scholarly journals Who is Portrayed in Second Life: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? The Extent of Congruence Between Real Life and Virtual Identity

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadett Koles ◽  
Peter Nagy

Virtual social environments opened the door to individual experiences that may not be feasible or possible in real physical settings; in turn bringing to question the applicability of certain more traditional theories to digital environments. Addressing some of this gap in the available literature, in the current study, we compare virtual and real life identities simultaneously, as well as explore the impact of selfconsciousness on virtual identity. Our results indicate that while some of the overall trends are similar between identities constructed in the physical world and those constructed in virtual settings, different identity elements and dimensions tend to be emphasized to different degrees. Furthermore, we find evidence for the role of private in addition to public self-consciousness as influencing virtual existence. In other words, in addition to the general emphasis concerning the  role of socially influenced external elements in the formulation of virtual identities, the current study highlights the importance of more internalized and  individual level attitudes and perceptions, including one’s inner thoughts, emotions, and perspectives. Implications and future directions are discussed.

2022 ◽  
pp. 105984052110681
Author(s):  
Ashwini R. Hoskote ◽  
Emily Croce ◽  
Karen E. Johnson

School nurses are crucial to addressing adolescent mental health, yet evidence concerning their evolving role has not been synthesized to understand interventions across levels of practice (i.e., individual, community, systems). We conducted an integrative review of school nurse roles in mental health in the U.S. related to depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress. Only 18 articles were identified, published from 1970 to 2019, and primarily described school nurses practicing interventions at the individual level, yet it was unclear whether they were always evidence-based. Although mental health concerns have increased over the years, the dearth of rigorous studies made it difficult to determine the impact of school nurse interventions on student mental health outcomes and school nurses continue to feel unprepared and under supported in this area. More research is needed to establish best practices and systems to support school nursing practice in addressing mental health at all levels of practice.


2009 ◽  
Vol 217 (4) ◽  
pp. 214-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Coyne ◽  
Thomas Chesney ◽  
Brian Logan ◽  
Neil Madden

Building on the research of Chesney, Coyne, Logan, and Madden (2009), this paper examines griefing within the virtual online community of Second Life via an online survey of 86 residents (46% men). Results suggested that griefing was deemed to be an unacceptable, persistent negative behavior which disrupted enjoyment of the environment and which was experienced by 95% of the sample, with 38% classified as frequent victims and 20% classified as perpetrators. No differences emerged in rates between gender (real life and second life), age, and time as a resident in Second Life. A number of self, player- and game-influenced motivations were judged to promote griefing, with respondents overall split on the impact of griefing when compared to traditional bullying. Further, respondents felt that a shared responsibility to control griefing was needed with individuals, residents as a community, and Second Life developers all playing a part. Discussion of the findings in relation to cyber-bullying in general is presented.


Author(s):  
Galip Kartal ◽  
Cem Balçıkanlı

This study aimed at investigating the effects of using a virtual world, Second Life (SL), on the motivation of Turkish EFL student teachers. First, a 10-week real-life task syllabus was designed and conducted in SL. Focus-group interviews were utilized to enhance the quality of the tasks. Then, the effects of SL on motivation were tracked via qualitative research tools, namely semi-structured interviews, weekly evaluation forms, and observations. The findings showed that SL was effective in increasing motivation of the participating student teachers. The characteristics of the virtual world that were reported to have an effect on motivation were as follows: natural environment, realistic places, anxiety-free environment, excitement, and visual support. This chapter provides possibilities for those who are interested in employing virtual world technologies in foreign/second language teaching and learning and finally describes an investigation into the role of the virtual world in relation to affordances such technologies present across the globe.


2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Prasolova-Forland ◽  
Ole Ørjan Hov

3D Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) or virtual worlds have been widely used in educational settings for the purposes of simulation and demonstration of scientific concepts, art and historical events that for practical reasons may be complicated in real-life classrooms. This paper describes an experience of recreating a central event in Norwegian history, adoption of Norwegian constitution at Eidsvoll in 1814, in the virtual world of Second Life. The historical building where this event took place was reconstructed and used as a part of an online history course where Norwegian students residing all over the world could meet at Virtual Eidsvoll, play the role of the members of the Constituent Assembly and pass the constitution. Following the description of the experience with the Virtual Eidsvoll project, the authors conclude with a critical discussion of using 3D CVEs for history education, outlining directions for future work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Piché-Choquette ◽  
Philippe Constant

ABSTRACTThe atmosphere of the early Earth is hypothesized to have been rich in reducing gases such as hydrogen (H2). H2has been proposed as the first electron donor leading to ATP synthesis due to its ubiquity throughout the biosphere as well as its ability to easily diffuse through microbial cells and its low activation energy requirement. Even today, hydrogenase enzymes enabling the production and oxidation of H2are found in thousands of genomes spanning the three domains of life across aquatic, terrestrial, and even host-associated ecosystems. Even though H2has already been proposed as a universal growth and maintenance energy source, its potential contribution as a driver of biogeochemical cycles has received little attention. Here, we bridge this knowledge gap by providing an overview of the classification, distribution, and physiological role of hydrogenases. Distribution of these enzymes in various microbial functional groups and recent experimental evidence are finally integrated to support the hypothesis that H2-oxidizing microbes are keystone species driving C cycling along O2concentration gradients found in H2-rich soil ecosystems. In conclusion, we suggest focusing on the metabolic flexibility of H2-oxidizing microbes by combining community-level and individual-level approaches aiming to decipher the impact of H2on C cycling and the C-cycling potential of H2-oxidizing microbes, via both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods, to give us more insight into the role of H2as a driver of biogeochemical processes.


