1,324 research outputs found
"I want to be a furious leopard with magical wings and super power": developing an ethico-interpretive framework for detecting Chinese students' funds of identity
The Avatar Project was a two-week English project in which Chinese high school students in an internationalised school in Shanghai China explored the topic of cultural and individual identity. The project synthesised prospective education with the Funds of Identity approach, both of which have particular relevance within an internationalised teaching context. During the project, students created three identity texts: a written reflection, a word cloud and an avatar which were later used as data for this article. This article presents findings from the project and critically evaluates the effectiveness of avatars and word clouds as strategies for detecting students’ funds of identity. A multimodal approach to data collection and analysis was adopted in order to ensure that the interpretation of students’ work remained situated within their lived experience. The project revealed the existence of social, practical, institutional and cultural funds of identity. However, it also detected more problematic forms of funds of identity related to political and philosophical beliefs which I label ideological and existential funds of identity. While avatars and word clouds were effective in drawing out students’ out-of-school identities, the written reflections were ultimately more useful in revealing students’ funds of identity and also ensuring that any interpretations remained within the participants’ horizon of intended meaning. The project also brought about significant transformation in the way I viewed my students
Experiences of self and belonging among young people identified as having learning difficulties in English schools
Young people identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEN/D), remain some of the most marginalised learners in the English education system. These young people are one of the most likely groups to face exclusion from school and evidence suggests that discrimination against disabled adults and children, in England, is on the rise. Within research debates on education, the voices of those identified as having SEN/D remain on the margins.
Six story-telling case studies were undertaken, exploring the experiences of young people identified as having learning difficulties in a mainstream, mainstream faith and special school in England. Specifically, the way in which the young people described themselves and experienced a sense of belonging was examined. An ethical and robustly inclusive methodology using arts-based methods was developed to empower the young people to share their experiences on their own terms. Embracing the potential of video voice, self-portraiture and life-mapping as ethical, participatory and inclusive research methods, this study has captured multi-sensory narrative data. Offering a detailed description of how the methods operated inclusively contributes to the field and, supports other researchers to undertake inclusive research alongside young people identified as having learning difficulties.
The voices of the six young people are examined to show the ways in which they demonstrate a resistance to othering discourses in society, through describing themselves and articulating their sense of belonging. The young people’s reflection on difference and disability demonstrated that their knowledge of disability and specific ‘diagnoses’ was limited. Moreover, the way in which they described themselves and their peers reinforced a dichotomy of ‘normal’ and ‘other’. Hence, I argue within this thesis for the further development and dissemination of a social model of learning difficulty. This model rejects the notion of essential difference and offers an understanding that learning difficulty, similarly to disability, can be viewed as socially constructed. Based on the young people’s reflections on belonging, I also problematise the use of special educational needs (SEN) labels within school settings arguing that, discussions around the use of labels must involve the voices of young people. In relation to SEN labels, I also examine the geographies of SEN/D using the young people’s reflections to underline how nurture or inclusion units can have the potential to both offer refuge and reinforce notions of difference.My thanks to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences for generously awarding me a three-year PhD bursary
FACING EXPERIENCE: A PAINTER’S CANVAS IN VIRTUAL REALITY
Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.This research investigates how shifts in perception might be brought about through the development of visual imagery created by the use of virtual environment technology.
Through a discussion of historical uses of immersion in art, this thesis will explore how immersion functions and why immersion has been a goal for artists throughout history. It begins with a discussion of ancient cave drawings and the relevance of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Next it examines the biological origins of “making special.” The research will discuss how this concept, combined with the ideas of “action” and “reaction,” has reinforced the view that art is fundamentally experiential rather than static. The research emphasizes how present-day virtual environment art, in providing a space that engages visitors in computer graphics, expands on previous immersive artistic practices.
The thesis examines the technical context in which the research occurs by briefly describing the use of computer science technologies, the fundamentals of visual arts practices, and the importance of aesthetics in new media and provides a description of my artistic practice. The aim is to investigate how combining these approaches can enhance virtual environments as artworks. The computer science of virtual environments includes both hardware and software programming. The resultant virtual environment experiences are technologically dependent on the types of visual displays being used, including screens and monitors, and their subsequent viewing affordances. Virtual environments fill the field of view and can be experienced with a head mounted display (HMD) or a large screen display. The sense of immersion gained through the experience depends on how tracking devices and related peripheral devices are used to facilitate interaction.
