653 research outputs found
A predictive processing theory of sensorimotor contingencies: explaining the puzzle of perceptual presence and its absence in synesthesia
Normal perception involves experiencing objects within perceptual scenes as real, as existing in the world. This property of âperceptual presenceâ has motivated âsensorimotor theoriesâ which understand perception to involve the mastery of sensorimotor contingencies. However, the mechanistic basis of sensorimotor contingencies and their mastery has remained unclear. Sensorimotor theory also struggles to explain instances of perception, such as synesthesia, that appear to lack perceptual presence and for which relevant sensorimotor contingencies are difficult to identify. On alternative âpredictive processingâ theories, perceptual content emerges from probabilistic inference on the external causes of sensory signals, however, this view has addressed neither the problem of perceptual presence nor synesthesia. Here, I describe a theory of predictive perception of sensorimotor contingencies which (1) accounts for perceptual presence in normal perception, as well as its absence in synesthesia, and (2) operationalizes the notion of sensorimotor contingencies and their mastery. The core idea is that generative models underlying perception incorporate explicitly counterfactual elements related to how sensory inputs would change on the basis of a broad repertoire of possible actions, even if those actions are not performed. These âcounterfactually-richâ generative models encode sensorimotor contingencies related to repertoires of sensorimotor dependencies, with counterfactual richness determining the degree of perceptual presence associated with a stimulus. While the generative models underlying normal perception are typically counterfactually rich (reflecting a large repertoire of possible sensorimotor dependencies), those underlying synesthetic concurrents are hypothesized to be counterfactually poor. In addition to accounting for the phenomenology of synesthesia, the theory naturally accommodates phenomenological differences between a range of experiential states including dreaming, hallucination, and the like. It may also lead to a new view of the (in)determinacy of normal perception
Fluid Dynamics: Representations of Water in Music
Water has remained a subject of all kinds of musical works since at least the middle ages. These musical works lack the concrete representational capacity of paintings, photographs, and films, relying instead on more abstract metaphorical constructs to convey water imagery. Current scholarship on water music typically centers on Romantic and Impressionist works and does not examine the process of signification by which musical signs portray water. The principal goal of this study is to determine how musical devices convey specific aspects of bodies of water and how such devices interact and contribute to musical depictions of streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. I find that evocations of motion in the form of waves and flow are especially important to portrayals of water; furthermore, music depicting motion can combine with devices evoking waterâs other characteristics to create detailed, multifarious depictions. I give special attention to John Luther Adamsâs water compositions, which are notable for their thorough depictions of bodies of water and represent a relatively new phenomenon: the focused musical depiction
KEER2022
AvanttĂtol: KEER2022. DiversitiesDescripciĂł del recurs: 25 juliol 202
Reading Mutant Narratives : The Bodily Experientiality of Contemporary Ecological Science Fiction
Reading Mutant Narratives explores how narratives of environmental and personal transformation in contemporary ecological science fiction can develop more-than-human modes of embodied experience. More specifically, it attends to the conflicted yet potentially transformative experientiality of "mutant narratives". Mutant narratives are viewed as uneasy hybrids of human-centered and posthumanist science fiction that contain potential for ecological understanding. Drawing on narrative studies and empirical reading studies, the dissertation begins from the premise that in suitable conditions, reading fiction may give rise to experiential change. The study traces and describes experiential changes that take place while reading works of science fiction. The bodily, subjective and historical conditions of reading are considered alongside the generic contexts and narrative features of the fictional works studied.
As exemplary cases of mutant narratives, the study foregrounds the work of three American science fiction authors known for their critiques of anthropocentrism and for their articulations of more-than-human ecologies: Greg Bear, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Jeff VanderMeer. While much of contemporary fiction naturalizes embodied experience and hides their own narrative strategies, mutant narratives have the potential to defamiliarize readersâ notions of bodies and environments while also estranging their embodied experience of reading fiction. As a theoretical contribution to science fiction studies, the study considers such a readerly dynamic in terms of "embodied estrangement".
