Stephen's page at the RCA is here: http://goo.gl/yguBL . His entries in the Middlesex University research repository are here: http://goo.gl/EENR7

Papers

Skinner, Penelope; Parry, Nye; Bendon, Hele; Moar, Magnus; Boyd Davis, Stephen; Collingwod, Faith and Mortimer, Jeremy. Scratch. Locative Drama.

2008.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4508/

Public trial performance of Translocational (GPS enabled) audio drama created as part of the Locating Drama research project in collaboration with the BBC at the BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival of Arts and Ideas in Liverpool.

Boyd Davis, Stephen; Bevan, Emma and Kudikov, Aleksei. Just In Time: defining historical chronographics.

2010. Electronic Visualisation and the Arts, 5-7 July 2010, British Computer Society, 5 Southampton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7HA.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/6371/

The paper is historical in two respects, both concerned with visual representations of past time. Its first purpose is to enquire how visual representations of historical time can be used to bring out patterns in a museum collection. A case study is presented of the visualisation of data with sufficient subtlety to be useful to historians and curators. Such a visual analytics approach raises questions about the proper representation of time and of objects and events within it. It is argued that such chronographics can support both an externalised, objectivising point of view from ‘outside’ time and one which is immersive and gives a sense of the historic moment. These modes are set in their own historical context through original historical research, highlighting the shift to an Enlightenment view of time as a uniform container for events. This in turn prompts new ways of thinking about chronological visualisation, in particular the separation of the ‘ideal’ image of time from contingent, temporary rendered views.

Parry, Nye; Bendon, Helen; Boyd Davis, Stephen and Moar, Magnus. Moving tales, exploring narrative strategies for scalable locative audio drama.

ISEA09 International Symposium on Electronic Art, 23 Aug - 1st Sept 2009, Queens University, Belfast.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4503/

This paper reports on a recent collaboration between the Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts at Middlesex University and the BBC Radio Drama Department, which was designed to investigate the narrative possibilities of locative media in a drama context. The locative drama Scratch is the first outcome of an ongoing research project, Locating Drama, whose aim is to investigate and develop narrative strategies that take full advantage of the current generation of GPS enabled portable computing devices for audio drama. In particular, we are exploring content and modes of interaction, which, while based on location awareness are not in any way site-specific allowing users to experience the drama in a location of their choice. We will refer to this approach as translocational as it allows the translation of locative media experiences to a wide variety of spaces. The translocational approach is of particular interest to broadcasters as it is more scalable than a site-specific paradigm, opening the possibility of downloadable location-aware podcasts featuring professionally authored content for a wide audience.

Boyd Davis, Stephen; Moar, Magnus; Jacobs, Rachel; Watkins, Matt; Shackford, Robin and Oppermann, Leif and Capra, Mauricio. Art and technology for health.

2009. Dwivedi, Ashish N., (ed.) Handbook of research on information technology management and clinical data administration in healthcare. IGI Global., Hershey, PA, pp. 616-630. ISBN 9781605663562.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4162/

This invited chapter describes the development of a prototype digital artwork/game which was designed to make players more aware of the health consequences of their behaviours. A world first, the Wellcome-funded project described has been demonstrated internationally and gone on, after further development by Nottingham University, to win an international award. The emphasis of the project was on enabling players to become more aware of the performance of their heart – but without setting them targets, prescribing fitness programmes or in any other way making them feel that they were doing ‘work’ or ‘exercise’. A prototype developed principally by artists and designers rather than by health professionals, the game has so far only been evaluated informally, and no longitudinal studies have been undertaken. Nevertheless some interesting issues have been raised. These include the use of digital gameplay as a potential means to modify attitudes and behaviours; the possible benefits of live feedback during use as distinct from retrospective review of performance; and the success of this project in terms of multi-disciplinary collaboration. Since few projects have been based on live heart-rate, the chapter also introduces some of the problems and the potential of exploiting this aspect of behaviour in digital play. First, two contexts are described: the crisis in health caused by widespread low levels of physical activity and the techno-cultural context in which the work was developed. An account of the innovative features of the project leads into a discussion of the issues arising.

