Maria Economou

The book examines the history of museums and the way these have evolved, reflecting wider social, historical and ideological changes. It analyses the characteristics of museums and their areas of activity, as well as the way contemporary museological theories have affected their study.
From the princely collection and the private cabinets of curiosities we have moved to the public museum which tries today to be a live organisation, open to different visitor groups. An organisation which interacts directly with the present, looingks bravely towards the future and treats with respect the past, without any sterile workship of this.
The book examines issues of collections management and interpretation and museum communication, using examples from Greece and the rest of the world.  It suggests ways for more effective museum communication and examines critically the new interpretation approaches, different media, and new technologies used by contemporary museums.

1. Summary

1.1 Formative qualitative evaluation of the four archive strand websites, A2A, AIM25, Archives Hub, and SCAN, which are part of the National Archive Network and represent work in progress, showed that the websites appeal to a diverse audience, were received positively, and offer great potential for further development and use.

1.2 At the same time, all the users who participated in the study, including the ones more experienced in archival research, had problems with navigation and use of the sites.

1.3 Based on observation of participants’ use of the sites, analysis of the questionnaires and the focus group discussions, a number of recommendations are made for further development and improvement of the tested four sites in order to address the needs of a diverse range of users, from school pupils and the general public to specialised researchers and academics. These are detailed as they relate to each site at the beginning of every relevant section (sections 4 to 9), while general observations and key points are summarised here.

1.4 At an appropriate moment in their development (which for some sites might be after more material has been added or more work on the design has been completed), the programmes would need to consider wider publicity and advertising at different levels to increase the profile of the sites among the various targeted users, as even some archive professionals or researchers had not used the sites before or were not aware of their existence and the area that these covered.

1.5 Focusing on improving usability, searching, navigation and on making the sites simpler and more user-friendly would satisfy not only the more general part of the audience, but also specialised researchers who appeared to have difficulties with some of the more advanced search features. It would be more effective to layer the different searching options, presenting in the first pages the more simple ones, while providing clear links to other pages for further exploration and more sophisticated searching for those interested.

1.6 For specialised users, key features that they would like to see in the future include further work on adding more content and making the sites more comprehensive; making clearer each site’s remit, while trying to avoid areas of overlap; and greater consistency in the design of all four strands.

1.7 Several users who were positive about the potential of the sites were hindered by their limited understanding of the function of archives, catalogue descriptions, and the language used. As an example, from the two Manchester groups who represented the least specialised part of the audience: (i) more than a quarter who rated highly the usefulness and information value of the content of A2A, (ii) more than a third who rated AIM25 and the Archives Hub highly and (iii) over seventy percent who rated SCAN highly, had difficulties understanding the nature of archival records and catalogues. In order to appeal to this audience, attractive and effective ways of explaining archival work on the sites are needed. Beginner guides or introductions might also be useful, as well as more assistance in interpreting search results. More work on the design of the webpages, greater use of colour and graphics, and use of interactive elements such as comments pages and notice boards would appeal to younger users. SCAN is currently more effective in this area, employing different techniques. It is important to test further with a range of users from these groups any initiative in this direction.

1.8 The sites currently meet the needs of users with disability and minority interest groups to a varying degree. More work would need to be carried out in this direction.

1.9 The design of the home pages needs to be considered further by all sites. It is important to offer brief, succinct descriptions of the aims of each programme and the material it covers, while explaining the acronyms used.

1.10 All programmes, and particularly A2A, AIM25 and the Archives Hub, need to consider greater use of images and visual information. However, these need to be employed only if they serve each site’s aims, are cost effective, and do not distract from making the material more comprehensive. Providing audio has potential for the future for specific applications, but should not be seen as a priority at this stage.

1.11 Users welcomed the envisaged development of a common gateway linking all strands. This would help answer a lot of users’ points about providing common interface and search mechanisms between the four strands. It would also help to pool the resources which would be required for developing the sites further for novice users. It would be desirable to design this so that users can have the option to also search the individual strands separately. The interface of the gateway would need to be carefully thought out to maintain flexibility and ease of use, while work on the technical side should ensure that searching across all sites would not be slower than is currently at the participating sites.

