Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Augmented reality – Social aspects'

Augmented Reality, eller förstärkt verklighet som det heter på svenska, är en teknologi som funnits i någon form sedan mer än 30 år tillbaka. Förstärkt verklighet system bygger och lägger virtuella objekt på vår syn av verkligheten, antingen genom video eller en genomskinlig display. Trots sin långa historia har det bara nyligen kunnat börja utvecklas i någon betydande mening, därför att den är starkt begränsad av processor- och display-teknik. Förutom tekniska begränsningar möter den också begränsningar i form av användarens kapacitet att bearbeta information som ett system matar ut. Om mängden information överskrider kapaciteten blir användaren överbelastad, ett tillstånd som kallas för Information Overload, vilket resulterar i att användaren får svårt att ta in och begripa information. Detta kan åthjälpas genom att utöva god design av användargränssnittet, som är en viktig del i alla system. Militären är mycket intresserade i teknologin i hopp om att det ska ge dem en bättre överblick på slagfältet. Den miljö som råder på ett slagfält kan dock vara mycket stressande, vilket ökar risken för Information Overload och gör det till en större utmaning att designa ett användbart system. Denna uppsats syftar att samla information om förstärkt verklighet, Informaion Overload och gränssnittsdesign på ett ställe och applicera det på ett militärt projekt, för att undersöka vilka utmaningar som uppstår när man designar för militärt bruk, utifrån traditionella riktlinjer och principer.

E-handeln har vuxit snabbt och konsumenterna värdesätter bekvämligheten, det stora utbudetoch möjligheten att handla dygnet runt. E-handelns tillväxt har lett till ett ökande antalleveranser och returer. Det ökande antalet returer tyder på en osäkerhet hos konsumenternasom beror på bristfällig information i köpprocessen. Vid e-handelsköp har inte konsumenternasamma möjligheter att se och röra produkterna i verkligheten vilket är en bidragande orsak tillkonsumenternas osäkerhet i köpprocessen. Osäkerheten i kombination med en trend därkonsumenter byter ut sina produkter oftare tyder även på ett ohållbart köpbeteende. AR är ettverktyg som kan hjälpa konsumenter att göra genomtänkta köp genom att visualisera hurprodukter ser ut i hemmet, utvärdera produkterna redan innan köpet genomförts och därmedminska risken för ett dåligt eller onödigt köp.Tidigare forskning har visat att virtuella tekniker kan hjälpa konsumenter att utvärderaprodukter innan köpet och kompensera för bristfällig information. Därför är det intressant attundersöka AR från ett konsumentperspektiv och undersöka hur AR bidrar med betydandeinformation till konsumenter för att ha verkan på den osäkerhet som finns inom e-handeln.Studiens syfte är att undersöka vilken information som AR tillför under köpprocessen för attleda konsumenterna till mer hållbara köp. Studien har utgått från en kvalitativ forskningsansatsdär semistrukturerade intervjuer med inslag av contextual inquiry har använts för att samla inempiriska data. Det empiriska materialet har bearbetats med hjälp av en abduktiv tematiskanalysmetod. Studiens slutsats är att informationen AR tillför under stegen i köpprocessenhjälper konsumenter att göra mer genomtänkta köp vilket bidrar till en mer hållbar konsumtiondå de är mer säkra på om de ska eller inte ska genomföra köpet.
E-commerce has grown rapidly and consumers value convenience, the wide range of productsand the opportunity to shop day and night. The growth of e-commerce has led to an increasingnumber of deliveries and returns. The increasing number of returns indicates an uncertaintyamong consumers due to lack of information in the buying process. In e-commerce purchases,consumers do not have the same opportunities to see and touch the product, which is acontributing factor to consumers' uncertainty in the buying process. The uncertainty combinedwith a trend where consumers replace their products more often also indicates unsustainablebuying behavior. AR is a tool that can help consumers make well-thought-out purchases byvisualizing what the product looks like in the home, evaluating the product even before thepurchase has been made and thereby reducing the risk of a bad or unnecessary purchase.Previous research has shown that virtual technologies can help consumers evaluate the productbefore purchasing and compensate for incomplete information. Therefore, it is interesting toexamine AR from a consumer perspective and examine how AR contributes significantinformation to consumers in order to have an effect on the uncertainty that exists in ecommerce.The purpose of the study is to investigate what information AR provides during thebuying process to lead consumers to more sustainable purchases. The study was based on aqualitative research approach where semi-structured interviews with elements of contextualinquiry have been used to collect empirical data. The empirical material has been processedusing an abductive thematic analysis method. The study concludes that the information ARadds during the steps in the buying process helps consumers to make more thoughtfulpurchases, which contributes to a more sustainable consumption as they are more confidentabout whether or not to make the purchases.

The new reality is about connectivity. From social media to collaborative tools in work environments, people and their devices are highly intercommunicated. This reality also affects the manufacturing industry, which has been developing standards to keep up with technology and take advantage of it. These technologies are encompassed in what has been called Industry 4.0. Out of all the technologies, apart from artificial intelligence, the main drives of Industry 4.0 are considered by many studies augmented reality (AR) and industrial internet of things (IIoT). This thesis suggests that these drivers have been mostly tested either in an isolated fashion or with limited connectivity. The main objective is to explore the advantages of connecting AR, IIoT, and the main source of information in the manufacturing process: product lifecycle management (PLM) systems. Two sub-objectives are extracted from the main one: to study of value created from real-time role-dependent AR information displaying, and to study how the connection AR-IIoT-PLM can affect developing and deploying times of AR experiences. To achieve the mentioned objectives, a case of study is built, and the combined system implemented on it. Following design and creation methodology, an artefact is created, and conclusions are extracted from the design, implementation, and usage stages. Main results are an improvement in developing and deploying time of AR experiences, along with guidelines to extract as much value as possible from the implementation of a combined system of this sort. This thesis includes a discussion section, where the potential of the system is explained and framed within the near future of manufacturing companies.

This essay is about the use of Augmented Reality in healthcare, to highlight the challenges and the opportunities that generate from the subject. With the continual development of technology that is introduced to healthcare, it is important to understand the effects that Augmented Reality has on the workers that use it, and the people who are affected by it. This essay is based on a literature review to be able to examine the information that is best suited to contribute to the work. We created a table to present our findings by identifying two perspectives that are affected by the use of AR. The two perspectives are introduced as Care providers and Care recipients, which are the two main signifiers in hospitals and the healthcare environment. The conclusion of this essay will reveal the opportunities and the challenges of Augmented Reality in healthcare and may serve as a suggestion to what the future of Augmented Reality in healthcare can hold.

Augmented reality, place-based games utilize GPS-enabled maps and mobile media recording devices to shift traditional classroom activities into real-world contexts. AR-games for second language learning is a new field of research, and few studies have examined the kinds of face-to-face interactions players engage in during AR-games. Using intensive, multi-camera video data of English language learners playing an AR-game, ChronoOps, this thesis describes how groups start and stop walking during gameplay. The method used is conversation analysis, and this study draws from theories of embodied and distributed cognition, situated learning, and interactional competence Walking to and from various destinations as a group is an important action for accomplishing the ChronoOps game. Thus, starting and stopping are sites where players orient to the tasks and environment of the game. Results show that starts and stops are projectable and accountable actions comprised of multiple semiotic fields including linguistic, gestural, and embodied practices. Furthermore, starts and stops are contingent on players' orientation to their place within the campus and game destinations, but also their place within the locally constructed nature of the AR-game task organization. These findings have implications for future research theories of learning in SLA and AR-games.

As Covid-19 has been a long-lasting worldwide pandemic, more companies wish to find a solution in collaborative Augmented Reality (AR). That makes AR a growing technology that allows users to observe a virtual object in the real world in real-time. The virtual object can interact with real-world objects to fully augment the user’s reality. This paper's first aim is to evaluate whether a remote or aphysically co-located AR space is most efficient. The second aim concerns whether AR planes or AR tags will increase efficiency in the virtual environment. The third is to evaluate whether having a supervisor on a desktop with a mouse and keyboard and a screen or holding a phone connected to the same AR space is most efficient. The paper’s experiment’s focus will be to measure efficiency by fetching quantifiable data from the application while the pair of subjects complete the task of building a pyramid with cubes. Three paired t-tests have been done, one for each of the different test requirements. Co-located have been tested against remote, AR tag against AR plane, and 2D against 3D. The null hypothesis for these three tests is that there is no difference. A survey was done to collect qualitative data to determine which configuration was preferred. It was shown that co-located, 2D supervising, and AR planes were perceived as the best configuration. The results of the paired t-tests show that the difference between co-located and remote is significant with a 99% accuracy. At the same time, the two other tests have an insignificant difference, even with a 95% accuracy.

