Books by Fiona Andreallo
Mapping selfies and memes as Touch (open access)
Palgrave, 2012
his open access book offers a rich and nuanced analysis of digitally networked socialities as cul... more his open access book offers a rich and nuanced analysis of digitally networked socialities as culturally meaningful relationships of Touch. Focusing on the ways Touch is practised in everyday social interactions serves as a basis for understanding how Touch is multiply significant – physically, emotionally, intellectually and politically. Fiona Andreallo initiates a map of the fundamentals of Touch and how they can be considered for future research in considering digitally networked cultures. This map also serves as a basis for closely examining selfies and memes. Andreallo focuses on a specific example of the PrettyGirlsUglyFaces meme and ugly selfies (uglies) and explores how memes and selfies are mapped as Touch involving textures of both intimacy and violence. Andreallo also discusses technological seamlessness and cultural semefulness as conversations on the social relationships of Touch, and proposes the term “semeful sociabilities” to describe how the everyday technological self engages in practices of Touch. This book is a compact and approachable insight into selfies and memes as everyday culturally networked Touch relationships, and offers a way forward in recognising technological relationships as culturally meaningful.
Papers by Fiona Andreallo
What Other Movement Is There?
TDR/The drama review, Mar 1, 2024
Springer eBooks, 2022
This chapter presents a way to begin mapping Touch in everyday networked practices by examining h... more This chapter presents a way to begin mapping Touch in everyday networked practices by examining how Touch is culturally significant. Extending from the previous chapter, networked Touch is first identified as embodied and multimodal. The five fundamentals of the cultural mode of Touch-identified as connection, engagement, contiguity, differentiation and positioning-are then located for how they are culturally significant in everyday relationships. Finally, acknowledging networked social relationships as embodied and multimodal, I argue that visual social relationships can be understood as practices of Touch and mapped through close examination of the fundamentals of Touch. Furthermore, the fundamentals (as a map) could potentially be used to investigate the technological self beyond visual social relationships.
Springer eBooks, 2022
Mapping Touch of (Ugly) Selfies, Memes, and Jokes as Forms of Intimacy and Violence Abstract To f... more Mapping Touch of (Ugly) Selfies, Memes, and Jokes as Forms of Intimacy and Violence Abstract To further consider the ways Touch both enables and constrains bodies and ways of being, this chapter examines Touch as including forms of both intimacy and violence. Extending from the implicit understandings of selfies and memes as Touch (Chap. 2) and the initial mapping of Touch (Chap. 3), the PrettyGirlsUglyFaces meme (and the selfies that make up the meme) is used as an example to consider selfies and memes as intimacy and violence. Then, drawing on the fundamentals of Touch (Chap. 3), I begin to plot a map of Touch, identifying how the example meme and selfies act as intimate connections that are positioned in a culture of violence. Central to this chapter is the identification of the joke's importance to the positioning of visual conversations in social networks. As a form of Touch, the joke is identified as both enabling and constraining intimacy and violence. Examining memes and selfies as practices of connectivity and symbolic violence further recognises Touch for the ways it culturally both enables and constrains bodies and identifications.
Springer eBooks, 2022
This chapter outlines the book's key takeaways and future research trajectories, emphasising that... more This chapter outlines the book's key takeaways and future research trajectories, emphasising that Touch is a key cultural communicative aspect of social media relationships, and more broadly of digitally networked relationships. I summarise the key argument of each chapter, then drawing these arguments together, I locate and define the key aspects of "semeful sociabilities" as a means to map Touch of digitally networked social relationships and to describe the technological self as meaningful (semeful) and part of meaning-making processes. Mapping Touch is a means through which selfies and memes (as fundamental elements of everyday cultural communication and embodied networked practices) can be explored as meaningful cultural relationships, exposing the social, cultural and political realities of everyday socialities. Future trajectories for semeful sociabilities include application to a range of other memes and selfies, and to networked social relationships beyond visual. Furthermore, I propose that mapping Touch (to identify semeful social relationships) can provide insight into investigations and mapping of automated systems. Semeful sociabilities has the potential to identify and expose the semefulness (meanings) and impact of seamless systems and gain a better understanding of ourselves as humans as we design our technological futures.
Springer eBooks, 2022
In this chapter, I define cultural semes in response to academic discussions of technological sea... more In this chapter, I define cultural semes in response to academic discussions of technological seams. Discussions of technological seams are divided by aspirations of seamlessness and seamfulness. Seamlessness aims towards technology being seamlessly integrated into our everyday relationships. Arguments of seamfulness are driven by a focus on user empowerment and how seamlessness acts as a form of social control. In this context, semefulness focuses explicitly on the significance and meanings of Touch in human-technology physical relationships. Identifying social media and the technological self as embodied and drawing on the findings throughout this book, I propose the term "semeful sociabilities" to describe networked social media practices of the technological self, recognising visual social relationships as culturally meaningful practices of Touch.