Mapping the unseen: making sense of the subjective image.

2009. Nold, Christian, (ed.) Emotional cartography: technologies of the self. Emotional Cartography., London, pp. 39-52. ISBN 9780955762314.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4159/

It used to be thought that photography, as a kind of automatic mapping, could provide an objective view of the world. Now we are aware of the power of framing and other interventions between what is 'out there' and what is captured in depiction. Perhaps even perception, let alone depiction, shares this subjectivity? The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis holds that different cultures actually see the world in different ways, as evidenced and influenced by concepts in their languages – though this idea has been derided, for example by Pinker. A key difficulty is that the word subjectivity is bandied about without care for its different meanings and without distinguishing the many forms it takes in the graphic image. If into this muddle we introduce the idea of interactivity, still greater confusion easily follows. The chapter brings some order to different kinds and levels of subjectivity by documenting how they are reflected in forms of graphical mapping. In the process, it becomes clear how significant is the change in media technologies from those bound by the conventional rectangles of the page and screen to media which are interactive, pervasive, multimodal, physical and social.

Chronological (machine). Translation from the French.

The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert [Collaborative Translation Project]. Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan Library, Ann Arbor, pp. 400-401.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4167/

Item translated by Stephen Boyd Davis. This and other translations relate to Boyd Davis's investigation of the history of early modern visualisations of historical time.

Foreman, Nigel; Boyd Davis, Stephen; Moar, Magnus; Korallo, Liliya and Chappell, Emma. Can virtual environments enhance the learning of historical chronology?

2008. Instructional Science, 36 (2). pp. 155-173. ISSN 0020-4277.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/3046/

Historical time and chronological sequence are usually conveyed to pupils via the presentation of semantic information on printed worksheets, events being rote-memorised according to date. We explored the use of virtual environments in which successive historical events were depicted as “places” in time–space, encountered sequentially in a fly-through. Testing was via “Which came first, X or Y?” questions and picture-ordering. University undergraduates experiencing the history of an imaginary planet performed better after a VE than after viewing a “washing line” of sequential images, or captions alone, especially for items in intermediate list positions. However, secondary children 11–14 years remembered no more about successive events in feudal England when they were presented virtually compared with either paper picture or 2-D computer graphic conditions. Primary children 7–9 years learned more about historical sequence after studying a series of paper images, compared with either VE or computer graphic conditions, remembering more in early/intermediate list positions. Reasons for the discrepant results are discussed and future possible uses of VEs in the teaching of chronology assessed.

Representing space: the pictorial imperative.

2008. Turner, Phil and Turner, Susan and Davenport, Elisabeth, (eds.) Exploration of space, technology and spatiality: interdisciplinary perspectives. Information Science Reference, Hershey PA, pp. 128-140. ISBN 9781605660202.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4156/

This chapter is concerned with the relationship between the planar space of graphic representations and the space which they represent. The aim is to achieve some coherence or unity in thinking about the spatiality of different media such as film, television and videogames; also, to trace continuities historically. It is argued that the spatiality of modern media has discernible roots in much older forms of depiction and that this historical, developmental path suggests an almost irresistible pictorial imperative. Examples are taken from painting, film, television, computer games and other forms of computer graphics. This chapter relates to Boyd Davis' ongoing analysis of depiction. Other works in this investigation are: 2007 ‘A Schema for Depiction’. In: Van der Waarde, K. and Westendorp, P. (eds.). Visible Language 41(3). Special issue on Visual Metaphors in User Support. 280-300. 2007 ‘A word about the weather: depiction and visualisation’. Paper for the AHRC ICT Methods Workshop ‘From Abstract Data Mapping to 3D Photorealism: Understanding Emerging Intersections in Visualisation Practices and Techniques’. Birmingham 19 June 2007. http://www.viznet.ac.uk/cross_domain/abstract3D.html

Boyd-Davis, Stephen. A schema for depiction.

