'Trajectories Through Mixed Reality Performance'

by Professor Steve Benford,

Professor of Collaborative Computing, University of Nottingham

I will reflect on a series of studies of touring artistic performances and installations to provide an account of how artists create complex interactive experiences that span multiple real and virtual spaces, time scales, performance roles, and interfaces. I will propose that such experiences can best be understood as taking their users on extended but coherent journeys that can be represented using the concept of different ‘trajectories’ through experiences. I will explore different facets of trajectories including various kinds of transitions and traversals, the use of canonical and participant trajectories to capture the relationship between pre-authored narrative and interactivity, and the use of multiple interleaved trajectories to describe collaborative experiences. The resulting conceptual framework is intended to provide sensitizing concepts for future studies, capture design knowledge, raise new technology requirements, and ultimately perhaps even lead towards a new ‘dramaturgy of interactive experience’.

'Big Digitisation: Where Next?'

by Dr Andrew Green,

Librarian of The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth

Since 2004, when Google announced its Library Books Library Project, ‘cottage industry’ or ‘boutique’ digitisation of single items or single collections has been joined by more ambitious programmes of mass digitisation, especially of printed text.  As well as international companies like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, government organisations and holders of analogue originals like universities and national libraries and archives have all committed funds and effort to this field.  The paper will review the progress of this ‘big digitisation’ to date, analyse current issues facing both producers and users of digitised text, and pose questions for the future: about the ownership of digitised collections, future economic models for digitisation, and new ways of exploiting and combining the outcomes of large digitisation programmes.

'Dealing with Dirty Data: Theory and Practice'

by Professor Jane Ohlmeyer and Ms Marie Wallace,

Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Modern History, Trinity College, Dublin, and R&D Manager, IBM LanguageWare

Taking the '1641 Depositions', our 'dirty data', as its focus this presentation explores how innovative technology can transform the humanistic research environment.  In particular, how can 'dirty data' be marked up automatically?  How can we operate in an environment that is interoperable and sustainable?  Finally, the presentation explores the value of developing relationships with industry and the importance of working closely with national governments in order to frame co-ordinated strategies and develop coherent national and European policies in the area of digital humanities.