Digital environmental simulations can be performed with different techniques and the most common technologies are virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. Digital environmental simulations have proven to be effective in practicing surgery, industrial activities and for military exercises. Previous studies have shown that technology habits are a factor that affects whether digital environmental simulations can be used effectively. Thus, the purpose of the study was to investigate how users can be introduced to digital environmental simulations. To achieve the purpose, the following question was needed: How can a digital prototype be designed to introduce users to digital environmental simulations based on user needs? The study was based on design science as a research strategy, which meant that the study was carried out in three phases: development of requirements, development and evaluation of digital prototype. The production of requirements was made through a qualitative data collection in the form of semi-structured interviews. The interview questions were developed using a theoretical framework on digital competence. The interviews resulted in a requirement specification containing 15 user stories that were prioritized.Based onthe requirement specification, a digital prototype was developed in thedevelopment environment Unity. The evaluation of the digital prototype wascarried out in two stages, where the first was to evaluate internally and thesecond step was to evaluate externally. The external evaluation was conductedwith respondents who carried out a use test of the digital prototype thatresulted in proposals for further development. But it also resulted in usershaving increased knowledge and ability to see opportunities with digitalenvironmental simulations. The conclusion is that users can be introduced to digitalenvironmental simulations through a digital prototype designed based on userneeds.
Digitala miljösimuleringar kan utföras med olika tekniker och de vanligaste teknikerna är virtual reality, augmented reality och mixed reality. Digitala miljösimuleringar har visat sig vara effektiva för att öva på kirurgi, industrimoment samt för militärövningar. Tidigare studier har visat att teknikvana är en faktor som påverkar om digitala miljösimuleringar kan användas effektivt. Således var syftet med studien att undersöka hur användare kan introduceras till digitala miljösimuleringar. För att uppnå syftet behövdes följande frågeställning besvaras: Hur kan en digital prototyp utformas för att introducera användare till digitala miljösimuleringar baserat på användares behov? Studien har utgått från design science som forskningsstrategi, vilket medförde att studien har utförts i tre faser: framtagning av krav, utveckling och utvärdering av digital prototyp. Framtagning av krav skedde genom en kvalitativ datainsamling i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjufrågorna togs fram med hjälp av ett teoretiskt ramverk om digital kompetens. Intervjuerna resulterade i en kravspecifikation innehållande 15 användarberättelser som prioriterades.   Utifrån kravspecifikationen utvecklades en digital prototyp i utvecklingsmiljön Unity. Utvärderingen av den digitala prototypen genomfördes i två steg, där det första var att utvärdera internt och det andra steget var att utvärdera externt. Den externa utvärderingen genomfördes med respondenter som utförde ett användningstest av den digitala prototypen som resulterade i förslag till vidareutvecklingMen det resulterade även i att användare fick ökadkunskap och förmåga att se möjligheter med digitala miljösimuleringar.Slutsatsen är att användare kan introduceras till digitala miljösimuleringargenom en digital prototyp som utformats baserat på användares behov.

Today's rapid technological development in relation with social networks create efficient information flows in everyday life. It creates conditions for so-called "hypes" that are described as an exponentially growing trend of testing a new product. What factors lies behind a hype and how does it affect people that choose to refrain from new technology?   The purpose of this paper is to study the so called non-users, with a case study that concerns the Pokémon GO game and its hype in the summer of 2016. This case study has the intention to highlight the positive and negative aspects of non-users and other thoughts about hype. The study also intends to investigate what the non-users can contribute in technological development and if it's possible to distinguish between users and non-users in today's society.   The case study has been carried out on the basis of two group interviews; a group that abstained from playing and a group that played Pokémon GO during the hype. A number of issues are discussed and linked against a theoretical framework which also has been used in the analysis in this paper. Based on the results of the case study it appears that nostalgia was a major factor in the hype, many had prior knowledge of the concept and was triggered by it. Nostalgia was also a factor that lead people to refrain from the hype. The game did not meet up to everyone’s expectations regarding the functionality which existed earlier in Pokémon but not now.  It also emerged that the social environment affects both users and non-users in several ways. The investigation of the case study showed that non-users often had to wait for players due to different reasons. This could be while on walks with the player or that users could completely block roads. To be able completely separating non-users and users is complex as the real world is used as the platform of the game. Both previous studies and this paper demonstrates how important it can be to understand non-users. They have the opportunity to present an overall perspective of a product that users might condone. In summary, the future will become more complex in the area, especially with new technologies that make the real world a game field.

This dissertation contributes to IS research by explaining user intentions while using AR features in mobile social networking and retail app contexts. It consists of three essays, which use partial least squares modeling to analyze different consumer behavior models. The first essay examines the influence of quality, human, and environmental factors on AR reuse intention in a mobile social networking context. The second essay introduces position relevance, a new construct essential to AR research in e-commerce, and it looks at the influence of this construct and app involvement on user purchase intention, while using view-in-room features on mobile retail apps. The third essay examines the influence of service quality and visual quality on recommendation intention of mobile retail apps while using view-in-room features compared to shopping without using these AR features.

Humans are very good at conveying when something is lost or misinterpreted in communication by using social cues like facial expressions or changes in prosody. However, these methods are usually not applicable for most robots, which are appearance constrained and vocality constrained. This is also one of the key factors that restrain the efficiency of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). In this project, we explore a novel paradigm for enhancing the perception of the robot’s internal states using augmented reality (AR). A series of visualization interfaces augmenting either the environment, robot, or target object are implemented and evaluated through a user study. We found that AR visualization improved efficiency and motion predictability over a control group in which there is no visualization. The project shows not only the potential of AR visualizing as a bridge coordinating human and robot, but also a promising future of applications visualising robot’s internal states.
Människor är mycket bra på att förmedla när något går förlorat eller tolkas felaktigt i kommunikationen genom att använda sociala ledtrådar som ansiktsuttryck eller förändringar i prosodi. Dessa metoder är dock vanligtvis inte tillämpliga för de flesta robotar, vilka är begränsade till utseendet och begränsad vokalitet. Detta är också en av nyckelfaktorerna som begränsar effektiviteten i Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). I detta projekt utforskar vi ett nytt paradigm för att förbättra uppfattningen om robotens interna tillstånd med hjälp av augmented reality (AR). En serie visualiseringsgränssnitt som förstärker antingen miljön, roboten eller målobjektet implementeras och utvärderas genom en användarstudie. Vi fann att AR-visualisering förbättrade effektiviteten och rörelsesförutsägbarheten över en kontrollgrupp där det inte finns någon visualisering. Projektet visar inte bara potentialen för AR- visualisering som en bro som koordinerar människa och robot utan också en lovande framtid för applikationer som visualiserar robotens interna tillstånd.

This thesis presents a novel interaction model using mixed reality simulating a robot human interaction; a clay embodiment is overlaid with animated facial features using mobile augmented reality. One of the challenges when building a social agent, whether it is for education or solely social interaction, is to achieve social presence. One way to increase the feeling of presence is to have the agent physically embodied by using a robot. Earlier research has found that users listen more to robots that are present, than robots that are presented through a screen. But there are problems that come with robots that are not yet solved. Robot are expensive, they break, they are hard to update and they are very limited to the realm and problems they are built for: even standing up can be a challenge. This thesis tests if the theory of embodiment as a tool to heighten presence can be achieved, even if the robot and the interaction is only present in a screen. The clay embodiment is built by hand and later 3D scanned. The clay embodiment is tracked using Vuforia’s object recognition of the scan and is given an animatable face in a mixed reality setting through unity. The interaction of comparison and the basis of evaluation consist of a fully virtual robot head placed in 3D space using ground plane tracking. These interactions are compared separately and test subjects are only exposed to one type of interaction. Through the study the participants interacting with the clay embodiment rated the exeprience higher in respect to physical presences and scored better ability to recall details than the one with the fully augmented robot human interaction. The results were significant and indicate, with the reservation of false positives given the small participation sample, that mobile augmented reality agent interactions are improved, in respect to attention allocation and physical presence, by the use of mixed reality embodiments. Overall the interaction was very well perceived. Both conditions were highly enjoyed and critique mostly focused on the lack of complexity in the dialogue - the participants wanted more. Initial positive feedback states that this can and should be tested further.
Den här uppsatsen presenterar en ny interaktionsmodell i mixed reality (förstärkt verklighet). Modellen simulerar en interaktion mellan en robot och en användare: en robotfigur gestaltad i lera är förstärkt med animerade ansiktsdrag som visas i en mixed reality - miljö genom en mobiltelefon. Interaktionsmodellen med den fysiska robotfiguren kombinerad med animerade ansiktsdrag testas mot en likadan interaktion med en helt virtuellt robot utan fysisk gestaltning. En av utmaningarna vid skapandet av sociala agenter, oavsett om de är byggda för undervisningsmiljöer eller enbart rent sociala interaktioner, är att åstadkomma en upplevelse av social närvaro. Ett sätt att öka känslan av närvaro är att använda sig av en fysisk gestaltning i form av en robot. Tidigare forskning har funnit att användare lyssnar mer på robotar som finns fysiskt närvarande än robotar som presenteras via en skärm. Problemet med robotar är att de är dyra, de går sönder, de är svåra att uppdatera och de kan vara väldigt fysiskt begränsade: till och med att gå kan vara en utmaning. Den här uppsatsen testar ifall fysisk gestaltning ökar känslan av social närvaro, trots att all interaktion sker via en skärm. Ler-gestaltningen är skulpterad för hand, 3D-skannad och sedan spårad med hjälp av Vuforias objektigenkän- ning. Ler-gestaltningen får animerbara ansiktsdrag i mobilen. Denna interaktion jämförs mot en interaktion utan fysisk gestaltning: ett enbart virtuellt robothuvud med samma ansiktsdrag som är virtuellt positionerad i det fysiska rummet med hjälp av yt- och plan-igenkänning. Resultaten visade att interaktion mellan en människa och en virtuell agent har en ökad upplevelse av fysisk närvaro och att en virtuell agent tilldelas mer uppmärksamhet av den mänskliga parten ifall agenten har en fysisk gestaltning. Resultaten är statistiskt signifikanta med viss reservation för deltagarantalet i studien. Överlag upplevdes interaktionerna väldigt positivt. Deltagare från bägge interaktionerna gillade upplevelse. Deltagarnas tydligaste kritiska synpunkter gällde brist på komplexitet i konversationen - deltagarna ville ha en rikare interaktion. Den positiva responsen visar att interaktionssättet kan och bör studeras yttligare.

