La investigación que se presenta es mixta. El objetivo fue describir las emociones generadas en contextos virtuales de profesores de instituciones educativas en países de habla hispana. La recolección de datos fue a través de un cuestionario con escala de tipo Likert La muestra fue de 37 profesores de países de habla hispana. Los resultados mostraron la existencia de emociones positivas, negativas y ambiguas. Las emociones fueron generadas por experiencias y creencias de si mismos, de sus estudiantes y sobre la (...) tecnología. Se concluyó la importancia de generar recursos educativo digitales que permitan la identificación y gestión emocional. (shrink)

Este artigo é um relato de experiência do processo de implantação do ambiente virtual de aprendizagem do Programa Primeira Infância Melhor (PIM). O PIM é uma política pública intersetorial de promoção do desenvolvimento integral na primeira infância, implantada no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Entre as atribuições do Governo do Estado está a formação das equipes em mais de 200 municípios. Por causa das restrições impostas pela pandemia de coronavirus, a política deixou de realizar formações presenciais (...) e, de forma emergencial, promoveu formações remotas, utilizando a ferramenta Google Drive. A partir desta experiência, foi decidido implantar uma plataforma de formação online. Para tanto, foi realizado um longo processo de planejamento, com análise dos materiais existentes, adequação aos objetivos pretendidos, criação do ambiente virtual e realização de uma formação piloto na modalidade educação à distância. (shrink)

Com este artigo, problematizou-se o potencial da formação continuada de professores por meio da educação a distância mediada pelo Moodle. Nessa perspectiva, pesquisou-se, principalmente, a integração hipermidiática das tecnologias nesse ambiente virtual de aprendizagem, no curso a distância de pós-graduação lato sensu em Mídias na Educação. Para isso, selecionou-se uma aula de uma disciplina desse curso oferecida no primeiro semestre de 2011 por uma universidade na qual um dos autores deste artigo trabalhou como professor-tutor. Assim, foi realizada uma (...) investigação com base na abordagem metodológica qualitativa através da observação participante, na qual se percebeu que a integração da hipermídia potencializa o diálogo-problematizador, a interatividade e o desenvolvimento da flexibilidade cognitiva nos professores-cursistas. Dessa forma, observou-se que a navegação em uma hipermídia educacional respeita o ritmo e as maneiras de aprendizagem de cada sujeito, uma vez que possibilita que os temas a serem estudados sejam acessados de forma não-linear, ou seja, de acordo com o interesse de cada aprendente e por meio de diferentes mídias. Isso viabilizou aos cursistas fazerem diversas associações entre diferentes conteúdos inter-relacionados, proporcionando assim uma ampliação da visão sobre os assuntos educacionais abordados na disciplina e, posteriormente, poderem aplicar esse conhecimento em novas situações de ensinoaprendizagem. (shrink)

Las comunidades en línea han sido vistas como una nueva esfera social que coadyuva al surgimiento de procesos democráticos de forma más rápida y óptima, de lo que sucede en las relaciones del mundo físico. Sin embargo, los alcances y características de estas interacciones sociales aún están por verse. El propósito de este documento es discutir hasta qué punto la acción de los individuos en estas comunidades difiere del funcionamiento tradicional de cualquier comunidad ¿Hasta dónde los espacios virtuales cumplen con (...) las aspiraciones y promesas con las que han sido investidos? Un primer punto versará sobre las complejidades del establecimiento de comunidades en línea, para después pasar a determinar la forma en que se establecen las normas en estos espacios. Por último el trabajo se enfocará al estudio de caso de una comunidad virtual argentina denominada Taringa! (shrink)

This book is about power and freedoms in our technological world and has two main objectives. The first is to demonstrate that a theoretical exploration of the algorithmic governmentality hypothesis combined with the capability approach is useful for a better understanding of power and freedoms in Ambient Intelligence, a world where information and communication technologies are invisible, interconnected, context aware, personalized, adaptive to humans and act autonomously. The second is to argue that these theories are useful for a better comprehension (...) of privacy and data protection concepts and the evolution of their regulation. Having these objectives in mind, the book outlines a number of theses based on two threads: first, the elimination of the social effects of uncertainty and the risks to freedoms and, second, the vindication of rights. Inspired by and building on the outcomes of different philosophical and legal approaches, this book embodies an effort to better understand the challenges posed by Ambient Intelligence technologies, opening paths for more effective realization of rights and rooting legal norms in the preservation of the potentiality of human capabilities. (shrink)

Embasados nas concepções de forma arquitetônica de Bakhtin, procuramos demonstrar como as dimensões dos enunciados praticados nos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem (AVA) estão diretamente ligadas ao design (concepção, idealização e forma), ou seja, à forma arquitetônica de realização, defendido como o design de um AVA, que pode propiciar (novos) multiletramentos, flexibilizar ou não, em sua forma de realização, gêneros multissemióticos advindos do mundo contemporâneo. Para tanto, observamos o design de duas ferramentas em dois AVA distintos e concluímos que, no primeiro, (...) o ambiente digital está baseado nas relações de tempo e espaço (e poder) da escola tradicional, gerando uma forma arquitetônica de realização de uma escola marcada pelos gêneros e letramentos escolares convencionais. No segundo, ao observarmos o todo arquitetônico, concluímos que o seu design propicia o uso de diferentes modos de linguagem - textual, gráfica, sonora, com imagens estáticas e dinâmicas, com fácil comunicação/interação com os meios tecnológicos da contemporaneidade. (shrink)

