Anthropomorphism-the attribution of human characteristics to non-human animals or inanimate objects-is commonplace in many cultures around the world, but is particularly prominent and pervasive in Japan. Talking furniture on children's TV, vegetable mascots for city governments, an animated letter 'e' to promote online tax returns-there seems to be no limit to what can be anthropomorphized, and no corner of the culture where it is considered out of place. This of course includes efforts to communicate science, where we can find test tube narrators, angry viruses, friendly chemical elements, and a whole lot more. Scientists, on the other hand, are less enthusiastic about anthropomorphism in scientific discussions and tend to consider it to be inaccurate and unscientific. In science, thinking or communicating in anthropomorphic terms is generally derided. Where, then, does this leave the talking microbes and smiling proteins of Japanese science communication? While the literature has quite a lot to say about anthropomorphism, there is nothing specifically about its use for science communication. This paper draws on examples from Japan to consider the potential roles of anthropomorphism in the communication of science and related issues.
This study sought to develop knowledge about understandings of bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women's appearance, by using a story completion task combined with an innovative visual methodology. Fifty-four (mainly female) participants were randomly assigned to complete a story stem about a fictional bisexual, lesbian, or heterosexual character, and then asked to build a Bitstrips online avatar of this character. Our social constructionist thematic analysis identified that 'looking good' was a common feature of the stories and that this was understood in largely heteronormative terms. This imperative was also clear in the stories of the date, which typically relied on traditional notions of gender and heterosexuality. Finally, individuality and authenticity were rewarded in participants' stories, yet this was simultaneously constrained by the (dominant) heteronormative narrative. We conclude that combining story completion with this innovative visual method enabled deeper insights into heteronormative representations of appearance, dating, and relationships than a textual method alone.
HCI is increasingly working with 'vulnerable' people, yet there is a danger that the label of vulnerability can alienate and stigmatize the people such work aims to support. We report our study investigating the application of interaction design to increase rates of hate crime reporting amongst Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender young people. During design-led workshops, participants expressed ambivalence towards reporting. While recognizing their exposure to hate crime, they simultaneously rejected being identified as victim as implied in the act of reporting. We used visual communication design to depict the young people's ambivalent identities and contribute insights into how these fail and succeed to account for the intersectional, fluid and emergent nature of LGBT identities through the design research process. We argue that by producing ambiguously designed texts alongside conventional outcomes, we 'trouble' our design research narratives as a tactic to disrupt static and reductive understandings of vulnerability within HCI.
Pornography is a substantial part of humans' everyday interaction with computers, yet to date the topic has been underconsidered by HCI. Here, we examine some of the common cultural ideals non-experts constructed of a 'new' pornographic experience-Virtual Reality (VR) Pornthrough use of the 'Story Completion Method'. Forty five participants completed a story stem about a male character who was about to have his "very first virtual reality porn experience". Through our analysis, we demonstrate a narrative of a 'perfect', idealised sexual experience, as well as one which emphasised the imagined 'precarious' and dangerous consequences around this technology use. We indicate how the stories reproduced ideals around heteronormativity and hegemonic masculinity, suggesting an agenda of 'Designing for Eroticism' as a tactic which could avoid such problematic discourses. We also suggest the opportunities and challenges presented through use of the 'Story Completion Method'.
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