Costelloe-KuehnCommentMemo13-16Sonya

Brandon's Comments for Sonya:

Memo 13 - design grid
 * "Developing the idea of programming anthropomorphic robots for psychological purposes"
 * How do you want to "develop" this "idea?"
 * you could help designers pay more attention to social effects, or something else, through face-to-face collaborating with them during research, or through your publications.
 * you could question "the very idea" of anthropomorphic robots.
 * your question in this row implies that you want to "convince" engineers to engage in research that is "undone." what is already being done? why do "we" want "realistic" robots? are there also dangers that need to be anticipated and designed against? the increasing use of industrial robots certainly had "unintended" effects that affected different groups differently (i.e. elemination of jobs).
 * Is the idea to develop robots that can //replace// human interaction for those with Schizophrenia? Or might robots be used therepeutically to eventually help schizophrenics socialize better with people too? it sounds like you're interested in adding robots as part of supportive networks that would also include people, friends, etc.

Memo 14 - emerging narratives
 * Although it may be unique in many ways, I am sure there must be multiple "backgrounds" which your study can draw on and contribute to.
 * It sounds like you are interested in the different "imaginaries" of robots.
 * Have you seen the video on youtube of a schizophrenic woman who uses the computer to create a narrative and talks about her different relationship with the world?

Memo 15 - core categories
 * anthropomorphic robots
 * given that schizophrenics have a different relationship to communication and relationships, and generally have trouble communicating and interacting with humans, is there any chance that making robots as "human" as possible is misguided? perhaps other/new forms of "communication" (more tactile?) could prove effective? has there been any research done on schizophrenic - animal communication?
 * schizophrenia
 * I think in addition to the "official" definitions and articulations of schizophrenia you might want to consider a few others
 * Deleuze & Guattari's two volume "Capitalism and Schizophrenia." These books can be quite difficult but you might want to check out the idea of "schizoanalysis" in particular. But this might be a bit too abstract (and focused on new forms of philosophy, not schizophrenia, per se) for your purposes.
 * Website with "emic" representations of schizophrenia.
 * Human-robot interaction
 * who makes up this field? psychologists? roboticists? communications scholars?

Memo 16 - contributions
 * I would say something about participant-observation in your methods section. You earlier mentioned wanting to observe interactions between robots and people with schizophrenia.
 * "This research is an empirical record of the social interactions and emotional conditions of individuals with schizophrenia before and after interactions with robots."
 * are you also interested in broader surrounding issues? possibilities: the research-culture of the robot designers, preconceived notion of "communication" and its benefits, what counts as (more) "normal" to different individuals and groups?