Journal For Virtual Worlds Research (Texas Digital Library - TDL E-Journals)
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Impacting the Real Future via the Virtual Present
No full textThe Assembled 2014 issue includes six papers demonstrating the diversity and depth of topics we strive to cover:The future of massive collaborative eventsThe future of anonymity (and antisocial behavior)The future of 3D collaborationThe future of friendshipsThe future of health care vi
Taking a Broader View by Looking Deeper
No full textThe third thematic issue of JVWR 7th year (2014) focuses on a literature review of 3D3C worlds according to specific topics. Due to the substantial amount of responses to ou
Virtual Currencies, Micropayments and Monetary Policy: Where Are We Coming from and Where Does the Industry Stand?
No full textThe exponential growth of the micropayments industry and the expansion of social networks in the last few years have produced the necessary conditions for the birth and growing importance of a distinct object that is fairly new to many disciplines: virtual currencies. The present work is a pioneering study in this field, in which we attempt to survey the main issues and challenges posed to Economic Theory and to the design and implementation of economic policy. Particularly, we are interested in the implications that virtual currencies may have for: 1) The economic principles associated with voluntary holdings of different kinds of money; 2) The rate-of-return dominance by some currencies that may coexist with currencies offering lower real returns; and 3) The state-of-the-art Monetary Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium models with micro-foundations. We believe that virtual currencies share some important features of both fiat currencie
The Aspatial Economics of Virtual Worlds
No full textThis article compares and contrasts the economic geography of the physical world with that of virtual worlds, with an analytical focus on the spatial (and aspatial) characteristics of Blizzard Entertainmen
Privacy in Virtual Worlds: A US Perspective
No full textVirtual Worlds (VW) are intricate 3-dimensional, vivid environments that are the digital equivalents of the physical world (Glibert, 2011). VWs offer new and engaging methods of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) used for conducting many kinds of processes and functions, from education and training, to new product development and customer service. A vast amount of personal information can be recorded, stored, and analyzed in VW. This paper presents a rich account of what toda
Two Decades of Evolutionary Art Using Computational Ecosystems and Its Potential for Virtual Worlds
No full textWe analyse works of digital art that use a technique from artificial life (ALife) called computational ecosystems (CEs). These are systems running on computers where agents are organized in a hierarchical structure (of a food-chain) and trade token units (of energy and biomass) as a way of promoting community dynamics. We analyse a collection of forty (40) papers communicating works developed in the last two decades. We classify each of these works according to an adapted taxonomy. We then produce a study of cumulative analysis to outline patterns and common features which might define the field. We conclude on the diversity and heterogeneity of the practice, to assert CEs as a multimedia generative tool useful in the construction of bio-mimicking ecosystems as well as in the animation of non-player characters (NPCs) with human-like behaviors in virtual words
Review of Educational Research Methods in Desktop Virtual World Environments: Framing the Past to Provide Future Direction
No full textThis article describes educational research methodologies being used in the investigation and evaluation of desktop virtual world environments (DVWEs) as used to teach a variety of subjects in higher education. Elli
Taxation of Virtual World Economies: A Review of the Current Status
No full textThe taxation of virtual world economies is uncharted terrain, one that both researchers and government officials are just beginning to scrutinize. Taxes are inevitable in any economy, but what about the increasingly lucrative virtual world economies? The market for virtual goods and services is estimated to be in the millions of dollars, so it is no wonder that governments are beginning to take notice. Experts are divided as to the feasibility of taxation of virtual economies. Most experts agree however that there is significant ambiguity in the current U.S. Internal Revenue Code with respect to virtual worlds. It is unclear if transactions occurring in a virtual world are taxable in the U.S., and the Internal Revenue Service has to date not offered any strong guidance regarding the issue.In this article, we argue that virtual transactions are already subject to taxation under current U.S. law, at any point in time that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service should decide to enforce the current law, whether taking place in game worlds or unscripted worlds. This would include virtual-to-virtual transactions as well as virtual-to-real transactions, as the issue at hand is whether or not virtual activity is taxable, regardless of realization, because all goods and services have a fair market value
Virtually Friends: An Exploration of Friendship Claims and Expectations in Immersive Virtual Worlds
No full textRecent scholarship suggests that immersive virtual worlds may be especially well suited for friendship formation on the Internet. Through 65 semi-structured interviews with residents in highly-populated portions of the virtual world Second Life, we explore the nature of friendship within the immersive virtual world, examining friendship claims and expectations and the specific features of the virtual world that enable friendships to emerge. Results reveal that friendships in Second Life are common but not necessarily dependent on features such as co-presence and shared activities that are unique to the virtual world. Instead, frequent, text-based communication facilitates the emergence and maintenance of friendship in Second Life
Kromosomer
No full textThis article is a reflection on the Kromosomer project, a storytelling performance held in both physical and virtual worlds, which was implemented and disseminated through digital, virtual and social media. The aim of the whole project was to search for an expression that could combine physical experience with virtual world. The project was also looking at how to deal with social inclusion.The motto for this enterprise was the traditional Norwegian legend characters who represen