Communication in HRI, both verbal and non-verbal, can be hard for a robot to interpret and to convey which can lead to misinterpretations by both the human and the robot. In this thesis we look at answering the question if AR can be used to improve communication of a social robot’s intentions when interacting with children. We looked at behaviors such as getting children to pick up a cube, place a cube, give the cube to another child, tap the cube and shake the cube. We found that picking the cube was the most successful and reliable behavior and that most behaviors were slightly better with AR. Additionally, endorsement behavior was found to be necessary to engage the children, however, it needs to be quicker, more responsive and clearer. In conclusion, there is potential for using AR to improve the intent communication of a robot, but in many cases, the robot behavior alone was already quite clear. A larger study would need to be conducted to further explore this.
I Människa-Robot Interaktion kan både verbal och icke-verbal kommunikation vara svårt för en robot att förstå och förmedla vilket kan leda till missförstånd från både människans och robotens håll. I den här rapporten vill vi svara på frågan ifall AR kan användas för att förbättra kommunikationen av en social robots avsikter när den interagerar med barn. De beteenden vi kollade på var att få ett barn att plocka upp en kub, placera den, ge den till ett annat barn, knacka på den och skaka den. Resultaten var att plocka upp kuben var det mest framgångsrika och pålitliga beteendet och att de flesta beteenden var marginellt bättre med AR. Utöver det hittade vi också att bifallsbeteenden behövdes för att engagera barnen men behövde vara snabbare, mer responsiva och tydligare. Sammanfattningsvis finns det potential för att använda AR, men i många fall var enbart robotens beteenden redan väldigt tydliga. En större studie skulle behövas för att utforska detta ytterligare.

Reality-based interfaces bring new design opportunities to social games. These novel game interfaces, exemplified by Wii, Kinect, and Smart phones, leverage players' existing physics, bodily, environmental, and social skills. Moreover, they enable a shared hybrid physical-digital space in which the players' co-presence can be enhanced by their physical and digital co-location. However, many digital social games occupy players' attention with the digital display and content, reducing their attention spent on one another and limiting the synchronization of actions and emotions among players. How do we design technologies that do not interfere with social play but enhance and innovate it? In this thesis work, I focus on one particular kind of reality-based interfaces, Handheld Augmented Reality (HAR), to extend players' interaction from the small mobile devices to the shared hybrid space around a computationally trackable surface. This thesis explores how to encourage social play with HAR interfaces, which brings in challenges of designing with the affordances and constraints of the HAR interface, understanding the complicated phenomenon of social play, and integrating these understandings in multiplayer HAR game design. Adopting Research-through Design as the overarching research method, I collaborate with multiple teams, design and study three multiplayer HAR game prototypes. I present four main contributions. First, this work yields design artifacts and examples of social games with HAR interfaces. I communicate to the game design and Augmented Reality communities through these prototypes, including BragFish, ARt of Defense, and NerdHerder. Second, I provide empirical findings on social play in a shared hybrid space. Through lab-based user studies, observation, video analysis, interviews, and surveys, I collect and analyze interpersonal play behaviors and emotions in the shared hybrid space enabled by the HAR interface. Third, I adopt and adapt sociological theories to the domain of social games. I generate a list of theory-based design guidelines for co-located social games, especially HAR games. I prove its usefulness through the user study on an HAR game that embodies a subset of these design guidelines. Fourth, this thesis work is a case study that bridges Human Computer Interaction knowledge and methods with game design practices. It shows the outcome and benefits of multidisciplinary research, calling for more effort in integrating reality-based interfaces, as playful and experimental design materials, into different phases of game design process.

EverQuest is a multiplayer online role playing game that serves as a practical incarnation of life as a cyborg in a posthuman community. Using cultural materialsim, this thesis demonstrates how the words of EverQuest interactants - from message boards, interviews, and player in-game communications - construct the world of EverQuest and the roles of the interactants as its citizens. More specifically, this thesis will argue that the EverQuest world serves to reify the ideas of consumer capitalism that informs the "real" world, even as EverQuest itself promises an escape from that world.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009.
Committee Chair: MacIntyre, Blair; Committee Member: Bolter, Jay; Committee Member: Guzdial, Mark; Committee Member: Mateas, Michael; Committee Member: Mynatt, Elizabeth. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Virtual reality has existed for many years, dating back to the 1940s but becoming popular on a larger scale in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It has been largely regarded as something of a plaything or hobby and, in general, as something that is on a lower echelon when compared to physical reality. In recent years, however, as our society becomes more interconnected via the Internet and as highly interactive web services, such as Facebook, Second Life, and Twitter, play a larger role in individualsʼ lives, a reexamination of the status of virtual reality becomes necessary. ! This study employs the work of a major twentieth century critic, Kenneth Burke, and from his conception of dramatism to demonstrate that 1) virtual reality, for many, is a significant reality that can often lead to the formation of meaningful relationships between individuals and 2) the significance of this reality is born out of users dramatizing their online experiences. Through heuristics and dramatistic analysis, I examine how the users of Facebook dramatize their actions and collectively contribute to the formation of a controlling narrative that can be seen across all of virtual reality. Further, the findings of this thesis provide a heuristic foundation for future research into virtual reality.
The problem -- Literature review -- Method -- The controlling drama of Facebook as a virtual reality -- Conclusions, limitations and heuristic propositions.
Department of Telecommunications

This study seeks to use a dual-theoretical approach, through the use of para-social relationship theory and economic data analysis, to explain the success of reality television since the early 2000s. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative components to understand the growth of reality television. This study includes a literature analysis of both methodologies used. Focus groups were used to seek to find a strong level of para-social interaction in viewers of reality television. Two focus groups were conducted with participants 18-35. There were a total of 16 participants who attended the focus group sessions. The information collected suggested that viewers of reality television formed para-social relationships. It appeared that female viewers were more likely to form para-social relationships than male viewers.

Modern society largely consists of digital artifacts such as smartphones, smart watches and virtual technology that have the ability to change, expand or enhance the reality of the user. Technologies such as Augmented Reality are a relatively new phenomenon that in the future is believed to have an impact in the tourism industry since it can provide optimized user experiences. Digitization and the development of new technologies have, however, led to a change in consumer behavior in the tourism sector and sets higher demands on companies than before. How this technology can be beneficial in alignment with tourist experiences is something that this thesis has been based on, and with the help of a digital survey, people's attitude towards an Augmented Reality application in digital discovery and what functions meet people's needs regarding accommodation, eating, travel and activities during their holiday are investigated. The results indicate that people are generally positive about both downloading and using digital Augmented Reality applications in digital discovery, provided that the user's integrity is protected and that the general security is well developed. The results of this inquiry suggest that people prefer features that meet the user's primary needs, such as hotel and restaurant suggestions.

Mobile augmented reality has become an influential tool for digital content representation and visualization of media content in terms of enhancing users' experience and improving the adaptability and usability of typical augmented reality applications, such as in e-commerce shopping, virtual museum, or digital heritage scenarios. This research proposes a new Service Oriented Mobile AR Architecture called SOMARA, which includes a novel mobile AR client application. SOMARA takes advantage the ability to integrate third party content through service orientation. The SOMARA architecture enhances traditional standalone mobile AR applications with embedded media content by uniquely integrating a web service framework into an augmented reality client application to create more efficient and flexible mobile augmented reality applications that efficiently supports novel media content acquisition and visualization through appropriate access parameters. The proposed architecture requires access to media content through specific media content service providers, e.g. a museum commissioning an augmented reality based museum interactive — predetermined media content, or any third party with their own service APIs, e.g. the Victoria and Albert Museum API — related external media content. This approach allows relevant third party media content to be ‘mashed' via their public API with museums' augmented reality interactive's ‘embedded' media content in the SOMARA mobile AR client. In this way novel mobile AR interactive applications, such as a museum augmented reality interactive, can be created based on particular museum environment scenarios that integrate a museum visitor's experience with the interactive's cultural objects. Such experiences based on a SOMARA type museum augmented reality interactive can also be saved allowing visitors to take home their museum experience. SOMARA thus allows museum interactive experiences based on visualization of museums and third party media content physically located in the museum to be migrated to the visitor's home environment for further study, enjoyment and understanding. This unique feature, ability to effectively replay the experience at home, of the proposed system utilizes service-orientation to integrate third party media content, which is currently deficient from commercial augmented reality solutions.

The following rhetorical criticism is an investigation of two public service announcements released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Utilizing a composite method derived from Osborn (1994), Brummett (1991) and Burke (1945), this study investigates what it means when to say how others ought to act and why they ought to act that way. This investigation demonstrates how the manipulations of identities, ideologies, and action are the elements used to motivate people to act in affirmation of an identity. Moreover, it demonstrates why the motivated social actions serve as foundations for constructing our social reality. Ultimately, it discovers and clarifies a grammar of edification, how that grammar allows for efficient quotidian management, and, thus, why it serves as a tool for managing everyday meaning in our social world.

