Accessible Museum Research Articles

Artificial Intelligence in Accessible Museums

This research aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of published research on the use of artificial intelligence in accessible museums in the Web of Science Core Collection database. Through bibliometric research, the general framework of research on specific subject areas can be determined. A total of 30 articles were reached in the research. The research findings were analyzed and visualized through the "Analyze Results" option provided in the WOS viewer and Bibliometric tool and ten articles were selected from a systematic review. The findings of the research revealed that research on the use of "artificial intelligence in accessible museums" started in 1997, and then continued to be published with an increase in 2017 after a twenty-year break. The year with the most publications was 2022. The vast majority of research has been published in English. Research on this topic has also been published across Europe. Research has been widely disseminated in the USA, Italy, Spain, France, Romania, India, Bulgaria, Greece, and the Netherlands. However, the majority of the research is indexed in Springer and some in IEEE and MDPI. Most of the studies were prepared in the form of papers and some of them were prepared in the form of articles. Finally, the findings reveal that the research prepared on this subject has been addressed every year since 1997 with the keyword "artificial intelligence" until 2022, while the keyword "cultural heritage" has been mostly used since 2008. As a result, the results obtained from the bibliometric research show that the use of artificial intelligence in museums has become increasingly widespread year by year.

Current Estimates of Philippine Marine Mollusks Taxonomic Diversity

Mollusks are among the most diverse and the most threatened invertebrate groups, with high records of recent extinctions. Yet, the assessment of mollusk diversity and records in megadiverse countries such as the Philippines greatly needs synthesis and updating. Here, we report on the current taxonomic diversity of the Philippine mollusk. Comprehensive records of mollusks in the Philippines from published literature, accessible museum records, and online databases were compiled and checked with the World Register of Marine Species. A total of 64,898 Philippine mollusk records were compiled, comprised of 14,482 distinct species. Of these distinct species records of Philippine mollusk, 51% have accepted names in WoRMS, whereas 35.8% had taxonomic name changes; 1.5% had unaccepted names in WoRMS but with no accepted names either (e.g. taxon inquirendum, nomen dubium, etc), and 11.7% did not have exactly matched records in WoRMS. After checking all Philippine mollusks records against WoRMS, there were 8,066 mollusk species in the Philippines belonging to 1,991 genera within 423 families and 51 orders, representing all molluscan classes. A total of 7,085 (88%) of the species records were marine (6,953 or 86% were strictly marine species) belonging to 1,780 genera, 368 families, and 50 orders, also representing all mollusk classes. This current account is the most comprehensive we know to date, but it certainly is an underestimate, as not all possible resources are accessible. A systematic national-scale survey of Philippine mollusk diversity is needed to improve the current account and to fill the gaps in [1] taxonomic status verification, and [2] the IUCN and conservation status of many Philippine mollusk species (which, to date, 96% of all species have no IUCN assessments).

Digital Tools for the Promotion of Geological and Mining Heritage: Case Study from the Thames Goldfield, Aotearoa, New Zealand

The geoheritage value in the Thames District, North Island, New Zealand, is notable for its over 50 epithermal gold deposits associated with the Coromandel Volcanic Zone, significant to the region’s geological, cultural, and mining heritage. This case study was conducted in collaboration with the Thames School of Mines and Mineralogical Museum to develop a series of web-based applications for public outreach and an accessible museum experience through the utilization of specimens from the mineralogical museum. This research applies a conceptual framework of ex situ geoheritage to explore links between local geology with cultural and mining heritage. Minerals and rock specimens collected for the Thames School of Mines Mineralogical Museum were used to create 3D virtual models demonstrating the epithermal mineralization in the Thames Goldfield. Outputs of this project consist of two digital products, including a digital mineral and rock repository and the dissemination of the geological collection through integrating the photogrammetric models into a user-friendly outreach, ArcGIS Storymaps, to depict the geoheritage relationship of the specimens to regional gold mining, and at the same time, to be developed to be implemented in geoscience education and communication. The results of this paper are intended to promote the use of digital tools for enhancing and raising awareness of the geoheritage values of the Thames Goldfield. This approach has relevance for Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands in raising awareness of geological, mineral, and mining heritage within widely distributed and often isolated communities across island archipelago nations.

