The decreasing price of displays has enabled exploration of ever-larger high-resolution displays. Previous research has shown that as the display grows larger, users prefer to physically navigate, which has proven benefits. However, increasing the display size so radically creates a new difficulty in interaction. The paradigm has changed from sitting at a desktop computer to taking users' physical navigation into account and designing more mobile interactions. Currently, when users move, they change the scale at which they are viewing information without changing the interaction scale. This is a problem because tasks change at different levels of visual scale. Mulitscale interaction aims to exploit users’ movement by linking it to interaction, changing the interaction scale depending on users’ distance from the display. This work accomplishes three things: first, we define the design space of multiscale interaction; secondly, through a case study, we explore the design issues for a specific area of the design space; lastly, we evaluate one application through a user study that compares it to two other interaction types. We wanted to know, do users in fact benefit from the linkage of physical navigation with interaction? Results show a trend of a natural link between user distance and interaction scale, even with the other techniques that did not enforce this link. In addition, multiscale interaction benefits from the link by having more consistent performance. They also show that while participants using multiscale interaction tend to move more, they benefit from this additional movement, unlike with the other interaction types. / Master of Science

[ES] Actualmente existe un creciente número de estudios que muestran resultados prometedores en intervenciones basadas en realidad virtual en diferentes poblaciones neurológicas, con especial énfasis en poblaciones que han sufrido un ictus. El interés en la realidad virtual se basa en su capacidad para recrear entornos controlados, inmersivos e interactivos que involucran a los participantes en ejercicios intensos y personalizados, características clave en las intervenciones efectivas de neurorrehabilitación. La interacción, así como la representación corporal del usuario en un mundo virtual, suelen estar mediadas a través de entes virtuales, o avatares, que representan síncronamente movimientos corporales reales o responden a eventos mediante dispositivos de entrada externos. Los avatares no solo proporcionan un ancla en el mundo virtual para las tareas visomotoras, sino que su morfología también puede tener implicaciones en el comportamiento de los usuarios. Si bien una gran cantidad de estudios se han centrado en comprender los mecanismos subjetivos subyacentes a una exposición de realidad virtual (presencia y corporización o embodiment, principalmente) en individuos sanos, la transferencia de estos hallazgos a individuos con ictus no es evidente y permanece sin explorar. La presencia se define como el grado en que un individuo es incapaz de reconocer que una experiencia es generada por ordenador. A su vez, la corporización se define como la auto conciencia que un individuo tiene de su propio cuerpo. Estudios previos han identificado diferentes componentes que constituyen la corporización, incluyendo la propiedad, la localización y la agencia. La posible variación de dichos mecanismos podría afectar a la experiencia dentro de un entorno virtual y, en última instancia, a la efectividad clínica de las intervenciones de neurorrehabilitación. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es salir al paso de esta incógnita, determinando y comparando la presencia y la corporización en un entorno virtual en usuarios sanos y con ictus. El presente trabajo incluye cuatro estudios con sujetos sanos y con ictus, que se realizaron con dicho objetivo. Adicionalmente, se realizaron dos estudios complementarios donde se caracterizaron los sistemas de estimulación audiovisual y de registro del movimiento utilizados en este experimento. En el primer estudio se analizó la relación entre la presencia y la inmersión de los usuarios sanos durante una tarea en un entorno virtual mostrado mediante un casco de realidad virtual, donde los usuarios interaccionaban mediante movimientos corporales, detectados con un dispositivo de captura de movimiento. Los siguientes dos estudios caracterizaron las respuestas subjetivas, comportamentales y fisiológicas de la sensación de corporización en sujetos sanos y en individuos con ictus. Se utilizó la ilusión de la mano de goma para analizar la propiedad y la localización en ausencia de movimiento. Los resultados de estos estudios indican que los individuos con ictus parecen ser más propensos a sentir propiedad sobre un elemento externo a su cuerpo que los sujetos sanos. Además, a través de estos estudios se pudieron determinar otros efectos como la variación de la corporización con la edad en sujetos sanos o la respuesta muscular en sujetos con ictus y su relación con esta sensación. El último estudio caracterizó la interacción de la presencia y la corporización tanto en sujetos