scholarly journals ‘I Create Therefore I Virtually Exist’: Digital Content Creation, Virtual Consumption, and Motivation in Second Life

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Nagy ◽  
Bernadett Koles

User-generated content (UGC) has been receiving increasing attention given its spread throughout digital media platforms and applications. Previous research focusing on Web 2.0 based platforms highlighted linkages with personal characteristics, user attitudes, and social as well as individual motivators. Interestingly, UGC has not been addressed on other platforms such as 3D virtual worlds, and the purpose of the current study is to fill this gap in the literature. More specifically, we explore virtual content creation within the particular 3D virtual world of Second Life, via comparing key demographic, usage and motivational attributes of creator versus non-creator residents. Results revealed differential patterns as a function of age, gender and usage. Digital content creators were also more likely to purchase goods reflecting stability, expand greater financial resources on the Second Life Marketplace, and while acknowledging greater difficulty in ease of use, reported higher esteem and self-actualization. Implications for scholars and practitioners are discussed.

Author(s):  
Sisse Siggaard Jensen

In this chapter, Second Life is conceived as an open space and symbolic world of user-driven co-creation of content. The questions asked concern the ways in which the actors of three case studies design, mediate, and remediate their Second Life projects and how the choices they make contribute to user-driven content creation and possibly to innovative practices. To answer these questions, concepts of innovation, in particular closed and open innovation are introduced and motivations for engaging in co-creation are identified. It is suggested that we understand user-driven innovation in a world like Second Life in terms of symbolic reorganization of conceptual frameworks and meaning-making. Subsequently, the concept of remediation is suggested as a way to conceive of mediation in the cases studied. It is shown how difficult it is for actors to co-create, mediate, and remediate thus to generate user-driven innovative practices in two Danish business projects (Wonder DK and Times) and in one public service project (Literary). To conclude the analysis of the case studies, it is suggested that methods of creative co-creation and innovative practices can build on the concept of remediation borrowed from research on new media and redefined in virtual worlds.


Author(s):  
Sedat Akayoglu ◽  
Golge Seferoglu

As the developments occurred in terms of technology, new tools and platforms started to be used in classroom settings. However, there is a need for discourse analysis of these tools and environments in order to better understand the flow of communication. This study aimed at determining discourse patterns in terms of social presence observed in a course carried out in a 3D environment, Second Life. At the end of the study, it was found that the most frequently used social presence functions were expression of emotions, vocatives and asking questions respectively; the least frequently used social presence functions were phatics and salutations, referring explicitly to the others' messages and quoting from others' messages. The findings of this study were found to be in parallel with the literature. This study might be helpful for researchers, educators and students in order to better understand the contexts created in 3D virtual worlds.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Pressey ◽  
Laura Salciuviene ◽  
Stuart Barnes

The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of emotional states on higher-order need attainment in the computer-mediated environment. A survey data were collected from 404 adult visitors within the Second Life of virtual worlds. The findings suggest that the emotional states exert significant effects on attainment of higher-order needs (i.e. belongingness, esteem and self-actualization); the flow emotional state exerts a greater effect on attaining higher-order needs than the remaining emotional states of anxiety, confusion and apathy. Companies with presence in the Second Life of virtual worlds will be able to make more informed decisions when directing their efforts to enhance visitors’ emotional experiences in their virtual islands.


2019 ◽  
pp. 152747641986169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smith Mehta ◽  
D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye

Film, television, and music form a major domestic and export product in India. Whereas, in the past, content production has been restricted to professional producers, digital media platforms have drastically altered the landscape of content production in India. Through in-depth interviews of ten online content creators, the article describes motivations of online content creation in India. Discussion themes include professional activities, identity construction of creators, and quasi-corporate structures that are taking root in the democratized digital spaces in India. In doing so, the article challenges the notion of creators on social media as mere “amateurs” or “UGC” (user-generated content). Conclusions from this study suggest future research should take a more holistic approach to studying online content creators rather than classifying creators on the basis of platform affordances.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria McArthur ◽  
Robert J Teather ◽  
Wolfgang Stuerzlinger

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Liu ◽  
Teresa Franklin ◽  
Roger Shelor ◽  
Sertac Ozercan ◽  
Jarrod Reuter ◽  
...  

Game-like three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds have become popular venues for youth to explore and interact with friends. To bring vital financial literacy education to them in places they frequent, a multi-disciplinary team of computer scientists, educators, and financial experts developed a youth-oriented financial literacy education game in the Teen Grid of Second Life 3D online virtual world. This paper presents the design and development process of this financial literacy education game, its learning effectiveness in classrooms, and lessons learned from the process.


