Areti Galani
Research Interests: Summary
My research interests are in the area of computer supported collaborative experiences. My study is concerned with technologies that support and enhance social interaction among users. Particularly, I am interested in the design and evaluation of museum applications for this purpose. I am also interested in exploring the contribution of ethnographic methods to visitor studies and system evaluation. My PhD research explores co-visiting in museums and how technology may support this. It is based on the hypothesis that a deeper understanding of the social character of the museum experience offers useful insights for the design of technologies that attempt to fill the space between on-site and on-line synchronous museum visits. The research is influenced by those studies within the museum literature that highlight the importance of social context in the shaping of a museum experience; it also responds to the current need for rewarding experiences for the increasing number of visitors to museum web sites. At the same time, it explores current HCI and CSCW issues that relate to collaborative experiences over heterogeneous media, such as mixed reality environments. This research is connected to the City project. A set of initial visitor observations has informed the design of the City system and I was involved in the study of how the system was used by visitors. Analysis of the observational data contributes towards understanding user social interaction within complex mixed reality environments. It also offers insights for the design of mixed reality systems that seek to support sociability in leisure activities.
I have successfully completed my PhD and a copy of my thesis may be downloaded here. |