Engaging Audiences asks what cognitive science can teach scholars of theatre studies about spectator response in the theatre. Bruce McConachie introduces insights from neuroscience and evolutionary theory to examine the dynamics of conscious attention, empathy and memory in theatre goers.

This book offers readers an understanding of the theoretical framework for the concept of Arts Talk, provides historical background and a review of current thinking about the interpretive process, and, most importantly, provides ideas and insights into building audience-centered and audience-powered conversations about the arts.

This very practical book guides museums on how to create the highest quality experience possible for their visitors. Creating an environment that supports visitor engagement with collections means examining every stage of the visit, from the initial impetus to go to a particular institution, to front-of-house management, interpretive approach and qualitative analysis afterwards. This holistic approach will be immensely helpful to museums in meeting the needs and expectations of visitors and building their audience. This book features: includes chapter introductions and discussion sections supporting case studies to show how ideas are put into practice a lavish selection of tables, figures and plates to support and illustrate the discussion boxes showing ideas, models and planning suggestions to guide development an up-to-date bibliography of landmark research. The Engaging Museum offers a set of principles that can be adapted to any museum in any location and will be a valuable resource for institutions of every shape and size, as well as a vital addition to the reading lists of museum studies students.

Event Audiences and Expectations for the first time examines why people participate in festivals and events, the types of events which stimulate participation, and the fanatical antics of fans who become involved in these events. By doing so the book offers significant insight into how event managers can entice and manage participant expectations as well as manage audience involvement. The book is based on primary research using participant observation, as well as in-depth interviews with event participants, event managers and government officials involved in over 50 international events to gain new perspectives into audience behaviour and participatory events. Using numerous international case studies and examples, the book offers a comprehensive outline of the reasons why people participate in festivals and events, the social world that reinforces their behaviours, and strategies that can be used to ensure future successful participatory events. This thought-provoking and original volume will be valuable reading for students, researchers, events managers and tourism and community planners at all levels of government.

The Routledge Companion to Media Audiences captures the ways in which audiences and audience researchers are adapting to emerging social, cultural, market, technical and environmental conditions. Bringing together 40 original essays, this anthology explores how our constantly changing encounters with media are complex, contradictory and increasingly commercialized in the modern world. Each specially commissioned chapter by both early-career and experienced international scholars surveys new conceptualizations and constitutions of audiences, and assesses key issues, themes and developments within the field. As such, this companion cements itself as an indispensable guide for students and researchers who seek a comprehensive overview and source of inspiration for a diverse range of topics in media audiences. The Routledge Companion to Media Audiences is an accessible, landmark tool which enhances our understanding of how media is utilized through advanced empirical research and methodological enquiry. It is a must-read for media studies, communication studies, cultural studies, humanities and social science scholars and students.

This book offers a historical description of science communication and addresses the gaps in the literature with the correspondent counterproposals to address these issues to promote audiences' engagement with science. Denisse Vásquez-Guevara offers practical guidelines to develop and implement effective science communication. Contributors present several communication theories, research and participatory intervention methodologies, data collection, and facilitation tools contrasted with scientific evidence and case studies to illustrate how to carry out engaging initiatives that unite researchers and people around collaboration and interest in scientific research. Scholars of science communication, participatory-action research, and decolonial methodologies will find this book of particular interest.

What does a museum do with a kindergartner who walks through the door? The growth of interest in young children learning in museums has joined the national conversation on early childhood education. Written by Sharon Shaffer, the founding Executive Director of the innovative Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, this is the first book for museum professionals as well as students offering guidance on planning programming for young children.This groundbreaking book:-Explains the various ways in which children learn-Shows how to use this knowledge to design effective programs using a variety of teaching models-Includes examples of successful programs, tested activities, and a set of best practices

Master the art of marketing with strategies designed to captivate and engage audiences. This book offers practical insights and techniques for marketers looking to enhance their campaigns and achieve success in a competitive market.

This timely and informative book reasserts the value of Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR): an approach to participatory action research (PAR) that is informed by critical theories attending to questions of privilege and power, and that generates collaborations focused on challenging structural inequality. The authors, writing explicitly from Minority World perspectives, are experienced researcher-practitioners who have worked with communities in the UK, USA, South Africa, Australia, India, and Colombia over many years. They offer an assessment, exploration, and illustration of CPAR at this point in time, outlining how the approach has evolved over time and space. Exploring its roots in strands of critical thought including postcolonialism, anti-imperialism, feminism, antiracism, queer theory, and Indigenous ontologies, the book asks how PAR is being critically re-engaged to maintain its commitment to greater justice and transformational change. Each chapter provides a rich case study of how these theories inform current collaborations and offers reflection on the entanglements of power that come with attempting CPAR in different institutional and geopolitical contexts. Their examples show that critical interrogation of PAR practices may lead to innovative and impactful outcomes for those involved, as well as new theoretical and substantive research findings. The collection will be of especial interest to students and researchers across the social sciences and humanities, as well as those working outside universities, who are interested in developing or extending their use of CPAR.