Kirk Woolford

New methods for examining expertise in burglars in natural and simulated environments: preliminary findings

Expertise literature in mainstream cognitive psychology is rarely applied to criminal behaviour. Yet, if closely scrutinised, examples of the characteristics of expertise can be identified in many studies examining the cognitive processes of offenders, especially regarding residential burglary. We evaluated two new methodologies that might improve our understanding of cognitive processing in offenders through empirically observing offending behaviour and decision-making in a free-responding environment. We tested hypotheses regarding expertise in burglars in a small, exploratory study observing the behaviour of ‘expert’ offenders (ex-burglars) and novices (students) in a real and in a simulated environment. Both samples undertook a mock burglary in a real house and in a simulated house on a computer. Both environments elicited notably different behaviours between the experts and the novices with experts demonstrating superior skill. This was seen in: more time spent in high value areas; fewer and more valuable items stolen; and more systematic routes taken around the environments. The findings are encouraging and provide support for the development of these observational methods to examine offender cognitive processing and behaviour.

Defining accuracy in the use of Kinect v2 for exercise monitoring

This paper focuses presents a comparison of accuracy and precision between Kinect v2 (low-cost, markerless) and Qualisys motion capture (expensive, marker-based system) for use in healthcare applications. The paper discusses differences between marker-based and markerless tracking through an examination of accuracy (closeness of a measured quantity to its actual value) and precision (or the proximity of repeated measurements) and the difference between precisely tracking markers, but inferring the body structure between them vs directly, but imprecisely tracking body parts. The paper discusses issues detracting from the accuracy of marker-based tracking including human-error in marker-placement and varying methods of post-processing marker data to infer joint or bone centers. The paper then presents a comparison of the Kinect for Windows V2 (K4Wv2) against a clinical system, and suggests situations where the Kinect system may be useable in a healthcare environment.

Curating the digital: spaces for art and interaction

This workshop intends to use the key strength of the CHI Community; research linked to practice, to design an Art Catalog for CHI. The workshop will start with an examination of current research in curating interactive art. The outcomes of the first phase of the workshop will then feed into Design Charrette exercises that will involve prototyping an Art Catalog and developing ideas for presenting a future Art Gallery event as part of the CHI conference. The results from the workshop will then form the basis of an agenda of a Spotlight SIG meeting where we will discuss the nature of the CHI Art Catalog. Workshop outcomes will also be disseminated to a wider audience.

Experimental archaeology and games: Challenges of inhabiting virtual heritage

Experimental archaeology has long yielded valuable insights into the tools and techniques that were featured in past peoples relationships with the material world around them. However, experimental...Experimental archaeology has long yielded valuable insights into the tools and techniques that were featured in past peoples’ relationships with the material world around them. However, experimental archaeology has, until now, confined itself to rigid, empirical, and quantitative questions. This article applies principles of experimental archaeology and serious gaming tools in the reconstructions of a British Iron Age round house. This article explains a number of experiments conducted to look for quantitative differences in movement in virtual versus material environments, using both “virtual” studio reconstruction as well as material reconstruction. The data from these experiments was then analysed to look for differences in movement that could be attributed to artefacts and/or environments. This article also explains the structure of the experiments, how the data was generated, what theories may make sense of the data, what conclusions have been drawn, and how serious gaming tools can support the creation of new experimental heritage environments.

Reconfiguring Experimental Archaeology Using 3D Movement Reconstruction

The Motion in Place Platform was an infrastructure experiment which sought to provide a ‘deep’ mapping of reconstructed human movement. It was a collaboration between Animazoo, a Brighton-based motion hardware company, digital humanities and informatics researchers from the University of Sussex, King’s College London, and the University of Bedfordshire. Both 3D reconstruction and Virtual Reality (VR) in archaeology have been used to a great extent in the presentation and interpretation of archaeological sites in the past 20 years. However, there remains a predominant focus on their use as a means of illustration which, while enhancing the visual perception of the site, facilitates only passive consumption by the audience. This chapter reports on two linked experiments which sought to use motion capture technology to test the validity of digital reconstruction in exploring interpretations of the use of space, using domestic experimental round house buildings of the British Iron Age. Contemporary human movement was captured in a studio-based representation of a round house, and compared with comparable movements captured in an experimental reconstruction of the same environment. The results indicate significant quantitative variation in physical human responses to the two environments.

Utterance 5: Mesh Performance Partnerships

Mesh Performance Partnerships [http://mesh.org.uk] works in the hybrid region of performance and new media technologies. The artists involved with Mesh have a variety of skills and backgrounds, including dance, theatre, media art, architecture, photography and computer science.

Breakdown Harmonica: Extending Laban Notation with Video Game Development Tools

Breakdown Harmonica1 is a research project focusing on analysing, understanding, and communicating an historical dance piece (Jane Dudleys 1937 Harmonica Breakdown) to dance scholars and practitioners, as well as researchers from movement and computing disciplines. The project explored the use of animation and video games development tools to extend the traditional Labanotation score in order to make the score more readable for those without extensive training in Laban Notation and Laban Movement Analysis. This paper articulates some of the challenges faced in movement notation, and in the use of tools developed for video games and animation.