1.12 As the more specialised archive users who tested the HMC/NRA links generally found them useful, it is recommended that these are extended to the other network strands. Suggestions for the design of the user interface of these pages are made in paragraph 7.14.

1.13 Finally, it should be noted that all participants, even those who had serious problems during the exploration of the sites, were generally complimentary and supportive of the initiative and offered constructive suggestions.

"This thesis examined the issues related to the application of interactive multimedia in museums and archaeology, and particularly, their effectiveness for exhibition interpretation. To this end, a prototype multimedia program was designed, implemented, and evaluated in the context of an exhibition on the classical Greek colony Euesperides (Ashmolean Museum and Museum of Oxford, autumn 1995).
The Euesperides program combined the fragmented information from the excavation of the site in North Libya with the historical background of the city and interpreted the objects on display.
Throughout the design of the prototype, formative evaluation with schoolchildren, students, and museum staff offered valuable feedback about its content, navigation, and user interface.
Summative evaluation constituted the main focus of the study and employed six different methods: observation, interviews, computer interaction logging, self-administered questionnaires, analysis of comments in the visitors book, and post-visit mail survey. These offered quantitative and qualitative information about:
a) the profile of users and non-users of the application;
b) how visitors used the exhibition and the program;
c) the behaviour of different visitor groups;
d) the emotional and intellectual impact of the program;
e) its relation with the exhibition;
f) its impact on the museum staff involved.
The study showed that gender, age, and group composition affected visitors’ behaviour and interaction with the computer. The program had high attractive and holding power and offered a memorable experience. Users invested substantial amounts of time using it, but also spent more time in the exhibition than non-users. Despite some problems with its design, the program contributed to the understanding of the exhibition, raised awareness and questions about archaeology, and encouraged several visitors to look at the objects on display. Overall, the results indicated that the multimedia program was an effective interpretative device and a powerful component of the exhibition. The study helped to establish guidelines about museum multimedia design and evaluation and contributed to the general picture of visitor behaviour and exhibition performance."

As a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, many university museums have digitised their collections and created new digital content, to support online and hybrid teaching and learning. The University Museums in Scotland group is working together to research this shift and to learn from it for the post-pandemic future

It brings together academics from different disciplines and professionals from Scotland's key cultural organisations in order to investigate how cultural digital resources are used by diverse user groups; how to record their impact on learning, research, and community engagement; and how to maximize their potential. It integrates different methodologies and perspectives (from digital humanities, computing science, museology, social sciences) and uses as a case study the Kelvin Hall Project in Glasgow. The Kelvin Hall project will bring together not only the collections of the three participating institutions, The University of Glasgow's Hunterian Museum, Glasgow Museums and the National Library of Scotland's Moving Image Archive, but also the digital records and resources related to those. Using digital technologies to bring together diverse and extensive collections, support in‐depth research and scholarship, but also make them more accessible and easy to use for a wide...

Audio files for Ebutius and Calle characters and for narrator created for the onsite and virtual verson of EMOTIVE project Ebutius's Dilemma experience, created for the Antonine Wall Gallery of the Hunterian Museum. More information can be found here: https://emotiveproject.eu/index.php/what-we-do/experiences/

Audio files for Ebutius and Calle characters and for narrator created for the onsite and virtual verson of EMOTIVE project Ebutius's Dilemma experience, created for the Antonine Wall Gallery of the Hunterian Museum. More information can be found here: https://emotiveproject.eu/index.php/what-we-do/experiences/

This deliverable presents the summative evaluation results from Year 3 of the EMOTIVE project. It offers an overview of the methodologies employed; presents the findings that came out from the extensive and diverse programme of evaluations carried out of both EMOTIVE authoring tools and experiences; and outlines the lessons learned from the whole process. The deliverable concludes with policy implications and recommendations coming out of our EMOTIVE experience for the cultural heritage sector.

