User-Environment Relations : A Postphenomenology of Virtual Reality

Innen HCI blir interaksjon tradisjonelt forstått som noe som skjer mellom de forhåndsantatte enhetene «menneskelig bruker» og «teknologisk objekt». Særlig tvinger omsluttende VR-teknologi oss til å revurdere disse antagelsene, ettersom den menneskelige brukeren og det virtuelle miljøet former hverandre gjensidig i relasjonene som konstitueres mellom dem. Postfenomenologien ser ut til å være en lovende kandidat for det å redegjøre for kompleksiteten til VR-mediering ettersom den tilbyr et mer helhetlig syn, og tar hensyn til hvordan teknologier tar del i konstitueringen av menneskers livsverdener. Ettersom virtuelle miljøer ikke bare er verktøy vi samhandler med eller bruker, men miljøer hvor vi eksisterer og som vi blir formet gjennom, ser postfenomenologien ut til å tilby et lovende perspektiv for å fremme vår forståelse av hvordan VR tar del i å endre vår opplevelse av hvem vi er i forhold til våre verdener. Denne doktorgradsavhandlingen undersøker hvordan postfenomenologi kan tas i bruk konstruktivt for å få en kvalitativ forståelse av brukeropplevelse i omsluttende VR-teknologi. Avhandlingen presenterer teoretiske, metodiske og empiriske bidrag. Teoretisk sett introduseres menneske-teknologi-relasjonen som VR utgjør som bruker-miljø-relasjoner. Gjennom en analyse av menneske-teknologi-relasjonen som VR utgjør, demonstreres det hvordan forskere kan dra nytte av en postfenomenologisk forståelse av VR, samt hvordan VR-mediet selv krever en revurdering av tradisjonelle postfenomenologiske kategorier av menneske-teknologi-relasjoner. Metodisk sett, foreslås «VR Go-along»-metoden som en passende tilnærming for å gi kvalitative vurderinger av brukeropplevelsen som mediert i de konstituerte bruker-miljø-relasjonene. Empirisk sett, presenterer avhandlingen en kvalitativ og utforskende «in-the-wild»-studie av omsluttende VR-bruk over to måneder, hvor «VR Go-along»-metoden brukes til å undersøke deltakernes brukeropplevelse slik de er mediert i de konstituerte bruker-miljø-relasjonene. Denne avhandlingen fungerer som en refleksiv redegjørelse av forfatterens undersøkelse om bruken av postfenomenologi for å gi en forståelse av mediering i omsluttende VR-teknologi. Den demonstrerer det gjensidig fordelaktige forholdet mellom postfenomenologi og omsluttende VR og illustrerer hvordan postfenomenologiske undersøkelser av omsluttende VR-mediering kan gjennomføres. Gjennom avhandlingen argumenteres det for at forskere kan få en mer helhetlig forståelse av hvordan VR medierer brukeropplevelse ved å se på hvordan brukeropplevelsen i omsluttende VR medieres i de konstituerte bruker-miljø-relasjonene. Bidraget til denne avhandlingen fungerer som en foreløpig undersøkelse av hvordan postfenomenologi kan brukes fruktbart innen HCI for å forstå og spørre om brukeropplevelsen i omsluttende VR og relasjonene som omsluttende VR gir opphav til.In HCI, interaction is traditionally understood as something that occurs between the pre-given entities of a human user and a technological object. The technology of Immersive Virtual Reality (VR), in particular, forces us to reconsider these presuppositions, as the human user and the virtual environment mutually shape each other in the relations constituted between them. Postphenomenology seems to be a promising candidate to account for the complexities of VR mediation as it takes a more holistic view, attending to how technologies mediate human beings' lifeworlds. As virtual environments are not just tools we interact with or use, but environments in which we exist and through which we are shaped, postphenomenology seems to offer a promising perspective for furthering our understanding of how VR takes part in altering our experience of who we are in relation to our worlds. This doctoral dissertation presents an inquiry into how postphenomenology can be constructively used to gain a qualitative understanding of user experience in Immersive VR. The dissertation presents theoretical, methodical and empirical contributions. Theoretically, the human-technology relation that VR constitute is introduced as user-environment relations. Through an analysis of the human-technology relation that VR constitutes, it is demonstrated how researchers can benefit from a postphenomenological understanding of VR as well as how VR prompts a reconsideration of traditional postphenomenological categories of human-technology relations. Methodically, it proposes the VR Go-along method as an approach to qualitatively assessing the user experience as mediated in the constituted user-environment relations. Empirically, this dissertation presents a qualitative and explorative in-the-wild study of Immersive VR use over two months, where the VR Go-along is utilised to inquire into the participants' user experience as mediated in the constituted user-environment relations. This dissertation serves as a reflexive account of the author's inquiry into the use of postphenomenology to provide an understanding of Immersive VR mediation. It demonstrates the mutually beneficial relationship between postphenomenology and Immersive VR and illustrates how postphenomenological inquiries into Immersive VR mediation can be conducted. Throughout the dissertation, it is argued that researchers can gain a more holistic understanding of how VR mediates user experience by attending to how the user experience in Immersive VR is mediated in the constituted user-environment relations. The contribution of this dissertation serves as a preliminary inquiry into how postphenomenology can be fruitfully employed in HCI to understand and inquire into the user experience in Immersive VR and the relations to which it gives rise.Doktorgradsavhandlin

