Recognizing Odysseus\u27 Scar: Reconceptualizing Pain and its Empathic Role in Civil Adjudication

This Article proffers a consideration of how the expression of pain impacts the interpersonal dimensions of personal injury proceedings, contesting through philosophical logic and textual analyses of case law and legal practitioners\u27 texts the conclusion of scholars such as Elaine Scarry and Robert Cover that pain unmakes both the word and the world. Seeing pain as something that can and must be communicated, albeit in a different form than pain embodied, makes pain a much more profound force, comports with our understanding of pain as a physical yet interpersonally meaningful sensation, and has many evidentiary ramifications. Taking as its premise the perspective that legal constructions of pain are intrinsically relational and empathic, this Article proposes a reformulation of pain as a dual construct, at once experiential and expressionistic, that is supported by both semiotic theory and by Wittgenstein\u27s refutation of the private language argument associated with Cartesian dualism. Pain as a dual construct is the most appropriate model for the legal construction of pain in personal injury litigation. This Article then turns to the implications of reformulating pain as a dual construct, examining how its grounding in social practice demands a more complex analysis than the existing model put forth by Elaine Scarry, who posits that imagination enables nonsufferers to access another\u27s suffering; this model is inadequate because pain-full phenomena must instead be grounded in social practice and structured by and through language. Only then is it possible to elucidate the development of an empathic connection between a sufferer and another and the legal consequences of that relation. This Article concludes by describing how the model of pain that law currently adopts in principle (but not in practice) extinguishes pain\u27s interactive potential, demonstrating the necessity of a conscious recognition of interpersonal pain-full reality

between Bound and Abzû

UID/EAT/00693/2019Videogames, being an audio-visual media which makes use of presentation and visual techniques mainly linked to cinema, are distinguished due to their focus on interactivity and the relationship between media and user. Interaction is key not only for the image itself but for the music that accompanies it. And the soundtrack of a videogame only exists if there’s an agent that controls the universe, allowing its audition and perception. However, it’s possible to note the convergence between videogames and visual characteristics of films regarding image and what’s present on the screen in the last decade of the mainstream overview – videogames aim to be, in a growing rate, more cinematic. The absence, or reduction of informative elements in the screen, the increased development of graphic quality and design, alongside the notion of spatiality and open environments, are being frequently integrated and invested in by not only big companies but also independent studios. Through two case studies — Bound (Plastic Studios 2016) and Abzû (Giant Squid 2016)—, this paper examines the role of cinematicability and its use as a narrative tool where music builds an ergodic process of communication, meaning and interactivity. The soundtrack, game mechanics and the cinematic compose an interactive musical experience where the user is, at the same time, the interactive and performative agent in the narrative universe.publishersversionpublishe

Online Deliberation Lived Experiences of Kānaka Maoli Women.

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2018

The Informal Learning of History with Digital Games

Digital games that represent history, i.e. ‘historical games’, are a fundamental way that players can engage with the past. Their focus on historical representations, narratives and processes means educators are using them in formal educational practice. Surprisingly, there is little empirical research on the educational outcomes from the use of historical games in formal contexts, and the specific ways they can increase a learner’s historical awareness and understanding. Existing research on historical game engagements outside of these formal contexts is even scarcer. There has been very little study of whether, what, and how players informally learn through historical games, and their informal learning activities in relation to them. This thesis presents two empirical studies that begin to address this imbalance, exploring player perceptions of historical games as a medium for informal historical learning. The first, an online survey completed by 621 respondents, compared audience and player perceptions of fictive historical film, television series, and games. This situated historical games within the wider media landscape of fictional representations of the past in visual culture, and how they are comparably perceived as media for informal historical learning. The second, more extensive study adopted an ethnographic approach, narrowing the focus of the first by exploring players’ informal learning experiences with historical games that specifically represent classical antiquity. It identified the historical knowledge outcomes particularly associated with historical game use, also examining player’s learning practices with the games that move beyond the game experience (e.g. information seeking, modding, after-action report writing, forum use, and LetsPlay videos). This research thus offers a greater and more comprehensive understanding of informal learning with, and in relation to historical games, highlighting the interplay between these various informal engagements and activities, and how these relationships can influence, determine, or affect player understandings of both the past, and the present

Science denial and medical misinformation in pandemic times:a psycho-criminological analysis

This study integrates criminological social learning and psychological explanations of individual factors and mechanisms for science denial to offer an individual-level analysis of ‘alternative lifestyle’ subcultural groups in cyberspace in order to understand the assimilation, success and proliferation of potentially dangerous health-related misinformation. Through a rigorous passive online ethnography of two relevant self-identifying ‘alternative lifestyle’ Italian- and English-speaking online communities observed over the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed the unfolding of online narratives and behavioural intentions of criminological and psychological interest. We identified in our data both individual factors and mechanisms for science denial and clues to social learning, and we showed how they interrelate. Furthermore, by looking at the linguistic and visual resources used to shape how participants think through social learning mechanisms, we identified four main narrative frames: informative; oppositional; empathetic; and agency and spirituality. The findings of this study provide a more comprehensive understanding of the reasons for and mechanisms behind medical misinformation online and suggest ways to mitigate the related harms

Creating a strategy of learning : engaging with mental health : lived experience through the use of media narratives

