) the environment creates a dynamic of interaction, which is the essential requirement of morphology. The technical separation between the interaction surface (sensor server with person-, face-, and movement detection) and the projection unit (client) allows adapting the technology generically to a variety of external conditions.
The paper “Digital Story Telling in Africa” of Marsden et al., describes a new established cultural skill that helps to preserve historic knowledge especially from users with low literacy levels. The focus of this research lies on the creation of user-centred technologies (with help of digital devices eg. mobile phones and virtual reality) that are sympathetic to the cultures of the storytellers, both in the capture of stories and their retelling. The tremendous effect of this unadorned approach is shown in the evaluation field of “San Stories” where orally preserved rituals, skills and expressions of indigenous hunter-gatherer people of southern Africa, whose culture dates back over 20 000 years, were captured and preserved.
The contribution of Warnke et al. describes a network-based research environment for art history and other sciences concerning visual culture: “Meta-Image – a Collaborative Environment for Image Discourse”. Meta-Image combines the distributed digital image archive Prometheus, which consists of a very large pool of images, with HyperImage, a tool for image annotation. It allows the identification of motifs, the creation of linked image networks as well as the addition of metadata.
This selection of papers presents topics of the International Conference on Culture and Computer Science. We hope the readers find them interesting, useful and even enjoyable.

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A DECISION-THEORETIC APPROACH TO MAINTAIN TRUST
IN UBIQUITOUS DISPLAYS ENVIRONMENTS

Katja Kurdyukova, Elisabeth André, Karin Leichtenstern

Faculty of Applied Informatics, Augsburg University, D-86159 Augsburg, Germany
{kurdyukova,andre,leichtenstern}@informatik.uni-augsburg.de
http://mm-werkstatt.informatik.uni-augsburg.de

In this paper, we present a decision-theoretic approach to trust management for ubiquitous display environments that assesses the user’s trust in a system, monitors it over time and applies appropriate measurements to maintain trust in critical situations. The approach has been applied to two interactive applications that have been developed as part of a university-wide ubiquitous displays management system. The two applications run on public display located in public rooms at Augsburg University. They can be operated and assisted by mobile phones. In the paper, we define decision policies for the two applications and investigate their impact on relevant trust factors, such as privacy, comfort of use, transparency and controllability.

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“MORPHING BOX” – AN INTERACTIVE APPLICATION
FOR USE IN MUSEUMS

Manuela Feist 1), Jürgen Sieck 2), Michael Witt 3)

University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Berlin, Treskowallee 8, 10318 Berlin, Germany
manuela.feist@htw-berlin.de, j.sieck@htw-berlin.de, michael.witt@student.htw-berlin.de
http://inka.htw-berlin.de/

This paper presents an approach to developing a morphing application for use in museums in order to involve visitors directly in an exhibition and to increase their user experience. The visitors take an active part in generating a unique image from their own portrait and a selected reference picture. Techniques used for the development of this interactive prototype include face detection and morphing algorithms.

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LOKI – MOBILE LOCALIZATION AND WIKI-BASED
INFORMATION FOR MUSEUMS

Peter Hoffmann

TZI Center for Computing and Communication Technologies,
University Bremen,
28359 Bremen, Germany,
phoff@tzi.de

In search of new target groups and in purpose to forge strong links to existing target groups museums try to use the support by technical features. Both, the internet for external communication and local technical infrastructures in the exhibitions, are used in that context. This paper introduces a research project which combines both aspects. An increasing number of museums present parts of their exhibitions in a digitized way as virtual exhibitions in the internet. Often information as well as interactive and entertaining elements are integrated in those presentations. In the physical (“real”) exhibition the digitized information and especially interactive elements and presentation are used rarely. This situation gave the idea for the Loki-project which aims at a wiki-based application used in physical exhibitions.

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VISUAL SEARCH FOR CATALOGS, COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

Daniel Burckhardt 1), Pepe Jürgens 2)

1) Marienburger Str. 32, 10405 Berlin, burckhardtd@geschichte.hu-berlin.de
2) Winsstraée 6, 10435 Berlin, juergens@weltformat.de, http://www.weltformat.de

Searching is a necessity. Search should be fun. Catalogs, collections and archives contain large amounts of data ready to search. But the most common presentation of the results in the form of long lists of text seems to be rather repulsive. Various studies have shown that only very few of these results attract the users’ attention. Improving the order of search results is therefore at the center of numerous research projects. Visual search is an alternative approach based on an observation from the pre-digital era that avoids these technical complexities: extensive image libraries – the slides on a light table – allow for easy scanning and ordering of large result sets. Visual search aims to bring this approach to the web. The authors first followed this concept while implementing oSkope, a visual search engine through web services such as Amazon, eBay or YouTube. The key design patterns were suitable for reuse in a number of Rich Internet Applications for collections and product catalogs since realized. By combining an intuitive and fluid navigation with a clear, meaningful and aesthetically pleasing presentation, these applications attract the users’ attention to a larger set of results. Additional information can be displayed on demand. Sophisticated search options allow for an accurate search. The results can be saved for later use or be sent to a friend.