2007. Visible Language, 41 (3). pp. 280-300. ISSN 0022-2224 Item availablity restricted.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/218/

The article for a special issue on Visual Metaphors in User Support proposes a five-part schema for analysing the design process in constructing pictorial representations, highlighting the multiple ways in which the objectives of a design influence the final form: pictorial pragmatism, driven by the objectives, is argued to be the dominant force. It rejects models of depiction as ‘thoughtless imitation' compared with diagramming, and argues that the way in which representations fall short of matching what they represent is a vital part of their expressivity. Its originality is in seeking to identify the nature of those mismatches, in a form useful to both designers and theorists. Using visual evidence and a range of literatures including information science, research methods were to: 1. Analyse the transformations from perceived scenes to pictures, breaking them down into conceptually distinct phases. 2. Progressively refine the resulting schema, aiming for sufficient simplicity to be useful without misrepresenting the subtleties of the depictive process. 3. Establish a proper place for the affective aspects of depiction, in addition to the informational. 4. Integrate in the schema the metaphorical aspects of depiction called for by the theme of the special issue. The aims of the article are: to question simplistic models of depiction; to provide a simple but robust framework for thinking about depiction and related forms of designing; and to act as a guide in the advanced education of designers, in particular making them aware of the extent of the choices open to them. Related work: 1) refereed workshop paper ‘Representing space: the pictorial imperative' 2004 Workshop on Space and Spatiality at Napier University, Edinburgh, 13-14 December, 2004, ISBN 0-902703-82-X, 65-70. 2) paper for AHRC ICT Methods workshop From Abstract Data Mapping to 3D Photorealism, Birmingham 19 June 2007. http://www.viznet.ac.uk/cross_domain/boydDavis.pdf

Parry, Nye; Bendon, Helen; Boyd Davis, Stephen and Moar, Magnus. Locating drama: a demonstration of location-aware audio drama.

2008. Spierling, Ulrike and Szilas, Nicolas, (ed.) Interactive storytelling : First Joint International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2008 Erfurt, Germany, November 26-29, 2008, proceedings. Lecture notes in computer science (5334 ). Springer, Berlin, pp. 41-43. ISBN 9783540894247.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4164/

Locating Drama is a collaborative project between the Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts at Middlesex University and the BBC Radio Drama department. The aim of the project is to investigate narrative strategies that utilise locative technologies, principally GPS enabled devices, without being tied to a specific location, allowing listeners to experience immersive, location-aware (but non-location-specific) dramas in suitable locations near their homes, which may eventually be downloaded as interactive pod-casts from the BBC website. A demonstration presents a working drama originally produced for the BBC’s Free Thinking festival 2008.

Boyd Davis, Stephen; Davies, Gordon; Haddad, Ruba and Lai, Mei-Kei. Smell me: engaging with an interactive olfactory game.

2007. Bryan-Kinns, Nick and Blandford, Ann and Curzon, Paul and Nigay, Laurence, (eds.) People and computers XX: engage: proceedings of HCI 2006. People and Computers (20). Springer, London, pp. 25-40. ISBN 9781846285882.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/5365/

The paper describes an artistic project which produced some valuable findings in relation to olfactory interactive design. It records a process of discovery in a largely unfamiliar area of interaction. The paper describes how the many difficulties which people have in discriminating, recalling and identifying smells were used as the substance of engaging gameplay. Both theoretical and practical issues are discussed, including the role of olfaction in creating a sense of complete realism, and its use to create affect and to promote engagement. Issues of specifying and controlling odour are discussed, as are problems arising from the nature of olfactory perception. A digital olfactory game is described and evaluated. The paper may seem to undermine the whole idea of using the olfactory channel, and leaves it an open question how useful olfaction may eventually prove. It is admitted that significant problems await the design of olfactory experiences.

