Towards a framework for investigating tangible environments for learning

External representations have been shown to play a key role in mediating cognition. Tangible environments offer the opportunity for novel representational formats and combinations, potentially increasing representational power for supporting learning. However, we currently know little about the specific learning benefits of tangible environments, and have no established framework within which to analyse the ways that external representations work in tangible environments to support learning. Taking external representation as the central focus, this paper proposes a framework for investigating the effect of tangible technologies on interaction and cognition. Key artefact-action-representation relationships are identified, and classified to form a structure for investigating the differential cognitive effects of these features. An example scenario from our current research is presented to illustrate how the framework can be used as a method for investigating the effectiveness of differential designs for supporting science learning

Human Machine Interaction

In this book, the reader will find a set of papers divided into two sections. The first section presents different proposals focused on the human-machine interaction development process. The second section is devoted to different aspects of interaction, with a special emphasis on the physical interaction

A Sensory Journey into the Middle Ground: Interweaving Multiple Identities through Voice

This PhD documents and analyses my vocal practice of ‘interweaving’ (Fischer-Lichte, 2014) different languages and practices to create new pieces of music. The backbone of the submission is constituted by five newly-created performances, each telling stories of real or fantastical characters, and each developed in collaboration with artists and musicians from diverse backgrounds. This commentary explains how these performances are part of a deep investigation into vocal plurality within the dynamic potency of the ‘Middle Ground’ (Trinh T. Minh-ha, 2011), a metaphorical space without polarity and divisions, where movement is possible in multiple directions. My discussion engages with issues of personal identity as they resonate within hegemonic structures of power on national, international and ultimately global levels. Three interconnected concepts are inherent in the processes of interweaving, as developed in my practice: Wandering (Travelling), Twilight (Immersing yourself in the Middle Ground) and Sensing (Reawakening the Senses). In combination, these shape my creative methodology for practice, as well as offering a framework to illuminate how I am thinking through my work. As experiences, and as lenses through which to examine what I have created, they are threaded through with an ethos of play and reflection. Where playfulness generates a mindset of fluidity, reflection articulates and grounds the transformative process. Through these processes my artistic voice has gained a new agency, which cannot but leave the spaces in which I work unaltered. Through my work I hope to transform that of others, and ultimately reach beyond our divisions to a place of new possibilities, even transcendence. The five performances are available to view at www.meritariane.com/research

Collaborative resonant writing and musical improvisation to explore the concept of resonance

Resonance is often used to characterize relationships, but it is acomplex concept that explains quite different physical,physiological and psychological processes. With the aim of gainingdeeper insight into the concept of resonance, a group of ten musictherapy researchers, all colleagues, embarked on a joint journey ofexploration. This included an aim of letting the internal learningprocess be disseminated in a way that could give others insight, notonly from the findings, but also from the process. Findings includea dual understanding of resonance as (1) a visible and orderedphenomenon consisting of physical vibrations and acousticsounding that offers a clear logic, and (2) a metaphoricalconceptualization used to describe and understand complexpsychological processes of human relationships. The process ofcollaborative writing led to the discovery or development of a ninestepprocedure including different collaborative resonant writingprocedures and musical improvisation, as well as of a series ofmetaphors to explain therapeutic interaction, resonant learning andways of resonant exploration

Metaphor and inquiry

In this paper, I address the relationship between metaphor construction and the educational practice of inquiry. I argue that metaphor construction is a subspecies of inquiry. When we create metaphor, we engage in inquiry, which furthers inquiry. I draw upon contemporary metaphor theory and academic literature to explore contemporary uses of metaphor in education and the process of metaphoric comprehension. I then detail the process of metaphor production. This process is then explored in light of its relationship to the inquiry process as described in three seminal texts regarding education and inquiry. I discuss further implications of the relationship between metaphor and inquiry and call for further research.Curriculum and Instructio

Sensing Sounding: Close Listening To Experimental Asian American Poetry

This dissertation examines a selection of Asian American experimental poetries from the 1960’s to the present day through the sensory paradigms of avant-garde aesthetic discourse. By approaching both the poem and racial formation in sonic terms, this dissertation project argues that rethinking the sensory as well as the political ramifications of sounding can help us recuperate Asian American poets’ often overlooked experimentation with poetic form. Specifically, I read the works of Marilyn Chin, Theresa Cha, John Yau, Cathy Park Hong, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, and Tan Lin. By tracing the historical conditions of Orientalist objectification and re-interrogating postmodern theories of sight, sound, and the body, I seek to show how these poets’ invocation of sonic paradigms reworks those theories and to broaden our critical vocabulary for writing about sound in poetry

