1,463 research outputs found

    Earth as Interface: Exploring chemical senses with Multisensory HCI Design for Environmental Health Communication

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    As environmental problems intensify, the chemical senses -that is smell and taste, are the most relevantsenses to evidence them.As such, environmental exposure vectors that can reach human beings comprise air,food, soil and water[1].Within this context, understanding the link between environmental exposures andhealth[2]is crucial to make informed choices, protect the environment and adapt to new environmentalconditions[3].Smell and taste lead therefore to multi-sensorial experiences which convey multi-layered information aboutlocal and global events[4]. However, these senses are usually absent when those problems are represented indigital systems. The multisensory HCIdesign framework investigateschemical sense inclusion withdigital systems[5]. Ongoing efforts tackledigitalization of smell and taste for digital delivery, transmission or substitution [6]. Despite experimentsproved technological feasibility, its dissemination depends on relevant applicationdevelopment[7].This thesis aims to fillthose gaps by demonstratinghow chemical senses provide the means to link environment and health based on scientific andgeolocation narratives [8], [9],[10]. We present a Multisensory HCI design process which accomplished symbolicdisplaying smell and taste and led us to a new multi-sensorial interaction system presented herein. We describe the conceptualization, design and evaluation of Earthsensum, an exploratory case study project.Earthsensumoffered to 16 participants in the study, environmental smell and taste experiences about real geolocations to participants of the study. These experiences were represented digitally using mobilevirtual reality (MVR) and mobile augmented reality (MAR). Its technologies bridge the real and digital Worlds through digital representations where we can reproduce the multi-sensorial experiences. Our study findings showed that the purposed interaction system is intuitive and can lead not only to a betterunderstanding of smell and taste perception as also of environmental problems. Participants comprehensionabout the link between environmental exposures and health was successful and they would recommend thissystem as education tools. Our conceptual design approach was validated and further developments wereencouraged.In this thesis,we demonstratehow to applyMultisensory HCI methodology to design with chemical senses. Weconclude that the presented symbolic representation model of smell and taste allows communicatingtheseexperiences on digital platforms. Due to its context-dependency, MVR and MAR platforms are adequatetechnologies to be applied for this purpose.Future developments intend to explore further the conceptual approach. These developments are centredon the use of the system to induce hopefully behaviourchange. Thisthesisopens up new application possibilities of digital chemical sense communication,Multisensory HCI Design and environmental health communication.À medida que os problemas ambientais se intensificam, os sentidos químicos -isto é, o cheiroe sabor, são os sentidos mais relevantes para evidenciá-los. Como tais, os vetores de exposição ambiental que podem atingir os seres humanos compreendem o ar, alimentos, solo e água [1]. Neste contexto, compreender a ligação entre as exposições ambientais e a saúde [2] é crucial para exercerescolhas informadas, proteger o meio ambiente e adaptar a novas condições ambientais [3]. O cheiroe o saborconduzemassima experiências multissensoriais que transmitem informações de múltiplas camadas sobre eventos locais e globais [4]. No entanto, esses sentidos geralmente estão ausentes quando esses problemas são representados em sistemas digitais. A disciplina do design de Interação Humano-Computador(HCI)multissensorial investiga a inclusão dossentidos químicos em sistemas digitais [9]. O seu foco atual residena digitalização de cheirose sabores para o envio, transmissão ou substituiçãode sentidos[10]. Apesar dasexperimentaçõescomprovarem a viabilidade tecnológica, a sua disseminação está dependentedo desenvolvimento de aplicações relevantes [11]. Estatese pretendepreencher estas lacunas ao demonstrar como os sentidos químicos explicitama interconexãoentre o meio ambiente e a saúde, recorrendo a narrativas científicas econtextualizadasgeograficamente[12], [13], [14]. Apresentamos uma metodologiade design HCImultissensorial que concretizouum sistema de representação simbólica de cheiro e sabor e nos conduziu a um novo sistema de interação multissensorial, que aqui apresentamos. Descrevemos o nosso estudo exploratório Earthsensum, que integra aconceptualização, design e avaliação. Earthsensumofereceu a 16participantes do estudo experiências ambientais de cheiro e sabor relacionadas com localizações geográficasreais. Essas experiências foram representadas digitalmente através derealidade virtual(VR)e realidade aumentada(AR).Estas tecnologias conectamo mundo real e digital através de representações digitais onde podemos reproduzir as experiências multissensoriais. Os resultados do nosso estudo provaramque o sistema interativo proposto é intuitivo e pode levar não apenas a uma melhor compreensão da perceção do cheiroe sabor, como também dos problemas ambientais. O entendimentosobre a interdependência entre exposições ambientais e saúde teve êxitoe os participantes recomendariam este sistema como ferramenta para aeducação. A nossa abordagem conceptual foi positivamentevalidadae novos desenvolvimentos foram incentivados. Nesta tese, demonstramos como aplicar metodologiasde design HCImultissensorialpara projetar com ossentidos químicos. Comprovamosque o modelo apresentado de representação simbólica do cheiroe do saborpermite comunicar essas experiênciasem plataformas digitais. Por serem dependentesdocontexto, as plataformas de aplicações emVR e AR são tecnologias adequadaspara este fim.Desenvolvimentos futuros pretendem aprofundar a nossa abordagemconceptual. Em particular, aspiramos desenvolvera aplicaçãodo sistema para promover mudanças de comportamento. Esta tese propõenovas possibilidades de aplicação da comunicação dos sentidos químicos em plataformas digitais, dedesign multissensorial HCI e de comunicação de saúde ambiental

