Multisensory integration in complex rhythmic motor tasks

This publication-based thesis aimed to shed further light on the contributions of visual and auditory information to the execution of complex rhythmic motor tasks. To this end, a series of three empirical studies was designed. The first two studies were conducted in the experimental setting of long jumping – a task that does not only require high precision but also high velocity to leap as far as possible. Within the first study, we aimed to examine visual regulation during the long jump run-up using portable eye-tracking technology. Previous research on the topic of visual regulation in long jumping has identified a universal instance in participants’ gait behavior which introduces a rapid decrease in step variability. Since then, this parameter was considered synonymous with the (gait-based) onset of visual regulation. However, an investigation of actual visual behavior by means of direct measures was still pending to date. Hence, the first study was designed to identify a potential equivalent to the gait-based parameter within participants’ gaze behavior. Results revealed that the moment of the longest gaze on the take-off board coincided with the occurrence of the well-established gait parameter. Given that i) the gait-based visual regulation parameter has been associated with a reduction in footfall variability and ii) current research advocates the idea that fixations of longer duration facilitate motor actions, one might speculate that the longest gaze on the take-off board might as well serve the reduction of movement variability. While the parameter of visual regulation could be characterized in more detail within the first empirical investigation, the impact of other modalities has been neglected so far. However, current research is promoting the idea that, apart from visual information, auditory information might as well be crucial for the execution of motor tasks. ..

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Interdisciplinary Film & Digital Media 2015 APR Self-Study & Documents

UNM Interdisciplinary Film & Digital Media APR self-study report, review team report, response to review report, and initial action plan for Spring 2015, fulfilling requirements of the Higher Learning Commission. IFDM was absorbed by the Cinematic Arts Department following this review

Ears in motion: designing a toolkit for the sounds of sport

Athletes hear many different sounds while playing sport: the sounds of teammates, crowds, equipment, their own body, and their mind at work. Some hear nothing at all - a complete sonic blackout. This PhD outlines the design of a new “toolkit” for describing, recording, and representing this richly varied terrain. This toolkit has two components. The first is a notation system for describing the auditory experiences of athletes. The second is a wearable microphone system for capturing these sounds in new ways. The toolkit been used by the author and other athletes to create new works of sound design that represent the body in motion. In the design of this toolkit, I draw on a variety of disciplines that each touch on a particular aspect of sound in sport, including psychoacoustics, sports studies, anthropology, and media studies. While the auditory experience of athletes exists at the margins these disciplines, this PhD is an effort to draw these disparate fields together for a more comprehensive approach. The notation system, the first element in the toolkit, draws on these varied disciplines and defines new ways to identify specific sounds and their relationship to athletic performance. The majority of the design work in this PhD is devoted to creating new microphone systems for capturing the sounds of sport. While existing technologies tend to capture these sounds from the side-lines, these new microphones are worn on the athlete’s body or mounted to the athlete’s equipment. To enable recordings from the athlete’s body itself, these new microphones have been designed from the “ground up” – from circuit design to PCB fabrication to software to industrial design to 3D fabrication. These microphones isolate specific sounds in the athlete’s environment to be re-assembled in the recording studio. This synthetic process of isolating and re-assembling sound allows listeners to examine these individual sounds in new levels of detail. For the sound designer, this presents new creative possibilities. For the athlete, this process can teach them to hear their sport in new ways. The toolkit is both diagnostic and creative. The research findings sit across three closely integrated advances: the toolkit comprising new notation and microphone design, insights into the auditory experience of athletes, and a framework for a transdisciplinary field in sport, media, and sound studies

Staying active despite pain: Investigating feedback mechanisms to support physical activity in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain

