Social Interactions in Virtual Worlds

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
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.

Enabling Multilingual Social Interactions and Fostering Language Learning in Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 665-685
Author(s):  
Samuel Cruz-Lara ◽  
Tarik Osswald ◽  
Jean-Pierre Camal ◽  
Nadia Bellalem ◽  
Lotfi Bellalem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Global Perspective

In order to enhance interoperability between virtual worlds, applications, and corpora, it is obvious that standards should come into place. This is the main goal of MLIF and, on a more global perspective, of the Metaverse1 project. In this paper, we study social interactions in virtual worlds, present some cues to facilitate them, and describe the empirical support that we developed for these theories. We also present a few methods for fostering language learning in virtual worlds, and we explain how we have implemented some of them.

Social Interactions in Virtual Worlds: Patterns and Profiles of Tween Relationship Play

2012 ◽  
pp. 543-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Giang ◽  
Yasmin B. Kafai ◽  
Deborah A. Fields ◽  
Kristin A. Searle
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Worlds

scholarly journals Virtual Goods Recommendations in Virtual Worlds

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuan-Yu Chen ◽  
Hsiu-Yu Liao ◽  
Jyun-Hung Chen ◽  
Duen-Ren Liu
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Contact Strength ◽  
Virtual Character ◽  
Sales Revenue ◽  
Simulated Environments ◽  
Global Companies ◽  
Life Circle

Virtual worlds (VWs) are computer-simulated environments which allow users to create their own virtual character as an avatar. With the rapidly growing user volume in VWs, platform providers launch virtual goods in haste and stampede users to increase sales revenue. However, the rapidity of development incurs virtual unrelated items which will be difficult to remarket. It not only wastes virtual global companies’ intelligence resources, but also makes it difficult for users to find suitable virtual goods fit for their virtual home in daily virtual life. In the VWs, users decorate their houses, visit others’ homes, create families, host parties, and so forth. Users establish their social life circles through these activities. This research proposes a novel virtual goods recommendation method based on these social interactions. The contact strength and contact influence result from interactions with social neighbors and influence users’ buying intention. Our research highlights the importance of social interactions in virtual goods recommendation. The experiment’s data were retrieved from an online VW platform, and the results show that the proposed method, considering social interactions and social life circle, has better performance than existing recommendation methods.

scholarly journals Connected Play in Virtual Worlds: Communication and Control Mechanisms in Virtual Worlds for Children and Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Yao Du ◽  
Thomas D. Grace ◽  
Krithika Jagannath ◽  
Katie Salen-Tekinbas
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Multiplayer Games ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Platform Comparison ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Technology plays an essential role in shaping youth’s communication and social interactions in online multiplayer games. Due to physical distancing restrictions during the COVID-19 global pandemic, online multiplayer games like Minecraft and Roblox are well-positioned to amplify healthy communication/social connections and mitigate the impact of social isolation. Research so far has been focused on how these gaming environments support youth development from the perspectives of individual stakeholders (e.g., caregivers, educators, designers, and developers). However, features of these games, such as communication and parental controls, are often misaligned with the ways in which children develop communication and social skills. Using a series of case studies of popular virtual worlds and online games, this paper provides an analysis of critical design features that serve youth throughout different stages of childhood and early adolescence. We offer three main contributions: (a) a comparison matrix of similarities and differences in communication and control features between platforms; (b) an evaluation of design features in selected virtual world platforms that promote safe and positive social interactions; and (c) a method for cross-platform comparison aimed at helping researchers, designers, and practitioners examine specific dimensions of social communication and play experience in virtual worlds.

scholarly journals IEEEVR2020: Exploring the First Steps Toward Standalone Virtual Conferences

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn ◽  
Laura Levy ◽  
Allison Eden ◽  
Andrea Stevenson Won ◽  
Blair MacIntyre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Field Observation ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Virtual Conference ◽  
Academic Conferences

