Physical Co-presence Research Articles

Hybrid Copresence: Issues of Re-Spatialization of Remote Work in Coworking Spaces

The re-spatialization of work in coworking spaces alters the social experience of teleworkers by involving two copresences associated with distinct organizational and spatiotemporal contexts: a remote copresence with the company and a physical copresence in the coworking space. Each can be experienced to different degrees between social isolation and perceived proximity. Nevertheless, the current literature does not provide an opportunity to make sense of the combination of copresences. From this perspective, data collected during an organizational ethnography conducted within two networks of coworking spaces were analyzed. The results show that the re-spatialization of work in coworking spaces generates a hybrid copresence that can be experienced in four ways: (reinforced) isolation, ubiquity, (guilty) compensation, and (frustrated) refocusing. The characteristics of these distinct situations and the possible evolutions from one to the other are explored and explained. The results are discussed in relation to the evolution of work in a post-COVID-19 era that seems to encourage the development of more hybrid practices and spatialities. Contributions to three fields of organizational literature are made: organizational space, telecommuting and distantiated forms of work, and coworking spaces. Managerial implications are also discussed around reflections on a more hybrid and multi-spatialized organization of work practices in organizations.

Can we do this online? An aesthetic inquiry on virtual studio management education

Studio methods represent one of the more recent forms of arts-based learning interventions for promoting business students' creativeness, fostering socio-material relationships, and generating new insights through its maker-orientation. Different from more individually focused analytical tools, studio practices involve the collective materialization of artifacts to study management and organization topics. The potential for introducing online studio activities remains underexplored because studio-based approaches typically rely on assumptions of physical co-presence and material matters. Contributing to the current dialogue surrounding virtual student engagement and experiential collaborations, this paper focuses on studio activities designed for engaging online MBA Organizational Behavior students in the artistic materialization of artifacts to explore their experiences with virtual groups. Realized artifacts are shared with peer groups through a virtual platform, inviting aesthetic enjoyment and interpretations. Student reflections on artifact-making and virtual sharing are examined through the lens of aesthetics to guide readers through both theoretical nuances and practical insights on co-creative studio dynamics. Participants’ narratives underscore both opportunities and challenges associated with online socio-material studio work. Implications for future research and online studio practices are considered.

‘Commensal scenes’: Problematizing presence in restaurants in the digital age

As guests’ norms and behaviours are rapidly evolving in the digital world, explicitly problematizing commensality, a term designating the social aspects of eating with others, is needed in hospitality contexts. This article introduces the "commensal scene" concept, applying Social presence theory to redefine commensality in dining settings amidst digital-age transformations. Challenging traditional views of physical co-presence, it explores the multi-spatial, multi-levelled dynamics of being 'with others' in both physical and digital contexts. The model allows for a deeper understanding of how digital media reshapes presence beyond mere spatial factors. It highlights the evolving nature of guest behaviours and norms, focusing on the interplay between different communication mediums and responsive social spaces. This innovative approach offers new insights into emerging commensal practices, proposing a framework for designing relevant dining experiences in a digitally-influenced world.

Telematic music transmission, resistance and touch

ABSTRACT This article retraces the history of telematic performance from early videophone experiments by the Electronic Café in the 1980s, through a series of ambitious digital art installations at museums like the Centre Pompidou. Onto this history, I map a series of netmusic projects I initiated in this period, from ISDN performances at the Sonar Festival to my installation Global String at Ars Electronica. This sets the context for collaborative online performances held during the COVID pandemic with artists like Paul Sermon and the Chicks on Speed. I finish by describing the Hybrid Live project connecting Goldsmiths and Iklectik Art Labs in London with Stanford University’s CCRMA and SFJazz in California. I describe the low latency audio transport used, the importance of audiovisual synchronisation and the computer vision abstractions resulting in a London-New York remote dance performance. By situating current work in these histories, and closely examining the qualities of the network necessary for the transmission of a sense of embodied experience – and therefore trust – we understand that network performance occurs in its own space, one distinct from physical co-presence.

