scholarly journals Developing an Obesity Prevention Intervention in Virtual Worlds: The International Health Challenge in Second Life

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameer Siddiqi ◽  
Scherezade K. Mama ◽  
Rebecca E. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Obesity Prevention ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
International Health ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Health Intervention ◽  
Health Challenge ◽  
Prevention Project ◽  
Prevention Interventions

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.

Building Virtual Communities for Health Promotion Emerging Best Practices through an Analysis of the International Health Challenge & Related Literature in Second Life

2010 ◽  
pp. 412-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameer Siddiqi ◽  
Rebecca E. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
International Health ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Health Challenge ◽  
Health Related

Contemporary Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) allow health educators, researchers, and practitioners (ERPs) to engage students, participants, and patients through innovative and uniquely rewarding methods. The technology’s value lies in its access to non-traditional participant pools, novel forms of social interaction, and cost-effective improvements to existing methods. These benefits are built on key Web 2.0 principles, namely social networking, community synthesis, and collaborative content generation. In light of ongoing dynamic development of virtual platforms, advancements in networking and immersion technology, and sustained consumer interest, the appeal of these environments will likely increase. Linden Lab’s Second Life (SL), a widely recognized and heavily populated MUVE, illustrates the technology’s broad spectrum of possibilities through the documented efforts of early adopters involved in health promotion, research, and therapy. However, ERPs must be mindful of the medium’s complexities, technological and social parameters, and weaknesses before considering development within virtual worlds (in-world). As these environments operate independently of the real world in some aspects, knowledge of gathering and creating relevant in-world and real-world resources, attracting and retaining project interest, and addressing common obstacles is essential. Through an analysis of the Texas Obesity Research Center at the University of Houston’s International Health Challenge in SL and the documented findings of past and existing health-related programs in SL, the authors seek to provide best practices to overcome these challenges and establish realistic parameters for program design and implementation.

Obesity Prevention in Second Life

2010 ◽  
pp. 110-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca E. Lee ◽  
Charles S. Layne ◽  
Brian K. McFarlin ◽  
Daniel O’Connor ◽  
Sameer Siddiqi
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Real Life ◽  
International Health ◽  
Public Health Burden ◽  
University Of Houston ◽  
Health Challenge ◽  
Behavior Change Interventions ◽  
Ecologic Model ◽  
Virtual Experiences

In industrialized societies, between 50% and 75% of the population weigh in at overweight or obese health status (Low, Chew Chin, Deurenberg, 2009; Ogden, 2007). Ecologic models posit that heath behavior and outcomes are related to the environmental settings in which humans live, work and play; if environmental settings are not supportive, then poor health results. (Spence & Lee, 2003) Second Life is an interactive virtual world that is global, an ideal setting to reach international audiences who are real life residents of industrialized communities at high risk for obesity. Second Life provides a unique opportunity to increase knowledge, social support and behavioral skills necessary to reduce or prevent obesity with much broader reach than traditional face to face intervention strategies. Health behavior change interventions have had success in real life by exposing participants to interventions in virtual worlds, suggesting that information and skills learned in virtual worlds may translate to real life (Anderson, Rothbaum, Hodges, 2000). The International Health Challenge in Second Life began with the goal of extending the real life mission, goals and activities of the Texas Obesity Research Center of the University of Houston into Second Life. What emerged was a fun, exciting, interactive, multicultural, multilingual, theoretically grounded, virtual setting where resident avatars of Second Life learned about healthful living, met others like them, and had virtual experiences that in turn contributed to real life health improvement. This chapter investigates the utility of applying the ecologic model of health to virtual worlds to reduce the public health burden of obesity, with the case example of the International Health Challenge.

Virtual Reality and the Enhancement of Creativity and Innovation: Under Recognized Potential Among Converging Technologies?

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branden Thornhill-Miller ◽  
Jean-Marc Dupont
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Cognitive Enhancement ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Creativity Enhancement ◽  
Creativity And Innovation

This article highlights virtual reality (VR) as perhaps the safest, most fully developed of the emerging technologies of cognitive enhancement and as an underused tool for the enhancement of creativity in particular. We argue that researchers, educators, trainers, designers, managers, and others concerned with innovation should be more informed about virtual reality technologies (VRTs) both because of their widespread and growing accessibility and because of the significant, synergistic contributions they can make to human performance and understanding. We present a brief consultative survey exploring the potential use of virtual worlds (VWs) such as Second Life among a group of professionals (N= 20) working in the area of creativity and innovation training. In addition to providing some useful perspectives and creativity strategies for implementation, results suggest that the possibilities represented by VRTs may not be fully appreciated by those who could make the most use of them. We argue that VRTs offer a cost-effective means of implementing and optimizing nearlyallconventional individual and collaborative creativity enhancement techniques while also offering potent new possibilities and combinations not available by other means. Thus, we outline five ways VR can be used to enhance creativity and problem solving: (a) by changing aspects of the self and self-perception; (b) by optimizing interactions and collaboration with others; (c) by optimizing environmental conditions and influences; (d) by facilitating guidance orgamificationof the problem-solving process; and (e) by offering an arena for the integration of other technologies of creativity enhancement such as pharmacological enhancement, brain stimulation, and neurofeedback. The article ends with a discussion of this technological convergence within the growing sciences of innovation and cognitive enhancement.