Author(s):  
Christof Wolf

This book investigates the role of context in affecting political opinion formation and voting behavior. Building on a model of contextual effects on individual-level voter behavior, the chapters of this volume explore contextual effects in Germany in the early twenty-first century. The contributions draw on manifold combinations of individual and contextual information gathered in the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) framework and employ advanced methods. In substantive terms, they investigate the impact of campaign communication on political learning, the effects of media coverage on the perceived importance of political problems, and the role of electoral competition on candidate strategies and perceptions. Other contributions deal with the role of social and economic contexts as well as parties’ policy stances in affecting electoral turnout. The chapters on vote choice explore the impact of social cues on candidate voting, effects of electoral arenas on vote functions, the role of media coverage on ideological voting, and effects of campaign communication on the timing of electoral decision-making. The volume demonstrates the key role of the processes of communication and politicization in bringing about contextual effects. Context thus plays a nuanced role in voting behavior. The contingency of contextual effects suggests that they should become an important topic in research on political behavior and democratic politics.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. e032923
Author(s):  
Andrea Dell'Isola ◽  
Johanna Vinblad ◽  
Stefan Lohmander ◽  
Ann-Marie Svensson ◽  
Aleksandra Turkiewicz ◽  
...  

IntroductionOsteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Metabolic comorbidities such as type II diabetes occur with a higher rate in people with OA than in the general population. Several factors including obesity, hyperglycaemia toxicity and physical inactivity have been suggested as potential links between diabetes and OA, and have been shown to negatively impact patients’ health and quality of life. However, little is known on the role of diabetes in determining the outcome of non-surgical and surgical management of OA, and at the same time, how different OA interventions may affect diabetes control. Thus, the overall aim of this project is to explore (1) the impact of diabetes on the outcome of non-surgical and surgical OA treatments and (2) the impact of non-surgical and surgical OA treatments on diabetes control.Methods and analysisThe study cohort is based on prospectively ascertained register data on a national level in Sweden. Data from OA patients who received a first-line non-surgical intervention and are registered in the National Quality Register for Better Management of Patients with Osteoarthritis will be merged with data from the Swedish Knee and Hip Arthroplasty Registers and the National Diabetes Register. Additional variables regarding patients’ use of prescribed drugs, comorbidities, socioeconomic status and cause of death will be obtained through other national health and population data registers. The linkage will be performed on an individual level using unique personal identity numbers.Ethics and disseminationThis study received ethical approval (2019-02570) from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. Results from this cohort will be submitted to peer-reviewed scientific journals and reported at the leading national and international meetings in the field.


Legal Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 480-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Brennan

AbstractDuring the early and middle decades of the twentieth century, a number of jurisdictions introduced specific laws to deal with the crime of infanticide, following the English approach to this offence which allowed for a reduced conviction and flexible sentence in cases where women killed their babies aged under 12 months whilst in a mentally disturbed state. Taking the Irish experience, this paper explores the role of social norms in the criminal justice response to infanticide. It is argued that, irrespective of the existing legal framework in place, implicit shared social norms about the ‘appropriate’ outcome in cases where women killed their babies played a crucial part in how this crime has been dealt with by the courts. The criminal justice response will be assessed against shifting legal and social environments, in particular, the enactment of a specific Infanticide Act in 1949, and Ireland's transition from a conservative to a liberal society during the last decades of the twentieth century. In particular, the role of social norms in the interpretation of the medical rationale for this law is explored, and the impact of Ireland's social and cultural liberalisation on the criminal justice response to infanticide is examined.


Author(s):  
Amy Yamei Wang ◽  
Cheryl Qianru Zhang ◽  
Eko Liao

As countries start to emerge from the pandemic with the development of vaccines, the impact of COVID-19 and the changes it has initiated in the business world will continue to be felt across industries. In this chapter, real-life stories from three different industries—chain restaurants, interior design, and cafés—and the lessons they have learned will be discussed and analyzed. The role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in SMEs is highlighted as a strategy in which organizations can promote the long-term sustainability of their business. Then, three companies in various industries will be introduced with details about how COVID-19 has changed their outlook and goals in competing with other firms and the ways in which they confronted the pandemic. Finally, the authors share implications and offer helpful recommendations as to how SMEs can leverage resources smartly to engage in smart CSR initiatives in better dealing with a global health crisis and play a larger role in taking care of stakeholders in the long run.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ritika Mahajan ◽  
Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses the role of entrepreneurship, in general, and women entrepreneurship, in particular, in advancing the cause of sustainable development. Future research directions that emerge from the body of knowledge that the paper relied upon have been identified. Second, it presents unique cases of eight women-led enterprises in energy sector spread across three continents, namely, Asia, Africa and the USA; identifies the constraints and opportunities, analyses the business models and their impact on the quality of life pointers to demonstrate the role of women-led enterprises in sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach The paper combines a schematic review of literature at the interface of entrepreneurship and sustainable development coupled with select relevant case studies addressing the interface. The real-life case studies, which are consciously chosen and compiled from secondary data sources, complement and testify the insights drawn from the schematic literature review. The framework for analyzing the case studies is designed around multidimensional drivers and factors that steer the women-led enterprises. Findings The paper identified the need to look at entrepreneurship through the gendered lens not only for studying entrepreneurship as a discipline, in general, but also to gauge whether the inclusion of women as entrepreneurs is actually advancing the cause of sustainable development. Besides analyzing real-life case studies of accomplished women entrepreneurs to gauge their motivations and mindsets, the process of identification of pain points, identifying differentiating and innovative features, or studying the impact on society, economy and environment, the paper eventually created a schematic framework of key enablers, constraints and strategic response of women entrepreneurs. Originality/value Given the dearth of adequate theoretical and empirical contributions on the study of effectuation, mindsets and drivers of how women entrepreneurship steers the process of sustainable development, the paper is an endeavour in that direction.


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