معرفی
Dr Carina Westling is a Principal Academic in Cross-Platform Media at Bournemouth University, within the Faculty of Media and Communication and the Department of Media Production. Her research lies at the intersection of digital media, cultural studies, and human-computer interaction, with a focus on immersive environments, audience engagement, and the socio-technical dynamics of AR/VR and blended experiences.
- PhD, University of Sussex, School of Media and Cultural Studies (2017)
- Principal Academic, Bournemouth University (current)
- Creative Director, Nimbus Group (ongoing professional role)
Her research explores the tensions and opportunities between technical, social, and discursive aspects of multimedia environments. She specializes in ethnographic and remote audience research, with a theoretical framework for modeling human participation in distributed interactive systems. Her work is informed by extensive professional experience in cross-platform production and AI/AR/XR project design.
Dr Westling’s recent publications span cognitive ergonomics, trust in digital communication, immersive storytelling, and algorithmic auditing. Her work frequently appears in journals such as Behaviour and Information Technology, Frontiers in Psychology, and Journal of Medical Internet Research. She has authored the monograph Immersion and Participation in Punchdrunk’s Theatrical Worlds (Bloomsbury, 2020) and has contributed chapters on immersive theatre, digital performance, and online resistance.
Her research trends show a consistent focus on human experience in digital contexts—particularly how attention, trust, and presence are shaped by interface design, multimodal interaction, and socio-technical systems. She investigates both the psychological underpinnings of user behavior and the cultural implications of emerging technologies.
Dr Westling has received multiple grants from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Arts Council England, including for the Digital Ghost Hunt and Crucible projects. She is currently Co-Investigator on an AHRC-funded immersive AR project.
- Digital Ghost Hunt (AHRC, 2018–2019, 2019–2020)
- Crucible (Arts Council England, 2019–present)
- Giddy Brighton (Heritage Lottery Fund, 2015)
She supervises PhD students, including Joman Hayajneh, and serves as an external examiner for institutions such as the University of Adelaide and the University of Windsor. She is active in public engagement, presenting at international conferences including ECCE, ICIDS, and CHIplay, and has delivered invited lectures at Sorbonne Nouvelle, King’s College London, and the University of Gothenburg.
Dr Westling is a member of several academic and professional organizations, including ACM, MeCCSA, and the Humane Intelligence Metrology working group, where she contributes to the development of AI evaluation methodologies. She also participates in interdisciplinary collaborations focused on algorithmic auditing, digital heritage, and memetic warfare.
