Streamlining Python Development: A Guide to a Modern Project Setup
Singing the body electric
1. Singing the Body Electric
The Role of Embodiment and Identity in
Creating and Performing Telepresence
Dr. Mark Childs
Dr. Aase Knudsen
DIVERSE 2012, July 5th
7. Expansion of SciEthics Interactive
• West Chester University, PA
– Kwazulu Natal, SA
– Center for Distance Learning, SUNY Empire State
College, NY
– National University, CA, USA
• HP Catalyst Program
• More partners and more preparation
• Extend to an Avatar Driving Licence
• Standardised across programmes
8.
9. (Sort of) standardised programme
Basic Intermediate Advanced social Advanced builder
Creating an account Editing appearance of Managing groups Uploading
Logging into virtual avatars Group IMs materials
world
Joining class group
Walking and sitting Search function Visiting various Creating buildings
down communities and structures
describing that
community in a blog
post
Flying, acquiring flight Inventory management Experiment with Tweaking the
feather avatar, be a different preferences
sex, ethnicity, species. settings
Be pregnant, tiny,
robot.
Reflect on experience.
11. Presence workshop Lillehammer 2011
• Took place at Didaktikk og Teknologi
conference, Lillehammer University College,
Norway, 7th to 8th February, 2011
• Consisted of examples of telepresence
activities then performance between Aase
(physical world) and Gann (Mark’s avatar) in
virtual worlds operated from laptop in room.
• Avatar is Coral Sea Dryke by Kazuhiro Aridian
14. Effective for following reasons
• Fulfilled many of the Lichtmann criteria
• Interaction convincing due to apparent line of
sight and action/response
Also
• Avatar chosen was that enabled non-verbal
communication
• Familiar enough to be part of extended body
schema even with second person view
• Emotional element
15. Enabling presence in VWs
• Extended body schema leads to sense of embodiment,
presence and immersion.
• Developing identity leads to social presence and
stronger interactions with people.
• Transparency of mediated technology enhances these
for performer and audience.
• Embodied cognition depends upon the above factors
being well developed; a sense of situation as opposed
to location.
• Can change bodies, this changes relationships
• Applies to the physical world too.
16. Cycle of engagement (Caspi and Blau 2008; 339)
High
copresence
Acquire Sensitive to
presence others’
skills presence
Motivated
Experience
to project
community
self
17. Translating to physical world
• Body identity dichotomy explored through
“identity tourism” in virtual worlds.
• Modification also possible in physical world.
• Aligning actual self with perceived self
enhances presence.
• Gender reassignment, tattooing, dying hair ..
All exist on this continuum.
• Bring that experience into the physical.
18. Embodiment and presence
Bodies designed, executed and acting as locus for
cognition, interaction, situation in both worlds
Avatar by Kazuhiro Aridian Ratava by Christine Marie Rødahl
19. Embodiment and presence
Bodies designed, executed and acting as locus for
cognition, interaction, situation in both worlds
20. Summary
• Mistake to think of telepresence as a
technological effect, it is about sensation,
experience and perception.
• Embodiment and identity also need to be
taken into account in physical and virtual.
• Maximising telepresence also requires
maximising emotional too.
• Embodiment and identity enhances the
experience of immersion and telepresence.
This is a very limited view of what telepresence is. Telepresence isn’t just the technical aspect. It involves creating a sense and an experience in the minds of the participants
This is an attempt to identify the range of factors that influence presence. Tools are one, but so are the way that interactions are constructed, and identity is key too.
In this exercise, students are given the task of changing their avatars to adapt to the environment. They discuss what their bodies would need to be like and then change them accordingly.
This also gives them control over their bodies. They individuate them, which increases their sense of connection to their avatar and also their sense of agency within the space.
An example of the role that developing an identity and body inworld can play given by this workshop
Switch to video if possible of different actions made by dryke
Aase watches Gann, Mark observes Aase and Gann, but audience perceive two-way interaction.
Both technologically passes as a telepresence activity, also though experience, perception and sensation were vital.
So this is what the experience of telepresence shows us. Situated and located is a reference to Merleau-Ponty
Alternatively, motivated to project self, leads to development of identity, body image, picking up on others presence, experiencing a connection to others and communication. So for the learner experience to be as effective as possible, this aspect needs to be given support too
Telepresence happens in the head not in the machine.
