Abstract

Introducing the question: how do permissive open layouts influence patterns of exhibition exploration?This paper presents new research on the relationship between visitor behavior and layout in science exhibition settings. Previously published studies using techniques similar to the ones that are used in this study deal with either complex museum environments (Choi, 1999;Turner et al, 2001), or other environments whose spatial structure clearly constrains and channels movement choices and movement sequences in various ways (Conroy Dalton, 2003). The exhibition settings discussed here are smaller, with relatively simple open plans. Thus, it is intuitively less clear that layout will have significant effects upon the way in which visitors explore and engage exhibition contents. The theoretical and methodological challenge is to examine how exhibition space works when it seemingly imposes few nontrivial restrictions upon behavior. We take up the challenge in two parts. In the first part, we discuss how exploratory movement, visual contact, and active engagement with individual exhibits are affected by simple variables which describe the layout as a spatial pattern of visibility and accessibility arising from the distribution of objects in space. We conclude the first part by suggesting that open-ended patterns of exploration in permissive exhibition settings are subtly but precisely structured according to spatial variables. In the second part, we discuss the effects of more complex spatial variables that take into account the spatial grouping and visual coordination of exhibits according to conceptual themes. Thus, we offer descriptions of layouts which take into account the distribution of labeled objects in space, where a`label' stands for the ascription of any property or quality to an object by virtue of a literal inscription or Abstract. Two arguments are made based on the analysis of traveling science exhibitions. First, sufficiently refined techniques of spatial analysis allow us to identify the impact of layout upon visitors' paths and behaviors, even in moderately sized open plans which afford almost random sequences of movement and relatively unobstructed visibility. Specifically, contact with exhibits is associated with their relative accessibility while active engagement is associated with exhibit crossvisibility. Second, newly developed or adapted techniques of analysis allow us to make a transition from modeling the mechanics of spatial movement (the way in which movement is affected by the distribution of obstacles and boundaries) to modeling the manner in which movement registers additional aspects of visual information, particularly the arrangement of exhibits according to conceptual organizing themes. The advantages of such purely spatial modes of analysis extend into providing us with a sharper understanding of some of the underlying constraints within which exhibition content is conceived and designed.

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Multi-touch surfaces are becoming increasingly popular. An assumed benefit is that they can facilitate collaborative interactions in co-located groups. In particular, being able to see another's physical actions can enhance awareness, which in turn can support fluid interaction and coordination. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence or measures to support these claims. We present an analysis of different aspects of awareness in an empirical study that compared two kinds of input: multi-touch and multiple mice. For our analysis, a set of awareness indices was derived from the CSCW and HCI literatures, which measures both the presence and absence of awareness in colocated settings. Our findings indicate higher levels of awareness for the multi-touch condition accompanied by significantly more actions that interfere with each other. A subsequent qualitative analysis shows that the interactions in this condition were more fluid and that interference was quickly resolved. We suggest that it is more important that resources are available to negotiate interference rather than necessarily to attempt to prevent it.

Observational studies of situated displays have suggested that they are rarely looked at, and when they are it is typically only for a short period of time. Using a mobile eye tracker during a realistic shopping task in a shopping center, we show that people look at displays more than would be predicted from these observational studies, but still only short glances and often from quite far away. We characterize the patterns of eye-movements that precede looking at a display and discuss some of the design implications for the design of situated display technologies that are deployed in public space.