Abstract

Virtual Reality and other forms of immersive stimuli The VR experience is typically two-fold, encompassing both software, the platform on which the experience is digitally designed, and the head mounted display (HMD). Software is widely considered among those in industry to be the most important aspect of VR. It has been said time and time again that the real value of Virtual Reality products is in its software. The current market of VR HMDs are saturated with high end products such as Oculus Rift, to low end consumer products such as Google Cardboard, Muse, and others--these are cheap, mostly cardboard templates available for purchase. Despite the wholly immersive nature of VR, especially those that include sound, the physical experience itself is not fully immersive. Users must depend on using their own or auxillary devices for sound (earbuds, headphones) that may differ in weight or aural quality from the HMD, resulting in a disjointed experience. In addition, the current headset designs run into various design problems, ranging from materials used, varying comfort for the users around the points of the visage where the HMD comes into contact with the face, to adjustability, durability, and aesthetics. HMD designs such as Cardboard are cost effective for manufacturing and purchase, however they are limiting in in use and experience. Thus, while there is focus in software for VR, my design process and final designs will show that HMD design needs to evolve with software to make VR more appealing for users, which will lead to its desired universal use, as well as improving the immersive experience for humans--further asking the question "What is reality?" Scientific and political processes have seen a recent increase in the incorporation of data modeling and visualization technologies into their respective practices. However, the impact of the incorporation of such technologies on subject formation and technoscientific practice still is poorly understood. As such, this project aims to provide a better understanding of the political economy of technoscientific subject formation through a study of data modeling and visualization technologies. By focusing on technoscientific practice in three distributed sites coalescing around particular technologies – Plone, CMAQ, and AutoCAD – the project will create new insights about the ways in which technology, practice, and identity interact. Through participant observation and ethnographic interviews, the project will study how scientific collaboration, education, and information circulation are impacted by the increased reliance on data modeling and visualization technologies. As such, the results of this study will be useful to educators in scientific and technological disciplines who wish to increase the role of technology in educational processes, communities utilizing technological interfaces in collaborative ways as well as designers of informational systems who wish to better understand the sociotechnical possibilities enacted by their designs.