Virtual Worlds: The Role of Simulation in Ecology

2020 ◽  
pp. 177-195
Author(s):  
David G. Green ◽  
Nicholas I. Klomp ◽  
Glyn Rimmington ◽  
Suzanne Sadedin
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds

scholarly journals Virtual Agents in Brain-Computer Interfaces

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Cavazza ◽  
Fred Charles ◽  
Stephen W. Gilroy ◽  
Julie Porteous ◽  
Gabor Aranyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Regulation System ◽  
Virtual Agents ◽  
Interactive Narrative ◽  
Brain Computer Interfaces ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Computer Interfaces

The recent development of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) for Virtual Worlds has resulted in a growing interest in realistic visual feedback. In this paper, we investigate the potential role of Virtual Agents in neurofeedback (NF) systems, which constitute an important paradigm for BCI. We discuss the potential of virtual agents to contribute to the success of NF in the specific context of affective BCI. Throughout the paper, we illustrate our presentation with two fully implemented NF prototypes featuring virtual agents. The first is an interactive narrative in which the user empathises with the feature character; the second, an emotion regulation system in which virtual crowd behaviour becomes a metaphor for arousal, as the user attempts to down-regulate their affective state.

scholarly journals Understanding Users’ Preference to Engage in YouTubers

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 277
Author(s):  
Wen-Yu Tsao
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Commercial Potential ◽  
System Characteristics

The YouTubers are the new vocations to make money. People like to access the videos to relax or learn from the special YouTuber. Despite the growth and commercial potential of virtual worlds, relatively little is known about what users’ motivations to favor specific YouTubers. This paper offered and empirically tested a conceptual model to fill this gap. Given the system characteristics (mobility, reachability, compatibility, convenience) and YouTuber specific characteristics (escapism and post popularity) integrated extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as their preference determinants. Using PROCESS on a survey of 349 users of YouTube. The results confirmed the role of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as preference determinants and showed the two system and two YouTuber specific characteristics as motivational basis. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The Role of Standards for E-Commerce in Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 257-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joerg H. Kloss
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
3D Graphics ◽  
Iso Standard ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
3D Environments ◽  
Interactive 3D ◽  
The Right

This chapter discusses the topic of standards for Virtual Worlds with emphasis on their usability as a stable and reliable basis for long-term investments into 3D-E-Commerce. The text explains why standards are important for the success of Virtual Worlds as well as the business in these shared online 3D environments, and what the relevant criteria are to decide for the right technology and/or provider. Although sometimes in the shadow of popular proprietary platforms there are already many different candidates for a Virtual World standard, currently in different states of development. By choosing a 3D platform, E-Commerce providers will decide about their business potential and at the same time strengthen one or another standard in the current technical competition phase. So it is important to get an overview about the current approaches, their advantages and disadvantages as well as the tendencies for the future developments. In this chapter the reader will be sensitized for the issues of standardization, compatibility and interoperability of Virtual Worlds for successful E-Commerce applications. An overview about the current approaches supports the orientation and decision for the different technologies. Some concrete XML-based code examples realized in the international ISO standard for interactive 3D-Graphics X3D demonstrates the practical deployment of highly compatible concepts. An outlook to the further integration of interactive 3D graphics into the Next Generation Web respectively the 3D Internet completes the overview.

The New Backyard

2011 ◽  
pp. 179-192
Author(s):  
Nathan G. Freier ◽  
Emilie T. Saulnier
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Stereotype Threat ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Problem ◽  
The Social ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pro Social Behavior

This chapter discusses the significant role that virtual worlds, particularly massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), such as Club Penguin and World of Warcraft, play in the social and moral development of children and adolescents. A central argument of the chapter is that MMOGs and other virtual worlds provide a new backyard within which children and adolescents engage in active social interaction and play out moral dilemmas. It discusses three important areas of development in the context of interactions in MMOGs. First, it explores the process of perspective-taking, which is an important factor in empathy and pro-social behavior. Second, it explores the impact that MMOGs might have on stereotyping behavior and the phenomenon of stereotype threat, a harmful outcome of stereotyping behavior. Finally, it considers the role of moral dilemmas in development and how MMOGs provide unique environments for social and moral problem solving.

