Disputationes Subtitles

10-11 December
Future Center San Salvador
Venice, Italy

Official languages: english/italiano

This conference is the first of a round of high-level talks (Disputationes Subtiles) that in the forthcoming months will address the issues related to emerging communications – internet, virtual reality, third generation wireless systems, e-learning, computer supported collaborative work – that are shaping our experience.

The Disputationes want to help ICT managers, developers, researchers and students interested in such novel technologies in identifying some key issues to understand and exploit the full potential of this new situation. This will be achieved by focusing on this topic from multiple perspectives according to the tradition started by Pliny.

The first series of Disputationes Subtiles concerns communications through virtual technologies. The question addressed by the conference is how communication and emerging technologies are going to converge.

On one hand, the world of communication is evolving into the creation of context-bound services which take in account the user’s needs and characteristics in a particular situation. These services, in other words, are shaped by a new vision of the communicative flow which is driven by context’s semantic and psychological features.

On the other hand, virtual technologies are changing the way we interact with computer, by enabling us to share information in a three-dimensional, synthetic world consisting of realistic representations of real life objects and human beings. Moreover, these technologies have developed new interfaces which have the potential to overcome the barrier existing between biological and synthetic world, as showed by the increasing number of studies and applications focusing on neuroengineering and artificial olfact.

In this sense, we can expect that in the future virtual technologies and emerging communication tools will get more and more mature, increasing the chances of merging together. If today Virtual Reality is mainly used in entertainment, e.g. for 3D games and virtual tours, tomorrow it will be increasingly applied in concrete, real life contexts. For example, it will be possible to superimposing a 3D, computer-generated arrow on the floor of a burning building for driving peolple to the safety door. However, this requires context-critical information to be gathered and to be processed using distributed computing resources.

Communication will be characterized by new levels of integration between mobile and fixed networks, between global architecture and ad-hoc solutions. Middleware will increase its importance as compared to data transport and innovative solutions for real-time generation of communication contents will be developed.

Disputationes Subtiles integrate in an oral form the contents of the series “Emerging Communication: Studies on New Technologies and Practices” published by IOS Press, Amsterdam.

The interdisciplinary effort put in Communication through Virtual Technologies: Identity, Community and Technology in the Communication Age, the first volume of the series issued in March 2001, has allowed to invite researchers with different backgrounds to discuss theoretical and pragmatic issues and to provide a description of ongoing work developed worldwide. The topics discussed directly involve critical issues for designers and users, and range from distributed computing and third-generation mobile networks to non-standard human interfaces (such as olfactive) and wetware (the ibridation of silicium technologies with neural substrate).

Relators have a long expertise and scientific competence in the field. This derives from on-field trials and the collaboration to international research projects. To ensure that the contents of the conference are not quickly updated, all the contributors have made a great effort to identify possible constraints in the use of these technologies and to indicate how they can be faced and solved.

Researchers who have pioneered the ideas and the technology associated with these new communication technologies discuss theoretical and pragmatic issues for these applications provide a description of ongoing work developed worldwide. Applications which will be exploited in a wide range of disciplines, including: healthcare, e-learning, scientific research, services, manufacturing, engineering.

Throughout the two days the conference will address a diverse range of issues raised by virtual technologies, with particular reference to the social and technological issues associated with their use, as well as integrate technical knowledge and psycho-social principles related to human factors into the design of virtual technologies.

Although technical characteristics of these tools change very rapidly, what will not change is their users. Thus, to ensure the widest accessibility, contents of this conference will be available both in the Future Center and live on the internet, with the help of experts who will support the students of the virtual classroom. The contents will be also available on-line for educational purposes.

To ensure that the contents of the conference are not quickly updated, all the contributors have created multimedia presentations that will be available to all participants for future references.

These innovative services will be based on the technological platform developed and provided by Telecom Italia, the International Learning Services Network. The conference will be held in Venice,Italy , at the Future Centre , San Marco 4826 – Campo San Salvador 30124, December 10-11 2001.

