The use of mobile technologies such as multimedia guides has now become very common in cultural spaces such as museums. However, there is still a lack of understanding about how visitors interact with such devices and simultaneously with the exhibits. Generally, research has investigated different types of informal learning within cultural spaces, both with and without mobile technologies, particularly the use of free-choice and guided tours. The programme of research presented developed a scale to measure visitors’ experience in museums (the Museum Experience Scale, MES), a parallel scale to measure visitors’ experience in historic churches (the Church Experience Scale, CES) and a scale to measure visitors’ experience with audio and multimedia guides in cultural spaces (the Multimedia Guide Scale, MMGS). Study 1 established the appropriate methodology for the subsequent studies. A virtual museum was developed with two types of tour: Free Choice (FC) and Guided Tour (GT). Participants undertook a tour and answered a questionnaire about their experience. The study did not elicit any significant differences in visitor experience in the two different tour designs, but paved the way for the subsequent studies. Study 2 developed the MES and the MMGS using standard psychometric principles based on 255 responses to an online questionnaire. Respondents answered questions about a recent experience of visiting a cultural space, with or without a multimedia guide. Four components were identified for the MES: Engagement, Knowledge/Learning, Meaningful Experiences, and Emotional Connection while three components were identified for the MMGS: General Usability, Learnability and Control, and Quality of Interaction. Study 3 piloted the methodology for evaluating the use of multimedia guides in cultural spaces. Sixteen participants used a multimedia guide on an iPhone to view an exhibition set up in the laboratory and then completed the MMGS. This study successfully established the methodology and showed a significant effect of different types of guides (FC and GT) on the four MES factors. Study 4 developed the CES by asking 272 visitors at three historic churches in York to respond to questions immediately after their visit. The resulting scale has 5 components: Emotional Connection and Spiritual Experiences; Knowledge and Learning; Enjoyment, Intellectual Stimulation and Curiosity; Immersion; and Information overload. In a final study, the CES and MMGS were used to measure visitors’ experience at a historic church, Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. 59 visitors in total participated, 40 using an iPhone multimedia guide (21 FC and 19 GT) and a control group (CG) of 19 visitors without a guide. The findings showed a number of differences between the three groups on the CES and the MMGS. The results showed that introducing a smartphone guide in a historic church has interesting effects, both positive and possibly negative on visitor experience, particularly on the following aspects: time spent in the church; amount of knowledge gained; engagement with the church as well as with the smartphone guide; emotional and spiritual experience; and enjoyment and intellectual stimulation. In conclusion, three scales were developed were used to measure different aspect of visitors’ experience and were used in the realistic setting of a historic church. These scales make a contribution to the empirical evaluation of visitor experience of cultural spaces in general (with two different scales developed, one for museums and one for historic churches) and the use of audio and multimedia guides in cultural spaces.

Technological developments open new opportunities to meet the increasing expectations of visitors to galleries, libraries, archives or museums. Although these technologies provide many new possibilities, individual challenges and limitations are rife. Galleries, libraries, archives and museums should aim to unify many such technologies in order to capture visitor attention, engage interaction and facilitate both personal and social experiences. By incorporating objects, devices and people into a network of interconnected systems, new patterns, interaction types and social relations are expected to emerge. This thesis explores the unification of these technologies, identifies behavioural patterns emerging from visitor interactions and examines how combining these technologies can contribute to engaging visitor interactions and the effects they have on both individuals and groups. The thesis states that combining mobile devices and interactive displays will offer new engaging interactions for museum visitors. This will allow them to spread their interactions throughout the museum and easily switch between private and social experiences. Museums should therefore adopt combinations of mobile devices and interactive displays to meet the increasing expectations of their visitors and offer both private and social experiences.

Η διπλωματική αυτή εργασία εκπονήθηκε στο Εργαστήριο της Ερευνητικής Ομάδας Αλληλεπίδρασης Ανθρώπου-Υπολογιστή του Τμήματος Ηλεκτρολόγων Μηχανικών και Τεχνολογίας Πατρών του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών. Στόχος της εργασίας είναι η μελέτη και η ανάπτυξη δύο εικονικών χαρακτήρων, μιας ξεναγού και ενός παιδιού-επισκέπτη, καθώς και των συμπεριφορών τους, με αποτέλεσμα την ενσωμάτωσή τους σε μια εφαρμογή ενός εικονικού μουσείου. Ο χρήστης της εφαρμογής-επισκέπτης του μουσείου θα μπορεί να περιηγείται στους χώρους του, να αλληλεπιδρά με τα αντικείμενα του μουσείου και να πληροφορείται με τη βοήθεια της εικονικής ξεναγού σχετικά με αυτά. Το μουσείο στο οποίο αναφέρεται η διπλωματική εργασία είναι το “Μουσείο Σολωμού και Επιφανών Ζακυνθίων” που βρίσκεται στην Ζάκυνθο. / -

