Dorje's Nest

New Blog for Full Life

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:00:00 +0000

So I thought I deleted this blog taking it's content to the new one, but apparently I forgot. If you're looking for my posts, they are at my new URL http://dkmonroe.com. Hope to see you there.

Avatars on Duty

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:16:00 +0000

FROM SLNP LISTSERV:

In keeping with our mission of improving communities by the
application of knowledge, which unleashes the power of nonprofits,
foundation, and individuals, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (http://www.johnsoncenter.org)
at Grand Valley State University (http://www.gvsu.edu) is offering
Avatar on Duty service (AvOD) to the Philanthropic community in Second
Life. We will have various Avatars available to answer specific
questions related to effective philanthropy and nonprofit leadership.

The AvOD will be available to answer questions in regards to effective
practices and research on specific topics related to philanthropy and
nonprofit leadership.

Our schedule for July and August is as follows (times are in Second
Life Time - SLT):

July 9 from 6 am to 7 am SLT
July 14 from 10 am to 11 am SLT
July 16 from 6 am to 7 am SLT
July 21 from 10 am to 11 am SLT
July 23 from 6 am to 7 am SLT
July 28 from 10 am to 11 am SLT
July 30 from 6 am to 7 am SLT
August 4 from 10 am to 11 am SLT
August 6 from 6 am to 7 am SLT
August 11 from 10 am to 11 am SLT
August 13 from 6 am to 7 am SLT
August 18 from 10 am to 11 am SLT
August 20 from 6 am to 7 am SLT
August 25 from 10 am to 11 am SLT
August 27 from 6 am to 7 am SLT

Please send a message (IM) to 2020Vision Obviate (Real Name - Ashima
Saigal) or email her at saigalas@gvsu.edu if you have any questions.
We look forward to hearing your questions and how we might help you to
grow your organization's mission.

Teleport to us directly at http://tinyurl.com/3mn9ya and we look
forward to seeing you In World!

Virtual Worlds and Democracy

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:27:00 +0000

Face to Face - A Council of Eve Online Gamers - NYTimes.com

"Imagine an airline that encouraged its frequent fliers to elect their own representatives to hammer the company about baggage handling, inept gate agents and interminable delays. Imagine a sports league in which a group of fans had regular meetings with the commissioner to discuss salary cap and rules changes. Unthinkable, right? Yet that is just like what is happening in Eve. Dozens of players from around the (real) world nurtured their constituents, presented their platforms, shook every virtual hand, kissed every virtual baby and spread the inevitable unflattering rumors about their rivals as they campaigned for a seat on the council."

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Call for Papers: Culture of Virtual Worlds

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:45:00 +0000

CALL FOR PAPERS
Journal of Virtual Worlds Research
Special Issue: Culture of Virtual Worlds
Deadline: September 30, 2008
Publication Date: November 20, 2008

Guest Editors
Mark Bell, Indiana University
Mia Consalvo, Ohio University

* jvwresearch.org *

Early users of virtual worlds trumpeted their potential to bring together like-minded groups to create community, to encourage social activism, and to explore facets of identity. Over the past 20 years, we have seen virtual worlds develop from text-based to graphical, and from 2D to 3D interactive spaces. Some spaces have focused primarily on game-related activities, from MUD through Ultima Online and World of Warcraft, while others have concentrated on social aspects of being, allowing users to define their own goals, and often create many parts of the spaces they inhabit--from LambdaMoo to The Palace and Second Life. Virtual worlds have also become big business at the same time as some worlds remain resolutely tied to different goals. Yet what of the cultures that have grown up in, around, and through virtual worlds in this same time period? What do we know about that culture, or more accurately, those cultures and how to define them?

