Journal For Virtual Worlds Research (Texas Digital Library - TDL E-Journals)
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366 research outputs found
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Virtual Reality and the Criminal Justice System: New Possibilities for Research, Training, and Rehabilitation
No full textVirtual reality systems are used to achieve a broad range of goals in a variety of fields of study
Collecting conversations: three approaches to obtaining user-to-user communications data from virtual environments
No full textTranscripts of conversations are a valuable research resource in social sciences and can be used to make inferences about subject
Virtual Hybrid Communications
No full textMore and more people dive into Virtual Worlds, experiencing the reality of parallel universes in almost every sector. Moreover, these virtual environments actually generate "real money" directly but also indirectly by selling virtual goods. Yet the current landscape consists in a huge number of siloed Virtual Worlds. We believe that addressing this lack of interoperability could greatly improve the user experience, ease the deployment of new worlds and open up market opportunities.Bell Labs\u27 Applications domain is contributing with Virtual Hybrid Communications, a mature Web technology based on communication hyperlinks that enables the bridging of real and virtual worlds. This technology allows people to remain connected to legacy telecom infrastructures wherever they are (in real or virtual) and to safely expose their communication means without disclosing any personal detail (name, phone number, etc). Thanks to open and standard API, it will also allow virtual service providers and Telecom operators to provide efficient communication solutions and innovative services
Self-Esteem in Second Life: An inWorld Group Intervention for Women with Disabilities
No full textWe are developing and investigating the feasibility of a self-esteem enhancement intervention in Second Life for women with physical disabilities. We adapted the curriculum of a previously tested workshop intervention to include features unique to this environment. Results of the beta test were very positive. Everyone involved showed considerable enthusiasm for exploring the new world of SL. The group leaders were challenged to resolve technical problems on every occasion, but these diminished and were perceived as manageable as the intervention progressed. Beta testers gave positive ratings to the information presented, organization, and usefulness of the intervention and found it very enjoyable although fatigue and stress limited the participation of some. They appreciated the use of Internet technology as an accommodation to their disability, in place of requiring transportation and additional energy expenditure to attend face-to-face meetings. Research issues related to engagement, measurement, and participant safety, as well as future research directions, are discussed. We conclude that SL has great potential for delivering health promotion interventions to women with physical disabilities
Modeling the Metaverse: A Theoretical Model of Effective Team Collaboration in 3D Virtual Environments
No full textIn this paper, a theoretical model of effective team collaboration in 3D virtual environments is presented. The aim of this model is to enhance our understanding of the capabilities exerting influence on effective 3D virtual team collaboration. The model identifies a number of specific capabilities of 3D virtual worlds that can contribute to this team effectiveness. Compared to "traditional" computer-mediated collaboration technologies, 3D virtual environments support team collaboration primarily through (a) the shared virtual environment, and (b) avatar-based interaction. Through the shared virtual environment, users experience higher levels of presence (a feeling of actually "being there"), realism and interactivity. These capabilities increase the users\u27 level of information processing
Assistive Technology Interoperability between Virtual and Real Worlds
No full textAccessibility is an important area of interoperability between real and virtual worlds that must be considered during standards-setting. The number of persons with disabilities is large and increasing, as is their use of virtual worlds. All elements of virtual worlds must be accessible. Four types of real world disability impact functioning in virtual worlds: keyboard/mouse; print; hearing/speech; and cognitive. Some virtual worlds include accessibility features, such as resizable UI elements and fonts. Alternative keyboards and mice usually work adequately in virtual worlds. However, common text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and screen reader software doesn\u27t interface well with virtual worlds.Existing accessibility guidelines and legislation (Universal Design, Internet accessibility standards and guidelines, and online game accessibility guidelines) might be applicable to virtual worlds. Practical limitations to implementation of these solutions include their complexity and cost. As government agencies, universities, and employers increase their use of virtual worlds, specific standards for virtual world accessibility, including interfacing with common assistive technology, need to be created and enforced
Synthesizing Presence: A Multidisciplinary Review of the Literature
No full textThis multidisciplinary literature review analyzed one hundred and eight peer-reviewed journal articles focusing on presence from four academic disciplines
Students
No full textThe benefits of collaborative work have been widely discussed and supported by educational theories such as constructivism and social learning. This paper investigates the process of collaborative work in a university classroom. It presents the student
Avatars and Security Clearances: How can we reconcile the two?
No full textGovernment and military personnel in positions of trust are required to obtain and retain security clearances as part of conducting their duties within those positions. Part of obtaining a clearance requires personnel to report on any foreign contacts or business interests they may have. During the time that they hold such a position, personnel must report any significant contact with citizens of various countries to ensure they have not been targeted as part of a foreign intelligence collection effort. As more cleared personnel begin actively participating in virtual worlds, and as more personnel already active in virtual worlds begin applying for positions of trust, how will vetting agencies reconcile the borderless nature of virtual worlds with the requirements set forth for establishing and maintaining security clearances?Legislation has historically not kept pace with rapidly developing community technologies, and bureaucracies may make a choice between taking online relationships too seriously, and not taking them seriously enough. In the past, foreign relationships were easily defined, with physical travel, face-to-face contact, phone, and postal connections being the norm. Today, the global nature of online gaming and virtual environments make these definitions less clear. In order to ensure personnel continue to be effectively screened, virtual worlds and relationships, however benign, may need to be taken into account as part of the vetting process. If so, they will need to be properly understood by the investigating agencies. This paper proposes to outline some of the relevant issues involved in a rapidly evolving online community
Procedural Modeling for Realistic Virtual Worlds Development
No full textThe creation of virtual environments, corresponding to real world settings, constitutes one of the most important, but also most time and resource demanding processes in content development for virtual worlds. By querying real-world data sources, the building process can be automated, reducing the need for human intervention. However, these may present additional management difficulties due to their number, dimension, format or level of detail, therefore requiring specific techniques to operate on them. This paper describes the application of a procedural modeling solution, called PG3D System, on the creation of realistic virtual urban environments and their employ in virtual world applications. This system\u27s implementation in spatial database management systems induces fast data access, large data manipulation features, complex query capabilities and format flexibility, allowing the fast creation of large scale virtual environments, imbued with optimized data structures, compatible with any digital game, custom modeling tool or metaverse platform