VR (Virtual Reality) är en datorsimulerad virtuell verklighet där användaren omsluts med ljud och bild och naturlagarna sätts ur spel. Användaren kan själv anpassa verkligheten efter egna behov och önskemål. Till skillnad från VR betraktas AR som ett visuellt system som förstärker vår verklighet med information och grafik. Teknologins snabba framväxt skapar möjligheter för destinationer att skapa innovativa och nyskapande tjänster som kan locka turister. Informationstekniken förändrar och formar nya konsumentbeteenden hos resenärer, speciellt tydligt syns det inom resebranschen. Det är fundamentalt för turistföretagens överlevnad att hänga med i den digitala utvecklingen och för att lyckas attrahera generationer som är födda in i den digitala eran där teknik genomsyrar vardagen. Efterforskningar av tidigare studier påvisar dock en saknad av kvalitativa initiativ som avser att redogöra för implementering av tekniker som VR och AR, samt en undersökning där aktörer tas i beaktning. Studien avser söka svar på huruvida VR kan nyttjas innan en resa och AR under resan. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka VR och AR i ett turistiskt sammanhang, specifikt hur researrangörer och museum, kan implementera teknikerna innan respektive under resan. Datainsamling har skett genom elva genomförda intervjuer. Respondenterna har delats in i tre kategorier, vilka representerar turistföretag (researrangörer och museum), VR- och AR- företag samt andra aktörer verksamma inom turism och digitala tekniker. En observation har genomförts där skribenterna fysiskt har testat teknikerna. Implementering av VR för en researrangör kan bidra som informations- och marknadsföringsverktyg, att uppleva platser utan att fysiskt resa till platsen och ett virtuellt bevarande av platser. Implementering av AR för ett museum kan bidra med vägbeskrivningar, information och historia om platser samt digital tillgänglighet. Fördelarna med implementering av teknikerna har visat sig vara marknadsföringsmässiga. Det är ett sätt att bevara, återanvända och visa upp samt sprida kunskap om våra historiska kulturarv. Teknikerna skapar mervärde för kunden då det erbjuds en extra service genom förenklad informationsspridning samt en förhöjd upplevelse av verkligheten. VR och AR hjälper till att levandegöra turismen och kan därmed sätta olika platser samt attraktioner på kartan på ett spännande och lättillgängligt sätt. Lågsäsongsturismen har goda förutsättningar att öka alternativt spridas ut mer jämnt under året genom att med VR visa upp för potentiella turister vad som kan förväntas av olika platser.
Virtual reality is a computer simulated reality, where the user is immersed with sound and image and natural of physics cease to exist. The user can customize the reality according to his or her own needs and desires. Unlike VR, AR is regarded as a visual system that reinforces our reality with information and graphics. The emergence of technology creates opportunities for travel destinations to create innovative value-added services that make them more appealing to the consumer. Information technology shapes new consumer behavior, especially in the travel industry. It is important that tourism companies are involved in the adoption of digital technologies in order to succeed in attracting younger generations born into the digital era where new technology permeates everyday life. The search for previous studies on the subject showed a lack of qualitative studies aimed at explaining the implementation of technologies, such as VR and AR. This study intends to determine whether VR can be implemented and add value used prior to a trip, and AR during the course of a trip. The purpose of the paper is to explore the virtual and augmented reality in the context of tourism by examining how tour operators and museums can implement VR prior to the trip, and AR during the trip. Data collection has been conducted through eleven interviews. Respondents have been divided into three categories, which represent: tourism companies (tour operators and museums), VR and AR companies and other market players invested in tourism and digital technologies. Both the VR and AR technologies have also been personally tested and experienced. Implementation of VR for a tour operator can contribute as information and marketing tools, detection of locations without physical travel to any given site as well as virtual site conservation. Implementation of AR for a museum can contribute positively in terms improved directions, increased accessibility to information and history of locations as well as digital accessibility. For a tourism company that specializes in customizing trips, advantages of the implementation of these technologies can be marketing and information tools. They can be an aid in terms of allowing for people visit foreign locations without physically traveling to them. The implementation of AR can help museum with direction, general information and history as well as digital accessibility. VR and AR can both be of benefit in terms of creating increased accessibility of locations and attractions. Low season tourism has solid potential to see an increase, or become more evenly distributed throughout the year, by leveraging AR to showcase its allure to potential new tourists.

AR-spelet Pokémon Go har spridits i världen runt om och även gjort en stor succé sen det först lanserades sommaren 2016. Målet med spelet var att få användarna att vilja utforska världen mer, förbättra den sociala interaktionen och öka den fysiska aktiviteten. Detta leder till syftet för denna studie att studera användarnas attityder kring sociala interaktionen och fysiska aktiviteten med AR-spelet Pokémon Go. Syftet är att få en bättre förståelse kring attityderna. Denna studie utfördes med mixed methods. En kvantitativ enkätundersökning genomfördes för att först ge en överblick över användningen för Pokémon Go; totalt 62 respondenter svarade. 6 kvalitativa intervjuer med 6 utvalda respondenter från enkätundersökningen var en komplettering till den kvantitativa metoden för att få en bättre förståelse. Resultatet från det empiriska materialet i jämförelse med den tidigare forskningen visade att användarna hade en positiv syn på AR och Pokémon Go, dock fanns det användare som var skeptiska då spelet och AR enligt dem kunde kännas krävande och innebära fara. Attityden kring den sociala interaktionen och AR var både positiv och negativ då användarna ansåg att AR kan ge stöd för den sociala interaktionen, men att ett möte med främlingar kan vara riskfyllt. Resultatet visar även att majoriteten av användarna känner att AR och fysisk aktivitet är en positiv koppling då det kan vara en motivation till att vara mer fysiskt aktiv.
The AR-game Pokémon Go has spread worldwide and has also made a huge success since it first launched in the summer 2016. The goals of the game were to make the users wanting to explore the world more, improve the social interaction among them and increase the physical activity. This leads to the aim of this paper to study the users’ attitudes towards the social interaction and physical activity with the AR-game Pokémon Go. The purpose is to get a better understanding of the attitudes. This paper was conducted by using mixed method. A quantitative survey was first conducted to get an overview of the usage of Pokémon Go; 62 respondents responded it. The 6 qualitative interviews with 6 selected respondents were a supplement to the survey to get a better understanding of the attitudes. The results of the empirical material in comparison to previous research showed that the users mostly have a positive attitude towards AR and Pokémon Go, but there were users who were skeptical because according to them the game and AR could be demanding and could mean danger. The attitude towards social interaction and AR were both positive and negative because the users find that AR can support the social interaction, but a meeting with strangers can be unsafe. The results shows that the majority of the users feels that AR and physical activity is positive connection as it can be a motivation for being more physically active.

This thesis elaborates on existing definitions and descriptions of simulation to develop an extended, inter-disciplinary concept of simulation that serves as an orienting model for the interpretation of culture. As cultural theory, simulation offers insights into the stabilization and propagation of cultural forms. Used descriptively, the metaphor of simulation throws into definition a cultural pattern of progressive formalization through increasingly sophisticated methods of abstraction. I find evidence of the pattern at many levels of analysis; metaphysical, social and micro-social, particularly at the level of the body. I use the speculative notion of the digital refiguring of culture to articulate this tendency towards abstraction through a parallel with the enhanced analytic and representational capacities of digital technology. I consider several actual and hypothetical ways that the computer figures in this process. I argue that the basis for cultural form is shifting away from the referential function of the body, as the abstract realm of mediated relations takes on greater importance in modern culture.

This thesis is about the story of the development of Adult Literacy and Numeracy policy and practice in Scotland. It includes some of my personal experiences over the past thirty years working in the field of adult education and particularly in literacies. However, the focus is primarily on the years 2000 –2006 when major developments took place in this field of adult learning. One of the tenets of the ‘new literacies’ policy and practice is that it is predicated on a social practice model. This thesis explores whether this assertion is rhetoric or reality. In the process the thesis outlines what the term social practice means to theorists, academics and those involved in the direct delivery of literacies. It examines the policy documents and the practices of managers and tutors and learner outcomes. The thesis argues that, while a learner centred approach is integral to any good adult education practice, it does not equate to the use of a social practice model and more requires to be done before it can be claimed that Scotland truly operates a social practice model in the delivery of Adult Literacy and Numeracy. The first five chapters of the thesis outline the historical context of literacies development in Scotland, locate my methodological approach, explore what is meant by social practices, sketch the development of policy and practice in Scotland and describe the methods used to gather data. The following three chapters explore the responses of the managers, tutors and learners that informed the outcomes of the research. The final chapters analyse the data and address three pertinent questions. Firstly, is it possible/likely that a full social practice model can become the norm in Scotland, secondly, whether it is possible to develop this model at a national level anywhere considering the current global situation and thirdly, how can the good practice recorded in this research be sustained.

The primary purpose of this research overview is to look into previous research on how teachers use physical or virtual visits to museums in order to stimulate learners’ historical thinking skills. In this paper we use Peter Seixas and Tom Morton’s (2013) definition of the framework historical thinking. The paper is based on the research question: What does previous research say about how history teachers can stimulate learners in historical thinking in a physical or virtual museum environment? In order to find the research for this overview several databases were used, such as ERC, ERIC, Swepub and the search engine Libsearch. To meet the requirements there were several inclusion and exclusion criteria applied in the search for relevant articles. The researchers agree that there is potential to stimulate learner’s historical thinking skills during physical or virtual museum visits, and they also call for the need of preparation and cooperation between schools and museums. The results of this paper may be used by teachers to assess whether a trip to a museum or exploring a virtual reality museum is worth all the relevant preparations.

Reality dating shows like "The Bachelor," "The Bachelorette," "Average Joe," "For Love or Money" and "Joe Millionaire" have recently attracted a growing number of viewers in the United States. As these reality dating shows pry into the most intimate corners of the lives of ordinary people, they have many people questioning their impact on society. However, there has not been extensive research on this subject. The purpose of the study was to examine the extent that exposure to reality television dating shows have on the cultivation of attitudes and perceptions of interpersonal relationships among college students in the United States. Exposure to reality television dating shows as measured by days viewed in an average week was found to be correlated with the acceptance of dysfunctional relationship beliefs. However, the effect of exposure was found to depend on the amount of perceived realism with the effect stronger for those who evaluated the shows as realistic. These results are more supportive of cognitive-functional theory, rather than cultivation theory. No effects of exposure were found on acceptance of unrealistic relational beliefs.

We all have desires- dreams and goals that beg to be realized at some future date. When such desires are so strong that their creation becomes a quest, they take on a hazy quality that place them between the realm of dream and reality.Where does THE REALITY stop?Where does THE DREAM begin?The realm between dreams and reality Is very difficult to grasp.I have created a word that for me, expresses the realm of dreams and reality: This in between state will be called a 'DREALM'.This creative project Is a study of my 'DREALM'. It may or may not come true.Or,Is there really something called Real? Are they all just IMAGES?IMAGES,that We createorthat WE spend all our lives to create.
Department of Architecture

This dissertation responds to a recent zeitgeist and climate of controversy surrounding issues of "virtuality" and "simulation" Such terms are treated as problematic and essentially contested when framed in reference to notions of a fixed observable "reality" rather than considered in terms of socially constructed facts, relationships and identities. The concept of the "virtual stage" advanced in this thesis, refers to the current historical moment in communications technology development as well as to the dramaturgical perspective which informs the theoretical approach and argument.
In this dissertation, virtual reality is treated not as a single technology or corpus of machines, but following conventions established in recent telepresence research as an experience which can obtain in varying degrees by means of a host of communications media.
Several complementary approaches are proposed and examined as a provisional framework for the study of emerging contemporary discourses of virtuality. Issues of virtuality are discussed from the perspective of historical cases which invite comparison and suggest a palimpsest of earlier technological modes of communication within contemporary situations. The social construction of technology approach is introduced following recent suggestions for marrying this approach to the Canadian tradition of socio-historical study of communication technology. Finally, play and dramaturgical theory are offered as a model for understanding how community and individual identity are constructed and maintained in some forms of computer mediated communication (video games, MUDs, and IRC) while allowing for potentially plausible notions of human agency.