Digital technologies in children’s everyday lives and in ‘doing family’

This article contributes to the sociological debate on how digital technologies (DT) have penetrated the lives of families and children, and examines the relevance of digital technologies for children and for practices of ‘doing family’. We analysed qualitative data from focus groups and interviews with children between 5 and 10 years old (n=231) and interviews with further members of children’s families from four different European countries (Austria, Estonia, Norway and Romania). Results reveal that DT contributed to doing family when families created and maintained a feeling of ‘we-ness’ through digital activities; when DT required families to balance different needs, rights, or emotions; and when caring practices were supported through DT. Children appeared as significant actors in practices of doing family. As DT helped to decouple practices of doing family from physical co-presence, doing family was expanded. When children’s needs were fulfilled and their digital competences were enhanced, their resilience increased.

Shared attention in virtual immersive reality enhances electrophysiological correlates of implicit sensory learning

Shared attention effects on learning and memory demonstrate that experiences are amplified when we are not alone. Virtual reality poses new challenges to the study of co-presence. Above all, is coattending together with someone else’s avatar in an immersive VR setting comparable with shared experiences at a neural processing level? In the present study we investigate shared attention effects in VR for the first time. We recorded mismatch negativities (MMN) during an auditory roving paradigm, a well-known index of implicit perceptual learning. EEG responses to deviant and standard sounds were registered while subjects were alone (Solo condition) or together (Other condition) with a virtual avatar (Virtual scenario) or physically present confederate (Physical scenario). We found an overall main effect of co-presence on MMN revealed by a point-by-point 2 × 2 ANOVA, thereby replicating previous studies on physical co-presence. Additionally, we found no significant interaction between the scenario (Physical vs. Virtual) and co-presence (Solo vs. Other). Our results indicate that virtual immersive co-presence mimics physical co-presence.

Exploring urban co-presence and migrant integration on Beirut’s seafront

Abstract This article focuses on investigating how uses and users of Beirut’s seafront spaces reflect city demographics and how these may offer specific affordances to migrant communities. The article documents co-presence and experiences of recreation and interactions to explore whether these can be meaningfully described as integrated leisure spaces. Beirut is a post-conflict, high migration city, and the country of Lebanon hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees per capita globally. The fieldwork and data capture took a multi-scalar approach linking spatial, temporal, and social qualities of using these public spaces through empirical work including a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, both conducted on site. The triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods supported a fuller understanding of integration both in terms of physical co-presence and the experiential qualities of spaces used by diverse communities. Our findings demonstrate that though each of the four seafront spaces was used by people from a range of national backgrounds, there were important differences. Income level and gender were important intersecting factors. Time of day and week also shaped who was present in each space. The qualitative data informed better understandings of the experience of the seafront spaces by visitors from migrant backgrounds, finding that time by the sea was highly valued by many, but was not necessarily an escape from some of the prejudices and social inequalities found in Lebanon.

Digital disconnection, digital inequality, and subjective well-being: a mobile experience sampling study

Abstract Drawing on theories of digital media (non-)use and well-being, this study examines how voluntary disconnection relates to subjective well-being and what role digital skills play in this relationship. We rely on mobile experience sampling methods to link nuanced disconnection practices throughout the day (e.g., putting screen devices away and muting notifications) with momentary experiences of well-being. We collected 4,028 responses from 105 mobile media users over the course of one week. Multilevel regression analyses revealed neither significant within-person effects of disconnection on affective well-being, social connectedness, or life satisfaction, nor a significant moderation effect of digital skills. Exploratory analyses, however, show that effects of disconnection on well-being vary greatly across participants, and that effects are dependent on whether one disconnects in the physical copresence of others. Our study offers a refined perspective on the consequences, or lack thereof, of deliberate non-use of technology in the digital age.

