A roadmap is proposed that defines a systematic approach for craft preservation and its evaluation. The proposed roadmap aims to deepen craft understanding so that blueprints of appropriate tools that support craft documentation, education, and training can be designed while achieving preservation through the stimulation and diversification of practitioner income. In addition to this roadmap, an evaluation strategy is proposed to validate the efficacy of the developed results and provide a benchmark for the efficacy of craft preservation approaches. The proposed contribution aims at the catalyzation of craft education and training with digital aids, widening access and engagement to crafts, economizing learning, increasing exercisability, and relaxing remoteness constraints in craft learning.

The sufficient control of the carrier density of a single layer WS₂ (1L-WS₂) has been realized by the pulsed laser irradiation doping technique. Chlorine atoms are incorporated on the surface of the atomically thin lattice in a precursor gas atmosphere. In this work, we demonstrate spin-valley polarization tunability by more than 40% in 1L-WS₂ on hBN via photochlorination. Polarization photoluminescence spectroscopy was performed in the temperature range from 4 K to 300 K. The decrease in circular polarization after the photochlorination treatment is attributed to the significant reduction of the active defect sites in 1L-WS₂ and, consequently, to the increase in the non-radiative exciton lifetime. Ultrafast time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy measurements support our findings. The above results indicate a useful approach of controlling the density of the active defect sites and the valley polarized light emission in doped monolayer crystal lattices.

The problem of modelling and simulating traditional crafting actions is addressed, motivated by the goals of craft understanding, documentation, and training. First, the physical entities involved in crafting actions are identified, physically, and semantically characterised, including causing entities, conditions, properties, and objects, as well as the space and time in which they occur. Actions are semantically classified into a taxonomy of four classes according to their goals, which are shown to exhibit similarities in their operation principles and utilised tools. This classification is employed to simplify the create archetypal simulators, based on the Finite Element Method, by developing archetypal simulators for each class and specialising them in craft-specific actions. The approach is validated by specialising the proposed archetypes into indicative craft actions and predicting their results in simulation. The simulated actions are rendered in 3D to create visual demonstrations and can be integrated into game engines for training applications.

The need for scalable, immersive training systems is universal and recently has been included in fields that rely on complex, hands-on processes, such as surgery operations, assembly operations, construction processes training, etc. This paper examines the potential to support immersive training via digital tool manipulation in the domain of traditional handicrafts. The proposed methodology employs Finite Element Method simulations to compute material transformations and apply them to interactive virtual environments. The challenge is to accurately simulate human–tool interactions, which are critical to the acquisition of manual skills. Using Simulia Abaqus (v.2023HF2), crafting simulations are authored, executed, and exported as animation sequences. These are further refined in Blender (v3.6) and integrated into Unity to create reusable training components called Action Animators. Two software applications—Craft Studio (v1.0) and Apprentice Studio (v1.0)—are designed and implemented to enable instructors to create training lessons and students to practice and get evaluated in virtual environments. The methodology has wide-ranging applications beyond crafts, offering a solution for immersive training in skill-based activities. The validation and evaluation of the proposed approach suggest that it can significantly improve training effectiveness, scalability, and accessibility across various industries.

Traditional ethnographic methods have long been employed to study craft practices, yet they often fall short of capturing the full depth of embodied knowledge, material interactions, and procedural workflows inherent in craftsmanship. This paper introduces a digitally enhanced ethnographic framework that integrates Motion Capture, 3D scanning, audiovisual documentation, and semantic knowledge representation to document both the tangible and dynamic aspects of craft processes. By distinguishing between endurant (tools, materials, objects) and perdurant (actions, events, transformations) entities, we propose a structured methodology for analyzing craft gestures, material behaviors, and production workflows. The study applies this proposed framework to eight European craft traditions—including glassblowing, tapestry weaving, woodcarving, porcelain pottery, marble carving, silversmithing, clay pottery, and textile weaving—demonstrating the adaptability of digital ethnographic tools across disciplines. Through a combination of multimodal data acquisition and expert-driven annotation, we present a comprehensive model for craft documentation that enhances the preservation, education, and analysis of artisanal knowledge. This research contributes to the ongoing evolution of ethnographic methods by bridging digital technology with Cultural Heritage studies, offering a robust framework for understanding the mechanics and meanings of craft practices.

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers (1L) in the 2H-phase are two-dimensional semiconductors with two valleys in their band structure that can be selectively populated using circularly polarized light. The choice of the substrate for monolayer TMDs is an essential factor for the optoelectronic properties and for achieving a high degree of valley polarization at room temperature (RT). In this work, we investigate the RT valley polarization of monolayer WS₂ on different substrates. A degree of polarization of photoluminescence (PL) in excess of 27% is found from neutral excitons in 1L-WS₂ on graphite at RT, under resonant excitation. Using chemical doping through photochlorination we modulate the polarization of the neutral exciton emission from 27% to 38% for 1L-WS₂/graphite. We show that the valley polarization strongly depends on the interplay between doping and the choice of the supporting layer of TMDs. Time-resolved PL measurements, corroborated by a rate equation model accounting for the bright exciton population in the presence of a dark exciton reservoir support our findings. These results suggest a pathway towards engineering valley polarization and exciton lifetimes in TMDs, by controlling the carrier density and/or the dielectric environment at ambient conditions.