El artículo ofrece un análisis crítico del impacto contemporáneo que está teniendo la proliferación de una Educación Ambiental (EA) de nueva generación apoyada por herramientas tecnológicas virtuales en la construcción de una renovada identidad profesional, de un sujeto ecológico postmoderno en continua reconstrucción, reciclado por la influencia que ejerce la tecnología en su práctica laboral ordinaria y en su vida cotidiana como ciudadano ambientalmente comprometido. A los treinta años de Tbilisi se reconstruyen algunos patrones de cambio significativo valorando las limitaciones (...) y oportunidades de los nuevos modelos. Desde los presupuestos de la investigación fenomenológica nos acercamos a los diferentes rasgos del nuevo sujeto ecológico de nuestro tiempo, donde un nuevo concepto de educador ambiental y de EA se perfila empujado por los avances tecnológicos al albur de realidades virtuales, redes sociales y medios de comunicación. (shrink)

ABSTRACT In this article, we discuss the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies for the creation and adaptation of stories aimed at children and young adult, focusing on the specificities of their usage protocols. We begin by introducing narratives in VR and their connection to the field of children and young adult literature. Subsequently, 360º videos targeted at children and young people are presented, along with the reading and engagement protocols that arise from their peculiarities. Starting from the field (...) of Cinematic Virtual Reality (CVR), we discuss about the main challenges posed by this medium for the enjoyment of immersive works, based on the analysis of the work Invasion!, produced by the Baobab studio. Thus, we conclude that both the production and reception of narratives in Virtual Reality presuppose the management of the viewer’s vision and attentional focus, considering the reading protocols already learned and naturalized through other media. (shrink)

Apresentar a sociologia e a filosofia frente a dimensão tomada pela informação, e seus usos na contemporaneidade, requer uma mirada sobre relações e interações em ambientes on-line chamados de virtuais ou digitais, como mídias e redes sociais. Com isso, ao pensar os estudos acerca do social e a dimensão de uma filosofia aplicada ao entendimento dessa mesma relação virtual/digital na internet, surgem indagações a ser exploradas de modo a se entender certas transformações pelas quais a sociedade atual tem passado. (...) Dessa forma, a partir de uma exposição de exemplos dessa interação, e transformação social, tornada digital, miro nos novos tipos de trabalhos (e trabalhadores), formas de argumentar acerca dos impactos dos usos dessas formas midiáticas digitalizadas de apropriação da realidade. (shrink)

Resumen. Este artículo ofrece una propuesta enfocada a optimizar el proceso de evaluación sobre el aprovechamiento del alumno, en un ambiente virtual, mediante el concepto GROUPWARE:, técnicas de comunicación grupal, utilizando las Nuevas tecnologías de Información y las Comunicaciones [NTIC’s], como herramientas básicas, llevando el registro y seguimiento estadístico del aprovechamiento actitudinal del estudiante, posibilitando así, el uso y la construcción de índices significativos, seguros y fiables, que permitan al instructor/facilitador/tutor, gestionar de un diagnóstico, sobre el comportamiento, esfuerzo, (...) dedicación y actitud del aprendiz, obteniendo como resultado la participación integra del alumno en los cursos tomados en la plataforma colaborativa permitiendo en consecuencia las medidas preventivas/correctivas sobre la conducta continuamente observada del alumno en el entorno en línea.Palabras claves. Evaluación de enseñanza-aprendizaje, aprovechamiento del alumno, entorno en línea, enseñanza virtual, diagnóstico, indicadores.. This article provides a methodological proposal oriented to optimize the assessment process of a student performance on an on line environment through the application of group communication techniques and widespread use of the new technologies on information and telecommunication as basic tools, based one the process follow-up and statistical data collection from the student´s learning performance and behaviour to enable the construction of significant and reliable indexes thus allowing the advisor a diagnostic on the student´s attitude and performance, allowing him to take on time the adequate preventive/corrective decision measures based on a success/failure tests outputs from the student performance, on a day- to- day basis, on the line environment.Keywords. On line environment, new technologies on information and telecommunication, assessment process, teaching-learning process, student performance, groupware. (shrink)

Enquanto o relativismo cultural predominante na antropologia moderna compreendia a diversidade das culturas do mundo pela sua relação com uma única natureza de fundo, apresentando assim sua face etnocêntrica ao arrogar-se o acesso privilegiado à Natureza universal, o "relativismo natural" (Latour, 1994) considera a existência de naturezas tão diversas quanto as culturas que as constroem. Porém, a exemplo do que sabemos pela voz de Davi Kopenawa (Kopenawa & Albert, 2015), a catástrofe ambiental antropogênica eminente atinge não apenas a Natureza enquanto (...) construto da cosmologia ocidental, mas também incide sobre as naturezas de outros povos, outros coletivos com seus próprios arranjos cosmológicos. Este problema arrisca conduzir-nos a uma questão viciada, a de nos perguntarmos qual é a Natureza comum a todos os diferentes povos atingidos pela catástrofe ambiental. Identificamos, porém, esta questão como falsa quando reconhecemos que as categorias universalistas do pensamento ocidental entram em crise no Antropoceno. Compreendemos então que, no trato das questões antropológicas e filosóficas da crise ambiental, de modo a evitar o recurso a ideais etnocêntricos, precisamos suspender a procura por unívocos (Viveiros de Castro, 2004) e redirecionarmos a busca pelo espaço comum da catástrofe ao espaço virtual da equivocação enquanto dimensão das relações interculturais de modo a conservar as diferenças e potencializar a tradução antropológica. (shrink)