The thesis discusses visual arts practices with a focus on how illusions shift our cognition and perception in the visual modalities. This discussion includes how perceptual thinking is the foundation of art experiences, how analogies are the foundation of cognitive experiences and how the two intertwine in art experiences for virtual environments. An examination of the aesthetic strategies used by artists and new media critics are presented to discuss new media art. This thesis investigates the visual elements used in virtual environments and prescribes strategies for creating art for virtual environments. Methods constituting a unique virtual environment practice that focuses on visual analogies are discussed. The artistic practice that is discussed as the basis for this research also concentrates on experiential moments and shifts in perception and cognition and references Douglas Hofstadter, Rudolf Arnheim and John Dewey.
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Virtual environments provide for experiences in which the imagery generated updates in real time. Following an analysis of existing artwork and critical writing relative to the field, the process of inquiry has required the creation of artworks that involve tracking systems, projection displays, sound work, and an understanding of the importance of the visitor. In practice, the research has shown that the visitor should be seen as an interlocutor, interacting from a first-person perspective with virtual environment events, where avatars or other instrumental intermediaries, such as guns, vehicles, or menu systems, do not to occlude the view. The aesthetic outcomes of this research are the result of combining visual analogies, real time interactive animation, and operatic performance in immersive space.
The environments designed in this research were informed initially by paintings created with imagery generated in a hypnopompic state or during the moments of transitioning from sleeping to waking. The drawings often emphasize emotional moments as caricatures and/or elements of the face as seen from a number of perspectives simultaneously, in the way of some cartoons, primitive artwork or Cubist imagery. In the imagery, the faces indicate situations, emotions and confrontations which can offer moments of humour and reflective exploration. At times, the faces usurp the space and stand in representation as both face and figure. The power of the placement of the caricatures in the paintings become apparent as the imagery stages the expressive moment. The placement of faces sets the scene, establishes relationships and promotes the honesty and emotions that develop over time as the paintings are scrutinized.
The development process of creating virtual environment imagery starts with hand drawn sketches of characters, develops further as paintings on “digital canvas”, are built as animated, three-dimensional models and finally incorporated into a virtual environment. The imagery is generated while drawing, typically with paper and pencil, in a stream of consciousness during the hypnopompic state. This method became an aesthetic strategy for producing a snappy straightforward sketch. The sketches are explored further as they are worked up as paintings. During the painting process, the figures become fleshed out and their placement on the page, in essence brings them to life. These characters inhabit a world that I explore even further by building them into three dimensional models and placing them in computer generated virtual environments. The methodology of developing and placing the faces/figures became an operational strategy for building virtual environments. In order to open up the range of art virtual environments, and develop operational strategies for visitors’ experience, the characters and their facial features are used as navigational strategies, signposts and methods of wayfinding in order to sustain a stream of consciousness type of navigation.
Faces and characters were designed to represent those intimate moments of self-reflection and confrontation that occur daily within ourselves and with others. They sought to reflect moments of wonderment, hurt, curiosity and humour that could subsequently be relinquished for more practical or purposeful endeavours. They were intended to create conditions in which visitors might reflect upon their emotional state,
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enabling their understanding and trust of their personal space, in which decisions are made and the nature of world is determined.
In order to extend the split-second, frozen moment of recognition that a painting affords, the caricatures and their scenes are given new dimensions as they become characters in a performative virtual reality. Emotables, distinct from avatars, are characters confronting visitors in the virtual environment to engage them in an interactive, stream of consciousness, non-linear dialogue.
Visitors are also situated with a role in a virtual world, where they were required to adapt to the language of the environment in order to progress through the dynamics of a drama. The research showed that imagery created in a context of whimsy and fantasy could bring ontological meaning and aesthetic experience into the interactive environment, such that emotables or facially expressive computer graphic characters could be seen as another brushstroke in painting a world of virtual reality
The Importance on Self-Expression Through Clothing and Fashion: A view on Digital Identity and Digital Fashion
As a vast theme with a variety of studies in different scientific areas, like philosophy and
sociology, Identity poses as a multi-disciplinary subject (Kawamura, 2005). This way,
this investigation had in consideration both these fields of study, connecting them. It
began by analysing the role that Fashion portraits in Identity and at what point do they
influence each other, as well as the importance of self-expression through clothing.