Mapping selfies and memes as Touch
Springer International Publishing eBooks, 2022
Vista
The selfie generation is a term commonly used to describe people born after 1981 because of the s... more The selfie generation is a term commonly used to describe people born after 1981 because of the supposed proliferation of selfies they take daily. If Selfies indeed define a generation of people, then they require close consideration as an evolution of social interaction. This interdisciplinary study focuses on photography as performance of looking involving social relationships between people. I ask “How might selfies suggest a transformation of everyday social relationships?” The selfie as active photographic performance is first examined through illustrative ethnographic observation. Then as performative photographic object the selfie is examined as interactive (Kress & Van Leeuwen’s, 2006, 2009) visual communication. Finally, the performative spaces of the selfie in process (from initial performance, to object and as it is shared and moves between private and public spaces) is examined as relationships of proxemic perception (Hall, 1966). For the selfie generation the private sp...
Vista
The selfie generation is a term commonly used to describe people born after 1981 because of the s... more The selfie generation is a term commonly used to describe people born after 1981 because of the supposed proliferation of selfies they take daily. If Selfies indeed define a generation of people, then they require close consideration as an evolution of social interaction. This interdisciplinary study focuses on photography as performance of looking involving social relationships between people. I ask “How might selfies suggest a transformation of everyday social relationships?” The selfie as active photographic performance is first examined through illustrative ethnographic observation. Then as performative photographic object the selfie is examined as interactive (Kress & Van Leeuwen’s, 2006, 2009) visual communication. Finally, the performative spaces of the selfie in process (from initial performance, to object and as it is shared and moves between private and public spaces) is examined as relationships of proxemic perception (Hall, 1966). For the selfie generation the private sp...
Mapping selfies and memes as Touch
In this chapter, I examine literature focusing on visual social relationships of selfies and meme... more In this chapter, I examine literature focusing on visual social relationships of selfies and memes to expose current theories about how these visually defined practices communicate through Touch. Furthermore, I argue that the literature essentially locates selfies and memes as practices of Touch, including the fundamentals of gestural, embodied and multimodal practice. The proliferation of research suggesting that selfies and memes act as practices of Touch flags an urgent need for research addressing socially networked relationships of Touch.
International Journal of Social Robotics, 2022
As society moves swiftly towards incorporating an increased number of social robots, the need for... more As society moves swiftly towards incorporating an increased number of social robots, the need for a deeper cultural understanding of companionship as a critical social aspect of human–robot connection is urgent. This cultural study examines how three of the most popular and publicly available sex robot marketing videos mobilise the meaning of companionship. Videos of "Roxxxy", “Harmony”, and “Emma” were examined employing a social semiotic discourse analysis based on a long history of identifying how advertisements tap into social and cultural ideals. Companionship is identified as: (i) enjoyed through attention, reliability, usefulness, support, trust, and kindness; (ii) including ideas of long-term commitment and endurance through the mundane, every day, and ordinary aspects of life; (iii) occurring where the meanings of connection for humans and robots are conflated even though they differ for humans and technology; and (iv) a vulnerability for both robot and human. Fur...
Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 2021
Introduction: Residential aged care facilities face the immense challenge of adapting to the incr... more Introduction: Residential aged care facilities face the immense challenge of adapting to the increasingly high needs of their residents, while delivering personalised, holistic care. There is considerable evidence that music can provide an affordable, accessible way to reduce changes in behaviour associated with dementia, in order to meet these standards of care. However, a number of barriers exist to the effective implementation of music programs in long-term aged care facilities. Methods: This study involved focus groups with 17 participants including staff in residential aged care facilities and family caregivers to investigate the benefits of music programs, as well as the challenges and possible solutions to them. A general inductive approach was taken to data analysis. Results: A number of benefits of music programs were identified, including improvements to the wellbeing of both residents of aged care facilities and their caregivers. However, an ingrained culture within residential aged care of focusing on physical care rather than thinking holistically about wellbeing was identified as a significant barrier. Discussion: These findings revealed that education is a key component of changing ingrained cultures of task-driven care at both a managerial level and in care staff, so that attention can be given to psychological and emotional needs as well as the physical.
Displaying and negotiating identity through the hair bow: A case study of child celebrity JoJo Siwa and her social media fans
Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, 2020
This cultural case study examines the hair bow as a key element of identification and gender perf... more This cultural case study examines the hair bow as a key element of identification and gender performance for child celebrity JoJo Siwa and her fans. Siwa fans are represented as exclusively female and include girls (newborn‐12 years old) and their mothers identifying from the geographical locations of United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The methods of this research include social semiotic discourse analysis complemented by archival research. Between 8 July and 11 October 2017 fan and celebrity interactions were observed on the Siwa official Facebook page and collected. To complement and contextualize these observations, news media reports, and observations of Siwas official YouTube channel and Instagram accounts were collected from 2 January to 13 November 2017. The data were examined with two key sets of interdependent questions in mind: How is the hair bow depicted by Siwa and how do the fans depict the bow? How is the relationship between Siwa and her fans d...
