Virtual Seminar and SLACTIONS 2009 Second Call

The City University London, Oxford University and King’s College in London organized a virtual seminar Learn, Teach and Play in 3D Virtual Worlds, sponsored by JISC EMERGE
The virtual seminar include teachers, students, educational technologists, researchers and anyone interested in 3D virtual worlds and games.
My presentation Start your Engines! Real - Virtual Worlds Engaging Interactions focused on real - virtual worlds engaging learning interactions by using video games. Several Mash-up and video games concepts developed on game engines and social networks at the Instructional System Technologies Department at H.I.T- Holon Institute of Technology were presented.

As the SLACTIONS 2009 Israeli Chair and the Guest Editor of the coming Journal of Virtual Worlds Research [JWVR] and I've announced the call for papers "The Metaverse Assemble" and H.I.T's participation at SLACTIONS 2009.
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Best papers submitted for the SLACTIONS 2009
will get invitation to submit expanded version.
5 special editions of journals available!
* Computer & Graphics
(ISSN 0097-8493, SCI) * International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning
(ISSN 1753-5255) * Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research
(ISSN 0718–1876) * VIRTual
(ISSN 0873-1837) and
Journal of Virtual Worlds Research Special issue: “The Metaverse Assembled”
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Submission Deadline: March 31, 2009

SLACTIONS 2009 Event: September 24-26, 2009

Publication Date: December 2009/January 2010.
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Feel free to forward the SLACTIONS 2009 SCFP. Thank you.
Dr. Hanan "Vrider" Gazit
SLACTIONS 2009 [Israeli Chair] http://www.vrider.net

SLACTIONS 2009 Second call March 31st 2009 open

Research conference in the Second Life® world
Life, imagination, and work using metaverse platforms
September 24-26, 2009.

Second call deadline:March 31st, 2009 OPEN !

SLACTIONS 2009 First Call : Life, Imagination, and work using metaverse platforms

SLACTIONS 2009 Research conference in the Second Life® world
Life, Imagination, and work using metaverse platforms

When: September 24-26, 2009

** Scope and call for papers **

The metaverse is emerging, through the increasing use of virtual world technologies that act as platforms for end-users to create, develop, and interact, expanding the realm of human cooperation, interaction, and creativity. The conference focus is scientific research on applications and developments of these metaverse platforms: Second Life, OpenSim, Open Croquet, Activeworlds, Open Source Metaverse, Project Wonderland, and others, providing a forum for the research community to present and discuss innovative approaches, techniques, processes, and research results.

Whereas metaverses are no longer a novel topic, they still pose challenges for the adaption of conventional instructional and business practices, research methodologies, and communication practices. We are looking forward to presenting a program of research results, case studies, panel discussions, and demonstrations that scholars, educators, and businesses can port to their own environments and apply in their research, teaching, and business strategy. We will accept papers from the full spectrum of intellectual disciplines and technological endeavours in which metaverse platforms are currently being used: from Education to Business, Sociology to Social Sciences, Media Production to Technology Development, Architecture and Urban Planning to the Arts.

Topics covered may include but are not limited to:

• Accessibility in metaverse platforms
  
• Advanced scientific visualization in metaverse platforms
  
• Automatic content generation
  
• Behavioral studies in the metaverse
  
• Combination of metaverse platforms with external systems (e-learning, e-business, etc.)
  
• Communicational paradigms in the metaverse
  
• Content management
  
• Creativity, design, and arts on the metaverse
  
• E-business and e-commerce applications
  
• Educational research, applications, and case studies
  
• Embodiment in metaverses and Gender Studies
  
• GIS/metaverse mash-ups
  
• Integration between metaverse platforms
  
• Nonprofit activities and fundraising
  
• Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
  
• Social Sciences studies in or through metaverse platforms
  
• Space representation, use, and management in metaverses
  
• Using metaverse platforms for cooperation
  

Conference format

SLACTIONS 09 is the first international conference held simultaneously in several countries on the topic of metaverses. SLACTIONS 09 aims at covering most areas currently enabled by metaverse platforms, from educational research to content production, from gender studies to media distribution, and from metaverse-based branding, advertising, and fundraising to emerging mash-ups and technology applications. SLACTIONS 09 is unique in its format too, as a one-of-a kind event conducted both in a metaverse platform (Second Life) and on-site in multiple countries in Europe and in North and South America. SLACTIONS will thus contribute to the current redefinition of the way we think about hybrid online and on-site scholarly collaborations.

