SPARTIE-Cast with Dr. Robby Ratan

In this episode, Dr. Edward Downs describes his research applying the MAIN (Modality, Agency, Interactivity, & Navigation) Model to learning in virtual reality, connects these concepts to themes from "Ready Player One," discusses some concerns about using “moral panic” too loosely, asks host Robby Ratan a question about the origins of digital avatars (and then shares an interesting anecdote th...

In this episode, host Robby Ratan and Dr. Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn discuss the concept of the Metaverse, the Korean Netflix original “Memories of Alhambra,” and how both relate to her 10+ years of research on virtual/mixed reality (VR/XR.) Ahn describes her amazing research lab where she can run experiments with 10 simultaneous participants in VR, her NIH-funded research on virtual pets for well-ing, w...

In this episode, Dr. Andrea Stephenson Won and host, Robby Ratan, analyze the film Pacific Rim (SPOILERS!) as it relates to her research in the Virtual Embodiment Lab at Cornell. We discuss the idea of many-to-one avatars (e.g., two-pilot Jaegers,) the psychological effect of proximity perceptions (e.g., does it matter if the pilot is in a mech or not) and the very definition of avatars in conside...

In this episode, Dr. Maxwell Foxman discusses the connections between his interest in history, journalism and game studies. We dive into his early research, Foursquare (OMG he still uses it!) and his approach to helping journalists understand how to present stories on media (e.g., virtual world use during the pandemic). He explains why virtual reality didn’t take off during the pandemic (e.g., cos...

This week’s guest, Adam Sulzdorf-Liszkiewicz, talks about his path from philosophy and avant-garde art, to developing absurdist virtual reality games, to becoming an assistant professor preparing future generations to abstract upon his footsteps. Links to media featured in the interview: https://liszkiewicz.info/projects/Scan.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1u1hMJXQh8&t=1s   https://www....

In this episode, host Robby Ratan has a chat with Dr. Casey O'Donnell, a game developer and associate professor at Michigan State University. They chat about Casey's background in science and technology research, game development, MSU's top-ranked game design program for undergrad and professional students, serious games, and -- of course -- avatars. About this week's guest: Dr. Casey O'Donnell is...

In this episode, host Robby Ratan has a conversation with Ryan Feldman, the senior unity developer XR specialist for Immersed, about his work on a virtual reality office space for at home workers. Immersed is a virtual reality company developing technologies to make a productive workspace in virtual reality.  About this week's guest: Ryan Feldman is the senior unity developer XR specialist for Imm...

In this episode, host Robby Ratan talks with the Clinical Director of Take This, Raffael Boccamazzo (Dr. B,) about working to destigmatize mental health in the gaming industry and community and providing support for those who need it.   About this week's guest: Dr. Raffael Boccamazzo is a doctor of psychology and the clinical director of Take This , a mental health advocacy nonprofit that focuses...

In this episode host, Robby Ratan, speaks with the CEO of WOLF3D, Timmu Tõke, about their avatar platform Ready Player Me and their vision to support avatars across multiple platforms from desktop games to virtual reality to video conferences for business meetings. About this week's guest: Timmu Tõke is the CEO and co-founder of WOLF3D . The company was founded in 2014 to build world-class avatar...

This week host Robby Ratan speaks with his dad, Dr. Ramesh Lakshmi-Ratan, about his perspective on avatars. They also cover his more than three decades in communications at companies like Bell Labs/AT&T, VocalTec and YellowPages.  About this week's guest:  Dr. Ramesh Lakshmi-Ratan spent over three decades in communications.  He worked at companies like Bell Labs/AT&T (inventors of the tele...

In this episode, host Robby Ratan and master's student Anna Praetorius talk in-depth about the Proteus Effect and research around avatars. About this week's guest: Anna Praetorius is the first author of " How Avatars Influence User Behavior: A Review on the Proteus Effect in Virtual Environments and Video Games ," and a master's student at Reutlingen Univeristy in Reutlingen, Germany. About the SP...