Start of the page



Program


December 10, 2001

9.30 - 9.40
Opening
E. Fredriksson
IOS Press Director

9.40 - 10.00
Introduction
F.Vatalaro
Electronic Engineering, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy

Session 1
Chairperson: E. Fredriksson,
IOS Press Director

10.00 - 11.00
Actors, Artifacts and Inter-Actions. Outline for a Social Psychology of Cyberspace (abstract)
C. Galimberti
LICENT, Dipartimento di Psicologia,
Università Cattolica, Milano, Italia

11.00 - 11.15
Coffee break

11.15 - 12.15
The social life of communications technologies: when virtual and communities meet (abstract)
G. Mantovani
Director of the Department of General Psychology,
Padua University, Italy

12.15 - 13.15
Virtual Reality as Communication Tool: a Socio-Cognitive Analysis (abstract)
G. Riva
Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology,
Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan, Italy

13.15 - 14.30
Lunch

13.30 - 14.00
Meeting with the press for the presentation of the book Communications through Virtual Technologies will be held in the Refectory.

Session II
Chairperson: F. Davide
Special Project and Partnership, Telecom Italia, Italy

14.30 - 15.30
Towards 4G mobile communications (abstract)
F. Vatalaro
Electronic Engineering,
Tor Vergata University, Roma, Italia

15.30 - 16.30
Dynamic Agency: Models for Creative Production and Technology Application (abstract)
M. Somalvico
Electronic and Information Department,
Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

16.30 - 17.00
Coffee break

17.00 - 18.00
Avoiding artificial tigers: adaptive technologies for life in an unnaturally complex world (abstract)
R. Walker
Artificial Intelligence Lab, Psychology Dept., Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia,
II Università di Napoli, Caserta, Italia

18.00 - 19.00
Web Usability Today: Theories, Approach and Methods (abstract)
L. Gamberini
Department of General Psychology,
Padua University, Italy

19.00 - 19.10
Close of the first day

Start of the page


December 11, 2001

Session 3
Chairperson: G. Riva
Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology,
Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan, Italy

8.30 - 9.30
Using Mixed Reality for Collaborative Design (abstract)
R. C. Davies
Division of Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology, Department of Design Sciences,
Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Svezia

9.30 - 10.30
From Observation to Simulation: Virtual Reality as an Innovation Tool for Scientific Research (abstract)
A. Gaggioli
Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology,
Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan, Italy

10.30 - 11.00
Coffee break

11.00 - 12.00
Experiential learning with Virtual Reality Enviroments (abstract)
C. Ruggeroni
National University of Rosario,
Rosario, Argentina

12.00 - 13.00
Virtual Reality in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy: Immersion and Three-Dimensionality in the Relationship Between Patient and Therapist (abstract)
F. Vincelli
Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology,
Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Verbania, Italy

13.00 - 14.00
Lunch

Session 4
Chairperson: F. Vatalaro
Electronic Engineering, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy

14.00 - 15.00
Learning and teaching on the World Wide Web (abstract)
C. Wolfe
Miami University, Ohio, USA

15.00 - 16.00
Virtual Olfactory Interfaces (abstract)
F. Davide
Special Project and Partnership,
Telecom Italia, Italy

16.00 - 16.30
coffee break

16.30 - 17.30
Neuroengineering: a new tool for the development of information technologies (abstract)
M. Grattarola
Neural and Bioelectronic Technologies Group, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Biofisica ed Elettronica (DIBE),
Università di Genoa, Italy

17.30 - 18.00
Close of the Lectures

Start of the page


Contents

F. Davide: Virtual olfactory interfaces: electronic noses and olfactory displays
At the present, in communications and virtual technologies, smell is either forgotten or improperly stimulated, because non controlled odorants present in the physical space surrounding the user. Nonetheless a controlled presentation of olfactory information can give advantages in various application fields. Therefore two enabling technologies, electronic noses and virtual olfactory displays, are reviewed. Scenarios of usage are discussed together with relevant psycho-physiological issues. End-to-end system including virtual olfactory interfaces are quantitatively characterised under many respects: smell quality and concentration, dynamics, spatial localisation and information rate. Recent work done by the lecturer on fidelity is finally reported.

