Name:Kevin Shedlock

Bio:

Technology framed as “the digital artifact” is altering the way indigenous peoples live their lives opening many challenges to both their heritage and traditions as a representation of their digital selves. Whilst the IT artifact offers new ways for indigenous peoples to revisit heritage stories using the likes of virtual reality or technology that is immersive, interactive and intelligent. Concerns are being raised in the way indigenous knowledge is being produced, stored, augmented, and disseminated.

On the one hand, tribal knowledge contains well-rehearsed processes and practices commonly found within an individual, group, community, or in artefact format. On the opposing hand, the IT artifact is becoming a container for tribal knowledge constructed for similar purposes replacing the former as holders of knowledge. The problem is no practice exists to guide the construction of technology aligned with indigenous understandings during the creation of knowledge.

My research involves working with indigenous communities to better understand technology from within an indigenous lens. I am particularly interested in virtual reality as a technology that delivers perceived awareness connections and embodied sensory connections within an indigenous socio technical system (iSTS). This involves: - Organizing the construction of the IT artifact ex-ante/ex-post. - Working with indigenous data filters in an immersive, interactive and intelligent setting. - Being spatially located inside technology such as virtual reality.

Country:New Zealand

Affiliation:Victoria University of Wellington

Research interests:Virtual Reality, IT Artefacts, Computational Theory