scholarly journals EVOLVING IDENTITY ECONOMIES IN SOCIAL VIRTUAL WORLDS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Stevenson Won ◽  
Donna Zimmerman Davis
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Embodied Experience ◽  
Social Self ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Different Cultures

It is only in the past few years that the public has had much access to embodied, immersive, social virtual worlds through consumer virtual reality hardware. While these new experiences are still restricted to those who can access the proper equipment and have sufficient network connectivity, academics and others have rushed to explore and explain them. A rich history of experimental research scaffolds our understanding of what the experience of embodiment in an avatar brings to social experiences in immersive virtual reality. However, properly understanding these phenomena will also require a deep understanding of the history of social virtual worlds. Historically, platform constraints and affordances have influenced how people experience and express the social self in virtual worlds, and this has resulted in different “places” having different cultures, norms, and behaviors. We discuss how these cultures and norms may affect what users expect from an embodied experience, and how these expectations in turn will affect their concerns about privacy and identity. Specifically, different virtual cultures will result in different forms of “identity economies” in which users will either pay or exchange data to achieve embodiment. To illustrate, we discuss two models of embodied virtual reality worlds. We propose that this framing will help us to better understand how virtual worlds have evolved and are experienced now; how they may be studied, and how they may continue to evolve in the future as VR technologies create new experiences, affordances and limitations.

scholarly journals Networked Worlds: Social Aspects of Multi-User Virtual Reality Technology

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 89-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Schroeder
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

This paper examines two aspects of multi-user virtual reality (VR) systems; the socio-technical shaping of these systems and the social relations inside multi-user virtual worlds. The paper begins with an overview of the history of networked interactive computer graphics and examines the main factors which are currently shaping networked VR systems. The second part explores the social relations between users inside virtual worlds and makes comparisons with other forms of computer-mediated-communication. In the conclusion, these two parts are linked: how is the development of multi-user virtual reality technology influencing how users interact within virtual worlds - and vice versa?

New Wars and Their Visual Representation: Dead Bodies without Graves/Mourne

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Tuncay Şur ◽  
Betül Yarar
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Visual Representation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Public ◽  
Photographic Images ◽  
War Photography ◽  
New Wars ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

This paper seeks to understand why there has been an increase in photographic images exposing military violence or displaying bodies killed by military forces and how they can freely circulate in the public without being censored or kept hidden. In other words, it aims to analyze this particular issue as a symptom of the emergence of new wars and a new regime of their visual representation. Within this framework, it attempts to relate two kinds of literature that are namely the history of war and war photography with the bridge of theoretical discussions on the real, its photographic representation, power, and violence.  Rather than systematic empirical analysis, the paper is based on a theoretical attempt which is reflected on some socio-political observations in the Middle East where there has been ongoing wars or new wars. The core discussion of the paper is supported by a brief analysis of some illustrative photographic images that are served through the social media under the circumstances of war for instance in Turkey between Turkish military troops and the Kurdish militants. The paper concludes that in line with the process of dissolution/transformation of the old nation-state formations and globalization, the mechanism and mode of power have also transformed to the extent that it resulted in the emergence of new wars. This is one dynamic that we need to recognize in relation to the above-mentioned question, the other is the impact of social media in not only delivering but also receiving war photographies. Today these changes have led the emergence of new machinery of power in which the old modern visual/photographic techniques of representing wars without human beings, torture, and violence through censorship began to be employed alongside medieval power techniques of a visual exhibition of tortures and violence.

The Social Background of Political Liberty in the Early Italian Renaissance

1960 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 440-451
Author(s):  
Hans Baron
Keyword(s):  
Social Background ◽  
Italian Renaissance ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Class ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Italian City ◽  
City States ◽  
Revolutionary Period

An attempt at a synopsis of Mr. Becker's and Mr. Hicks' findings requires an enlargement of focus. They have much in common in their approaches: both are sympathetic to reactions in Italian scholarship against a school which had conceived the history of the Italian city-states chiefly in terms of social clashes caused by antagonistic economic class interests. About 1900 that had been the perspective shared by most students. During the late 13th century (it was then argued), the half-chivalric magnati, owners of landed property, were replaced by the capitalistic merchants and industrialists of the arti maggiori; these, in turn, by the middle of the 14th century were followed by the artisans of the arti minori who, for a short revolutionary period in 1378, opened the door for the laborers of the great textile industries, the Ciompi. After class struggle had thus sapped the public spirit, Florence and other cities were ripe for the heavy, but pacifying hand of despotism.

