Furnace Journal: Cultural Heritage in a Digital Age

The Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage (IIICH) at the University of Birmingham, UK, has recently published the second issue of furnace, its Postgraduate Journal. The theme of this second edition is 'Cultural Heritage in a Digital Age'. Introducing the issue, editors explain that in today's digital age, technology is embedded in all cultural heritage and engagement. In this context, the issue aims to identify through case studies the current framework between cultural heritage and digital technology, by addressing questions such as the following:

• Does digital technology include or exclude?
• How participatory are the current buzzwords of 'crowdfunding', 'crowdsourcing', 'user-generated content' or 'mobile technology'?
• Has an ethical and critical discourse been developed to accommodate this rapidly-developing environment?

In addition to a range of case studies from the UK and abroad, the issue also includes an exclusive report from the newly-formed UK Digital Technology Committee of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). The full list of contents for this issue is as follows:

• Davies, J. and Raine, J. Editorial: Cultural Heritage in a Digital Age.
• Stone, R J. Keynote Paper: Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies for Applications in Cultural Heritage: A Human Factors Perspective.
• Majewski, J. Cultural Heritage in Role-playing Video Games: A Map of Approaches.
• Wicks, S. The Value of Mobile Phones in Heritage Interpretation.
• Akcebe, N and Baydar, N. An Assessment of the Digital Preservation of Manuscript Collections: The Experience of Topkapı Palace and İstanbul Archaeology Museums Libraries.
• Bonacini, E. Inzerillo, L. Marcucci, M. Santagati, C and Todisco, F. 3D #DigitalInvasions: A Crowdsourcing Project for Mobile User Generated Content.
• Hazan, S. Performing the Museum in the Age of Digital Reproduction.
• Hughes, R. The International Council of Monuments and Sites: A New Digital Technology National Committee.
• Agisheva, S. Exhibition Review: Historic Urban Landscape: Dreaming, Drawing, Design.
• Baratin, L and Checcucci, G. Online Image Special: New Systems for the Characterization of the State of Conservation of Contemporary Art.

The second issue of furnace is available for free download at https://furnacejournal.wordpress.com/edition-one/issue-two/ A call for papers for the third issue of the journal, entitled 'Cultural Heritage in a Transatlantic Age', has also been launched, with a deadline for abstracts of 9 November 2015.