This article gives an account of the history and archaeology of the Greek colony of Euesperides in Cyrenaica. It also describes a project based at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford for the multimedia presentation of the surviving evidence about the site, which is part of doctoral research on the use of multimedia systems in archaeology and museums.

The EMOTIVE experience "Ebutius's Dilemma" script. The experience was created for the Antonine Wall Gallery of the Hunterian Museum. More information can be found here: https://emotiveproject.eu/index.php/what-we-do/experiences/

VR video introduction to the "Verecuda - A window to the Scottish past" experience, created in the context of the EMOTIVE project for the Antoine Wall Gallery in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow UK. More information on the experience can be found here: https://emotiveproject.eu/index.php/what-we-do/experiences/

Cultural heritage institutions are spending considerable effort and resources to provide online access to their collection catalogues and collection management systems, usually through their institutional websites. This improves accessibility and supports research and engagement by diverse user groups, as well as meeting the increasing expectation by audiences that this type of information will be freely and easily available online. However, cultural organisations have not responded to these needs in the same way and have been employing different web tools and features to present their collections online. In this article, we argue that the technological implementation choices and the type of content provided reflect also the philosophy of communication of the institution itself. We used the constructivist approach's learning theory and theory of knowledge and combined these interrelated epistemological and cognitive perspectives to analyse the communication philosophy of a large...

https://www.academia.edu/398611/_nline_Access_to_Digital_Collections_-_Design_and_Use_of_Museum_Databases#1 The creation of institutional websites is one of the most widespread information and communication technologies in the cultural sector. Expectations of web users, together with social and technological developments, have influenced an expanding trend among cultural organisations to offer wider inclusion and greater versatility in the presentation of collections and related information in their digital spaces. However, the effectiveness of these applications has not been systematically tested so far, nor has their use been examined with any in-depth research study, despite the increasing pressure on museums to provide online access to their collection catalogues. This paper will present the results of a research project which aims to address this gap. At the first stage of the research, museum websites from different countries were selected and analysed. After the identificatio...

ABSTRACT Economou, M. Nikonanou, Ν., Κasvikis,, Κ., Economou, D., Samaroudi, Μ. 2011. in Gavrilaki, I. (ed.) «The Spring of Museums. Educational Programmes and Museum Education», Rethymno, May 2009, 25th Ephory of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities & Folklore Society of Rethymnon, 244-254 (in Greek) Οικονόμου, Μ., Νικονάνου, Ν., Κασβίκης,, Κ., Οικονόμου, Δ., Σαμαρούδη, Μ. 2011. ‘Eκπαιδευτικά προγράμματα και ηλεκτρονικές εφαρμογές Μουσείου Φυσικής Ιστορίας Αξιούπολης: Οι νέες τεχνολογίες σαν εργαλείο πριν, κατά τη διάρκεια, και μετά την επίσκεψη στο Μουσείο’ στο Γαβριλάκη, Ε. (επιμ.) Πρακτικά συμποσίου «Η Άνοιξη των Μουσείων. Εκπαιδευτικά Προγράμματα και Μουσειακή Αγωγή», Ρέθυμνο, Μάιος 2009, ΚΕ ΕΠΚΑ και Λαογραφική Εταιρεία Ρεθύμνου, 244-254. Full Paper at: https://www.academia.edu/7605433/Educational_programmes_and_electronic_applications_of_the_Museum_of_the_Axioupolis_Museum_of_Natural_History_New_technologies_as_a_tool_before_during_and_after_the_visit_to_the_Museum

This dataset contains the Verecuda - A window to the Scottish past story script. This experience has been developped in the context of the EMOTIVE project for the Antonine Wall Gallery of the Hunterian Museum. More information on the experience can be found here: https://emotiveproject.eu/index.php/what-we-do/experiences/

Between August and December 1997, the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII) at the University of Glasgow carried out a study of the opportunities and obstacles posed by the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the heritage sector in order to establish a funding policy. This was commissioned by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), one of the six agencies which distribute the proceeds from the UK's National Lottery. The Trustees of the HLF approved all the recommendations outlined in the report [1], and these have helped to shape the Fund's policy and guidelines on the support of ICT.