Boyd Davis, Stephen; Jacobs, Rachel; Moar, Magnus and Watkins, Matt. Exploring the subjective city.

2007. Borries, Friedrich von and Walz, Steffen P and Böttger, Matthias, (eds.) Space time play: computer games, architecture and urbanism: the next level. Birkhäuser, Basel. ISBN 9783764384142.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4154/

This short invited chapter, illustrated, considers changes in our experience of the city brought about by the use of personal, portable, location-sensitive media devices. The project to which this relates is ’Ere be Dragons, a locative media technology project concerned with the relationship between art, technology and health. Funded by Wellcome Trust, it has been exhibited around the world and discussed in articles, book chapters and conference papers. Heartlands, the most recent version of the project, won First Prize at the Nokia Ubimedia award, chosen out of 140 submissions from around the world. The prize is for innovation in the field of pervasive media. Active Ingredient developed it with the Mixed Reality Lab, University of Nottingham from the original project headed by the Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts.

Boyd Davis, Stephen; Moar, Magnus; Jacobs, Rachel; Watkins, Matt; Capra, Mauricio and Shackford, Robin and Oppermann, Leif. Mapping inside out.

2007. Magerkurth, Carsten and Röcker, Carsten, (ed.) Pervasive gaming applications: a reader for pervasive gaming research. Shaker, Aachen, pp. 199-226. ISBN 9783832262242. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4155/

The chapter is one of several edited and refereed outputs based on the project 'Ere be Dragons. This is a unique pervasive game/artwork which uses both GPS and live heart-rate monitoring in a mobile device. The objectives of the game’s development include a health science agenda concerned with the player’s wellbeing and physical activity, reflecting increasing concern over the health consequences of modern ways of living. These issues are explained, and the technical, design and gameplay challenges in working with heart rate data are described. An arts-based approach to mapping the exploratory aspects of a game is introduced, emphasising the relationships between objective and subjective aspects of the player’s experience.

Boyd Davis, Stephen; Jacobs, R.; Moar, Magnus and Watkins, M. 'Ere be dragons: heartfelt gaming.

2006. Digital Creativity, 17 (3). pp. 157-162. ISSN 1462-6268.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/462/

This article (Boyd Davis principal author, project director) discusses issues arising from the development of a unique location-aware game using live bio-sensing, funded by Wellcome Trust and Radiator Festival UK, First Play Berlin, supported by Hewlett Packard Research Labs. Project research methods: 1. Work in a cross-disciplinary team of artists, interaction experts and health scientists, using art to explore bioscience in the context of public health. Science collaborator: Prof. C. Riddoch, Senior Scientific Editor Chief Medical Officer's report 'Physical Activity and Health' 2004. 2. Combine novel technologies with novel gameplay, in contrast to most digital games which are reactionary and unimaginative in their models of play. The player activity emphasised is exploration, both of the external world and of the player's own body. 3. Evaluate formally and informally with users. 4. Explore through practice the new possibilities of media which are pervasive, multimodal and physical (Boyd Davis leads a workshop on audio in this context for BBC FreeThinking, Liverpool, 10/11/2007). A world first, Dragons has received international attention: presentations in Singapore, Ireland, Germany, Finland and Japan; competitive exhibition (ACM Multimedia Art, Singapore, 7-11 November 2005); papers for peer-reviewed international conferences; two book chapters – short chapter for Space Time Play: Games, Architecture and Urbanism (Birkhäuser 2007 ISBN 9783764384142); full chapter for Springer book on Pervasive Games (eds. Magerkurth and Röcker 2008). Nokia Ubimedia award 2007. Related work: 1) Boyd Davis and Carini 'Constructing a Player-Centred Definition of Fun for Video Games Design' In: People and Computers XVIII. Springer, London ISBN 1-85233-900-4. 117-132 2) Boyd Davis, Davies, Haddad, and Lai. 'Smell Me: Engaging with an Interactive Olfactory Game.' In: People and Computers XX. Springer. ISBN 1-84628-588-7. 25-40. 3) invited article 'Playing at HCI' Interfaces magazine No.70 (Spring 2007) BCS British HCI Group. ISSN 1351-119X. 16-17.

