Positive Technology Journal

Via UsabilityNews

Event Date: 28 January 2007 to 28 January 2007
Tangible Play: Research and Design for Tangible and Tabletop Games is a workshop at the 2007 Intelligent User Interfaces Conference taking place from January 28-31, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

DATES:
[ Nov 20, 2006 ] - Submission deadline for position papers (in camera-ready form)
[ Dec 11, 2006 ] - Author notification date
[ Jan 28, 2007 ] - Date of Tangible Play @ IUI 2007

WORKSHOP AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION:
The workshop aims to bring together researchers and practitioners working on subjects related to digital games with tangible interaction. We would like to involve participants with backgrounds in academia as well as industry, from diverse fields such as HCI, computer science, edutainment, interaction design and game design. Some of the topics we plan to address during the workshop are: different tangible interaction styles, designing for specific game types, and the advantages and disadvantages of different sensing and object tracking technologies.

This one-day workshop will consist of a morning and afternoon session. The morning session will include an introduction and position paper presentations by workshop participants. The afternoon session will be an informal and interactive discussion in break-out groups on the following subtopics: tangible interaction, game design, sensing technologies, evaluation, marketability and collaboration. We will also have a guest speaker from Philips Research, who will give a special presentation on the Entertaible from an industry perspective.

Interested participants are invited to submit a 4-page position paper using the ACM-template, which can be found on the website indicated below. Papers may address any topic related to tangible or digital tabletop gaming, from game case studies, to research on sensing technologies, theoretical overviews, or the design of tangible objects for game interaction. The organizers will try to create a diverse mix of participants from academia as well as industry and from different backgrounds and fields.

* Please submit position papers to: Elise van den Hoven, e.v.d.hoven@tue.nl

For more information, please contact the organizers:

Elise van den Hoven (e.v.d.hoven@tue.nl) Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Ali Mazalek (mazalek@gatech.edu) Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA, USA

Assessment of emotional reactivity produced by exposure to virtual environments in patients with eating disorders.

Cyberpsychol Behav. 2006 Oct;9(5):507-13

Authors: Gutiérrez-Maldonado J, Ferrer-García M, Caqueo-Urízar A, Letosa-Porta A

The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of virtual environments representing situations that are emotionally significant to subjects with eating disorders (ED). These environments may be applied with both evaluative and therapeutic aims and in simulation procedures to carry out a range of experimental studies. This paper is part of a wider research project analyzing the influence of the situation to which subjects are exposed on their performance on body image estimation tasks. Thirty female patients with eating disorders were exposed to six virtual environments: a living-room (neutral situation), a kitchen with highcalorie food, a kitchen with low-calorie food, a restaurant with high-calorie food, a restaurant with low-calorie food, and a swimming-pool. After exposure to each environment the STAI-S (a measurement of state anxiety) and the CDB (a measurement of depression) were administered to all subjects. The results show that virtual reality instruments are particularly useful for simulating everyday situations that may provoke emotional reactions such as anxiety and depression, in patients with ED. Virtual environments in which subjects are obliged to ingest high-calorie food provoke the highest levels of state anxiety and depression.

Head-Mounted Displays for Clinical Virtual Reality Applications: Pitfalls in Understanding User Behavior while Using Technology.

Cyberpsychol Behav. 2006 Oct;9(5):591-602

Authors: Simone LK, Schultheis MT, Rebimbas J, Millis SR

The use of virtual environments with head-mounted displays (HMDs) offers unique assets to the evaluation and therapy of clinical populations. However, research examining the effects of this technology on clinical populations is sparse. Understanding how wearers interact with the HMD is vital. Discomfort leads to altered use of the HMD that could confound performance measures; the very measures which might be used as tools for clinical decision making. The current study is a post-hoc analysis of the relationship between HMD use and HMD comfort. The analysis was conducted to examine contributing factors for a high incidence of simulator sickness observed in an HMD-based driving simulator. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate objective and subjective measures of HMD performance and self-reported user comfort ratings. The results indicated weak correlations between these variables, indicating the complexity of quantifying user discomfort and HMD performance. Comparison of two case studies detailing user behavior in the virtual environment demonstrates that selected variables may not capture how individuals use the HMD. The validity and usefulness of the HMD-based virtual environments must be understood to fully reap the benefits of virtual reality (VR) in rehabilitation medicine.

Via IEET 

A one-day seminar to be held on Thursday 12 October 2006 at Cambridge University.