All paper presentations and talks will be performed via avatars, either using text-based or voice-based communications.

Submissions

Authors are invited to submit:
A full paper of eight to ten pages for oral presentation

• A Flickr image or
  
• YouTube video, tagged as “slactions 09” for poster presentations 'in-world’ or presentation in SL using a creative format

All submissions are subject to a double blind review process and should be professionally proofread before submission.

All manuscripts should be formatted according to the ASIS&T proceedings template.

No manuscripts will be accepted that do not meet the required format.

(Disclaimer: SLACTIONS 2009 is not associated with ASIS&T.)

All accepted papers will be published on-line and in an ISBN-registered
CD-ROM/DVD-ROM of proceedings.

The Scientific Committee will invite authors of selected full papers to provide revised and expanded versions for publication in an ISBN-registered book.

The authors of the best papers will be invited to provide revised and expanded versions for publications in special editions of journals or as single contributions to theme-specific journals.

Check out www.slactions.org regularly for more information and developments on the book publisher & series, and journal venues for best papers.

Technology setup

We want participants to fully follow the conference.
Each regional pole will meet in a room with a projector and at least one microphone so that participants can ask their questions online. However, each participant can also bring a laptop, equipped with WiFi connection and a microphone, and interact in-world via avatar, while still meeting locally.


What you will need to follow the conference at your local pole:

Option 1: Participating “in-world”

This means you have your own avatar in SL. At the time of the conference you login and teleport to the conference location. Here's your setup:

• Your Computer. See the detailed system requirements at the Second Life site. Second Life is very RAM demanding so make sure this is the only application you will have opened, besides an occasional browser window in the flat Web, if you are checking a URL suggested by speakers or participants.
  
• Your Internet connection. Wired connection is preferable to wireless connections, particularly if using it from crowded locations. The latter is possible but you may lose audio or video.
  
• Your Voice setup. In your client application (the software you install in your computer when installed Second Life), choose Edit -> Preferences, then the Voice Chat tab. Allow your voice to be heard only when you press the "talk" button (bottom right of your screen once you’re in SL). That way, background noises at your location will not be heard by others, something that can cause a confusing cacophony into the virtual setting.
  See the Voice FAQ for more information.
  
• Your Audio setup. If chatting with voice (prior item), use earphones, as sound from the speakers can enter your microphone, resulting in a bad echo heard by other participants.
  
• Turn multimedia full capabilities on. As stated previously we will encourage speakers to make full used of the wide range of capacities in SL so make sure that, under Edit > Preferences, you select the Audio/Video tab, and make the necessary selections to play streaming video and music.
  
• Ask for Help. Prior to the conference, test all these setting with colleagues or any residents in SL. If you run into problems e-mail the organization for help.
  

Option 2: Participating physically at a regional chapter

You'll travel to one of the regional nodes, where you'll have the opportunity to interact face-to-face with other participants at the same location. You will watch the conference on the big screen; and you may ask in-world speakers questions by transmitting them to your regional chair, who will enter them by textual chat or provide a microphone for you to ask questions directly.

In this case you do not need to bring your laptop, but you may do so to participate also as an avatar. If you do so, please turn off audio, voice, and multimedia, and rely instead on the audio provided by the organization. This will ensure all local participants have more bandwidth available and a better experience.

Physical chapters

The following regional chapters will be held in physical locations. Participants participating via a physical chapter will be able to take part in social events taking place locally, enjoy broadband communications and physical networking opportunities. New physical chapters are being considered.

• Belgium - Ghent University
  
• Brazil/Rio Grande do Sul - Unisinos (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos)
  
• Brazil/Minas Gerais - Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora
  
• Israel/ H.I.T-Holon Institute of Technology
• Portugal/North - Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Universidade do Minho, Universidade de Aveiro, Universidade do Porto
  
• USA/Texas - University of Texas-Austin
  
• USA/West Coast - University of California-Berkeley
  

NOTE: if you believe your institution can hold a physical chapter in an as-yet unsupported region, please contact the organization (see "Contacts", below).

