Embodied spatial practices and everyday organization: the work of tour guides and their audiences

This article introduces an interactional perspective to the analysis of organizational space. The study is based on the analysis of over 100 hours of video recordings of guided tours undertaken within two sites (an historic house and a world-famous museum), coupled with interviews and field observations. The analysis is informed by ethnomethodology and conversation analysis in order to focus on the everyday organization of these tours, and the lived experience of inhabiting museum spaces. We use an interactional lens to unpack the ‘embodied spatial practices’ critical to the work of tour guides and their audiences, which reveals how the sense and significance of the workspace emerges moment to moment, and in relation to the ongoing work at hand. As a result, for those with an interest in organizational space, the article introduces a novel perspective, and methods, to highlight the dynamic and interactional production of workspaces. Additionally, for those with an interest in practice, the article demonstrates the fundamental import of taking spatial arrangements seriously when analysing the organization of work

Play and the exhibition:the problematic fun of showcasing of videogames in informal and formal contexts

Video games are inherently problematic as cultural artefacts, presenting issues of stability, currency, interaction and participation (to name but a few) in their curation. These issues are not necessarily unique to video games in an exhibition context, but their combination with the on-going debate about the status of video games as an art form inspire discussion and debate. Despite the issues presented by video games, there have been countless video game exhibitions in formal and informal contexts, typically focussing upon the historical narrative around games or their position as artefacts with cultural value. It is only in the last few years that artistic and academic study of this problematic field has developed traction, through both an emerging body of literature looking to formalise video games exhibitions practices and practitioner debate. 2019 sees the inaugural Game Arts International Assembly “a think tank for the international games arts ecosystem” bringing together leading curators and makers working at the forefront of public display of interactive arts and playful media.This paper contributes to the developing body of knowledge which analyses video games exhibition methods by formalising and evaluating the methods utilised within informal and formal contexts of video games exhibition from the perspective of reception theory. The study of both large scale exhibition such as those orchestrated by the Victoria and Albert museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum alongside the one night indie game night or play party is a unique contribution to the field, with studies typically focussing on approaches within one given context. Reception theory provides a lens through which the active participative role of the attendee or visitor in meaning making can be evaluated and allows consideration of the connection between selected methods of exhibition and the resulting meaning making opportunities possible for a range of potential audiences

Playing Games with Tito:Designing Hybrid Museum Experiences for Critical Play

This article brings together two distinct, but related perspectives on playful museum experiences: Critical play and hybrid design. The article explores the challenges involved in combining these two perspectives, through the design of two hybrid museum experiences that aimed to facilitate critical play with/in the collections of the Museum of Yugoslavia and the highly contested heritage they represent. Based on reflections from the design process as well as feedback from test users, we describe a series of challenges: Challenging the norms of visitor behaviour, challenging the role of the artefact, and challenging the curatorial authority. In conclusion, we outline some possible design strategies to address these challenges

On data markets as a means to privacy protection: An ethical evaluation of the treatment of personal data as a commodity

A number of technological developments such as cloud computing and big data analysis have affected the way in which personal data are processed. These developments go coupled with the currently prevalent business model of free online services that are financed through advertisements and an analysis of user data. Based on these developments, it seems that the new requirements have exposed deficits in the current approach to data protection in the European Union. In the debate on this topic, one of the solutions that are discussed is to create market structures in which users can sell personal data to businesses, thereby gaining control over the ways in which their data is used. Such an approach would constitute an alternative way to the protection of privacy, which is different from the current form of data protection. In order to better assess the validity of claims about the effectiveness of such an alternative approach, it therefore is of importance to know the possible effects that data markets would have on the privacy of online service users. This study investigates this question by means of an ethical evaluation. Since the definition of privacy as such is highly contested, it is not straightforward to determine what an impact on privacy would constitute. To this end, a literature review on the different meanings of privacy is conducted first. The conclusion in this regard is that privacy is a cluster of concepts which does not allow for a single definition. However, for an ethical evaluation it is the moral reasons for the protection of privacy that should be in the focus, and the precise definition of privacy is of secondary relevance. Based on this result, an evaluation framework is constructed for use in this study. Another aspect that requires clarification upfront for an ethical evaluation is the question of what specifically constitutes a data market. An investigation of the relevant literature in this regard shows that first instances of data markets are about to appear in practice, but that most proposals only exist in theoretical form. Only secondary markets for personal data --- which are not accessible by users themselves --- exist in practice. First approaches of real data markets seem to emerge, but are in a very early phase that is too premature for the sake of a detailed evaluation. Yet, there are a number of interesting approaches in the literature which propose the concept of a data market in abstract form. This study makes a selection of these proposals and uses them for an ethical evaluation. The outcome of the ethical evaluation shows that there are a number of different effects that could occur if these data market approaches would be implemented. Although some of these effects are indeed positive for the protection of privacy, there are various effects that would be detrimental to privacy. Most importantly, data markets could lead to a loss of individual autonomy and have adverse effects on the societal function of privacy. Striking is also the symbolic change to privacy as a human right that a commodification of personal data might entail. Moreover, it has to be considered that data markets as a regulatory infrastructure would require the collection of additional data for their own functioning. This in turn leads to new questions of privacy protection that would have to be solved. Overall, it can be said that there is not a single and clear impact on privacy, but a wide range of possible effects that are connected in an intricate manner. To which extent these effects would occur is contingent upon the behaviour of users in such markets and the design parameters of possible data market approaches. Central in this regard is the form in which users would gain access to a data market, and in which way they would be concerned with single market transactions that they engage in. Also, the scope of data markets is of relevance. Although detrimental to allocative efficiency, it would be beneficial for the protection of privacy if data markets are restricted in their scope concerning the market participants and the type of data that is traded therein. Furthermore, the specific design of data markets is relevant for the behaviour of users, and thereby the consequences of their actions. The data market proposals that this study analyses are not specific enough in order to assess all of these parameters, but provide useful indications for elements that are of relevance in this regard. Concerning the overall problems with data protection in an age of big data, it is not apparent at all whether data markets would indeed form a better way of protecting the privacy of online service users. Many of the improvements that data markets could bring could likely also be achieved by modifying the existing methods of data protection. Policy makers in the European Union should therefore not focus on the solution of data markets, but strengthen the existing and proven mechanisms for data protection. This entails providing sufficient funds to the supervisory authorities, stimulating research on the existing weaknesses of data protection, and speeding up the process of political decision making concerning data protection issues.Ethics / Philosophy of TechnologyValues, Technology and InnovationTechnology, Policy and Managemen