Poker Gambling Virtual Communities

Internationally, the prevalence of online poker gambling is estimated to be between one percent and eight percent of the general adult population. In relation to these estimated prevalence rates, the potential for addictive behaviour and the paucity of theory, online poker is an important concern for public health. Individuals may seek knowledge that will assist in developing poker gambling skill via virtual community interactions. In this paper, the authors use a virtual ethnography design to observe knowledge creation, transfer, and retrieval processes within a poker-focused virtual community. The paper develops current knowledge and understanding of how computer-mediated communication (CMC) is used by poker gamblers to develop their executive cognitive skills and enhance their proficiency. Two independent poker gambling virtual communities were observed for a six-month period. Data were collected through participant observation, and content analysis was used to identify emergent themes. Two central behavioural themes emerged from the participant observation (i.e., ‘Experiential Reporting’ and ‘Development of Poker Skill’). The implications of poker gambling knowledge creation, transfer, and retrieval via CMC on responsible gambling are also discussed.

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Observación participante en una organización de filtraciones periodísticas: el caso WikiLeaks

Empiria Revista de metodología de ciencias sociales ◽

10.5944/empiria.52.2021.31370 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 199-231

Author(s):

Alberto Quian

Keyword(s):

Virtual Communities ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Virtual Space ◽

Information Flows ◽

Observation Method ◽

La Red

Para explicar los procesos de una comunidad virtual de filtraciones de documentos secretos utilizamos el método de observación participante, introduciéndonos en la red de colaboradores de WikiLeaks. De este modo, intentamos describir los procesos de creación de noticias en estos entornos emergentes mediante la observación del espacio virtual en el que se trabaja, los instrumentos y procedimientos con los que se opera y los flujos de comunicación e información que se generan en este. El objetivo es contribuir a ampliar el conocimiento sobre los roles emergentes de investigador en la observación en línea y, particularmente, describir el funcionamiento de comunidades virtuales confidenciales, además de aportar nuevas claves metodológicas para los estudios con un enfoque en el newsmaking. To explain the processes of a virtual community working with secret leaked documents, we use the participant observation method entering into the WikiLeaks’ collaborators network. In this way, we attempt to describe the processes of newsmaking in these emerging environments by observing the virtual space in which it works, the tools and procedures that normally are used, and the communication and information flows generated in it. The aim of this paper is to contribute to broaden knowledge about the emerging roles of researcher using online observation —and particularly in confidential virtual communities—, and to provide new methodological keys for studies focused on newsmaking.

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Virtual Hate Communities in the 21st Century

Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in Virtual Worlds and Environments ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-762-3.ch003 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 34-53

Author(s):

Glenn T. Tsunokai ◽

Allison R. McGrath

Keyword(s):

Virtual Communities ◽

Hate Speech ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Interactive Media ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Using Data ◽

And Function

Technological innovations in computer-mediated communication have helped hate groups to transform themselves into virtual communities. Likeminded individuals are now able to unite from all parts of the globe to promote hatred against visible minorities and other out-groups. Through their online interactions, a sense of place is often created. In this chapter, we explore the content and function of online hate communities. Since bigotry tends to be the cornerstone of virtual hate communities, we highlight the legal debate surrounding the regulation of Internet hate speech; in particular, we address the question: Does the First Amendment protect virtual community members who use the Internet to advocate hate? Next, using data collected from the largest hate website, Stormfront.org, we also investigate how Stormfront members utilize interactive media features to foster a sense of community. Finally, we direct our attention to the future of online hate communities by outlining the issues that need to be further investigated.

