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Tagging with Movement: Somatic Strategies for Digital Image Classification by Aaron M. Levisohn M.S. (HCI), Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006 B.F.A., University of Colorado at Boulder, 1999 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Faculty of Communication, Art, and Technology Aaron M. Levisohn 2014 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2014 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for “Fair Dealing.” Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Aaron Michael Levisohn, MS Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: Tagging with Movement: Somatic Strategies for Digital Image Classification Examining Committee: Chair: Marek Hatala, Ph.D. Professor Thecla Schiphorst, Ph.D. Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Alissa Antle, Ph.D. Supervisor Associate Professor Cheryl Prophet, CMA Supervisor Senior Lecturer Tom Calvert, PhD Emeritus Professor Internal Examiner Kristina Höök, Ph.D. Professor School of Computer Science and Communication (SCS) Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) External Examiner Date Defended/Approved: November 24, 2014 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Ethics Statement iv Abstract This dissertation presents an exploratory investigation of ways to incorporate somatic, or movement, experience into interaction with computers. The research centers on the concept design of a hypothetical application that uses movement instead of text to generate tags for digital content. These kinesthetic tags provide an alternate approach to interaction with digital images, one that prioritizes somatic perception over visual perception. Imagery has a long history of use in movement-based disciplines for teaching, conditioning, and heightening awareness of somatic experience. Kinesthetic tagging provided a focus for investigating this connection by providing insight into process through which people enact their relationship with visual media, exploring contents, concepts, and meanings. The research study addressed a gap in the literature pertaining to the integration of functional and experiential movement. Although a kinesthetic tagging application was not developed as part of this research, the concept served to facilitate the exploration of movement experience and its potential use for interaction. This exploration took place in a two-day movement-based workshop in which participants focused on the investigation of movement qualities derived from the concept of Effort as defined in the Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) framework. LMA Effort factors describe the experiential content of movements through the expressive qualities they exhibit. This feature provides a systematic method for linking observable movements with peoples’ somatic states, making the Effort factors useful tools for investigating movement experience. The research workshop incorporated various methods from design, performance, and Somatics, and utilized a modified version of grounded theory for data analysis. The outcome of the analysis is a conceptual framework explicating how users’ approach the task of enacting visual content using expressive movement. This framework identifies three modes of connection and seven mechanisms of interaction that inform a user’s process. A set of hypotheses relating to the process of enactment are generated, as well as a set of design considerations for a kinesthetic tagging system. The dissertation concludes with the articulation of five areas that would benefit from the integration of functional and experiential movement. v Keywords: Human-Computer Interaction; Movement-Based Interaction; User Experience; Somatics; Tagging; Laban Movement Analysis; vi Dedication To my wife, Michelle, for her patience and support throughout my doctoral studies. To my parents, Ruth and Paul, for instilling me with a love of learning and always encouraging me to follow my own path. And to my son, Anders, for teaching me to think and move like a child again, and always being a source of inspiration and joy. vii Acknowledgements Special thanks to my committee members: my senior supervisor, Thecla Schiphorst, for her guidance and feedback throughout my research process; Alissa Antle for her substantive feedback and input on my dissertation, and for her continued support of my studies through research assistantships; Cheryl Prophet for introducing me to LMA in her dance class and for sharing her vast knowledge of movement and movement theory as a member of my committee; and finally, my external reviewers, Tom Calvert and Kristina Hook, for taking the time to read my thesis and providing insightful feedback at my defense. I would also like to thank all of the other researchers who assisted me throughout my studies at SFU: Steve DiPaola, Philippe Pasquier, Tom Calvert, Jim Bizzocchi, Maia Engali, Diane Gromala, and Ron Wakkary. As well as my fellow grad students who were there to offer support, share ideas, give feedback, gripe about our supervisors, and celebrate our successes: Greg Corness, Kristin Carlson, Diego Maranan, Anna Macaranas, Lorna Boschman, Milena Droumeva, Karine Kozlova, Vicki Moulder, Jack Stockholm, Veronica Zammitto, Johnny Rodgers, Allen Bevans, Josh Tanenbaum, Karen Tanenbaum, Jack Sam, Angela Melgaard, Jhave Johnston, Robin Oppenheimer, Ben Unterman, Ben Bogart, Evan Dickenson, as well as many other people who are too numerous to include here. And finally, I want to thank my family for their constant support, inspiration, and love: my wife Michelle, my son Anders, my parents Paul and Ruth, my brothers Ben and Daniel, and my cats Brass Ring and Naadje (who are terribly missed). I love you all and wouldn’t have made it here without you! viii Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Partial Copyright Licence ............................................................................................... iii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................ iv Abstract ........................................................................................................................... v Dedication ..................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... viii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... ix List of Tables .................................................................................................................xiv List of Figures................................................................................................................xvi List of Acronyms ........................................................................................................... xvii Glossary ...................................................................................................................... xviii Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 Background ............................................................................................................ 1 Approaches to Investigating Movement .................................................................. 3 The Research Gap ................................................................................................. 5 Research Overview ................................................................................................ 6 Kinesthetic tagging. ................................................................................... 7 Research design and questions. ................................................................ 9 Research Outcomes ................................................................................ 10 Conceptual Framework. ......................................................................................... 10 Embodied Experience Outcomes. ......................................................................... 11 Technology Design Considerations. ...................................................................... 12 Application to Other Research ............................................................................... 12 Document Organization ........................................................................................ 12 Chapter 2. Literature Review ................................................................................... 14 The Body’s Role in Constructing Human Experience ............................................ 14 The Philosophy of Embodiment. .............................................................. 15 Husserl. .................................................................................................................. 16 Heidegger. .............................................................................................................. 16 Maurice Merleau-Ponty. ........................................................................................