The Hunterian is Scotland’s oldest public museum holding large and diverse collections of national significance. These were built on the founding bequest of Dr William Hunter (1718 - 1783), a pioneering obstetrician, teacher and passionate collector, and reflect his Enlightenment interests. The Hunterian has just embarked on an ambitious project that will allow it to reunite the collections and employ new technologies to increase their accessibility. In partnership with Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life and the National Library of Scotland, it will co-locate its collections at the Kelvin Hall, one of Glasgow’s historic buildings. A new portal will bring the collections of the three partners together. The paper focuses on a project, which will study the use of these online collections and large data sets for teaching, research and public engagement with diverse communities. The project will investigate how these developments affect the way different user groups (students, researcher...

Where do the interests represented by the REF Impact agenda converge with those of University Museums & Libraries? These are the obvious outlets for sharing and communicating stories of great academic research but what does this mean in practice? This paper outlines ways in which the University of Glasgow collections are being used to generate or enhance the impact of current University research and draws on both academic and cultural heritage work in defining ways to articulate engagement impacts. Further it reflects on the Museum and Library infrastructure required to support and prioritise engagement with key audiences.

Since 2009 museums have started introducing mobile apps in their range of interpretative media and visitor services. As mobile technology continues to develop and permeate all aspects of our life, and the capabilities of smart phones increase while they become more accessible and popular, new possibilities arise for cultural institutions to exploit these tools for communicating in new ways and promoting their exhibitions and programmes. The use of mobile apps opens up new channels of communication between the cultural institution and the user, which extent to his or her personal space and go beyond the boundaries of the museum’s walls. The paper presents a survey carried out of mobile apps designed by art or cultural historical museums and analyses the wider issues which are raised by the findings. It discusses, among others, the kind of use these apps were designed to fulfil (e.g. the majority are guided tours to the permanent collections or to temporary exhibitions), the layering ...

This document reports on the development of EMOTIVE’s conceptual framework for the design of emotional storytelling at cultural heritage sites. We describe a step-by-step prototyping method, a set of proposed EMOTIVE Experience Types, and preliminary guidelines to inform the creative industries on developing EMOTIVE experiences. We conclude with an accompanying D5.1 Annex, describing tasks related to the implementation of the EMOTIVE framework. These include (1) a review of the EMOTIVE Design Cards, a first attempt to translate our conceptual framework into a simple tool for emotive experience designers; (2) early progress on the EMOTIVE Chatbot, a specific case of Experience Prototyping.

This document describes the ethical and privacy principles and procedures applied by the EMOTIVE project throughout its different stages and contexts of research. Moreover, in version 2.0 we have added a concrete Data Management Plan as requested in the first periodic review.

This deliverable reports on the user needs and requirements for EMOTIVE experiences, focusing on both main user groups targeted by the project, namely authors and visitors. Visitor groups have been identified for EMOTIVE cultural partner sites (The Hunterian Museum’s Antonine Wall site display in Scotland and the archaeological site of Catalhoyuk in Turkey) and presented in the form of personas. The second part of the document presents selected interpretation material and proposed experience concepts that will lead to the creation of EMOTIVE experiences for both sites. An accompanying D3.1 Annex includes supplementary information on the studies and events carried out in support of user needs elicitation and scenario development.

EMOTIVE is a 3-year H2020 project, which aims to use emotional storytelling to change how we experience museums and heritage sites. The principal objective for EMOTIVE is to research, design, develop and evaluate methods and tools that can support the cultural and creative industries in offering their diverse audiences effective emotive storytelling. The Hunterian EMOTIVE prototype experiences include VR/AR technologies and 3D printed objects to convey two personal stories (told by a Roman centurion and by a local a local Caledonian slave girl) that tackle personal dilemmas and issues of identity. These stories were created with an Authoring Tool for cultural content creators and can be easily transported for online use combined with an easy-to-build 360° virtual space. The evaluation carried out to date measured the impact and effectiveness of the user-centred approach and effectiveness of prototypes. The results showed very promising results about the impact of both the tools for ...

