Tangible user interfaces : past, present and future directions

In the last two decades, Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have emerged as a new interface type that interlinks the digital and physical worlds. Drawing upon users' knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, TUIs show a potential to enhance the way in which people interact with and leverage digital information. However, TUI research is still in its infancy and extensive research is required in or- der to fully understand the implications of tangible user interfaces, to develop technologies that further bridge the digital and the physical, and to guide TUI design with empirical knowledge. This paper examines the existing body of work on Tangible User In- terfaces. We start by sketching the history of tangible user interfaces, examining the intellectual origins of this field. We then present TUIs in a broader context, survey application domains, and review frame- works and taxonomies. We also discuss conceptual foundations of TUIs including perspectives from cognitive sciences, phycology, and philoso- phy. Methods and technologies for designing, building, and evaluating TUIs are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limita- tions of TUIs and chart directions for future research

Refining personal and social presence in virtual meetings

Virtual worlds show promise for conducting meetings and conferences without the need for physical travel. Current experience suggests the major limitation to the more widespread adoption and acceptance of virtual conferences is the failure of existing environments to provide a sense of immersion and engagement, or of ‘being there’. These limitations are largely related to the appearance and control of avatars, and to the absence of means to convey non-verbal cues of facial expression and body language. This paper reports on a study involving the use of a mass-market motion sensor (Kinect™) and the mapping of participant action in the real world to avatar behaviour in the virtual world. This is coupled with full-motion video representation of participant’s faces on their avatars to resolve both identity and facial expression issues. The outcomes of a small-group trial meeting based on this technology show a very positive reaction from participants, and the potential for further exploration of these concepts

Communicating while stimulated: the effects of sensory-processing sensitivity on behavior and relationships

In light of claims made by Aron (1996, 2000; Aron & Aron, 1997), this dissertation tested the influence of sensory-processing sensitivity on communication via two sets of research questions. First, are highly sensitive persons more easily aroused by stimulation, and if so does this necessarily cause a decrease in affect recognition? Results of an experimental study (N = 342) indicate that highly sensitive persons (HSPs) were more distracted by audio stimulation, causing more errors in accuracy judgments on non-verbal decoding tests, most noticeably for facial expression detection. The implication is that, when aroused by stimulation in their environment, HSPs may be less interpersonally sensitive. The question concerned with claims about highly sensitive men in relationships and their supposed “feminine” nature (Aron, 2000). Thus, it is asked, Are highly sensitive men (HSM) in romantic relationships, as compared to non-sensitive men, more expressive of their emotions and more understanding of partners, qualities which supposedly create greater gender role stress because they do not meet American norms for masculinity? Results demonstrate that HSM reported are expressive of negative emotions (e.g., being bothered) and experience greater gender role stress, qualities which may lead partners of HSM to report lower satisfaction. The implication is that if HSM are more easily bothered and more emotionally reactive, then they are more expressive of negative feelings, a quality which is detrimental for relationships if these complaints are viewed as criticisms (Gottman, 1990). Overall, the studies suggest the communication behaviors of HSPs are influenced in mostly negative ways because of low thresholds for stimulation. Importantly, though, effects were generally small and hard to detect in the sample sizes reported here, and the current measure of SPS seems to be inappropriate for measuring the complete conceptual breadth of the construct. A number of intrapersonal, individual, and interpersonal directions for future research are suggested

Does Breath Pattern Influence Reacting and Feeling?

This experimental within-participant reversal paradigm quantified effects of breath manipulation on emotional reactivity and inhibition. Participants were assessed for inhibitory ability and emotional reactivity at baseline and following three breathing conditions: controlled neutral, resonance frequency, and variable breathing; selected to assess a range of breathing behavior from anxious breathing, vegetative breathing, and meditative breathing. Emotional reactivity was elicited using the International Affective Picture System and inhibition utilizing a verbal Stop Signal task. Dependent variables for emotion induction included self-reported mood and arousal using the Self-Assessment Manikin of Valence and Arousal, and for inhibition was response time and accuracy. For twenty-six healthy participants, emotion induction demonstrated no statistical findings across breathing condition. However, for inhibition tasks, a significant reduction in inhibitory response time and increase in response accuracy was found following resonance frequency breathing. Breath manipulation effects inhibitory control and could be a tool for improving efficacy of behavioral therapies addressing aspects of inhibition

Development of tests for measurement of primary perceptual-motor performance

Tests for measuring primary perceptual-motor performance for assessing space environment effects on human performanc

Mobile experiences of historical place: a multimodal analysis of emotional engagement

This article explores how to research the opportunities for emotional engagement that mobile technologies provide for the design and enactment of learning environments. In the context of mobile technologies that foster location-based linking, we make the case for the centrality of in situ real-time observational research on how emotional engagement unfolds and for the inclusion of bodily aspects of interaction. We propose that multimodal methods offer tools for observing emotion as a central facet of person–environment interaction and provide an example of these methods put into practice for a study of emotional engagement in mobile history learning. A multimodal analysis of video data from 16 pairs of 9- to 10-year-olds learning about the World War II history of their local Common is used to illustrate how students’ emotional engagement was supported by their use of mobile devices through multimodal layering and linking of stimuli, the creation of digital artifacts, and changes in pace. These findings are significant for understanding the role of digital augmentation in fostering emotional engagement in history learning, informing how digital augmentation can be designed to effectively foster emotional engagement for learning, and providing insight into the benefits of multimodality as an analytical approach for examining emotion through bodily interaction

Jointly structuring triadic spaces of meaning and action:book sharing from 3 months on

This study explores the emergence of triadic interactions through the example of book sharing. As part of a naturalistic study, 10 infants were visited in their homes from 3-12 months. We report that (1) book sharing as a form of infant-caregiver-object interaction occurred from as early as 3 months. Using qualitative video analysis at a micro-level adapting methodologies from conversation and interaction analysis, we demonstrate that caregivers and infants practiced book sharing in a highly co-ordinated way, with caregivers carving out interaction units and shaping actions into action arcs and infants actively participating and co-ordinating their attention between mother and object from the beginning. We also (2) sketch a developmental trajectory of book sharing over the first year and show that the quality and dynamics of book sharing interactions underwent considerable change as the ecological situation was transformed in parallel with the infants' development of attention and motor skills. Social book sharing interactions reached an early peak at 6 months with the infants becoming more active in the coordination of attention between caregiver and book. From 7-9 months, the infants shifted their interest largely to solitary object exploration, in parallel with newly emerging postural and object manipulation skills, disrupting the social coordination and the cultural frame of book sharing. In the period from 9-12 months, social book interactions resurfaced, as infants began to effectively integrate object actions within the socially shared activity. In conclusion, to fully understand the development and qualities of triadic cultural activities such as book sharing, we need to look especially at the hitherto overlooked early period from 4-6 months, and investigate how shared spaces of meaning and action are structured together in and through interaction, creating the substrate for continuing cooperation and cultural learning