456 research outputs found
Sex Dolls at Sea
Investigating and reimagining the origin story of the sex doll through the tale of the sailor's dames de voyage.
The sex doll and its high-tech counterpart the sex robot have gone mainstream, as both the object of consumer desire and the subject of academic study. But sex dolls, and sexual technology in general, are nothing new. Sex dolls have been around for centuries. In Sex Dolls at Sea, Bo Ruberg explores the origin story of the sex doll, investigating its cultural implications and considering who has been marginalized and who has been privileged in the narrative.
Ruberg examines the generally accepted story that the first sex dolls were dames de voyage, rudimentary figures made of cloth and leather scraps by European sailors on long, lonely ocean voyages in centuries past. In search of supporting evidence for the lonesome sailor sex doll theory, Ruberg uncovers the real history of the sex doll. The earliest commercial sex dolls were not the dames de voyage but the femmes en caoutchouc: âwomenâ made of inflatable vulcanized rubber, beginning in the late nineteenth century.
Interrogating the sailor sex doll origin story, Ruberg finds beneath the surface a web of issues relating to gender, sexuality, race, and colonialism. What has been lost in the history of the sex doll and other sex tech, Ruberg tells us, are the stories of the sex workers, women, queer people, and people of color whose lives have been bound up with these technologies
Ludics for a Ludic Society. The Art and Politics of Play
This dissertation provides an analysis of, and critical commentary on, the practice of playfulness as persistent phenomenon in the arts, technology and theory. Its aim is to introduce political reflections on agency through the study of playful technological artefacts, which were largely ignored in the recent discussions on game and play. Following the critical analysis of historic discourses and actual studies of play under differing auspices, and in order to understand play as inherently political agency, this thesisâ research question addresses the immersive effects of playful agency in symbolic exchange systems and in the material consciousness of the player.
This thesis conducts an analysis of material cultures, in order to categorise play as technique of an inherent critique of technological culture. It traces the development of contemporary technological objects and their materiality in relation to the application of the concept of affordance in design theory. The author consequently proposes a new category of âplay affordancesâ in order to describe these new requirements of play found in consumer technologies. The structure of the analysis in the distinct chapters is informed by a stringent historic, theoretical and arts analysis and an alternating arts practice. The convergence of these elements leads to insights on further uses, options and perspectives of the research problems discussed, in particular in relation to the requirements of playful interaction in contemporary technologies, which increasingly radicalises the importance of play.
The thesisâ hypothesis states that playful practices in arts and technologies provide models for political agency, like the strategic use of Con-Dividualities (Jahrmann 2000). This term describes the concept of shared identities in society or social media consumer technologies, as discussed in historic case studies and the authorâs own arts practice, related to the modification of technologies as methodology of arts research. In this way the arts practice and theory of playfulness informs the emergence of a new methodology of research, intervention and participation in society through the arts of play, which is coined as Ludics, as an original outcome of this thesis
Display computers
A Display Computer (DC) is an everyday object: Display Computer = Display +
Computer. The ĂâDisplayĂâ part is the standard viewing surface found on everyday
objects that conveys information or art. The ĂâComputerĂâ is found on the same everyday
object; but by its ubiquitous nature, it will be relatively unnoticeable by the DC user, as
it is manufactured Ăâin the marginsĂâ. A DC may be mobile, moving with us as part of the
everyday object we are using. DCs will be ubiquitous: Ăâeffectively invisibleĂâ, available
at a glance, and seamlessly integrated into the environment. A DC should be an example
of WeiserĂâs calm technology: encalming to the user, providing peripheral awareness
without information overload. A DC should provide unremarkable computing in support
of our daily routines in life. The nbaCub (nightly bedtime ambient Cues utility buddy)
prototype illustrates a sample application of how DCs can be useful in the everyday
environment of the home of the future. Embedding a computer into a toy, such that the
display is the only visible portion, can present many opportunities for seamless and nontraditional
uses of computing technology for our youngest user community. A field
study was conducted in the home environment of a five-year old child over ten
consecutive weeks as an informal, proof of concept of what Display Computers for
children can look like and be used for in the near future. The personalized nbaCub
provided lightweight, ambient information during the necessary daily routines of
preparing for bed (evening routine) and preparing to go to school (morning routine). To
further understand the childĂâs progress towards learning abstract concepts of time
passage and routines, a novel Ăâtest by designĂâ activity was included. Here, the role of
the subject changed to primary designer/director. Final post-testing showed the subject knew both morning and bedtime routines very well and correctly answered seven of
eight questions based on abstract images of time passage. Thus, the subject was in the
process of learning the more abstract concept of time passage, but was not totally
comfortable with the idea at the end of the study
The age of interactivity: An historical analysis of public discourses on interactivity in Ireland 1995 - 2009.
Interactivity is integral to media and communications and yet is a contested concept in the literature. There is little agreement on its meaning not least because of its multidisciplinary nature. Previous research, concerned with finding a single definition of interactivity, has focused narrowly on specific contexts of communication using limited methodologies. This thesis argues that several meanings of interactivity are in circulation and that the search for one bounded definition constrains understanding of its role and fails to recognise its analytical potential. The study makes an original contribution to research by presenting findings from an analysis of public discourses on interactivity, a valuable source of material neglected in research to date. It shows that at least nine thematic representations of interactivity are in circulation representing different aspects of its role in communicative events. These are identified as the Empowering, Commercial, Pedagogical, Aesthetic, Ludological, Futuropia, Hula-hoop, Sceptical and Information Society themes.