Participant-Observation as a Method for Analyzing Avatar Design in User-Generated Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 469-481
Author(s):  
Jeremy O. Turner ◽  
Janet McCracken ◽  
Jim Bizzocchi
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Participant Observer

This chapter explores the epistemological, and ethical boundaries of the application of a participant-observer methodology for analyzing avatar design in user-generated virtual worlds. We describe why Second Life was selected as the preferred platform for studying the fundamental design properties of avatars in a situated manner. We will situate the specific case study within the broader context of ethnographic qualitative research methodologies, particularly focusing on what it means to live – and role-play - within the context that one is studying, or to facilitate prolonged engagement in order to have the research results accepted as trustworthy or credible (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). This chapter describes a case study where researchers can extract methods and techniques for studying “in-world” workshops and focus groups. Our speculations and research questions drawn from a close analysis of this case study will illuminate the possible limitations of applying similar hybrid iterations of participation-observation tactics and translations of disciplinary frameworks into the study of user-generated content for future virtual world communities. Finally, we will review the broader epistemological and ethical issues related to the role of the participant-observation researcher in the study of virtual worlds.

The Use of Avatars and Virtual Worlds for Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 234-261
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Collaborative Virtual Environments

Virtual environments (VEs) can be immersive (IVE) or collaborative (CVE). Networked collaborative virtual environments (NCVEs) connect participants in real time via a network. Each type of VE presents opportunities to use different combinations of technologies to design engaging learning experiences, especially using avatars. Avatars are used as forms of self-representation for students as well as instructors. Anonymity enables users to alter their identities and interact in new ways through transformed social interactions. Advancements in technology continue to humanize avatars, thus changing their role in the VE and also changing the role of the instructor.

Does Second Life Mark the Beginning of a New Era of Online Shopping?

2011 ◽  
pp. 232-247
Author(s):  
Jang Ho Moon ◽  
Yongjun Sung ◽  
S. Marina Choi
Keyword(s):  
Social Presence ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Online Shopping ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
New Era ◽  
Shopping Experience

In this chapter, the authors explore the unique social dimension of shopping in virtual worlds, namely Second Life, by examining the role of avatar-based interactions in determining consumer shopping experience. To this end, an overview of Second Life, and other similar virtual worlds, is provided. This chapter then introduces the concept of social presence and offers a conceptual discussion of how avatar-based shopping in virtual environments is distinctive from shopping in other Web environments. Next, the authors present the preliminary findings of the ongoing research study investigating how consumers’ interactions with salespersons and peer consumers via avatars influence their shopping experience in Second Life. This chapter concludes with a future prospect of virtual worlds and directions for future research.

Eidsvoll 1814

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Prasolova-Forland ◽  
Ole Ørjan Hov
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Practical Reasons ◽  
Historical Building ◽  
Constituent Assembly ◽  
Future Work

3D Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) or virtual worlds have been widely used in educational settings for the purposes of simulation and demonstration of scientific concepts, art and historical events that for practical reasons may be complicated in real-life classrooms. This paper describes an experience of recreating a central event in Norwegian history, adoption of Norwegian constitution at Eidsvoll in 1814, in the virtual world of Second Life. The historical building where this event took place was reconstructed and used as a part of an online history course where Norwegian students residing all over the world could meet at Virtual Eidsvoll, play the role of the members of the Constituent Assembly and pass the constitution. Following the description of the experience with the Virtual Eidsvoll project, the authors conclude with a critical discussion of using 3D CVEs for history education, outlining directions for future work.

The Use of Virtual Worlds in Management Education: An Investigation of Current Practices in Second Life

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amarolinda Zanela Klein ◽  
Angilberto Freitas ◽  
Lisiane Machado ◽  
José Carlos da Silva Freitas Junior ◽  
Paulo Gaspar Graziola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Role Of Information

Frequently, research on management education does not take into account the role of Information Technology as a key resource to support teaching and learning processes. In this article, the authors explore the current applications of Three Dimensional Virtual Worlds (3DVW) for Management education. The authors researched the educational institutions subscribed to Second Life (SL) (http://secondlife.com/), as it is one of the most popular open 3DVW available worldwide. The results reveal that only 31% of the institutions that answered the authors’ questionnaire actually use SL in Management education. Regarding the acceptance of SL in Management education, one third of the 15 institutions using it claim that it has been well received and accepted both by students and lecturers/professors. These results lead to several questions for further research and development of practices concerning the use of 3DVW for Management education.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document