The global COVID-19 pandemic forced all large in-person events to pivot to virtual or online platforms. IEEEVR2020 coincided with rising concerns and restrictions on travel and large gatherings, becoming one of the first academic conferences to rapidly adapt its programming to a completely virtual format. The global pandemic provided an impetus to re-examine the possibility of holding social interactions in virtual worlds. This article aims to: (1) revisit the issues of virtual conferences noted in earlier studies, focusing specifically on academic conferences, (2) introduce new survey and observational data from the recent IEEEVR2020 conference, and (3) present insights and future directions for virtual conferences during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from a field observation during the conference and a post-conference survey point to complex relationships among users, media platforms selected, and social constraints during the virtual conference.

scholarly journals Building Knowledge in the Virtual World – Influence of Real Life Relationships

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Loureiro ◽  
Teresa Bettencourt
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Real Life ◽  
University Level ◽  
The University

This paper intends to present a preliminary PhD research that is being developed by the authors, with the intention to determine how to improve teaching and learning situations, at the university level, based on experiences in immersive virtual worlds. The authors have realized that, nowadays, courses don’t fulfill our students’ needs. They belong to a networked and multitasking generation, and what they get from today’s teaching strategy does not, in many situations, fulfill students’ needs and perspectives. They need to gather competences in order to become motivated citizens, communicative and knowledge builders. It is our belief that we can take advantage from the immersive virtual worlds’ resources to overcome this situation and therefore to transfer it to real life. In order to achieve this we need, at the first instance, to understand how social interactions occur in these environments (in particular at Second Life®), how they grow and how they are developed. What we present here is a preliminary sample of our intended research.

scholarly journals Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: The Role of the Facilitator

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin G Wigert ◽  
Gert-Jan De Vreede ◽  
Imed Boughzala ◽  
Ikram Bououd
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Collaborative Problem Solving ◽  
Subject Matter Experts ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Collaborative Problem ◽  
Popular Medium ◽  
Collaboration Process

Virtual worlds (VWs) are becoming a popular medium for meetings and collaborative problem solving efforts. However, complex VW communication tools and challenges in managing online social interactions are likely to complicate VW collaboration efforts. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to investigate the role of the facilitator when collaboration is conducted in a virtual environment. In order to conduct our study, we developed a questionnaire based on major issues in real world collaboration and interviewed 14 subject-matter experts. Participants were asked to identify what key differences facilitators perceive between virtual and real world collaboration. In response, participants provided many insights, such as the new interpersonal management challenges that arise from the absence of face-to-face communication. Participants also warned of the challenges associated with the introduction of more technology to the collaboration process. Further, they identified credibility and trust issues that arise due to facilitators’ avatar manipulation skills and avatar appearance. Suggestions for avoiding pitfalls and optimizing collaboration are provided.

Abusive interactions with embodied agents

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Creed ◽  
Russell Beale
Keyword(s):  
Human Computer Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Groups ◽  
Embodied Agents ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
The World ◽  
Abusive Behaviour ◽  
Natural Interactions

Numerous research groups around the world are attempting to build realistic and believable autonomous embodied agents that attempt to have natural interactions with users. Research into these entities has primarily focused on their potential to enhance human–computer interaction. As a result, there is little understanding of the potential for embodied entities to abuse and manipulate users for questionable purposes. We highlight the potential opportunities for abuse when interacting with embodied agents in virtual worlds and discuss how our social interactions with such entities can contribute to abusive behaviour. Suggestions for reducing such risks are also provided, along with suggestions for important future research areas.

scholarly journals Penguin Life: A Case Study of One Tween’s Experiences inside Club Penguin

1970 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Burley
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
The Social ◽  
Physical Spaces ◽  
Integration Space

Although we are increasingly aware of what young people do online and perhaps even why they do it, we are less clear about how particular affordances of an online environment enables identity formation. Accordingly, this case study sought to explore how one tween’s experience in Club Penguin influenced the development of her social identity and community relationships. Reflecting on her experiences, we draw 3 tentative conclusions. First, because Club Penguin enables tweens to change typically static elements of their persona, the scope of generally accepted identifiers is broadened while the perceived boundaries between them is reduced. Second, the integration of virtual and physical spaces further complicates the social interactions that inform tween identity. Third, whereas many adult participants in virtual worlds use their participation as an opportunity to deconstruct the various aspects of their personality (Suler, 2002), tweens may use the virtual environment as an integration space.

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