Moar, Magnus; Boyd Davis, Stephen; Jacobs, R. and Watkins, M. 'Ere be dragons: heart and health.

2006. International Workshop on Pervasive Gaming Applications , 7 May 2006, Dublin, Ireland.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/468/

This full paper describes a project which developed the first pervasive game to successfully integrate gameplay with feedback about the player's heart rate. It was presented at the International Workshop on Pervasive Gaming Applications in Dublin, Ireland, on 7 May 2006 in conjunction with the 4th International Conference on Pervasive Computing. It The project represents an extension of Moar's interest in novel uses of technology to assist learning into an informal, playful context. The core research questions addressed by the project were: - How may heart-rate information be integrated into a locative-based game? - What technologies may be used to realise a health related pervasive game? - What are the lifestyle implications of such a game? This overview of the project also details the key technical and gameplay features. Using a design-test-design approach together with ethnographic techniques, a successful game was devised and the player's performance and observations were monitored. For the first time, the paper showed that heart-rate information can be used as performance feedback in a locative game; also that affordable, accessible technologies exist to make such games possible. The paper develops the argument that enabling learning about the relationship between heart-rate and physical activity, together with motivational aspects of this type of game may contribute to improving the health of a sedentary population reluctant to participate in more conventional forms of exercise. In this joint paper with five others, Moar was the expert in methodology, user experience and technical implementation. Dragons has received international attention: presentations in Singapore, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Finland; competitive international exhibition (ACM Multimedia Art, Singapore, 7-11 November 2005); other papers; two book chapters – for Space Time Play: Games, Architecture and Urbanism (Birkhäuser 2007); full chapter for Pervasive Games (eds. Magerkurth and Röcker) 2008. Nokia award 2007.

The amateur creator

2005. Creativity and Cognition Conference, London, 12-15 April, 2005. Creativity and Cognition Studios, pp. 158-165. ISBN 1-59593-025-6.  http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/469/

This paper developed themes concerned with designing tools to assist young users to create 3D models published in a book chapter in 2001 with Bailey, F. Children's Creation of Shared 3D Worlds in Digital Content Creation, eds. J Vince & RA Earnshaw, London, Springer, 1852333790. The research used the particular case of children authoring virtual environments, amongst other sources, to uniquely develop an argument for distinguishing between the novice and amateur user in designing software. This is an extension of Moar's interests in children as users of digital technologies into the broader context of interface design. The paper addresses two key research questions: - What may we learn about interface design from children's use of professional tools? - What are the differences between novice and amateur users? Based on the observational data from the VERTEX project (described previously), together with a detailed analysis of the relevant literature, the case that amateurs and novices represent two distinct classes of users is proposed. It is also argued that identifying this distinction may assist in designing interfaces. The analysis also underlines the usefulness of the techniques of foregrounding and backgrounding of features in interface design. The ACM Creativity and Cognition conference is internationally refereed. The distinction between novice and amateur users is being explored further as part of the AV Cube project undertaken by Moar and Parry within the Lansdown Centre at Middlesex University, looking at how professional composers and inexperienced children create 3D sound compositions.

Interacting with pictures: film, narrative and interaction.

