Toronto Metropolitan University Open Journals
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Indigenous and Migrant Embodied Cartographies: Mapping Inter-relations of the Odeimin Runners Club
No full textThe Odeimin Runners Club is an Indigenous and Black-Persons-of-Colour (IBPOC) media arts collective (the “Collective”) creating an online story map using an open-source satellite mapping platform. By tracing activities and connections in our engagements with each other and our communities, our counter-mapping project re-traces trade and ceremonial routes between the north of Turtle Island and the Caribbean archipelago, linking stories, videos and artworks to traditional territories. This paper addresses the process of a pilot project making three 16mm experimental films. Process cinema methodologies that incorporate plants and organic materials in film processing were applied in the first phase of the project to produce three short films using Bolex film cameras. The films are themed on human survival, land connection, “rematriation” and BIPOC counter-mapping, threading our knowledge and stories together as we visit each other’s territories. In the making, Indigenous and performative cartographic methods were also used to map the inter-relations between the histories and futures of the land. An interactive website was created to integrate these methodologies while giving public access to the films during online exhibitions. The interactivity of the platform establishes connections between the films and filmmakers, both formally and thematically, wherein sharing traditional wisdom, imparting important knowledge, and offering support and strength to one another, facilitate the navigation of current political and environmental instabilities facing the authors’ communities. The authors conclude by suggesting future explorations aimed at building an interactive online mapping experience for communities to deepen and widen connections between their respective communities
Journey to Unknown: Gameplay as a Mode of Listening and as Counter Documentary
No full textAbdullah Karam, who escapes the Syrian Civil War in 2014, transforms the difficult migration and escape process he experienced into an autobiographical adventure game with Path Out (2017). The aim of the article is to examine the gamification of this escape process as a critical game design. Also, the article assesses Path Out (2017) as an interactive counter documentary as the inserted video clips by Karam foster a mode of listening to the experience from the first hand. The article analyzes the game with the close reading technique and the researcher uses her own observations and experiences as a player.
With the concept of critical play, Mary Flanagan points out that a game can interact with important social issues, such as immigration and war. Accordingly, as a critical play, Path Out (2017) enables the players to have knowledge of socio-political realities and cultural dynamics and to become conscious by following the experiences of a civilian and young individual during the civil war. Thus, can games be an alternative method of documenting real-life events? Or can the plays reveal the subjective aspects of the documentary and criticize the genre?
The article examines the short videos that Karam has embedded in the game, reminding of the live and interactive game commentary. Karam\u27s in-game interventions allow the player to connect and criticize both reality and the virtual environment in the game. The video method used in the game documents Karam\u27s memories and experiences as a counter mode of archiving. With these self-recorded video interventions, Karam comments on themes such as war, displacement, identity, death, family, and daily life, and gives information to the player. Karam wears the same sweatshirt as the character in the game world and calls out directly to the players, "You are playing me in this game". Thus, the physical separation between the players and the game character becomes evident with the appearance of Karam. The game Path Out (2017) becomes a useful tool for Karam to tell his story with his own voice. Making oneself visible and audible are key positions Karam takes regarding exposure to displacement. To put it in Flanagan\u27s words, Path Out (2017) can also function as a tool to understand the players themselves.
With the crossing of the border in the last part of the game, Karam tries not to get caught in the mines and not to be killed by the border troops. The game ends when Karam successfully crosses the border. However, each time the player dies, they get a new chance to cross the border because the real Karam is alive, and dead at the border of the game is experienced temporarily. For this reason, the player\u27s desire to play again turns into an uneasy experiment. The dark atmosphere of the border evokes the unknown after crossing the border. Besides, with each experience of temporary death in the game, players are encouraged to rethink the issue of numerous and out-of-the-record migrant deaths passing the borders
Experiences of LGBTQ-identifying students, interns and practitioners of dietetics
No full textIndividuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ) currently comprise over five percent of the population in America. It is unknown how many dietetics students, interns, or practitioners identify as LGBTQ as these data are not collected by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics nor its “sister” organizations. Research suggests that LGBTQ-identifying folx, experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, stigmatization, discrimination and isolation and many have unmet healthcare needs. This holds for LGBTQ-identified individuals studying and practicing in healthcare professions but to date there have been no studies of the dietetics profession. To explore the experiences of LGBTQ-identifying dietetics students, interns and practitioners we conducted a mixed-methods study grounded in Feminist Standpoint theory. National convenience and snowball sampling strategies generated n=131 students, interns and professionals of ACEND-accredited programs for our survey and n=10 for our semi-structured interviews. Qualitative analyses identified themes of overt and covert “underminers” of success including heteronormative assumptions/talk, misgendering, microaggressions, self-editing and closeting, and identified a lack of adequate LGBTQ-related healthcare content in academics/training. Supporters of success included people/groups with supportive characteristics, therapists/mental health professionals, and passion for the field. Survey data indicated significant differences between heterosexual and non-heterosexual respondents to a number of questions including homosexuality in society, awareness of LGBTQ community experiences, importance of academic content/training on nutrition assessment/care of LGBTQ-identified folx and responsibility for advocacy for LGBTQ-identifying patients/clients. Our results indicate need for better data collection, improved coursework/training on inclusion and greater content on nutrition/healthcare needs for LGBTQ-identifying patients and clients
