The Online Community of Second Life and the Residents of Virtual Ability Island

2014 ◽  
pp. 275-296
Author(s):  
Antonia Tzemopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Second Life ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Strength ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Geographical Locations

This chapter provides a detailed introduction of Second Life, a three-dimensional environment that operates over the Internet. As the community comes together, it may partake in a wide range of activities and opportunities for pedagogical purposes, as well as socialization, exploration, and creative practice. Within the introduction to this chapter, emphasis is placed on how people from diverse geographical locations join together in an effort to design a virtual environment based on the concept of user-generated content. The author uses a narrative research approach and using her avatar; she provides insight on how issues of community strength unfold and how community challenges are dealt with. Furthermore, various behaviours and actions are explored in greater detail. With this foundation, the rest of the chapter focuses on how a group of friends with disabilities came to discover Second Life. The evolution of Virtual Ability Island, which boasts over 700 community members with and without disabilities, is also examined, particularly looking at how community members contribute to growth and viability in their own personally distinct way.

scholarly journals Overview: Virtual Reality in Medicine

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Pensieri ◽  
Maddalena Pennacchini
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Surgical Simulation ◽  
3D Visualization ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Communication Interface ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Interactive 3D

Background: Virtual Reality (VR) was defined as a collection of technological devices: “a computer capable of interactive 3D visualization, a head-mounted display and data gloves equipped with one or more position trackers”. Today, lots of scientists define VR as a simulation of the real world based on computer graphics, a three dimensional world in which communities of real people interact, create content, items and services, producing real economic value through e-Commerce.Objective: To report the results of a systematic review of articles and reviews published about the theme: “Virtual Reality in Medicine”.Methods: We used the search query string: “Virtual Reality”, “Metaverse”, “Second Life”, “Virtual World”, “Virtual Life” in order to find out how many articles were written about these themes. For the “Meta-review” we used only “Virtual Reality” AND “Review”. We searched the following databases: Psycinfo, Journal of Medical Internet Research, Isiknowledge till September 2011 and Pubmed till February 2012. We included any source published in either print format or on the Internet, available in all languages, and containing texts that define or attempt to define VR in explicit terms.Results: We retrieved 3,443 articles on Pubmed in 2012 and 8,237 on Isiknowledge in 2011. This large number of articles covered a wide range of themes, but showed no clear consensus about VR. We identified 4 general uses of VR in Medicine, and searched for the existing reviews about them. We found 364 reviews in 2011, although only 197 were pertinent to our aims: 1. Communication Interface (11 Reviews); 2. Medical Education (49 reviews); 3. Surgical Simulation (49 Reviews) and 4. Psychotherapy (88 Reviews).Conclusion: We found a large number of articles, but no clear consensus about the meaning of the term VR in Medicine. We found numerous articles published on these topics and many of them have been reviewed. We decided to group these reviews in 4 areas in order to provide a systematic overview of the subject matter, and to enable those interested to learn more about these particular topics.

scholarly journals Community Attachment Formation and Its Influence on Sustainable Participation in a Digitalized Community: Focusing on Content and Social Capital of an Online Community

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungwook Lee ◽  
Do-Hyung Park
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Virtual Networks ◽  
Community Attachment ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Service Site ◽  
A Current

Individuals’ lives and behaviors progressively change as information technology evolves. Through the rapid growth of information technology, individuals can access abundant information and virtual networks and create online communities for information and knowledge exchange and other intellectual pursuits. Some of the most important aspects of community success involve the engagement, participation, and active discussion of and among community members. This study focuses on the user-generated content (UGC) community and explores the mechanism for formation of community attachment from the perspective of the content capital and social capital of community members. In addition, this study demonstrates the moderating effect of membership duration on the mechanism of community attachment formation. Finally, this study reveals that the attachment formed with content and social capital can affect the decision to either continue to participate in a current UGC service site, or move to an alternative site.

scholarly journals BANGLADESH: TIME SPENT ONLINE, CONFLICT AND RADICALIZATION

2020 ◽  
pp. 3-21
Author(s):  
Sajit Amit ◽  
Sadiat Mannan ◽  
Aynul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Internet User ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
User Group ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Knowledge Resources ◽  
Online Safety

The aim of this research is to investigate the risk of online radicalization, and invariably conflict, among young adults, particularly university-attending students, by relating their vulnerability to online radicalization with the amount of time they spend online. This research develops an original conceptual framework that maps out social influence, attributes of resilience and online safety vis-à-vis radicalization to assess and identify the said relationship. The study predominantly adopts a quantitative research approach using a sample of 600 University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) undergraduates. Analysis of data collected from students shows that the high-internet-user group, i.e. those who use the internet for seven hours or more a day, are more likely to find radical and religiously offensive material online; less likely to be influenced by family, faculty and community members; and have lower access to learning and knowledge resources that can render them resilient to radicalization and conflict. The results fare better for females than males, belonging to the high-internet-user categories, but female students are expected to be susceptible due to gender norms. In conclusion, it is posited that high-internet-user students are more vulnerable to online radicalization than others.

