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Monday, October 19, 1998

Abstracts
"Designing a Sense of Presence in Virtual Environments"
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Volume 3 Issue 2     September, 1997

Bridging the Gulfs: From Hypertext to Cyberspace Thierry Bardini Universite de Montreal       This paper focuses on two main conceptions at the origin of Hypertext technology, and contrasts the associationist and the connectionist views. From the starting point provided by this conceptual opposition, it surveys the relationships between users and developers of new computerized communication technologies as inscriptions at the interface. Upgrading Brenda Laurel's models of the interface, it proposes a new conception of the personal interface that acknowledges the virtual presence of the designer, and locates the space of the screen as a dialogic space of mutual engagement. The Cyborg's Dilemma: Progressive Embodiment in Virtual Environments Frank Biocca Media Interface and Network Design (M.I.N.D.) Lab Michigan State University       How does the changing representation of the body in virtual environments affect the mind? This article considers how virtual reality interfaces are evolving to progressively embody the user. The effect of embodiment on the sensation of physical presence, social presence, and self presence in virtual environments is discussed. The effect of avatar representation on body image and body schema distortion is also considered. The paper ends with the introduction of the cyborg's dilemma, a paradoxical situation where the development of increasingly "natural" and embodied interfaces leads to "unnatural" adaptations or changes in the user. In the progressively tighter coupling of user to interface, the user evolves as a cyborg. At the Heart of It All: The Concept of Telepresence Matthew Lombard Teresa Bolmarcich Ditton Departments of Broadcasting and Mass Media and Communication Temple University       A number of emerging technologies including virtual reality, simulation rides, video conferencing, home theater, and high definition television are designed to provide media users with an illusion that a mediated experience is not mediated, a perception defined here as presence. Traditional media such as the telephone, radio, television, film, and many others offer a lesser degree of presence as well. This article examines the key concept of presence. It begins by noting practical and theoretical reasons for studying this concept. Six conceptualizations of presence found in a diverse set of literatures are identified and a detailed explication of the concept that incorporates these conceptualizations is presented. Existing research and speculation about the factors that encourage or discourage a sense of presence in media users as well as the physiological and psychological effects of presence are then outlined. Finally, suggestions concerning future systematic research about presence are presented. Telepresence via Television: Two Dimensions of Telepresence May Have Different Connections to Memory and Persuasion Taeyong Kim Department of Communication Appalachian State University Frank Biocca Media Interface and Network Design (M.I.N.D.) Lab Michigan State University       To be truly useful for media theory, the concept of presence should be applicable to all forms of virtual environments including those of traditional media like television and traditional content such as advertising. This study reports the results of an experiment on the effects of the visual angle of the display (sensory saturation) and room illumination (sensory suppression) on the sensation of telepresence during normal television viewing. A self-report measure of presence yielded two factors. Using Gerrig's (1993) terminology for the sense of being transported to a mediated environments, we labeled the two factors "arrival," for the feeling of being there in the virtual environment, and "departure," for the feeling of not being there in the in physical environment. It appears the being in the virtual environment is not equivalent to not being in the physical environment. A path analysis found that these two factors have very different relationships to viewer memory for the experience and attitude change (i.e., buying intention and confidence in product decision). We theorize that the factor, "departure," may be measuring the feeling that the medium has disappeared and may constitute a deeper absorption into the virtual environment. The study did not find evidence that visual angle and room illumination affected the sensation of telepresence Virtual Reality: An Empirical Metaphysical Testbed Rita Lauria School of Journalism and Mass Communication University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill      If the medium is the message, what is the message of virtual reality (VR)? This article examines virtual reality communications media. Some forms of VR, for example immersive virtual reality, literally situate the user inside an informed computational space. The essence of VR is the inclusive relationship between the participant and the virtual environment. Communication takes place through direct experience in the immersive, digital environment. Thus, these environments may directly implicate what we can say about our very ability to know, that is, about consciousness itself. In this sense, VR brings metaphysical inquiry within the purview of an empirical testbed that conjoins human psychology, or the psychological "presence" of the knowing self, with configurable digital phenomena to define "there." This essay argues that a fundamental message of VR may be to illumine timeless philosophical inquiries concerning the nature of knowing and being and thus direct our attention to what Aristotle called the eternal question: What is reality? VR directs our attention to the nature of reality by directing our attention to consciousness as the experience of being.