The Future of Accessible Museums: Qualitative Analysis on Educational Practices

When the tourism policies of the countries were examined, it can be seen that that a very limited number of countries have knowledge and practices on accessible tourism. Museums, which are the most important building blocks of tourism, play an important role in both the creation of accessible tourism and the socialization of all individuals in society. Ensuring the accessibility of museums, which also makes important contributions to cultural sustainability, can be effective in shaping the museums of the future. In this context, the aim of this research was to evaluate the accessible museums of the future in terms of the views of teacher candidates trained in museums and lecturers taught and experienced in special education and to make recommendations. The sample group of the research consists of teacher candidates trained in museums (n=20) and lecturers taught and experienced in special education (n=22). The research data were carried out with the Phenomenology model which is one of the qualitative research methods. The data was collected through a semi-structured interview form. The data were analyzed by descriptive method. Research findings revealed that the interviewees think that accesible musems of the future have deficiency in time-space concept, the creation of virtual environments and digital infrastructures. In addition, they stated that there are deficiencies in accessing museums such as digital tools, architectural infrastructure, and virtual museums, and that these should be eliminated, and necessary stakeholders should be trained. Within the scope of the research, it is recommended that subject experts should provide training on accessibility to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, officials and workers in museums, in archaeological sites and in historical places by taking the results of this study into consideration. Also, in order to obtain a permit for a new museum, ensuring the necessary mentioned conditions must become an important necessity. These will lead to a smooth accesibilty to museums for all stakeholers.

Development of Accessible Museum for Blind Tourists

As we know that museums store a lot of visual objects. So that blind people who do not have vision will have difficulty enjoying the visual objects of the museum. This study discusses the tourist attractions of the museum that can be enjoyed by blind tourists. To support this research, a qualitative research method with a case study approach was used. The results showed that blind tourists enjoyed museum attractions in two ways, hearing and touching. Information will be received by listening to museum educators explain stories about visual objects. Then to add information, blind tourists can touch the visual object. Accessibility that needs to be developed in Museum of the Asian African Conference is guiding block, braille, and audio media. Museum educators can be trained to be able to guide blind tourists properly.

Knowing the Biosphere: Documentation, Specimens, Archives, and Names Reveal Environmental Change and Emerging Pathogens

One Health programs and trajectories are now the apparent standard for exploring the occurrence and distribution of emerging pathogens and disease. By definition, One Health has been characterized as a broadly inclusive, collaborative, and transdisciplinary approach with connectivity across local to global scales, which integrates the medical and veterinary community to recognize health outcomes emerging at the environmental nexus for people, animals, plants, and their shared landscapes. One Health has been an incomplete model, conceptually and operationally, focused on reactive and response-based foundations, to limit the impact of emerging pathogens and emerging infectious diseases and, as such, lacks a powerful proactive capacity. A proactive, predictive One Health is necessary, emanating in part from geographically/taxonomically broad and temporally deep biological collections of pathogen-host assemblages. The DAMA protocol (Document, Assess, Monitor, Act), the operational extension of the Stockholm paradigm (SP), accomplishes this task by encompassing holistic and strategic biological sampling of reservoir host assemblages and pathogens at environmental interfaces and more extensively through resurveys, with development of informatics resources digitally linked to physical specimens held in publicly accessible museum biorepositories. Archives of specimens are the foundations for accumulating interrelated archives of information (the baselines against which change can be identified and tracked), with collections serving as fundamental resources for biodiversity informatics under the conceptual evolutionary and ecological umbrella of the SP. A cultural and conceptual transformation is essential among the diverse practitioners in the One Health community, one that recognizes the necessity of placing pathogens in an evolutionary, ecological, and environmental context by integrating specimens and associated informatics into an infrastructure and networks for actionable information. As a community, it is essential to abandon response-based business as usual while looking forward toward proactive transboundary approaches that maximize our conceptual and taxonomic view of diversity across interconnected planetary scales that influence the complexity of pathogen-host interfaces. Evolution, where the past always influences the present and the future, defines our trajectory, as the need for sustained archives that describe the biosphere becomes more acute with each passing day.

