The Not So Level Playing Field

2011 ◽  
pp. 144-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbe E. Forman ◽  
Paul M.A. Baker ◽  
Jessica Pater ◽  
Kel Smith
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
The Real ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Disability Identity ◽  
Degree Of Disability ◽  
Aging And Sexuality ◽  
Identity Representation ◽  
Race Ethnicity

The study reported in this chapter examined gender and disability identity representation in the virtual environment, Second Life. In Second Life, identity representation is the choice of the user and is a matter of convenience, style or whim, rather than a fixed characteristic. A survey of groups that identify as disabled or having a disability, especially focusing on gender, was conducted in Second Life. The distinct categories analyzed in this study included: groups associated with disability/being disabled, race/ethnicity, gender, aging, and sexuality. In the virtual world, the visual cues that exist in the “real world” are removed. However, in the “real world”, those visual cues serve to activate schemas that may help explain the stigmas and ensuing isolation often felt by people with disabilities. Interestingly, in Second Life even when the visual cues are removed, users with disabilities still associate with others who identify as having disabilities. The study specifically explored groups (i.e. “communities”) found in Second Life that jointly identify by gender and a disability identities. Regardless of binary gender framework, the differences between the groups that are externally classified as having some degree of disability, and those who choose to self identify or affiliate with disability related groups, have rich import for the sociology of online communities as well as for the design and characteristics of games.

Beautiful to Me

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbe E. Forman ◽  
Paul M.A. Baker ◽  
Jessica Pater ◽  
Kel Smith
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Degree Of Disability ◽  
Aging And Sexuality ◽  
Race Ethnicity

This paper examines the portrayal of disability, gender, and identity in virtual communities where representation is a matter of convenience, style, or whim. A survey was conducted of groups, identifying themselves as disabled, with a focus on gender, in the virtual space, Second Life. Four distinctive categories were analyzed in this study: groups associated with disabilities or being disabled, race/ethnicity, gender, aging, and sexuality. In the “real world”, the visual cues that activate schemas serve as an explanation for the stigmas and ensuing isolation often felt by people with disabilities. In Second Life, where the visual cues are removed, users with disabilities are associating with others who identify as being disabled. Additionally, gender appears to play a role in the group (i.e. “communities”) found in Second Life. Regardless of binary gender framework, the differences between the groups that are externally classified as having some degree of disability, and those who choose to self identify, or affiliate with disability related groups, have rich import for the sociology of online communities as well as for the design and characteristics of games.

scholarly journals Does this Avatar Make Me Look Fat? Obesity and Interviewing in Second Life

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Dean ◽  
Sarah Cook ◽  
Michael Keating ◽  
Joe Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
The Real ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Survey Interviews

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has observed consistently increasing obesity trends over the past 25 years. Recent research suggests that avatar behavior and appearance may result in positive changes to real life individual behavior. Specifically, users may adjust their identity to match that of their avatars. Preliminary results of survey interviews in Second Life support our hypotheses that individuals whose avatars engaged in healthy behaviors were more likely to engage in physical activities in the real world than individuals with less physically active avatars. Furthermore, thinner-looking avatars were associated with lower BMI in real life. One unique feature of interviewing with avatars in Second Life is that researchers have the ability to manipulate environmental factors and interviewer characteristics with a consistency that is absent in the real world. In our preliminary results, espondents were more likely to report higher BMI or weight to a heavier-looking avatar than to a thinner-looking avatar.

Afraid to roam: The unlevel playing field of Pokémon Go

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Salen Tekinbaş
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
The Real ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Pokémon Go ◽  
Uncertain Outcomes

All games contain conflict, and all good games have uncertain outcomes. Whether conflict over resources, knowledge, or territory, to name a few types, games challenge players to overcome obstacles in interesting and fun ways. Pokémon Go challenges players to find and capture Pokémon, which requires time, patience, skill, and the freedom to access the game map (i.e., spaces in the real world) to its fullest extent. When players are denied full access, either through a technical glitch in the game—like when a server crashes or when networks become unavailable—or through real or imagined threats of violence or harassment, the game becomes inherently unfair. How might we make sense of issues of accessibility, privilege, and race raised by the game? When players say “I might die if I keep playing” (Akil, 2016), what might we learn about the limits of mobility and the ways in which pervasive play comes to be embedded in society?

scholarly journals Content Management for the Live Music Industry in Virtual Worlds: Challenges and Opportunities

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Lüthy ◽  
Jean-Julien Aucouturier
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Recommendation System ◽  
Music Industry ◽  
Content Management ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
The Real ◽  
Live Music ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

The real-world music industry is undergoing a transition away from the retailing and distribution of fixed objects (records, files) to the consumption of live, interactive events (concerts, happenings). This development is paralleled by the recent flourishing of live music in virtual worlds, which in many ways could become the epitome of its real-world counterpart. For the artists, virtual concerts are cheap and easy to organize, and can therefore be a viable alternative to performing in the real world. For the music promoter and marketer, virtual concert attendance can be traced and analyzed more easily than in the real world. For the virtual concertgoer, attending concerts that are happening a (virtual) world away is possible with a single click.Taking insights from both a survey among the Second-Life music practitioners and from our own prototype of a live music recommendation system built on top of Second-Life, this article shows that the technical infrastructure of current virtual worlds is not well-suited to the development of the content management tools needed to support this opportunity. We propose several new ways to address these problems, and advocate for their recognition both by the artistic and the technical community.