Towards a Postphenomenological Approach to Wearable Technology through Design Journeys

The field of wearable technology has extensively described the opportunities, challenges as well as the concerns around integrating digital technologies into fashion. However, it has so far not provided a sufficiently clear and embodied understanding of technology. Technology therefore is often still limited to something that adds functionality to textiles or clothing. Additionally, technology is seen as a way to enhance the visual expression and thereby the representational character of clothing. Both approaches seem to hinder the intersection of digital technologies and textiles on a material and embodied level. While the role of wearable technologies in the everyday could benefit from it. In this paper, we therefore argue for reframing the understanding of technology to better facilitate the integration of digital technologies (i.e. electronics and software) into everyday fashion. A reflective analysis of the process of designing wearable technologies, based on the design practice of the first author, reveals that technology is considered a material and that its material qualities are not thought of as either functional or aesthetic. These insights, arising from practice, have led us to turn to postphenomenology (a strand of philosophy of technology) to come to further conceptualization. Postphenomenology looks at the ways in which technologies mediate or “coshape” the relationship between human beings and the world. By seeing technologies as the media that connect humans to the world, they acquire a material and contextual dimension. The idea that artifacts mediate materially thus offers a very useful starting point for understanding and designing wearable technologies. The contribution of this article is twofold, namely, first, to provide a material understanding of the technology on the basis of design practice. And secondly, to bridge design practice with theory by suggesting to bring postphenomenology into fashion to better facilitate the design of wearable technologies for the everyday