Important dates

February 28th, 2009 - Deadline for paper submissions

March 31st, 2009 - Submission results provided to authors

June 30th, 2009 - Deadline for early registration

July 31st, 2009 - Deadline for print-ready versions of accepted papers

September 24-26th, 2009 - Conference

Contacts

Organization: infoslactions.org

Programme committee

Adriana Bruno, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Ana Boa-Ventura, University of Texas-Austin, USA
António Ramires Fernandes, Universidade do Minho, Portugal
Augusto Abade, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
Carlos Santos, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Daniel Gonçalves, Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
Dor Abrahamson, University of California-Berkeley, USA
Ederson Locatelli, Unisinos - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil
Eliane Schlemmer, Unisinos (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos), Brazil
Hanan Gazit, H.I.T-Holon Institute of Technology, Israel
João Barroso, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
Leonel Morgado, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
Lucia Pesce, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, Brazil
Luís Pedro, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Lynn Alves, Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Brazil
Martin Leidl, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
Martin Valcke, Ghent University, Belgium
Miltiadis Lytras, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece
Nelson Zagalo, Universidade do Minho, Portugal
Niall Winters, London Knowledge Lab, UK
Paulo Frias, Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Pedro Almeida, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Pedro Sequeira, Escola Superior de Desporto de Rio Maior, Portugal
Pilar Lacasa, Universidad de Alcalá, Spain
Sneha Veeragoudar Harrell,University of California-Berkeley, USA
Stefan Göbel, ZGDV, Germany
Teresa Bettencourt, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Tim Savage, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Organization

Ana Boa-Ventura, University of Texas-Austin, USA

Leonel Morgado, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal

Nelson Zagalo, Universidade do Minho, Portugal

A True Story about TrueCrime

This is a true story about truecrime game I shared with the audience during my presentation on The future of Virtual Worlds and Video Games for Children: Challenges and risks, at the annual summer conference "Children in Virtual Worlds" of Eshnav-People for Wise Use of the Internet in memory of Eran Aderet* which took place this week at the school of business, the Collage of Management in Rison Le-Zion, Israel.

Not long ago my son returned from school and proudly showed me a surprised birthday present he received from his best classmate's friends: the True Crime Streets of L.A computer game. I was happy to see that he have such good friends, but it seemed that he nor his 10 years old friends were aware to the game's level of violence rating. When we go to the movies, we are usually qware if the movie is rated for adults only. I wonder how many parents and children overlook the violent rating of video games before they decide to buy/download and play? How many people are aware of the US ESRB videogame rating system or the Israeli government's legislation adopting the European PEGI rating violent video games system on February 2007?

I faced a dilemma: I did not want to have my 10 years old son play the true crime game on one hand, but I did not want to upset him and be rude to his best friends by boycotting it, on the other hand. Since they usually play computer games together, a boycott might offended my son's best friends too. My main goal was to educate my son and his best fiends, and to raise their level of awareness to the violent videogames rating system in a positive manner.
Now imagine yourself in my place. What would you do in this same situation?

This brings us to the big Q: What do we know about the social & psychological effects of video games in general and about violent videogames in particular?

According to UNESCO's international heath organization 2007 study, Israeli children are positioned first in the amount of time they spend playing video games compare to other nations. 34.6% of Israeli 8th graders spend at least 4 hours a day playing video games!
if this is the case, we have to gain a fuller understanding of the gaming experience. Gaming is a new form of media entertainment and we need to know what users actually experience while they are playing games.

The effect of videogames content and forms

Lee & Peng (2006) argue that the existing game literature usually focuses on the effects of its contents (violent or educational content) and neglects the impacts of its forms. Media forms like size, fidelity, cuts, synchrony and movements are equally important factors for determining psychological impact of media. For example, formal features such as loud nose, unusual camera effects, fast action, of television are at least partly responsible for television's effects on children's aggressive behaviors. Media forms and contents interact with each other. Newer generation of violent games are more realistic due to new forms factors such as high-fidelity video and audio, 3D, life like display size, and seamless interactivity. Lee & Peng (2006) concluded that there is need to study the main effects of computer games form factors and possible interaction effects between the form facets and the contents types (such as violence. Sex, humor, sports, and so on) in order to get a fuller understanding of game effects.