Viewing Cybercommunities through the Lens of Modernity

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Wang ◽  
John V. Tucker ◽  
Kevin Haines
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Social Phenomenon ◽  
The Real

The growth of cybercommunities is a notable social phenomenon. Empirical studies of cybercommunities have described new forms of social behaviour that call for deeper conceptual analysis. Drawing on evidence from our research in the cybercommunity Second Life, the authors examine the sociology of cybercommunities through the lens of Giddens’ abstract theories of modernity. In particular, the authors suggest that an individual’s participation in cybercommunities may be gauged using a spectrum of individual responses to particular abstract conditions of modernity. These abstract conditions have interpretations ranging from seeking refuge from the vicissitudes of the real world to pursuing the playful heights of modernity.

Viewing Cybercommunities through the Lens of Modernity

2014 ◽  
pp. 1879-1895
Author(s):  
Victoria Wang ◽  
John V. Tucker ◽  
Kevin Haines
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Social Phenomenon ◽  
The Real

The growth of cybercommunities is a notable social phenomenon. Empirical studies of cybercommunities have described new forms of social behaviour that call for deeper conceptual analysis. Drawing on evidence from our research in the cybercommunity Second Life, the authors examine the sociology of cybercommunities through the lens of Giddens' abstract theories of modernity. In particular, the authors suggest that an individual's participation in cybercommunities may be gauged using a spectrum of individual responses to particular abstract conditions of modernity. These abstract conditions have interpretations ranging from seeking refuge from the vicissitudes of the real world to pursuing the playful heights of modernity.

Judging Perceived and Traversed Distance in Virtual Environments

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob G. Witmer ◽  
Paul B. Kline
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Real World ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Distance Estimation ◽  
Movement Speed ◽  
The Real ◽  
Texture Density ◽  
Route Segment ◽  
Scale Spaces

The ability to accurately estimate distance is an essential component of navigating large-scale spaces. Although the factors that influence distance estimation have been a topic of research in real-world environments for decades and are well known, research on distance estimation in virtual environments (VEs) has only just begun. Initial investigations of distance estimation in VEs suggest that observers are less accurate in estimating distance in VEs than in the real world (Lampton et al., 1995). Factors influencing distance estimates may be divided into those affecting perceived distance (visual cues only) and those affecting traversed distance to include visual, cognitive, and proprioceptive cues. To assess the contribution of the various distance cues in VEs, two experiments were conducted. The first required a static observer to estimate the distance to a cylinder placed at various points along a 130-foot hallway. This experiment examined the effects of floor texture, floor pattern, and object size on distance estimates in a VE. The second experiment required a moving observer to estimate route segment distances and total route distances along four routes, each totaling 1210 feet. This experiment assessed the effects of movement method, movement speed, compensatory cues, and wall texture density. Results indicate that observers underestimate distances both in VEs and in the real world, but the underestimates are more extreme in VEs. Texture did not reliably affect the distance estimates, providing no compensation for the gross underestimates of distance in VE. Traversing a distance improves the ability to estimate that distance, but more natural means of moving via a treadmill do not necessarily improve distance estimates over traditional methods of moving in VE (e.g., using a joystick). The addition of compensatory cues (tone every 10 feet traversed on alternate route segments) improves VE distance estimation to almost perfect performance.

scholarly journals On the Relationship between My Avatar and Myself

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R Messinger ◽  
Xin Ge ◽  
Eleni Stroulia ◽  
Kelly Lyons ◽  
Kristen Smirnov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
The Real ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

What is the relationship between avatars and the people they represent in terms of appearance and behavior? In this paper, we hypothesize that people (balancing motives of self-verification and self-enhancement) customize the image of their avatars to bear similarity to their real selves, but with moderate enhancements. We also hypothesize that virtual-world behavior (due to deindividuation in computer-mediated communication environments) is less restrained by normal inhibitions than real-world behavior. Lastly, we hypothesize that people with more attractive avatars than their real selves will be somewhat more confident and extraverted in virtual worlds than they are in the real world. We examine these issues using data collected from Second Life residents using an in-world intercept method that involved recruiting respondents’ avatars from a representative sample of locations. Our quantitative data indicate that, on average, people report making their avatars similar to themselves, but somewhat more attractive. And, compared to real-world behavior, respondents indicate that their virtual-world behavior is more outgoing and risk-taking and less thoughtful/more superficial. Finally, people with avatars more attractive than their real selves state that they are more outgoing, extraverted, risk-taking, and loud than their real selves (particularly if they reported being relatively low on these traits in the real world). Qualitative data from open-ended questions corroborate our hypotheses.

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