Designing speculative artifacts

In recent decades, Mark Weiser's vision of ubiquitous computing has become today's reality through embedded electronics, the rise of machine learning, and the proliferation of wireless Internet access. This development brings not only opportunities but also new challenges for the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community. Technology, for example, is (1) entering novel application scenarios and pristine interaction environments, (2) leaving the screen and conquering the physical world, and (3) changing the previous tool-like nature of computers to social, self-learning, and pro-active entities. As a result, there are no already established interaction paradigms, metaphors, and design strategies for designing such systems. Thus, HCI faces questions about the interaction design in the context of embedded systems and novel materials, the conceptualization of intelligent systems in everyday environments, and, subsequently, the consequences on human-technology relations. To approach such questions, a standard tool in HCI research is the human-centered design process, which creates knowledge about user needs and considers user perspectives to inform design decisions. Observations and interviews are used to understand the context, workflow, or tools, before developing ideas and concepts for technological improvements or solutions. This process has proven to be effective when dealing with matters familiar to users, such as their workplaces, leading to improved workflows and experiences. However, it remains open how design can be grounded if future technologies result in unfamiliar situations. When people can no longer contribute with their domain knowledge, what are novel interaction concepts, paradigms, and designs based on? To tackle these problems, I present and discuss a programmatic design approach to generate original design ideas and concepts. This approach builds on Speculative and Critical Design practices within the HCI context. The main idea central to this work is to create designs using real-world patterns to inform HCI since these patterns still comply with users' prior knowledge, experiences, and perception of fundamental social or natural principles. Such Real-World Patterns (RWP) can be familiar metaphors, morphologies, or mental models - e.g., understanding causality in the physical world or knowing the basic working principles of musical instruments. These patterns are chosen and then transferred into designs to meet or contradict users' expectations of the technology in order to create confrontational situations in which new perspectives are opened up. Based on the confrontation with the speculative artifacts, implications and requirements are deduced, which in reverse can be applied to future technologies. The projects presented apply this approach in various HCI research domains, including human-robot interaction, new interfaces for musical expression, and deformable and flexible interfaces. In this dissertation, I reflect on the approach using three questions: (Q1) How does the use of RWPs complement the Research through Design practice?; (Q2) How can RWPs be instrumentalized in the design of HCI systems?; and (Q3) How does the use of RWPs in design affect the relation between humans and technology? This thesis contributes (1) an overview of the approach as well as three perspectives which are instrumental in understanding and applying RWPs in the design of HCI, (2) eight speculative artifacts, which exemplify the approach, (3) theories and concepts inspired by the used RWPs, and (4) empirical knowledge deduced from the associated studies and surveys.In den letzten Jahrzehnten ist Mark Weisers Vision des Ubiquitous Computing durch eingebettete Systeme, den Aufstieg künstlicher Intelligenz und die Verbreitung des drahtlosen Internetzugangs zur heutigen Lebensrealität geworden. Diese Entwicklung bringt nicht nur Chancen, sondern auch neue Herausforderungen für die Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Community mit sich. Technologien dringen bspw. in neuartige Anwendungsszenarien und noch unberührte Interaktionsumgebungen ein, verlassen den Bildschirm und erobern die physische Welt und verändern so den bisherigen werkzeugartigen Charakter von Computern zu sozialen, selbstlernenden und proaktiven Entitäten. Infolgedessen gibt es keine bereits etablierten Interaktionsparadigmen, Metaphern und Designstrategien, auf die für die Gestaltung solcher Systeme zurückgegriffen werden könnte. Für die HCI stellen sich daher Fragen zur Interaktionsgestaltung im Kontext eingebetteter Systeme und neuartiger Materialien, zur Konzeptualisierung intelligenter Maschinen in Alltagsumgebungen und folglich zu den Auswirkungen auf die Beziehung, in der Mensch und Technologie zueinander stehen. Um sich solchen Fragen zu nähern, ist in der HCI der Human-Centered Design Prozess eine verbreitete Vorgehensweise, die Erkenntnisse über die Bedürfnisse der Benutzer:innen schafft und deren Perspektive bei Designentscheidungen berücksichtigt. Beobachtungen und Interviews werden genutzt, um den Kontext, die Arbeitsabläufe oder Werkzeuge zu verstehen, bevor Ideen und Konzepte für technische Lösungen entwickelt werden. Dieses Vorgehen hat sich als effektiv erwiesen und führt zu Verbesserungen von Technologien, solange die betreffenden Situationen den Nutzer:innen vertraut sind. Offen bleibt jedoch, worauf Design-Konzepte bauen können, wenn zukünftige Technologien zu ungewohnten Situationen führen. Worauf basieren neuartige Interaktionskonzepte, Paradigmen und Entwürfe, wenn Menschen nicht mehr mit ihrem Fachwissen und Erfahrungen beitragen können? Um diese Problematik anzugehen, präsentiere und diskutiere ich in dieser Dissertation einen programmatischen Ansatz, um neuartige Designideen und -konzepte zu entwickeln. Dieser baut auf den Praktiken des spekulativen und kritischen Designs im HCI-Kontext auf. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Entwicklung von Designs unter Verwendung von Mustern aus der realen Welt, da diese das Vorwissen der Nutzer:innen sowie soziale und natürliche Prinzipien einbeziehen. Bei solchen Real-World Patterns (RWP) kann es sich um vertraute Metaphern, Morphologien oder mentale Modelle handeln, bspw. um das Verständnis von Kausalität in der physischen Welt oder um die Kenntnis der grundlegenden Funktionsprinzipien von Musikinstrumenten. Potentielle Muster werden ausgewählt und derart in Entwürfe übertragen, dass die Erwartungen der Nutzer:innen an die Technologie erfüllt oder ihnen widersprochen wird. So werden konfrontative Situationen geschaffen, in denen sich neue Perspektiven eröffnen. Aus der Konfrontation mit den spekulativen Artefakten werden Implikationen und Anforderungen abgeleitet, die sich im Umkehrschluss auf zukünftige Technologien anwenden lassen. Die vorgestellten Projekte wenden diesen Ansatz in verschiedenen HCI-Forschungsbereichen an, unter anderem in der Mensch-Roboter-Interaktion, im Kontext neuer Schnittstellen für die musikalische Interaktion, sowie für deformierbare und flexible Schnittstellen. In dieser Dissertation reflektiere ich den Ansatz anhand dreier Fragen: (Q1) Wie ergänzt der Einsatz von RWPs die Research through Design Praxis?; (Q2) Wie können RWPs für das Design von HCI-Systemen instrumentalisiert werden?; und (Q3) Wie beeinflusst der Einsatz von RWPs die Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Technologie? Der Beitrag dieser Arbeit liegt in (1) einem Überblick über den Ansatz sowie in den drei Perspektiven, die für das Verständnis und die Anwendung von RWPs in der Gestaltung von HCI maßgeblich sind, (2) den acht spekulativen Artefakten, die den Ansatz beispielhaft darstellen, (3) den Theorien und Konzepten, die von den verwendeten RWPs inspiriert sind, und (4) den empirischen Erkenntnissen, die aus den zugehörigen Studien und Umfragen abgeleitet wurden