Roy C. Davies : Using Mixed and Virtual Reality for Collaborative Design
During a design process, many people cooperate to produce something such as an object, building or artwork. These people have different areas of competence and are responsible for various aspects of the design. They need to be able to communicate with each other and collaborate in the design process. Virtual Reality technology gives new capabilities to designers. Not only can they design together in the same time and place, but it is also possible to collaborate and communicate over distance, and to track a design over time. An example of this is Participatory Design.
People from an environment come together with design experts and work to improve their own situation. Our work has aimed at developing an "Envisionment Workshop", involving Virtual Reality and other tools carefully assembled and tested over several real design situations to facilitate the participatory design process. Together these form a variant of Mixed Reality.

A. Gaggioli: From Observation to Simulation: Virtual Reality as an Innovative Tool for Scientific Research
The major aim of the presentLectio is to emphasize the potential offered by Virtual Reality (VR) to develop new tools for research. While many Virtual Reality applications have emerged in several human activities, like industry, commerce and entertainment, only recently this innovative technology has been recognized as a useful tool for carrying out scientific experiments. The opportunity of Virtual Reality to create fully interactive three-dimensional environments, to simulate many natural phenomena and to evaluate how such phenomena respond according to the manipulation of specific variables, provides researchers with powerful investigative techniques. For this reason, the use VR is assuming a fundamental role in several several scientific disciplines, like medicine, physics, chemistry and biology.
In this Lectio, we attempt to find an answer to the question of whether virtual experiments can be an information source for researchers, and to validate the simulative approach in science. We review the advantages offered by this technology as compared to traditional scientific methodologies and the current and future applications of VR to main areas of research. Finally, we analyse the use of VR in experimental psychology as a case study.

C. Galimberti: Actors, Artifacts and Inter-Actions. Outline for a Social Psychology of Cyberspace
Cyberspace is standing out there waiting for us to study it from a psychosocial perspective.
A lot of work has been done by researchers in these past years but what is still missing is a discussion over the structure of a genuine psychosocial point of view.
The lectio wil discuss the opportunity to found this point of view on a three pillars' approach: a theory of subjects, a theory of objects and a theory of processes relevant to the features of artifacts and services actives in Cyberspace.
The issues raised will be dealt with as a first essential step towards a definitive study of communication technology and the culture that has grown up around it. The goal well be to open a conceptual and dialogical space to settle theoretical, methodological and operational standards to study cyber-interaction.

L. Gamberini: Web Usability Today: Theories, Approach and Methods
The aim of this work is to introduce the constant transformation and evolution of the usability concept. An overview of methods, techniques and theories concerning usability is supplied. The reported review starts from the description of traditional ergonomic methods and models, coming to the suggestion of innovative theoretical and methodological proposals. We claim that usability should always take context into account when studying artifacts such as hardware and software, as they are not to be considered as mere tools, unrelated to the concrete situation in which they are used. Thus, usability has to be implemented within a cultural framework, from which actions take their meaning.

M. Grattarola: Neuroengineering. A new tool for the development of both information technologies and the quality of life
Neuroengineering is a new powerful field of research rapidly growing at the interface between Information Technologies and Neuroscience. Its main goal can be summarized as follows: "To understand , modify and use brain plasticity at the network level, in order to inspire new Information Technologies and to advance Neuroscience".
This main goal can be reached by exploring several parallel pathways, namely :
– By interfacing in vitro networks of neurons to microelectronic transducer arrays (i.e., bio-artificial networks of neurons)
– By creating hybrid neuro-electronic systems
– By computer simulating neuronal plasticity at the network level
– By developing silicon (neuromorphic) neurons
– By developing a new family of neurointerfaces based on smart materials and other emergent technologies in order to allow self-organising 3-D structures.
Examples will be discussed to illustrate some of these pathways.

