Design and semantics of form and movement (DeSForM 2006)

Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM) grew from applied research exploring emerging design methods and practices to support new generation product and interface design. The products and interfaces are concerned with: the context of ubiquitous computing and ambient technologies and the need for greater empathy in the pre-programmed behaviour of the ‘machines’ that populate our lives. Such explorative research in the CfDR has been led by Young, supported by Kyffin, Visiting Professor from Philips Design and sponsored by Philips Design over a period of four years (research funding £87k). DeSForM1 was the first of a series of three conferences that enable the presentation and debate of international work within this field: • 1st European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM1), Baltic, Gateshead, 2005, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 2nd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM2), Evoluon, Eindhoven, 2006, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 3rd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM3), New Design School Building, Newcastle, 2007, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. Philips sponsorship of practice-based enquiry led to research by three teams of research students over three years and on-going sponsorship of research through the Northumbria University Design and Innovation Laboratory (nuDIL). Young has been invited on the steering panel of the UK Thinking Digital Conference concerning the latest developments in digital and media technologies. Informed by this research is the work of PhD student Yukie Nakano who examines new technologies in relation to eco-design textiles

African American Adolescents at Risk: Their Stories Revealed Through Dance/Movement Therapy

The purpose ofthis study was originally to support the voices of African American adolescents and the emergence of their stories through the use of mentors hip, dance/movement therapy, and the production of an artistic performance. But what I truly found was that through parallel processing this study turned into an artistic inquiry that helped me uncover more insight about my own story: a story ofloss, isolation, rejection, recovery, independence, support and acceptance, and confidence. As a result of the artistic inquiry I was able to see the value of my knowledge from integrating my experiences. I developed confidence in my ability to transition from my role as teacher/mentor to dance/movement therapist. It helped me to increase awareness of how I incorporate my past experiences, skills, and world view to become a better therapist utilizing dance/movement therapy to facilitate the authentic expression of African American adolescents. I facilitated the perfornlance of their movement stories which were presented to their families and communities

Back to Basics: Exploring gestural habits as cues for anticipating self-injurious episodes in a child with Autism and Deafness

This research project is a longitudinal qualitative case study. It contributes to an understanding of self-injurious behaviour (SIB) by inviting the reader through the narrative of the lived experience of a fifteen year old child-informant and the network of individuals in his life. The value and importance of a case-study is that it focuses on the authenticity of the experience of living with disability. Through the use of detailed field observations, interviews and photo documents, the study thoroughly explores three main areas: quality of movements, potential cues as pre-cursors to episodes of self-injury, and purposeful communication. The research begins with a review of literature on Autism, Deafness and Self-injury, formulates the research design and orientation of Physical Education, Phenomenology and Semiotics, and then systematically explores four distinct phases in the analytical process. The aim was to explore self-injurious episodes in the child informant in hopes to translate the meaning of the behaviour and potentially utilize this to provide more opportunities for adapted physical activity. The findings reveal distinct patterns of movement cues utilized for different purposes. The implications of the findings are self-injurious episodes in the child informant are preceded by distinct patterns of movement that are potentially communicative. Suggested future direction of the research is expanding the scope to other disabilities for which verbal communication is challenging, and standardizing the translating tools to assist in understanding the communication of movement

Socially assistive robots : the specific case of the NAO

Numerous researches have studied the development of robotics, especially socially assistive robots (SAR), including the NAO robot. This small humanoid robot has a great potential in social assistance. The NAO robot’s features and capabilities, such as motricity, functionality, and affective capacities, have been studied in various contexts. The principal aim of this study is to gather every research that has been done using this robot to see how the NAO can be used and what could be its potential as a SAR. Articles using the NAO in any situation were found searching PSYCHINFO, Computer and Applied Sciences Complete and ACM Digital Library databases. The main inclusion criterion was that studies had to use the NAO robot. Studies comparing it with other robots or intervention programs were also included. Articles about technical improvements were excluded since they did not involve concrete utilisation of the NAO. Also, duplicates and articles with an important lack of information on sample were excluded. A total of 51 publications (1895 participants) were included in the review. Six categories were defined: social interactions, affectivity, intervention, assisted teaching, mild cognitive impairment/dementia, and autism/intellectual disability. A great majority of the findings are positive concerning the NAO robot. Its multimodality makes it a SAR with potential

Traces of motion: making the learning visible in creative dance education

What is the learning that happens in creative dance in an elementary school setting? Can pedagogical documentation, inspired by the educators of Reggio Emilia, make this learning visible to the various stakeholders in education? This research project investigated the learning for both teachers and students in four elementary school settings in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Four expert dance educators, who were also generalist classroom teachers, were videotaped and photographed while teaching creative dance classes. Afterwards, these teachers were interviewed while watching the video documentation. From these interviews, the researcher's observations, field notes, and photographs, moments of perceived learning were proposed via pedagogical documentation panels. The words and pictures of students and teachers were placed on panels and these were used to provoke further dialogue in the form of one-on-one interviews, small group, or whole class discussions. All of the interviews and specific moments from the video documentation were transcribed and, along with the photographs and students' work samples, comprised a data collection. The data set from each setting was analyzed against itself and against the data from other settings in a constant comparative method. Meanings emerged through an ongoing process of coding and identifying and classifying the data into themes (and subthemes). The findings suggest that in creative dance classes students are learning to develop an awareness of their dancing selves, an intersubjectivity as they engage in collaborative creative processes and discover the interconnectedness of dance as a language of learning. Teachers are learning their unique role as facilitators in creative dance classes and are acquiring an ability to witness thinking bodies. The methodology of pedagogical documentation is able to make the learning visible in creative dance classes because it provokes students and teachers to revisit and reflect on their learning and to confront issues that arose in the creative process. Although creative dance offers a unique form of learning, that is, learning with the body, it must confront the hidden curriculum in education with respect to the body, and overcome its own status as a null curriculum in education