Telling interactive stories: A practice-based investigation into new media interactive storytelling

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Telling Interactive Stories is a practice-based thesis, which theoretically and practically probes the field of digital fictional interactive storytelling. The submission takes the form of the interactive cinema installation Crossed Lines together with a written element of the thesis which interrogates historical, contextual, theoretical, technical and critical aspects of the field of interactive narrative using new media. Crossed Lines is an original fictional interactive AV piece, amalgamating multiform plots, a multi-screen viewing environment, an interactive interface and an interactive story navigation form. The installation tells the stories of nine characters in a way that the viewer can constantly explore and switch between all nine forms, using a telephone keypad and handset as an interface, and can simultaneously observe all characters’ presence between the nine remote locations. Several research methodologies are utilised to analyse and evaluate the installation. Quantitative methodologies include the use of user tracking systems where the computational output of the installation provides measurements and timings of user choices and behaviours. Qualitative methodologies include theoretical and visual analysis, and in depth analysis of user responses using interviews, questionnaires, video recordings and cuttingedge eye-tracking technologies

Let's Walk Up and Play! Design and Evaluation of Collaborative Interactive Musical Experiences for Public Settings

This thesis focuses on the design and evaluation of interactive music systems that enable non-experts to experience collaborative music-making in public set- tings, such as museums, galleries and festivals. Although there has been previous research into music systems for non-experts, there is very limited research on how participants engage with collaborative music environments in public set- tings. Informed by a detailed assessment of related research, an interactive, multi-person music system is developed, which serves as a vehicle to conduct practice-based research in real-world settings. A central focus of the design is supporting each player's individual sense of control, in order to examine how this relates to their overall playing experience. Drawing on approaches from Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and interac- tive art research, a series of user studies is conducted in public settings such as art exhibitions and festivals. Taking into account that the user experience and social dynamics around such new forms of interaction are considerably in u- enced by the context of use, this systematic assessment in real-world contexts contributes to a richer understanding of how people interact and behave in such new creative spaces. This research makes a number of contributions to the elds of HCI, interactive art and New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME). It provides a set of de- sign implications to aid designers of future collaborative music systems. These are based on a number of empirical ndings that describe and explain aspects of audience behaviour, engagement and mutual interaction around public, in- teractive multi-person systems. It provides empirical evidence that there is a correlation between participants' perceived level of control and their sense of cre- ative participation and enjoyment. This thesis also develops and demonstrates the application of a mixed-method approach for studying technology-mediated collaborative creativity with live audiences.This research was funded by a Doctoral Studentship from Queen Mary University of London. The studies of this thesis were kindly supported by the Centre for Digital Music EPSRC Platform Grant (EP/E045235/1; EP/K009559/1), and by Hunan University, Changsha, China (Study II). The attendance at ACM Creativity & Cognition 2013 was kindly supported by the EPSRC funded DePIC project (EP/J017205/1)

I am here - are you there? Sense of presence and implications for virtual world design

We use the language of presence and place when we interact online: in our instant text messaging windows we often post: Are you there? Research indicates the importance of the sense of presence for computer-supported collaborative virtual learning. To realize the potential of virtual worlds such as Second Life, which may have advantages over conventional text-based environments, we need an understanding of design and the emergence of the sense of presence. A construct was created for the sense of presence, as a collaborative, action-based process (Spagnolli, Varotto, & Mantovani, 2003) with four dimensions (sense of place, social presence, individual agency, and mediated collaborative actions). Nine design principles were mapped against the four dimensions. The guiding question for the study\u27s exploration of the sense of presence was: In the virtual world Second Life, what is the effect on the sense of presence in collaborative learning spaces designed according to the sense of presence construct proposed, using two of the nine design principles, wayfinding and annotation? Another question of interest was: What are the relationships, if any, among the four dimensions of presence? The research utilized both quantitative and qualitative measures. Twenty learners recruited from the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University carried out three assigned collaborative activities in Second Life under design conditions foregrounding each of the two design conditions, and a combination of the two. Analyses from surveys, Second Life interactions, interviews and a focus group were conducted to investigate how various designed learning environments based in the virtual world contributed to the sense of presence, and to learners\u27 ability to carry out collaborative learning. The major research findings were: (a) the construct appears robust, and future research in its application to other virtual worlds may be fruitful; (b) the experience of wayfinding (finding a path through a virtual space) resulted overall in an observed pattern of a slightly stronger sense of place; (c) the experience of annotation (building) resulted overall in an observed pattern of a slightly stronger sense of agency; and (d) there is a positive association between sense of place and sense of agency

