Peter Booth

Data Protection and Privacy: Enforcing Rights in a Changing World s. 45-66

Journal of Documentation 78(4) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-05-2021-0102

Purpose This study aims to investigate how, in forming their policy towards open data (OD), art museums interact with the OD ecosystems they are part of, comprising internal and external components such as cultural policy, legal frameworks, user groups and economic conditions and incentives. Design/methodology/approach The authors structure their research as a multiple case study based on three OD ecosystems, each defined by a mid-sized European art museum at its centre. Qualitative analysis of the case studies proceeds from interviews with museum management staff and policy-related agencies in three European countries, in addition to document analysis. Findings The results of this study suggest that museums are sensitive towards their environments and respond to their ecosystem based on what is communicated within their networks. However, museums are not effective in communicating with their users, limiting the informational interdependence necessary for well-functioning OD ecosystems. EU policy appears to be a driving force along with national financial incentives, though institutional conditions are limiting progress. Advancing the field relies instead on an epistemological shift to understand the museum as part of a larger information network. Originality/value As the first comparative case study of art museum OD ecosystems that the authors are aware of, the study provides a qualitative analysis of the complex dynamics impacting OD policy within the mid-sized art museum. The authors identify specific dynamics that are thus far restricting further development of the OD ecosystem of the mid-sized European art museum

Information, Communication & Society Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2020.1736124

Algorithms are an increasingly important element of internet infrastructure in that they are used to make decisions about everything from mundane music recommendations through to more profound and oftentimes life changing ones such as policing, health care or social benefits. Given algorithmic systems’ impact and sometimes harm on people’s everyday life, information access and agency, awareness of algorithms has the potential to be a critical issue. We, therefore, ask whether having awareness of algorithms or not corresponds to a new reinforced digital divide. This study examines levels of awareness and attitudes toward algorithms across the population of the highly digitized country of Norway. Our exploratory research finds clear demographic differences regarding levels of algorithms awareness. Furthermore, attitudes to algorithm driven recommendations (e.g., YouTube and Spotify), advertisements and content (e.g., personalized news feeds in social media and online newspaper) are associated with both the level of algorithm awareness and demographic variables. A cluster analysis facilitates an algorithm awareness typology of six groups: the unaware, the uncertain, the affirmative, the neutral, the sceptic and the critical.

Museum Management and Curatorship Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2019.1638819

In the context of the shift towards participatory practices within museums, museum engagement with social media represents a form of organizational change. This study approaches social media and the corresponding organizational change from a museum leader’s perspective, utilizing data from a broad crosssection of 82 museums in Norway. We address how the characteristics of a museum and its leader impact social media attitudes, behaviors and intention towards social media-based change. Combining factor analysis and clustering techniques, we identify four museum leader ‘types’ who are primarily defined by their (1) perception of museum benefits from social media, (2) perception of own and museum support in social media activities, (3) perception of conflicts that arise from social media usage, and (4) social media-related values. With museums being asked to more fully embrace the participatory potential of social media, this study points to significant differences in readiness to change across museum leaders.

Museum Management and Curatorship s. 1-21 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2018.1497528

Responding to the Norwegian cultural policy concern of diversity, this article presents the results from three data sets that capture user background, behaviour, values and opinions regarding the digital portal for museum objects, images and stories, DigitaltMuseum. Specifically, the exploratory research draws data from a ‘population’ survey of digital consumption in Norway, a DigitaltMuseum user survey, and device and usage data captured by Google Analytics. Designed, where possible, to capture a user’s perspective, the three data sources describe who uses the digital platform, their content preferences, motivation for using the platform, and what they ultimately do with material found. Although there is evidence that the findings are representative of a super-user group, the results nevertheless indicate that DigitaltMuseum is contributing to cultural diversity in terms of content, purpose for usage, and dissemination. For policymakers and administrators of online museum platforms, the study demonstrates the platform’s contribution to expanded diversity.

Who Runs the Artworld: Money, Power and Ethics s. 43-56

European Journal of Cultural Studies 21(2) s. 130-147 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549416657090