The Neuroscience Horizon conference will introduce a range of exciting research from the frontiers of this field. World leading academic and industry scientists and opinion leaders will detail the latest areas of research and the future trends. In common with other conferences in the Horizon series, the seminar will be followed by dinner in the elegant surroundings of New Hall. This event follows on from the success of the ‘Personalised Medicine’ Horizon Conference and promises to be indispensable for companies in this field.

For further information please contact Jo Ryan on +44 (0)1223 765404 or horizon@rsd.cam.ac.uk

From Pasta and Vinegar

VibeFones: Socially Aware Mobile Phones by Anmol Madan and Alex Pentland will be presented next friday in Montreux, Switzerland for the International Seminar of Wearable Computing.

In this paper, we describe mobile social software that uses tone of voice, location and proximity information to create a sophisticated understanding of people's social lives, by automatically mining their face-to-face and phone interactions. We describe several applications of our system - automatic characterization of social and workplace interactions, a courtesy reminder for phone conversations, and a personal trainer for dating encounters.

Via Networked Performance

Saturday 21 October 2006, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam: 11.00 - 12.30: Bioinformatics dept., Faculty building, 15th floor 12.30 - 18.00: Sophia Children's Hospital, Cinema 3rd floor.

Test_Lab:/ Immersive Mixed Reality Environments/ is the product of a unique collaboration between the Erasmus Medical Centre and V2_, Institute for the Unstable Media with the aim of opening the dialogue between scientists and artists that apply Virtual Reality in their research and art practice. The event consists of demonstrations by Virtual Reality artists and scientists providing hands-on experiences with Immersive Mixed Reality Environments, and presentations by renowned international speakers presenting the latest in Virtual Reality in science and art. See below for the program details, a description of the projects that will be demonstrated, and the invited speakers that will present their work in the seminar.

Test_Lab is a bi-monthly public event hosted by V2_ that provides an informal setting to demonstrate, test, present, and/or discuss artistic research and development (aRt&D).

The event is free of charge, but registration is required before the 19th of October. For further information and registration please contact Remco Beeskow at press@v2.nl (tel: +31 (0)10 206 72 72) or Fred Balvert at f.balvert[at]erasmusmc.nl (tel: +31(0)6 41431721). Also visit www.v2.nl and www.erasmusmc.nl

Via Networked Performance

Live Webcast of conversation with artist Laurie Anderson and neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, moderated by Professor Anne Balsamo, following a lecture by Anderson.

Saturday, October 21st, 8 p.m. (PDT) at USC's Norris Theater and simulcast FREE at HASTAC website.

Laurie Anderson: Recent Works: Saturday, October 21st: University of Southern California's Norris Theater: 7 p.m. (PDT): Free and open to the public!

Laurie Anderson will present a special audio-visual lecture exploring the intersections of art, science and creativity. One of the permier perfromance artists in the world, Ms. Anderson has consistently intrigued, entertained and challenged audiences with her multimedia persentations. Anderson's artistic career has cast her in roles as various as visual artist, composer, poet, photographer, filmmaker, ventriloquist, electronics whiz, vocalist and instrumentalist. Following her presentation, Ms. Anderson will be joined in conversation by neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, director of the USC Brain and Creativity Institute and a leading researcher of cognition, emotions, and neural
systems.

This special presentation is part of the HASTAC In|Formation Year, devoted to twelve months of public programming from a number of universities meant to promote the human and humane dimenstions of technology and to encourage conversation and exchange between humanists, artists, technologists, and scientists.

Detection of Differential Viewing Patterns to Erotic and Non-Erotic Stimuli Using Eye-Tracking Methodology.

Arch Sex Behav. 2006 Oct 10;

Authors: Lykins AD, Meana M, Kambe G

As a first step in the investigation of the role of visual attention in the processing of erotic stimuli, eye-tracking methodology was employed to measure eye movements during erotic scene presentation. Because eye-tracking is a novel methodology in sexuality research, we attempted to determine whether the eye-tracker could detect differences (should they exist) in visual attention to erotic and non-erotic scenes. A total of 20 men and 20 women were presented with a series of erotic and non-erotic images and tracked their eye movements during image presentation. Comparisons between erotic and non-erotic image groups showed significant differences on two of three dependent measures of visual attention (number of fixations and total time) in both men and women. As hypothesized, there was a significant Stimulus x Scene Region interaction, indicating that participants visually attended to the body more in the erotic stimuli than in the non-erotic stimuli, as evidenced by a greater number of fixations and longer total time devoted to that region. These findings provide support for the application of eye-tracking methodology as a measure of visual attentional capture in sexuality research. Future applications of this methodology to expand our knowledge of the role of cognition in sexuality are suggested.

