This study is an attempt firstly, to explain the phenomenal increase both in the activity of collecting and the range of material that is now collected in Britain. It dose this by exploring the contexts of change over the last twenty years. This change it is argued has led to a culture of social and material insecurity in which collecting is used for the creation and defence of identity. The social theory of Guy Debord is employed as an underlying philosophy in which contemporary popular collecting is interpreted as a passive situationist response to a society driven by market forces. The social world and values of collectors are explored through their clubs, which it is asserted, comprise an alternative society or environment, one in which a legitimisation of their activities and preferences can be made and in which they develop a complimentary reality. Secondly it compares private popular collecting with that of museums, finding both potential and need for a closer relationship. It is argued that as collectors, develop in sophistication museums can partially redefine themselves through them. There are a number of areas in which collectors and museums are increasingly overlapping. Museums it is argued, should take advantage of this and the current boom in collecting by valuing collecting in the wider community. This would help museums comply with focused collecting policies and allow staff more time to concentrate on other areas such as community activities. Museums and collectors it is ultimately argued, should converge to form a symbiotic knowledge sharing nexus, thus strengthening and deepening communal bonds, acting as an anchor in a changing and diversifying museum profession and a socially atomised society.

Contrary to general traditional belief, the origins of collecting, as a systematic activity that refers to the satisfaction of symbolic rather than actual needs, was not an invention of the Renaissance. Collecting made its first appearance in European prehistory, was a subject of interest and debate for the ancient Greeks and Romans, and has been present continuously ever since. This thesis aims to address a gap in the history of collecting and to contribute to the discussion of its origins and nature through an analysis of collecting in the classical Graeco-Roman world. As a result, the subject of this thesis is the nature of classical collecting as this is illustrated by the works of four Latin authors, M. Tullius Cicero, Gaius Plinius Secundus, M. Valerius Martialis, and T. Petronius Arbiter. This analysis aims to take a long view of the collecting attitudes in the classical world, and trace the seeds of this practice and mentality in a shared tradition that runs through European thought. Consequently, the views on collections and collecting expressed by the four writers are seen within the longer Graeco-Roman tradition, and are approached through four parameters that have been identified as fundamental for structuring the collecting discourse: the notion of the past and the role of material culture as a mediator between people and their perception of it; gift-exchange as a social tradition with deep social roots, that structures relations between people, people and the Gods, and people and material culture; the notion of identity, at a communal and individual level and the capacity of objects to shape and structure it; and finally, the notions of time and space, our understanding and appreciation of which require the mediation of material culture. The discussion of each of those parameters comes together in the four chapters on the Latin authors. The reading of the ancient texts has been influenced by philosophical concerns about issues of interpretation and appropriation, and in particular by the ideas of Barthes and Ricoeur.

This PhD research has aimed to contribute towards building a museum perspective of innovation, a contribution that preserves the essence of the term but more importantly takes into consideration the unique role of museums in society. Hence, this research identifies museum innovation as the new or enhanced products, processes or business models by which museums can effectively achieve their social and cultural mission. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt for a museology research to provide a definition for innovation. Furthermore, this research presents a possible model of innovation in museums, called the Museum Innovation Model (MIM). The theoretical framework of the model is based on three concepts, open innovation, social enterprise, and social innovation, each of which, the research observes, are growing trends in the museum sector. These three concepts are interconnected and together can present a formula for innovation in museums. The formula is expressed simply as: museums that adopt social enterprise business model and utilize open innovation strategies are capable of achieving social innovation. The model aims to make innovation in museums scalable, replicable and feasible to start and operate. This research, also attempts to supply the museum studies literature with some terminologies and conceptual frameworks related to innovation. These new entries can bridge ideas and create common grounds with other disciplines such as business studies, which can facilitate future collaborations between academics and practitioners from both sides. Additionally, the clarity of innovation related concepts and terminologies within the museum context can provide the museum sector, internally, with a clearer, more effective, and eloquent way of communicating ideas, projects, goals, objectives, and expectations.

Since the 1970s, Taiwan has been gradually moving towards a new transitional stage in which many new paradigms have been established in guiding the future of this island. Firstly, in searching for Taiwanese local cultures and history that were marginalised within the traditional China-centred singular national discourse, Bentuhua or Taiwanisation has become the mainstream intellectual current during the past 40 years. Secondly, due to a rapid and peaceful process of political democratisation, Taiwan has established a contemporary constitutional democratic state in which the national boundaries of the ‘Taiwanese people’ have been expanded in redefining Taiwan as a multicultural, poly-ethnic ‘nation state’ with a pluralistic and inclusive national identity. In the light of ‘reconstructing Taiwan’ – Bentuhua, democratisation, anti-authoritarianism and the rewriting of national history – this thesis takes the newly-built National Museum of Taiwan History (NMTH) as its case study. Viewing the NMTH in the context of a transitional Taiwanese society in which the old paradigms of history-making and national identity are transforming, this thesis analyses the NMTH’s political missions, knowledge-shaping practices, historical representation, public roles and social concerns in order to contribute a comprehensive explanation of how Bentuhua has become the guiding principle for building new national museums in Taiwan and for developing the new public role of Taiwan’s national museums. Combining the external social and internal institutional contexts, this thesis is the first to examine Taiwan’s national museums from the research angle of Bentuhua and Taiwan’s democratisation, which provides a clear picture of new and emerging situations in Taiwan during the past 20 years. In the case of the NMTH, Taiwan’s unique national history and social contexts such as rapid democratisation, negotiation of ethnic relationships and the localisation of national identity are presented. All these new developments of Taiwanese society furnish contemporary Taiwan with a new and significant case study in dealing with the issue of identity politics in national museums.