The investigation’s focus was the development and impact that the globalization
phenomena and the digital era have, how they influence and mould users and their
perception, and what potential Fashion has in constructing a personal Identity, in
envoirnments such as Virtual Worlds and the Metaverse. Moreover, Digital Fashion is
also introduced as to understand this relationship between Fashion and the virtual world
and what it might bring into the universe of Identity, and more specifically Digital
Identity.
This research used types of method designs to pursue its goals. A qualitative method, the
literature review, where studies and author’s work were revised, to explore the themes
and form hypothesis, and a quantitative one, a public survey where those hypotheses
were determined either true or untrue.
The conclusions show that technology is at its peak with increasing usage and
engagement, and although there isn’t clear information to deduct Digital Fashion will
become a major success within the Fashion industry, it is possible that it could mean a
lot to freedom of wear.Sendo um vasto tema com uma larga variedade em diferentes áreas de estudo, como a
filosofia e sociologia, a Identidade apresenta-se como um tema multidisciplinar
(Kawamura, 2005). Desta forma, esta investigação teve em consideração ambos estes
campos de estudo, conectando-os. Começando por analisar o papel que a Moda tem na
Identidade e até que ponto se influenciam mutuamente, bem como qual a importância
da auto-expressão através do vestuário.
O foco desta investigação foi o desenvolvimento e impacto que o fenómeno da
globalização e a era digital têm, como influenciam e moldam os seus utilizadores e a sua
perceção, e o potencial que a Moda pode vir a ter na construção de uma Identidade
pessoal, em espaços como Mundos Virtuais e o Metaverso. Assim, a Moda Digital é
também introduzida de forma a perceber esta relação entre Moda e o mundo virtual e o
que poderá vir a trazer ao universo da Identidade, mais especificamente à Identidade
digital.
Este estudo utilizou duas formas distintas de design de método para atingir os seus
objetivos. Um método qualitativo, a revisão de literatura, onde estudos e autores são
revisados, de modo a explorar temas e formar hipóteses, e mais tarde um método
quantitativo, um questionário público onde essas hipóteses serão determinadas
verdadeiras ou falsas.
As conclusões mostram que a tecnologia está no seu pico com utilização e engagement a
crescer, e embora não tenha havido informação necessária para deduzir que a Moda
Digital poderá ter um papel maior na indústria da Moda no futuro, é possível que possa
significar mais liberdade de vestir
Out of Bounds: A Visual Exploration of the Glitch
This practice-led research aims to present a body of artwork that responds to glitches found in contemporary action video games. By utilising the visual capabilities of a virtual reality headset, I have produced a series of artworks that showcase the sensory effects that a glitch has on a player’s game world. The artwork that I have developed translates the materiality of traditional drawing into a digital space to visualise the qualities of glitches
The Human Use of the Human Face: The Photographic Self-Portrait in the Age of the Selfie
Karen Ann Donnachie's research explores the phenomenon of the selfie as a vehicle for the mass projection of self and the effect it has on contemporary notions of identity, society and photography. During her practice-led research, Donnachie created electronic, algorithmic and Internet artworks including self-made and self-programmed ‘selfie’ cameras. This thesis maps the complex genre of the selfie between performance, narcissism, social tic, intrinsic desire for self-projection and a quest for authenticity and human connection
Inhabiting the virtual city : the design of social environments for electronic communities
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1997.Includes bibliographical references (p. [101]-111).Judith Stefania Donath.Ph.D
Me, Myself, and Interface: The Role of Affordances in Digital Visual Self-Representational Practices
A growing number of digital games and virtual worlds allow users to create a virtual self, commonly referred to as an ‘avatar.’ Essentially, the avatar is a digital entity which is controlled by the user to attain agency within the virtual world. Avatars are visually customized by users via interfaces, referred to within the body of this work as Character Creation Interfaces (CCIs).
