Journal For Virtual Worlds Research (Texas Digital Library - TDL E-Journals)
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Spectacular Interventions of Second Life: Goon Culture, Griefing, and Disruption in Virtual Spaces
No full textEmploying game theory and cultural studies in order to make a much needed distinction between grief play (which is a type of game play) and griefing (as a disruptive cultural activity), I argue that griefers in Second Life, who engage in potentially subversive practices which residents recognize as characterizing the activities of subcultures, construct cultural formations, a term developed by Raymond Williams in his book The Sociology of Culture to describe groups that embody looser structures. Claiming that they are causing turmoil for the lulz (or laughs), they treat their activities as mere game play. However, underneath the rhetoric of game play based on targeting those who take th
Order and Creativity in Virtual Worlds
No full textEconomies are driven by dynamic creativity, but some sorts of creativity, especially if predatory, can destroy an economy. This tradeoff has been known for centuries to political philosophers who have analyzed physical space, but has not been addressed in virtual space. Like physical economies, virtual economies face the tradeoff of encouraging freedom to experiment, while discouraging experiments that damage society. Physical societies solve this problem both through encouraging competition and giving government the unique power to punish destructive activities. In virtual societies, this tradeoff has yet to be adequately assessed. Guided by the economic modeling of order and creativity, in this paper we discuss two types of behavior, constructive and destructive, to provide some guidelines, with references to experiences in physical economies, for establishing limitations on the freedom of action of virtual-economy participants
Standardization in Virtual Worlds: Formation of Hope and Fear
No full textThere is a growing interest in using virtual worlds for commercial reasons. However, if creative technology is the opportunity, then why are virtual worlds not used to their full extent in business and trade? One reason may be that technology is not developed far enough to connect. Another may be the lack of trust in the reliability of the technology and of the people you meet. After all, virtual people are highly fictional and virtual world technology oftentimes is not that robust. The present financial crisis will not easily redeem this effect.
We wish to focus on yet another aspect, in that new advances in science and technology always come with enthusiasm-inspiring hopes and show-stopping fears. When are such hopes and fears warranted and when are they fictitious themselves? If we could create standards, a recipe, or protocol, to measure peopl
Introduction to MPEG-V
No full textVirtual worlds (often referred to as 3D3C for 3D visualization & navigation and the 3
A virtual environment study in entrepreneurship education of young children
No full textIn this article, we present an exploratory study on the use of 3-D virtual worlds in entrepreneurship education for children of primary school in a virtual world from the Activeworlds Educational Universe
Cultural Identity in Virtual Reality (VR): A Case Study of a Muslim Woman with hijab in Second Life(SL)
No full textThis study investigates how the cultural identity of a Muslim woman with hijab (hair scarf) is perceived in Second Life (SL), a virtual and visual cultural site, through a case study that the author experienced during this research. The findings reflect different levels of reaction leaning more toward rejection and indifference rather than acceptance. I conclude that there is a need to establish an educational curriculum in SL about Islam and Muslims. This could be accomplished through a collaborative endeavor between Muslims, non-Muslim educators and educational institutions in order to promot
Measuring aggregate production in a virtual economy using log data
No full textVirtual worlds typically contain systems of resource allocation, production, and consumption, which are often called virtual economies. The operator of a virtual world clearly has an incentive to monitor the virtual economy, and users and outside observers would benefit from e.g. temporal or cross-economy comparisons. Standard methodology of computing macroeconomic aggregates for virtual economies would allow this kind of analysis, but such method is currently unavailable. This study fills this gap by employing the concepts of national accounting and unique log data from a virtual world.
In particular, the focus is on virtual economies where the production of new virtual goods takes place as the users expend inputs to produce predetermined outputs along predetermined production paths. The major MMOGs fall into this category. Previous attempts on measuring the aggregate production of a virtual economy have been based on non-standard method and externally collected data. In virtual economies the operator can collect extensive data automatically, a characteristic feature that should be reflected in any standard accounting scheme.
Macroeconomic aggregates for a national economy are computed using the UN System of National Accounts (SNA). It is a standard accounting system, and its probably most quoted outcome is the gross domestic product. The most relevant borderline in SNA lies between the national economy and the rest of the world: domestic production is included, whereas foreign production is not.
SNA cannot be directly used in a virtual economy, as the concepts o
An Experiment in Using Virtual Worlds for Scientific Visualization of Self-Gravitating Systems
No full textIn virtual worlds objects fall straight down. By replacing a few lines of code to include Newton\u27s gravity in full, virtual world software can become an N-body simulation code with visualization included where objects move under their mutual gravitational attraction as stars in a cluster. We report on our recent experience of adding a gravitational n-body simulator to the OpenSim virtual world physics engine. OpenSim is an open-source, virtual world server that provides a 3D immersive experience to users who connect using the popula
Barriers to Efficient Virtual Business Transactions
No full textWith the availability of business transaction capability within some virtual worlds, enterprising individuals and teams have established businesses that operate entirely within the realm of virtual reality. These wholly-virtual business operations act much like real-life businesses; they must develop and manufacture products, advertise, sell and fulfill deliveries. A complete lifecycle of business events takes place within the micro-economy of the virtual world.
The virtual business owner is presented with a seemingly complete set of tools to perform all actions required by each stage of the business lifecycle, However, over the past several years, virtual business owners have begun to discover limitations and missing elements in these business transaction protocols. This paper will identify the more notable limitations facing toda
Towards a virtual doctor-patient relationship: Understanding virtual patients.
No full textThe use of online virtual communities to deliver health information has grown with the creation of 3D online virtual worlds such as Second Life. The existence of virtual spaces offers the opportunity to use new media and spaces of social interaction, participation and collaboration to deliver realistic and vivid health experiences. While the potential seems great, in practice, there are significant limitations in using virtual online communities to deliver health information. First, these virtual worlds are fantasy spaces where people escape the limitations of their bodies to engage in social interactions. Second, virtual worlds lack the cues that usually signal medical authority, making virtual residents skeptical about health information and advice obtained in Second Life