Virtual reality applications offer various possibilities for cultural heritage interpretation, such as giving users the feeling of immersion and appealing to all their senses, making their experience lively and memorable. In order to test their effectiveness for assisting learning and successful integration in exhibitions, the authors carried out an extensive evaluation study using three case studies: the exhibition “Immaginare Roma Antica” at the Trajan Markets, Rome; the permanent displays at the Ename Museum, Belgium; and the VR displays at Hellenic Cosmos, Foundation of the Hellenic World, Athens. The chapter analyses how the applications were used, the type of learning different systems supported, how this was affected by the conditions of use, and their suitability for different groups. It also offers guidelines on evaluation methodology when studying the use of ICT in cultural settings. The study contributes to the construction of a substantial body of empirical knowledge aim...

ABSTRACT http://ijz.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.177/prod.64 As social edifices in the sphere of cultural production, today’s museums are increasingly becoming advocates of inclusion and incubators of community. As a result, there has been an increased interest and subsequent change in the way museums mediate among and between communities. One of these changes is the way museums and cultural institutions use emerging Web 2.0 technologies as a means of communication. By extending past the sole use of content provider offered with traditional Web 1.0 technologies, several museums are embracing and experimenting with Web 2.0 technology for its ability to emphasize community and visitor participation. Through the application of museum centered Internet-based services such as social networking sites, RSS feeds, podcasts, and blogs, users can actively engage and influence the organization, creation, and sharing of online content. Undoubtedly, these online platforms infused with concepts of collaboration, community and open dialogue offer the potential to transform our capacity to experience and interact with the museum as well as each other. But to what extent has this potential been realized so far? By seeking to contextualize these social dynamics involved in applying Web 2.0 technologies into the museum, this paper aims to expand our understanding and uses of the various possibilities of social media. Through using a number of case studies from museums with existing Web 2.0 applications, it will discuss how the model of museum communication is changing and will also analyze a number of important issues raised by the use of these technological tools (such as ownership authenticity and control of cultural information, relationship between communities and museum staff, and institutional policies).

The paper examines museum evaluation activities in their social and political context and advocates the need for evaluation strategies in the cultural sector. It analyses the case of the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow, which commissioned the design of such a strategy ...

11 University Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ Tel: (0141) 330 5512 Fax: 330 3788 http://www.hatii .arts.gla.ac.uk E-mail: M.Economou@hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk ... Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute, University of Glasgow ... Evaluation Strategy for the Museum ...

The communication of collections information in digital form, whether it is an online catalogue, mobile application, or social media exchange, increasingly affects our cultural encounters and shapes our perception of cultural organizations. Cultural and higher education institutions in Scotland, in common with those in the rest of the world, are investing vast resources on digitization and making their collections available online but we still know very little about who uses these and how they interact with the data. In order to address this gap the Scottish Network on Digital Cultural Resources Evaluation. ScotDigiCH was initiated in January 2015 and brings together academics from different disciplines and professionals from Scotland's key cultural organizations in order to investigate how cultural digital resources are used by diverse user groups, how to record their impact on learning, research, and community engagement, and how to maximize their potential. It integrates different methodologies and perspectives (from digital humanities, computing science, museology, social sciences) and uses as a case study the Kelvin Hall Project in Glasgow. The Network has organized a series of four workshops, a knowledge exchange event and will organize an international symposium on digital cultural resources evaluation combined with a public lecture and an open public event to explore the Kelvin Hall digital collections portal. All these activities have certainly given all partners a lot of food for thought and are informing the Hunterian museum's Digital Strategy and how it takes digital curation, collections documentation, exhibition interpretation and visitor engagement forward. The paper discusses the methodology and lessons learned from the ScotDigiCH research network and the wider implication for other researchers and organizations working in digital cultural heritage.