Towards the ethnography of filmic places: video-based research and found footage filmmaking in the anthropological investigation of Mexican migrant event video

This thesis offers an ethnography, with both audiovisual and written components, of the virtual places brought into being through the creation and consumption of event videos in a transnational community. It is intended as a contribution to the development of conceptual and methodological frameworks, which will allow anthropological engagements with vernacular audiovisual media that take into account their phenomenological properties as mimetically active assemblages. In San Francisco Tetlanohcan, Mexico, young parents often leave their children behind as they cross the border illegally, heading north to look for work. Event videos, made by videographers at rite of passage ceremonies and sent to the USA, are an important aspect of migrant life. This research draws on thinking in philosophy and film studies to conceptualise these videos as agents in a process of ‘filmic emplacement’ as their production and consumption bring into being imagined places and selves. The project combines methodological approaches borrowed from sensory ethnography with video editing techniques inspired by avant-garde filmmaking, in a dynamic evocation and exploration of these filmic places. Close participation in the creation and consumption of event videos combined with the movement of alternative ‘video messages’ across the border, gave the researcher a sense of these places. Shared screenings of found footage sequences materialised and refined that understanding. By co-opting the aesthetics of popular television, event videos transform that which they depict, bringing into being collectively created and experienced imagined places. This coherent and constant virtual realm allows for the creation and maintenance of kinship and fictive kinship relationships, despite separations over space and time. The video 900,000 Frames Between Us produced as part of this thesis uses the juxtaposition of ontologically diverse images and sounds to provide an audiovisual evocation of this ‘filmic home’. In addition to contributing to the anthropological understanding of San Francisco, this thesis suggests ways in which visual anthropologists might engage with and understand the mediated experiences of others

Unlock the doc! i-docs and networks of inquiry

This dissertation and project analyse the ongoing crisis in news journalism and evidence-based inquiries. Through practice-led research, the completed prototype Labyrinths & Leaks examines methods for overlapping evidence through the interactive documentary (i-doc) form. This i-doc prototype explores ‘false flags’ (Oxford English Dictionary, 2017) that arose through its predecessor Breaking the News (2011), my linear documentary about the Timor-Leste crisis of 2006–2008. I take these misrepresentations as limitations of news media and a sign to address evidentiary accounts through the documentary form. Indeterminacy is both an affordance and limitation of i-docs. Unbounded by space and time, i-docs offer a holding state for cultural analysis, inquiry into evidence and, through various exchanges, a site for possible reconciliations through what John Corner (2011, p. 210) refers to as a ‘sustained exercise in reflexivity’. My dissertation conducts research into various methods for minimising authorial control and filtering evidence through a networked inquiry. I later assess i-docs’ merits as a form for interpreting media manipulation. Through this project, I propose a journalistic documentary design practice, affording a multidisciplinary network of inquiry. As a cultural form, the i-doc has potential to afford qualities of independence sought by documentary practitioners choosing to work beyond the broadcaster. The contingent qualities of i-docs allow the unforeseeable and unexpected to open contested historical events, and disrupt how linear media affords their untimely closure

