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One of the major public health measures to manage and contain the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was to engage in systematic contact tracing, which required gastronomy, community and sporting venues to keep patron registers. Stand-alone and web-based applications, developed by a range of private IT providers, soon replaced pen-and-paper lists. With the introduction of a uniform, state-wide, mandatory data collection system, these private applications became obsolete. Although only active for four months, these applications paved the way for the public acceptance of state-administered collection systems that allowed for an unprecedented, centralized tracking system of the movements of the entire population. This paper discusses the cultural significance of these applications as a game changer in the debate on civil liberties, and addresses the question of how the materiality, or lack thereof, of this digital heritage affects the management of ephemeral smartphone applications, and its preservation for future generations.

One of the major public health measures to manage and contain the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was to engage in systematic contact tracing, which required gastronomy, community and sporting venues to keep patron registers. Stand-alone and web-based applications, developed by a range of private IT providers, soon replaced pen-and-paper lists. With the introduction of a uniform, state-wide, mandatory data collection system, these private applications became obsolete. Although only active for four months, these applications paved the way for the public acceptance of state-administered collection systems that allowed for an unprecedented, centralized tracking system of the movements of the entire population. This paper discusses the cultural significance of these applications as a game changer in the debate on civil liberties, and addresses the question of how the materiality, or lack thereof, of this digital heritage affects the management of ephemeral smartphone applications, and its preservation for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, several features of liquefaction are valued as ephemeral heritage structures. These structures usually form during earthquakes of moderate to large magnitude and record important information about the characteristics of the seismic events. In this way, it is possible to act appropriately for their treatment and conservation at the time of its formation. The study of Ephemeral Geological Heritage is a recent research topic in geology that constitutes scientific and cultural resources. The 1894, 1944, 1952, and 1977 earthquakes with epicenters in the province of San Juan, Argentina induced liquefaction structures such as cracks, sand volcanoes, craters, and differential settlements, which caused serious damage to dwellings, and agro-industry in the region. There are several photographic records of such secondary effects. In this work, the analysis of these structures was limited to the distal portion of the Tulum valley, since these areas are susceptible to soil liquefaction. The objective of this study is to establish guidelines for preserving in situ liquefaction structures, considering the fragility of the material and the natural ephemeral time of preservation. Finally, we give some basic recommendations for a survey of liquefaction structures in situ so that in the future, a protocol may be established and accepted by the scientific community for designating ephemeral heritage structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a summary of the results of an ongoing research on the Adriatic city of Pescara, specifically referring to its university district. The study seeks to investigate urban spaces, taking advantage of the representation made possible through mobile-photography, a mode of observation that is increasingly present in current orientations of the culture of the urban project. A way that reflects the will to adhere to the recent guidelines of the MiBACT that has recently decreed the States General for Photography, in order to “protect, enhance and promote” Italian photography as historical heritage and a contemporary language.

The economic boom and subsequent collapse (Hrun) of the mid 2000s had a marked effect on Reykjavík, leaving various half-finished and empty structures with uncertain futures. Although the material culture of the economic collapse has been examined to some degree, the abandoned building sites have not. The Icelandic heritage discourse has so far had very little engagement with twentieth-century materiality and even less with twenty-first-century materiality but this paper contends that these places can nevertheless be seen as heritage. In order to engage with such places, the Icelandic authorized heritage discourse must be significantly broadened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]