Augmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.

With the continuing increase in online communications, virtual proximity as well as physical proximity has become a common way to connect individuals. Virtual proximity refers to the psychological closeness felt by people based on their participation in a virtual space. Hence, augmenting physical pr...

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Autores principales:	Mi Chang, Ji-Hyun Lee
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/6fd7ee0b4e7e4a61aeaf756b8a1a21b4
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:6fd7ee0b4e7e4a61aeaf756b8a1a21b42021-12-02T20:16:16ZAugmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0260349https://doaj.org/article/6fd7ee0b4e7e4a61aeaf756b8a1a21b42021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260349https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203With the continuing increase in online communications, virtual proximity as well as physical proximity has become a common way to connect individuals. Virtual proximity refers to the psychological closeness felt by people based on their participation in a virtual space. Hence, augmenting physical proximity with virtual types is believed to enhance connectivity within social networks, and applications that consider both types have the capability to provide new forms of interaction. However, despite the importance of their coexistence, these proximity concepts have been studied separately or are being integrated using diverse terminologies that often lead to misunderstandings. Furthermore, although some applications reflect the two proximity types (e.g., location-based services), there is no metric of comparison. This paper proposes the concept of augmented proximity (AP), which combines physical and virtual forms into a network analogous to one of mixed reality (MR). The concept provides a clear distinction between physical and virtual proximity using a single quantitative value. Using this concept, a formal taxonomy is established to compare and evaluate AP-based networks. The taxonomy consists of three dimensions that can be analyzed using graph theory, including the extent of connectivity degree, diffusion effect, and extent of perceived closeness. Furthermore, using the services underlying AP-based network, the proposed taxonomy can be applied to evaluate the suitability of the services as an indicator for comparison. The results show that one of the two services has a higher taxonomy-based value, and a reasonable basis for selecting one based on proximity is established. This study suggests that AP will play an important role as a quantitative indicator in developing and comparing applications that consider proximity in both virtual and physical modes.Mi ChangJi-Hyun LeePublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 11, p e0260349 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Mi Chang Ji-Hyun Lee Augmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.
description	With the continuing increase in online communications, virtual proximity as well as physical proximity has become a common way to connect individuals. Virtual proximity refers to the psychological closeness felt by people based on their participation in a virtual space. Hence, augmenting physical proximity with virtual types is believed to enhance connectivity within social networks, and applications that consider both types have the capability to provide new forms of interaction. However, despite the importance of their coexistence, these proximity concepts have been studied separately or are being integrated using diverse terminologies that often lead to misunderstandings. Furthermore, although some applications reflect the two proximity types (e.g., location-based services), there is no metric of comparison. This paper proposes the concept of augmented proximity (AP), which combines physical and virtual forms into a network analogous to one of mixed reality (MR). The concept provides a clear distinction between physical and virtual proximity using a single quantitative value. Using this concept, a formal taxonomy is established to compare and evaluate AP-based networks. The taxonomy consists of three dimensions that can be analyzed using graph theory, including the extent of connectivity degree, diffusion effect, and extent of perceived closeness. Furthermore, using the services underlying AP-based network, the proposed taxonomy can be applied to evaluate the suitability of the services as an indicator for comparison. The results show that one of the two services has a higher taxonomy-based value, and a reasonable basis for selecting one based on proximity is established. This study suggests that AP will play an important role as a quantitative indicator in developing and comparing applications that consider proximity in both virtual and physical modes.
format	article
author	Mi Chang Ji-Hyun Lee
author_facet	Mi Chang Ji-Hyun Lee
author_sort	Mi Chang
title	Augmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.
title_short	Augmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.
title_full	Augmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.
title_fullStr	Augmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.
title_full_unstemmed	Augmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.
title_sort	augmented proximity: integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/6fd7ee0b4e7e4a61aeaf756b8a1a21b4
work_keys_str_mv	AT michang augmentedproximityintegrationofphysicalandvirtualproximitytoenhancenetworkconnectivity AT jihyunlee augmentedproximityintegrationofphysicalandvirtualproximitytoenhancenetworkconnectivity
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Augmented proximity: Integration of physical and virtual proximity to enhance network connectivity.

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