This thesis occupies an uneasy space: not within or even at the leading edge of any one tradition, but in the anomalous and almost unoccupied space in which three traditions fail to connect. In keeping with this standpoint, it employs a range of approaches from a cross-paradigm perspective. It draws the main hypothesis that it tests from the cognitive developmental paradigm and develops its main methodological tools from methods of discourse analysis, supplemented by a variety of other instruments, quantitative as well as qualitative. This thesis makes five main claims: (1). Modality judgements, issues and perceptions in relation to television programme content are significant elements in a complex, active and creative process of learning for children in the contemporary world. (2). Children's modality judgements and processes of understanding are significantly different from those of adults in important respects. (3). A further significant developmentally-related phenomenon that emerges from the data is the importance of moments of rupture in developing modality schema and strategies. (4). Children's programme preferences, as refracted through modality structures and strategies typical of different ages, reflect a coherent learning context in which children tackle modality experiences, problems and dilemmas that are well suited to their needs at that point in their development. (5). Children's talk about issues of modality is also a species of social action, in and through which children position and reposition themselves in a variety of social contexts, constructing not only maps and versions of the world, but versions of their selves and tactics to maintain their specific interests. Many of the generalisations in this thesis are still tentative, in need of further development. Some of them, however, are more solidly grounded and would be able to contribute to current debates in education and public life on the role and functions of television in the lives of children.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This research was initiated by questions raised from the researcher’s professional activities in fine art printmaking and examines, through contextualised artistic practice and critical enquiry, redefinitions in the physical and temporal parameters of digitally mediated fine art printmaking caused by developments in digital media; specifically the impact of digital culture, Web2.0, social networking, augmented and virtual reality. Grounded on critical contextual review the research explores, through contextualised research probes, the notion of post-physical practice and the impact of new modes of collaboration, distribution and consumption on contemporary printmaking. It includes the findings of an international, digitally mediated, participatory and collaborative exchange survey of contemporary digital print, developed through direct enquiry using social media as a research tool. Philosophical questions about the impact of eculture, post-physical working and new modes of print-based artistic practice were examined, as well as the indexicality of the print itself in augmented and virtual contexts. The research employs dynamic triangulation between critical contextual review and direct qualitative and practice-based research; to develop a taxonomy framing the contextual precedents of digital printmaking, pinpointing key markers of transition between traditional and new printmaking. It uses post-studio methods and explores the conception, production, editioning, collection and ownership of print in an increasingly networked digital age, providing proof of concept and exploring virtual immersive surfaces in printmaking. These lead to the development of new models for a second generation of printmaking practice or Printmaking2.0 expressly founded in post-physical practice in a poststudio context and embracing the lingua franca of contemporary digital practice in the production of born digital virtually imprinted forms. In both, the technical practice of post-physical printmaking and the significant artistic implications resulting from the cultural shifts following digital participation and post-physical embodiment.

Virtual Reality consumer hardware is now available for the masses through the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. Locomotion or virtual travel inside immersive experiences is an area which is yet to be fully solved due to space constraints, problems with retaining immersion and potential sickness. This thesis had the goal of evaluating user preferences for four locomotion methods in Virtual Reality with a first generation HTC Vive through the gaming platform Steam.  The theoretical framework provides an elementary understanding of the field of Virtual Reality and how humans interact and get affected by locomotion in that context. To contextualize the experience of evaluating the locomotion systems the Hedonic-Motivation System Adoption Model is used as it covers intrinsic motivation which is common in video games, social networking and virtual worlds.  An extensive process for games selection has been performed which has resulted in four locomotion methods with four games per method. Sixteen participants got to test one locomotion method each where their gameplay got recorded for later observation. After each game session answers were provided by the participants based on surveys and after completion of all games a questionnaire gauged their sickness level.  The conclusion proved inconclusive. While the results without interpretation showed the locomotion method Artificial as the overall winner a range of potential problems were found with the study in general. Some problems included observations which did not provide the expected results, introducing doubt into either how the study was conducted or the reliability of certain users. A larger sampler size along with a better study procedure could possibly have provided a more conclusive answer.

It was analyzed if instructions on a head-worn Augmented Reality display (AR-HWD) are better for manual industrial assembly tasks than instructions on a stationary screen. A prototype was built which consisted of virtual instruction screens for two example assembly tasks. In a comparison study participants performed the tasks with instructions through an AR-HWD and alternatively through a stationary screen. Questionnaires, interviews and observation notes were used to evaluate the task performances and the user experience. The study revealed that the users were excited and enjoyed trying the technology. The perceived usefulness at the current state was diverse, but the users saw a huge potential in AR-HWDs for the future. The task accuracy with instructions on the AR-HWD was equally good as with instructions on the screen. AR-HWDs are found to be a better approach than a stationary screen, but technological limitations need to be overcome and workers need to train using the new technology to make its application efficient.

Objective: Two significant challenges for the dissemination of social skills training programs are (a) the need to provide sufficient practice opportunities to assure skill consolidation and (b) the need to assure skill generalization (i.e., use of the skills outside the clinic setting). In the case of social anxiety disorder, virtual environments may provide one strategy to address these issues. This investigation describes the development of an interactive skills-oriented virtual school environment and evaluated its utility for the treatment of social anxiety disorder in preadolescent children (Study 1). This environment included both in-clinic and at-home solutions. In addition, a pilot replication/extension study further examined preliminary treatment efficacy between children who received a standard multi-component treatment and children who received the modified treatment with social skills practice in a virtual environment (Study 2). Method: Eleven children with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder between 7 to 12 years old participated in the initial feasibility trial (Study 1). Five additional children participated in the replication/extension study (Study 2). To investigate preliminary treatment efficacy, clinical outcome measures for the Study 2 sample were compared to a comparison sample who received the standard treatment. Results: Overall, the virtual environment program was viewed as acceptable, feasible, and credible treatment components to children, parents, and clinicians alike but modifications would likely improve the current version. Additionally, although preliminary, children who received the modified treatment with virtual environment practice demonstrated significant improvement at post-treatment on clinician ratings but not parent or self-reported measures. Conclusion: Virtual environments are feasible, acceptable, and credible treatment components for clinical use. Future investigations will determine if the addition of this dose-controlled and intensive social skills practice results in treatment outcome equivalent to traditional cognitive-behavioral programs.
Ph.D.
Doctorate
Psychology
Sciences
Psychology; Clinical Psychology

This study aimed to examine the construction of the identity of the participants within the reality TV programmes (Style Her Famous, My Celebrity Home and How Do I Look) as well as examined the representation of that identity as reflected in the change in participants from the beginning to the end of the program. Drawing on literature from fields such as postmodernism and its influence on culture, identity constructions and ordinary people as celebrities, an analysis of the three American reality TV shows Style Her Famous, My Celebrity Home and How Do I Look was conducted. An indepth content analysis with specific reference to comparative analysis further aided this study. A total of 18 episodes (six episodes for each programme) were collected and thoroughly analyzed where the ‘cut and paste identity’ of ordinary people as ‘celebrities’ constituted the hermeneutical key of the study. The episodes and programs have been scrutinized and have been systematically classified to enable an analysis of the observations. This study attempted to not only describe, but also to foster change in the representation of the identity of the participants of the above mentioned reality TV programmes. The study found that reality television plays a role in shaping the postmodern identity of ordinary people as celebrities. The study also found that the participants involved in the above mentioned programmes found it easy to make someone else’s identity their own. It appeared that the postmodern mind is easily influenced and willing to adopt an identity especially that of a celebrity. The participants involved in these programs claimed this identity as their own and then believed that the new identity was in fact who they ‘really are’ but in actual fact it is a beginning of a new sameness with somebody else. Hence the participants possessed a ‘cut and paste identity.’

Molnlagring, kommunikationsplattformar med interaktiva funktioner, virtuella modeller som sammanfogas med fysiska omgivningar, datorsimuleringar, livscykelperspektiv. Så diskuteras det i BIM-världens korridorer. Men om detta nu är framtiden: varför går implementeringen så långsamt, och vad är det egentligen som ska implementeras?   Processen att hantera och förstå vad BIM är har blivit för komplex, och med denna rapport vill vi hitta åtgärder för att göra arbetssättet begripligt och användbart för fler. Vi har i samarbete med Vianova Systems undersökt hur användningen av BIM ser ut idag och vilka förbättringsåtgärder som behövs för en bredare framtida implementering i samhällsbyggnadsbranschen.   Våra undersökningar visar att nästan 80 % tror att ett arbete som drar nytta av en digital modell skulle vara effektivare: samtidigt är osäkerheten kring mjukvaror och oklarhet kring implementeringen av arbetsmetoderna begränsande faktorer. Som lösning på detta har ett användarinterface för projektsamordning och kommunikation arbetats fram.   Dessa undersökningar har genomförts med hjälp av en enkätstudie samt intervjuer och sammanställts i två delar: dels denna rapport, samt en slutprodukt av visionär karaktär kallad ”7 visions for the future of BIM”.
Cloud storage, communication platforms with interactive functions, virtual models that are merged with physical surroundings, computer simulations, life cycle perspective. This is what is being discussed in the corridors of the BIM-world. But if this is the future: why is the implementation so slow, and what exactly is to be implemented?   The process of handling and understanding what BIM is has become too complex, and in this report we want to find solutions for making the way of working intelligible and useful for a wider audience. In collaboration with Vianova Systems, we have investigated what the use of BIM looks like today and what improvements are needed for a wider future implementation in the AEC industry.   Our investigations show that almost 80 % believe that work which utilizes a digital model would be more effective: at the same time the insecurity concerning software and uncertainties regarding the implementation of the work methodologies are limiting factors. As a solution for this a user interface for project management and communication has been developed.   These investigations have been carried out with the aid of a questionnaire and interviews and compiled into two parts: partly this report, as well as an end product of visionairy nature called ”7 visions for the future of BIM”.

