[Air-L] avatar research ethics

[Steve Jones]

The puppet/puppeteer analogy is an interesting one. Indeed, what if  
one were studying a puppet? Would human subjects approval be  
necessary? Where does one draw the line? The study of the puppet,  
inert, we might presume to not be study of a human subject (although  
maybe the puppet is in some way an "artifact" representing its maker  
and one would be required to have human subjects approval?). The study  
of the puppet as a "medium" for interaction with the puppeteer we  
might presume to be study of a human subject (that is, a study of the  
puppeteer via the puppet) but a) to what degree, if at all, does the  
puppet "represent" the puppeteer? and b) what if the puppet had some  
agency of its own? Then there's the study of the puppet engaged in a  
play. Perhaps the play is entirely scripted, perhaps it is entirely  
improvised, or it is somewhere in-between. Is the study in any case  
human subjects research?

Sj

On Mar 8, 2008, at 5:12 AM, Radhika Gajjala wrote:

> A cartoon charater is not "inhabited" by a human being in the way that
> a MOO character or avatar is - when you live there for a long time...
> Think of Avatars on SL and puppets/puppeteers. Would you write about a
> puppet separately from the puppeteer?
>
> r
>
>
> On Mar 8, 2008, at 2:29 AM, William Bain wrote:
>
>> Marjorie Kibby wrote: "Our review board guidelines [....] would see
>> avatars as human subjects."
>>
>> Forgive if this is too simplistic, but where would this leave
>> someone wanting to study some cartoon character? I mean, obviously
>> any such study would have to mention the author & author's rights.
>> But those guidelines strike me as , I don't know, too harsh? Too
>> strict?
>>
>> Best regards, Will
>>
>>
>>
>> William Bain
>> PhD Student
>> Comparative Literature
>> Department of Spanish Philology
>> Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
>>
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