Building on theoretical and practical work done in both embodied cognitive and posthumanist approaches to literature, the study shows how engagements with fictional narratives can, for their part, shape readersâ habitual patterns of feeling and perception. These approaches are synthesized into a method of close reading, "performative enactivism", that helps to articulate bodily, environmental, and more-than-human aspects of readerly engagement. Attending to such experiential aspects integrates ecological science fiction more deeply into the contemporary experiential situation of living with radical environmental transformation.Reading Mutant Narratives keskittyy ekologista kriisiĂ€ kĂ€sitteleviin "mutanttikertomuksiin" ja niille tyypilliseen kokemuksellisuuteen. Mutanttikertomukset ovat tieteisfiktiivisiĂ€ kertomuksia, joissa ihmiskeskeiset ja posthumanistiset piirteet yhdistyvĂ€t ja antavat lukijalle mahdollisuuksia ekologiseen ymmĂ€rrykseen. EsimerkkeinĂ€ mutanttikertomuksista tutkimus nostaa esiin kolmen yhdysvaltalaisen tieteiskirjailijan, Greg Bearin, Paolo Bacigalupin ja Jeff VanderMeerin, teoksia. NĂ€mĂ€ teokset asettavat ihmisen osaksi ekologisia, evolutiivisia ja teknologisia vuorovaikutussuhteita, joissa myös ihmisruumiit ja ruumiillinen kokemus muuttavat muotoaan. VĂ€itöskirja tutkii siis, kuinka tieteisfiktiiviset kertomukset ympĂ€ristöllisestĂ€ ja kokemuksellisesta muutoksesta voivat kehittÀÀ ruumiillista kokemusta.
Kertomuksentutkimukseen ja empiiriseen lukijatutkimukseen tukeutuen tutkimus lÀhtee oletuksesta, ettÀ sopivissa olosuhteissa kirjallisuuden lukeminen voi edesauttaa kokemuksellisia muutoksia. Tutkimus tarkastelee tieteisfiktion lukemista eletyn ruumiillisen kokemuksen tasolla. Lukukokemuksen analyysissa otetaan huomioon sekÀ lukijan ruumiillinen, subjektiivinen ja historiallinen tilanne ettÀ luettujen teosten kytkeytyminen romaanikerronnan ja tieteisfiktion lajityypin perinteisiin. Suuri osa nykykirjallisuudesta esittÀÀ ruumiillisen kokemuksen luonnollisena ja kÀtkee oman kerronnallisen vaikutusvaltansa, mutta mutanttikertomusten kerronnalliset keinot saattavat outouttaa lukijoiden ruumiillista kokemusta suhteessa sekÀ elettyyn ympÀristöön ettÀ kirjallisuuteen itseensÀ. Tieteisfiktion tutkimuksen kÀsitteistöÀ uudistaen vÀitöskirja kutsuu tÀllaista lukemisen dynamiikkaa "ruumiilliseksi vieraannuttamiseksi".
Lukukokemuksen analyysien avulla tutkimus esittÀÀ, kuinka kirjallisuuden lukeminen ohjaa osaltaan lukijoiden tunne- ja havaintotottumusten muotoutumista. Se tuo yhteen ruumiillis-kognitiivisia ja posthumanistisia lÀhestymistapoja kirjallisuudentutkimukseen ja muotoilee "performatiivis-enaktiivisen" lÀhilukemisen metodin, joka auttaa sanallistamaan lukukokemuksen ruumiillisia, ympÀristöllisiÀ ja ei-inhimilliseen kurovia puolia. Ruumiillisen kokemuksellisuuden syventÀminen tÀmÀn metodin avulla tuo ekologisen tieteisfiktion tiiviimmin osaksi globaalin ympÀristömuutoksen kokemuksellista tilannetta
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL SENSORS. THE AESTHETIC DOMAIN OF WEARABLES AND NEURAL NETWORKS
Historically, communication implies the transfer of information between bodies, yet this
phenomenon is constantly adapting to new technological and cultural standards. In a
digital context, itâs commonplace to envision systems that revolve around verbal modalities.