Adoption of the Simpeldesa Application: Shifting Social Relations between Residents and Village Government

The digitalization program of rural areas is articulated in Article 86, paragraphs 1-6 of Law No. 6 of 2014 concerning villages, within which it entrusts villages in Indonesia with the capability to implement information technology in rural development. The rural digitalization phenomenon has repercussions on various sociological aspects of human beings, including the patterns of interaction, the intricacies of interpersonal relationships, individual attitudes and actions, and the comprehension of individual identities. This phenomenon is also observed in the digital village of Kendalbulur. In support of good governance, the village government has developed an application for managing social, economic, and governmental affairs. Throughout the digitalization process, the community has experienced a transformation in the patterns of interaction between residents and the village government, shifting from physical co-presence to virtual space. The alteration in the relationship between residents and the village government is a noteworthy subject to scrutinize since it is not an easy task to alter the mindset of rural communities, in particular for those who were born during the baby boom era, given that the consequence is that all residents must become proficient in using information technology. It applied a qualitative descriptive research design combined with the Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) methodology. The principle of purposive sampling determined the selection of the research subject. The data analysis was conducted based on the Miles and Huberman framework. The Village Head (Kades), as the representation of village government officials, still prioritizes direct communication with their people. In addition to the utilization of digital technology, such as the Simpeldesa application, direct communication in this context involves practices such as deliberations (musyawarah) and communal cooperation (gotong royong), either with the villagers themselves or their representatives, such as the heads of neighborhood associations (ketua RT or RW).

Near and far: Representation of online psychotherapy in a group of clients

The research born with the aim of exploring the perspective with which the Digital Natives (ND) are confronted with online psychological counseling and video conference psychotherapy (VCP) is presented. To this end, 30 interviews were conducted, distinguishing those who had only experiences in offline settings, those who had experiences in mixed settings (offline/online) and those who had no experience of psychological interventions. The narratives were analyzed through a cluster analysis and a subsequent correspondence analysis. The results underline the importance of the physical co-presence and the organizational aspects of the setting as facilitating factors of the clinical process but do not allow to specifically characterize the NDs. The representations collected regarding online psychological counseling/VCP seem in fact to have been influenced more by the emotional correlates of the pandemic period than by the characteristics of remote psychological work.

Life-size telepresence using holographic display

Despite massive advancements in the telecommunications industry over the last few decades, telepresence video-based teleconferencing is still far from giving a physical co-presence experience. Applications like Skype, Zoom and WebEx are constrained as it is only able to display the head and shoulders of the users on one monitor. It offers the user flat two-dimensional (2D) upper body imageries, a fixed viewpoint, inconsistent gaze direction, and restriction. Therefore, the problem arises when video-based teleconferencing is unable to support effective communication in telepresence. Thus, this research aims to propose life-size telepresence by using a projector-based holographic display. To actualize the aim, there are three phases have been proposed in this research. The first phase is to enable the tracking technique using the Kinect sensor. The second phase is to enable networking using Agora.io. The last phase is to set up the holographic display using a projector before the evaluation phase. Based on the evaluation results, the life-size telepresence using holographic display application has succeeded in achieving the project aim and shown the life-size display increases the co-presence experience of the users and increases the efficient communication between the users.

Social interaction on craft fairs

Although digitalisation has had an impact on the business of fairs, especially during the years of the pandemic, the Covid-19 crisis has clearly shown that social interaction is vital for small businesses, such as craft enterprises. The physical co-presence of craft objects, makers and users as well as the immediateness of personal contact play a major role at craft fairs. Fairs revolve around trade, which is furthered by the many cultural and social aspects that constitute them. We argue that social interaction in marketplaces goes beyond economic transactions and show that face-to-face interactions are essential for building trust and social order. We identify different types of social interaction at craft fairs, all of which are collaborative ‒ fostering a sense of community, developing products and increasing their visibility ‒ in addition to being an economic transaction. This study is based on ethnographic research on craft fairs and craft producers in the field of furniture and garment making. We conclude by arguing that the findings on craft fairs can also be generalised to other cases.

Constructing the Live Experience at Pop Music Concerts

The aim of this study is to better understand the individual construction of the experience of liveness at pop music concerts and to add knowledge to the field of measuring audience experience in performing arts. The study is based on a mixed-methods methodology, designed to overcome the common difficulties related to researching visitor experiences of live music, and consists of a three-phase interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), made up of a pre-experience questionnaire, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and participant observation during the experience and a post-experience interview. Based on the outcomes of the study, three main conclusions can be drawn: (1) the construction of the concert experience consists mainly of the interplay between the artist, the individual visitor, and his/her social company; the elements of collectiveness and the physical setting play a less decisive role in the concertgoer’s construction of the experience by our participants; (2) participating concertgoers use three (interconnected) narratives through which they construct their experience; and (3) the concept of absolute liveness is key to the construction of the concert experience, implying that concerts in physical co-presence have a strong distinctive value compared to mediated concerts.