What happens in the Brain during violent videogame play?

Weber, Ritterfeld & Mathiak (2006) studied the association between playing violent video games and aggressive reactions. The researches used a novel, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study. 13 male research participants were observed playing a latest-generation violent video game Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror

Each participant's game play was recorded and content analyzed on a frame-by-frame basis. On screen activities were coded as either “passive/dead, no interactions”; “active/safe, no imminent danger/no violent interactions”; “active/potential danger occurs, violent interactions expected”; “active/under attack, some violent interactions”; and “active/fighting and killing, many violent interactions.” Previous studies in neuroscience on aggressive thoughts and behaviors suggested that virtual violence would suppress affective areas of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the amygdala subsequent to activity variations at cognitive areas of the ACC. Comparison of game play activities with and without virtual violence in 11 participants confirmed the hypothesis. The rather large observed effects can be considered as caused by the virtual violence.

Does the interactive nature of playing violent video games have grater effect than passive watching violent video games?

Unlike passive observational learning playing violent video games involves thousands aggressive interactions which are instantly rewarded by numerous stimuli, raging from player survival level, additional points, special effects and more. Moreover, in Massively Multiplayer games (MMOGs) or in a Player vs Player game mode, the players know that the avatar that they just virtually killed is their real-life buddy!

Polman et al. (2008) asked 57 5th and 6th grader Netherlands children (average age 10-11 years old) to play either Tekken 3 (violent) or Crash Bandicoot (non-violent) for 15 minutes. The researched administered two questionnaires after the experiment at different times, immediately, 1 hour or more than 1 hour after the video game experiment. One questionnaire addressed their gaming habits and the second addressed aggressive behaviors. The children were asked to name another child in the study who displayed acts of physical, verbal or relational aggression. They were also asked if the intentions were for play or being mean. The results show that boys who played violent video game were significantly rated to be more aggressive than those who watched a violent video game. The results show no significant differences in either violent or non-violent video game nor whether played or watched among girls. In addition, the researchers found that boys who immediately finished the experiment were rated to be more significantly aggressive than those who rated after 1 hour or more than 1 hour of the experiment. However, the researchers also noted that the reported results should be taken with caution due to their small sample sizes.

What are the roles of age, social intelligence and parent-child communication in moderating the association between digital game playing and direct and indirect aggression?

Wallenius et al., (2007) studied the roles of age, social intelligence and parent-child communication in moderating the association between digital game playing and direct and indirect aggression were examined in 478 Finnish 10- and 13-year-old schoolchildren based on self-reports. The results confirmed that digital game violence was directly associated with direct aggression, especially at age 10, but only among boys. The moderating role of social intelligence was substantiated among older boys: game violence was associated with indirect aggression among those with high level of social intelligence. Moreover, digital game playing was associated with direct aggression especially when parent-child communication was poor, but only among boys. The findings emphasize the importance of individual and situational factors as moderators of the link between game violence and aggression. The researchers concluded that regardless of how much time you spend on video games, video game violence is positively associated to direct aggression. In a follow-up report, Wallenius & Punamäki (in press) investigated the roles of sex, age, and parent–child communication in moderating the association between digital game violence and direct aggression in a two-year longitudinal study. Finnish 12- and 15-year-old adolescents (N = 316) participated in the follow-up survey. As hypothesized, digital game violence was linked to direct aggression both longitudinally and synchronously, and the link was moderated by parent–child communication in interaction with sex and age. Results suggest that the moderating role of parent–child communication changes with increasing age. Poor parent–child communication may be one of the factors in an adolescent's development that may strengthen the negative effects of digital game violence, but even good parent–child communication does not necessarily protect the adolescent in the long run. Digital game violence seems to be one of the risk factors of increased aggressive behavior.

Coda
This brings us back to the starting point of our journey, the dilemma about the truecrime video game. The solution I found was based on child-parent open dialogue and respect. Moreover, there is no one simple answer to the question about the social & psychological effects of video games on human thought and behavior. Currently, there are more questions than answers. For example: what are the positive effects of playing violent games?

From pure educational perspective, an open dialogue with our children on the theme seems like a good starting point.

