A Wireless Future: performance art, interaction and the brain-computer interfaces

Although the use of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) in the arts originates in the 1960s, there is a limited number of known applications in the context of real-time audio-visual and mixed-media performances and accordingly the knowledge base of this area has not been developed sufficiently. Among the reasons are the difficulties and the unknown parameters involved in the design and implementation of the BCIs. However today, with the dissemination of the new wireless devices, the field is rapidly growing and changing. In this frame, we examine a selection of representative works and artists, in comparison to the current scientific evidence. We identify important performative and neuroscientific aspects, issues and challenges. A model of possible interactions between the performers and the audience is discussed and future trends regarding liveness and interconnectivity are suggested

The Interconnected Object: Are You at Home in a Network?

Interconnected devices and objects pervade our everyday lives with an increasing trend. These digital objects, connected through wireless and cable networks, exchange information in various levels, producing diverse types of interactions between them and their users. The paper explores the aspect of interconnectivity as a key-attribute of the contemporary digital artefacts that populate our everyday environments. It explores the notion of home, place and network by focusing on the effects of digital interconnectivity in the way we perceive private and public space. In this context, “HOME network”, a collaborative project, is presented. The project is a portable, netless (without an Internet connection) Wi-Fi network, a free access unlocked digital platform, transmitting within the urban environment of various cities during a series of specific time periods and events. The artists carry the network through space and time, as an unrevealed, private, performative act within the realm of the public urban space, leaving only temporary transmitted digital traces/data within the vicinity of the transmission range, thus producing interactions and exploring the boundaries between the private and the public, the physical and the digital space and challenging the notion of surveillance in urban environments. New action patterns are introduced, which look into new ways of performing the physicality of the body within a digital nomadism. At the same time the artists address themes and invite the visitors of the network to engage, participate in and reflect on commonly shared experiences and contemporary questions regarding our sense of belonging in both the private and the public sphere

Nursing Care and Parents Contribution in the Care of their Childern with Hypospadias

The term hypospadias is derived from the Greek language and refers to the pathological condition of urethra, which the vestibule, by the time of embryology is imperfect. Approximately 1 to 300 male births appear this problem. The aim of this study is the best quality of nursing management. It is proved that the child recover earlier when the parents involved in care, so it is important to explain the procedure, educate parents about the care after leaving the hospital and to make sure that there are no questions unanswered. The new techniques, the nursing management and the parents’ contribution in care promote to reduce hypospadias hospitalization and so, the less suffering

Interactive Film History: The Challenge of Classification

It is widely considered that technology gave birth and continues to play a vital role in film production around the globe. Technological advancements have shaped film language and the audience experience throughout history. With the emergence of interactivity and the proliferation of new digital media and technologies, new opportunities, discourses and challenges have arisen. In this context, this paper discusses that current classification approaches are not appropriate for capturing in a comprehensive manner the multidimensional aspects of interactive film history. It is proposed that a new classification system is needed in order to map the history of interactive filmmaking and cinema, alongside the development and affordances of the different interactive technologies in use, like the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and web technologies, 360o video, Virtual and Augmented Reality, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) among others. Other prominent characteristics and practices that are considered include the enablement of either single- and/or collective multi-interaction of the audience with the moving image; the role of complex algorithms and the type of data analysis performed; technologies that make direct use of the audience’s physiology and cognitive state, such as the Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs); as well as the gamification of the film viewing experience. Accordingly, a new approach to identifying a suitable systematic structure is outlined, as opposed to recycling the conventional methods of classification, chronological order and genre categorisation

Differential marking in Kinande

This work presents newly-discovered data involving differential marking in the Bantu language Kinande (JD42), which affects three classes: (i) goals and sources; (ii) predicative possession; (iii) external possession. These patterns reveal important insights into the nature of differential marking in Bantu. First, typical differential marking features like animacy, definiteness, and person can involve a morphological difference on a \textit{dependen