2002. Digital Creativity, 13 (2). pp. 71-84. ISSN 1462-6268. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/450/

The article develops the theme of depiction, highlighting the conflict between the rich variety of pictorial strategies historically exploited by film and the demands of interactivity in digital media. It revisits a theme of output one, the sense of direct access to content, and similarly treats depiction as an integrated concept across multiple media. Research methods were to: 1. Analyse how mainstream film-making creates a sense of transparency and naturalness, highlighting the naivety of theories which overlook the pragmatic and artificial nature of editing. 2. Propose a distinction between informational and affective expressivity (themes of all Boyd Davis' outputs). 3. Re-argue the supremacy of authorial control in film as it offers or withholds what the viewer craves. This undermines the many naive proposals to enable the viewer to ‘climb into' the space of a film and interact there. 4. Consider the constraints on expressivity created by the needs of visual interactivity. 5. Show how, by engaging in the pragmatic exploration typical of early film, interactive media may (will) discover its own unforeseen forms of expressivity. This work led to the research projects of MPhil student Cozic (completed) and PhD Sarakatsianos (continuing). Related work: 1) book chapter 2002 with Jones, H. ‘Screen Space: Depiction and the Space of Interactive Media' in Jorge, JA; Correia, NM; Jones, H and Kamegai, MB (eds.) Multimedia 2001. Springer, Vienna, 165-176. 2) peer-reviewed paper ‘News from Now Where? – the digital spaces of television', in Proc. CHArt Nineteeth Annual Conference (Birkbeck College London, 6-7 November 2003), volume vi, 2003 ISSN 1473-2157. http://www.chart.ac.uk/chart2003/papers/boyd-davis.html. 3) peer-reviewed paper with Cozic, L., and Jones, DH. ‘Intuitive Interaction and Expressive Cinematography in Video Games' Eurographics Society: Theory and Practice of Computer Graphics 2004 University of Bournemouth, 8-10 June 2004, IEEE Computer Society Press conference proceedings. 135-142.

Media Space: an analysis of spatial practices in planar pictorial media.

2002. PhD thesis, Middlesex University. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/4970/

The thesis analyses the visual space displayed in pictures, film, television and digital interactive media. The argument is developed that depictions are informed by the objectives of the artefact as much as by any simple visual correspondence to the observed world. The simple concept of ‘realism’ is therefore anatomised and a more pragmatic theory proposed which resolves some of the traditional controversies concerning the relation between depiction and vision. This is then applied to the special problems of digital interactive media. An introductory chapter outlines the topic area and the main argument and provides an initial definition of terms. To provide a foundation for the ensuing arguments, a brief account is given of two existing and contrasted approaches to the notion of space: that of perception science which gives priority to acultural aspects, and that of visual culture which emphasises aspects which are culturally contingent. An existing approach to spatial perception (that of JJ Gibson originating in the 1940s and 50s) is applied to spatial depiction in order to explore the differences between seeing and picturing, and also to emphasise the many different cues for spatial perception beyond those commonly considered (such as binocularity and linear perspective). At this stage a simple framework of depiction is introduced which identifies five components or phases: the objectives of the picture, the idea chosen to embody the objectives, the model (essentially, the visual ‘subject matter’), the characteristics of the view and finally the substantive picture or depiction itself. This framework draws attention to the way in which each of the five phases presents an opportunity for decision-making about representation. The framework is used and refined throughout the thesis. Since pictures are considered in some everyday sense to be ‘realistic’ (otherwise, in terms of this thesis, they would not count as depictions), the nature of realism is considered at some length. The apparently unitary concept is broken down into several different types of realism and it is argued that, like the different spatial cues, each lends itself to particular objectives intended for the artefact. From these several types, two approaches to realism are identified, one prioritising the creation of a true illusion (that the picture is in fact a scene) and the other (of which there are innumerably more examples both across cultures and over historical time) one which evokes aspects of vision without aiming to exactly imitate the optical stimulus of the scene. Various reasons for the latter approach, and the variety of spatial practices to which it leads, are discussed. In addition to analysing traditional pictures, computer graphics images are discussed in conjunction with the claims for realism offered by their authors. In the process, informational and affective aspects of picture-making are distinguished, a distinction which it is argued is useful and too seldom made. Discussion of still pictures identifies the evocation of movement (and other aspects of time) as one of the principal motives for departing from attempts at straightforward optical matching. The discussion proceeds to the subject of film where, perhaps surprisingly now that the depiction of movement is possible, the lack of straightforward imitation of the optical is noteworthy again. This is especially true of the relationship between shots rather than within them; the reasons for this are analysed. This reinforces the argument that the spatial form of the fiction film, like that of other kinds of depiction, arises from its objectives, presenting realism once again as a contingent concept. The separation of depiction into two broad classes – one which aims to negate its own mediation, to seem transparent to what it depicts, and one which presents the fact of depiction ostensively to the viewer – is carried through from still pictures, via film, into a discussion of factual television and finally of digital interactive media. The example of factual television is chosen to emphasise how, despite the similarities between the technologies of film and television, spatial practices within some television genres contrast strongly with those of the mainstream fiction film. By considering historic examples, it is shown that many of the spatial practices now familiar in factual television were gradually expunged from the classical film when the latter became centred on the concerns of narrative fiction. By situating the spaces of interactive media in the context of other kinds of pictorial space, questions are addressed concerning the transferability of spatial usages from traditional media to those which are interactive. During the thesis the spatial practices of still-picture-making, film and television are characterised as ‘mature’ and ‘expressive’ (terms which are defined in the text). By contrast the spatial practices of digital interactive media are seen to be immature and inexpressive. It is argued that this is to some degree inevitable given the context in which interactive media artefacts are made and experienced – the lack of a shared ‘language’ or languages in any new media. Some of the difficult spatial problems which digital interactive media need to overcome are identified, especially where, as is currently normal, interaction is based on the relation between a pointer and visible objects within a depiction. The range of existing practice in digital interactive media is classified in a seven-part taxonomy, which again makes use of the objective-idea-model-view-picture framework, and again draws out the difference between self-concealing approaches to depiction and those which offer awareness of depiction as a significant component of the experience. The analysis indicates promising lines of enquiry for the future and emphasises the need for further innovation. Finally the main arguments are summarised and the thesis concludes with a short discussion of the implications for design arising from the key concepts identified – expressivity and maturity, pragmatism and realism.