However, behavioural analysis grounded in psychology research calls attention to
the emotional information disclosed by non-verbal social cues, in particular, actions that
are involuntary. This notion has circulated heavily into various interdisciplinary computing
research fields, from which multiple studies have arisen, correlating non-verbal
activity to socio-affective inferences. These are often derived from some form of motion
capture and other wearable sensors, measuring the âinvisibleâ bioelectrical changes that
occur from inside the body.
This thesis proposes a motivation and methodology for using physiological sensory
data as an expressive resource for technology-mediated interactions. Initialised from a
thorough discussion on state-of-the-art technologies and established design principles
regarding this topic, then applied to a novel approach alongside a selection of practice
works to compliment this. We advocate for aesthetic experience, experimenting with
abstract representations. Atypically from prevailing Affective Computing systems, the
intention is not to infer or classify emotion but rather to create new opportunities for rich
gestural exchange, unconfined to the verbal domain.
Given the preliminary proposition of non-representation, we justify a correspondence
with modern Machine Learning and multimedia interaction strategies, applying an iterative,
human-centred approach to improve personalisation without the compromising
emotional potential of bodily gesture. Where related studies in the past have successfully
provoked strong design concepts through innovative fabrications, these are typically limited
to simple linear, one-to-one mappings and often neglect multi-user environments;
we foresee a vast potential. In our use cases, we adopt neural network architectures to
generate highly granular biofeedback from low-dimensional input data.
We present the following proof-of-concepts: Breathing Correspondence, a wearable
biofeedback system inspired by Somaesthetic design principles; Latent Steps, a real-time auto-encoder to represent bodily experiences from sensor data, designed for dance performance;
and Anti-Social Distancing Ensemble, an installation for public space interventions,
analysing physical distance to generate a collective soundscape. Key findings are
extracted from the individual reports to formulate an extensive technical and theoretical
framework around this topic. The projects first aim to embrace some alternative perspectives
already established within Affective Computing research. From here, these concepts
evolve deeper, bridging theories from contemporary creative and technical practices with
the advancement of biomedical technologies.Historicamente, os processos de comunicação implicam a transferĂȘncia de informação
entre organismos, mas este fenómeno estå constantemente a adaptar-se a novos padrÔes
tecnolĂłgicos e culturais. Num contexto digital, Ă© comum encontrar sistemas que giram
em torno de modalidades verbais. Contudo, a anĂĄlise comportamental fundamentada
na investigação psicológica chama a atenção para a informação emocional revelada por
sinais sociais não verbais, em particular, acçÔes que são involuntårias. Esta noção circulou
fortemente em vĂĄrios campos interdisciplinares de investigação na ĂĄrea das ciĂȘncias da
computação, dos quais surgiram mĂșltiplos estudos, correlacionando a actividade nĂŁoverbal
com inferĂȘncias sĂłcio-afectivas. Estes sĂŁo frequentemente derivados de alguma
forma de captura de movimento e sensores âwearableâ, medindo as alteraçÔes bioelĂ©ctricas
âinvisĂveisâ que ocorrem no interior do corpo.
Nesta tese, propomos uma motivação e metodologia para a utilização de dados sensoriais
fisiológicos como um recurso expressivo para interacçÔes mediadas pela tecnologia.
Iniciada a partir de uma discussĂŁo aprofundada sobre tecnologias de ponta e princĂpios
de concepção estabelecidos relativamente a este tópico, depois aplicada a uma nova abordagem,
juntamente com uma selecção de trabalhos pråticos, para complementar esta.