It is common for visitors to have rich and varied experiences in the limited space of a classical Chinese garden. This leads to the sense that the garden’s scale is much larger than it really is. A main reason for this perceptual bias is the gardener’s manipulation of visual information. Most studies have discussed this phenomenon in terms of qualitative description with fragmented perspectives taken from static points, without considering ambient visual information or continuously changing observation points. A general question (...) arises, then, on why depth perception can vary from one observation point to another along a garden path. To better understand the spatial experience in classical Chinese gardens, this study focused on variations in perceived depth among different observation points and aimed to identify influential visual information through psychophysical experimentation. As stimuli for the experiment, panoramic photos of Liu garden were taken from three positions at Lvyin Pavilion. Considering the effects of pictorial visual cues on depth perception, the photos were processed to create 18 kinds of stimuli. Two tasks were presented to the participants. In Task 1, 71 participants were asked to rate the depth value of the garden using the magnitude estimation method in a cave automatic virtual environment. Statistical analysis of Task 1 revealed that depth values differed significantly among different viewpoints. In Task 2, participants were asked to compare 18 stimuli and 3D images presented on three connected monitors and to judge the depth of the garden using the adjustment method. The results of Task 2 again showed that depth values differed significantly among different viewpoints. In both tasks, ambient information significantly influenced depth perception. (shrink)

Esse trabalho analisa os museus e centros culturais virtuais em suas funções de interação e mediação entre o sujeito e o conhecimento. Partindo da caracterização dos MCCV como forma objetiva da relação sujeito-conhecimento, foram escolhidas oito experiências de MCCV para avaliação técnica e pedagógica. Com base na literatura avaliação de softwares e ambientes computacionais, criou-se uma matriz taxonômica para a análise de cada MCCV. Como resultados, o estudo indicou que há experiências de museus e centros culturais muito bem elaboradas e (...) com bom potencial de apoio à construção do conhecimento por seus usuários. Todavia, observou-se que essas experiências ainda carecem de melhorias para melhor atendimento aos usuários, particularmente aqueles portadores de alguma deficiência. Na sociedade atual, marcada pelo uso intensivo das tecnologias digitais e da escrita, os MCCV apresentam-se como ambientes essenciais para experiências ciberculturais. Palavras-chave: Museus Virtuais. Centros Culturais Virtuais. Mediação. Sociedade Grafocêntrica Digital. (shrink)

As novas modalidades de operações financeiras realizadas por bancos tradicionais versus suas contrapartes no ambiente virtual, as quais utilizam dados bancários e informações pessoais e sensíveis dos usuários naquilo que se chama de open banking é o tema central do trabalho. Assim, partiu-se de uma definição geral desse termo, declinando sua tentativa de regulação para analisar seu acoplamento com LGPD, concluindo-se da necessidade de uma intervenção do órgão regulador (BACEN) balanceando proteção de dados e aumento da concorrência gerado (...) pelo instituto estudado. A pesquisa bibliográfica foi utilizada e o método dialético foram utilizados pelo prisma da Análise Econômica do Direito. (shrink)

O trabalho analisa os desdobramentos que o recurso às tecnologias digitais de comunicação, na rede mundial de computadores, trouxe à democracia, partindo da percepção do ambiente virtual como espaço público de participação e interação social. A partir do surgimento das novas tecnologias de comunicação houve alteração na dinâmica do exercício da cidadania na sociedade brasileira? Foram utilizados método dedutivo e pesquisa bibliográfica. Em conclusão, com a internet não se cria novo modelo de democracia: a democracia digital. O espaço (...) de atuação política é ampliado através de potencialidades que fomentam liberdade e igualdade popular no processo eleitoral e na gestão pública. (shrink)

O artigo apresenta um estudo teórico sobre o pensamento de Gert Biesta, filósofo e educador holandês, internacionalmente reconhecido como referência no campo da Pedagogia Crítica. Tem como objetivo pôr em discussão o conceito learnification, criado pelo autor e posteriormente traduzido por aprenderismo, considerando ser esse uma importante referência para orientar estudos e práticas na perspectiva de problematizar o discurso educacional dominante. Como método, apresenta um procedimento complementar aos estudos bibliográficos, qual seja, a análise de vídeos referentes a palestras disponibilizadas pelo (...) autor no ambiente virtual YouTube. Com base na Análise Textual Discursiva, foram tomados como objeto de estudo três vídeos, a saber: “Good education in the age of measurement”; “Being home in the world” e “The beautiful risk of education”. Os vídeos correspondem, respectivamente, a palestras realizadas pelo autor, em diferentes eventos educacionais, entre os anos de 2013 e 2017, perfazendo um período de seis anos e contando com um intervalo de dois anos entre cada palestra selecionada. Resulta deste estudo uma compreensão ampliada do conceito, cuja complexidade buscamos expressar a partir de quatro palavras-chave: mensuração, qualificação, mercantilização e egocentrismo. Cada uma das referidas palavras-chave dá pistas para compreender o conceito, bem como para sugerir a continuidade de estudos sobre o pensamento do autor. Nesse sentido, as considerações finais apresentam questionamentos, com vistas ao aprofundamento de estudos, convidando ao diálogo. Como conclusão, reitera-se a importância do pensamento de Gert Biesta e a relevância da compreensão acerca do conceito learnification/aprenderismo, concebendo-o como significativa contribuição para orientar estudos e práticas no campo da Pedagogia Critica, na perspectiva de pensar/fazer uma boa Educação na era da mensuração. (shrink)