sanos como con ictus en un entorno virtual, homólogo al utilizado previamente. Los resultados derivados de este estudio proporcionan la primera evidencia de que los individuos con ictus pueden experimentar la sensación de presencia y corporización con algo menos de intensidad, pero de manera comprable a sujetos sanos. Estos hallazgos confirman la vivacidad de la experiencia virtual tras un ictus, lo cual podría constituir la base de la efectividad de las intervenciones de neurorrehabilitación medi / [CA] Actualment existeix un creixent nombre d'estudis que mostren resultats prometedors en intervencions basades en realitat virtual incloent diferents poblacions neurològiques, amb especial èmfasi en poblacions amb seqüeles d'ictus. L'interès en la realitat virtual es basa en la seua capacitat per recrear entorns controlats, immersius i interactius que involucren als participants en exercicis intensos i personalitzats, característiques claus en les intervencions efectives de neurorrehabilitació. La interacció, així com la representació corporal de l'usuari en un món virtual, sol estar facilitada a través d'ens virtuals o avatars, que representen sincrònicament moviments corporals reals o que responen a esdeveniments determinants mitjançant dispositius d'entrada externs. Els avatars no només proporcionen una àncora en el món virtual per a les tasques visiomotores, sinó que amb la seua morfologia també poden tindre implicacions al comportament dels usuaris. Tot i que una gran quantitat d'estudis s'han centrat en comprendre els mecanismes subjectius subjacents a una exposició de realitat virtual (presència i corporització o embodiment, principalment) en individus sans, la transferència d'aquests descobriments a individus amb ictus no és evident i roman sense explorar. La presència es defineix com el grau amb què un individu no és capaç de reconèixer que una experiència es generada per un ordinador. Així mateix, la corporització es defineix com l'autoconsciència que un individu té del seu propi cos i està dividida en tres constructes: la propietat, la localització i l'agència. Les possibles variacions d'aquests mecanismes poden afectar a l'experiència dins d'un entorn virtual i, en última instància, a l'efectivitat clínica de les intervencions de neurorrehabilitació. L'objectiu principal d'aquest treball és respondre aquesta incògnita, determinant i comparant la presència i la corporització a un entorn virtual amb usuaris sans i amb ictus. El present treball inclou quatre estudis amb subjectes sans i amb ictus, que es van realitzar amb aquest objectiu. Addicionalment, es van realitzar dos estudis complementaris prèviament on es van caracteritzar els sistemes d'estimulació audiovisual i de registre del moviment utilitzats. Al primer estudi, es va analitzar la relació entre la presència i la immersió en usuaris sans durant una tasca a un entorn virtual mostrat mitjançant un casc de realitat virtual, on el usuaris interaccionaven a través de moviments corporals, detectats amb un dispositiu de captura de moviment. Els següents dos estudis van caracteritzar les respostes subjectives, de comportament i fisiològiques de la sensació de corporització en subjectes sans i individus amb ictus. Es va utilitzar la il·lusió de la mà de goma per analitzar la propietat i la localització en absència de moviment. Els resultats d'aquests estudis indicaren que els individus amb ictus semblen ser més propensos a sentir propietat sobre un element extern al seu cos que els subjectes sans. A més a més, mitjançant aquests estudis es van poder determinar altres efectes com la variació de la corporització amb l'edat en subjectes sans o la resposta muscular en subjectes amb ictus i la seua relació amb aquesta sensació. L'últim estudi va caracteritzar la interacció de la presència i la corporització tant en subjectes sans com ictus a un entorn virtual, homòleg al utilitzat prèviament. Els resultats derivats d'aquest estudi proporcionen la primera prova de què els individus amb ictus poden experimentar la sensació de presència i corporització de manera semblant a subjectes sans, si bé amb menys intensitat. Aquests descobriments confirmen la vivacitat de l'experiència virtual després d'un ictus, la qual cosa podria constituir la base de l'efectivitat de les intervencions de neurorrehabilitació mitjançant entorns de realitat virtual. / [EN] An increasing number of studies report promising results of virtual reality (VR)-based interventions in different neurological populations, with particular emphasis on stroke. Interest on VR is based on its ability to recreate controlled, immersive, and interactive environments that engage participants in intensive and customized exercises. Importantly, these features have been repeatedly reported as pillars of effective neurorehabilitation interventions. Interaction and bodily presence in the virtual world is usually mediated through virtual selves, or avatars, which synchronously represent actual body movements or respond to events on external input devices. Embodied self-representations in the virtual world not only provide an anchor for visuomotor