Second used as a demonstrative medium for real-world software:
Not the most innovative way to use an immersive environment but I suppose it gets the message across.
Metaverse Health
Addiction, research, health in a virtual world
Stories from the Vault
Therapy via machinima
Although not directly health-related, I was struck by the power of the machinima below ( thanks to Mal Burns for the heads-up). It’s produced by Lainy Voom and you can read more about it here. Have a look for yourself then read on below for some further thoughts: Fall (Mini Project 3) from Lainy Voom [...]
PTSD and virtual reality
Australia’s ABC TV recently screened an interesting piece on the use of virtual reality in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – you can view it here. There’s also an extra 7-minute interview with a US Marine whose PTSD treatment was benefitted by the use of virtual reality.
Quantitative vs Qualitative research methods in virtual worlds
Over at Terra Nova, Robert Bloomfield has written a very interesting post on research methods and virtual worlds. You can read it in full here. The quantitative vs qualitative debate is nothing new in research, but Bloomfield posits that the current momentum toward quantitative research poses some challenges for the other side of the coin.
Midwifery, Birthing and Second Life
For the past couple of years I’ve been aware of the work going on in New Zealand with midwifery training and Second Life, mostly thanks to the updates over at SLENZ. Machinima maker Pooky Amsterdam dropped me a line about a film she’s helped produce that explains the role of Te Wāhi Whānau – The [...]
The rise and rise of the Game Widow
This article in the Canadian publication, the London Free Press, describes in detail a couple of case studies of gaming addicts. The case studies themselves paint a fairly standard picture of someone with a compulsion for intensive gaming, though some effort has been made to provide balanced coverage of the issue. The premise of the [...]
Science in Second Life: what a list
Thanks to New World Notes, I’ve found out about a great resource for those interested in science and virtual environments. This list has a solid cohort of health-related sites – some I’ve covered previously and some others I’m now keen to investigate further. Obviously Second Life isn’t the only environment where interesting science is going [...]
Cancer survival: Second Life Machinima
There’s not a lot to add to the great description provided by the creators: “Between Worlds: A Journey of Hope” is a machinima produced by Panacea Luminos of NY HealthScape (USA) filmed and edited by Aliceinthenet (UK) and written by Skylar Smythe (Canada). The inspirational piece is a story of cancer survival and accessing health [...]
PhD: let the marathon begin
This post will be of little interest to most people but for the few that may be, here we go. This week I formally commenced my PhD candidature. It’s been a hell of a ride already getting orientated (a half-day series of sessions on the University and its approach to higher degree students). I’ll be [...]
Sexual expression in virtual worlds – is normalcy achievable?
For many, the Christmas / New Year period is a time when there’s more regular social contact with people. It’s certainly been the case for me and it’s emphasised a well known virtual world conundrum – personal boundaries. Over the past month I’ve had the occasion to discuss virtual worlds with a handful of people [...]
Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms
Just a quick note that the book chapter on virtual worlds, health and simulation I wrote during late 2010 is now available for ordering as part of the book Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms Each chapter has an abstract available for viewing and a PDF sample of the first couple [...]
Problem-based learning in Second Life: new resource
A comprehensive new resource has been released by the UK’s University of Derby and Aston University, Titled Best Practices in Virtual Worlds Teaching: A guide to using problem-based learning in Second Life, this 40+ page publication covers a lot of ground in an easy to understand way. It’s available as a free download of a [...]
3-D healthcare learning environments: new research
Margaret Hansen from the School of Nursing at the University of San Francisco has written a review for the Journal of Medical Internet Research entitled: “Versatile, Immersive, Creative and Dynamic Virtual 3-D Healthcare Learning Environments: A Review of the Literature”. It’s a comprehensive overview of health research and education in virtual worlds. Current players are [...]