This commentary examines six of my publications, which collectively create an innovative strategy of learning. It is concerned with engaging mental health practitioners and learners more fully with service user lived experience through guided exposure to selected media narratives. The primary intention of this is to facilitate attitudinal change amongst health care professionals, promoting a greater sense of understanding and connectedness with those experiencing mental health difficulties. My learning strategy is concerned with the following elements: The media narrative Facilitation / guided learning Reflective practice Collaborative learning / co-production The media narrative as a learning resource is critically reviewed and gauged to have huge learning potential where facilitative input is offered at distinct stages of access: before, during and after. It is demonstrated that through engaging with this process over a succession of cycles the development of reflective and reflexive practitioners can be promoted. An essential part of my learning strategy concerns the ‘testing out’ of learning, undertaken through a collaborative inquiry process with service users in practice as well as classroom settings. This fosters empathic understanding, an essential component of professional practice. 9 My learning strategy contributes significantly to the existing knowledge and practice base concerning the educational use of media narratives, service user engagement and lived experience learning. It has much to offer in terms of promoting empathic understanding and emotional intelligence, developing reflective practitioners and creating closer working partnerships with service users. The impact from my work has been verified through widespread adoption of my teaching resources, complimentary reviews, numerous citations, and invitations to present at conferences and community workshops. Future directions involve furthering my collaborative engagement with service users and engaging in coproduction work, as well as facilitating narrative sharing amongst those with communicative restrictions, and extending the educative process beyond the healthcare arena, influencing attitudes through encouraging dialogue and reflection around mental health experience

Animating Truth

Animating Truth examines the rise of animated documentary in the 21st century, and addresses how non-photorealistic animation is increasingly used to depict and shape reality

Empathy Design in Skills Assessment tool for Recovery and Rehabilitation

Empathy has become a major concern in the modern world where most of the services are digitized as information is primarily shared from behind the screen. In the healthcare sector, patient and healthcare provider’s interaction is among the most powerful and emotional experiences any of us can encounter. Healthcare providers try to adopt different strategies to empathize with the patient, but the digital technology creates a bridge between patients and caregivers. The prevalent challenge and opportunity for the healthcare system is closing the gap between humans by facilitating emotional connection with the help of technology. In this research, we present empathy as a vital skill for healthcare workers, for designers as well as for people suffering from substance use disorder and going through recovery and rehabilitation. We try to identify processes on how designers can better empathize with the users by following Kouprie and Vissier’s framework on empathy design. The objective is to identify how the process of empathy design is used not just to understand the users, but during design and while communicating the findings with the stakeholders. The empirical work carried out in this thesis is aimed to enhance the user experience of existing skills assessment application, LivingSkills. LivingSkills has been developed as a skills assessment and monitoring tool, where patients can plan their own recovery by developing the skills they need with the help of healthcare personnel or caregiver. The tool helps to understand the patient’s and caregiver's journey throughout a system – understand the patient’s journey to recovery, visualize their skill level and find out ways to provide better skills coaching service. User experience of the LivingSkills tool was evaluated at SiltaValmennus (rehabilitative coaching service / recovery home) to improve the condition of residents who were serving the last term of their sentences in prison and were going through drug recovery and rehabilitation program. UX evaluation questionnaires such as AttrakDiff and user satisfaction questionnaire along with multiple rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholder groups in order to uncover user needs and problematic areas during application use. We implemented the applicable solutions by closely following ISO 9201-210 human-centred design process. We assessed how the perception towards the application changed before and after the empathic redesign approach. We then evaluated overall experience of the application with users (n=7) with the help of AttrakDiff, user satisfaction questionnaire and series of semi-structured interviews with the stakeholder group including residents (n=4) and staff members (n=3), iterating the design whenever necessary. We found that the LivingSkills application was viewed as a positive tool for skills training among the residents as well as staff members at the recovery home. There were multiple areas of opportunities within the application such as giving patient’s access to their own record, improving visual designs, using responsive layout and humanizing the interaction dialog by using faces and carefully selecting texts to facilitate the empathic exchange of information. The findings were prioritized and implemented based on user needs, importance and effort required to implement the solution within the research timeline. We found out that the user experience has improved but the difference in perception was not statistically significant among the residents and healthcare workers We have suggested some extension of product features with the possibility to integrate existing healthcare procedure implemented by the organization. We found out that the application is oriented towards healthcare providers to enable residents to get the help they need for better outcomes. Asking questions, providing opportunities for feedback, listening, and taking notes are intended features of the application itself which demonstrate empathy to the patients, showing them that their voices are being heard through the use of LivingSkills application

Persuasive Gaming in Context

The rapid developments in new communication technologies have facilitated the popularization of digital games, which has translated into an exponential growth of the game industry in recent decades. The ubiquitous presence of digital games has resulted in an expansion of the applications of these games from mere entertainment purposes to a great variety of serious purposes. In this edited volume, we narrow the scope of attention by focusing on what game theorist Ian Bogost has called 'persuasive games', that is, gaming practices that combine the dissemination of information with attempts to engage players in particular attitudes and behaviors.This volume offers a multifaceted reflection on persuasive gaming, that is, on the process of these particular games being played by players. The purpose is to better understand when and how digital games can be used for persuasion by further exploring persuasive games and some other kinds of persuasive playful interaction as well. The book critically integrates what has been accomplished in separate research traditions to offer a multidisciplinary approach to understanding persuasive gaming that is closely linked to developments in the industry by including the exploration of relevant case studies