tasks, but their morphology can also have behavioral implications. While a significant body of research has focused on the underlying subjective mechanisms of exposure to VR (mainly presence and embodiment) on healthy individuals, the transference of these findings to individuals with stroke is not evident and remains unexplored. The sense of presence can be defined as the degree to which an individual is unable to recognize that an experience is computer-generated. Classical definitions of embodiment have resorted to the concept of bodily self-consciousness. Previous research has identified different constitutive components of embodiment, including body-ownership, self-location, and agency. The possible variation of these mechanisms could affect the experience and, ultimately, the clinical effectiveness of neurorehabilitation interventions. The main objective of this work is to delve into these questions, by determining and comparing the sense of embodiment and presence in a virtual environment of a sample of healthy subjects and individuals with stroke. The present work includes four primary studies involving healthy people and people with stroke and two complementary studies that aimed to characterize the audiovisual stimulation devices and motion tracking systems used. The first primary study investigated the connection between presence and immersion in healthy subjects during a task in a virtual environment displayed by a VR headset. Participants interacted through body movements, detected with a motion tracking device. The following two primary studies determined the subjective, behavioural, and physiological responses to embodiment in healthy subjects and individuals with stroke. These studies used the rubber hand illusion to investigate body-ownership and self-location in absence of movement. The results of these studies indicated that individuals with stroke appear to be most likely to feel body-ownership over an external body part than healthy subjects. Moreover, these studies explored other effects, such as the dependence of embodiment with age in healthy subjects or the muscular responses in individuals with stroke and its relation to embodiment. The last primary study investigated the interaction of presence and embodiment both in healthy subjects and individuals with stroke in a virtual environment, homologous to the one used previously. The results of this study provided first evidence that individuals with stroke experiment comparable (but slightly lower) sense of embodiment and presence to healthy controls during exposure to VR. These findings confirm the vivacity of the virtual experience after a stroke, which could constitute the basis for the effectiveness of neurorehabilitation interventions using VR environments. / Borrego González, A. (2019). RELACIÓN DE LA PRESENCIA Y LA CORPORIZACIÓN EN REALIDAD VIRTUAL EN INDIVIDUOS CON ICTUS [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/135256

This paper examines the process of designing a breathing mechanic to enhance player-character alignment in video games. Breathing is closely connected to emotional regulation and could therefore potentially impact a players’ emotions in a similar way to the real thing when implemented into a game as a mechanic. Real life breath control is also a common way to alleviate anxiety through the use of breathing exercises. These factors make breathing an attractive action to adopt into game design in the pursuit of aligning the player with the character they are playing. By iterating on a prototype breathing mechanic in our video game, Still, this study observes that breathing as a game mechanic can align player and character through the synchronisation of action in game with action in real life. Players tend to match their real life breath with the in-game breathing mechanic and this suggests player-character alignment.

Pregnant people are increasingly turning to mobile apps for support and guidance throughout their pregnancy. The popularity of pregnancy apps in society and their potential influence on how users engage with and perceive their pregnant bodies underscore a public interest in investigating the effects of these apps. However, little attention has been given to how pregnancy apps are involved and influence the pregnancy experience. This study aimed to investigate the role of pregnancy apps in the embodied pregnancy experience. Data was collected by eight interviews with pregnant people and an examination of six pregnancy apps using the walkthrough method. By employing a postphenomenological perspective, the relationship between user and technology was analysed, focusing on technology as a mediating character. The findings indicate that pregnancy apps are intimately involved in the pregnancy experience by mediating (1) a bond between parents and the unborn baby, (2) a shared experience between partners, and (3) knowledge about the pregnant body. However, the pregnant body is constructed around medical measurements, norms, and expectations about what it means to be pregnant and provides little support to the lived bodily experience.