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, it aimed to present and understand the experiences of online gamers from the paradigm of positive psychology. To achieve this, the phenomenon of flow was investigated to see whether or not, it is experienced whilst gaming online and if present, how it is revealed in this context. The second purpose was to contribute to theory building and to respond to extant research recommendations. Aligned with a qualitative orientation, the method selected to achieve the objectives of the study was interpretative phenomenological analysis. A sample of four participants who met the criteria for inclusion in the research were selected and interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed and interpreted inductively and categorised into superordinate themes. These were presented as two sections: Section A explored the experience and meaning of online gaming through the following three superordinate themes; intention, pre-gaming rituals and gaming process. Section B discussed the social experience and meaning of gaming online through the superordinate theme, a gamers way. This study both challenged and supported theory and research in the field and introduced novel areas, such as pregaming rituals and the subthemes; marijuana and gaming space. This is a notable and promising "side effect" of a research design that is exploratory. Findings called for future multi-disciplinary research into flow, gaming and online relationships considering Csikszentimaihalyi‟s concept of autotelic relationships and Heideggers‟ philosophical framework.

Even though the West, or Global North, initiates extensive development policymaking and project activity on the African continent, this study argues that one source of major frustration between different parties entrusted to do the work arises from cognitive differences in their worldviews. These differences affect people's actions and have theological ramifications involving how we all understand meaning and reality. The study employs a case method analyzed through the lens of Alfred Schutz's sociology of knowledge theories and augmented by insights from African scholars to look at basic perceptual differences between Zambians and expatriates working on the Copperbelt Province's mines. After exploring how participants in the study interpreted various experiences, this study concludes that Zambians and expatriates were essentially living in "parallel universes" of meaning regardless of their apparently shared activities and objectives. The study further argues that viewpoints expressed by Zambian participants can be extrapolated into powerful lessons for members of civil society who are concerned about international development and the environment. Such teaching elements could especially help reshape how Americans and other Westerners understand ourselves in relation to physical creation and the cosmos as well as to those from radically different cultures. Lessons learned from the Zambian perspective could also help reinvigorate Western theological thinking, providing much needed critiques of discourses that currently dominate international development policymaking and planning and that determine value principally according to economic strategies and fulfillment of efficient, measurable objectives.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

With the advent of novel digital interfaces such as augmented, mixed and virtual reality, the way we interact with digital artefacts is changing at a nearly reckless pace. The adoption rate within enterprise applications is racing, with mass adoption among consumers soon to follow. This paper aims to iterate a key question sometimes hidden within these rapid developments; are the practices used to develop these artefacts properly tested and evaluated as the best possible ones? In order to answer this, we will explore and evaluate how existing best practices adhere to empirical evidence, but also to experiment with potential avenues of alternative design methodologies. Once adequate conclusions are reached, they will be utilized to design a prototype/proof of concept to showcase just how aninterface/interaction made with the new considerations in mind can differ from those made with contemporary design principles. Upon evaluation of thi sexperimental prototype which utilized the user’s hands as physical, tactile feedback for interactions, respondents were overall positive to this method of interaction, despite some discomfort from the limitations imposed by this specific technical approach. Due to this, it is strongly suggested that development of XR artefacts might often be designed around these technical limitations instead of a truly best practice. This is why we heavily implore both further testing and experimentation as time goes on, since emergent technologies might lack these limitations and therefore enable richer, better interaction methods and experiences within XR.