G. Mantovani: The social life of communication technologies: when "virtual" and "real" communities meet.
Four points will be treated. First, a reflection on the mutual shaping of technology and society will be presented (the need to reject the misleading metaphor of the "impact" of technology on society and the equally misleading arguments about the "social effects" of the Internet use).
Second, some ideas on the ways in which technological tools are adopted (and become adapted) to specific communities will be presented (the key function of social norms, the processes of legitimation of new technologies in institutions, the need to experiment socially with the new tools to discover their potential and their proper use).
Third, the cultural approach to technological tools as cultural artifacts embodying social project will be introduced (this approach allows understanding of computer-mediated communication and the role of communities as the real subjects involved in the adoption and development of new technologies).
Finally, the opportunities for development of Virtual Environments as places in which people can communicate, learn, and form "virtual" and "real" communities of practices will be considered. Social sciences seem in this moment willing to contribute to this project thanks to their recent advances in cultural psychology (artifacts, mediation, communities of practices), in cognitive science (Situated Action Theory), in qualitative methodologies (ethnographic analysis of specific CMC environments).

G. Riva: Virtual Reality as Communication Tool: a Socio-cognitive Analysis
Virtual Reality (VR) is usually described by the media as a particular collection of technological hardware: a computer capable of 3D real-time animation, a head-mounted display, data gloves equipped with one or more position trackers. However, this focus on technology is disappointing for communication researchers and VR designers.
To overcome this limitation the lesson describes VR as a communication tool: a communication medium in the case of multi-user VR and a communication interface in sigle-user VR. The consequences of this approach for the design and the development of VR systems are presented , together with the methodological and technical implications for the development of advanced interactive communication applications via computers.

C. Ruggeroni: Experiential learning with Virtual Reality Environment.
Experiential learning is one of the most important achievement to reach in any Educational settings since it is agreed that by multisensorial experiences from interactions with reality, humans learn.
Although this theory approach in education is widely studied and accepted is scarcely reached by up to date educational tools which, even the affectivity of them, generate a distance from the contextual environment in which students interact. It is a highly concern in Education to provides students with the tools that warranted the most experiential approach to learning. To reach that requisite, at least the educational tool should be: multisensorial, contextual and social referential, highly interactive, and allowing for grupal works to enhance mutual reflection and social knowledge. Virtual Reality comes to be the ultimate medium in CMC but also a powerful medium that, under the design of intentional educational goals, could embrace those characteristics that makes learning as experiential as effective as it is in natural - urban contexts.
As well, to Education to reach effectiveness and efficiency it should provides students with the accurately IT skills in order to understand and be inserted in the Society of the information age, being VR the near future CMC, it should be included in the schools currícula not only as a powerful tool but as a subject to analysed and in doing so to promote reflection about the place of technology in our lives.

M. Somalvico: Dynamic Agency: Models for Creative Production and Technology Application
Among the most promising modern approaches to creativity, a very important one makes use of non-standard problem solving techniques of artificial intelligence for addressing methodological descriptions of creativity.
The purpose of this Lectio is to present creative dynamic agency as a novel partial description of creativity, which is based on a recent and powerful technique of artificial intelligence, developed by authors and called dynamic agency. The proposed approach is embedded in an epistemology on creativity which is envisaged in a more general epistemology of rationality, namely in the framework of the debate between weak and strong approaches to artificial intelligence. the position of the authors is that creativity cannot be fully modelled. However, with the adoption of creative dynamic agency, we can extend the size of rational elements and reduce the size of irrational elements (which still continue to be present) in both product and process of creativity.