"THE WHOLE KABARDA WILL GREET THIS ACT WITH A SENSE OF GREAT MORAL SATISFACTION...". ARTICLE OF G. BAYEV "ABOUT JOINING OF MINOR KABARDA TO THE GREAT KABARDA

Kavkazologiya ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 86-107
Author(s):  
D.N. PRASOLOV ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Information Support ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Explanatory Note ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Modernization ◽  
Detailed Work

In publicist writings of G. Bayev were reflected many issues of socio-cultural development of the peoples of the Terek region in the second half of XIX – early XX centuries. Considerable attention Ossetian public figure paid to social and economic problems of peoples of Nalchik district. In particular they were treated in a context of functioning of their self-government – Congress of entrusted of the Great and Minor Kabarda and Five mountain societies. In January 1905, nine villages of Minor Kabarda concluded with G. Bayev an agreement to represent their interests in the petition to restore the unity of Great and Minor Kabarda within the Nalchik district. In the course of fulfilling of this task G. Bayev prepared an explanatory note and organised its information support. The basic positions of the petition's substantiation were stated in the article published in several issues of "Pyatigorskiy listok" at the beginning of June 1905. By its substantive qualities the material represented a detailed work on the history of the public self-government of Kabardians in the genre of zemstvo journalism. G. Bayev's systematic characterization of cultural and historical preconditions and administrative expediency of reunion of Great and Minor Kabarda convincingly testified to a deep understanding of socially significant tasks and the ways of their achievement necessary for socio-political and economic modernization of the territory. The result of his petition was the order of the viceroy of Caucasus I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov of August 24, 1905 to incorporate the villages of Minor Kabarda to the Nalchik okrug. The publication of G. Bayev's article introduces into scientific circulation an informative source testifying to the formation of constructive skills of socio-state interaction in political culture of peoples of Terskaya oblast’ initiated by representatives of national intelligentsia of the region.

Long-Term Ecological Research Over the Long Term: A Historian’s Perspective

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Hamlin
Keyword(s):  
History Of Science ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ecological Science

There are many precedents for long-term research in the history of science. Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program’s current identity reflects significant change—intended and accidental, both consensual and conflictual—from research concerns that were prevalent in the 1980s. LTER program has pioneered modes of research organization and professional norms that are increasingly prominent in many areas of research and that belong to a significant transformation in the social relations of scientific research. The essays in this volume explore the impact of the LTER program, a generation after its founding, on both the practice of ecological science and the careers of scientists. The authors have applied the agenda of long- term scrutiny to their own careers as LTER researchers. They have recognized the LTER program as distinct, even perhaps unique, both in the ways that it creates knowledge and in the ways that it shapes careers. They have reflected on how they have taught (and were taught) in LTER settings, on how they interact with one another and with the public, and on how research in the LTER program has affected them “as persons.” A rationale for this volume is LTER’s distinctiveness. In many of the chapters, and in other general treatments of the LTER program, beginning with Callahan (1984), one finds a tone of defensiveness. Sometimes the concerns are explicit: authors (e.g., Stafford, Knapp, Lugo, Morris; Chapters 5, 22, 25, 33, respectively) bemoan colleagues who dismiss LTER as mere monitoring instead of serious science or who resent LTER’s independent funding stream. But more broadly, there is concern that various groups, ranging from other bioscientists to the public at large, may not appreciate the importance of long-term, site-specific environmental research. Accordingly, my hope here is to put LTER into several broader contexts. I do so in three ways. First, to mainstream LTER within the history of science, I show that the LTER program is not a new and odd way of doing science but rather exemplifies research agendas that have been recognized at least since the seventeenth century in the biosciences and beyond.

Machinima in Second Life

2011 ◽  
pp. 396-416
Author(s):  
Stephany Filimon
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Computer Users ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Legal Thinking

This chapter provides a brief history of machinima, films created by computer users within virtual worlds, and focuses on machinima produced within the social virtual world of Second Life, on how to create machinima in Second Life, and on highlighting select examples of Second Life machinima. This chapter also connects user-produced content, like machinima, with the openness and rules of the platforms in which content is created. The chapter concludes with a brief overview of legal thinking surrounding user-created content, including machinima, and points to the rise of the player-producer in these systems.

