Virtual Design Teams in Virtual Worlds

Author(s):  
Pete B. Rive

Design innovation increasingly requires cross-functional virtual teams and is becoming plural, collaborative and distributed. In order for global companies to compete they must be able to sync with the rapidly increasing pace of change and be able to tap the international talent that may, in the future, only connect via virtual worlds and virtual reality. It is important to recognise how design innovation and knowledge flow are regulated and how the virtual ecosystem can either inhibit or excite collaboration and the creation of new ideas, and the design of useful prototypes. This chapter presents a theoretical framework using three models, with examples, to explain and understand how virtual design teams can identify the regulation of knowledge flow and collaboration in the virtual world, Second Life.

2018 ◽  
pp. 500-526
Author(s):  
Pete B. Rive

Design innovation increasingly requires cross-functional virtual teams and is becoming plural, collaborative and distributed. In order for global companies to compete they must be able to sync with the rapidly increasing pace of change and be able to tap the international talent that may, in the future, only connect via virtual worlds and virtual reality. It is important to recognise how design innovation and knowledge flow are regulated and how the virtual ecosystem can either inhibit or excite collaboration and the creation of new ideas, and the design of useful prototypes. This chapter presents a theoretical framework using three models, with examples, to explain and understand how virtual design teams can identify the regulation of knowledge flow and collaboration in the virtual world, Second Life.


Author(s):  
Pete Rive ◽  
Aukje Thomassen

Second Life is a popular virtual world that can provide us with valuable lessons about international collaboration and design innovation. This chapter will explore how design practice and design education can assist geographically dispersed design teams working on collaborative designs in a shared virtual space, using real-time 3D constructions and communication tools. We contend that Second Life can provide solutions to collaborative international design and enable knowledge creation and innovation through tacit knowledge exchange.


1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Teigland

Borrowing from the international entrepreneurship business literature that uses the term “Born Globals,” I label organizations that have been created to discover and exploit opportunities primarily within virtual worlds as “Born Virtuals.” While relatively easy to establish, the challenge for Born Virtuals and avapreneurs, or entrepreneurial avatars, is to accomplish the critical task of coordinating the actions of multiple actors to achieve important outcomes – a challenge that has beenrepeatedly documented in research on virtual teams and organizations with geographically dispersed members. As such, this paper’s intent is to investigate two research questions: RQ1) What are the challenges for avapreneurs to achieving successful organizational outcomes in Born Virtuals? and RQ2) How can collective competence be developed such that these challenges can be overcome? To answer these questions, this paper presents a study of Peace Train, one Born Virtual organization created in Second Life. Peace Train was founded by three socialavapreneurs interested in promoting peace in the world, and together with more than 100 volunteers, Peace Train organized during the course of eleven months PeaceFest 08, one of the largest fund-raising events to date in virtual worlds. This event attracted 8,000 to 10,000 unique avatars and raised 870,000 Linden dollars from approximately 3,000 individuals from across the globe, which were then donated to 10 real world charitable organizations.


Author(s):  
R. A. Earnshaw

AbstractWhere do new ideas come from and how are they generated? Which of these ideas will be potentially useful immediately, and which will be more ‘blue sky’? For the latter, their significance may not be known for a number of years, perhaps even generations. The progress of computing and digital media is a relevant and useful case study in this respect. Which visions of the future in the early days of computing have stood the test of time, and which have vanished without trace? Can this be used as guide for current and future areas of research and development? If one Internet year is equivalent to seven calendar years, are virtual worlds being utilized as an effective accelerator for these new ideas and their implementation and evaluation? The nature of digital media and its constituent parts such as electronic devices, sensors, images, audio, games, web pages, social media, e-books, and Internet of Things, provides a diverse environment which can be viewed as a testbed for current and future ideas. Individual disciplines utilise virtual worlds in different ways. As collaboration is often involved in such research environments, does the technology make these collaborations effective? Have the limits of disciplinary approaches been reached? The importance of interdisciplinary collaborations for the future is proposed and evaluated. The current enablers for progressing interdisciplinary collaborations are presented. The possibility for a new Renaissance between technology and the arts is discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eman Gadalla ◽  
Ibrahim Abosag ◽  
Kathy Keeling

Purpose – This study aims to examine the nature and the potential use of avatar-based focus groups (AFGs) (i.e. focus groups conducted in three-dimensional [3D] virtual worlds [VWs]) as compared to face-to-face and online focus groups (OFGs), motivated by the ability of VWs to stimulate the realism of physical places. Over the past decade, there has been a rapid increase in using 3D VWs as a research tool. Design/methodology/approach – Using a two-phase reflective approach, data were collected first by using traditional face-to-face focus groups, followed by AFGs. In Phase 2, an online, semi-structured survey provided comparison data and experiences in AFGs, two-dimensional OFGs and traditional face-to-face focus groups. Findings – The findings identify the advantages and disadvantages of AFGs for marketing research. There is no evident difference in data quality between the results of AFGs and face-to-face focus groups. AFG compensates for some of the serious limitations associated with OFGs. Practical implications – The paper reflects on three issues, data quality, conduct of AFGs (including the moderator reflection) and participant experience, that together inform one’s understanding of the characteristics, advantages and limitations of AFG. Originality/value – This is the first paper to compare between AFGs, traditional face-to-face focus groups and OFGs. AFG holds many advantages over OFGs and even, sometimes, over face-to-face focus groups, providing a suitable environment for researchers to collect data.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Conrad ◽  
Adil Hassan ◽  
Lyzgeo Koshy ◽  
Aslan Kanamgotov ◽  
Athanasios Christopoulos

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameer Siddiqi ◽  
Scherezade K. Mama ◽  
Rebecca E. Lee

Virtual worlds (VW) present an exciting range of possibilities for health researchers and practitioners. The value of this technology lies its ability to tap into non-traditional participant pools, to use innovative and effective forms of social interaction, and to facilitate cost-effective solutions to common challenges. The International Health Challenge (IHC) was a health intervention study done entirely in the VW of Second Life (SL) aimed at determining the feasibility and effect of obesity prevention interventions in VWs. The IHC initially started as a strategy to develop a multicultural obesity prevention project in SL as evidenced by a full service build, activities, and participating resident avatars. Using existing resources and extensive social networks, together with volunteer assistance, the IHC flourished into a full scale health intervention with the goals of improving health knowledge, attitudes and behavior among resident avatars. In the absence of clear technological and methodological precedence, our multidisciplinary team developed a novel system of in-world and Web-based interactive measurement tools, data management solutions, and participant recruitment and retention strategies.


2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Yee ◽  
Liz Losh ◽  
Sarah Robbins-Bell

By being an online journal, the JVWR allows for the inclusion of some pieces that might not otherwise fit a standard journal. This was the thought behind bringing together a group of virtual world scholars to discuss a series of questions and share their thoughts. Meeting in Second Life, Nick Yee (PARC), Liz Losh (UC Irvine), and Sarah Robbins-Bell (Ball State University) were gracious enough to share their thoughts on the study of virtual worlds culture.


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