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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Nature of Creative Analogies in Biologically Inspired Innovative Design
Speaker: Swaroop Vattam
ABSTRACT: Biologically inspired design is an approach to design that espouses the adaptation of functions and mechanisms in biological sciences to solve engineering design problems. Biologically inspired design is inherently analogical in nature, yet our understanding of its analogical basis is limited. In this paper we present an observational study that describes an intricate episode of biologically inspired design that unfolded over an extended period of time. We then analyze our observations in terms of Why, What, How and When questions of analogy. This analysis contributes toward a content theory of creative analogies in the context of biologically inspired design.
Local Issues, Local Uses: Tools for Robotics and Sensing in Community Contexts
Speaker: Carl DiSalvo
ABSTRACT: This paper describes six creativity support tools we developed to foster community engagement and expression with robotics and sensing, assessing the benefits and shortcomings of each tool. From the descriptions of these tools and their uses, we highlight two issues. The first is the challenge of, and a general strategy for, enabling informed speculation with unfamiliar technologies. The second issue is that in enabling such speculation, the research process is opened to significant shifts in trajectory. These shifts concomitantly serve as markers of technological fluency and challenge the research project, reinforcing the value of a community co-design approach.
Alcohol and Creativity - A Pilot Study
Speaker: Jesse Smith
ABSTRACT: In this paper, we describe the design, execution, and results of a study of the effects of alcohol consumption on creativity. We are specifically interested in myths surrounding alcohol and creativity; one’s view of self as a creative being; and the effects of alcohol on inhibition and perception of creativity.
An Empirical Study of Cognition and Theatrical Improvisation
Speaker: Brian Magerko
ABSTRACT: Improvisation is a vastly understudied aspect of human creativity. Most research on improvisation has focused on the study of jazz musicians, relying on observational methods or on music theory to explain the decisions made during improvisation. Alternatively very little work has been done on studying theatrical improvisation, which has a significant relationship to the kinds of situations and behaviors we strive for in the creation of synthetic characters. By studying how people improvise on stage, we may come to a better understanding of how to create AI for synthetic characters in narrative-based situations, computer games, assistive technology, etc.
This talk will present the motivation, experimental design, and initial findings for the Digital Improv project, an NSF-funded project at the Georgia Institute for Technology dedicated to empirically study the cognition underlying improvisational behaviors in theatre. This work is in the third stage of a four stage process: 1) experimental design, 2) data collection, 3) analysis, and 4) cognitive modeling. We will report the design used in the first phase and the current results from our analysis in the third phase.
Computational and Cognitive Infrastructures of Stigma: Empowering
Identity in Social Computing and Gaming
Speaker: D. Fox Harrell
ABSTRACT: Computing technologies such as games, social networking sites, and virtual environments often reproduce forms of social stigma encountered in everyday real life, as well as introducing new forms of stigma. When users represent themselves via avatars, characters, and profiles, norms for behavior and group affiliations are established that may introduce prejudices, stereotypes, and associated social ills found in the real world. To empower users against these effects, this paper presents technologies designed to: (1) provide dynamic means of identity representation while avoiding stigmatizing norms, and (2) provide for critical reflection on stigmatizing identity infrastructures found in other systems. The theory and technologies developed with these aims are encapsulated under the rubric of the Advanced Identity Representation (AIR) Project that has been initiated in the Imagination, Computation, and Expression Laboratory (ICE Lab; D. Fox Harrell, Director) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This work has a basis in the cognitive science foundations of categorization and metaphor-based bias, and sociology of science accounts of social classification infrastructures.
Using this theoretical framework, this paper provides a model to reveal a set of inadequacies of many current identity infrastructures in social computing and gaming systems for supporting the needs of people in marginalized categories. As results, several social networking systems and games developed in the ICE Lab to empower users in creating computational identities and/or critiquing the phenomenon of stigma in these applications are presented.
Design Stages and Software Interactions in Creative Design Processes
Speaker: Paula Gomez Zamora
ABSTRACT: This study presents the analysis of nine architects design processes with different design experience and expertise levels. The main goal is to visualize and analyze patterns between their design processes, design phases, design iterations, and software used to support creative process in different design phases. For the analysis, this study focused on four major components: lengths of design processes, naming of design phases, flows of design directions, and the number and types of software used in each phase. The future goal is to investigate whether specific software capabilities would increase or hinder creative behavior patterns during the design process.
Predicting Successful Completion of Online Collaborative Animation Projects
Speaker: Kurt Luther
ABSTRACT: Online creative collaboration projects are started every day, but many fail to produce new artifacts of value. In this poster, we address the question of why some of these projects succeed and others fail. Our quantitative analysis of 892 online collaborative animation projects, or “collabs,” indicates that the early presence of organizational and structural elements, particularly those of a technical nature, can predict successful completion.
Locomotion Storytelling: A Study of the Relationship Between Kinesthetic Intelligence and Tangible Objects in Facilitating Preschoolers Creativity in Storytelling
Speaker: Jasmine Williams
ABSTRACT: This project studied the influence of kinesthetic intelligences on creativity in young children. To understand this relationship preschoolers were observed in their daycare setting during story-time over a period of four sessions. During the sessions observations focused on the children’s ability to propose narratives when the teacher used different storytelling methods. The children’s responses were videotaped and coded later for analysis. The coding was used to calculate the baseline Ideational Fluency of the children. Total fluency was calculated by adding the number of popular and original responses. Behavior patterns also emerged from the study. Children generated not only more responses, but a greater variation in narratives when they were allowed to interact with tangible characters and act out behaviors. Also, children generated more responses when they were given 3D stimuli than when given 2D stimuli. The degree of familiarity with the scenario also influenced the number of responses. The more familiar the children were with the scenario, their ability to contribute to the narrative improved. This project served as the initial research in designing a toy that facilitates the creation of narratives for preschoolers. We were able to establish design guidelines based on the observations. These guidelines will be used to design and prototype the toy for testing against the
baseline storytelling methods.
(In)box With Malcom
Speaker: Evan Barba
ABSTRACT: Inbox with Malcom is an Handheld AR Art Installation that explores the nature of the shipping industry through the persona of Malcom McLean, the inventor of the shipping container. Through the combination of AR elements and physical artifacts we create an immersive environment for users to explore using a handheld device. Artifacts include a giant map of the world's 12 largest shipping routes and ports which users can explore with their device, as well as a slide show and accompanying narration which depicts the life of Malcom McLean and his inspiration for creating the shipping container. Users can listen to Malcom's story while viewing either physical or AR slides. They are also asked to reflect on their role in the container system through simple tasks, such as searching containers for items they use everyday.