We-experiences and the maintenance of workplace friendships: Being workplace friends together

In this article, we are interested in how togetherness in workplace friendships is experienced in the absence of physical co-presence. We explore practices through which we-experiences, that is, shared experiences that produce feelings of togetherness, are realized and maintained across time and space and how different we-experiences constitute different modes of togetherness. Findings from our autoethnographic phenomenological study suggest four modes. Transactive togetherness as vivid and intense we-experiences in the face of tight deadlines but little genuine we-experiences at other times. Retrospective togetherness as re-lived we-experiences when shared memories or stories are retold, recalled, and ‘brought back to life’. Associative togetherness as we-experiences that emerge in the light of immediate emotional and personal challenges that are addressed collectively. Projective togetherness as anticipated we-experiences that emerge from a compelling vision of each other in our work and personal life. We add to the current conversations on the continuous entanglement and interlocking nature of we-experiences, the temporality of togetherness at work, and how friendships are actively accomplished through individuals.

Is physical co-presence a prerequisite for Durkheimian collective effervescence? Reflections on remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This paper explores why it is that so many of us regard virtual communication technologies as imperfect substitutes for co-present organisational interaction. In so doing, it invokes Durkheim’s concept of collective effervescence; that is, the bonding phenomenon experienced between people in physical proximity. Initially, ethnographic data are presented from a Scottish commune known as the Findhorn Foundation, where the word ‘energy’ is widely used by participants to describe the feelings associated with co-present interaction. Macrosocial data are then drawn from the ‘Return, Reimagine, Reinvent’ series of reports published by McKinsey & Co. which documents remote working experiences during the pandemic. Both data sets suggest that even in an era of advanced virtual connectivity, physical co-presence remains a prerequisite for collective effervescence. Furthermore, the data reveal that while virtual connections are useful for routine communication, our sense of collective effervescence must be periodically ‘recharged’ by means of intermittent physical assembly.

Searching for the Metaverse: Neuroscience of Physical and Digital Communities.

What distinguishes real-world communities from their online counterparts? Social and cognitive neuroscience research on social networks and collective intentionality will be used in the article to answer this question. Physical communities are born in places. And places engage "we-mode" neurobiological and cognitive processes as behavioral synchrony, shared attention, deliberate attunement, interbrain synchronization, and so on, which create coherent social networks of very different individuals who are supported by a "wisdom of crowd." Digital technologies remove physical boundaries, giving people more freedom to choose their activities and groups. At the same time, however, the lack of physical co-presence of community members significantly reduces their possibility of activating "we-mode" cognitive processes and social motivation. Because of this, unlike physical communities that allow interaction between people from varied origins and stories, digital communities are always made up of people who have the same interests and knowledge (communities of practice). This new situation disrupts the "wisdom of crowd," making the community more radical and less accurate (polarization effect), allowing influential users to wield disproportionate influence over the group's beliefs, and producing inequalities in the distribution of social capital. However, a new emergent technology-the Metaverse-has the potential to reverse this trend. Several studies have revealed that virtual and augmented reality-the major technologies underlying the Metaverse-can engage the same neurobiological and cognitive "we-mode" processes as real-world environments. If the many flaws in this technology are fixed, it might encourage people to engage in more meaningful and constructive interactions in online communities.