Στόχος της Διπλωματικής Εργασίας είναι ο σχεδιασμός και η ανάπτυξη ενός συστήματος για την αποθήκευση της φυσικής θέσης αντικειμένων μέσα σε ένα χώρο. Το σύστημα αποτελείται από μια εφαρμογή για σταθερό υπολογιστή και από μια κατάλληλη για φορητή συσκευή. / The goal of this thesis was to design and develop a system that stores in a database the location of physical objects inside a specific physical space. The system is comprised from a desktop and a mobile application.

Η μεταπτυχιακή εργασία αναφέρεται στην ηλεκτρονική διαχείριση εκθεμάτων στα ελληνικά μουσεία μέσω της μελέτης των μουσειακών οργανισμών του νομού Αχαΐας. Η καινοτομία της μελέτης αυτής είναι ότι προσεγγίζει τη λειτουργία του σύγχρονου μουσείου παρουσιάζοντας ένα ολοκληρωμένο πλαίσιο διαχείρισης. Η έννοια της μουσειακής διαχείρισης αναλύεται όχι μόνο ως προς τη διοικητική, αλλά και ως προς την τεχνολογική, οικονομική και νομική της διάσταση, υπό το πρίσμα της νέας πραγματικότητας που η ψηφιακή εποχή επιβάλει. Παρουσιάζονται οι λειτουργίες του μουσείου (συλλογή, συντήρηση, έρευνα, πληροφόρηση, εκπαίδευση, έκθεση, επικοινωνία-μάρκετινγκ) και τα σύγχρονα εργαλεία που η μουσειακή διοίκηση έχει στη διάθεσή της για να μετατρέψει το μουσείο σε έναν δυναμικό ανταγωνιστικό οργανισμό παγκόσμιας εμβέλειας. Αναλύεται τέλος η έννοια του εικονικού μουσείου, ως κατεξοχήν φορέας ηλεκτρονικής διαχείρισης εκθεμάτων. Στηριζόμενη στην παραπάνω εκτενή βιβλιογραφική ανάλυση η παρούσα μελέτη προσπαθεί να ερευνήσει το πλαίσιο εφαρμογής της ηλεκτρονικής διαχείρισης εκθεμάτων στα μουσεία μέσω της διεξαγωγής έρευνας με ερωτηματολόγιο στους μουσειακούς οργανισμούς της περιοχής. Η έρευνα αυτή πραγματοποιεί συγκριτική αξιολόγηση των μουσείων της περιοχής με βάση συγκεκριμένα κριτήρια και εξάγει πολύτιμα συμπεράσματα σχετικά με τη στάση και τις ικανότητες των μουσείων απέναντι στις δυνατότητες που προσφέρει η ψηφιακή πολιτισμική τεχνολογία και φανερώνει τις τάσεις και τις προοπτικές της μουσειακής διαχείρισης. / The present study refers to the electronic management of exhibits in greek museums focusing on the research of museums of the prefecture of Achaia. The innovation of this study is that it approaches the administration of modern museum presenting a complete frame of management. The significance of museum management is analyzed not only from its administrative aspect, but also from its technological, economic and legal dimension, in the context of new reality that the digital era imposes. The functions of museum (collection, maintainance, research, information, education, exhibition, communication-marketing) are presented such as the modern tools that museum management has in its disposal in order to transform the museum in a dynamic, competitive organisation of world impact. Finally, is analyzed the significance of virtual museum, as the eminent institution of electronic management of exhibits. Supported in the precede extensive bibliographic analysis, the present study tries to explore the context of application of electronic management of exhibits in the museums via the conduct of research with questionnaire to the museums of the region. This research carries out a comparative evaluation of the examined museums using specific criteria and it exports useful conclusions with regard to the attitude and the ability of museums toward the possibilities that the digital cultural technology offers and reveals tendencies and prospects of museum management.