Ofilia Psomadaki | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (original) (raw)

Papers by Ofilia Psomadaki

Sustainability

Digital entrepreneurship through the employment of smartphones and other handheld device applicat... more Digital entrepreneurship through the employment of smartphones and other handheld device applications is an innovative form of customer approach. Particularly, in the cultural marketing sector, new technologies, such as social media, YouTube channels, and mobile applications may increase the artists’ visibility and attract new partnerships and audiences. In this framework, entrepreneurs-musicians who attended a seminar on Management of Cultural Heritage, Communication and Media in Greece were asked to promote their activities through the creation of a smartphone application. After having completed their endeavor and further evaluated it, they participated in qualitative research based on the theory of experts’ interviews, as a case study. The aim of this paper, through thematic analysis of the conducted interviews, is to reflect upon the dynamics of new technologies in music entrepreneurship. As derived by the analysis, the use of mobile applications may effectively approach prospec...

Art as a Tool of Tackling Poverty and Social Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups

SpringerBriefs in well-being and quality of life research, 2022

Poverty and Quality of Life in the Digital Era

SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research

Failure analysis of third-generation ceramic heads in total hip arthroplasty using finite element analysis

Digital Cultural Heritage, 2018

Technology is currently promoting unprecedented changes in urban areas, which are often labeled a... more Technology is currently promoting unprecedented changes in urban areas, which are often labeled as smart city developments. This paper presents the main findings of the PhD thesis entitled "Technologies of Non Linear Storytelling for the Management of Cultural Heritage in the Digital City: The Case of Thessaloniki". This thesis focuses on the dedicated digital storytelling strategies that promote active audience engagement in urban cultural heritage. A collaborative model is proposed and analyzed (in multiple perspectives), aiming at providing an integrated approach to cultural heritage documentation, management and dissemination. The model has been built for the Digital City of Thessaloniki (in Greece), a big city, rich in Cultural Heritage, but with rather poor heritage management mechanisms. The research focuses on practices that promote Cultural Heritage in the Digital City and the prospects for improvement, examining theoretical and practical aspects of engaging people for the collection and interpretation of digital Cultural Heritage (places, artifacts, etc.). The outcome of this research is the development of a new model that fuels audience engagement and collaboration of cultural organizations. A pilot implementation strategy has been employed taking into consideration different perspectives of four different target groups that included art lovers, artists, representatives of cultural institutions and art journalists. A related survey was carefully designed and executed, seeking for formative qualitative and quantitative evaluation prior and after the development of the model. The proposed model brings forward novel technological and methodological guidelines regarding audience engagement, which could be successfully deployed in cities with similar cultural, geographical, and technological features.

Digital storytelling and audience engagement in cultural heritage management: A collaborative model based on the Digital City of Thessaloniki

Journal of Cultural Heritage

Cities are complex, networked and continuously changing social ecosystems, shaped and transformed... more Cities are complex, networked and continuously changing social ecosystems, shaped and transformed through the interaction of different interests and ambitions. They are linked to places, where various aspects of past events are projected and expressed by means of personal memories and narrations (urban memory), representing a promise for future: a vision of freedom, creativity, opportunity and prosperity. At the same time, technology is currently promoting unprecedented changes in urban areas, which are often marked as smart city developments. This paper studies the history of cultural and creative industries, bringing forward the dedicated digital storytelling strategies that promote active audience engagement in urban cultural heritage. A collaborative model is proposed and analyzed (in multiple perspectives), aiming at providing an integrated manner for heritage documentation, management and dissemination. The development deals with the Digital City of Thessaloniki, Greece, a big city, not a boundless one, rich in culture, but with rather poor heritage management mechanisms. The research focuses on theoretical and practical aspects for the citizens' collection and interpretation of "digital heritage" documents (artifacts, places, etc.), resulting in a model that fuels audience engagement and collaboration of cultural organizations. Model-design is validated through state-of-the-art review and formative evaluation processes (both qualitative and quantitative), with an associated SWOT analysis that points out strengths, weaknesses , opportunities and threats. Although the proposed methodology has been adapted to the needs of a particular (digital) city, the current paper goes beyond a case study, as it brings forward novel technological and methodological guidelines, which could be successfully deployed in districts with similar cultural, geographical, and technical features.

Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2019

Πρακτικά 1ου Πανελληνίου Συνεδρίου Ψηφιοποίησης Πολιτιστικής Κληρονομιάς , 2015

Οι πόλεις είναι πολύπλοκα δικτυακά και συνεχώς μεταβαλλόμενα κοινωνικά οικοσυστήματα, που σχηματ... more Οι πόλεις είναι πολύπλοκα δικτυακά και συνεχώς μεταβαλλόμενα κοινωνικά οικοσυστήματα, που σχηματοποιούνται και μεταμορφώνονται μέσα από την αλληλεπίδραση των διαφορετικών συμφερόντων και φιλοδοξιών. Αποτελούν μέρη όπου οι διάφορες πτυχές του παρελθόντος προβάλλονται και εκφράζονται μέσα από τις προσωπικές αφηγήσεις, γεγονός που κατ’ επέκταση μεταφράζεται ως αστική μνήμη. Η έρευνα που διεξήχθη μας έδειξε ότι η Θεσσαλονίκη πρέπει να λάβει δραστικά μέτρα για την αποτελεσματική προώθηση των προσφορών της τέχνης και της πολιτιστικής της κληρονομιάς. Η ενεργός συμμετοχή του κοινού στη διαδικασία της προετοιμασίας, του σχεδιασμού και της εφαρμογής του SmArt Project είναι ζωτικής σημασίας. Συνοπτικά, η καινοτομία του SmArt Project βασίζεται στη συνεχή συμμετοχή και κριτική των φιλότεχνων, αλλά και των εκπροσώπων των πολιτιστικών φορέων της Θεσσαλονίκης κατά τη διάρκεια των διαδικασιών προγραμματισμού, παρακολούθησης και εύκολου χειρισμού του. Σε αυτή την εργασία θα αναλυθούν οι μέχρι τώρα διαδικασίες σχεδιασμού της εν λόγω εφαρμογής.

The “smart-art” project is an innovation-strategy element whose main goal is to promote arts part... more The “smart-art” project is an innovation-strategy element whose main goal is to promote arts participation and heritage experience in the city of Thessaloniki. The term “innovation strategy” defines the objectives, actions and implementation tools, which allow improving both the capacity and innovation performance of a project. Making a city smart is a new approach to the challenges raised by urban development which prioritizes innovation. While most of the recent scientific literature tends to spotlight the technological aspects of smart city , its organization and policy aspects have not gained much attention. The meaning of smartness in the urban context, according to Komninos et al () N. and the research unit URENIO, does not involve only the utilization of cutting-edge information and communication technologies but also the equally vital dimension of citizens’ participation. Smart cities have as their major objective the resolution of urban problems, such as waste management, air pollution, public health, traffic congestion etc. While worldwide the idea of smart city has existed for many years, in Greece there have been few relevant efforts. Until now there has not been a strategic plan for implementing a smart city project for the city of Thessaloniki. Our research indicates that Thessaloniki needs to take drastic steps towards the effective promotion of its art offerings and cultural heritage. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative research methods, our investigation focused on two different groups of people which represent the two communities primarily addressed by our project. The first group includes people variously employed in the field of the arts, while the second constists of art lovers in general. In both cases, the age range extends from 18 to 65 years old. Having thus ensured a sampling both of art professionals and art-consuming citizens, we complement our project with a SWOT analysis. Aiming to maximize arts participation in a way that gives the public an active role, our project enables citizens of Thessaloniki to communicate with each other about what is going on in the city related with art and history of art. At the same time, they will get transportation and opening-hours information, so as to plan their visit to museums, art galleries and other spaces that host art events. A vital dimension of our smart-art project regards the participation of the public in the process of its actual design through their active involvement in all the critical stages its preparation, testing and implementation.

The smart-art project requires the collaboration and communication among all the various stakeholders (arts organizations and associations, artists, art-managers/marketeers). The creation of a new start-up is seen as instrumental for the innovative promotion of arts participation and heritage experience, as well as a vital contributor to the enhancement of the cultural tourism of Thessaloniki.

Talks by Ofilia Psomadaki

Thessaloniki is a place where various aspects of past events are projected and expressed through ... more Thessaloniki is a place where various aspects of past events are projected and expressed through personal memories and narrations. This city also represents a promise for future: A vision of freedom, creativity, opportunity and prosperity. At the same time, technology is the currently promotion of unprecedented changes in urban areas, which are often labeled as smart city developments.

Books by Ofilia Psomadaki

Springer International Publishing AG, 2017

Conference Presentations by Ofilia Psomadaki

Digital Media has been evolving rapidly over the last fifteen years. This consequently influences... more Digital Media has been evolving rapidly over the last fifteen years. This consequently influences the methods used by the Cultural Organizations related to music, in a way that they inform public about the services and goods that they offer. What is observed in the transition from the First to the Second Age of the Media is the non-linearity of the new technologies, the feedback and the evaluation of the recipient-carrier interactivity of the message. In the cultural sector, the reason this form of communication has been further strengthened in recent months has been the case of the COVID-19 health crisis. During its upsurge, practices based on the evaluation-feedback of digital comments of the visitors of a Music Museum or other places that promote culture and Music Studies were adopted to a greater extent, in order to improve the communication between the cultural institution and the visitor. This paper will cover in detail the opportunities and the new challenges created by the new reality of COVID 19, during which many music-related actors have given great emphasis on the use of Digital Media and examples will be presented.