In this episode, Jeremy Whiting, general manager of Michigan State University's student-run radio station, Impact 89FM, talks about his radio journey, running a college radio station and creating impactful audio work.  About this week's guest: Jeremy Whiting is the general manager at Impact 89FM , Michigan State University's student-run radio station. He is the only non-student employee and suppor...

In this episode, host Dr. Robby Ratan talks all things SPARTIE-Cast while reviewing the first nine episodes and alluding to what's to come.  About the SPARTIE Lab: The Social and Psychological Approaches to Research on Technology-Interaction Effects (SPARTIE) Lab performs research on the effects of human-technology interaction, examining how the use of media technologies (e.g., avatars, agents, au...

This week is an informative conversation with Domna Banakou on her research trajectory, the Event lab, and the future of avatar research. About this week's guest Domna Banakou is a researcher at the EVENT-LAB in Barcelona. Her research focuses on virtual environments, with a specific focus on how “body ownership illusions” affect people’s perceptions and views. She has a background in Computer Sci...

This week Dr. Robby Ratan speaks with Scott Galloway, a New York University Stern Professor of Marketing, founder of the business ed startup, Section4, author of "THE FOUR, THE ALGEBRA OF HAPPINESS" and "Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity," blogger of "No Mercy / No Malice" and the host of the podcast the "Prof G Show." He’s also been Ratan's parasocial running partner for the past ~year (i.e...

We are excited to dedicate this episode to two students who have been working with the SPARTIE Lab for most of their time at Michigan State University. In this episode, they discuss some of their lab experiences and what they expect in their future careers. About this week’s guests: Ann Desrochers is a student and Alumni Distinguished Scholar at Michigan State University. She is currently majoring...

This week, host, Dr. Robby Ratan, performs a rap he wrote for the March for Science in Lansing a few years back as part of a small band (He plays the saxophone).  They were kind enough to allow me to insert a nerdy rap into "When the Saints Go Marching." About the SPARTIE Lab: The Social and Psychological Approaches to Research on Technology-Interaction Effects (SPARTIE) Lab performs research on t...

Host, Dr. Robby Ratan, decided to switch things up and record a rap (which he sometimes does at the end of research talks) for the podcast. He wrote this Proteus effect rap while on sabbatical in 2019 in Singapore. Shout out to Nanyang Technological University and his many awesome colleagues there for helping his creative juice flow. About the SPARTIE Lab: The Social and Psychological Approaches t...

In this episode, Dr. Stephanie Buisine chats about her research on the Proteus effect, touching on a study that shows inventor-like avatars (versus street-clothes avatars) lead to more creativity in a brainstorming task ...a personal favorite! About this week’s guest: Dr. Stephanie Buisine is a Research Director at CESI Graduate School of Engineering and CESI School of Management. Her research is...

This week, Dr. Robby Ratan speaks with his esteemed guest, Dr. Sonny Rosenthal, about Rosenthal’s research on live composite video lectures, touching on his recent publication on the topic and offering insight into current and planned studies. About this week’s guest: Dr. Sonny Rosenthal , Ph. D., is an assistant professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Techn...

Dr. Rabindra Ratan speaks with his guests, Dr. Dmitri Williams & Dr. Mia Consalvo, about the history, present, and future of game studies within the current academic and socio-political climates. About this week's guests: Dr. Dmitri Williams , Ph. D., is an associate professor at USC Annenberg , where he teaches courses on technology and society, games and data analytics. He received his Ph. D...

In the inaugural episode of the SPARTIE-Cast, Dr. Rabindra Ratan speaks with guest, Dr. Rachel Kowert, about the origins and toxic behaviors in gaming communities: harassment, bullying and gatekeeping, among others. They discuss the social and political ramifications of such behaviors, as well as potential remedies that could be pursued through industry partnerships, STEM initiatives and future re...