Chronic (persistent) pain (CP) affects 1 in 10 adults; clinical resources are insufficient, and anxiety about activity restricts lives. Physical activity is important for improving function and quality of life in people with chronic pain, but psychological factors such as fear of increased pain and damage due to activity, lack of confidence or support, make it difficult to build and maintain physical activity towards long-term goals. There is insufficient research to guide the design of interactive technology to support people with CP in self-managing physical activity. This thesis aims to bridge this gap through five contributions: first, a detailed analysis from a plethora of qualitative studies with people with CP and physiotherapists was done to identify factors to be incorporated into technology to promote physical activity despite pain. Second, we rethink the role of technology in improving uptake of physical activity in people with CP by proposing a novel sonification framework (Go-with-the-flow) that addresses psychological and physical needs raised by our studies; through an iterative approach, we designed a wearable device to implement and evaluate the framework. In control studies conducted to evaluate the sonification strategies, people with CP reported increased performance, motivation, awareness of movement, and relaxation with sound feedback. A focus group, and a survey of CP patients conducted at the end of a hospital pain management session provided an in-depth understanding of how different aspects of the framework and device facilitate self-directed rehabilitation. Third, we understand the role of sensing technology and real-time feedback in supporting functional activity, using the Go-with-the-flow framework and wearable device; we conducted evaluations including contextual interviews, diary studies and a 7-14 days study of self-directed home-based use of the device by people with CP. Fourth, building on the understanding from all our studies and literature from other conditions where physical rehabilitation is critical, we propose a framework for designing technology for physical rehabilitation (RaFT). Fifth, we reflect on our studies with people with CP and physiotherapists and provide practical insights for HCI research in sensitive settings

Accessibility of Health Data Representations for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for Design

Health data of consumer off-the-shelf wearable devices is often conveyed to users through visual data representations and analyses. However, this is not always accessible to people with disabilities or older people due to low vision, cognitive impairments or literacy issues. Due to trade-offs between aesthetics predominance or information overload, real-time user feedback may not be conveyed easily from sensor devices through visual cues like graphs and texts. These difficulties may hinder critical data understanding. Additional auditory and tactile feedback can also provide immediate and accessible cues from these wearable devices, but it is necessary to understand existing data representation limitations initially. To avoid higher cognitive and visual overload, auditory and haptic cues can be designed to complement, replace or reinforce visual cues. In this paper, we outline the challenges in existing data representation and the necessary evidence to enhance the accessibility of health information from personal sensing devices used to monitor health parameters such as blood pressure, sleep, activity, heart rate and more. By creating innovative and inclusive user feedback, users will likely want to engage and interact with new devices and their own data

Respawn

In Respawn Colin Milburn examines the connections between video games, hacking, and science fiction that galvanize technological activism and technological communities. Discussing a wide range of games, from Portal and Final Fantasy VII to Super Mario Sunshine and Shadow of the Colossus, Milburn illustrates how they impact the lives of gamers and non-gamers alike. They also serve as resources for critique, resistance, and insurgency, offering a space for players and hacktivist groups such as Anonymous to challenge obstinate systems and experiment with alternative futures. Providing an essential walkthrough guide to our digital culture and its high-tech controversies, Milburn shows how games and playable media spawn new modes of engagement in a computerized world

April 29, 1977

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Playful haptic environment for engaging visually impaired learners with geometric shapes

This thesis asserts that modern developments in technology have not been used as extensively as they could to aid blind people in their learning objectives. The same could also be said of many aspects of other areas of their lives. In particular in many countries blind students are discouraged from learning mathematics because of the intrinsically visual nature of many of the topics and particularly geometry. For many young people mathematics is also not a subject that is easily or willingly tackled. The research presented here has thus sort to answer whether a playful haptic environment could be developed which would be attractive to blind users to learn and interact with geometric concepts. In the study a software tool using a haptic interface was developed with certain playful characteristics. The environment developed sought to give the blind users practice in interacting with three dimensional geometric shapes and the investigation of the size of these shapes and their cross-section. The playful elements were enhanced by adding elements of competition such as scores and time limits which promote competition between the users. The tests have shown that blind users can easily use the system to learn about three dimensional shapes and that practice increases their confidence in recognising shape and size of these objects