Metaverse Health

Archive for the ‘Site news’ Category

A quick post to wish everyone the best for the coming year.

I’ve made some broader predictions for the coming year, but I’m particularly excited about the prospects in regards to health interventions, research or education. It’s still relatively early days, but over the past year I’ve been struck by some of the great work going on in regards to health and I can only see that growing.

Some highlights from 2009 for me:

1. The superb work done by the SLENZ project on midwifery and birthing in Second Life.

2. The fascinating insights of the University of Sydney’s Andrew Campbell on addiction and virtual environments.

3. The perspectives of DeeAnna Nagel and Kate Anthony on psychotherapy in an online environment.

4. The interesting approach taken by a UK company facilitating paramedic training in Second Life.

5. The emerging evidence of the efficacy of virtual environments in nurse education.

I’m looking forward to covering some exciting stories during 2010 and perhaps contributing some research or health work myself. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts or to find out more about your projects.

Here’s to a fruitful 2010!

I’m really pleased to introduce this sister site to The Metaverse Journal. In the time we’ve been covering virtual worlds, health is one of the key areas that pops up time and time again as both a key opportunity and pivotal challenge.

Whether it be the power of thought-control avatars for those with profound physical disabilities, the spectre of virtual world addiction or sex education for teenagers, there’s no shortage of stories to bring you.

As always, we’re very keen to hear your thoughts or feedback.