Empathy, engagement, entrainment: the interaction dynamics of aesthetic experience

A recent version of the view that aesthetic experience is based in empathy as inner imitation explains aesthetic experience as the automatic simulation of actions, emotions, and bodily sensations depicted in an artwork by motor neurons in the brain. Criticizing the simulation theory for committing to an erroneous concept of empathy and failing to distinguish regular from aesthetic experiences of art, I advance an alternative, dynamic approach and claim that aesthetic experience is enacted and skillful, based in the recognition of others’ experiences as distinct from one’s own. In combining insights from mainly psychology, phenomenology, and cognitive science, the dynamic approach aims to explain the emergence of aesthetic experience in terms of the reciprocal interaction between viewer and artwork. I argue that aesthetic experience emerges by participatory sense-making and revolves around movement as a means for creating meaning. While entrainment merely plays a preparatory part in this, aesthetic engagement constitutes the phenomenological side of coupling to an artwork and provides the context for exploration, and eventually for moving, seeing, and feeling with art. I submit that aesthetic experience emerges from bodily and emotional engagement with works of art via the complementary processes of the perception–action and motion–emotion loops. The former involves the embodied visual exploration of an artwork in physical space, and progressively structures and organizes visual experience by way of perceptual feedback from body movements made in response to the artwork. The latter concerns the movement qualities and shapes of implicit and explicit bodily responses to an artwork that cue emotion and thereby modulate over-all affect and attitude. The two processes cause the viewer to bodily and emotionally move with and be moved by individual works of art, and consequently to recognize another psychological orientation than her own, which explains how art can cause feelings of insight or awe and disclose aspects of life that are unfamiliar or novel to the viewer

The relation between the museum experience and the individual psychological well-being of museum-goers: two studies

The museum has now been recognized as a powerful resource for local development, both from an economic and a social point of view. Museums can support local economic development through their backing of creative economic activities, in addition, their creation of job opportunities. The role of museums has also been emphasized in dimensions such as education, the creation of social capital and, recently, well- being and health. This does not mean that museums have to change their mission in favour of an extrinsic function, but rather that they must be aware of their intrinsic power, respecting the nature of the institution while also developing behaviours to catalyze the emergence of such effects. The knowledge of their potential impacts helps museums themselves to avoid being exploited by governmental organizations, which would move them away from their core values and mission. That is why we need to study the relationship between museums and their impacts. Contrary to what is happening within education and visitor studies, the museum as an environment related to well-being is not recognized around the world. Even with the growing interest in the relation between culture and health, the attention paid to the rapport between museum experience and the subjective well-being of visitors remains limited. The majority of existing studies are focused on measuring the well- being outcomes of museum activities that are specifically designed for people in care in a clinical setting. Furthermore, they are almost all conducted in the United Kingdom, while the Mediterranean region is neglected. This thesis aims to expand our understanding of the relation between museum experience and the psychological well-being of museum-goers in the Mediterranean region by focusing on two basic questions: 1) is there a relation between museum experience and the psychological well-being of museum users? 2) if there is, how can the museum foster it? This research is composed of two different papers on two different case studies carried out in the Mediterranean region. The museums where I conducted the studies differ from one to another in context, museology and activities offered. In the first study, I analyse the rapport of a participatory museology experience and the psychological well-being of museum users in a rural area. In the second one, I explore the relationship between museum experience and the subjective psychological well-being of visitors in an urban context. The studies develop a theoretical framework explaining three elements of the phenomenon: the user's characteristics and background, the museum experience, and the determinants of psychological well -being, from a comprehensive perspective that integrates the well-being approach in visitor studies. The two empirical studies are conducted on the basis of this theoretical development, with conclusions drawn from surveys and statistical approaches. On the one hand, both the studies reveal that there is indeed a relation between the museum experience and the subjective perception of museum-goers’ psychological well-being. On the other hand, each study underlines different relevant aspects in this relationship, which in turn depend on the context, the particular museology and the audience. These conclusions have important implications for the academic studies, the museum sector, as well as for policy development in relation to culture and health

The exhibition as knowledge production

A exposição de arte contemporânea, desde o seu aparecimento no contexto museológico e curatorial, tem sofrido diversas alterações de carácter social, político e económico, influenciadas pelo período histórico e artístico onde se inserem. A figura do curador, igualmente em constante transformação, tem vindo a assumir um papel de mediador que estabelece e fortalece as relações entre os artistas, o público, os profissionais dos museus e outras instituições culturais. Recentemente, este conjunto de mudanças contribuiu para um diluir de fronteiras institucionais entre profissões, departamentos e disciplinas, que resultou na elaboração de projectos curatoriais baseados no trabalho colaborativo e em rede. É enquanto efeito destas inovações que a presente dissertação pretende estudar a exposição como produção de conhecimento. A análise dos projectos Academy (2004-2006), The New Model: An Inquiry (2011-2015) e Under the Clouds: From Paranoia to the Digital Sublime (2015), que tiveram lugar no contexto europeu dos últimos quinze anos, é o ponto de partida para uma reflexão sobre a exposição e a dimensão curatorial enquanto instrumentos de comunicação, colaboração e mediação.The exhibition of contemporary art, since its emergence within the museological and curatorial context, has experienced social, political and economic changes influenced by the historical and artistic in which they are inserted. The figure of the curator, equally in constant transformation, has come to play a mediating role that establishes and reinforces the relationships between artists, audience, museum professionals and other cultural institutions. Recently, this set of changes contributed to the dilution of institutional boundaries between professions, departments and subjects, which resulted in the elaboration of curatorial projects based on collaboration and networking. It is as an effect of these innovations that the present dissertation intends to study the exhibition as knowledge production. The analysis of the curatorial projects Academy (2004-2006), The New Model: An Inquiry (2011-2015) and Under the Clouds: From Paranoia to the Digital Sublime (2015), which took place in the European context of the last fifteen years, is the starting point for the study of the exhibition and the curatorial as instruments of communication, collaboration and mediatio