Media space: the uses of space in design.

2001. Technical Report. BT, Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, UK. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/461/

Boyd Davis' work is concerned with visual spatiality and with advanced forms of interaction. These themes converge in output one, investigating uses of visual space towards an analysis of spatiality in interactivity. As part of a long-term contract for BT Research (Suffolk, UK), Boyd Davis was commissioned to report on his recent work. The intended audience would be applying the ideas in practically oriented research and development. The research methods were to: 1. Analyse visual productions in an integrated manner across planar representations such as painting, photography, film, television and digital interactive media. 2. Exploit insights from theories of perception (Gibson, Marr, Gregory etc.) as well as theories of depiction and representation. 3. Build on older work such as Gombrich, Panofsky, Twyman, reconsidered in the light of recent scholarship in visual culture and theories of media transparency. 4. Generate a novel categorisation of uses of spatiality in interactive media. At the time, the BT team were strongly focused on the ‘realism' of Virtual Reality without clearly considering its appropriateness. Boyd Davis' work demonstrated the value of considering visual representation pragmatically in relation to the objectives which it serves, rather than attempting to mirror reality slavishly. However the importance of the ‘sense of realism' was fully acknowledged in the theoretical framework. Related work on uses of virtual reality: Foreman, N., Boyd Davis, S., Moar, M., Korallo, L. and Chappell, E. ‘Can Virtual Environments Enhance the Learning of Historical Chronology?' Instructional Science. Published online: 5 April 2007. DOI : 10.1007/s11251-007-9024-7 Foreman, N., Boyd Davis, S., Moar, M., Korallo, L. ‘Accessing Spatial Memory for the Teaching of Chronological History, using Virtual Displays' Plenary Lecture at ""Psychology and Society"" Novi Sad, Serbia October 2007. Recent developments of this work led to a joint Leverhulme award with Foreman, Psychology, Middlesex (£70,000) 2006.

 

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