Individuals, groups, and corporations are exploring the potentials of virtual worlds, and what is created in that process says as much about our everyday lives as it does about our times spent online. But what do we know? Because of their richly detailed spaces, virtual worlds tend to encourage specific sorts of participants and players, along with expectations about behavior and culture. Yet at the same time, we cannot know how participants will create a livable space, develop a unique culture, until it happens. How is that process occurring in today's virtual worlds? What do we know about past virtual worlds to guide us? We are slowly learning about how identity shifts and mutates online, yet isn't as free-floating as early theorists claimed. What of users who are in game-centric versus non-game centric places--how does game versus non-game make a difference in who uses the space, how, and why? Likewise, we now see virtual worlds with transnational user bases. How does that impact the culture, the creation, and the experience of virtual worlds. What happens when virtual worlds emerge, when they expand quickly, and when they die, either slowly or suddenly? What happens to users and how do they make sense of those experiences? How do developers play a role in managing all those expectations, and how much *can* they actually control? These questions are only the tip of iceberg, just as today's virtual worlds are at the forefront of emergent design of 3D spaces.

This special issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is dedicated to exploring the issue of culture in virtual worlds. We welcome articles from academic researchers and practitioners in areas such as communications, sociology, psychology, anthropology, information systems, political science, game studies and cultural studies.

Topics of interest include (but not limited to):
• Definitions of Virtual Cultures
• Ethnographies of Virtual Worlds
• Social mechanics and networking in Virtual worlds
• Historical development of Virtual Worlds
• Identity
• Differing goals of play versus non-play centric spaces
• Emergent practices, player-generated content, activities
• Dynamics of economies
• "Serious" uses of Virtual Worlds
• Transnational game spaces, player groups

Guidelines and Deadlines
We welcome submissions in the form of essays, papers, original research, interactive online exhibits with accompanying detailed descriptions, and other forms of scholarship.
For specific submission instructions visit: http://jvwresearch.org.

Deadline for Submission: September 30, 2008
Publication: November 29, 2008

For further information contact:

Mark Bell, Indiana U, typewriter@gmail.com
Mia Consalvo, Ohio U, consalvo@ohio.edu

About the Journal
The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is an online, open access academic journal that adheres to the highest standards of peer review and engages established and emerging scholars from around the world. The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research is a transdisciplinary journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect virtual worlds research.

Editorial Board
Edward Castronova, Indiana University, United States
James Paul Gee, Arizona State University, United States
Steve Jones, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States
Jorge Peña, University of Texas at Austin, United States
Joseph Straubhaar, University of Texas at Austin, United States
Kathleen Tyner, University of Texas at Austin, United States
Natalie Wood, Saint Joseph's University, United States

Editor
Jeremiah Spence, University of Texas at Austin, United States

Associate Editors
Mark W. Bell, Indiana University, United States
Sun Sun LIM, National U. of Singapore, Singapore
Suely Fragoso, Universidade do Vale do Rio do Sinos/Unisinos, Brazil
Joe Sanchez, University of Texas at Austin, United States
Amanda Salomon, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Henry Segerman, University of Texas at Austin, United States
Yesha Y. Sivan, Shenkar College & Metaverse Labs, Israel
Stephanie Smith, NASA JSC Learning Technologies, United States
Caja Thimm, University of Bonn, Germany
*******************************************

Burn MacBook Burn

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:50:00 +0000

Since my last post, I've been without my computer. Not that I've been a consistent poster, but so far it looks like it's going to be a while before I'm back.

Reading and Listening

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:16:00 +0000

Thanks to Mr. Crap I've added the B eat Chicks Podcast, but I couldn't get myself to add SLCR - Second Life Children Radio. It creeps me out.

What I'm Reading Today

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:41:00 +0000

Social Media Learning Packages : nodestone
Looking forward to their thoughts on social media and nonprofits.
epredator's blog - The real life of a metaverse evangelist: My CV as a Tag Cloud - CV 2.0 ?
Wondering if a CV like this would be useful.
Botgirl's Second Life® Diary: The impact of immersive worlds on human emotional processes. Part 1 of a series
Botgirl's Second Life® Diary: The impact of immersive worlds on human emotional processes. Part 2 of a series
Botgirl's Second Life® Diary: Part Three of the series formerly known as The impact of immersive worlds on human emotional processes
Botgirl just GETS it. Even if you don't agree, she makes you think.