Analising the relationship betwen religion and communication, many options open whole range of possibilities of reflection about the theme. In this case, the relationship proposed is betwen virtual media and the religion, specifically groups and religion moviments of the Catholic Church. We live a reality that, in virtual world, we have the oportunity to be receptors and, mainly, contents producers. In this dynamism, is very important to know and to understand how this communication process happens. It is commum (...) find in various digital social medias, in religion context, groups and moviments marked for a way that keep the teachings and doctrines. For this specific public, the Christian teaching practise is more important than the biblic formation or the faith deepening. It is present in cyberspace like a unique way to arrive to holiness. The virtual communication medias become a ideal space in holiness ideology condution proposed by many groups and conservative moviments, become the so important communication relation process in a bit dialogical ambient between the many and diferent opinions. This way, for the first explanation about research thematic, we show a historic about the communiction process, the communication media evolution and the so known ambient in contemporaneity: the virtual ambient. We approach the ciberculture, the space where was created a culture from the virtual communicative actions and how this reality dialogues with the religion. Then, we show a brief schedule about the Opus Dei, the special facts in development of this conservative institution of the Catholic Church and your presence in virtual communication media. Finnaly, we point the challenges that can be found in contemporaneity, for exist a dialogical process in groups and conservative moviments of the Catholic Church, in virtual ambient, once this is the space where the most moviments and groups are presents, transmitting your messages. In support of the research, either in Religion Science or in Social Communication, we use the bibliographic consultation method whose sources are books, thesis and publications. (shrink)

One goal of this paper is to argue that autobiographical memories are extended and distributed across embodied brains and environmental resources. This is important because such distributed memories play a constitutive role in our narrative identity. So, some of the building blocks of our narrative identity are not brain-bound but extended and distributed. Recognising the distributed nature of memory and narrative identity, invites us to find treatments and strategies focusing on the environment in which dementia patients are situated. A second (...) goal of this paper is to suggest various of such strategies, including lifelogging technologies such as SenseCams, life story books, multimedia biographies, memory boxes, ambient intelligence systems, and virtual reality applications. Such technologies allow dementia patients to remember their personal past in a way that wouldn’t be possible by merely relying on their biological memory, in that way aiding in preserving their narrative identity and positively contributing to their sense of well-being. (shrink)

Contextualizar os processos oriundos de um período pandêmico é reconhecer que, para a nossa sociedade, o que vivemos com a pandemia da Covid-19 foi, de fato, inédito e histórico. Além de apresentar um cenário de acúmulo de emoções, mudança de rotina e sentimentos de medo e angústias, uma nova forma de interação social e trabalho precisou ser vivenciada. Assim, verificamos a importância de levantar reflexões acerca da maternidade vivenciada no contexto de isolamento social pelas mulheres que são mães discentes e (...) que precisaram conciliar suas atividades de cuidados diários com os estudos acadêmicos. É fundamental refletir sobre como funcionou o ambiente universitário no formato virtual e como tem sido o processo de retorno às aulas presenciais. Desse modo, neste artigo, o objetivo é apresentar reflexões acerca dos efeitos que o isolamento social no contexto da Covid-19 pode ter gerado à saúde mental de mulheres que são mães e universitárias. Tal texto compõe o levantamento bibliográfico do projeto de pesquisa “Atenção à saúde mental de mães universitárias no contexto da Covid-19”, realizado no curso de Psicologia da Universidade Federal do Pará. Acreditamos ser possível vivenciar no ambiente acadêmico aquilo que consideramos uma clínica da situação contemporânea e que colabora para a criação de espaços de acolhimento dentro da Universidade. No caso específico desta pesquisa, buscamos um acolhimento voltado para as mães universitárias que buscam permanecer nesses espaços, mesmo diante de tantos desafios. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to develop the theory of groups definable in the p-adic field ${{\mathbb {Q}}_p}$, with “definable f-generics” in the sense of an ambient saturated elementary extension of ${{\mathbb {Q}}_p}$. We call such groups definable f-generic groups.So, by a “definable f-generic” or $dfg$ group we mean a definable group in a saturated model with a global f-generic type which is definable over a small model. In the present context the group is definable over ${{\mathbb {Q}}_p}$, and (...) the small model will be ${{\mathbb {Q}}_p}$ itself. The notion of a $\mathrm {dfg}$ group is dual, or rather opposite to that of an $\operatorname {\mathrm {fsg}}$ group (group with “finitely satisfiable generics”) and is a useful tool to describe the analogue of torsion-free o-minimal groups in the p-adic context.In the current paper our group will be definable over ${{\mathbb {Q}}_p}$ in an ambient saturated elementary extension $\mathbb {K}$ of ${{\mathbb {Q}}_p}$, so as to make sense of the notions of f-generic type, etc. In this paper we will show that every definable f-generic group definable in ${{\mathbb {Q}}_p}$ is virtually isomorphic to a finite index subgroup of a trigonalizable algebraic group over ${{\mathbb {Q}}_p}$. This is analogous to the o-minimal context, where every connected torsion-free group definable in $\mathbb {R}$ is isomorphic to a trigonalizable algebraic group [5, Lemma 3.4]. We will also show that every open definable f-generic subgroup of a definable f-generic group has finite index, and every f-generic type of a definable f-generic group is almost periodic, which gives a positive answer to the problem raised in [28] of whether f-generic types coincide with almost periodic types in the p-adic case. (shrink)