    Saturated Memories

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    http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69284/1/garannie_1271732540_IP_Thesis-_Garcia.pd

    Empirical Challenges in Organizational Aesthetics Research: Towards a Sensual Methodology

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    Despite growing scholarly interest in aesthetic dimensions of organizational life, there is a lack of literature expressly engaging with the methodological mechanics of 'doing aesthetics research'. This article addresses that gap. It begins with an overview of the conceptual idiosyncrasies of 'aesthetics' as a facet of human existence and maps out the challenges these pose for empirical research methodology. A review of methodological approaches adopted to date in empirical studies of organizational aesthetics is then presented. The remainder of the article draws on the author's experiences and suggests methods and techniques to address both conceptual and practical challenges encountered during the execution of an organizational aesthetics research project. The article calls for a firmer focus on the aesthetic experiences of organizational members in addition to those of researchers and concludes with some suggestions as to the future of such 'sensual methodologies' </jats:p

    Cognitive landmark research beyond visual cues using GIScience

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    Diffuse Connections: Making Sense of Smell in Canadian Diasporic Women\u27s Writing

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    This dissertation explores the crucial, yet often unacknowledged, role smell plays in Canadian diasporic women’s writing. While some critics discuss scent in their work on taste, memory, and diasporic nostalgia, I argue for considering scent in its specificity and suggest that smell shapes diasporic subjectivities differently than taste. Complicating frameworks that focus primarily on notions of memory, homeland, and nostalgia, I consider how diasporic subjectivities are shaped by a range of feelings connected to experiences in past homelands and present places of habitation, including racialized and gendered forms of olfactory discrimination in the ostensibly tolerant nation of Canada. Appropriating the concept of diffusion from scientific theories of smell, I re-conceptualize diffusion as a model of movement and mixing that complicates narratives of linear diasporic migrations from a single point of origin. I use diffusion to theorize “diffuse connections,” a framework that emphasizes the blending of diasporic experiences across time and space and the intimate intersubjective encounters that emerge through scent. Each chapter explores novels by Canadian diasporic women writers (Shani Mootoo, Hiromi Goto, and Larissa Lai) that represent diasporic subjectivities in terms of diffuse connections

    The smells of eternity: Aromatic oils and resins in the Phoenician mortuary record

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    This chapter surveys and analyses the aromatic substances associated with burial and the preservation of the dead in the Iron Age Phoenician Levant (c. 1100–300 bce), as part of an exploration of the lost smellscapes of the ancient world. First, Phoenician vocabulary related to smelling and pungent substances is outlined and investigated. Then, a review of coastal Levantine archaeological and textual evidence, along with comparanda from the wider Mediterranean world, is used to establish the range of smells and substances that would have been associated with mortuary practice at this time. While oleo-resins in use in the burial record overlap to some degree with those used in everyday life—in perfumes, religious practice, and other uses of scented oils and incense—the unique constellations of aromatics used to inter the dead highlight the importance of these deeply mnemonic sensory elements in our understanding of the Iron Age past.ECU Open Access Publishing Support Fun

    Chapter 20 The smells of eternity

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    This chapter surveys and analyses the aromatic substances associated with burial and the preservation of the dead in the Iron Age Phoenician Levant (c. 1100–300 BCE), as part of an exploration of the lost smellscapes of the ancient world. First, Phoenician vocabulary related to smelling and pungent substances is outlined and investigated. Then, a review of coastal Levantine archaeological and textual evidence, along with comparanda from the wider Mediterranean world, is used to establish the range of smells and substances that would have been associated with mortuary practice at this time. While oleo-resins in use in the burial record overlap to some degree with those used in everyday life—in perfumes, religious practice, and other uses of scented oils and incense—the unique constellations of aromatics used to inter the dead highlight the importance of these deeply mnemonic sensory elements in our understanding of the Iron Age past
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