Via Mind Hacks

NEURObotics is a newly-opened exhibition at London's Science Museum focusing on how emerging medical technology could expand human intelligence.

Topics include brain-scan lie detectors, enhancing brain function with TMS (magnetic pulses) and brain-computer interfaces.

The exhibition is free and runs until April 2007.


Link to Science Museum NEURObotics website.
Link to list of exhibits.
Link to BBC News story on the exhibition.

Via Medgadget 

2007 ASCA International Conference

Location: Amsterdam Dates: 28-30 June 2007

Organized by the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA), the Institute of Network Cultures (Amsterdam Polytechnic) and Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam, has issued its first call for papers. The conference, to be held on Thursday, 28 June to Saturday, 30 June, 2007, also includes a public program with renowned speakers.

Deadline for Submission of Paper Abstract (500 words) and Biography (100 words): 10 January 2007 :: Submit to: networktheory[at]networkcultures.org :: Acceptance Notification: 1 March 2007 :: Further inquiries to: Dr. Eloe Kingma, Managing Director, Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis, Oude Turfmarkt 147, Oude Turfmarkt 147, 1012 GC, Amsterdam, tel: +31 20 525 3874, asca-fgw[at]uva.nl.

The object of study has shifted from the virtual community and the space of flows to the smart mob. When the object of study changes, so may the distinctions that dominate, particularly the schism between place-based space and place-less space, both organised and given life by networks. We would like to exploit the potential of writing contemporary network theory that suits and reflects the changes to the objects of study that come to define our understandings of network culture - a post-Castellsian network theory, if you will, that takes technical media seriously.

It is time to look for elements that can make up a network theory outside of post-modern cultural studies (which marvelled at the place-less place) and ethnographic social sciences (which reminded us of the ground). What network culture studies needs is a `language of new media,' perhaps even signage, to speak in terms of Lev Manovich; what it currently has is a science-centered `unified network theory,' to paraphrase the language of Albert-László Barabási.

Whilst it may come as no surprise to critical Internet scholars, the notion that networks are not random but have underlying structures remains the key insight for network scientists. Instead of posing new questions, the work that follows from that insight often seeks to confirm that structure and its accompanying patterns, across more and more network-like objects. The question remains which specific contribution critical Internet scholars and practitioners can make to opening up network thought. Such is the purpose of the network theory conference. How must we rethink network culture with a renewed emphasis on technical media and social software?

Suggested Topics:

Networking and Social Life
Social Software and Insider Networks
Network Policy
Network Governance / Organised Networks
Actor-Network Theory and the Assemblage
Network Knowledge Production
Networks and Disengagement
Media Networks
The Link
Locative Media and Networks

Electro-encephalogram based brain-computer interface: improved performance by mental practice and concentration skills.

Med Biol Eng Comput. 2006 Oct 7;

Authors: Mahmoudi B, Erfanian A

Mental imagination is the essential part of the most EEG-based communication systems. Thus, the quality of mental rehearsal, the degree of imagined effort, and mind controllability should have a major effect on the performance of electro-encephalogram (EEG) based brain-computer interface (BCI). It is now well established that mental practice using motor imagery improves motor skills. The effects of mental practice on motor skill learning are the result of practice on central motor programming. According to this view, it seems logical that mental practice should modify the neuronal activity in the primary sensorimotor areas and consequently change the performance of EEG-based BCI. For developing a practical BCI system, recognizing the resting state with eyes opened and the imagined voluntary movement is important. For this purpose, the mind should be able to focus on a single goal for a period of time, without deviation to another context. In this work, we are going to examine the role of mental practice and concentration skills on the EEG control during imaginative hand movements. The results show that the mental practice and concentration can generally improve the classification accuracy of the EEG patterns. It is found that mental training has a significant effect on the classification accuracy over the primary motor cortex and frontal area.