Co designing inclusive museum itineraries with people with disabilities: A case study from self-determination

In the present paper, after a description of the theoretical framework used to define self-determination, we will describe the importance of structuring a research context that fosters the self-advocacy of people with disabilities. In this direction, a protocol of participatory research with people with intellectual disabilities will be presented in the third paragraph. Specifically, we will expand the procedure to support the creation of accessible museum captions, thanks to the application of Easy-to-Read guidelines.

Мультисенсорная медиация в музейных программах для посетителей с РАС и другими особенностями развития

The development of inclusive activities in Russian museums today presumes an active rethinking of the visitor-interaction, including kids and adults with autism spectrum condition (ASС) and other developmental disabilities. The development of inclusive activities in Russian museums today presumes an active rethinking of the visitor-interaction, including kids and adults with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities. Museums make great efforts to create an open and friendly environment for children and adults with reduced sensory threshold. This text presents the Accessible Museum program experience by The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, which is largely focused on the space, collections and program accessibility. Multisensory approach including sound, smell, touch, movement and other bodily experience belongs to the new challenges of visitor experience development in the Pushkin Museum. The article offers review of the projects using multisensory communication in Russian and international museums over the past ten years, when there has been a significant expansion of inclusive practices.

Using an integrative taxonomic approach to delimit a sibling species, Mycetomoellerius mikromelanos sp. nov. (Formicidae: Attini: Attina).

The fungus-growing ant Mycetomoellerius (previously Trachymyrmex) zeteki (Weber 1940) has been the focus of a wide range of studies examining symbiotic partners, garden pathogens, mating frequencies, and genomics. This is in part due to the ease of collecting colonies from creek embankments and its high abundance in the Panama Canal region. The original description was based on samples collected on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. However, most subsequent studies have sampled populations on the mainland 15 km southeast of BCI. Herein we show that two sibling ant species live in sympatry on the mainland: Mycetomoellerius mikromelanos Cardenas, Schultz, & Adams and M. zeteki. This distinction was originally based on behavioral differences of workers in the field and on queen morphology (M. mikromelanos workers and queens are smaller and black while those of M. zeteki are larger and red). Authors frequently refer to either species as “M. cf. zeteki,” indicating uncertainty about identity. We used an integrative taxonomic approach to resolve this, examining worker behavior, chemical profiles of worker volatiles, molecular markers, and morphology of all castes. For the latter, we used conventional taxonomic indicators from nine measurements, six extrapolated indices, and morphological characters. We document a new observation of a Diapriinae (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) parasitoid wasp parasitizing M. zeteki. Finally, we discuss the importance of vouchering in dependable, accessible museum collections and provide a table of previously published papers to clarify the usage of the name T. zeteki. We found that most reports of M. zeteki or M. cf. zeteki—including a genome—actually refer to the new species M. mikromelanos.

Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence for Designing Accessible Cultural Heritage

This paper reviews the literature concerning technology used for creating and delivering accessible museum and cultural heritage sites experiences. It highlights the importance of the delivery suited for everyone from different areas of expertise, namely interaction design, pedagogical and participatory design, and it presents how recent and future artificial intelligence (AI) developments can be used for this aim, i.e.,improving and widening online and in situ accessibility. From the literature review analysis, we articulate a conceptual framework that incorporates key elements that constitute museum and cultural heritage online experiences and how these elements are related to each other. Concrete opportunities for future directions empirical research for accessibility of cultural heritage contents are suggested and further discussed.

Designing technologies for museums: accessibility and participation issues

PurposeThis paper aims to report the findings of a systematized literature review focusing on participatory research and accessibly in the context of assistive technologies, developed for use within museums by people with sensory impairments or a learning disability. The extent and nature of participatory research that occurs within the creation of technologies to facilitate accessible museum experiences is uncertain, and this is therefore a focus of this paper.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a systematized literature review and subsequent thematic analysis.FindingsA screening of 294 research papers produced 8 papers for analysis in detail. A thematic analysis identified that the concept of accessibly has nuanced meanings, underpinned by social values; the attractiveness of a technology is important in supporting real-life usability; and that the conceptualization of participation should extend beyond the end users.Social implicationsThe argument is made that increasing the participation of people with sensory impairments and learning disabilities in the research process will benefit the design of technologies that facilitate accessibility for these groups.Originality/valueAn original notion of participation has emerged from this review. It includes the participation and goals of disabled people but has expanded the concept to encompass museum personnel and indeed the physical and social spaces of the museums and heritage sites themselves. This constructs a broad of participation, with different aspects being reflected across the review’s research papers.