Eye Machines: Robot Eye, Vision and Gaze
International Journal of Social Robotics
This article analyses three aspects of human and robotic eyes: (1) the eye as an object that evok... more This article analyses three aspects of human and robotic eyes: (1) the eye as an object that evokes visceral reactions from observers when it is exposed or threatened; (2) the eye and brain, sensor and computer as mediators of vision and interpreters of visual worlds; and (3) the gaze as a mode of communication in interpersonal/human–robot interaction. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this article draws on neuroscience, human–robot interaction, critical humanities, feminism and film studies to interrogate these three aspects of eyes as they relate to the design, theorisation and experience of social robots. We argue that some of the meanings and imaginaries associated with biological eyes are transferred and translated into robotic eyes, vision and gaze, or eye machines, following the tendency towards anthropomorphism. These imaginaries are made visible particularly in science fiction. We argue that photography, the cinematic apparatus, digital sensors and artificial intelligence are not only engineering innovations but have also contributed to transformations in the contemporary collective visual world. Our multimethod cultural studies analysis of eye machines has relevance for cultural theorists, designers and engineers.
Pilot Classification of Human-Robot Dance Performances
This paper stresses the importance of artistic perspectives on human-robot interaction research. ... more This paper stresses the importance of artistic perspectives on human-robot interaction research. We consider an artistic lens as a meaningful resource for understanding motion-based interaction in a novel and different way from the classical or traditional approaches in robotics. The paper reports a pilot work on classification of human-robot dance performances and discusses possible contribution of artistic approach to human-robot interaction research.
International Journal of Social Robotics, 2022
As society moves swiftly towards incorporating an increased number of social robots, the need for... more As society moves swiftly towards incorporating an increased number of social robots, the need for a deeper cultural understanding of companionship as a critical social aspect of human-robot connection is urgent. This cultural study examines how three of the most popular and publicly available sex robot marketing videos mobilise the meaning of companionship. Videos of "Roxxxy", "Harmony", and "Emma" were examined employing a social semiotic discourse analysis based on a long history of identifying how advertisements tap into social and cultural ideals. Companionship is identified as: (i) enjoyed through attention, reliability, usefulness, support, trust, and kindness; (ii) including ideas of long-term commitment and endurance through the mundane, every day, and ordinary aspects of life; (iii) occurring where the meanings of connection for humans and robots are conflated even though they differ for humans and technology; and (iv) a vulnerability for both robot and human. Furthermore, the representations of robot companions remain limited to stereotypical concepts of women; viewers are positioned as desiring a product that claims agency but has none, and is marketed 'as good as' a human woman. In all, the representations are complex and far too simple-simple because this is an ideological model of companionship and complex because the ideas of technology are conflated with human-human ideals of companionship. Where technological design aspires towards a better future for humans, there is an urgency to move beyond the limited anthropomorphic cultural concepts presently aspired to in the design and marketing of companion robots. Keywords Human-robot interaction • Human-robot relationships • Robot companion • Companionship • Sex robot • Stereotype • Feminine • Social semiotics • Cultural studies • Robot futures • Robot design "I am Emma. I am here to accompany you." (EmmaAI Tech) [1] "What if I could have my true companion? " (RoxxxyTruecompanion.com)[2] "I am a first-generation RealDoll X designed to be a com-panionFriend and lover." (HarmonyRealbotix) [3]
Developing online training in using music for carers of people with dementia: A focus group study
Australasian Journal on Ageing
2 2013), and the broader public was analysed by approaching the digital memes with theories of pr... more 2 2013), and the broader public was analysed by approaching the digital memes with theories of proximity (Hall, 1956). The analysis of the 66 PGUF memes shows that ‘viewers’ and ‘subjects’ are both active agents and objects of observation. The performativity and exaggeration in the images suggests that women contributors use humour (the joke) to simultaneously acknowledge and subvert conventional ideas about feminine appearance. The concept of ‘conversation’ is used to theorise how memes help members of online communities communicate as they engage in what I describe as a ‘semeful socialibility’. The findings suggest people communicate through photographic digital memes by use of active semes (signs). Close observation of semes suggests that visual communication involves practices of looking (rather than viewing) that are active, interactive and reactive. Communities of ‘produsers’ of digital memes are involved in an interactive visual conversation. This visual social interaction al...
International Journal of Social Robotics , 2021
This article analyses three aspects of human and robotic eyes: (1) the eye as an object that evok... more This article analyses three aspects of human and robotic eyes: (1) the eye as an object that evokes visceral reactions from observers when it is exposed or threatened; (2) the eye and brain, sensor and computer as mediators of vision and interpreters of visual worlds; and (3) the gaze as a mode of communication in interpersonal/human–robot interaction. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this article draws on neuroscience, human–robot interaction, critical humanities, feminism and film studies to interrogate these three aspects of eyes as they relate to the design, theorisation and experience of social robots. We argue that some of the meanings and imaginaries associated with biological eyes are transferred and translated into robotic eyes, vision and gaze, or eye machines, following the tendency towards anthropomorphism. These imaginaries are made visible particularly in science fiction. We argue that photography, the cinematic apparatus, digital sensors and artificial intelligence are not only engineering innovations but have also contributed to transformations in the contemporary collective visual world. Our multimethod cultural studies analysis of eye machines has relevance for cultural theorists, designers and engineers.
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Books by Fiona Andreallo
Papers by Fiona Andreallo