Final Project (M.A.)--John F. Kennedy University, 2004. / "August 30, 2004"--T.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-127).

This thesis explores the relationship between existing museum exhibition development strategies and the potential practices which arise from the virtualisation of the museum. It does so within the context of the new disciplines which are the phenomena of new media practices, the discourses surrounding exhibition development and broader changes to museum provenance, patrimony, collection and display. / Focusing on the establishment of an exhibition discourse within diversifying new media environments, the thesis proposes a theoretical framework of textual strategies and spatial sequences which emerge from the virtualisation of the museum. The research investigates the semiotic structures which enable museum display to be conceived of as a text and proposes methods of visual analysis which can be used to evaluate exhibition as a communication form. A series of spatial and temporal sequences of virtual display are derived from theoretical exploration and case-evaluation. These form the basis of the development of the notion of sites of virtual display. Situated within an interdisciplinary framework, the research aims to contribute to exhibition development praxis by identifying generic and specific factors which contextualise the development of virtual display. / The thesis tests the theoretical framework of textual strategies and spatial sequences through the development of an ontology of virtual display. The ontology is tested through education materials developed within a social constructivist pedagogical model. Using qualitative methods, the studies test the validity of the ontology as a model for situating reflective practices within museum exhibition design. The model is intended to inform the ways in which new media technologies are applied in the museum exhibition environment. / The research responds to the challenges posed by new media technologies in negotiating and appropriating techniques of communication and display in the museum exhibition environment. / Thesis (PhDArchitectureandDesign)--University of South Australia, 2004.