El discurso especializado en el museo inclusivo: lectura fácil versus audiodescripción

In this paper we present the results of a research work centered on the museum as a place of access to leisure and culture for everyone, describing some of the main terminological problems associated with the questions dealing with two modalities of accessible translation in museums: audio description and easy reading. Our interpretation of the results will allow us to advance in the search for quality indicators for accessible museum resources, which are the product of a complex process of translation – at once intersemiotic, intralinguistic and/or interlinguistic – of the work of art.

Accessible Museums for Visually Impaired: A Case Study from Istanbul

Freedom to travel is a fundamental human right. Thus, disabled people should be able to travel. Disabilities are divided into subcategories, whereby vision disability is one of them. In the context of museums, there are some implementations for visually disabled people. However, there is still limited empirical investigation on the expectations, satisfaction, and challenges of visually impaired travelers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the expectations, needs, and challenges of visually impaired people visiting museums. In this vein, the study draws on a qualitative research approach employing data from visually impaired individuals to understand those individuals’ perceptions, needs, and challenges. The study offers several practical implications to help museum managers enhance the experience of visually impaired visitors. 

Listening with Your Eyes: An Accessible Museum for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Visitors

Listening with Your Eyes: An Accessible Museum for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Visitors

Establishment of a taxonomic and molecular reference collection to support the identification of species regulated by the Western Australian Prevention List for Introduced Marine Pests

Introduced Marine Pests (IMP, = non-indigenous marine species) prevention, early detection and risk-based management strategies have become the priority for biosecurity operations worldwide, in recognition of the fact that, once established, the effective management of marine pests can rapidly become cost prohibitive or impractical. In Western Australia (WA), biosecurity management is guided by the Western Australian Prevention List for Introduced Marine Pests which is a policy tool that details species or genera as being of high risk to the region. This list forms the basis of management efforts to prevent introduction of these species, monitoring efforts to detect them at an early stage, and rapid response should they be detected. It is therefore essential that the species listed can be rapid and confidently identified and discriminated from native species by a range of government and industry stakeholders. Recognising that identification of these species requires very specialist expertise which may be in short supply and not readily accessible in a regulatory environment, and the fact that much publicly available data is not verifiable or suitable for regulatory enforcement, the WA government commissioned the current project to collate a reference collection of these marine pest specimens. In this work, we thus established collaboration with researchers worldwide in order to source representative specimens of the species listed. Our main objective was to build a reference collection of taxonomically vouchered specimens and subsequently to generate species-specific DNA barcodes suited to supporting their future identification. To date, we were able to obtain specimens of 75 species (representative of all but four of the pests listed) which have been identified by experts and placed with the WA Government Department of Fisheries and, where possible, in accessible museums and institutions in Australasia. The reference collection supports the fast and reliable taxonomic and molecular identification of marine pests in WA and constitutes a valuable resource for training of stakeholders with interest in IMP recognition in Australia. The reference collection is also useful in supporting the development of a variety of DNA-based detection strategies such as real-time PCR and metabarcoding of complex environmental samples (e.g. biofouling communities). The Prevention List is under regular review to ensure its continued relevance and that it remains evidence and risk-based. Similarly, its associated reference collection also remains to some extent a work in progress. In recognition of this fact, this report seeks to provide details of this continually evolving information repository publicly available to the biosecurity management community worldwide

Museum of Prince Klemens Metternich at Kynžvart and Minerals from his collection at the National Museum in Prague

Prince Klemens Metternich (1773–1859), Austrian Foreign Minister and Chancellor, gathered large collections at his Kynžvart Castle in Bohemia. In 1827, collections of coins, minerals and rocks of former Cheb executioner Karl Huss were purchased, and a publicly accessible museum was founded in Kynžvart in 1828. Huss became the first curator of the museum. The collections were organized and exhibited. Collections also included fossils, zoological preparations and various artifacts. Other curators of the Kynžvart museum were Joachim Auer, Paul Rath and Moritz Kersten. In 1948, minerals and rocks from the Kynžvart collection were transferred to the National Museum in Prague. Today, 821 samples of minerals and 175 rock samples from the Metternich collection are stored in the National Museum’s collection.

