[Bilimsel Haber] TELEPRESENCE IN POPULAR CULTURE

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

TELEPRESENCE IN POPULAR CULTURE
A study of portrayals of presence

Technologies that evoke presence (short for telepresence) - a sense of 
"being
there" in a virtual or media environment, or more generally, an "illusion of
nonmediation" - are increasingly available to and popular with the 
public. And
even though the term itself is rarely used, portrayals of presence have 
become
common in popular culture - in films (e.g., The Matrix), on television 
(e.g.,
the various Star Trek series), in novels (e.g., William Gibson's 
Neuromancer),
and elsewhere.

We're conducting a systematic analysis of these portrayals in which 
fictional
characters experience one or more types of presence (see the web site of 
ISPR,
the International Society for Presence Research, , for detailed 
definitions) to
better understand:

<> the possible forms and contents of future presence-evoking 
technologies and
experiences

<> the types of presence-evoking technologies, experiences and 
applications that
people want

<> the types of presence-evoking technologies, experiences and 
applications that
people fear

<> the reasons humans desire presence experiences

<> the different ethical issues and perspectives raised by advanced
presence-evoking technologies

<> the degree to which fictional portrayals have accurately predicted 
the form
and content of new technologies

We've developed a short online coding instrument for a qualitative content
analysis of portrayals of presence and linked the instrument with an online
database to which entered information is stored. As the database of 
information
about these portrayals grows, we'll examine the data for meaningful 
patterns,
and eventually write a report of our findings.

--> What you can do (and why you might want to)

This is a fun but ambitious project that requires many hands - we really 
need
and want your help.

When you encounter or remember a movie or TV show, novel, video game, comic
book, or advertisement that includes a portrayal of presence, please 
visit the
project web site () and fill out the short web form to add a new 
portrayal to
the project's database.

There's also a list of portrayals that need to be added; if you're 
familiar with
any of them, or would like to see/read one or more of them, please add 
them to
the database as well. Or if you know of portrayals not in the database, 
please
let us know so we can add them to the list.

If you teach a course (e.g., related to presence and/or research methods),
please consider creating an assignment (e.g., for extra credit) in which
students review the web site, read/watch a presence portrayal and enter the
information into the database.

All contributors to the database will be acknowledged by name in all 
reports.

If you have any questions (and/or might be interested in becoming a project
member and co-author on this project), please contact Matthew Lombard at
lombard@temple.edu.

Project members

Matthew Lombard
Melissa Selverian
Karl Horvath
Sung Bok Park
Ha Sung Hwang


Matthew Lombard, Ph.D.
Temple University
President
International Society for Presence Research (ISPR)

(215) 204-7182
lombard@temple.edu

http://matthewlombard.com
http://ispr.info


Visit the website at http://lombardresearch.temple.edu/p4