Deep Flow: a tentacular worlding of dance, biosensor technology, lived experience and embodied materials of the human and non-humankind

How to find relations between lived experience and biosensor technology in dance practice? This PaR presents a novel methodology, tentacular worlding, to explore Embodied Dance practice as lived experience, using phenomenological methods and biosensor technologies to better understand experiential aspects of dance more fully, by looking inwardly. It challenges dance practice intersecting with biosensors that visualise invisible physiological events such as heart rate, in external mediated environments, to which dancer’s respond. These ocularcentric practices illustrate only certain aspects of a dancer’s bodily engagement with technology thereby privileging vision over bodily experience. Looking outwardly neglects the vast storehouse of lived experiences that technologies used instrumentally, cannot capture. To explore the strategy of looking inwardly, a relational methodological approach tentacular worlding is applied. This inspires an interdisciplinary study of the human body in dance practice, phenomenology, technology, and ecofeminist posthumanism. Phenomenological dance methods are used to; explore whole bodily experiences; investigate bodily interactions with differing environments; and discover human relations with biosensor technologies and differing materials. It challenges ocularcentrism by blindfolding the practitioner to augment bodily sensing in the absence of visual information. Multimodal qualitative and quantitative methods are used to interpret these experiences and methods of analysis emphasise tentacular relations between lived experience, the heart, and biometric data. Tentacular worlding gave birth to the Embodied Dance practice Deep Flow, to foreground relations between lived and bodily experiencing, meditation, fascia release and heart rate variability. By looking inwardly, within an ecology of embodied experience, visible and invisible, tangible, and intangible materials, Deep Flow collapses binary notions of inside and outside, subject and object, an embodied materiality. It proposes; a return to bodily experience and embodied states of flow, to construct knowledge from a first-person perspective and to explore the complexity of relations between the heart, the human and nonhuman

The impact of work seeker support platforms on the development of South Africa's unemployed youth

Youth unemployment remains an enduring and significant challenge in South Africa, with 43.2 % of people aged 15-34 and 59% aged 15-24 remaining unemployed, respectively. Similarly, economic discouragement among young people is on the rise. Micro-level barriers contribute significantly to the inability to access employment opportunities. These include the low skills levels of many young South Africans, the high costs of job-seeking, a lack of social capital, a lack of access to relevant job-seeker information, as well as the adverse mental health impacts of alienation, poverty and unemployment. With the rise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the rise of ICT for Development (ICT4D) interventions, several digital solutions have been developed in South Africa. These attempt to provide low-cost, scalable solutions to youth unemployment by addressing some of the barriers that young people experience. Despite the increased prevalence of such digital interventions, the degree to which they are capable of engaging and transforming the lives of the unemployed youth they target remains unclear. With increasing investments into 4IR interventions to address youth unemployment, closer examination is required. Accordingly, this study appraises one digital work seeker support platform in South Africa that provides skills matching and development opportunities to unemployed youth. The study focuses specifically on their experience of the platform. It uses post phenomenological constructs to analyse how young unemployed South Africans interpret the digital intervention and examines how these interpretations promote or inhibit their sense of agency and wellbeing. The findings suggest that digital youth employment interventions can inadvertently exacerbate some of the existing barriers, while also providing insight into how ICT4D interventions may be reimagined to address some of the factors that drive economic discouragement among young people

Technology and self-modification: understanding technologies of the self after Foucault

Self-modification is an ancient human practice; however, for the first time in history, technology is enabling us to modify our lives not only at an existential or experiential level, but also at an informational level. This paper discusses Foucault’s concept of “technologies of the self” as well as some of its recent interpretations within contemporary philosophy of technology. It shows how ICTs have opened new dimensions for humans to transform their bodies, minds, and self-conception. It argues that while ‘traditional’ self-modification is being revolutionised and popularised by ICTs, these systems are also exposing us to potent, and unintentional forms of ontological tinkering. Ultimately, this paper shows how Foucault’s concept can serve as a valuable tool for understanding contemporary human-technology relations