UCI receives $3 million to study how gaming technologies can improve workplace collaboration
Institute for Software Research leads three-year project
Irvine, Calif., February 9, 2009
Can the same technologies you use to play hard also help you work hard? UC Irvine has received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study how emerging forms of communication, including multiplayer computer games and online virtual worlds such as “World of Warcraft” and “Second Life” can help organizations collaborate and compete more effectively in the global marketplace.
“Many technologies have come out of computer-based games, and their concepts appear to have real potential,” said Richard N. Taylor, director of UCI’s Institute for Software Research, which is conducting the three-year study. “This grant will determine how emerging technologies can be used or modified to support serious group work.”
Virtual world environments and other technology-enabled forms of communication are gaining popularity as organizations worldwide are decentralizing. To grow and promote efficiency, companies need to develop long-distance, collaborative communication methods. The researchers plan to help in that arena, using innovations such as large-scale multiplayer online games, social networking, and file and media sharing.
-Claire Hayati
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Video games good for children~!
I found this article on yahoo and I remembered that there was a group that was doing something about children... but I could not remember if it was a SNS or a gaming genre...
This article talk about a study that shows that video games are good for developing strategy, creativity, memorization of facts and other vital skills. It brought me back to our discussion of how on the internet the young can teach the old and how there is no real sense of age status... meaning.. just because a person is older that that person has to teach the others...
the only part of this article that made me sad was the suggestion that parents limit their children's gaming time...
The last line was also interesting to consider... that the average gamer in Europe is 33
Hope this helps~
This article talk about a study that shows that video games are good for developing strategy, creativity, memorization of facts and other vital skills. It brought me back to our discussion of how on the internet the young can teach the old and how there is no real sense of age status... meaning.. just because a person is older that that person has to teach the others...
the only part of this article that made me sad was the suggestion that parents limit their children's gaming time...
The last line was also interesting to consider... that the average gamer in Europe is 33
Hope this helps~
Thursday, February 12, 2009
so selfish...?
so something interesting happened when i was on ventrillo yesterday (ventrillo is a third party program kind of like skype that gamers use to talk to one another. usually guilds share a vent). They were taking part in a big RAID (its about 10 or 25 people killing a boss together and this boss drops these items for you). sometimes these items are weapons, gear, trinkets. The way you win the gear is once the boss is killed the raid leader puts up the name of something that dropped from the boss. then all those in the riad get to "roll" to see how gets it. the person with the highest roll gets the item. So anyway, they were taking part in a 10 person raid (i was just in vent listening) and all of a sudden some of the boys start yelling saying "don't let them have it...they are just pugs" Pugs are guys that don't belong in the guild but have been taken along in the raid to complete the 10 person criteria or because their skills are needed. So this argument was because some kind of amazing gear had dropped and the pug had the highest roll, and some of the boys in our guild were not happy with that. The argument lasted for quite a long time, the raid leader insisting that no matter what they could not have completed it without the pug and therefore that person deserved the item as much as anyone in the guild. The result was one of the boys getting angry and signing off both the game and vent.
I was amazed by this episode. it was the first time since i've been playing that i witnessed this and i was thinking to myself how selfish can you be? i completely agreed with the guild leader that without the pug the raid would not have been possible and in all fairness if he rolled the highest he should get the item. I realized that some people have such exclusive selfish ideas about belonging to a guild and the rights that gives them. If they are given into at what point do they say, stop thats not right? eventually the guy came back on, but he never apologized, never even brought it up again. you know, everybody talks about facebook etiquette and such, is there such a thing as wow etiquette? lol because honestly the things people can get away with in this game is astounding.
okay that is all. i wanted to write about this because of how incredibly blown away by such childish behavior.
93885428
I was amazed by this episode. it was the first time since i've been playing that i witnessed this and i was thinking to myself how selfish can you be? i completely agreed with the guild leader that without the pug the raid would not have been possible and in all fairness if he rolled the highest he should get the item. I realized that some people have such exclusive selfish ideas about belonging to a guild and the rights that gives them. If they are given into at what point do they say, stop thats not right? eventually the guy came back on, but he never apologized, never even brought it up again. you know, everybody talks about facebook etiquette and such, is there such a thing as wow etiquette? lol because honestly the things people can get away with in this game is astounding.
okay that is all. i wanted to write about this because of how incredibly blown away by such childish behavior.
93885428
Digital Ethnography
http://mediatedcultures.net/mediatedculture.htm
Apparently, Dr. Wesch, professor of Anthropology at Kansas State University teaches a course on social media. The blog on the site suggest that there is an emphasis on YouTube, and by the end of the course, the students film ethnographies about YouTube and post them on YouTube. An exercise in reflexivity (for the "inhabitants" of YouTube?).
Apparently, Dr. Wesch, professor of Anthropology at Kansas State University teaches a course on social media. The blog on the site suggest that there is an emphasis on YouTube, and by the end of the course, the students film ethnographies about YouTube and post them on YouTube. An exercise in reflexivity (for the "inhabitants" of YouTube?).
Facebook Group for Facebook Research Groups
On another note...
I created a Facebook group for all the Facebook research groups to join to share ideas and articles.
Hopefully this link works:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=66624381412
I created a Facebook group for all the Facebook research groups to join to share ideas and articles.
Hopefully this link works:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=66624381412
Facebook and Myspace Banned at Apple Stores
http://tinycomb.com/2009/02/05/apple-store-bans-facebook-for-life/
This isn't really an article, but more of a blurb about how Apple stores are banning visitors from using Facebook and Myspace at their stores. They claim that too many people come in and use their computers just to surf the web and use these social networking sites that isn't allowing serious buyers from testing out their products. Apple stores are trying to cut down on people from using their stores like free internet cafes.
"So, currently about 16 million people per month are now denied the right to jump on for a minute (or an hour) to update their status or do their daily stalking. It will be interesting if Facebook will see a slight dip in traffic this month due to the change."
That's a lot of people that go to Apple stores just to check their myspaces and facebooks...
This isn't really an article, but more of a blurb about how Apple stores are banning visitors from using Facebook and Myspace at their stores. They claim that too many people come in and use their computers just to surf the web and use these social networking sites that isn't allowing serious buyers from testing out their products. Apple stores are trying to cut down on people from using their stores like free internet cafes.
"So, currently about 16 million people per month are now denied the right to jump on for a minute (or an hour) to update their status or do their daily stalking. It will be interesting if Facebook will see a slight dip in traffic this month due to the change."
That's a lot of people that go to Apple stores just to check their myspaces and facebooks...
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