Precarious Bodies: Locating Spectatorship in the National Theatre of Scotland's Scenes for Survival Series

This article examines Scenes for Survival, a series of short digital artworks co-created by the National Theatre of Scotland, BBC Scotland and Screen Scotland, for its intersecting dimensions of precarity. On the one hand, the series shows how a pandemic's challenges are unevenly distributed. On the other hand, it addresses the expressly precarious position of (post-)pandemic theatre – precarious in that theatre presupposes the co-presence of an audience of some sort. Drawing on Judith Butler's concept of embodied precarity, I explore how select monologues articulate a ‘new bodily ontology’, and what kind of audience is constructed in the process. As I suggest, Scenes for Survival proposes ways in which proximity and physical co-presence must be reconfigured, constructed across space and time. In doing so, the series adds to ongoing discussions of how to conceptualize digital spectatorship, especially in times when physical co-presence is impossible, and thus becomes an issue of vulnerability.

Hyperreality and Liveness in Kenyan Spoken Word Poetry Performances in Social Media

The postmodern concept of hyperreality has gained enough relevance in contemporary society due to advancement in digital media technology. The use of social media as a performance space reintroduces the ongoing debate about what constitutes liveness in a performance. Traditionally, liveness was defined in terms of theatrical performances, but over time the term has broadened to incorporate digital media performances. Social media performances are important in helping to establish how liveness is constructed in virtual spaces, where physical co-presence between the performer and the audience is non-existent. An exploration of liveness in relation to televised drama contextualizes the discussion about liveness in mediated performances and sets the stage for the analysis of unique features that distinguish television performances with social media performances. Spoken word poetry performances in social media spaces provide the necessary framework within which to illustrate how liveness is constructed in social media spaces. The key objective in this study is to distinguish the construction of liveness in social media spaces with other mediated performances, with the aim of introducing new perspectives in the concept of hyperreality and the field of performance studies in general.

Environmental perceptions of global business travel by Swiss companies in the Zurich airport region

Background: This article presents findings from research conducted before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on companies located in the Zurich airport region of Switzerland, regarding the needs for global business travel and its impacts. Methods: The study involved a mixed methods approach. Five hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics on data obtained from pre-tested closed questions in a web-based survey. Deeper context was explored through an interview-based case-study conducted at a Swiss pharma company. Results: Supporting alternative hypothesis 3 (Ha(3)), a significant positive relationship was found between travel frequency and business growth, F(1, 100) = 11.31, p = 0.0011. Supporting Ha(4), corporate culture had a significant positive relationship with business travel frequency (F(1, 100) = 15.50, p = 0.0002) and average trip length (F(1, 100) = 6.39, p = 0.01). And thirdly supporting Ha(5), corporate social responsibility had a significant relationship with global business travel (91%). Ho(2) and Ho(3) were accepted. The case study found that smart corporate travel policies and regulations should be instantiated to enhance our environment, which would also benefit employee wellbeing. Travel can be reduced significantly despite being demonstrated that physical co-presence is important for building trust. The case study suggests tools to support the monitoring and management of global business travel by organizations. Conclusions: COVID-19 has impacted travel for business significantly, and future research will be necessary to assess its impact. The article explores the ongoing research in this area, and several relevant implications are proposed for future leaders. The case study found willingness to pay both corporate and individual green taxes, and a deficiency in corporate communication around the environment. Business travel is needed to build trust; however, it can be reduced.

Physical but not virtual presence of others potentiates implicit and explicit learning.

E-learning activities are becoming more and more common. Whilst it is well known that the physical presence of others motivates individuals to engage in perceptual and learning tasks, systematic investigations comparing the effects of physical and virtual co-presence of others on knowledge acquisition are still scarce. Here we investigate the effects of physical and virtual co-presence of others on explicit and implicit learning. In Experiment 1 (discovery sample), retrieval accuracy in a spatial memory task and EEG indexes (mismatch negativity-MMN) of implicit perceptual learning were recorded when participants were alone or in presence of another individual. In Experiment 2 (replicating sample), we added a "virtual" condition, where the same tasks were performed during a video-conference call. In both experiments, MMN was demonstrated to encode for perceptual learning as revealed by the significant correlation with Bayesian Surprise (a consolidated information-theoretic index of Bayesian learning). Furthermore, In Experiments 1 and 2 physical co-presence systematically ameliorated memorization performances and increased MMN indexes related to implicit learning. These positive effects were absent in the virtual condition, thus suggesting that only physical, but not virtual co-presence is effective in potentiating learning dynamics.