CCIs are often framed as tools that are utilized by players to create a desired avatar. In other words, the popular approach is one that is anthropocentric in nature and neglects to take into account the ways in which interface affordances - the action possibilities afforded by an artifact - potentially constrain our interactions with them. In my dissertation, I argue that CCIs co-construct avatars with players. I mobilize Actor-Network Theory in order to re-position these interfaces as actors, rather than benign tools in digital-visual self-representational practices.
In order to investigate the interface-as-actor I present an analytical framework: the Avatar Affordances Framework, and apply this framework to 20 CCIs in order to systematically study their affordances. In the second phase of this investigation, I present data on two user studies: the first, a within-subjects study investigating self-representational practices in the Massively-Multiplayer-Onlne-Game (MMOG) Rift (n = 39), the other, a between-subjects study of self-representational practices on the Nintendo WiiU console's MiiCreator (n = 24). Results of these two studies are presented alongside analytical data derived from both interfaces via the Avatar Affordances Framework in order to illustrate how interface affordances are negotiated by players. A final study, an autoethnographic chapter, situates myself within the dissertation as both a researcher and user of the technology, addressing how my own experiences with these games, and my own self-representational practices, have come to shape this research.
Data from the aforementioned studies was then utilized in order to generate a list of best practices for game developers. To date, such documentation is absent from game design literature. It is my hope that the practices outlined herein help developers make design choices that invite opportunities for identity play without simultaneously creating socially exclusive spaces
“I exploit my children for millions and millions of dollars on my mommyblog” How Heather B. Armstrong’s personal blog became a successful business
This study interrogates strategies to convert a personal blog into a brand and a business by analysing the narrative and aesthetic techniques involved in generating audience engagement, trust and affection, and the branding and monetisation approaches involved in developing a blog into a revenue-generating enterprise. The strategies presented in this study have been extrapolated from an in-depth analysis of the extremely successful personal blog: www.dooce.com, the website of Heather B. Armstrong. The research questions this study aims to address are grounded in distinct fields of enquiry, examining the narrative and aesthetic features underpinning the conversion of a personal blog into a brand; the representation of the everyday and its role in the construction of the blogger avatar as a human brand; the interplay between writing motivations and brand core values; and the influence that stereotypes about stay-at-home mothers, pregnancy and motherhood exert on the brand creation process of a female author. The interdisciplinary nature of this study is mirrored in its multi-faceted analytical approach which draws on theories pertaining to diverse fields of enquiry such as narratology, aesthetics, digital media, marketing communications and branding. The study aims to present strategies to construct a personal brand in the context of co-created online forums, with an emphasis on attaining authenticity, followership and audience loyalty through careful framing and strategic use of second person narration, and aesthetic categories such as zany, cute, interesting and abject. The study transposes a narrative approach to branding and online marketing studies with the aim of proposing a model of personal branding whereby blogger identity is simultaneously the product of authorial control and consumer-driven cultural work, with the blogger negotiating her personal brand in relation to personal values, everyday life circumstances, commercial pressures and audience feedback. The key propositions of this study are, firstly, that the use of second person narration as interpellation into active readerhood and of the cute, interesting, zany and abject as aesthetic categories that create novel reading experiences can generate high audience engagement, the abject being also directly related to fostering trust and authenticity. Secondly, bloggers can become human brands by strategically exhibiting and then reinforcing personality traits related to sophistication, competence, sincerity, excitement, ruggedness and non-conformism. Thirdly, consistency in writing style and self-disclosure can foster audience attachment and trust in the integrity and authenticity of the human brand. Fourthly, consumer attachment can be strategically cultivated through audience autonomy, competence and relatedness to the human brand and the development of an online brand community
Our Space: Being a Responsible Citizen of the Digital World
Our Space is a set of curricular materials designed to encourage high school students to reflect on the ethical dimensions of their participation in new media environments. Through role-playing activities and reflective exercises, students are asked to consider the ethical responsibilities of other people, and whether and how they behave ethically themselves online. These issues are raised in relation to five core themes that are highly relevant online: identity, privacy, authorship and ownership, credibility, and participation.Our Space was co-developed by The Good Play Project and Project New Media Literacies (established at MIT and now housed at University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism). The Our Space collaboration grew out of a shared interest in fostering ethical thinking and conduct among young people when exercising new media skills
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