Designing to support impression management

This work investigates impression management and in particular impression management using ubiquitous technology. Generally impression management is the process through which people try to influence the impressions that others have about them. In particular, impression management focuses on the flow of information between a performer and his/her audience, with control over what is presented to whom being of the utmost importance when trying to create the appropriate impression. Ubiquitous technology has provided opportunities for individuals to present themselves to others. However, the disconnection between presenter and audience over both time and space can result in individuals being misrepresented. This thesis outlines two important areas when trying to control the impression one gives namely, hiding and revealing, and accountability. By exploring these two themes the continuous evolution and dynamic nature of controlling the impression one gives is explored. While this ongoing adaptation is recognised by designers they do not always create technology that is sufficiently dynamic to support this process. As a result, this work attempts to answer three research questions: RQ1: How do users of ubicomp systems appropriate recorded data from their everyday activity and make it into a resource for expressing themselves to others in ways that are dynamically tailored to their ongoing social context and audience? RQ2: What technology can be built to support ubicomp system developers to design and develop systems to support appropriation as a central part of a useful or enjoyable user experience? RQ3: What software architectures best suit this type of appropriated interaction and developers’ designing to support such interaction? Through a thorough review of existing literature, and the extensive study of several large ubicomp systems, the issues when presenting oneself through technology are identified. The main issues identified are hiding and revealing, and accountability. These are built into a framework that acts as a reference for designers wishing to support impression management. An architecture for supporting impression management has also been developed that conforms to this framework and its evolution is documented later in the thesis. A demonstration of this architecture in a multi-player mobile experience is subsequently presented

Guidelines and infrastructure for the design and implementation of highly adaptive, context-aware, mobile, peer-to-peer systems

Through a thorough review of existing literature, and extensive study of two large ubicomp systems, problems are identified with current mobile design practices, infrastructures and a lack of required software. From these problems, a set of guidelines for the design of mobile, peer-to-peer, context-aware systems are derived. Four key items of software infrastructure that are desirable but currently unavailable for mobile systems are identified. Each of these items of software are subsequently implemented, and the thesis describes each one, and at least one system in which each was used and trialled. These four items of mobile software infrastructure are: An 802.11 wireless driver that is capable of automatically switching between ad hoc and infrastructure networks when appropriate, combined with a peer discovery mechanism that can be used to identify peers and the services running and available on them. A hybrid positioning system that combines GPS, 802.11 and GSM positioning techniques to deliver location information that is almost constantly available, and can collect further 802.11 and GSM node samples during normal use of the system. A distributed recommendation system that, in addition to providing standard recommendations, can determine the relevance of data stored on the mobile device. This information is used by the same system to prioritise data when exchanging information with peers and to determine data that may be culled when the system is low on storage space without greatly affecting overall system performance. An infrastructure for creating highly adaptive, context-aware mobile applications. The Domino infrastructure allows software functionality to be recommended, exchanged between peers, installed, and executed, at runtime

Designing Activities for Collaboration at Classroom Scale Using Shared Technology

Although researchers, teachers and policy makers broadly agree on the benefits of collaborative learning, there appears to be less clarity regarding how effective collaboration can be realised at classroom scale. Research in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), simulation-based learning and related fields has produced a considerable range of applications that aim to support collaboration in classrooms. Grounded in well-established theories of how humans learn, many such applications have shown promising results within the context of small research studies. However, most of those research-driven applications never matured beyond the prototype stage and few are available today as products that schools can easily use and adopt. Many systems lack flexibility or require too much time, hardware, technical skills or other resources to be effectively implemented. Furthermore, teachers can be overwhelmed by managing large groups of students engaged in complex, computer-supported tasks. This thesis investigates how forms of whole-classroom activity can be supported by combining shareable technologies with simulation, team play and orchestration. New designs are explored to help large groups engage and discuss at multiple scales (from pairs and small groups to the entire classroom) in ways that effectively include each student and use the teacher's limited resources efficiently. Moreover, this research aims to devise and validate a conceptual framework that can guide future design, orchestration and evaluation of such activities. Three in-situ studies were conducted to address these goals. The first study involved the design of a climate change simulation to support a professional training course. Iterative design and video analysis resulted in the formulation of the Collaborative Learning Orchestration for Verbal Engagement and Reflection (CLOVER) framework. This framework comprises a suite of conceptual tools and recommendations that aim to help designers and teachers create, orchestrate and evaluate decision-based simulations for whole-classroom use. Two follow-up studies were conducted to validate the usability and usefulness of CLOVER. One of them aimed to replicate the previous findings in a similar context and resulted in the design of a sustainable, whole-classroom simulation for students to discuss finance decisions. The other used CLOVER to expand an existing desktop application (a~language comprehension task for children) to classroom scale. In sum, the three studies provide substantial empirical evidence, suggesting that CLOVER-based applications can effectively reconcile learning needs (collaboration) and technological affordances (shareable devices) with the inherent benefits and constraints of teacher-driven, co-located environments. Furthermore, the findings contribute to a better understanding of what it means to design for sustainability in this context

