Interactive installation for museum, Move or Die: Influence of embodied interaction on players’ experience.

This thesis presents the interactive game installation, Move or Die, created for an exhibit at The Finnish Museum of Natural History. It documents the development of the project by describing ideas behind the concept, detailed components of the installation, and reasons for the design decisions made during the production process. For the theoretical section, the thesis investigates the influence of physical interaction on the players’ experience based on the embodied approach. The museum context is considered a great deal in both the production and theory sections. Move or Die is a gamified installation in which participants can save endangered species through bodily interaction. As the 'game' is projected onto the floor and Kinect sensors installed on the ceiling register movement, participants can catch and move the graphic animals on the floor by using their arms. Move or Die reflects a research method of the museum called 'assisted migration' and contains their research contents. It is designed to inform people of the situation of the endangered species and to offer participatory experience to the visitors at the same time. It is the objective of Move or Die to simulate the experience of saving endangered species with the player’s own intention and physical ability. Therefore, to investigate the interaction of Move or Die, it is significant to understand the players’ experience. To analyze this interaction, three representa- tive aspects of the interaction are discussed separately: full- body interaction, social interaction, and reality-based interaction. This thesis tries to uncover comprehensive influences of the interaction beyond its basic functionality

Engasjement hos gjester ved Norges arktiske universitetsmuseum

Formålet med denne oppgaven er å undersøke hvorvidt kundeengasjement og sensorisk stimuli påvirker vareprat og lojalitet hos gjester ved Norges arktiske universitetsmuseum. Det teoretiske rammeverket vårt bygger på tidligere forskning på engasjement og kundeatferd, og vi inkluderer entusiasme, interaksjon, oppmerksomhet, absorpsjon, interaksjon og sansing i vår konseptualisering. Ved hjelp av spørreundersøkelse har vi samlet inn data fra 132 respondenter. Analysen av resultatene foregår i SPSS, der vi benytter oss av faktoranalyse, korrelasjonsanalyse, samt lineære og multiple regresjonsanalyser. Resultater viser at absorpsjon og entusiasme har størst direkte effekt mot vareprat og lojalitet. Disse dimensjonene kjennetegnes ved at de i stor grad omfatter affeksjon; vår undersøkelse bekrefter dermed viktigheten av å opprette følelsesmessige forbindelser mellom konsument og virksomhet for å skape engasjement. Videre bekrefter resultatene at vareprat påvirkes av alle underfaktorer av engasjement, med ulik styrke. Vareprat viser seg også å være et viktig utfall av engasjement i denne konteksten.Vår studie komplementerer tidligere forskning på kundeengasjement, hvor det foreligger lite forskning i offline kontekster. Turisme- og fritidsnæring preges av konkurranse, og vi argumenterer for at virksomheter i denne næringen kan nyttiggjøre seg av resultater fra undersøkelsen. Engasjement kan brukes som et strategisk virkemiddel for å skape vareprat og lojalitet, og videre beholde og knytte seg til nye kunder

Towards an Integrative Approach to Interactive Museum Installations

Museum visits are quickly becoming more personalized and interactive with the help of technology. However, the introduction of technology could also result in drawing attention away from museum collections towards (technological) interpretation devices. How does the introduction of technology into the museum affect the relationship between visitor and object? More importantly, perhaps, how can museums ensure that incorporating technology into their exhibition spaces will improve their visitors' experience? In this short paper, we discuss how User Interface design, visualization quality and integration of the used technology can affect the visitor's experience. As a case study, we have selected the Etruscanning installation, which employs physical interaction to allow the user to explore a virtually reconstructed Etruscan tomb and its contents. Applying feedback from experts and museum visitors alike, we discuss how attention for the three key features mentioned above make for an installation that complements the content of the museum, supports usability in a museum context, and meets visitor expectations of quality visualizations

An ICT strategy for sustainable tourism in Zimbabwe

This research sought to develop an ICT strategy for sustainable tourism in Zimbabwe. The Government of Zimbabwe has identified ICT and tourism both as strategic industries and pillars for economic revival. The tourism sector was identified as an essential source of foreign exchange earnings and as a means to drive the economy to greater heights and reduce poverty through direct employment in down-stream and up-stream industries. Despite being endowed with rich natural resources that include five World Natural Heritage sites, exquisite flora and fauna. Zimbabwe is not performing well in the world tourism sector. The Southern African country continues to be ranked low on World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index. Despite the country‘s strengths, in terms of endowments, the low Tourism and Travel Competitiveness Index suggests weaknesses in related areas. There is currently no clear strategy for the sustainable use of ICT in the tourism sector in Zimbabwe. Despite huge investments and advances in ICT, services in the tourism sector in Zimbabwe continue to be delivered manually and in traditional ways. Therefore, this research sought to propose a strategy for the sustainable use of ICT in the tourism sector in Zimbabwe. However, this strategy had to be informed and supported by an empirical study of the shortcomings in the existing situation in the tourism sector. In order to achieve this objective, this research, which is a comprehensive case study on the tourism sector in Zimbabwe, deployed semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observations and netnography to collect data. The case study was carried out in accordance with the steps for conducting a case as outlined by Yin guided by an interpretive paradigm. The entities and organisations that formed part of the case study were purposefully chosen to provide a representative sample of the tourism role-players in Zimbabwe. The samples were based on sample variation and feasibility (taking into consideration factors such as geographical location, organisational thrust and size). Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with various role-players in the tourism sector. The role-players interviewed included officials from the government, the regulator and from the service providers. The interviews were held in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Chinhoyi, Matopos, Hwange and Victoria Falls. A Zimbabwe annual premier tourism expo, Sanganai/Hlanganani World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair, was also attended in order to interact with various players and to conduct formal and informal interviews. The questionnaires, which were completed by tourists, were administered in Harare, Hwange, Victoria Falls, Matopos, and the Beitbridge and Kazungula border posts. An online version of the questionnaire was also administered. The questionnaire link was e-mailed to tourists, as some of them did not have enough time to complete them during their stay in Zimbabwe and agreed to do so via email. The data was analysed in two phases - structured coding and thematic analysis. . Key factors were identified through structural coding and thematic analysis. Country-specific, sector-specific and organisationalspecific factors were identified for tourists, the government, the regulator and service providers. After a further analysis of the results, those that pointed to the same factors were grouped together and a deduction was made as a diagnosis of the problem was identified. The identified problems were synthesised into seven diagnostics: (i) lack of infrastructure and enabling services; (ii) e-customer relationship management; (iii) lack of collaboration and poor systems integration, (iv) policy and regulation; (v) lack of financial resources; (vi) poor ICT governance and (vii) poor human resource development. A guiding policy was then identified for each of the diagnostics, leading to a set of coherent actions. The research also showed the implementation of this set of actions that consisting of three layers, namely, government, regulator and service providers. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing a clear strategy formulation model and showing how the implementation will be rolled out. The ICT-related challenges were diagnosed, guiding policies formulated to address the situation and required coherent actions suggested. This research is deemed to be significant for understanding the future of ICT use in developing countries like Zimbabwe