Uncaged boxed-up

This chapter departs from a critical examination of my personal experience of working towards a ‘mixed-mode’ PhD in Electronic Arts. In particular, it looks at the relationships between the written dimension of my thesis and the making, exhibition and audio-visual documentation of UNCAGED, a series of six interactive installations exploring interrelationships and transitions between screen-based digital environments and their physical surroundings. An outline of the motivation and theoretical framework behind UNCAGED is followed by an account of its creation process and a reflection on the extent to which theory and practice might have informed each other. Based on a study of audience behaviour with UNCAGED at a major London museum, it is claimed that the work’s popularity seems to relate to its perceptually intriguing fusion between the virtual domain and the physical world. However, this apparent ‘success’ is subsequently undermined by a critical evaluation of UNCAGED – largely informed by Jean Baudrillard’s conception of the ‘real’ and the ‘virtual’ – which raises questions about the very idea of integrating digital technology in our lives in a meaningful way. This problematic is further explored in the final section of the chapter, which considers issues arising from the combination of physical and digital outputs used for the formal delivery of my PhD project and provides some suggestions for improvement of the Mixed-Mode Thesis

UNCAGED: a novel, ‘telesymbiotic’ approach to bridge the divide between the physical world and the virtual world of computers?

The main subject of this thesis is my artistic project UNCAGED, which explores interrelationships and transitions between computer-based virtual environments and their immediate physical surroundings. The underlying motivation behind my approach was to ‘uncage’ screen-based realities from the confines of their digital existence and to bring the remote computer world closer to our human experience. In particular, my work was opposed to the notion of immersive ‘virtual reality’ where the physical world is more or less excluded from the participants, but instead attempted to situate the virtual domain within the physical world. Initially, I will discuss the theoretical framework behind UNCAGED, ranging from aesthetic considerations, the particular role of sound, human computer interaction (HCI) to technical issues, and afterwards describe the creation process of UNCAGED. Based on a study of audience behaviour with UNCAGED at a major London museum, I will claim that the work’s popularity seems to relate to its perceptually intriguing fusion between the virtual domain and the physical world, and in this respect my project can be deemed successful. Furthermore, on the basis of an extended review and analysis of related work in the broad area of ‘mixed reality’, I will suggest that my own approachcan indeed be viewed as a novel way to bridge the divide between the physical world and the virtual world of computers. The innovation relates, in particular, to its unique balance of formal simplicity and technical sophistication. In the last chapter, I will provide a more critical evaluation of UNCAGED, largely informed by Jean Baudrillard’s conception of the ‘real’ and the ‘virtual’, which raises questions about the very idea of integrating digital technology in our lives in a meaningful and satisfying way. Finally, I will present my subsequent practical work, which strongly engages with my critical reflections on UNCAGED. In particular, it is informed by a new heightened sensitivity regarding the role of digital technology in my artistic practice

ParaSites: initial report and research context

The ongoing, practice-led research project ParaSites explores the potential of using behaviours and strategies of parasites as a model for sculptural propositions in the built environment and investigates how these interventions might resonate with architectural, urban, historical and socio-cultural issues. We treat the term parasitism both literally and metaphorically, and are particularly inspired by Michel Serres’ philosophical writing "The Parasite" (2007). Considering its different significations in French language (biological, social, static/noise), Serres uses the parasite to extrapolate ideas about human relations, society, history and communication while emphasising its destabilising and transformative powers. With this in mind, we are keen to explore the potential of using the polysemic notion of the parasite as an integrated conceptual framework and methodological tool to feed new sculptural interventions, and to investigate their impact on our relationship with the built environment (sonic, visual, structural, historical, ecological, symbolic and socio-cultural). "ParaSites: Initial Report and Research Context" presents a preliminary artistic intervention at a dilapidated edifice in Paris which has initiated this ongoing research. This is followed by a brief discussion of the methodological framework that has evolved from this, originally rather intuitive, practical investigation. The second part of this paper provides an overview of the research context, ranging from artistic and architectural explorations of site-specificity to socially engaged projects

ParaSites: new propositions

The ongoing, practice-led research project ParaSites explores the potential of using behaviours and strategies of parasites as a model for sculptural propositions in the built environment and investigates how these interventions might resonate with architectural, urban, historical and socio-cultural issues. We treat the term parasitism both literally and metaphorically, and are particularly inspired by Michel Serres’ philosophical writing "The Parasite" (2007). Considering its different significations in French language (biological, social, static/noise), Serres uses the parasite to extrapolate ideas about human relations, society, history and communication while emphasising its destabilising and transformative powers. With this in mind, we are keen to explore the potential of using the polysemic notion of the parasite as an integrated conceptual framework and methodological tool to feed new sculptural interventions, and to investigate their impact on our relationship with the built environment (sonic, visual, structural, historical, ecological, symbolic and socio-cultural). "ParaSites: New Propositions" presents a preliminary artistic intervention at a dilapidated edifice in Paris which has initiated this ongoing research. This is followed by a discussion of the theoretical framework that has evolved from this, originally rather intuitive, practical investigation. We then introduce two new artistic propositions which have been developed within the context of this research and debate to what extent they correspond with and/or elicit our theoretical ideas

The Mexican punitive expedition and the United States Army Aviation Section

The United States Army Signal Corps Aviation Section was a weak air service devoted primarily to experimental testing prior to World War I. In March 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered a punitive expedition into Mexico to capture the Mexican nationalist, Francisco (Panco) Villa. One of the organizations assigned to the expedition was the Frist Aero Squadron: The Signal Corps\u27 only operational unit. This study examines the Mexican punitive expedition, preparedness for World War I, and the development of United States air power. It concludes that the Mexican punitive expedition was a critical point in the history of the United States Air Force

Proteomic studies of human embryonic stem cells in hypoxia

Hypoxia has been shown to promote pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), but the mechanism by which this occurs in poorly understood. To gain insight into this mechanism, we used mass spectrometry to investigate changes in protein expression in hESCs cultured in hypoxia. hESCs in feeder free culture were incubated in 1% oxygen or 20% oxygen for 48 and 72 hours. The medium was not changed during this time to accelerate differentiation. Immunofluroescence localization of Oct-4 revealed that cultures incubated in hypoxia were less differentiated than cultures incubated in normoxia. Electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was performed to compare global protein expression of hESCs from each oxygen condition. Changes were observed in the expression of proteins involved in metabolism, chromatin modification, post-transcriptional modification, and regulation of the transcription factor, c-Myc. The results of this study will improve our understanding of the mechanism by which hypoxia maintains pluripotency of hESCs in vitro

An Interview with Brian Fisak

The M.A. program in Clinical Psychology was first offered at the UCF Sanford/Lake Mary Regional Campus in Fall, 2013. Recently I had an opportunity to speak with one of the program faculty members, Dr. Brian Fisak, co-author along with Kellie Kissell, Hayley Rodriguez and Lloyd Lucas of the recently published article “Examination of the Contribution of Ruminative Thinking and Maladaptive Self-Beliefs to Social Anxiety”