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Virtually Finding Community in the Third Space

Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities and Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-563-4.ch113 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 574-577

Author(s):

Samantha Bax

Keyword(s):

Electronic Mail ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Specific Interaction ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Physical World ◽

Bulletin Board ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Social Contracts ◽

Communication Space

The Internet has enabled individuals to communicate across continents and also through temporal spaces, making both place and time irrelevant to these communications. The specific interaction systems utilized for these purposes are referred to as computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies and encompass electronic mail (e-mail), bulletin board systems and Internet Relay Chat (IRC), to name the most well-known of these technologies. Each of these technologies allows for the gathering of individuals within cyberspace to converse and to exchange information with each other. It is interesting to note that the terms communication and community stem from a Latin word meaning “common,” and thus it can be inferred that communication is a process through which community can be developed (Fernback & Thompson, 1995). Licklider and Taylor (1968), predicted three decades ago that computer networks would become communities, and “in most fields they will consist of geographically separated members …” (online) gathering within a common communication space. Earlier technologies such as the telephone have inspired scholars to state that we now live in a boundless “global village” (McLuhan, 1964). Current CMC technologies have brought about the possibility of numerous people meeting online and conversing with and between each other, allowing for a meeting “space” that consists of abrogated time and place (Fernback & Thompson, 1995), with no boundaries of race, gender or creed. It is from these utopian ideals that the idea of virtual communities has stemmed. The concept of the “virtual community” refers to groupings of individuals utilizing CMC technologies in such a way that they can be likened to communities in the physical world. Rheingold (1993c) states that “virtual communities might be real communities, they might be pseudocommunities or they might be something entirely new in the realm of social contracts” (p. 62). Thus, the question still remains as to whether “virtual communities” can replicate communities that exist in the physical world.

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Information Navigation and Knowledge Discovery in Virtual Communities

Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities and Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-563-4.ch052 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 273-278

Author(s):

Wenyuan Li ◽

Kok-Leong Ong

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Discovery ◽

Information Exchange ◽

Online Community ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

The Internet ◽

Media Technology ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Information Navigation

Over the past decade, advances in the Internet and media technology have literally brought people closer than ever before. It is interesting to note that traditional sociological definitions of a community have been outmoded, for community has extended far beyond the geographical boundaries that were held by traditional definitions (Wellman & Gulia, 1999). Virtual or online community was defined in such a context to describe various forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Although virtual communities do not necessarily arise from the Internet, the overwhelming popularity of the Internet is one of the main reasons that virtual communities receive so much attention (Rheingold, 1999). The beginning of virtual communities is attributed to scientists who exchanged information and cooperatively conduct research during the 1970s. There are four needs of participants in a virtual community: member interest, social interaction, imagination, and transaction (Hagel & Armstrong, 1997). The first two focus more on the information exchange and knowledge discovery; the imagination is for entertainment; and the transaction is for commerce strategy. In this article, we investigate the function of information exchange and knowledge discovery in virtual communities. There are two important inherent properties embedded in virtual communities (Wellman, 2001):

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Virtual Community Based Destination Marketing with YouTube

International Journal of Web Portals ◽

10.4018/ijwp.2016010103 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 32-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Arunasalam Sambhanthan ◽

Samantha Thelijjagoda ◽

Alice Good ◽

Ada Scupola

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Social Interaction ◽

Hospitality Industry ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Destination Marketing ◽

Community Interactions ◽

Community Based

YouTube has now evolved into a powerful medium for social interaction. Utilizing YouTube for enhancing marketing endeavours is a strategy practiced by marketing professionals across several industries. This paper rationalizes on the different strategies of leveraging YouTube-based platforms for effective destination marketing by the hospitality industry (hotels) and provides insights on the critical drivers and challenges embedded within YouTube-based community interactions for destination marketing. The comments made by YouTube users have been subjected to a content analysis and the results are reported under the five broad clusters of virtual communities. More broadly, the typology of virtual communities is adapted to evaluate the YouTube platform for effective destination marketing.