Creative Strategy Used in Electronic Advertising

GIS Business ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 597-606
Author(s):  
Dr. Maha Mustafa Omer Abdalaziz
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Creative Strategy ◽  
Electronic Environment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Electronic Advertising

The study aims at the technological developments that are taking place in the world and have impacted on all sectors and fields and imposed on the business organizations and commercial companies to carry out their marketing and promotional activities within the electronic environment. The most prominent of these developments is the emergence of the concept of electronic advertising which opened a wide range of companies and businessmen to advertise And to promote their products and their work easily through the Internet, which has become full of electronic advertising, and in light of that will discuss the creative strategy used in electronic advertising;

The utility of non-formal education in addressing the school dropout phenomenon : a case study of Asifundeni Secondary School in Makonde District Zimbabwe

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-69
Author(s):  
Francis Muchenje ◽  
◽  
Pedzisai Goronga
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
School Dropout ◽  
School Level ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Secondary School Level

The study sought to explore students' views on the utility of non-formal education in addressing the school dropout phenomenon at secondary school level. Qualitative research approach was adopted and a case study design was utilised. The population consisted of all the students in the non-formal programme at the school from which a sample of 11 students (2 male and 9 female) was selected through purposive stratified sampling technique. Data were gathered through structured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Non-formal education was seen to address the school dropout phenomenon by providing school drop outs with an opportunity to continue their education and hence becomes a form of empowerment. A number of challenges such as lack of adequate tuition in some subjects, lack of conducive learning environment as well as negative perception of non-formal education held by pupils in the formal stream and community members were identified. The study recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should review the staffing situation in schools to ensure the availability of teachers in the various subjects in the non-formal stream. Schools should make an effort to provide appropriate learning facilities for students in the nonformal stream. Furthermore, schools should conscientise their communities on the importance of non-formal education.

ORGANIZATION AND LEGAL BASES OF RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM COUNTERING ON THE INTERNET

2020 ◽  
pp. 141-148
Author(s):  
Дмитрий Викторович Кияйкин ◽  
Екатерина Андреевна Дворецкая
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Deviant Behavior ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Religious Extremism ◽  
The World ◽  
Preventive Work ◽  
Human Psyche ◽  
Massive Information

В статье раскрываются особенности сущностного понимания религиозного экстремизма и организационно-правовой профилактики данного явления. Обращено внимание на важность профилактической работы в рамках предупреждения антиобщественного (девиантного) поведения. Авторами рассматриваются причины и условия формирования религиозного экстремизма и наполнения им сети Интернет. Интернет-сообщество сталкивается с массовой информационной угрозой со стороны экстремистских организаций. Это связано с катастрофически быстрым распространением радикальных идеологий, всеобщей компьютеризацией и информатизацией общественных процессов, что облегчает процесс распространения материалов, носящих экстремистский характер. Религиозный экстремизм является источником вооруженных конфликтов во всем мире. Жертвами этого страшного явления, как правило, являются дети, подростки, молодые люди, кого легко заманить в сети идеологического обмана. Религиозный экстремизм опасен не только разрушением социальных объектов и ценностей, убийствами, террором. Гораздо опаснее сама идеология экстремизма, которая искажает мировоззрение и психику человека. В этих условиях эффективным является проведение профилактических мероприятий с молодым поколением, доведение до людей важности вопроса, осуществление контроля за неблагополучными семьями, обучение молодых лиц толерантности и уважению к окружающим людям. В работе определены направления работы правоохранительных органов по вопросу совершенствования механизма противодействия распространению экстремистской информации. Определена важность международного сотрудничества. The article reveals the features of the essential understanding of religious extremism and organizational and legal prevention of this phenomenon. Attention is drawn to the importance of preventive work as part of the prevention of antisocial (deviant) behavior. The authors consider the reasons and conditions for the formation of religious extremism and the filling of the Internet. The online community is facing a massive information threat from extremist organizations. This is due to the catastrophically lightning-fast spread of radical ideologies, the general computerization and informatization of social processes, which facilitates the process of distributing materials of an extremist nature. Religious extremism is a source of armed conflict throughout the world. The victims of this terrible phenomenon, as a rule, are children, adolescents, young people and girls - whom it is easy to lure into networks of ideological deception. Religious extremism is dangerous not only the destruction of social objects and values, murders, terror. The ideology of extremism itself, which distorts the worldview and the human psyche, is much more dangerous. Religious extremism is a source of armed conflict throughout the world. The victims of this terrible phenomenon, as a rule, are children, adolescents, young people and girls - whom it is easy to lure into networks of ideological deception. Religious extremism is dangerous not only the destruction of social objects and values, murders, terror. The ideology of extremism itself, which distorts the worldview and the human psyche, is much more dangerous.