Designing Hybrid Interactions through an Understanding of the Affordances of Physical and Digital Technologies

Two recent technological advances have extended the diversity of domains and social contexts of Human-Computer Interaction: the embedding of computing capabilities into physical hand-held objects, and the emergence of large interactive surfaces, such as tabletops and wall boards. Both interactive surfaces and small computational devices usually allow for direct and space-multiplex input, i.e., for the spatial coincidence of physical action and digital output, in multiple points simultaneously. Such a powerful combination opens novel opportunities for the design of what are considered as hybrid interactions in this work. This thesis explores the affordances of physical interaction as resources for interface design of such hybrid interactions. The hybrid systems that are elaborated in this work are envisioned to support specific social and physical contexts, such as collaborative cooking in a domestic kitchen, or collaborative creativity in a design process. In particular, different aspects of physicality characteristic of those specific domains are explored, with the aim of promoting skill transfer across domains. irst, different approaches to the design of space-multiplex, function-specific interfaces are considered and investigated. Such design approaches build on related work on Graspable User Interfaces and extend the design space to direct touch interfaces such as touch-sensitive surfaces, in different sizes and orientations (i.e., tablets, interactive tabletops, and walls). These approaches are instantiated in the design of several experience prototypes: These are evaluated in different settings to assess the contextual implications of integrating aspects of physicality in the design of the interface. Such implications are observed both at the pragmatic level of interaction (i.e., patterns of users' behaviors on first contact with the interface), as well as on user' subjective response. The results indicate that the context of interaction affects the perception of the affordances of the system, and that some qualities of physicality such as the 3D space of manipulation and relative haptic feedback can affect the feeling of engagement and control. Building on these findings, two controlled studies are conducted to observe more systematically the implications of integrating some of the qualities of physical interaction into the design of hybrid ones. The results indicate that, despite the fact that several aspects of physical interaction are mimicked in the interface, the interaction with digital media is quite different and seems to reveal existing mental models and expectations resulting from previous experience with the WIMP paradigm on the desktop PC

The Vital Importance of the Imagination in the Contemporary Preaching Event

Abstract This thesis suggests that the imagination is vital in the contemporary preaching event. It enables the preacher to speak into some important themes identifiable in postmodern thought. Noting the broad range of understandings of the term ‘imagination’ in an overview of approaches in Western history, and in a wide selection of homiletic texts, a framework for mapping the imagination is offered as an heuristic device for the homiletics classroom. A theology of imagination is presented to demonstrate the importance of imagination in the life of faith and to allay fears that it may be seen to connect preaching with fiction. Allied to this is an analysis of the sacramental nature of preaching and the role of imagination in enabling such sacramental ‘seeing-as’. Connected to enabling new seeing, preaching in the lyrical voice is discussed along with the importance of preachers shaping sermons for the ear. As imagination also has a vital role in how the preacher sees the preaching task itself, exploration of various theological entailments flowing from seeing the role of preacher through the lenses of particular governing metaphors is presented. The connections between imagination, preaching, and personality are explored, along with a critique of the understanding of imagination operating in the Myers-Briggs literature and exploration of the use of imagination in the SIFT method of preaching. A number of key issues for the practice and teaching of preaching are proposed

Sounding the Congregational Voice

Congregational singing is a participatory vocal practice undertaken by Christians across a wide range of denominations, yet the specific qualities and active capacities of the congregational voice have yet to be investigated. Drawing on recent musicological and philosophical perspectives on voice, I theorize the congregational voice as an active practice, illuminating its abilities to do something in worship through sound. Taking Brian Kane’s model of the voice as a circulation of content (logos), sound (echos), and source (topos), I explore how these categories are redefined through an active-based theorization of congregational singing. I argue that topos must be expanded to include the multiplicity of congregant voices and bodies, even when the sound of each voice is obscured or even intentionally hidden: as a result, congregational singing fundamentally transforms the commonly perceived correlation between echos and topos. In addition, I broaden the definition of logos to include musical content, shedding new light on discussions of musical genre in Christian worship by grounding them in the voice. As a result, I assert that music’s place within the voice is at the boundaries of sound and content, without being reducible to either. By examining the reformulations of logos, echos and topos that result through congregational singing practice, I present a new methodological framework for analyzing communal voicing, both within the congregation and beyond