In the course of the current demographic change, the proportion of the population aged 65 and older is projected to steadily increase in many countries of the world (UN DESA Population Division, 2015). The ageing society is reflected in an increasing number of older road users (Koppel & Berecki-Gisolf, 2015), especially considering the growing need for older adults to maintain individual mobility (Eby & Molnar, 2012). This development raises new issues of transportation research, since age-related changes in mobility patterns as well as sensory, cognitive, and motor functions reduce older adults’ traffic safety (Polders, Vlahogianni, Leopold, & Durso, 2015). Accordingly, new strategies to aid older drivers and their mobility needs are required, which could potentially be provided by emerging in-vehicle technologies (Karthaus & Falkenstein, 2016). The overall aim of present dissertation project was to evaluate whether in-vehicle technologies that appear promising to support older drivers can actually contribute to their individual mobility, which requires an improvement in aspects related to driving performance as well as the acceptance of such systems in this age group. Therefore, contact-analogue head-up displays (also labelled as Augmented Reality Displays, ARDs) and highly automated driving were selected as two exemplary technologies, representing completely different levels of driving automation and accordingly different approaches to support drivers. The ARD-technology represents a technical implementation approach for IVIS and therefore an example for Automation Level 0 (no automation; SAE International, 2014) by helping the driver to execute the driving task manually through useful information. In contrast, the HAD-technology aims at supporting the driver by taking over the driving task, which corresponds to Automation Level 4 (high automation; SAE International, 2014). Despite these different approaches, both technologies were previously assumed to have a strong potential to support especially older drivers (Meyer & Deix, 2014; Polders et al., 2015; Rusch et al., 2013; Schall et al., 2013). Three empirical studies were conducted to examine performance- and acceptance-related aspects of both technologies. All studies were carried out with a group of older drivers (maximum age range: 65 85 years) and a younger comparison group (maximum age range: 25-45 years) representing the ‘average’ (i.e. young, but experienced) driver in order to identify age-specific results. Focusing on performance-related aspects of the ARD-technology, Study I represents a reaction time experiment conducted in a driving simulator. One age-specific beneficial function of such an ARD is to provide prior information about approaching complex traffic situations, which addresses older drivers’ tendency to process multiple information successively (serially) rather than simultaneously (parallel) (Davidse, Hagenzieker, van Wolffelaar, & Brouwer, 2009; Küting & Krüger, 2002). Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of an ARD providing prior information about approaching intersections on drivers’ speed and accuracy of perceiving these intersections, which is considered a necessary precondition for a safe driving performance (Crundall & Underwood, 2011). Based on concerns about the counterproductive effects of presenting information via an ARD, especially in cases of inaccurate information, system failures were included in this examination. The ARD-information aided drivers from both age groups in identifying more relevant aspects of the intersections without increasing response time, indicating the potential of the system to support both older and younger drivers in complex traffic situations. Experiencing system failures (i.e. inaccurate information) did offset this positive effect for the study’s duration, particularly for older drivers. This might be because it was difficult to ignore inaccurate prior information due to their presentation via an ARD. Study II represents a driving simulator study on acceptance-related aspects of an ARD providing prior information about approaching intersections. This study focused on the effects of system experience on drivers’ acceptance as well as on the identification of age-specific acceptance barriers that could prevent older drivers from using the technology. In summary, older and younger drivers’ evaluation of the ARD was positive, with a tendency to more positive evaluations with than without system experience in the driving simulator. Compared to the younger group, older drivers reported a more positive attitude towards using the ARD, even though they evaluated their self-efficacy in handling the system and environmental conditions facilitating its usage as less strong. Both performance- and acceptance-related aspects of HAD were addressed in Study III, a two-stage driving simulator study. The focus of the performance perspective shifted in parallel with the shift of the human role from driver to passenger due to the increasing driving automation. Accordingly, the examination of HAD was focused on the human evaluation of the automated system’s driving performance. In this context, affective components of human-automation interaction, such as comfort and enjoyment, are considered important for the acceptance and thus usage of automated vehicles (Tischler & Renner, 2007). It is assumed that the implemented driving style has an impact on such affective components in the context of HAD (Bellem, Schönenberg, Krems, & Schrauf, 2016). One theoretical approach to increase the comfort of HAD recommends the implementation of familiar, natural driving styles to mimic human control (Elbanhawi, Simic, & Jazar, 2015). Therefore, the effects of driving automation and the familiarity of the HAD-style on driving comfort and enjoyment were examined. Automation increased both age groups’ comfort, but decreased younger drivers’ enjoyment. For all dependent variables, driving style familiarity significantly interacted with drivers’ age the same way: while younger drivers preferred a familiar HAD-style, older drivers preferred an unfamiliar driving style in a highly automated context. Accordingly, the familiarity approach can be supported at least for younger drivers, but not for older drivers, whose manual driving styles are characterised by strategies to compensate for age-related impairments of sensory, cognitive, or motor functions. HAD-style preferences of this age group seem to be more influenced by the desire to regain a driving style free from these compensation strategies than by a need for familiar driving manoeuvres. In parallel with the evaluation of the ARD, acceptance-related issues in the context of HAD included the effects of system experience on drivers’ acceptance and potential age-specific acceptance barriers. Considering a system-specific design issue, it was additionally examined whether drivers’ acceptance of HAD is modifiable by the familiarity of the implemented driving style. In this driving simulator study, members of both age groups showed slightly positive a priori acceptance ratings, which significantly increased after the initial experience and remained stable afterwards. Similar to drivers’ acceptance of the ARD, older drivers reported a more positive attitude towards using HAD despite their lower self-assessed self-efficacy and environmental conditions facilitating HAD-usage compared to younger drivers. Regarding HAD-style, acceptance was subject to the same interaction between drivers’ age and driving style familiarity as driving comfort and enjoyment. These findings demonstrate that effective approaches to support the independent mobility of older adults are provided by emerging in-vehicle technologies on different levels of driving automation. The majority of the performance-related improvements did apply to both older and younger drivers, confirming that automotive technologies suggested for older drivers have the potential to support drivers of other age groups as well. Regarding drivers’ acceptance, findings suggest that both systems would be accepted by different age groups, which correspondents to the results from the performance perspective. The comparable acceptance patterns identified for two systems at different stages of driving automation, such as ARDs and HAD, indicate underlying general aspects of older adults’ acceptance of in-vehicle technologies. This includes their strong need to preserve their individual mobility as well as their lower self-efficacy in handling relevant technologies and insufficient access to a support infrastructure. These insights can enrich both theories of older drivers’ acceptance of in-vehicle technologies and measures to ensure the successful development and introduction of systems aiding them in maintaining a safe individual mobility. Considering the importance of driving for older adults’ physiological and psychological well-being (e.g. Adler & Rottunda, 2006; Lutin, Kornhauser, & Lerner-Lam, 2013), these results emphasise the potential of emerging in-vehicle technologies to improve both older drivers’ traffic safety and quality of life
Im Zuge des aktuellen demografischen Wandels wird für zahlreiche Länder der Welt eine stetige Zunahme des Bevölkerungsanteils von Personen im Alter von 65 Jahren und älter prognostiziert (UN DESA Population Division, 2015). Die daraus resultierende alternde Gesellschaft spiegelt sich auch in der steigenden Anzahl älterer Verkehrsteilnehmer wieder (Koppel & Berecki-Gisolf, 2015). Dieser Effekt wird durch das ebenfalls ansteigende Bedürfnis älterer Personen, ihre Individualmobilität auch bis ins hohe Alter hinein aufrecht zu erhalten, noch verstärkt (Eby & Molnar, 2012). Berücksichtigt man die Auswirkungen altersbedingter Veränderungen von Mobilitätsmustern und fahrrelevanten Fähigkeiten auf die Sicherheit älterer Verkehrsteilnehmer (Polders et al., 2015), stellt diese demographische Entwicklung neue Herausforderungen an die Verkehrsforschung. So bedarf es neuartiger Strategien zur Unterstützung älterer Fahrzeugführer und ihrer Mobilitätsbedürfnisse. Aufgrund aktueller technologischer Entwicklungen eröffnen vor allem durch neuartige Fahrzeugtechnologien zur Fahrerunterstützung innovative Möglichkeiten, diesem Bedarf gerecht zu werden (Karthaus & Falkenstein, 2016). An diesem Punkt setzt die vorliegende Dissertation an. Ziel des Dissertationsprojektes war es zu evaluieren, inwieweit aktuell in Entwicklung befindliche Fahrzeugtechnologien, die aus theoretischer Sicht als geeignete Mittel zur Unterstützung älterer Fahrer erscheinen, tatsächlich zu deren Individualmobilität beitragen können. Um das Potential derartiger Technologien abzuschätzen, wurde einerseits untersucht, inwieweit sie zur Verbesserung von Variablen, die in Beziehung zur Fahrleistung stehen, beitragen können. Anderseits wurde ihre Akzeptanz bei potentiellen zukünftigen Nutzern evaluiert. Für diese Untersuchungen wurden zwei exemplarische Technologien als Repräsentanten grundlegend unterschiedlicher Stufen der Fahrzeugautomatisierung ausgewählt: ein kontaktanaloge Head-up Display (auch Augmented Reality Display, ARD) und hochautomatisiertes Fahren. ARDs stellen einen technologischen Ansatz zur Implementierung von Fahrerinformationssystemen und dementsprechend ein Beispiel für Automatisierungsstufe 0 (no automation; SAE International, 2014) dar, indem sie den Fahrer durch die Bereitstellung verkehrsrelevanter Informationen bei der manuellen Ausführung der Fahraufgabe unterstützen. Im Gegensatz dazu zielt die Technologie des hochautomatisierten Fahrens auf eine Unterstützung des Fahrers durch die vollständige Übernahme der Fahraufgabe ab, was Automatisierungsstufe 4 (high automation; SAE International, 2014) entspricht. Trotz dieser grundlegend unterschiedlichen Ansätze wird beiden Technologien ein hohes Potential zur Unterstützung insbesondere älterer Fahrer zugesprochen (Meyer & Deix, 2014; Polders et al., 2015; Rusch et al., 2013; Schall et al., 2013). Die Untersuchung Performanz- und Akzeptanz-bezogener Aspekte beider Technologien erfolgte im Rahmen von drei empirische Studien. Um altersspezifische Befunde identifizieren zu können, wurden allen Studien mit Vertretern der Zielgruppe von älteren Fahrern (65-85 Jahre alt) sowie einer jüngeren Vergleichsgruppe ‚durchschnittlicher‘ (d.h. junger, erfahrener) Fahrer (25-45 Jahre alt) durchgeführt. Bei Studie I handelte es sich um eine im Fahrsimulator durchgeführte Reaktionszeitstudie, in deren Rahmen Leistungs-bezogene Aspekte von ARDs untersucht wurden. Unter den vielfältigen Möglichkeiten zur Anwendung dieser Technologie wird vor allem die Präsentation von Vorinformationen über bevorstehende komplexe Fahrsituationen während der Fahrt als gewinnbringend für ältere Fahrer eingestuft. Diese Strategie adressiert die Tendenz älterer Fahrer zu einer eher seriellen als parallelen Verarbeitung gleichzeitig verfügbarer Informationen während der Fahrt (Davidse et al., 2009; Küting & Krüger, 2002). Vor diesem Hintergrund lag der Fokus von Studie I auf den Effekten einer kontaktanalogen Präsentation von Vorinformationen über bevorstehende Kreuzungen auf die Geschwindigkeit und Genauigkeit der Wahrnehmung dieser Kreuzungen durch den Fahrer, was eine Grundvoraussetzung für eine sichere Fahrleistung darstellt (Crundall & Underwood, 2011). Basierend auf bestehenden Befürchtungen über kontraproduktive Effekte einer kontaktanalogen Informationsdarstellung während der Fahrt, insbesondere im Falle inkorrekter Informationen, wurden zudem die Auswirkungen von Systemfehlern untersucht. Mit Hilfe der kontaktanalogen Vorinformationen gelang es sowohl älteren als auch jüngeren Fahrern, ohne erhöhten Zeitbedarf einen höheren Anteil relevanter Aspekte in Kreuzungssituationen wahrzunehmen. Allerdings wurde die positive Systemwirkung durch das Erleben von Systemfehlern (in diesem Fall inkorrekten Vorinformationen) zumindest für die Dauer der Untersuchung aufgehoben. Dieser Effekt war besonders ausgeprägt für ältere Fahrer und könnte auf die Schwierigkeit, inkorrekte Informationen auf Grund ihrer Darstellung im ARD zu ignorieren, zurückzuführen sein. Studie II stellte eine Fahrsimulatorstudie zu Akzeptanz-bezogenen Aspekten eines ARDs, welches dem Fahrer Vorinformationen über bevorstehende Kreuzungen zur Verfügung stellt, dar. Inhalt dieser Studie waren zum einen die Effekte von Systemerfahrung auf die Nutzerakzeptanz des Systems, zum anderen altersspezifische Akzeptanzbarrieren, welche ältere Fahrer potentiell von der Nutzung der Technologie abhalten könnten. Insgesamt bewerteten sowohl ältere als auch jüngere Fahrer das ARD positiv. Dabei fielen Bewertungen auf Basis von Systemerfahrung im Fahrsimulator tendenziell besser aus als Bewertungen ohne vorherige Systemerfahrung. Obwohl ältere Fahrer im Vergleich zu jüngeren Fahrern ihre Selbstwirksamkeit im Umgang mit dem ARD sowie Umgebungsfaktoren, welche dessen Nutzung unterstützen könnten, als geringer ausgeprägt wahrnahmen, war die positive Einstellung gegenüber der Nutzung des Systems bei ihnen im Durchschnitt stärker ausgeprägt. Leistungs- und Akzeptanz-bezogene Aspekte des hochautomatisierten Fahrens wurden in Studie III, einer zweistufigen Fahrsimulatorstudie, untersucht. Parallel zur Veränderung der Rolle des Menschen vom Fahrzeugführer zum Passagier im Zuge der zunehmenden Fahrzeugautomatisierung veränderte sich dabei auch der Fokus der Leistungsperspektive. Dem entsprechend stand die Bewertung der Fahrleistung des automatisierten Systems durch den mitfahrenden Menschen im Mittelpunkt dieser Untersuchung. Affektive Komponenten der Mensch-Automatisierungs-Interaktion wie Fahrkomfort und Fahrspaß werden in diesem Kontext als bedeutsam zur Gewährleistung der Nutzerakzeptanz und damit auch Nutzung automatisierter Fahrzeuge betrachtet (Tischler & Renner, 2007). Es wird angenommen, dass derartige affektive Komponenten im Kontext des hochautomatisierten Fahrens vor allem vom implementierten Fahrstil abhängen (Bellem et al., 2016). In einem theoretischen Ansatz zur Verbesserung des Fahrkomforts wird die Implementierung vertrauter (d.h. dem eigenen manuellen Fahrstil ähnlicher) Fahrstile empfohlen, um einen menschlichen Fahrzeugführer nachzuahmen und so Bedenken gegenüber einer automatisierten Fahrzeugführung abzubauen (Elbanhawi et al., 2015). Diesem Ansatz folgend wurden in Studie III die Effekte der Fahrzeugautomatisierung sowie der Ähnlichkeit des implementierten Fahrstils zum individuellen manuellen Fahrstil des jeweiligen Fahrers auf Fahrkomfort und Fahrspaß untersucht. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass mit höherer Automatisierung der Fahrkomfort älterer und jüngerer Fahrer anstieg, der Fahrspaß jüngerer Fahrer sich jedoch verringerte. Alle abhängigen Variablen wurden von einer vergleichbaren Interaktion zwischen Fahreralter und Fahrstilähnlichkeit beeinflusst: Während jüngere Fahrer hochautomatisierte Fahrstile bevorzugten, die ihren jeweiligen manuellen Fahrstilen ähnelten, präferierten ältere Fahrer im hochautomatisierten Kontext eher unähnliche Fahrstile. Dem entsprechend kann der Vertrautheitsansatz basierend auf den Ergebnissen von Studie III zumindest für jüngere Fahrer unterstützt werden, nicht aber für die Zielgruppe älterer Fahrer, deren manuelle Fahrstile durch Kompensationsstrategien zum Ausgleich altersbedingter Einschränkungen ihrer sensorischen, kognitiven und motorischen Fähigkeiten geprägt sind. Fahrstilpräferenzen im hochautomatisierten Kontext scheinen in dieser Altersgruppe mehr von dem Wunsch, einen von diesen Kompensationsstrategien unbeeinträchtigten Fahrstil wiederzuerlangen, geprägt zu sein als von dem Bedürfnis nach vertraut gestalteten Fahrmanövern. Analog zur Evaluation des ARDs beinhaltete die Untersuchung Akzeptanz-bezogener Aspekte des hochautomatisierten Fahrens die Effekte von Systemerfahrung auf die Nutzerakzeptanz sowie potentielle altersspezifische Akzeptanzbarrieren. Einen systemspezifischen Designaspekt aufgreifend wurde zudem untersucht, ob die Nutzerakzeptanz des hochautomatisierten Fahrens ebenfalls durch den implementierten Fahrstil modifizierbar ist. Fahrer beider Altersgruppen berichteten tendenziell positive a priori Akzeptanzwerte, welche sich nach der Ersterfahrung mit dem System signifikant erhöhten und sich anschließend stabilisierten. Vergleichbar mit den Ergebnissen zum ARD war die positive Einstellung gegenüber der Nutzung eines hochautomatisierten Fahrzeuges bei älteren Fahrern im Durchschnitt stärker ausgeprägt als bei jüngeren, obwohl sie ihre Selbstwirksamkeit im Umgang mit dem System sowie unterstützende Umgebungsfaktoren als geringer ausgeprägt bewerteten. Bezüglich des hochautomatisierten Fahrstils unterlag die Systemakzeptanz derselben Interaktion zwischen Fahreralter und Fahrstilähnlichkeit wie Fahrkomfort und Fahrspaß. Diese Ergebnisse demonstrieren, dass Fahrzeugtechnologien auf verschiedenen Automatisierungsstufen effektive Ansätze zur Unterstützung der Individualmobilität älterer Personen liefern können. Die Mehrzahl der identifizierten Leistungs-bezogenen Verbesserungen zeigte sich sowohl für ältere als auch jüngere Fahrer. Diese Befunde weißen auf das Potential von Systemen, welche den Bedürfnissen älterer Fahrer entsprechen, zur Unterstützung verschiedener Altersgruppen hin. Die Ergebnisse der Akzeptanzperspektive deuten an, dass die evaluierten Systeme von Fahrern verschiedener Altersgruppen akzeptiert werden würden, was die Ergebnisse der Leistungsebene widerspiegelt. Die Vergleichbarkeit der Muster verschiedener Akzeptanzprädiktoren, welche für zwei Systeme auf grundlegend unterschiedlichen Automatisierungsstufen identifiziert werden konnten, legt die Existenz zugrundeliegender genereller Aspekte der Fahrzeugtechnologie-Akzeptanz älterer Fahrer nahe. Diese beinhalten deren stark ausgeprägtes Bedürfnis zur Erhaltung ihrer Individualmobilität sowie deren geringere Selbstwirksamkeit im Umgang mit relevanten Technologien und den unzureichenden Zugang zu unterstützenden Infrastrukturen. Diese Erkenntnisse liefern Implikationen für theoretische Modelle der Akzeptanz von Fahrzeugtechnologien durch ältere Fahrer sowie für Maßnahmen zur Absicherung einer erfolgreichen Entwicklung und Markteinführung von Systemen, die darauf abzielen, ältere Menschen beim Erhalt ihrer Individualmobilität zu unterstützen. Berücksichtigt man die Bedeutsamkeit des Fahrens eines eigenen Automobils für das physiologische und psychologische Wohlbefinden im Alter (Adler & Rottunda, 2006; Lutin et al., 2013; Whelan, Langford, Oxley, Koppel, & Charlton, 2006), unterstreichen diese Ergebnisse das Potential neu entstehender Fahrerunterstützungstechnologien für die Verbesserung der Verkehrssicherheit, aber auch Lebensqualität älterer Menschen