Chinese Social Media Platforms and Microblogging in the Context of Public Diplomacy

Communicology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-179
Author(s):  
E.S. Nadezhkina
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Interactive Communication ◽  
Network Interaction ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Right ◽  
Chinese Social Media

The term “digital public diplomacy” that appeared in the 21st century owes much to the emergence and development of the concept of Web 2.0 (interactive communication on the Internet). The principle of network interaction, in which the system becomes better with an increase in the number of users and the creation of user-generated content, made it possible to create social media platforms where news and entertainment content is created and moderated by the user. Such platforms have become an expression of the opinions of various groups of people in many countries of the world, including China. The Chinese segment of the Internet is “closed”, and many popular Western services are blocked in it. Studying the structure of Chinese social media platforms and microblogging, as well as analyzing targeted content is necessary to understand China’s public opinion, choose the right message channels and receive feedback for promoting the country’s public diplomacy. This paper reveals the main Chinese social media platforms and microblogging and provides the assessment of their popularity, as well as possibility of analyzing China’s public opinion based on “listening” to social media platforms and microblogging.

Turbulent three-dimensional dielectric electrohydrodynamic convection between two plates

2012 ◽  
Vol 696 ◽  
pp. 228-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kourmatzis ◽  
J. S. Shrimpton
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Data ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Turbulent Regime ◽  
Scalar Flux ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Scalar Variance

AbstractThe fundamental mechanisms responsible for the creation of electrohydrodynamically driven roll structures in free electroconvection between two plates are analysed with reference to traditional Rayleigh–Bénard convection (RBC). Previously available knowledge limited to two dimensions is extended to three-dimensions, and a wide range of electric Reynolds numbers is analysed, extending into a fully inherently three-dimensional turbulent regime. Results reveal that structures appearing in three-dimensional electrohydrodynamics (EHD) are similar to those observed for RBC, and while two-dimensional EHD results bear some similarities with the three-dimensional results there are distinct differences. Analysis of two-point correlations and integral length scales show that full three-dimensional electroconvection is more chaotic than in two dimensions and this is also noted by qualitatively observing the roll structures that arise for both low (${\mathit{Re}}_{E} = 1$) and high electric Reynolds numbers (up to ${\mathit{Re}}_{E} = 120$). Furthermore, calculations of mean profiles and second-order moments along with energy budgets and spectra have examined the validity of neglecting the fluctuating electric field ${ E}_{i}^{\ensuremath{\prime} } $ in the Reynolds-averaged EHD equations and provide insight into the generation and transport mechanisms of turbulent EHD. Spectral and spatial data clearly indicate how fluctuating energy is transferred from electrical to hydrodynamic forms, on moving through the domain away from the charging electrode. It is shown that ${ E}_{i}^{\ensuremath{\prime} } $ is not negligible close to the walls and terms acting as sources and sinks in the turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent scalar flux and turbulent scalar variance equations are examined. Profiles of hydrodynamic terms in the budgets resemble those in the literature for RBC; however there are terms specific to EHD that are significant, indicating that the transfer of energy in EHD is also attributed to further electrodynamic terms and a strong coupling exists between the charge flux and variance, due to the ionic drift term.

scholarly journals Application of Dendrimers for Treating Parasitic Diseases

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 343
Author(s):  
Veronica Folliero ◽  
Carla Zannella ◽  
Annalisa Chianese ◽  
Debora Stelitano ◽  
Annalisa Ambrosino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Delivery ◽  
Water Solubility ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
High Ratio ◽  
Molecular Volume ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Parasitic Diseases ◽  
Wide Range

Despite advances in medical knowledge, parasitic diseases remain a significant global health burden and their pharmacological treatment is often hampered by drug toxicity. Therefore, drug delivery systems may provide useful advantages when used in combination with conventional therapeutic compounds. Dendrimers are three-dimensional polymeric structures, characterized by a central core, branches and terminal functional groups. These nanostructures are known for their defined structure, great water solubility, biocompatibility and high encapsulation ability against a wide range of molecules. Furthermore, the high ratio between terminal groups and molecular volume render them a hopeful vector for drug delivery. These nanostructures offer several advantages compared to conventional drugs for the treatment of parasitic infection. Dendrimers deliver drugs to target sites with reduced dosage, solving side effects that occur with accepted marketed drugs. In recent years, extensive progress has been made towards the use of dendrimers for therapeutic, prophylactic and diagnostic purposes for the management of parasitic infections. The present review highlights the potential of several dendrimers in the management of parasitic diseases.

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