Skip to main content

EPn-report "The Second Life of Virtual reality"

Finally the English version of the EPN-report on Second Life is available. You can ask for the pdf by sending an email to: info@epn.net They have done a interesting survey into who is involved in Second Life and came up with some surprising conclusions about what people are looking for in Sl! From the Management summary: "EPN explored the consequences of the fusion of virtual and physical reality in the areas of economics, rights and well-being by researching the new opportunities which this fusion offers our society." Here are some of the most interesting conclusions:
  • A considerable portion of those surveyed stated that they spend more than 20 hours a week in the virtual world, Second Life. A large group indicates that more than 30 hours would be the amount of time which they spend there.
  • It is striking that those surveyed who spend considerable time in Second Life frequently belong to the creative or IT professions.
  • Many of those surveyed who indicated that they spend considerable time in Second Life were women. They are frequently better educated than the men, often at university level.
  • The relationship between happiness in real life and in Second Life is strong in the group 30 hours and more except for those who are unhappy in real life. They are happier in Second Life. In the group are several people who are house-bound because of circumstances, illness or a handicap.
  • Second Life appears to be a large social experiment. Visitors form societies and make their own rules. They find their own ways to maintain their standards and values. There are, just as there are in real life, visitors who enjoy harassing others. Products are sold. Some objects can be copied at will; others are subject to copyright rules. All sorts of social and economic problems which manifest themselves in real life do so in Second Life as well.
From a seminar organised by TU Delft it appeared that several Dutch colleges and universities are interested in teaching in a virtual world such as Second Life (in a similar way to how this already takes place at Harvard). I really would like to know who is working in SL from Dutch Universities! Let me know if you know something about this.

Comments

Anonymous said…
For the life of me, I don't know why someone just doesn't put it on the web to be downloaded. But I have requested a copy.
digicmb said…
Hi Taran,(or should I say Nobody Fugazi?)
I completely agree with you! And will ask them (because the report is not mine -;)again to just publish the pdf link!
Namro Orman
Anonymous said…
Hello, I am very interested to here of this paper as i am currently writing my final year dissertation on virtual worlds, one of those being Second life. I have requested the paper and also the link from the second life reuters page does not seem to work. However i have spoken to a dutch user who is studying a masters in media who has a module shortly on second life and developing etc. CJ

Popular posts from this blog

From Netvibes Universes to Netvibes Premium Universes?

I am still trying to create and improve the DIGICMB Universe and now they tell me I could also have it as an EMBEDDED Universe INSIDE my own (library) website. Check here the Premium Universe of Le Figaro Newspaper web site called Myfigaro and you will see the Url is: http://www.lefigaro.fr/monfigaro/ . However, Fred Mini , Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Netvibes , in his French blogs adds "for those interested" that these Premium Universe are "Not for Free"... Read more about Premium Universes at the blog called NETVIBER EXPERIENCE. This Premium Universe gives freedom for more customization and advertising. I will get info on how much it costs soon, i hope. Tags: netvibes , universe , premium , rss , personalisation , sharing , publish , library , libraries , api , widgets , feeds , tab s

PubMed Search & News Widget

OK, I think Toolbars are great for quick easy access to search databases, free or licensed databases. Users can use this jumpstart search to get to their preferred search engines direct from their browser window. But not everybody is allowed to install browser plugins or add-ons. To distribute the Toolbar functionality like the search & news options, I create derived widgets that can be used as a whole in many social networks , websites and intranet sites, everywhere where it is allowed to put up html. The PubMed Search & News Widget is the latest one. I just got confirmation from Widgetbox that they approved it. "Derived" in this case, means, the widget is using the PubMed Toolbar installed custom searches and the installed rss-feed of PubMed New & Noteworthy . (re-published from NLM Toolbars Blog ) Tags: pubmed , nlm , search , widget , toolbar , socialnetworks Related articles by Zemanta PubMed Toolbar in the Spotlight (digicmb.blogspot.com) ...

Updates from Journal Apps (BrowZine, docwise, ReadbyQxMD, Docphin)

Here a short overview of all new updates around the Journal apps we are supporting. Personally I am most excited about the anouncements of " docwise " making big steps to keep up with BrowZine & Read (Integration -"Open in"- with Dropbox, Evernote and more, save and email full text articles), but making a hug jump with unique features, like shareable Folders with docwise users ánd a RSS reader feature (boldly called Google Reader replacement!). Bring it on! BrowZine : just published the Android Version of their App to which the CMB UMCG now has a subscription. To be downloaded from Google Play Store or Amazon App Store the following publishers have been added  Project MUSE Cambridge University Press American Marketing Association Academy of Management Royal Society of Chemistry Institute of Physics American Physical Society Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) American Geophysical Union International Society for Optics a...