Quality of Life, Anxiety, Depression and Psychological Distress in Patients with Cancer During the COVID 19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
No full textIntroduction and Objectives: Quality of life (QOL) and psychological wellbeing deteriorate during the COVID 19 pandemic in patients with cancer. Purpose: This study aims to review the current evidence of QOL, anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and their inter-relationship in patients with cancer and survivors during the COVID 19 pandemic. Moreover, this study identifies factors associated with QOL and mental health in patients with cancer and survivors during the COVID 19 pandemic. Methods: An extensive electronic database search was conducted. Articles published in English assessing cancer patients and cancer survivors’ QOL and psychological wellbeing. Results: Twenty-seven articles with 22,134 participants were included. Concerns related to contracting COVID 19, along with potential treatment plans were predictors of impaired QOL. Advanced age, family support, being identified as a male and having less comorbid conditions were associated with the high level of QOL. Delay or change in treatment plan, contact with COVID 19 positive individuals, and emotional vulnerability were found to be independently associated with high levels of anxiety, depression, and distress. Conclusion: Health professionals, caregivers and support services should pay more attention on QOL and psychological wellbeing of the patients with cancer. Counselling sessions, support services should be established to improve their life satisfaction and wellbeing
Environmental stewardship in healthcare: Use of bio-plastics in surgery: NON-RESEARCH PAPER
No full textThe Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to a significant increase in the amount of waste generated by the healthcare industry. Due to a lack of ecologically conscious options and policies, much of the healthcare industries’ waste ends up in landfills or incinerated, contributing to landmass pollution and methane gas production and the release of toxic chemicals into the air. Environmental pollutants have been contributing to worsening climate conditions for decades, and the planet is facing a dire climate emergency in the coming years. Surgical departments produce a significant portion of healthcare-generated waste (HCGW) but can positively influence the health sector to pursue ecologically protective adaptations. Procedural and product changes to environmentally friendly products, like bio-plastics, can help limit plastic waste produced by surgical departments and reduce overall waste created by the industry. By integrating bio-plastic alternatives into hospital surgical practices, surgery departments can demonstrate how environmental stewardship can be prioritized within the healthcare industry
Patient Zero, Parasite, Epidemic Agent: The Player’s Role in Watch Dogs: Legion
No full textThis research investigates the figure of the player as a pathogen agent able to impose a propagating form of homologation within the video game Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft 2020). The study involves the analysis of the role of the player according to a multiple configuration: as patient zero, parasite, and epidemic agent. The role of the player is potentially expressed through his or her being a starting point of contagion, a parasite that raids the bodies of non-player characters (NPCs) and an epidemic agent—a potentially uncontrolled transmission medium. Watch Dogs: Legion is set in a totalitarian London of a hypothetical future in which the player can impersonate any NPC in the game world. Since this contagion effect is the fundamental mechanic of the experience, this paper shows how it is not the NPC to represent and be a subject to an idea of homologation but how it is the player who imposes a propagating form of homologation with his or her tastes, political, and social behaviours. Regarding the game narrative framework, it is possible to state that the totalitarian form implemented in the game design is addressed by the player across an epidemic process and expression. Compared to the trend of video games to homologate the player to ideologies and mechanics of the product, the analyzed text proposes an inverse process. The paper argues that as an epidemic agent, the player both generates and fights (as a network) a process of homologation, creating kindred avatars and tackling totalitarianism
Interacting With Gender Violence: Interactive Documentary as a Means of Social Engagement and Affective Mobilization
No full textStemming from a process of non-linear narratives in a digital convergence landscape, interactive documentary proposes an innovative change in the documentary realm by allowing the user to choose how to consume the contents and produce a universe of narrative possibilities where the stories begin and end by linking to each other.
This paper examines to what extent interactive documentary may constitute a voice of process (Couldry 2), assuming to be a resource that may contribute to social change by seeking awareness of gender violence and justice for the victims. The empirical study focuses on two interactive documentaries approaching violence against women: Mujeres en Venta and The Quipu Project. The methodological approach draws upon a three-fold dimension: discourse analysis, multimodal analysis, and the interaction structure. Results show that both projects explore user’s interaction and participation to favor engagement and immersion with the narrated reality, aiming to promote social change.
