Quality of Deeds
To be able to act grants human beings with the sense of agency; to be able to influence what happens next. When having the possibility to act, human beings can accept responsibility. When there is no possibility to act, people take a moral distance towards others and even to their own self. Mediated presence is defined by interactions and transactions. One can find significant information and have significant communication. Many transactions can be done online. However, deeds that are done in physical presence have more psychological and ethical impact. When establsihing trust in communication processes in which on- and offline realities play a role, human beings need to balance the quality of deeds they are involved in to be able to maintain their centered sense of self. Pushing a button or giving someone a cup of tea have a distinct quality and effect as result.
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ACADEMIA
To be raised by a computer
The last story I want to share in this section poses the question of whether there is a distinction…
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ACADEMIA
Real versus unreal
In 1935 Walter Benjamin wrote the first draft of his essay on 'Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner…
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ACADEMIA
Enacting 'being alive'
Haraway's insights imply consequences for the sense of presence on an even deeper level. In the…
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ACADEMIA
We have all become 'cyborgs'
Another element in thinking about natural presence in modern life is elaborated upon by Donna…
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ACADEMIA
Blurring between real and unreal
For survival, the blurring between real and unreal situations is problematic at first sight. When…
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ACADEMIA
The layers of presence
In 2004 an amazing article was written, 'The Layers of Presence: A Bio-cultural Approach to…
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ACADEMIA
The sense of presence is part of human evolution
Riva, Waterworth and Waterworth were inspired by Damasio in their proposal for a deeper…
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ACADEMIA
Being alive
People who have died can have all sorts of presences in the variety of cultures that the human race…
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ACADEMIA
Three presences
IJsselsteijn also makes the following observation about the future: "With more advanced media, it…
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ACADEMIA
Industrial and commercial research: to market new experiences
In the media labs of large technological corporations around the world, and especially and foremost…
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ACADEMIA
The social effect of databases
Internet facilitates the storage and exchange of text, images, sound, music, film, radio and live…
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ACADEMIA
Monitoring digital presence
Digital behaviour is also monitored. By gathering and analysing server information the behaviour…
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ACADEMIA
Human history from the perspective of presence technologies
Even architecture can be read as presence technology since it shapes an infrastructure that…
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ACADEMIA
The broad spectrum of information and communication
The broad spectrum of information and communication technologies can be divided into three groups…
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ACADEMIA
Different scale and different media in one communication process
Through the use of media people try to overcome the boundaries of time and place to which our…
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ACADEMIA
Patterns between presence and absence
In the patterns of presence and absence in the variety of mediated and unmediated forms, people…