Live Brain-Computer Cinema Performance

The majority of the applications of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) in the arts and entertainment use the brain activity of a single participant, although an increasing number involve the interaction of more than one user. This dissertation investigates the design and implementation of multi-brain electroencephalography (EEG)–based BCIs in the context of live cinema and mixed-media performances. The aim is to identify the interdisciplinary challenges involved and to develop an effective model for the simultaneous multi-brain interactions of performers and audiences. By combining scientific and practice-based methodologies, a new passive multi-brain EEG-based BCI system was developed and implemented in 'Enheduanna—A Manifesto of Falling', the first demonstration of a live brain–computer cinema performance (CCA Glasgow, July 2015). This new work enabled the simultaneous, real-time interaction—with the use of EEG-based BCIs—of more than two participants, including both a performer and members of the audience, in the context of a mixed-media performance. The analysis of the participants’ data reveals a correlation between the elements of the performance that they identified as most special and their indicators of attention and emotional engagement, proving the efficiency of the interaction design, the importance of the directing strategy, dramaturgy and narrative structure. Accordingly, the original contributions of the research include the new passive multi-brain EEG-based BCI system, the live braincomputer cinema performance, as a novel format of performative work and as a complete combination of creative and scientific solutions

A Hypothesis of Brain-to-Brain Coupling in Interactive New Media Art and Games Using Brain-Computer Interfaces

Interactive new media art and games belong to distinctive fields, but nevertheless share common grounds, tools, methodologies, challenges, and goals, such as the use of applications and devices for engaging multiple participants and players, and more recently electroencephalography (EEG)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). At the same time, an increasing number of new neuroscientific studies explore the phenomenon of brain-to-brain coupling, the dynamics and processes of the interaction and synchronisation between multiple subjects and their brain activity. In this context, we discuss interactive works of new media art, computer and serious games that involve the interaction of the brain-activity, and hypothetically brain-to-brain coupling, between multiple performer/s, spectator/s, or participants/players. We also present Enheduanna – A Manifesto of Falling (2015), a new live brain-computer cinema performance, with the use of an experimental passive multi-brain BCI system under development. The aim is to explore brain-to-brain coupling between performer/s and spectator/s as means of controlling the audio-visual creative outputs

New research shows how brain-computer interaction is changing cinema

First paragraph: Over the past few years, we have seen the extraordinary development of neural prosthetic technologies that can replace or enhance functions of our central nervous system. For example, devices like Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) allow the direct communication of the brain with a computer. The most common technique applied in these devices, is Electroencephalography (EEG) – a recording of the electrical activity along the scalp.https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-how-brain-computer-interaction-is-changing-cinema-9483

Dramatic play as a means to explore and support preschool children’s thinking about thermal insulation

Research in young children’s ideas, representations, and pre-conceptions about the natural and technical world has a long history. Most of the studies in the field have used individual, semi-structured interviews as a methodological technique to generate and collect empirical data. However, less is known about how tracing procedures can come in line and be incorporated into everyday educational reality in early childhood settings in a way that reflects young children’s interests and needs. The present study uses dramatic play to trace young children’s thinking in science and advance their science learning experiences. The study focuses on a science concept young children are familiar with in everyday life though has not been thoroughly studied in the literature yet: thermal insulation. Empirical data from 6 preschoolers in Greece are presented. Qualitative data were collected through recordings of children’s dialogues, children’s drawings, field notes from the early childhood teachers, and photographs. The findings revealed that during their dramatic play children a) developed basic argumentation to express their thinking about the phenomenon; b) related the phenomenon with the thermal condition and changes in temperature; c) identified materials and objects with insulating properties and distinguish them from others with non-insulating properties, and d) came to the conclusion that the use of amplified insulation materials can lead to better insulation results. The outcomes of the study add to the research methodology in early childhood science education and inform practice providing a pedagogical framework that balances between play-based pedagogies and advanced learning outcomes in science for young learners

BlogForever D3.3: Development of the Digital Rights Management Policy

This report presents a set of recommended practices and approaches that a future BlogForever repository can use to develop a digital rights management policy. The report outlines core legal aspects of digital rights that might need consideration in developing policies, and what the challenges are, in particular, in relation to web archives and blog archives. These issues are discussed in the context of the digital information life cycle and steps that might be taken within the workflow of the BlogForever platform to facilitate the gathering and management of digital rights information. Further, the reports on interviews with experts in the field highlight current perspectives on rights management and provide empirical support for the recommendations that have been put forward