No description available.

In this paper I aimed to explore the bodily experiences and expressions that Christian charismatics interpret as religious.  The so-called presence of God and the so-called gifts of the spirit were in focus in the gathering of information. My purpose was to find out how the social community of the Christian charismatics affects the subjective bodily experiences that are interpreted as religious by the individual. The main questions were: 1: How do Christian charismatics describe religious experiences and their effect on the body? 2: What bodily expressions of religious experience can be observed in Christian charismatic contexts? 3: Is there a common way of expressing the experience of God's presence (individually or in a group) and how, in this case, can any resemblance be explained? The methods used to answer these questions were qualitative interviews and participant observations, which then were analyzed by the anthropologist Thomas J. Csordas theory of embodiment. By applying his theory on a Swedish-based material I hope to bring a new perspective into the research on this subject and inspire to further research and curiosity about Christian charismatics in Sweden. In this essay phenomena such as falling in the spirit, speaking in tongues, and healing were analyzed. Some of the phenomena, which are interpreted as presences of God by the believer, could be explained according to the theory of embodiment, but some could not. The similarities of bodily religious experiences among different groups of Christian charismatics can be explained with the concept of habitus. That is because even though the groups may have long distances between them, the still share behaviors and belief systems , for example the Bible, as common ideas in the global habitus of Christian charismatics.

Artikeln behandlar blandningen av fysisk teater och Virtual Reality(VR) och ämnar att besvara vilka fördelar kroppsligt berättande kan generera ur en digital miljö. Sammanhangen och kopplingarna leder till en diskussion hur VR som medieform kan liknas vid en teatermask som främjar kroppslig berättande. Artikeln tar också upp hur kroppen är viktig i både VR och teater samt hur gestaltningen Get Your Act Together översätter den fysiska världen till en digital plats. Avslutningsvis presenteras ett sammanhang mellan VR och teater vilket leder till en diskussion om VR:ens roll som medie i teatersammanhang. / This article deals with the mixture of physical theater and Virtual Reality(VR) and aims to answer what benefits physical storytelling can generate from a digital environment. The context and the connections leads to a discussion of how VR as a media form can be compared to a theatrical mask that promotes physical storytelling. The article also addresses how the body is important in both VR and theater and how the design “Get Your Act Together” translates the physical world into a digital place. Finally, a connection between VR and theater is presented, which leads to a discussion about VR's role as a medium in a theater context.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / Kevin Blake / Mexican artist and global phenomenon Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) fascinates and inspires people from all walks of life. Rather than simply approaching the life and work of Kahlo from a traditional art historical perspective, this dissertation draws from the interdisciplinary nature of critical human geography to investigate Kahlo. Specifically, this work is informed by two sub-fields of critical human geography—feminist geography and cultural geography. Kahlo’s iconic status as a feminist symbol makes feminist geography an obvious choice while cultural geography provides the dominant methodology of textual analysis. Both sub-fields are drawn together by the use of a poststructuralist theoretical foundation that views no one meaning or interpretation as fixed, but rather posits that meanings and interpretations are fluid and open to a variety of conclusions. The primary research question in this dissertation is, “How are the critical geographies of hybridity, embodiment, and glocalization developed and explored in Frida Kahlo’s art and life?” The question is answered through the geographical exploration of Kahlo’s work, life, and iconic status as a major public figure. I delve into each of the three components of the question (hybridity, embodiment, and glocalization) by connecting geographical concepts and understandings to Kahlo and her work. I extend this exploration by arguing that Kahlo demonstrates how the self both mirrors and constructs critical geographies. This research seeks to expand and deepen the understanding of Kahlo as a significant geographical figure—an artist who was intensely aware of people and place. Additionally, this research draws together diverse threads of geographic inquiry by highlighting the interdisciplinary and humanistic qualities of the discipline. Perhaps most importantly, this dissertation positions Kahlo as a critical geographer—defying the sometimes arbitrary and limited notions imposed on the discipline and its practitioners. I assert that Kahlo’s work and life are inherently a lived expression of geographical ideas that manifest themselves in a physical, mental, and emotional sense. Ultimately, Kahlo constructs an embodied geographic text—creating knowledge and helping people understand identity and place in a different way.