= Dedication =

This post is dedicated to "Eshnav-People for Wise Use of the Internet in memory of Eran Aderet" Foundation with deep respect. For info click here

הרשימה מוקדשת לד"ר אבשלום אדרת ולעמותת אשנ"ב -אנשים למען שימוש נבון באינטרנט לזכר ערן אדרת ז"ל

= Bibliography =

Lee, K. M. & Peng, W. (2006). What do we know about social and psychological effects of computer games? A comprehensive review of the current literature. In: Vorderer, P. & Bryant, J. (Eds.) Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (pp. 325-346). Mahwah, NJ: Lwarence Erlbaum.

Polman, H., de Castro, B. O., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2008). Experimental study of the differential effects of playing versus watching violent video games on children’s aggressive behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 34(3), 256-264.

Wallenius, M., Punamäki, R., Rimpelä, A. (2007). Digital game playing and direct and indirect aggression in early adolescence: The roles of age, social intelligence, and parent-child communication. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36(3), 325-336.

Wallenius , M., & Punamäki, R. (in press). Digital game violence and direct aggression in adolescence: A longitudinal study of the roles of sex, age, and parent–child communication, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

[On-line available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.04.010 accessed 18.6.08]

Weber, R., Ritterfeld, U., & Mathiak, K. (2006). Does playing violent video games induce aggression? Empirical evidence of a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Media Psychology, 8, 39–60.

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Dr. Hanan "VRider" Gazit serves as the Israeli Games Research Association (DiGRA) Chapter. A researcher, lecturer and entrepreneur. Owner of a start-up company specializing in delivering services for Israeli investors, companies and organizations interested in using virtual worlds and video games for business, marketing & instruction. His research interests include: Analyzing virtual worlds and video games interactions; Designing effective serious games; Skills acquisition and virtual-real world transfer and New Media. He holds a Ph.D. degree in the Learning Sciences and a Magna Cum Laude M.A. degree in Science Education, both from Tel-Aviv University. A former post doctorate fellow researcher at the Virtual Reality Lab, Institute for Interdisciplinary Applications of Computer Science, University of Haifa. Dr. Gazit serves on the Association of Virtual Worlds` Advisory Board and on the Editorial Review Board of the International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations.

היום בסקנד לייף בואי עמדי לידי: הבדלי מגדר בעולמות וירטואליים? כן יש דבר כזה

Today in Second Life: come stand by me with Dr. Nick Yee

Researcher of the Day: Dr. Nick Yee , research scientist at the Palo Alto Research Center & Stanford University, California US, focusing his studying personal space and ethical issues in Second Life.

Dr. Nick Yee together with Jeremy N. Bailenson, Mark Urbanek, Francis Chang, and Dan Merget. collected data from avatars in order to explore whether social norms of gender, interpersonal distance (IPD), and eye gaze transfer into virtual environments even though the modality of movement is entirely different (i.e., via keyboard and mouse as opposed to eyes and legs). The results showed that:
Male-male dyads have larger interpersonal distance than female-female dyads.
Mmale-male dyads maintain less eye contact than female-female dyads
decreases in interpersonal distance are compensated with gaze avoidance as predicted by the Equilibrium Theory.

Nick Yee asked his undergraduate students to use avatars in Second life and to record the physical position of anyone standing nearby. The findings revealed that female avatars protect their personal space less than male ones, a sex difference that reflects behavior in the real world. Yee says he decided against having his students interact with other users, however. "That would have changed things with our institutional [ethical] review board," he told New Scientist. "We would probably have had to get consent from the users involved." Yee also believes that the ethics of experimenting in virtual worlds is open to negotiations.

Second Life event of the Day with Dr. Nick Yee: Watch Metanomics on NMC Campus in Second Life.

Relevant Publications by Dr.Nick Yee:

Yee, N. (2006). The Demographics, Motivations and Derived Experiences of Users of Massively-Multiuser Online Graphical Environments. PRESENCE: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.

Yee, N. (2001). The Norrathian Scrolls: A Study of Everquest (version 2.5), [website], viewed 17 September 2008 http://www.nickyee.com/eqt/demographics.html


This post is dedicated to Ido Steinberger, the youngest DiGRA ISRAEL Researcher