common / room

: using Extended Reality technologies to support intercultural relationships in Aotearoa

Abstract

common/room explores how new and emerging Extended Reality (XR) technologies might provide an opportunity to trial, investigate, practice and discuss their potential to reverse processes of atomisation, polarisation, discomfort and mistrust in our contemporary society. This practice-led research provided opportunities to discuss our current societal stressors, whilst enabling collaboration between former strangers from diverse disciplines and the broader community as we prioritise relationality and explore our shared values. The theoretical and methodological framework includes international commons scholarship and commoning applications than can sit alongside Indigenous practices such as whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga. (Waitoa, Dombroski, 2020) are among very few scholars addressing the interface between Kaupapa Māori thinking and diverse economic discourse. This work contributes to this arena through a transdisciplinary creative practice, backgrounded by Computer Science and Engineering, Social Sciences, History, Economics, Human Ecology and Community-based Indigenous Psychology. A discursive design framework is used to remind, inform, provoke, inspire, and to persuade collaborators, and guests at the (XR) experiences that (re)connecting with other people is worthwhile. From the position of a filmmaker and cinematographer, I use XR in a domestic setting to hear women’s stories and to reimagine first encounters that might lead to conversations and collaboration between people from different cultural backgrounds. The technologies include; headset-displayed 360° stereoscopic Virtual Reality, or Cinematic VR in common/place, a 180° stereoscopic projection, Common Sense, and haptic HONGI in which visitors are greeted by a Māori woman in Augmented Reality. These are contrasted with Round Table, that accommodates a number of visitors who can converse in Real Reality. Guests indicated a preference for the potential and heightened intimacy of Cinematic VR. Masterful work by Australian Settler artist Lynette Wallworth in this area, such as Collisions and Awavena, encourage and motivate further exploration. Motivated by a desire to promote and support intercultural understanding in Aotearoa New Zealand, this thesis contributes design thinking to existing scholarship by non-Māori, (Metge, 2001), and (Salmond, 2017), intercultural co-authors (Hoskins, Jones, 2017), and Māori, (Royal, 2007), (Kruger, 2017) and Moana Jackson (Matike Mai Aotearoa, 2016)

Date of Award	2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Auckland
Supervisor	Angus Donald Campbell (Chief supervisor), Mark Billinghurst (Co-supervisor) & Moana Nepia (Co-supervisor)