Anyone who studies or talks about augmented reality and virtual reality technologies will inevitably get asked the question: but how is that augmented/mixed/virtual reality? Isn’t that more AR than VR? How one talks about these technologies is continually evolving. With every application/device that is released a version of this debate gets kicked up again, whether…
Virtual reality (VR) has been hailed as the “ultimate empathy machine” (TED, 2015), with immersive storytelling demonstrating remarkable capabilities in eliciting empathetic responses. However, the question remains: Can VR truly change opinions and, if so, what mechanisms drive this change? This study investigated the effects of parasocial intergroup contact on empathy and attitudes towards LGBTQ+…
This review was originally published in the International Journal of Communication, Volume 18 (2024), and is republished on CAVRN with the permission of the author, Maxwell Foxman. You can find the original review here. Despite virtual reality’s (VR) widespread availability (and lower price) since 2016, much literature surrounding it remains relatively speculative; there is no…
This article is derived from a paper recently published in International Journal of Cultural Policy, titled ‘Innovating the humanities, reimagining the future: empirical evidence from virtual reality practice in China’. For a more detailed account, you can find the full article here. Despite ongoing conflicts across culture, geopolitics and economics, the challenges faced globally within…
This article is adapted from my research recently published in Postcolonial Theory and Crisis, titled “Post-Humanitarianism and the Crisis of Empathy.” For a more detailed account of my research, see here. This article is also in conversation with two previous pieces published in CAVRN: Exploring ‘proper distance’ in virtual reality for humanitarian practice and Virtual…
While the Syrian refugee crisis has elicited varying responses from different nations, the American perspective remains critically understudied, even in the light of evidence suggesting that the U.S. public opinion toward refugees is less favorable than in other countries (Carlier, 2016). Studies have pointed out that quality information sharing in the context of a refugee…
Emerging technologies are increasingly being incorporated into humanitarian practice by non-governmental organizations, governments, and leading institutions. Such new technologies include digital mapping systems, GPS technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), satellite imagery, and virtual reality deployed in the service of humanitarian rescue and aid efforts. Among all of these, virtual reality (VR) seems to occupy a…
This article is derived from our research recently published in Computers and Human Behavior. For a more detailed account of our research, you can find our full article here. Awe, emotion, and virtual reality Growing empirical evidence has implicitly shown that virtual reality (VR) is an effective means to provide various virtual environments that depict…
Play has always been at the centre of the metaverse. Gaming technology has a clear place in the history of virtual reality and worlds. From Oculus Rift’s role in reinvigorating interest in virtual reality (Evans, 2018), to persistent virtual worlds like Second Life shaping our perception of virtual worlds (Boellstorff, 2015), games and gaming technology…
The performer Sarah Nicolls sits poised at a piano at a darkened concert hall in London. This is no ordinary recital—strapped around her arms are Myo Armbands that track her arm movements, allowing her to generate curious and unnerving sounds through gesture as she plays Atau Tanaka’s (2019) biometric piano piece Suspensions. In Madrid, Marco…
The governance of the ‘metaverse’, underpinned by extended reality (XR) technology, has garnered increasing attention from policymakers, industry, and regulators. Despite highly productive critiques of industrial governance practices and initiatives – such as those focused on responsible innovation and diversity, equity, and inclusion within XR – there has been limited comprehensive examination of XR governance…