Defendemos a experiĂȘncia estĂ©tica, experimentando com representaçÔes abstractas. Contrariamente
aos sistemas de Computação Afectiva predominantes, a intenção não é inferir
ou classificar a emoção, mas sim criar novas oportunidades para uma rica troca gestual,
nĂŁo confinada ao domĂnio verbal.
Dada a proposta preliminar de nĂŁo representação, justificamos uma correspondĂȘncia
com estratégias modernas de Machine Learning e interacção multimédia, aplicando uma
abordagem iterativa e centrada no ser humano para melhorar a personalização sem o
potencial emocional comprometedor do gesto corporal. Nos casos em que estudos anteriores
demonstraram com sucesso conceitos de design fortes através de fabricaçÔes
inovadoras, estes limitam-se tipicamente a simples mapeamentos lineares, um-para-um,
e muitas vezes negligenciam ambientes multi-utilizadores; com este trabalho, prevemos
um potencial alargado. Nos nossos casos de utilização, adoptamos arquitecturas de redes
neurais para gerar biofeedback altamente granular a partir de dados de entrada de baixa dimensĂŁo.
Apresentamos as seguintes provas de conceitos: Breathing Correspondence, um sistema
de biofeedback wearable inspirado nos princĂpios de design somaestĂ©tico; Latent
Steps, um modelo autoencoder em tempo real para representar experiĂȘncias corporais
a partir de dados de sensores, concebido para desempenho de dança; e Anti-Social Distancing
Ensemble, uma instalação para intervençÔes no espaço pĂșblico, analisando a
distĂąncia fĂsica para gerar uma paisagem sonora colectiva. Os principais resultados sĂŁo
extraĂdos dos relatĂłrios individuais, para formular um quadro tĂ©cnico e teĂłrico alargado
para expandir sobre este tĂłpico. Os projectos tĂȘm como primeiro objectivo abraçar algumas
perspectivas alternativas às que jå estão estabelecidas no ùmbito da investigação
da Computação Afectiva. A partir daqui, estes conceitos evoluem mais profundamente,
fazendo a ponte entre as teorias das pråticas criativas e técnicas contemporùneas com o
avanço das tecnologias biomédicas
Affective Computing
This book provides an overview of state of the art research in Affective Computing. It presents new ideas, original results and practical experiences in this increasingly important research field. The book consists of 23 chapters categorized into four sections. Since one of the most important means of human communication is facial expression, the first section of this book (Chapters 1 to 7) presents a research on synthesis and recognition of facial expressions. Given that we not only use the face but also body movements to express ourselves, in the second section (Chapters 8 to 11) we present a research on perception and generation of emotional expressions by using full-body motions. The third section of the book (Chapters 12 to 16) presents computational models on emotion, as well as findings from neuroscience research. In the last section of the book (Chapters 17 to 22) we present applications related to affective computing
Metaphors of Mind in Fiction and Psychology
Curiosity about the human mindâwhat it is and how it functionsâbegan long before modern psychology. But because the mind and its processes are so elusive, they could be described only by means of metaphor. Michael Kearns, in this prize-winning study, examines the development of metaphors of the mind in psychological writings from Hobbes through William James and in fiction from Defoe through Henry James.
Throughout the eighteenth century and even into the early nineteenth, metaphors of the mind as a relatively simple entity, either mechanical or biological, dominated both those engaged in psychological theorizing and novelists ranging from Richardson and Smollett through Dickens and the Brontes.
In the nineteenth century, such psychologists as Herbert Spencer and Alexander Bain conceived of the mind as a complex organism quite different from that embodied in earlier thinking, but their figurative language did not keep pace. The result was a tension between theoretical expression and actual discussion of mental phenomena.
Michael S. Kearns is assistant professor of English at Ohio Wesleyan University.
Winner of the first annual Midwest Modern Language Association Book Awardhttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_english_language_and_literature_british_isles/1038/thumbnail.jp
- âŠ