From Neurodudes 

The October 6th issue of Science is a special issue devoted to computational neuroscience. From the introduction to the special issue:

Computational neuroscience is now a mature field of research. In areas ranging from molecules to the highest brain functions, scientists use mathematical models and computer simulations to study and predict the behavior of the nervous system. Simulations are essential because the present experimental systems are too complex to allow collection of all the data. Modeling has become so powerful these days that there is no longer a one-way flow of scientific information. There is considerable intellectual exchange between modelers and experimentalists. The results produced in the simulation lab often lead to testable predictions and thus challenge other researchers to design new experiments or reanalyze their data as they try to confirm or falsify the hypotheses put forward. For this issue of Science, we invited leading computational neuroscientists, each of whom works at a different organizational level, to review the latest attempts of mathematical and computational modeling and to give us an outlook on what the future might hold in store.

From AADT 

In order to offer underserviced patients expanded access to medical and therapuetic options, an increasing number of doctors and institutions have begun to offer long-distance video therapy options. One might think that the very personal, revealing aspects of psychotherapy do not lend themselves to video or phone conferencing. In recent surveys, however, patients receiving long-distance therapy reported satisfaction levels nearly identical to those who met with therapists face-to-face.

Read the full article

Re-blogged from Robots.net

© 2006 Northwestern University 

Two Northwestern University engineers have developed an array of robotic whiskers that sense in two dimensions, mimicking the capabilities of mammalian whiskers. The bending moment, or torque, at the whisker base is then used to calculate the three-dimensional features of solid objects.

Read the full story here

Via KurzweilAI.net 

Can people and computers be connected so that - collectively - they act more intelligently than any individuals, groups, or computers have ever done before?

Researchers at MIT Center for Collective Intelligence will address this question in a research project that will involve a group of thousands of people collectively writing a business book "Wikipedia style".  

MIT researchers also expect to have projects on prediction markets, global climate change, and several other topics.

From the press release 

“CCI is trying to look over the horizon to see what will be common five, 10, or 20 years from now. Google, Wikipedia, Linux, and e-Bay are examples that show something interesting and important is already happening. Such examples are not the end of the story, but just the beginning.  And I hope that our work can help people understand and take advantage of these exciting possibilities"


MIT Center for Collective Intelligence:  http://cci.mit.edu
“We Are Smarter Than Me” book project:  http://www.wearesmarter.org

Via ScienceDaily

Georgia Tech researchers are developing a wearable computing system called the System for Wearable Audio Navigation (SWAN) designed to help the visually impaired, firefighters, soldiers and others navigate their way in unknown territory, particularly when vision is obstructed or impaired. The SWAN system, consisting of a small laptop, a proprietary tracking chip, and bone-conduction headphones, provides audio cues to guide the person from place to place, with or without vision.

Read the full story on ScienceDaily

Factors influencing flow of object focussed collaboration in collaborative virtual environments

Virtual Reality Journal, Springer London, Volume 10, Number 2 / October, 2006, Pages 119-133.

Authors: David Roberts, Ilona Helda, Oliver Otto and Robin Wolff

Creativity is believed to be helped by an uncluttered state of mind known as flow and as the trend grows towards less immersive displays to produce an uncluttered workplace, we ask the question “Does immersion matter to the flow of distributed group work?”. The aim of this work is to study the impact of level of immersion on workflow and presence during object focussed distributed group work, and to discuss the relevance of these and other factors to supporting flow and creativity.

Via Networked Performance

Spatial updating in virtual reality: the sufficiency of visual information.

Psychol Res. 2006 Sep 23;

Authors: Riecke BE, Cunningham DW, Bülthoff HH

Robust and effortless spatial orientation critically relies on "automatic and obligatory spatial updating", a largely automatized and reflex-like process that transforms our mental egocentric representation of the immediate surroundings during ego-motions. A rapid pointing paradigm was used to assess automatic/obligatory spatial updating after visually displayed upright rotations with or without concomitant physical rotations using a motion platform. Visual stimuli displaying a natural, subject-known scene proved sufficient for enabling automatic and obligatory spatial updating, irrespective of concurrent physical motions. This challenges the prevailing notion that visual cues alone are insufficient for enabling such spatial updating of rotations, and that vestibular/proprioceptive cues are both required and sufficient. Displaying optic flow devoid of landmarks during the motion and pointing phase was insufficient for enabling automatic spatial updating, but could not be entirely ignored either. Interestingly, additional physical motion cues hardly improved performance, and were insufficient for affording automatic spatial updating. The results are discussed in the context of the mental transformation hypothesis and the sensorimotor interference hypothesis, which associates difficulties in imagined perspective switches to interference between the sensorimotor and cognitive (to-be-imagined) perspective.