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EMPLOYING SEMANTIC WEB TECHNOLOGIES TO PROVIDE DYNAMIC
CONTENT FOR ELECTRONIC MUSEUM GUIDES

Heinz-Günter Kuper

Informatik in Bildung und Gesellschaft
Institut für Informatik
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
10099 Berlin, Germany
kuper@informatik.hu-berlin.de
http://waste.informatik.hu-berlin.de/kuper/

Tim Berners-Lee’s vision of the Semantic Web promises to make the targeted retrieval of online information far more accurate. As Semantic Web technologies mature, software systems will be able to deliver detailed information regarding particular artefacts on the fly in a museum environment, thus answering visitor queries that were not anticipated by the content creators. This paper explores some of the issues associated with providing such a solution.

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morph!
AN INTERACTIVE APPROACH TO TRANSFORM BUILDINGS TO LIFE

Sergej Kozuhovskij, Peter Szmidt, Benjamin Hemken, Jennifer Paul, Meltem Karayel,
Sonja Riemann, Martin Jacob, Christian Cohrs, Alexander Molnar, Joshua Trees,
Luisa Schönke, Darya Davydenkova, Eva Stöhlmacher, Shuratha Chandrapalan
Dennis Krannich 2), Roland Schröder-Kroll 1), Rainer Malaka 1)

Universität Bremen
1) AG Digitale Medien,
2) AG Digitale Medien in der Bildung
morph@tzi.de

The use of digital media for interactive art installations is increasingly popular. Art and technology merge. Our intention is to create interactive art installations that offer an incentive to interact playfully with the surrounding environment. Motivated by this, we developed and realised two forms of installations: an interactive screen with several and a light cone installation.

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DIGITAL STORYTELLING IN AFRICA

Gary Marsden 1), llda Ladeira 1), Thomas Reitmaier 1),
Nicola J. Bidwell 2), Edwin Blake 1)

1) Department of Computer Science, University of Cape Town, South Africa, gaz@acm.org, http://www.cs.uct.ac.za/
2) Meraka Institute of the CSIR, Pretoria, South Africa, nic.bidwell@gmail.com, http://www.meraka.org.za/

In this paper we examine how digital technology can be used to inspire, record and present oral stories in an African context. In particular we explore how to create technologies that are sympathetic to the cultures of the storytellers, both in the capture of stories and their retelling. Specifically, we look at: inspiring stories in District Six in Cape Town; capturing digital stories from users with low literacy levels and using virtual reality to retell indigenous and personal experience narratives.

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META-IMAGE – A COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT
FOR IMAGE DISCOURSE

Lisa Dieckmann 1), Anita Kliemann 2), Martin Warnke 3)

1) prometheus – Das verteilte digitale Bildarchiv für Forschung & Lehre Kunsthistorisches Institut der Universität zu Köln
Albertus-Magnus-Platz, D-50923 Köln, lisa.dieckmann@uni-koeln.de, http://www.prometheus-bildarchiv.de 2) Scharnhorststraße 1, D-21337 Lüneburg, kliemann@leuphana.de, http://www.meta-image.de
3) Scharnhorststraße 1, D-21337 Lüneburg, warnke@leuphana.de, http://www.meta-image.de

The aim of the project Meta-Image, funded by German Research Foundation (DFG), is to provide a networkbased research environment for art history and other sciences concerning visual culture. It consists of the two components prometheus and HyperImage. Meta-Image combines the distributed digital image archive prometheus, which consists of a very large pool of images, with HyperImage (http://www.hyperimage.eu), a tool for image annotation. prometheus provides over 700,000 images in nearly 60 connected image databases; Hyperimage facilitates collaborative work directly on the image. The numerous users, the secure legal context for use and the existing technologies for collaborative research make prometheus a perfect subject for HyperImage. This image annotation tool serves as an instrument to support research in art history. It allows the identification of motifs, the creation of linked image networks as well as the addition of metadata. This synthesis creates the ability to reorganise, juxtapose and annotate images in a way that can lead to new conclusions concerning image-based research. Art history and other cultural studies can finally realise the potential of the network based and collaborative analysis of images.

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