Can there be a first-order, philosophical or psychological theory that explains all the facts of surface perception? By ‘first-order’ I mean a theory about the constituents of what J.J. Gibson called ‘the ecological environment’; and by ‘surface perception,’ I mean the perception of the surfaces of any of those ecological constituents that have surfaces. The question about surfaces is important for two reasons. First, as we shall see, they are complex features and, as such, provide a difficult test case for (...) any theory of perception. And, of course, if no theory can handle the case of surface perception it will follow by existential generalization that no first order theory of perception is possible. Second, surfaces play a key, virtually unique, role in human perception. Some account of that role is thus necessary; but if no first order theory is possible, that account will have to be something other than a theory. Since I shall be arguing that no first order theory is possible, I shall propose an alternative way of approaching the topic of surface perception. That surfaces play such an important role in the human perception of the ambient environment has been recognized by many writers. (shrink)

Can there be a first-order, philosophical or psychological theory that explains all the facts of surface perception? By ‘first-order’ I mean a theory about the constituents of what J.J. Gibson called ‘the ecological environment’; and by ‘surface perception,’ I mean the perception of the surfaces of any of those ecological constituents that have surfaces. The question about surfaces is important for two reasons. First, as we shall see, they are complex features and, as such, provide a difficult test case for (...) any theory of perception. And, of course, if no theory can handle the case of surface perception it will follow by existential generalization that no first order theory of perception is possible. Second, surfaces play a key, virtually unique, role in human perception. Some account of that role is thus necessary; but if no first order theory is possible, that account will have to be something other than a theory. Since I shall be arguing that no first order theory is possible, I shall propose an alternative way of approaching the topic of surface perception. That surfaces play such an important role in the human perception of the ambient environment has been recognized by many writers. (shrink)

Las nuevas tecnologías de la información van creando una nueva cultura que se denomina como cibercultura o ambiente digital, que incluye las tecnologías, las formas sociales de la producción tecnológica y las nuevas simbolizaciones y metáforas de la existencia de los hombres. Se presentan así algunos interrogantes fundamentales de inicio: ¿Cómo debe la iglesia responder a la nueva cultura virtual o cibercultura?, ¿Cómo se reflexiona teológicamente sobre la cibercultura?, ¿Cómo puede la iglesia usar el ciberespacio para hacerlo?, ¿Qué (...) se está haciendo en este campo de la ciberteología? Se analizan las posibilidades y límites de una reflexión llamada ciberteología, con base epistémica y comunidad académica todavía incipientes, pero que con una teología colaborativa puede aportar a la reflexión teológica del siglo XXI donde hay problemas graves para resolver desde la fe, como son la transmisión de la experiencia, la corporalidad y la presencia, el desafío a la autoridad y la solidaridad. (shrink)

In his extremely suggestive essay entitled 'Towards an Immersive Intelligence', artist and theorist Joseph Nechvatal defines immersive virtual reality art as 'an art that has a continuous, coherent quality and strives to ambiently include everything of perceptual worth within its domain in an overall, enveloping totality that is concerted and without an evident frame or border'1. Television, on the face of it, is not a medium capable of providing any form of sensory immersion: compared to the Imax or to (...) a trip through virtual reality goggles, its screen (even in its 'giant' sizes) remains ridiculously small. More importantly, whereas immersion requires the intense capture of our full attention in the enveloping totality it artificially creates, our viewing of television is generally distracted and superficial. (shrink)

Resumen Las nuevas tecnologías de la información van creando una nueva cultura que se denomina como cibercultura o ambiente digital, que incluye las tecnologías, las formas sociales de la producción tecnológica y las nuevas simbolizaciones y metáforas de la existencia de los hombres. Se presentan así algunos interrogantes fundamentales de inicio: ¿Cómo debe la iglesia responder a la nueva cultura virtual o cibercultura?, ¿Cómo se reflexiona teológicamente sobre la cibercultura?, ¿Cómo puede la iglesia usar el ciberespacio para hacerlo?, (...) ¿Qué se está haciendo en este campo de la ciberteología? Se analizan las posibilidades y límites de una reflexión llamada ciberteología, con base epistémica y comunidad académica todavía incipientes, pero que con una teología colaborativa puede aportar a la reflexión teológica del siglo XXI donde hay problemas graves para resolver desde la fe, como son la transmisión de la experiencia, la corporalidad y la presencia, el desafío a la autoridad y la solidaridad.The new technologies of the information are creating a new culture that is known as cyberculture or digital environment, which includes the technologies, the social forms of the technological production and the new sjmbolizations and metaphors of the existence of the humankind. There are some fundamental questions in beginning: How should the church respond to the new virtual culture or cyber-culture? How we reflect theologically on cyber-culture?, how can the church use cyberspace to do evangelization?, What it is doing in this field of the cyber-theology?. There are analyzed the possibilities and limits of a reflection called cyber-theology with epistemic bases and still emerging academic community, but that with a collaborative theology can reach to one theological reflection for the 21st century where there are serious problems to solve in the believing community, such as the transmission of the experience, the body and the flesh, the challenge to the authority, the physicality and the presence, and solidarity. (shrink)