Thesis (Ph.D)--Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010.
Committee Chair: Richard Catrambone; Committee Member: Gregory Corso; Committee Member: Jack Feldman; Committee Member: John T. Stasko; Committee Member: Wendy A. Rogers. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

The human gaze is pivotal in motion planning and control. Gaze is typically directed at visual target sites prior to physical interactions with them. This proactive gaze (PEG) behavior has been observed in a multitude of physical situations. However, PEG has not been examined in virtual reality (VR). Identification of PEG in VR could be helpful for digital human modeling applications and human-robot interactions. In this study we asked 10 participants to perform a pick-and-place (PAP) task in VR while we were tracking gaze behavior. Our results indicate that PEG also occurs in VR. Furthermore, the action to reach directly towards the PAP object or walk to it before reaching, results in different gaze strategies. Relocating before a reach is associated with gaze to additional sites, such as the floor and the table upon which the object was placed.
Den mänskliga blicken är avgörande för planering och kontroll av rörelse. Blicken riktas vanligtvis mot visuella mål före interaktion med dessa. Denna proaktiva blick (eng. ’proactive gaze’; PEG) har observerats i många olika slags fysiska situationer. Dock har inte PEG undersökts i virtual reality (VR). Identifiering av PEG i VR skulle kunna vara användbart för applikationer med digital mänsklig modellering och människo-robotinteraktioner. I denna studie instruerade vi 10 försöksdeltagare att utföra en s.k. pick-and-place-uppgift (PAP) i en VR-miljö medan vi registrerade deltagarnas blick. Våra resultat indikerar att PEG också förekommer i VR. Vidare leder handlingen att direkt sträcka sig efter objektet till ett annorlunda blickbeteende jämfört med att först förflytta sig innan man sträcker sig efter PAP-objektet. Vid förflyttning innan man sträcker sig efter objektet fästs blicken på ytterligare områden såsom golvet och bordet som objektet placerats på.

On tend souvent à envisager la communication comme intervenant au-delà de la cognition. Par exemple, lorsque nous évoquons la personnalité d’un ami, nous nous contenterions d’exprimer des représentations déjà stockées en mémoire. Contrairement à cette idée reçue, ma thèse part du postulat que la communication à propos d’objets sociaux, loin de simplement exprimer des croyances déjà formées a priori, participe à la construction de ces représentations mentales. Pour soutenir cela, nous avons d’abord tracé l’histoire de l’évolution dans la façon de concevoir le rapport entre le langage et la pensée (voir Klein, Marchal, Van der Linden, Pierucci & Waroquier, 2011). Nous sommes partis du modèle du code (Shannon & Weaver, 1949) pour ensuite considérer des approches théoriques alternatives mettant l’accent sur comment les facteurs contextuels (par ex. la présence d’une audience donnée) influencent le processus de communication. Nous avons ainsi considéré comment le fait même de communiquer à propos d’un individu influence notre perception de cet individu. En cela, mon travail est largement influencé par le concept d’Audience tuning (Higgins 1992, 1999). Plus précisément, l’effet du « dire c’est croire » (Saying-is-Believing: Higgins & Rholes, 1978) se réfère à l’influence de l’audience sur la mémoire du locuteur même :les locuteurs, lorsqu’ils communiquent à une audience possédant une attitude connue vis-à-vis d’un certain sujet, adaptent leur messages en le rendant plus conforme à l’attitude de l’audience mais surtout, leur mémoire et leur impression tendent à s’accorder à la teneur du message transmis à l’audience. Cette influence de l’énonciation sur la cognition ayant déjà été mise en évidence à travers des nombreuses recherches (pour une revue, voir Echterhoff, Higgins, Kopietz & Groll, 2008), les processus responsables de cet effet restent incertains. L’explication la plus exhaustive de l’effet du « dire c’est croire » fait appel au besoin du locuteur de partager une réalité avec l’interlocuteur. C’est uniquement dans le cas où la communication serait motivée par des buts de « réalité partagée » qu’elle aurait un impact sur la mémoire du locuteur même (Echterhoff, Higgins & Levine, 2009). Le besoin de créer une réalité partagée avec l’audience remplirait des fonctions épistémiques (i.e. en communiquant à propos d’autrui, je parviens à mieux cerner sa personnalité que je ne le ferais si je me contentais d’une activité mentale « privée ») et relationnelles (i.e. en communiquant à propos d’autrui, je crée et développe une relation avec mon interlocuteur). Dans mon travail, j’explore les rôles respectifs de ces deux types de motivations sur l’effet du « dire c’est croire » et, de façon plus générale, dans le processus de construction d’une réalité partagée.

Dans ma démarche expérimentale, j’ai privilégié des études permettant d’explorer des situations concrètes dans lesquelles l’effet du « dire c’est croire » était susceptible d’apparaître.

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Doctorat en Sciences Psychologiques et de l'éducation
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This qualitative case study explored the affordances and uses of the iPad in Prep classrooms when integrated into hands-on science activities about movement. Using a hybrid inductive and deductive thematic analysis approach, this study identified and described the ways that virtual and augmented reality apps on the iPad can both enhance and distract from hands-on science activities about movement in Prep. The findings suggest ways that educators may achieve greater integration of hands-on science and technology learning experiences in Prep classrooms.