scholarly journals Black American and Latinx Parent/Caregiver Participation in Digital Health Obesity Interventions for Children: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sanchez-Flack ◽  
Joanna Buscemi ◽  
Alexander O'Donnell ◽  
Margaret H. Clark Withington ◽  
Marian Fitzgibbon
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Obesity Prevention ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Intervention ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Black American ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Prevention Interventions

Parents/caregivers are consistently described as integral targets given their influential role in supporting and managing behaviors such as diet and physical activity. Identifying effective obesity prevention interventions to enhance and sustain parent participation is needed. Digital obesity prevention interventions are a promising strategy to improve parent/caregiver participation. Digital health interventions demonstrate acceptable participation and retention among parents/caregivers. However, our understanding of digital obesity prevention interventions targeting Black American and Latinx parents/caregivers is limited. This systematic review aims to identify Black American and Latinx parents'/caregivers' level of participation in digital obesity prevention and treatment interventions and determine the relationship between parent/caregiver participation and behavioral and weight status outcomes. This review adheres to PRISMA guidelines and is registered in PROSPERO. Eligibility criteria include: intervention delivered by digital technology, targeted Black American and Latinx parents/caregivers of young children (2–12 years), reported parent/caregiver participation outcomes, targeted diet or physical activity behaviors, and randomized controlled trial study design. Searches were conducted in September 2020 in ERIC, PsychInfo, PubMed, and Web of Science. Initial searches returned 499 results. Four reviewers screened records against eligibility criteria and 12 studies met inclusion criteria. Across all studies, parent/caregiver participation ranged from low to high. Only half of the included studies reported significant improvements in behavioral or weight status outcomes for parents/caregivers and/or children. Of these studies, three reported high parental/caregiver participation rates, and three reported high satisfaction rates. These findings suggest that participation and satisfaction may impact behavior change and weight status. The small number of studies indicates that additional research is needed to determine whether engagement or other factors predict responsiveness to the digital health intervention. Our results lay the groundwork for developing and testing future digital health interventions with the explicit goal of parental/caregiver participation and considers the need to expand our digital health intervention research methodologies to address obesity inequities among diverse families better.

Learning and Teaching in Second Life

2013 ◽  
pp. 219-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Gregory ◽  
Julie Willems ◽  
Denise Wood ◽  
Lyn Hay ◽  
Allan H. Ellis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The 19Th Century

Formal off-campus flexible learning has been a feature of higher education since the 19th century. The introduction of various educational technologies over the years has provided additional opportunities for learners to undertake courses offered anytime and in any location, providing greater flexibility for the development of cost-effective learner-centred curricula. With the emergence of 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life in 2003, educators are quick to realise the potential of such immersive environments to extend the flexible learner-centred approaches that have been a feature of off-campus learning over the decades. However, the benefits of technology-enhanced learning can be contradictory and incompatible and can both widen and reduce access to education. Despite the proliferation of articles attesting to the benefits of teaching in virtual worlds such as Second Life, until relatively recently, there has been a lack of empirical evidence reporting on the learning outcomes for students participating in these virtual learning sessions. Good pedagogical practices must be taken into consideration when educating in a virtual world. The case studies presented in this chapter aim to go some way in addressing this perceived gap in the literature. In this chapter, six authors from five Australian Universities provide their accounts of teaching in a virtual world and report on the learning outcomes as well as their students’ perceptions of their learning experiences.

scholarly journals Second Life as a research environment: avatar-based focus groups (AFG)

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eman Gadalla ◽  
Ibrahim Abosag ◽  
Kathy Keeling
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

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.

scholarly journals Strategies and Challenges to Facilitate Situated Learning in Virtual Worlds Post-Second Life

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Conrad ◽  
Adil Hassan ◽  
Lyzgeo Koshy ◽  
Aslan Kanamgotov ◽  
Athanasios Christopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Situated Learning ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life

scholarly journals Virtual Worlds Round Table

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Yee ◽  
Liz Losh ◽  
Sarah Robbins-Bell
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Round Table ◽  
State University ◽  
Online Journal ◽  
Ball State University

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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