Month: February 2022


  • New Publication: Expressive Space: Embodying Meaning in Video Game Environments

    New Publication: Expressive Space: Embodying Meaning in Video Game Environments Volume 4 in the series Video Games and the Humanities By Greg Whistance-Smith Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg (January 2022) ISBN-10:‎ 3110723573 ISBN-13:‎ 978-3110723571 265 pages https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110723731 https://www.gregws.ca/expressive-space-launch/ https://www.amazon.com/Expressive-Space-Embodying-Environments-Humanities-ebook/dp/B09MPCVM8S/ Hi everyone, I’m excited to announce the release of my book, Expressive Space: Embodying Meaning in Video Game Environments. It approaches video games as built environments, places constructed for particular activities. Since we experience space from the position of our body, the book develops a framework for analyzing meaning in video game spaces by synthesizing five theories from the field of embodied cognition.…

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  • Cisco AR holograms, the call of the future

    [Despite its current limitation, technology expert Charlie Fink is very impressed with the recently introduced Cisco Webex augmented reality holograms, as he reports in this story from Forbes. See the original version for two videos and two different images, and a related Forbes story about how McLaren Racing is using the technology “for a competitive edge in car design.” Fast Company’s first-person story about Cisco’s announcement of the technology last October clearly identifies the company’s goal: “Microsoft developed the ability to render a company’s product within the HoloLens; Cisco aims to add to the experience by making the people seem…

    Read more: Cisco AR holograms, the call of the future
  • Call: HCI Postdoc: Enhancing Remote Collaboration – Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology

    Call for Applications Postdoctoral Position in HCI Project: ReSurf – Enhancing REmote collaboration across interactive SURFaces with awareness cues Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST.lu) https://app.skeeled.com/offer/61f9297d5e4674312e99acc9?language=en&show_description=true Application deadline: March 31, 2022 Dear all, I am looking for a motivated PostDoc to work with us on the FNR CORE project ReSurf (Enhancing REmote collaboration across interactive SURFaces with awareness cues) funded by the Luxembourgish National Research Fund, running 2022-2025. The main objective of ReSurf is to explore and study how mutual awareness can be enhanced for collaborative decision-making in a distributed wall-display setup. We work with the interactive wall displays…

    Read more: Call: HCI Postdoc: Enhancing Remote Collaboration – Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology
  • World’s biggest walk-through kaleidoscope delivers psychedelic visuals

    [Presence experiences need not match our experiences in the ‘real’ world (i.e., the mediated stimuli need not be perceptually or socially realistic), as demonstrated by the walk-through kaleidoscope described in this story from New Atlas. See the original version for a second image and a 1:27 minute video. DesignTAXI’s coverage (drawing on a press release) adds this: “The result appeared way more expansive than the space allowed, presenting solutions that can be replicated in areas beyond the realms of art. ‘Our kaleidoscope is meant to represent how a simple and considered design, when supported with a material that can scale…

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  • Call: Workshop on Human-Robot Interaction in Public Spaces at HRI 2022

    Call for Papers Workshop on Human-Robot Interaction in Public Spaces At the 2022 International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2022) Virtual Event [see HRI 2022 website for details] March 11, 2022 Workshop: https://sites.google.com/view/hripublicspaces2022 HRI 2022: https://humanrobotinteraction.org/2022/ Submission deadline: February 14, 2022 There has been an increasing number of examples where robots and intelligent agents are being deployed in public domains. Commercial solutions such as Pepper or Cruzr and more specialized robots serving as guards or providing delivery services are increasingly being tested in applications in everyday public environments. At the same time, customer value and business models for social robots…

    Read more: Call: Workshop on Human-Robot Interaction in Public Spaces at HRI 2022
  • Meta establishes four-foot “personal boundary” to deter VR groping

    [This Ars Technica report describes a new feature in Meta’s virtual worlds designed to maintain personal space among user avatars and prevent the longstanding problems of harassment and assaults in virtual settings. The story, which includes a second image and a 6:37 minute video, provides important context but only briefly mentions a specific recent groping incident experienced by Meta beta tester Nina Jane Patel, Co-founder and VP of Metaverse Research – Kabuni; she wrote a thoughtful Medium post about her experience and its relevance to bigger issues including the role of presence. See also coverage from CNBC TV18. –Matthew] Meta…

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  • Call: Experiential Learning in Communication – National Communication Association 2022 Convention