Volunteering for Wellbeing: Improving Access and Social Inclusion by Increasing the Diversity of Museum Volunteer Training for Public-facing Roles

This article reports outcomes from a 15-month (2018-19) study led by UCL on behalf of the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance in partnership with three London museums of differing sizes with natural or local history collections. The study aimed to address mental health inequalities by diversifying volunteer populations through reforming recruitment procedures to overcome perceived barriers, and enriching training programmes to improve wellbeing. A mixed methods approach was used to assess wellbeing and mechanisms by which key benefits were derived, such as social interaction and forming connections. The article considers how increasing the diversity of volunteer training in museums can improve wellbeing, widen access and promote social inclusion. Policy and practice implications are discussed in relation to embedding wellbeing training strategies into heritage organizations

Proceedings of the International Workshop on EuroPLOT Persuasive Technology for Learning, Education and Teaching (IWEPLET 2013)

"This book contains the proceedings of the International Workshop on EuroPLOT Persuasive Technology for Learning, Education and Teaching (IWEPLET) 2013 which was held on 16.-17.September 2013 in Paphos (Cyprus) in conjunction with the EC-TEL conference. The workshop and hence the proceedings are divided in two parts: on Day 1 the EuroPLOT project and its results are introduced, with papers about the specific case studies and their evaluation. On Day 2, peer-reviewed papers are presented which address specific topics and issues going beyond the EuroPLOT scope. This workshop is one of the deliverables (D 2.6) of the EuroPLOT project, which has been funded from November 2010 – October 2013 by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission through the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLL) by grant #511633. The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate Persuasive Learning Objects and Technologies (PLOTS), based on ideas of BJ Fogg. The purpose of this workshop is to summarize the findings obtained during this project and disseminate them to an interested audience. Furthermore, it shall foster discussions about the future of persuasive technology and design in the context of learning, education and teaching. The international community working in this area of research is relatively small. Nevertheless, we have received a number of high-quality submissions which went through a peer-review process before being selected for presentation and publication. We hope that the information found in this book is useful to the reader and that more interest in this novel approach of persuasive design for teaching/education/learning is stimulated. We are very grateful to the organisers of EC-TEL 2013 for allowing to host IWEPLET 2013 within their organisational facilities which helped us a lot in preparing this event. I am also very grateful to everyone in the EuroPLOT team for collaborating so effectively in these three years towards creating excellent outputs, and for being such a nice group with a very positive spirit also beyond work. And finally I would like to thank the EACEA for providing the financial resources for the EuroPLOT project and for being very helpful when needed. This funding made it possible to organise the IWEPLET workshop without charging a fee from the participants.

Spinning Straw into Gold: A Study of Resource Creation, Flow, and Conversion in a Nonprofit Collaboration

Throughout history people have joined together to improve their individual lives. In the modern era, organizations often work cooperatively to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. Collaborating organizations in the nonprofit sector are increasingly expected to produce system-level change as well. This collective impact approach is under-theorized and therefore not consistently actionable. A central puzzle is how formal nonprofit collaborations acquire resource inputs and transform them into outputs, outcomes, and impact while producing financial returns to sustain the backbone organization. Resource dependence theory is sometimes proposed as an explanatory framework, yet it does not explain the generation of a double bottom line (simultaneous production of social and financial returns). To address this gap in the literature, this study examined the role that resources play in a 501(c)3 collaboration of 29 arts and culture organizations in California. Using an informed grounded theory design with mixed methods of data collection and analysis, the investigation researched the anomaly of how a formal collaboration established in 2001 has been able to survive and grow when many similar organizations struggle financially. Through process tracing, the study identified resource inputs and documented their flow and transformation to discern the mechanisms of their mobilization and conversion. Process tracing was also used to assess seven rival hypotheses to explain the successful anomaly. Findings indicate the collaboration deploys multiple forms of capital (financial, physical, human, relational, symbolic, and structural) and generates some of these forms itself. The mechanisms for this endogenous genesis are catalytic processes (especially communicating, leading, connecting, learning, and investing) that activate and transform the latent potential of tangible and intangible resources into productive forms to help sustain the collaboration. Six of the rival hypotheses were found to be only partially or not supported. The seventh, termed resource interdependence theory, was supported. Six affiliated propositions are presented. Beyond these theoretical contributions, the study systematically maps the currency of civil society, creating an actionable typology to serve as a framework to guide the design of collective impact strategies and philanthropic decision-making. The study suggests that the construct of capacity building may be more usefully thought of as capital building

Using AR and VR characters for enhancing user experience in a museum

Museums and cultural heritage institutions have used technology to create interactive exhibits and pedagogical tools that help spark visitors’ interests. The rise of Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality Systems has further enabled the creation of a new generation of immersive experiences that can engage and educate visitors. These technologies can be used to develop digital characters that can serve as virtual tour guides and improve user engagement by answering questions and forming social bonds with the users. While such tour guides have been deployed as exhibits at many museums, the implementation is usually limited to a single exhibit or a section of the museum space. We believe that visitors will be better served if the virtual guide not only enriches the onsite experience but also provides a take-home experience for users to encourage future visits. This thesis explores the enhancement in user experience that such a system can bring by offering onsite and offsite AR and WebVR technologies to create a virtual tour guide that assists visitors at the Genesee Country Village & Museum through interactive dialog as they explore the historic village on the museum campus