The idea of immersion research has been explored in various disciplines: Virtual Reality, Interactive Storytelling, Art, etc. However, most researchers focus on constraints of the hardware and software, and are less focused on the conceptual and philosophical implications of immersion and presence. This paper aims to define a certain quality of immersion that has emerged from artisticresearch experiences. Overall, immersion is an integrated conscious state where mind, body and environment are well interrelated and interweaved. Within the concept of immersion, (...) we explore four categories: ambient immersive natural space, body interaction, new consciousness and flow of energy. Finally, the paper presents examples of our artresearch work and offers detailed explorations on the quality of immersion. (shrink)

I argue that virtual reality is a sort of genuine reality. In particular, I argue for virtual digitalism, on which virtual objects are real digital objects, and against virtual fictionalism, on which virtual objects are fictional objects. I also argue that perception in virtual reality need not be illusory, and that life in virtual worlds can have roughly the same sort of value as life in non-virtual worlds.

I reply to seven commentaries on “The Virtual and the Real”. In response to Claus Beisbart, Jesper Juul, Peter Ludlow, and Neil McDonnell and Nathan Wildman, I clarify and develop my view that virtual are digital objects, with special attention to the nature of digital objects and data structures. In response to Alyssa Ney and Eric Schwitzgebel, I clarify and defend my spatial functionalism, with special attention to the connections between space and consciousness. In response to Marc Silcox, (...) I clarify and develop my view of the value of virtual worlds, with special attention to the case where we experience these worlds as virtual. (shrink)

Are the objects and events that take place in Virtual Reality genuinely real? Those who answer this question in the affirmative are realists, and those who answer in the negative are irrealists. In this paper we argue against the realist position, as given by Chalmers (2017), and present our own preferred irrealist account of the virtual. We start by disambiguating two potential versions of the realist position—weak and strong— and then go on to argue that neither is plausible. (...) We then introduce a Waltonian variety of ictionalism about the virtual, arguing that this sort of irrealist approach avoids the problems of the realist positions, fits with a unifying theory of representational works, and offers a better account of the phenomenology of engaging in virtual experiences. (shrink)

Virtual Realism is an art form and a way of living with technology. To explain it, Michael Heim draws on a hypertext of topics, from answering machines to interactive art, from engineering to television programs, from the meaning of UFOs to the Internet. The book begins with the primer 'VR 101'. The issues are discussed, then several chapters illustrate virtual realism with tours through art exhibits and engineering projects. Each chapter suggests a harmony of technology with lifestyle.

Among the many applications of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual assistants are one of the tools most likely to grow in the future. The development of these systems may play an increasingly important role in many facets of our lives. Therefore, given their potential importance and present and future weight, it is worthwhile to analyze what kind of challenges they entail. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of the ethical aspects of artificial virtual assistants. First, we provide (...) a conceptual clarification of the term ‘virtual assistant’, including different types of interfaces and recommender systems. Second, we address three ethical issues related to the deployment of these systems: their effects on human agency and autonomy and the subsequent cognitive dependence they would generate; the human obsolescence that may cause a generalized extension of the dependence problem; and the invasions of privacy that virtual assistants may cause. Finally, we outline the debates about the use of virtual assistants to improve human moral decisions and some areas in which these systems can be applied. (shrink)

Are virtual objects real? I will claim that the question sets us up for the wrong type of conclusion: Chalmers (2017) argues that a virtual calculator (like other entities) is a real calculator when it is “organizationally invariant” with its non-virtual counterpart—when it performs calculation. However, virtual reality and games are defined by the fact that they always selectively implement their source material. Even the most detailed virtual car will still have an infinite range of (...) details which are missing (gas, engines, pistons, fuel, chemical reactions, molecules, atoms). This means that even the most detailed virtual object will still have fictional aspects. Rather than argue that virtual objects are, or aren’t, real, it is preferable to think of overlaps and continuities between the fictional and the real, where even the most painstakingly detailed virtual reality implementation of a non-virtual object is still art: a human process of selection and interpretation. Virtual reality should therefore not be philosophically understood just as a technological implementation on a trajectory to perfection, but as a cultural artifact which derives its value in part from its simplification and difference from its source material. (shrink)

The history of humankind is full of examples that indicate a constant desire to make human beings more moral. Nowadays, technological breakthroughs might have a significant impact on our moral character and abilities. This is the case of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. The aim of this paper is to consider the ethical aspects of the use of VR in enhancing empathy. First, we will offer an introduction to VR, explaining its fundamental features, devices and concepts. Then, we will approach (...) the characterization of VR as an “empathy machine,” showing why this medium has aroused so much interest and why, nevertheless, we do not believe it is the ideal way to enhance empathy. As an alternative, we will consider fostering empathy-related abilities through virtual embodiment in avatars. In the conclusion, however, we will, we will examine some of the serious concerns related to the ethical relevance of empathy and will defend the philosophical case for a reason-guided empathy, also suggesting specific guidelines for possible future developments of empathy enhancement projects through VR embodied experiences. (shrink)