F. Vatalaro: Towards 4G mobile communications
There are reasons to believe that the evolutionary technology scenarios in support of the Knowledge Society of the years 2000's will be rooted into three dominant trends:
- Pervasive diffusion of intelligence in the space around us, through the development of network technologies towards the objective of the so-called "Ambient Intelligence" (AmI);
- Increasingly relevant role of mobility, through the develpoment of mobile communications, from the UMTS towards the so-called "Fourth Generation" (4G);
- Increase of reachness and completeness of communications, through the development of multimedia technologies, towards the "Immersive Virtual Telepresence" (TIV), including an increased attention to the aspects of human perception and of person-machine interaction.
The convergence of AmI, 4G and TIV technologies manifests itself as the next frontier of ICT (Information and Communication Technology). This convergence will determine the advent of ubiquitous 3-D telecommunications and the built-up of intelligent environments in which complex multimedia contents integrate and enrich the real space. The most ambitious objective is to integrate the computer interfaces in the real environment (Mixed Reality) so that the user can take advantage of them in the most natural and intuitive way.

F. Vincelli: Virtual Reality in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy: Immersion and Three-Dimensionality in the Relationship Between Patient and Therapist
VR represents the maximum level of evolution in interaction between man and computer systems. In Clinical Psychology, the virtual cyberspace offers a series of powerful and valid applications for diagnosis and therapy. The qualities that make VR software reliable and particularly useful in the practice of assessment and rehabilitation of certain psychopathological dysfunctions emerge with extreme clarity from the specialist literature. VR constitutes a three-dimensional interface that puts the interacting subject in a condition of active exchange with a world re-created via the computer. The possibility of not limiting the paradigm of interaction in a unidirectional sense represents the strong point of the new technology: man is not simply an external observer of pictures or one who passively experiences the reality created by the computer, but on the contrary may actively modify the three-dimensional world in which he is acting, in a condition of complete sensorial immersion. The nature of this exchange means that the subject feels actually present in this new context. The feeling of "actual presence" is perhaps the peculiar characteristic of this tool and is made possible both by the realistic reproduction of the cybernetic environments and by the involvement of all the sensorimotor channels during interaction. In this presentation we focus on the characteristics of the new configuration in the relationship between patient and therapist in clinical psychology.

R. Walker: Avoiding artificial tigers: adaptive technologies for life in an unnaturally complex world
Human beings are naturally equipped to deal with natural complexity. They are good at avoiding tigers. But in modern societies, they also have to deal with unnatural forms of complexity: markets, networks and complex machinery. These "Complex Artificial Systems" operate at speeds and produce output which human beings are not biologically equipped to handle. And above all they are dynamic. They can change their behavior rapidly and in unexpected ways. The current generation of data analysis and data mining tools is unable to deal with the dynamic nature of Complex Artificial Systems. In this lecture I will suggest that interacting with Complex Artificial Systems requires new technological tools, which have still to be built. These tools, I will argue, could be based on the same "adaptive technologies" which we have used to assist us in our interactions with natural complexity, in particular, Artificial Neural Networks, Evolutionary Computing, the Ecological/Embodied approach to artificial cognition as well as swarm computing. I will propose ways it which these technologies could be used to produce practical systems for Adaptive Artificial Perception and for the bottom-up simulation of Complex Artificial Systems. The human interface to such a system, it is argued, could be provided by integration with soft Virtual Reality Technologies. At the end of the lecture I will a hypothetical "Market Browser" based on this strategy.

C. Wolfe: Learning and teaching on the World Wide Web
This Lectio is about using the Internet as a teaching tool. It will start with the psychology of the learner and looks at how best to fit technology to the student, rather than the other way around. Thus, it will include a wide range of materials from how the eye "reads" moving graphs on a Web page to how people who have never met face-to-face can interact on the Internet and create "communities" of learners. The Lectio will considers many Internet technologies, but will focus on the World Wide Web and new "hybrid" technologies that integrate the Web with other communications technologies.

Start of the page