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Networking Identities

International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking ◽

10.4018/jvcsn.2010040103 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 32-42

Author(s):

Lhoussain Simour

Keyword(s):

Virtual Worlds ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

New Space ◽

The Subject ◽

The Individual ◽

Virtual Interactions

Electronic connections allow the individual to be at various global sites while sitting in front of his or her computer. By being electronically connected, one’s participation in virtual worlds raises important questions about the nature of our communities and problematizes our identities. This paper examines how experiences in virtual interactions affect people’s real lives and what impact computer mediated communication has on the formation of a virtual community and its relation to individuals’ identities. Virtual communities stimulate experiences that redefine the basic concepts and contexts that have characterized the essence of human societies. They offer new contexts for rethinking the concept of identity and provide a new space for exploring the extent to which participation in computer mediated interaction modifies the subject in terms of identity, leading to a reconstruction and a reconstitution of self.

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Virtual Communities' Impact on Politics

Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities and Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-563-4.ch100 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 506-510

Author(s):

Vasanthi Srinivasan

Keyword(s):

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Transnational Activism ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Political Ideas ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Political Communities

Virtual community (VC) as a concept and reality poses some fundamental challenges to the discipline of politics. First, the term virtual undermines the appearance–reality distinction that runs through Western political thought. From Plato to Marx, political thinkers have decried the cunning with which politicians peddle mere appearances of justice or freedom. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) described as virtual defies this dichotomy between appearance and reality; the virtual is that which appears on the screen and yet is experienced as real and sometimes as more real than real. Live images and opinions from all over the globe, mediated through information and communication technologies shape our experience of politics so much so that what happens outside this media space is regarded as marginal (Castells, 1997, p. 312). Similarly, the communal aspect of VC undermines conventional political communities grounded in territorial unity. In this article, we shall clarify the challenges and opportunities posed by VCs to states and civil societies. For this purpose, only some VCs that explicitly address diasporic nationalisms, globalization, democratization, and transnational activism are relevant. How do such communities extend, modify, or subvert existing political ideas and institutions embodied in the nation, state, democracy, public sphere, and so forth? What are the new rights and virtues that come into play through VCs?

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Networking Identities

Technical, Social, and Legal Issues in Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-1553-3.ch016 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 235-246

Author(s):

Lhoussain Simour

Keyword(s):

Virtual Worlds ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

New Space ◽

The Subject ◽

The Individual ◽

Virtual Interactions

Electronic connections allow the individual to be at various global sites while sitting in front of his or her computer. By being electronically connected, one’s participation in virtual worlds raises important questions about the nature of our communities and problematizes our identities. This paper examines how experiences in virtual interactions affect people’s real lives and what impact computer mediated communication has on the formation of a virtual community and its relation to individuals’ identities. Virtual communities stimulate experiences that redefine the basic concepts and contexts that have characterized the essence of human societies. They offer new contexts for rethinking the concept of identity and provide a new space for exploring the extent to which participation in computer mediated interaction modifies the subject in terms of identity, leading to a reconstruction and a reconstitution of self.

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Virtual Communities as Narrative Networks

International Journal of Knowledge Management ◽

10.4018/jkm.2013010102 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 21-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Michael R. Weeks ◽

Natasha F. Veltri

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Knowledge Creation ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Social Structures ◽

Discussion Forums ◽

Community Knowledge ◽

Primary Attraction ◽

Networks Analysis ◽

Virtual Communities Of Practice

This paper extends our understanding of knowledge creation in virtual communities of practice by examining crowdsourcing activities that enable knowledge creation in these social structures. An interpretive methodology, narrative networks analysis, is used to systematically study the narratives of discussion forums in a virtual community. The virtual community studied is voluntary for the participants, and open to anyone. Through the analysis of the narrative, a model of knowledge creation is developed that identifies types of evidentiary knowledge contributions, as well as conversation mitigators that help or hinder knowledge creation within the community. Knowledge is a primary attraction of a virtual community for many of its members, and this study aims to understand how knowledge is shared and created in such voluntary communities of practice. The model highlights elements that enhance and impair knowledge creation in this type of crowdsourced environment.

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