Husna Zainal Abidin

Mobile technologies are transforming the ways in which we experience arts and heritage sites, and galleries and museums are facing increased pressure to provide stimulating, alternative technology-based solutions for enriching visitor experiences. Focusing on the opportunities afforded by augmented reality (AR), this paper critiques the role this technology plays in providing visitors the opportunity to experience art and exhibitions through a series of dynamic, small-scale micro-mobilities. We propose that AR creates curated spaces of mobility in galleries and museums and in doing so, visitors become empowered through spaces of agency, autonomy and dwelling as they negotiate these spaces and encounter art through technology-mediated forms of wayfinding, interpretation and personal curation. Through negotiated agencies of human and non-human, visitors become emancipated, active agents in a process of co-production. Such positioning is further critiqued as the paper investigates the opportunities afforded by augmented reality to create alternative spaces of connection and interpretation through conceptualisations of dwelling and we suggest technology holds the potential to facilitate an enriched, deeper and more personal connection to that experienced in art gallery and exhibition spaces.

This research aims to explore the elements of next-generation digital collaborative platforms for Destination Management Organisations (DMO) from the perspective of both businesses and visitors, allowing a more comprehensive understanding of digital platforms. The research is conducted in partnership with Visit Surrey (regional DMO) and Minted Box (bespoke platform developer). Preliminary results from interviews and focus groups indicate the need for DMOs to play an active role in facilitating business collaboration and knowledge sharing on the supply side of the digital platform. This process will aspire to then provide a more personalised experience on the visitors’ end.

This paper presents a preliminary result of a study on the roles of inference making in decision heuristics involving P2P accommodation booking. The goals of the study are to identify the influence of cues from similar listings on a decision to book a target listing when reviews are not available (i.e., missing information) as well as the effects of decision-making styles on actual choice and decision confidence. Preliminary results showed that the inclusion of a similar listing (comparison) did not make a significant difference in decision confidence, which may indicate insignificant roles of external cues in booking decisions. Due to a limited number of participants in the pilot study, the main study with a larger number of participants may explicate the phenomenon more significantly. Should the results hold, they suggest P2P accommodation hosts pay more attention to the listing characteristics instead of relying on information from similar listings.