Staring at the Screen: Interview with Photographer Robbie Cooper

2017 ◽  
pp. 14-19
Author(s):  
Iza Pevec ◽  
Robbie Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Human Element ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Alter Ego

From the beginnings of the photography, portrait photography has had a special aura – reading one’s own facial expressions and those of others is after all a very human trait. In his project Immersion, British artist Robbie Cooper presents a specific type of portraits – portraits of people as media consumers. We are all aware of the frightening statistics of the average number of hours spent behind the screen, yet Cooper’s intention was not to moralise. A diverse spectrum of people’s expressions captured during watching various media content tells only one part of our human story. In the Immersion, the screen becomes some kind of mirror, recording intense expressions of the portrayed persons, captured with an in-built camera. Because of the accompanying sound, we can guess what the people are watching – the content includes everything, from video games, pornography to snuff movies. Stills from the movies have less documentary value. With the help of the high quality of the photos, the frozen grimaces become peculiarly similar to the classical portraits from the history of art. Almost eccentric grimaces confuse us and at the same time remind us how realistic virtual reality feels. Cooper had already explored our relationship towards virtual reality in his project Alter Ego, in which he sets the gamers of virtual games next to their avatars. He was interested in the human element of virtual worlds by questioning what imaginary personas can tell us about their creators. Throughout our conversation, questions of human consciousness arose. Keywords: expressive face, grimace, human character and facial expression, media content, Robbie Cooper, role-playing

A Jewish National Collection for a Jewish National Library: The Abraham Schwadron Collection, Past and Present

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-79
Author(s):  
Rachel Misrati
Keyword(s):  
Jewish People ◽  
National Library ◽  
Original Source ◽  
The Public ◽  
Entire Collection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Musical Scores ◽  
History Of ◽  
Online Catalogue ◽  
The Many

The fascinating story of the creation and development of this unique collection is matched only by the collection's importance as a resource of primary material for research in the social sciences, the humanities, and even the exact sciences. With over five and a half thousand leading Jewish personalities represented in their original handwriting, Abraham Schwadron's autograph collection is more than just the first Jewish Who's Who. The inscribed visiting cards, literary manuscripts, handwritten letters, and even musical scores are all evidence of a Jewish social milieu and cultural enterprise that stretches from the sixteenth century to the present day. The collection is a written record of the history of the Jewish people as it unfolded. No less dramatic is the man behind the collection, who from his youth in Galicia decided he would build a national Jewish autograph collection for the Jewish people and bring it to Jerusalem. The National Library of Israel is presently working to make this whole collection accessible to the public, first by rendering the collection searchable through the Library's online catalogue and then by digitizing the entire collection of autographs. This article traces the history of the collection, introduces the intriguing figure of Abraham Schwadron and his rationale for building the collection, and reveals the many ways that the collection's rich and fascinating potential can be used as a resource of original source material. At the end of the article there is brief reference to the National Library of Israel's project for digitizing the collection.

The Lost Lullaby and Other Stories about Being an Armenian in Turkey

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 67-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Bilal
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Cultural Politics ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Armenian Identity ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Different Cultures

Nınçir mangig im sirasun, Oror yem asum, Baydzar lusinn e meğm hayum, Ko ororotsum.By analyzing the transmission of Armenian lullabies within the changing contexts of identity and cultural politics in Turkey, this paper addresses displacement and loss as two interrelated experiences shaping the sense of being an Armenian in Turkey. I criticize the liberal multiculturalist perspective that represents cultures in a way that cuts the link between the past and the present, by dissociating different cultures from the history of their presence in Anatolia and the destruction of that presence. I argue that in such a context where cultures are detached from lived experiences and memory, it becomes impossible to share the stories of violence and pain in the public sphere; hence, the loss itself becomes the experience of being Armenian. Finally, I try to explain how today young generations of Armenians in İstanbul, in their search for an Armenian identity, have developed a certain way of belonging to the space and culture, a way of belonging that is very much shaped by the experience of loss.

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