The Lagermuseum - my creative manuscript (an extract of a longer novel) - seeks to illuminate a little known aspect of the history of the Auschwitz concentration and death camp complex, namely the trade and display of prisoner artworks. However, it is also concerned with exposing the governing paradigms inherent to contemporary encounters with the Holocaust, calling attention to the curatorial processes present in all interrogations of this most contentious historical subject. Questions relating to ownership, display and representational hierarchies permeate the text, characterised by a shape-shifting curator figure and artworks which refuse to adhere to the canon he creates for them. The Lagermuseum is thus in constant dialogue with my critical thesis, examining the fictional devices which often remain unacknowledged within established modes of historical discourse, specifically museums and tours. What emerges, I hope, is an ethically-sensitive work, which interrogates two key questions: Who is in charge of history? How do the ways in which history is curated affect our interpretations of it? ‘Encountering Auschwitz: Touring the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum’ In the mid-1990s, as the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum cemented its status as one of Europe’s most popular memorial destinations, critical conversation revolved around the potential implications and ramifications of Holocaust tourism. My thesis, however, aims to address an apparent gap within this still-evolving field of research. Thus I examine not visitor motivations for going to such sites, but the types of historical encounters available to those who seek them. Taking a personal, theoretical and strongly narrative approach, I critique the guided group tours provided by the museum, evaluating them in terms of both form and content. Particular emphasis is placed on representative tropes which can be connected to ethical concerns regarding the ‘museumification’ of Auschwitz, as well as wider issues within contemporary trauma theory and dark tourism research.

The purpose of this thesis is to identify key trends in presentations which contribute decisively to a greater understanding of the Romano-British to Late Medieval period. An in-depth review of theories and critiques introduced the academic debate on the relationship between the past and the present. The fundamental premise of a public interest in the past was established, as was the justification of the need to pursue research which explains that interest. A presentational template of the Jorvik Viking Centre was then constructed, on which to consider other forms of presentation, and to appraise its role as a pioneer and exemplar in this field. The suitability of conducting questionnaires in order to obtain the most accurate and consistent form of visitor responses to to selected presentations was verified. The technique was explained, with enclosed sample copies of the questionnaires. The results were then displayed, in the form of data relating to permanent presentations and resultant visitor trends, followed by more specific case studies of enactments and educational facilities. After ascertaining the managerial responses, and the significance of the Jorvik Viking Centre as a role model for their presentations, a focussed assessment of the 1993 commemoration of the 1950th anniversary of the Roman Invasion of Britain was made. This case-study incorporated elements from the previously considered themes, and was discussed in some depth as a comparative, in order to give a perspective upon the overall theme. A broad overview of the results and their implications was then made, and placed in the context of relevant contemporary visitor surveys. Finally, proposals for further initiatives were made. It has been established that the concept of the past as a resource is valid, as is the necessity of identifying the public with which a presentational dialogue is sought. An objective assessment of innovative and experimental presentations is also seen to be of merit. In this case-study, it is shown that it is the innovative presentations which tend to be popularly approved, and which also contribute to a sense of community and museum/visitor cooperation. The existing development plans are accepted, and there is an expectation of being able to participate in presentational activities. Such trends are also noticeable in result trends relating to enactments and educational presentations. The Jorvik Viking Centre is shown to have only a generally minimal influence. Despite overall presentational flaws in the Roman anniversary commemoration, it sets an example of individual achievement. Apart from advocating further research into presentations, case-studies with future potential are also considered, as is the concept of utilising the Annales system to this end.

In this thesis the research question asks how can we use the museum's collections to raise the voices and make visible those who are misrepresented, silenced or excluded by the traditional framing of knowledge in ethnographic museums? In answering this question the intention of the research is to change hierarchical practices, and open up the frontiers between the museum and its audience. The focus of the research is on school communities to explore the possibilities of museums contributing to the creation of new identities and understandings, of self and others. A new theoretical base and methodology is developed, an ethnographic action reaction approach informed by feminist-hermeneutic discourse, in the first 4 chapters of this thesis. It is essentially a participatory research method, which views theory and practice as a continuous cyclical process. The process demands a circle of: reflection, action, dialogical exchange and reflection from all participants. In chapters 5-8 the concentration of the thesis is on 4 project areas in order to develop the theory in practice. An African-Caribbean voices project acts as a link between theory and practice, a dialogical questionnaire project examines the establishment of a broad-based research team; a Benin project and a carnival arts project investigate work at a single field-site. The case studies illuminate aspects of the research question through a critique of the collaborative actions taken to re-frame traditional museum meaning(s). They illustrate ways in which collaborative museum programmes can facilitate processes, which reconstruct the meaning of objects and others, and thereby reconstruct an expanded meaning of selves. In this way the thesis demonstrates how a number of subversive strategies can be developed to increase the interpretive possibilities of museums, to raise a plurivocality of voices at the museum-school frontiers and make visible formally invisible identities.