This dissertation explores the embodied and sensory dimensions of fantastic film, those elements that are generally held up in contrast to and, often, in excess of, narrative structure. I suggest a departure from the traditional approach to genre study which has been preoccupied with narrative formulas, themes, and iconographies. My goal is not to dispense with those kinds of analyses but to complement them and, importantly, to point to some neglected dimensions of genre pleasure. I propose to transform the presumably excessive pleasures of the fantastic genre into something essential to it. First, I explore the disavowal or avoidance of embodied sensation within popular genre criticism. I then turn to critique existing models of film reception, focusing particularly upon a critique of the ocularcentric or visualist framework. From this critique, I am able to suggest some criteria for an alternative theoretical model based upon embodiment. I propose a theoretical framework based, first, on the phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who demonstrates that human subjects are constituted materially and culturally through their perceptual relations within the world. Second, I rely upon a further interpretation of this phenomenology by the American philosopher Don Ihde. Ihde’s work, configured as “postphenomenology,” draws variously from technoscience studies, the philosophy of science, feminist, and posthumanist theory, and sketches a system for the application of an experimental phenomenology. With this method, I explore various embodied, sensational aspects of fantastic genre films, i.e., spectacle, gore, musical genre conventions. I describe and relate these aspects of fantastic film to other cultural venues, exploring common themes and structures among them. From this, I draw some conclusions as to the nature of these sensational genre pleasures for embodied human individuals. Simultaneously, I consider the possibilities for embodied difference among individuals. / text

本研究的發問從研究者自身經驗以及大眾媒體內容出發，試圖瞭解成年女性學習芭蕾背後指涉出女性身體、芭蕾文化以及社會性別結構之間的何種關係，並從中探討女性身體在習舞的過程中，扮演何種角色。 對此，在理論的引用上，本研究以人類學的「體現」典範和美國女性主義政治哲學家Iris Marion Young的理論觀點，將女性身體視為一個知覺主體進行分析探討；在研究方法上，則採用「深度訪談法」以及研究者本身的「參與體驗」，以對成年女性的習舞身體經驗進行多方詮釋，從中瞭解該經驗所呈現、調和與轉化女性身體、芭蕾文化和社會性別結構的種種現象與關係。 本研究發現成年女性的芭蕾身體經驗共有三個特質：首先，成年女性在學習芭蕾的過程中，得以覺察自我身體感官，抒解身體壓力，並從社會角色回歸真實自我，對於身體的關注也不再僅集中在視覺觀感，同時也重視身體體驗。芭蕾的身體經驗成為成年女性擺脫社會角色，回歸身體知覺的「她方」國度。 再者，芭蕾身體經驗具有「轉化」的功能。此經驗一方面轉化了成年女性和日常生活的關係，改變成年女性在日常生活的姿態、生活行動的意義，讓成年女性有再詮釋個人與生活世界的能力。另外在「芭蕾學習文化」的部分，成年女性在日漸老化、退化身體的限制下，以親身體驗與實踐，重新定義學習芭蕾的年齡上限與可能性，也藉此展現女性身體的能力、自主與超越性。另外，在本研究也發現，成年女性的身體經驗讓過去象徵為男性凝視的芭蕾文化，轉變成女性自我體察與觀看，而重新定義芭蕾的觀看意義，此乃有別於過去女性主義的芭蕾研究結果。 最後，本研究發現女性身體乃是同時交織主客體面貌的多元身體，亦即女性身體在自我知覺以及社會性別結構之中來回游移，時為主體，時為客體，女性身體遂在自我和社會之間不斷變化其面貌。 女性身體有其能動性，但其也必須在社會性別結構之下扮演其角色，因此對於扮演主客體的女性身體的關注，可能不在於尋求身體的終極解放，而是女性身體如何在結構的限制之下，獲得更多的自主與選擇的可能。在本研究中，成年女性在芭蕾學習經驗中，回歸純然的身體知覺，即開啟女性身體自主的可能與契機。