Author(s):  
Georgios A. Dafoulas ◽  
Noha Saleeb

The significance of newly emergent 3D virtual worlds to different genres of users is currently a controversial subject in deliberation. Users range from education pursuers, business contenders, and social seekers to technology enhancers and many more who comprise both users with normal abilities in physical life and those with different disabilities. This study aims to derive and critically analyze, using grounded theory, advantageous and disadvantageous themes, and their sub concepts of providing e-learning through 3D Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), like Second Life, to disabled users. Hence providing evidence that 3DVLEs not only support traditional physical learning, but also offer e-learning opportunities unavailable through 2D VLEs (like Moodle, Blackboard), and offer learning opportunities unavailable through traditional physical education. Furthermore, to achieve full potential from the above-mentioned derived concepts, architectural and accessibility design requirements of 3D educational facilities proposed by different categories of disabled students to accommodate for their needs, are demonstrated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 485-512
Author(s):  
Sevda Ceylan Dadakoğlu ◽  
Şeniz Aksoy

Depending on the rapid development of technology, many environments, tools and methods are being developed in the field of education and training. These innovations include education in virtual worlds and three-dimensional education technologies that we have encountered frequently in recent years. With the improvement of three-dimensional education technologies, it is known that learning is used in "3D virtual worlds". Accordingly, it is mentioned that virtual environments are used in all levels of education, learning and teaching process.In this study, the virtual world of Second Life, which is a three-dimensional online life simulation and can be defined as an alternative teaching environment, was examined. The aim of this article; Introducing Second Life, a virtual environment that can be used in art and design education, to provide a theoretical perspective, to contribute to researchers and teachers who want to use 3D virtual worlds for educational purposes and to create a theoretical basis for the researches in this environment.Therefore, first of all, 3D virtual worlds are examined from a general perspective. Then, the Second Life application from 3D virtual environments was examined in detail and its general characteristics were defined.In addition, the use of Second Life in education, construction and content creation within the application, art and design making and art education were discussed. For this reason, examples of the artists using the Second Life application were given and some of the educational practices related to how Second Life was used in art and design education were included. In the conclusion part, with the development of technology and the use of virtual worlds in education, the gains that can be achieved in art classes were also included. In this context, the importance of the use of technology, various computer applications (VR, augmented reality applications, etc.) and 3D virtual worlds was mentioned in terms of today's art education gains. It was also stated that the ways of incorporating technology into art education should be questioned. ​Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file.   Özet Teknolojinin hızla ilerlemesine bağlı olarak eğitim ve öğretim alanında birçok ortam, araç ve yöntem geliştirilmektedir. Bu yeniliklerin içerisinde son yıllarda sıkça karşılaştığımız sanal dünyalarda eğitim ve üç boyutlu eğitim teknolojileri de yer almaktadır. Üç boyutlu eğitim teknolojilerinin iyileştirilmesiyle beraber “3B sanal dünyalarda öğrenme”nin ön plana çıktığı bilinmektedir. Buna bağlı olarak eğitimin tüm kademelerinde, öğrenme ve öğretme sürecinde sanal ortamların işe koşulduğundan söz edilmektedir. Bu araştırmada üç boyutlu, çevrimiçi bir yaşam simülasyonu olan ve alternatif bir öğretim ortamı olarak tanımlanabilen Second Life sanal dünyası incelenmiştir. Bu makalenin amacı; sanat ve tasarım eğitiminde kullanılabilecek sanal ortamlardan Second Life’ı tanıtmak, bu konuda teorik bir perspektif kazandırmak, 3B sanal dünyaları eğitim amaçlı kullanmak isteyen araştırmacı ve öğretmenlere katkı sağlamak ve bu ortamda yapılacak araştırmalar için kuramsal zemin oluşturmaktır. Bu nedenle öncelikle 3B sanal dünyalara genel bir çerçeveden bakılmıştır. Ardından 3B sanal ortamlardan Second Life uygulaması detaylı bir biçimde incelenerek genel özellikleri tanımlanmıştır. Second Life uygulamasının eğitimde kullanılması, uygulama dâhilinde inşa ve içerik oluşturma, sanat ve tasarım yapma ve sanat eğitimi konusu tartışılmıştır. Daha sonra Second Life uygulamasını kullanan sanatçılara örnekler verilmiş ve Second Life’ın sanat ve tasarım eğitiminde nasıl kullanıldığına ilişkin eğitim uygulamalarından bazılarına yer verilmiştir. Sonuç kısmında teknolojinin gelişmesi ve sanal dünyaların eğitimde kullanımıyla beraber sanat derslerinde elde edilebilecek kazanımlar yer almıştır. Buna bağlı olarak teknolojinin, çeşitli bilgisayar uygulamalarının (VR, artırılmış gerçeklik uygulamaları, vb.) 3B sanal dünyaların eğitimde kullanılmasının günümüz sanat eğitimi kazanımları açısından önemine değinilmiştir. Ayrıca sanat eğitimine teknolojinin dâhil edilme biçimlerinin sorgulanması gerektiği ifade edilmiştir.


Author(s):  
Lucia Rapanotti ◽  
Shailey Minocha ◽  
Leonor Barroca ◽  
Maged N. Kamel Boulos ◽  
David R. Morse

3D virtual worlds are becoming widespread due to cheaper powerful computers, high-speed broadband connections and efforts towards their tighter integration with current 2D Web environments. Besides traditional gaming and entertainment applications, some serious propositions are starting to emerge for their use, particularly in education, where they are perceived as enablers of active learning, learning by doing, and knowledge construction through social interaction. However, there is still little understanding of how 3D virtual worlds can be designed and deployed effectively in the education domain, and many challenges remain. This chapter makes a contribution towards such an understanding by reporting on three notable case studies at the authors’ own institutions, which have pioneered the use of Second Life, a 3D virtual world, in higher education.


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