What is the status of a cat in a virtual reality environment? Is it a real object? Or part of a fiction? Virtual realism, as defended by D. J. Chalmers, takes it to be a virtual object that really exists, that has properties and is involved in real events. His preferred specification of virtual realism identifies the cat with a digital object. The project of this paper is to use a comparison between virtual reality environments (...) and scientific computer simulations to critically engage with Chalmers’s position. I first argue that, if it is sound, his virtual realism should also be applied to objects that figure in scientific computer simulations, e.g. to simulated galaxies. This leads to a slippery slope because it implies an unreasonable proliferation of digital objects. A philosophical analysis of scientific computer simulations suggests an alternative picture: The cat and the galaxies are parts of fictional models for which the computer provides model descriptions. This result motivates a deeper analysis of the way in which Chalmers builds up his realism. I argue that he buys realism too cheap. For instance, he does not really specify what virtual objects are supposed to be. As a result, rhetoric aside, his virtual realism isn’t far from a sort of fictionalism. (shrink)

In a recent study by Cai et al. about water shortages in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban areas, virtual water has become the central concept of the groundwater security strategy by suggesting increasing imports of water-intensive agricultural products instead of utilizing the depleted groundwater resources for production. However, despite reviewing the content, we could not see how the authors discussed the households’ economic and financial issues from both production and consumption perspectives.

El autor postula que la formación de una racionalidad ambiental es un proceso de renovación del mundo, de descontrucción de los fundamentos de la civilización occidental y las falacias de la globalización económica; y que el diálogo de saberes apunta hacia un renacimiento que surgirá del encuentro de los seres ahí que habitan el mundo desde sus culturas y sus condiciones existenciales; desde donde nace lo nuevo en el encuentro con la otredad, la diversidad y la diferencia; sin jerarquías, desde (...) el derecho humano a hacerse un lugar en el mundo y a ser con los demás, y que tras esto subyace una recuperación un futuro sustentable. (shrink)

The goal of this article is to present a first list of ethical concerns that may arise from research and personal use of virtual reality (VR) and related technology, and to offer concrete recommendations for minimizing those risks. Many of the recommendations call for focused research initiatives. In the first part of the article, we discuss the relevant evidence from psychology that motivates our concerns. In Section “Plasticity in the Human Mind,” we cover some of the main results suggesting (...) that one’s environment can influence one’s psychological states, as well as recent work on inducing illusions of embodiment. Then, in Section “Illusions of Embodiment and Their Lasting Effect,” we go on to discuss recent evidence indicating that immersion in VR can have psychological effects that last after leaving the virtual environment. In the second part of the article, we turn to the risks and recommendations. We begin, in Section “The Research Ethics of VR,” with the research ethics of VR, covering six main topics: the limits of experimental environments, informed consent, clinical risks, dual-use, online research, and a general point about the limitations of a code of conduct for research. Then, in Section “Risks for Individuals and Society,” we turn to the risks of VR for the general public, covering four main topics: long-term immersion, neglect of the social and physical environment, risky content, and privacy. We offer concrete recommendations for each of these 10 topics, summarized in Table 1. (shrink)

Se analizan las políticas medio ambientales e indígenas durante el período 1990- 2010 de gobiernos de la Concertación, los tratados internacionales sobre el medio ambiente que inciden en el uso de recursos naturales en territorios huilliche. Se concluye que la política pública medioambiental, por su naturaleza reactiva, en el contexto de los mercados globales, se ha visto sobrepasada por la hegemonía del poder de las transnacionales que invierten en los commodities forestal, minero, agropecuario, amparadas por una legislación ambiental débil (...) y un discurso político obsecuente. (shrink)

Based on a modern reading of Aristotle’s theory of friendship, we argue that virtual friendship does not qualify as genuine friendship. By ‘virtual friendship’ we mean the type of friendship that exists on the internet, and seldom or never is combined with real life interaction. A ‘traditional friendship’ is, in contrast, the type of friendship that involves substantial real life interaction, and we claim that only this type can merit the label ‘genuine friendship’ and thus qualify as morally (...) valuable. The upshot of our discussion is that virtual friendship is what Aristotle might have described as a lower and less valuable form of social exchange. (shrink)

This book explores what it means to exist in virtual worlds. Chiefly drawing on the philosophical traditions of existentialism, it articulates the idea that — by means of our technical equipment and coordinated practices — human beings disclose contexts or worlds in which they can perceive, feel, act, and think. More specifically, this book discusses how virtual worlds allow human beings to take new perspectives on their values and beliefs, and explore previously unexperienced ways of being. Virtual (...) Existentialism will be useful for scholars working in the fields of philosophy, anthropology, media studies, and digital game studies. (shrink)

In Virtual Worlds, Benjamin Woolley examines the reality of virtual reality.