The results are based on a longitudinal content and discourse analysis of fifteen years of newspaper coverage in Ireland, an original methodological addition to research, reflecting both a unique national perspective on the concept and the flow of influential international discourses within a small state. The content analysis draws a detailed quantitative picture of how and where interactivity arises in news coverage while the discourse analysis examines qualitative aspects of the dominant, overlapping and conflicting discourses around interactivity and the discourse communities operating behind the talk.
The analysis illustrates how thematic representations of interactivity coexist both in discourse and in individual communicative events, suggesting the potential for layered interactivities in communication. The âage of interactivityâ describes a wide range of discourses from hype and myths around interactivity to its potentially transformative role in communication. Overall this thesis highlights the value of interactivity as a communication concept and analytical tool with rich research potential
Interdisciplining Digital Humanities: Boundary Work in an Emerging Field
The first book to test the claim that the emerging field of Digital Humanities is interdisciplinary and also examines the boundary work of establishing and sustaining a new field of stud
EXPERIENCING INTERACTION DESIGN: A PRAGMATIC THEORY
This thesis contributes a theory for the field of interaction design based on philosophical
pragmatism. The theory frames interaction design as a pragmatic experience shaped by the
inquiries of designers. The contributions of the theory are that it positions the designer at the
centre of a theory, describes interaction design practice to be more than a collection of methods
and strategies, and provides a sound basis for generating and verifying new knowledge through
design. The thesis describes and analyzes two interaction design research projects through self-reflexive
accounts that illustrate the proposed theory. The projects are a tangible museum guide
and a responsive environment for physical play.
The thesis examines the value of understanding interaction design through pragmatism and how
interaction design when viewed as experience opens the field up to a new theoretical framework.
The two interaction design research projects arc described as design inquiries constituted by a
design inquirer, designer intentions, and design rationales. Further descriptions of the projects
show interaction design to be comprised of design actions based on judgment and interpretation.
Interaction design can be assessed by the degree to which there is integrity between the design
inquiry and design actions, as well as by the transferability and discursiveness of the design
inquiry findings that are relevant to the wider field of interaction design and related disciplines
like human-computer interaction. The implications of the theory lead to new ways of mobilizing
interaction design research and interaction design education. The pragmatic theory shows
capacity for clear descriptions and analysis of interaction design inquiries in ways that extract
and communicate new knowledge from interaction design practice and research. The theory
shows interaction design to be a distinct and independent field of inquiry that generates
knowledge through design
Playful Materialities
Game culture and material culture have always been closely linked. Analog forms of rule-based play (ludus) would hardly be conceivable without dice, cards, and game boards. In the act of free play (paidia), children as well as adults transform simple objects into multifaceted toys in an almost magical way. Even digital play is suffused with material culture: Games are not only mediated by technical interfaces, which we access via hardware and tangible peripherals. They are also subject to material hybridization, paratextual framing, and processes of de-, and re-materialization
Playful Materialities: The Stuff That Games Are Made Of
Game culture and material culture have always been closely linked. Analog forms of rule-based play (ludus) would hardly be conceivable without dice, cards, and game boards. In the act of free play (paidia), children as well as adults transform simple objects into multifaceted toys in an almost magical way. Even digital play is suffused with material culture: Games are not only mediated by technical interfaces, which we access via hardware and tangible peripherals. They are also subject to material hybridization, paratextual framing, and processes of de-, and re-materialization
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Obstacles to wearable computing
In the year 2021, wearable technology could look beautiful and feel magical, but instead is exemplified by a plain wristband that looks suspiciously like a prison monitor.
How can we make wearable technology that respects our privacy, enhances our daily lives, integrates with our other connected devices without leashing us to a smartphone, and visually expresses who we are?
This study uses a novel method of participatory design fiction (PDFi) to understand potential users of everyday wearable technology through storytelling. I recruited participants from the general public and gave them a five-point prompt to create a design fiction (DF), which inspired the user-centred design of an everyday connected wearable device. The participants each received a technology probe to wear in the wild for a year. They then updated their DFs as a way to reflect on the implications of the technology. For the purposes of privacy, augmenting device functionality through interoperability, and integration into an Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, I used the Hub-of-All-Things personal data store to provide the software infrastructure.
By listening to their stories, we can elicit design concepts directly from the users, to help us create wearable IoT devices that put the wearer at the centre of the design process, and are satisfying both functionally and emotionally.The Alan Turing Institute Doctoral Scheme, University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology, The Kenneth Hayter Memorial Fun
Playful Materialities
Game culture and material culture have always been closely linked. Analog forms of rule-based play (ludus) would hardly be conceivable without dice, cards, and game boards. In the act of free play (paidia), children as well as adults transform simple objects into multifaceted toys in an almost magical way. Even digital play is suffused with material culture: Games are not only mediated by technical interfaces, which we access via hardware and tangible peripherals. They are also subject to material hybridization, paratextual framing, and processes of de-, and re-materialization
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