Design exploration through bidirectional modeling of constraints

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2006.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (p. 315-324).Today digital models for design exploration are not used to their full potential. The research efforts in the past decades have placed geometric design representations firmly at the center of digital design environments. In this thesis it is argued that models for design exploration that bridge different representation aid in the discovery of novel designs. Replacing commonly used analytical, uni-directional models for linking representations, with bidirectional ones, further supports design exploration. The key benefit of bidirectional models is the ability to swap the role of driver and driven in the exploration. The thesis developed around a set of design experiments that tested the integration of bidirectional computational models in domain specific designs. From the experiments three main exploration types emerged. They are: branching explorations for establishing constraints for an undefined design problem; illustrated in the design of a concept car. Circular explorations for the refinement of constraint relationships; illustrated in the design of a chair. Parallel explorations for exercising well-understood constraints; illustrated in a form finding model in architecture. A key contribution of the thesis is the novel use of constraint diagrams developed to construct design explorers for the experiments. The diagrams show the importance of translations between design representations in establishing design drivers from the set of constraints. The incomplete mapping of design features across different representations requires the redescription of the design for each translation.(cont.) This redescription is a key aspect of exploration and supports design innovation. Finally, this thesis argues that the development of design specific design explorers favors a shift in software design away from monolithic, integrated software environments and towards open software platforms that support user development.by Axel Kilian.Ph.D

Segmentation and Deformable Modelling Techniques for a Virtual Reality Surgical Simulator in Hepatic Oncology

Liver surgical resection is one of the most frequently used curative therapies. However, resectability is problematic. There is a need for a computer-assisted surgical planning and simulation system which can accurately and efficiently simulate the liver, vessels and tumours in actual patients. The present project describes the development of these core segmentation and deformable modelling techniques. For precise detection of irregularly shaped areas with indistinct boundaries, the segmentation incorporated active contours - gradient vector flow (GVF) snakes and level sets. To improve efficiency, a chessboard distance transform was used to replace part of the GVF effort. To automatically initialize the liver volume detection process, a rotating template was introduced to locate the starting slice. For shape maintenance during the segmentation process, a simplified object shape learning step was introduced to avoid occasional significant errors. Skeletonization with fuzzy connectedness was used for vessel segmentation. To achieve real-time interactivity, the deformation regime of this system was based on a single-organ mass-spring system (MSS), which introduced an on-the-fly local mesh refinement to raise the deformation accuracy and the mesh control quality. This method was now extended to a multiple soft-tissue constraint system, by supplementing it with an adaptive constraint mesh generation. A mesh quality measure was tailored based on a wide comparison of classic measures. Adjustable feature and parameter settings were thus provided, to make tissues of interest distinct from adjacent structures, keeping the mesh suitable for on-line topological transformation and deformation. More than 20 actual patient CT and 2 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) liver datasets were tested to evaluate the performance of the segmentation method. Instrument manipulations of probing, grasping, and simple cutting were successfully simulated on deformable constraint liver tissue models. This project was implemented in conjunction with the Division of Surgery, Hammersmith Hospital, London; the preliminary reality effect was judged satisfactory by the consultant hepatic surgeon