Based on a brief overview of the history of ontology and on some philosophical problems of virtual reality, a new approach to virtuality is proposed. To characterize the representational technologies in the Internet age, I suggest that Aristotle’s dualistic ontological system be complemented with a third form of being: virtuality. In the virtual form of being actuality and potentiality are inseparably intertwined. Virtuality is potentiality considered together with its actualization. In this view, virtuality is reality with a measure, (...) a reality which has no absolute character, but which has a relative nature. This situation can remind us the emergence of probability in the 17th century: then the concept of certainty, now the concept of reality is reconsidered and relativized. Currently, in the descriptions of the world created by representational technologies, there are two coherent worldviews with different ontologies: the world is inhabited by actual and potential beings—or all the beings in the world are virtual. (shrink)

La búsqueda de una educación ambiental basada en los principios de la sustentabilidad, está en el centro de la reflexión de la autora. El arte de educar implica, por parte de educadores y educandos, consiste en asumirse como seres sociales y complejos; inmersos en una realidad que exige un compromiso constante con el medioambiente. La libertad que podemos alcanzar en el mundo exterior -el cual habitamos en tanto cuerpos interrelacionados entre sí y respecto de su medio- tiene como requisito previo (...) el desarrollo de nuestra libertad interna. La propuesta implica una educación ambiental como proceso crítico de comunicación y reelaboración constante del conocimiento, donde se construyen realidades sobre la base de la paz y de un futuro compartido. (shrink)

In this paper the authors argue that many of the ethical problems raised by Ambient Intelligence stems from presupposing a behaviourist conception of the relation between human desires and behaviour. Insofar as Ambient Intelligence systems take overt, natural behaviour as input, they are likely to suffer from many of the same problems that have fuelled the widespread criticism of behaviourist explanations of human behaviour. If these limitations of the technology are not sufficiently recognized, the technology is likely to be insufficiently (...) successful in supporting the needs and desires of human users. We will focus on four distinct challenges that result from this behaviourist presupposition, all of which ought to be taken into consideration at the design stage: reciprocal adaptation, bias towards isolated use, culture-specific behaviour, and inability to manually configure the system. By considering these issues, our purpose is to raise awareness of the ethical problems that can arise because of intelligent user interfaces that rely on natural, overt behaviour. (shrink)

How do we assign values to virtual items, which include virtual objects, properties, events, subjects, worlds, environments, and experiences? In this article, I offer a framework for answering this question. After considering different value theses in the literature, I argue that whether we think these theses mutually exclusive or not turns on our view about the number of value-salient kinds virtual items belong to. Virtual monism is the view that virtual Xs belong to only one (...) value-salient kind in relation to X. Virtual pluralism is the view that they belong to more than one value-salient kind. I argue for two claims. First, virtual monism is mistaken. Minimally some virtual Xs are Xs, while others are not. Second, dualistic virtual pluralism is also mistaken because it is too coarse grained. Instead, I argue for fourfold pluralism: virtual items either represent an original's properties or reproduce essential properties and do so to lesser or greater extents. This gives us four value-salient kinds of virtual X: virtual reproductions, simulations, representations, and simulacra of X. I apply this view to various debates in the literature and conclude with a discussion of less basic hybrid kinds. (shrink)

There is widespread consensus that present patterns of consumption could lead to the permanent impossibility of maintaining those patterns and, perhaps, the existence of the human race. While many patterns of consumption qualify as ‘sustainable’ there is one in particular that deserves greater attention: virtual consumption. We argue that virtual consumption — the experience of authentic consumptive experiences replicated by alternative means — has the potential to reduce the deleterious consequences of real consumption by redirecting some consumptive behavior (...) from shifting material states to shifting information states. (shrink)

Deceptive communication and misinformation are crucial issues that are currently having a significant impact on social life. Parallel to the important work of identifying misinformation on digital platforms is understanding why such material proliferates. One approach to answering this question is to attempt to understand the values that are being targeted by misinformation as a means of interpreting the underlying social bonds that are at stake. This study examines the kinds of social bonds that are communed around and contested in (...) a corpus of YouTube video comments about the viral internet hoax ‘The Momo Challenge’. A social semiotic approach to ‘ambient affiliation’ is used to investigate how these bonds are negotiated in this digital discourse. This approach involves establishing the types of personae who were negotiating meaning in the comments on the basis of the values that they recurrently shared, deferred or disputed. The analysis suggests that, in addition to concern over whether Momo was real and dangerous, there was a deeper moral panic about parenting in the digital age and the legitimacy of institutions such as schools and media as brokers of knowledge. (shrink)

La sociedad global se enfrenta a una doble crisis: una concerniente a nuestra relación con el medio ambiente natural y otra referida a la propia condición humana. Con esta idea como punto de partida, planteamos la necesidad de volver nuestra mirada y pensar en los temas del desarrollo, no solo en el sentido económico, sino en el sentido humano más pleno. En esta tarea, consideramos que deben estar involucrados los diferentes actores sociales e instituciones para construir juntos un mejor (...) futuro. Las instituciones educativas y las universidades en particular tendrán un papel fundamental por ser los lugares por excelencia para el cuestionamiento, la reflexión y las nuevas propuestas. En este artículo se hace un breve recuento de los antecedentes que nos han llevado a las crisis referidas, se discuten nuevas líneas de pensamiento que buscan enfrentar dichas crisis y se concluye enfatizando la importancia de crear espacios de reflexión ética. (shrink)