The empirical study has identified that the two documentary projects use narrative resources from traditional documentaries and simultaneously introduce relevant novelties to the perspective of user interaction and participation, aimed at favoring the engagement and immersion with the narrated reality. Mujeres en Venta and The Quipu Project propose a multilevel communicative flow, which encompasses three combined dimensions: aesthetic, narrative, and emotional (Mora-Fernández 198–200)
Virtually Real: Aesthetics and Perception of Virtual Spaces in Film
No full textDue to the rapid pace of digitalization, Virtual Production (VP) in film is gaining importance. With this gamified production process, live-action and computer graphics can be combined in real-time while filming on set. This paper focuses on an interdisciplinary research project that investigates the effects of VP on visual aesthetics, on the changing workflows of filmmakers and actors, and on the perception of a cinema audience.
To systematically compare conventional filmmaking with new virtual forms of production, two short feature films were shot both conventionally (in real locations) and virtually (in the digitally scanned versions of these locations). The filmmakers aspired to keep all parameters of the production the same so that wherever possible, the only differences would be in terms of spatial representation. The process of VP included shooting with green-screen and pre-visualization based on real-time image rendering in a moderate quality. The high-resolution variants, however, were still processed in post-production. The methodology comprised a combination of qualitative, practice-based research and quantitative, empirical approaches, in the tradition of mixed methods.
As VP continues to develop, green-screens are being replaced by large arrays of LED-displays, as in, for example, The Mandalorian. The present study shows that in the first phase of VP, in which green-screen procedures are still predominant, composition artifacts occur mainly in the context of moderate production resources and are still measurable in terms of image quality
The Future of Houses: Designing for a Circular Economy - A Single Player VR Experience.
No full textThe Future of Houses: Designing for a Circular Economy, is an interactive, educational VR experience born out of a larger project at Curtin University, Western Australia, that seeks to communicate scientific research into ‘Energy Futures’. Produced in a tertiary environment in 2021 by Kath Dooley and collaborators working across disciplines, the project is a single-player VR experience that combines 360-degree video and a computer-generated environment constructed using Unreal Engine.
Designed for a user with an interest in ecomedia, The Future of Houses seeks to educate them on the topic of the circular economy (CE), this being a cycle of design and consumption based on the principles of material reuse and recycling. Curtin University researchers have produced significant work in this area through the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP). One CUSP initiative is the Legacy Living Lab (L3) in Fremantle, Western Australia, a building that was constructed according to CE principles, so as to be easily assembled and dissembled, therefore facilitating recycling and reuse.
The Future of Houses harnesses interactive, digital storytelling techniques, resulting in an educative and entertaining VR experience. This begins with a linear 360-degree stereoscopic video component that addresses the viewer in first-person tense, introducing CE concepts and profiling the Legacy Living Lab (L3) as one example of a CE building. After watching the video, the user then has the ability to enter a gamified virtual environment where they can explore the features of L3 as an active participant, gaining further information about sustainable features. Working in tandem, the two components seek to take the user on a transformational journey, drawing upon notions of The Hero’s Journey (Campbell 1949) and Mezirow’s phases of transformational learning in adult education (2006). The result is a project that creates a personal encounter with a CE building, which might influence the user’s future decision making related to house design and construction.
A focus on user experience during the development of the work functioned as a means to unite a multidisciplinary team of sustainability researchers and narrative designers, overcoming different vocabularies and approaches to VR development. The facilitator, a screenwriter and director, moved into the territory of game developer when collaborating with a team of VR programmers on the conceptualisation of a project with multiple interactive elements.
Bibliography
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Pantheon Books. 1949.
Dooley, Kath (Director/Producer). The Future of Houses: Designing for a Circular Economy. VR experience Curtin University. 2021.
Mezirow, Jack. An Overview of Transformative Learning. In Lifelong Learning: Concepts and Contexts. Edited by P. Sutherland & J. Crowther. New York and London: Routledge. 2006.
Un/interactive Fish in Posthuman Ethical Design: A Human-nonhuman Relationship Through the Lens of Taoist-Posthumanism
No full textIn the posthuman era, what counts as ethical has dispersed and re-distributed to a nonhuman-centered network that includes nonhuman species and nonliving matter. This hybrid study consists of research and project-based speculative design that aims to recalibrate human relationships with others, in this case, digital fish. The overarching question in this research is: How a human-nonhuman relationship could look like through the lens of Taoist-posthumanism and how to design such a relationship? More specifically, how to design a mutually beneficial interactive system with limited human-initiated interaction? Firstly, I draw on Posthumanism, Taoism, and Contractualism as theoretical frameworks to form the arguments regarding the human-fish relationship. Second, I analyze the theories and transcribe them into the public interactive project Not-my-fish in terms of un-interactive interaction and human experience. Third, I apply the concept of flow as design guidelines and feature four aspects of the flow in the human-fish interaction: ecological flow, sensory flow, social flow, and data flow. Fourth, I discuss how the participating parties mutually benefit from this partnership. Not-my-fish rearticulates the relationship between humans and fish as well as humans and computers and sees the human-fish relationships from posthuman and Taoist perspectives. In short, although the transition from human-centered to posthuman interactive media creates some challenges for human partners and design aspects, the project demonstrates a practical way for humans to develop a posthuman design in public interactives and serve the public good at the same time