    Call for Proposals National Communication Association (NCA) 2022: Experiential Learning in Communication Division November 17-20, 2022 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Division Call: https://ww4.aievolution.com/nca2201/index.cfm?do=pln.viewPlanner&plannerID=1376 Division Info: https://www.natcom.org/experiential-learning-communication-division Other division Calls: https://ww4.aievolution.com/nca2201/index.cfm?do=pln.pubListPlanners&hasDescription=1&hasTypesDefined=1 Submission Deadline: March 31, 2022 Experiential Learning in Communication welcomes your submissions for our sessions in New Orleans, Louisiana. Experiential learning is an engaged learning process whereby students “learn by doing” and by reflecting on the experience. This division focuses on the practice of Experiential Learning toward understanding the process and impacts of the communication process in our world. Forms of Experiential Learning include: Community-Based Learning Internships and Practicum Study…

    Read more: Call: Experiential Learning in Communication – National Communication Association 2022 Convention
  • Stepping into virtual reality as a parent brings adventure and unknowns

    [This ‘Perspective’ column from The Washington Post, which includes insights from a recent study by and an interview with our colleague Jeremy Bailenson, describes a parent’s experiences with virtual reality and presence. For more on the topic see the December 2021 CNN story “In VR, there are no rules, so parents are making up their own,” which includes this: “While casting [an option that lets you see what the VR headset-wearer is doing in real time on a smartphone or other flat screen] and limiting types of content kids can access may help adults track what their children are doing,…

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  • Call: GenAIHCI – Generative AI and HCI – CHI 2022 workshop

    Call for Participation GenAIHCI – Generative AI and HCI – CHI 2022 workshop 10 May 2022 (start/end times will depend on the number of submissions and the geographical distribution of participants) ONLINE ONLY Workshop: https://generativeaiandhci.github.io/ CHI 2022: https://chi2022.acm.org/ Submission deadline:  24 February 2022 Generative AI can be defined as an AI system that uses existing media to create new, plausible media. This scope is broad, and the generative potential of AI systems varies greatly. Over the last decade, we have seen a shift in methodology, moving from expert systems based on patterns and heavy human curating towards stochastic and generative…

    Read more: Call: GenAIHCI – Generative AI and HCI – CHI 2022 workshop
  • Don’t be too quick to dismiss the metaverse

    [This commentary from MediaPost argues that while the current discussion of and investment in the technologies of a metaverse may be overly optimistic, they mark an important – and presence-related – change in the relationship between humans and technology. For a primer on the metaverse concept, history and possible future, see the new CNET article “The metaverse is just getting started: Here’s what you need to know.” –Matthew] [Image: Source: CNET] COMMENTARY Don’t Be Too Quick To Dismiss The Metaverse By Gord Hotchkiss, Featured Contributor February 1, 2022 According to my fellow Media Insider Maarten Albarda, the metaverse is just…

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  • Call: Pedagogical Forms in Times of Pandemic – International Network of Philosophers of Education 2022 Conference

    Call for Papers INPE Conference 2022 18th International Network of Philosophers of Education Conference ‘Pedagogical Forms in Times of Pandemic’ August 17-20, 2022 Aarhus University, Danish School of Education, Copenhagen (Denmark) [and online; see NOTE below] https://conferences.au.dk/inpe2022/ Submission deadline: 1st of March 2022 NOTE: The conference is planned to take place on-site, in Copenhagen. However, due to the limited travel possibilities that the pandemic might still be causing, an option for online presentation will be available. The recent pandemic seems to have brought to particular attention the value and meaning of pedagogical forms. The reduction of teaching to a uniform activity…

    Read more: Call: Pedagogical Forms in Times of Pandemic – International Network of Philosophers of Education 2022 Conference
  • Faith in the metaverse: A VR quest for community, fellowship

    [The pandemic has increased the value of the social and spatial presence evoked by religious activities in virtual environments, as reported in this Associated Press story in Japan Today. See the original version for a photo gallery containing eight more images. –Matthew] [Image: Pastor D.J. Soto, the lead pastor of VR Church, delivers a sermon in his home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on January 23. Credit: AP] Faith in the metaverse: A VR quest for community, fellowship By Luis Andres Henao February 3, 2022 Under quarantine for COVID-19 exposure, Garret Bernal and his family missed a recent Sunday church service. So…

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