On the oribatid and mesostigmatid mites (Acari) of the High Arctic island of Hopen

AbstractThe archipelago of Svalbard in the European High Arctic lies on the convergence of the Palaearctic and Nearctic flora and fauna and contains elements of both regions. The island of Hopen is located in the south east of the archipelago within the path of the cold south−westerly flowing East Svalbard Current originating in the Arctic ocean and flowing along the north Russian coast. This current is postulated as a colonization route of the invertebrate fauna of Svalbard. Few reports of the terrestrial invertebrates of Hopen exist and none of the mite suborders Oribatida or Mesostigmata. With the taxonomic confusion existing in the inventories of this important region of the Arctic, new sampling campaigns with species identified by modern taxonomic principles and with material deposited in accessible museums and collections are essential. Identified mites included six species of oribatid mites with Diapterobates notatus dominating, and five species of Mesostigmata with Zercon forsslundi forming the dominant species. None of the species collected was a new record for Svalbard and all have wide circumpolar, Palaearctic or Holarctic distributions. Dispersal to Svalbard from northern Russia is hence neither supported nor rejected. The expected oribatid and mesostigmatid diversity of the island is greater than observed from the limited sampling described here.

Sustainable Museum Access: A Two-way Street

Many adults who are blind or have low vision are reluctant to visit museums because of disappointing or less-than-welcoming experiences in the past. To attract visually impaired people to your museum, the authors urge you to make outreach and program development a "two-way street," to solicit advice and criticism from a variety of people who are blind or have low vision. In addition, they share issues raised at focus groups they conducted as part of Art Beyond Sight's Multi-Sight Museum Accessibility Study and its Project Access New York program.Key wordsAccessible museum programsBlind Focus groupsmuseum audience development

‘In and against the museum’: the contested spaces of museum education for adults

This paper focuses on museum and gallery education for adults in Dundee, Scotland. Dundee has recently experienced a shift from being mainly working class to an educational, cultural and tourist centre. Hence, an interesting field for the examination of the educational policies and practices of the city museums/galleries and the different fashions they receive and act upon wider developments in the museum world has emerged. Questions arising are how the new, open and accessible museum (and gallery) has changed the way education is constructed and offered in the museums in the city? What is the relationship of education with marketing and the new discourse of social inclusion and participation in museums and galleries? For example, one of the most pertinent findings was that, at least in Dundee, activity-based and individual learning has been over-valued, at the expense of a more social and dialogic educational experience that participants seemed to largely prefer and indeed propose as more meaningful to them. Although new ideas and participatory practices have improved attendance and the engagement of the local adult population, other issues, such as the new economic reality for museums and the close relationship of education with marketing are policies that were often treated with resistance, if not opposition, by the research participants.

Revolutionary thoughts on taxonomy: declarations of independence and interdependence

Credible biological research depends on accurate species identifications, reliable scientific names, and an evolutionary context provided by a phylogeny or phylogenetic classification. The emphasis on such taxonomic services has detracted from the fundamental taxonomic research necessary to create and sustain such knowledge systems. A taxonomic declaration of independence is presented, emphasizing the unique mission, goals, and needs of taxonomists and taxonomic (collection-based) institutions and the non-experimental yet scientifically rigorous epistemology of taxonomy. At the same time taxonomic interdependence is declared. Questions pursued by taxonomists are planetary in scale and can only be answered given international collaboration and coordination in the growth and development of natural history collections and taxonomic hypotheses. Reciprocity of open access is urged between all nations and the taxonomic community creating information. Countries home to species diversity should allow access to taxon experts so that the world's species are discovered and described. In exchange all specimens collected should be in publicly accessible museums and all resultant taxonomic data, information, and knowledge should be openly available to all who can use them.