The research subjects of this study are temporary museum exhibitions of indigenous culture in Taiwan. Via three case studies, each typifying a different approach to exhibition making, this study isolates the factors that affect the process of making museum exhibitions of indigenous culture in Taiwan, examines the effects that exhibition making has on the exhibited subject and delineates the nature and characteristics of such exhibitions themselves. The key findings of this study are that such factors as the rules and resources generated by cultural policy, administration and performance evaluation, the values, exhibition-making experience and reflexive insights -of exhibition planners, and the relationships among key actors in the exhibition-making process function to both constrain and enable the process; and via a mutually interlocking, mutually influencing means construct the exhibition content. The common characteristics produced during the process include 1) rule and resource constraint and enablement, 2) a marked effect on the exhibition produced by multiple-status actors, 2) mutual validation or recognition as the starting point of relationships between actors, and 4) reciprocity as the core behaviour in interpersonal relationships during the process. This study also examines the effects that the making of such exhibitions has on the exercise and development of indigenous rights in Taiwan. Among its discoveries are that top-down cultural policy intended to promote the exhibition-making development of local-level museums ends up narrowing their cultural representation options. Also, cooperation between exhibition planners and the source community can promote indigenous cultural self-determination but also can constrain cultural representation diversity and produce power inequalities within the source community. Based on the findings from its various case studies, this research provides recommendations for concrete ways that museums can foster the enhanced understanding and exercise of indigenous rights.

The first chapter attempts to set the world scene and fit this research within a framework of museum education, science museums and the Indian science museum situation. A way forward for Indian science museums is sought by identifying the challenges currently faced by them. The thesis, it is hoped, will contribute toward meeting some of those challenges. After defining and classifying the exhibition and describing the changing nature of museums, particularly science museum exhibitions, Chapter II looks at the exhibition development process from the historical perspective. Four approaches are identified in the developmental process of museum exhibition. They are the 'open storage' approach, the Bauhaus's contribution of design elements to exhibitions, Neurath's contribution of the ISOTYPE method of presenting information, and finally the contemporary approach. Having traced the traditional and project-team approaches to exhibition development in museums across the world in terms of their advantages and disadvantages, I will compare and contrast them with the exhibition development approaches in Indian science museums. After having identified the missing inputs of visitors and educators to the exhibition development in Indian science museums, the thesis sets out to shed light on the nature of museum learning, the museum visitor and the museum visit. In Chapter III, learning theories from behaviouristic, cognitive, and humanistic traditions are presented and discussed in relation to museum learning. Some comprehensive models of learning that integrate principles from these three schools are also discussed in terms of their usefulness to describe museum learning. Finally, a 'spiral' approach to museum learning is synthesised to explicate what is going on inside the museum. Chapter IV weaves together Jung's psychological types, Gardner's multiple intelligences, and one-, two- and multi-dimensional learning styles into a framework to explain the fabric of the museum visitor. A survey and an observation of museum visitors to an Indian science centre were conducted to explore the nature of the museum visitor and the museum visit. An interview was conducted with Indian museum directors to shed light on four learning-related issues. The four issues are learning in museums, evaluation and visitor studies, criteria in exhibition development, and finally interest in science and the nature of the scientific temper. The analyses and results of the survey, the observation and the interview are presented in Chapter V, VI and VII respectively.

Cross-cultural communication occurs when a museum located in Culture A stages an exhibition representing Culture B. By analysing data gathered from a questionnaire presented in such an exhibition, this study aims to reveal the patterns of visitors' interpretations of the displays. This thesis highlights the importance of the museum as a location for cross-cultural communication while stressing the significance of information gathered from 'the visitor's point of view'. It continues with an outline of the structure of cross-cultural communication in exhibitions. The categorisation of exhibitions is discussed, and the question of communication models is raised. The methodology of the study proceeds with a definition of key concepts of quantitative and qualitative methods appraising the contribution of semiotic theory with the concomitants 'emic approach' and the principle of empathy. Semiotic terms and concepts and the possible process of cross-cultural communication are presented. The site and nature of the exhibition (T.T.Tsui Gallery in the Victoria and Albert Museum) gives evidence of the Chinese-British context. Both Chinese culture and the displayed objects are emically analysed. The gallery presentation is treated as a narrative consequent upon which sign-function analyses of the displayed objects may be compared with the visitors' interpretations of the inherent messages. Collected quantitative and qualitative data coupled with findings from the investigations enable informed comment to be made on the performance of cross-cultural communication in exhibitions. Subjecting various types, needs and issues of code-switching to detailed examination confirms its pertinence in cross-cultural communication. The study is appraised and further study of cross-cultural communication in museum exhibitions recommended. Practical suggestions for mounting these kinds of exhibition are offered, and the value of this study is verified.