Zombies As Social Commentary

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:54:00 +0000

I was watching Shaun of the Dead with a friend and realizing that my generation's obession with zombies is really a social commentary on consumer culture. So in case you don't understand what's going on, here's a breakdown in plain english:

Social Networks & Millennials Pushing Mobile Tech

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:27:00 +0000

Millennials are using their mobile phones to be social - in other words, the mobile phone is an extension of their social selves. Now the challenge is to set-up infrastructure *cough twitter status* and a revenue model that pays for these services. From Go Mobile Young Millennials, Go Mobile - GigaOM & Virtual Worlds News: In-Stat: 230M Mobile Social Networkers by 2012

I personally think the next big apps will be the ones that ties the various social media together and allow a user to keep track of them in applications that unify their social media tools like oh say Digsby.

Research on Presence in Virtual Worlds

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:15:00 +0000

Thanks to malburns on Twitter I have this great site: Keho : the place for Presence wiki. Presence is an importent concept for virtual world research and they have a companion site that allows researchs to collaborate: PeachBit. I need to look at them both more closesly, but I'm wondering if copresence is included or if there is a distinction made.

Social Media in Plain English

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:19:00 +0000

Now we can finally understand them Web 2.0 thingys.

Social Media in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

From the Mail Bag

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:26:00 +0000

Join us at this Thursday May 29, at 7pm in Second Life for Tim Johnson!

Krazy Talk! Industry Giants Speaker Series - Tim Johnson
Presented in conjunction with the Krazy! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art - Vancouver Art Gallery.

May 29, 2008 7:00 pm
At the Great Northern Way Campus Virtual Centre for Digital Media - University Project region - home to the Masters of Digital Media Program!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20Project/150/84/23

http://mdm.gnwc.ca/

Tim Johnson - Animated Feature Director
Tim Johnson made his animated feature film directorial debut in 1998 with Antz, Dreamworks' first computer-animated comedy. Most recently, Johnson directed the lauded DreamWorks feature, Over the Hedge, staring the voices of Bruce Willis and Garry Shandling.

This session will be simulcast free of charge in mixed reality in our Virtual Centre for Digital Media - tickets are available for the first life event by contacting the Vancouver Art Gallery. www.vanartgallery.bc.ca

So You Want to Read a Good Blog on Virtual Worlds

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:59:00 +0000

Then you are in the wrong place my friend. ;-) Try here:
Hiperia3D News: 7 Good Virtual Worlds Blogs

Went Nuts for Web 2.0 Sites

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:47:00 +0000

God! I should be sleeping. Before you ask, YES I did look into all of these and I forgot a few before this post. *sigh* I drink more coffee; so, I can stay awake at work; but, I stay up late; so, I need more coffee.

Sandy — your free personal email assistant
Music Celebrities Pop Culture and Movies - Social Media Community - Buzznet
Vimeo, Video Sharing For You
hakia Search Engine Beta
Wikia - Wikis from Wikia - Join the best wiki communities
Radar: Instant Picture Conversations
Worth1000.com | Photoshop Contests | Are you Worthy™ | home page
FotoFlexer - The world's most advanced online photo editor
drupal.org | Community plumbing
Amazon Web Services @ Amazon.com

Another Podcast I'm Liking

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:38:00 +0000

EscapePod added the the first installment of PodCastle: "Come Lady Death"ome Lady Death
I have to say I wasn't expecting to like this because I don't particularly like Fantasy, but this story was so good that I was late for work. So, check it out. I think you'll find it as enjoyable as I do.

Event: Another Nonprofit Commons Sim Launched

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:07:00 +0000

Join in the Celebration of the Launch of the Second Nonprofit Commons
Sim

Nonprofits, supporters to host mixed reality grand opening celebration
in San Jose and in the metaverse on May 28th

Wednesday, May 28, 2008 starting at 10:00 A.M. PT/SLT, in the new
second Nonprofit Commons location:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/aloft%20nonprofit%20commons/100/68/25
<http://slurl.com/secondlife/aloft%20island/100/68/25>

Highlights:

* Grand opening May 28 of the Nonprofit Commons 2/ALOFT, our
second sim housing a large community of nonprofit organizations

* Mixed-reality event, to include a live presentation, a
demonstration of the new Second Life Nonprofit Commons island to
attendees at the NetSquared Conference
<http://www.netsquared.org/conference> in San Jose, and events within
Second life

* Live peformances all day within Second Life, with over 8 hours
of music from musicians around the world

* Media is invited to attend in-world event as well as to San
Jose, and phone interviews are available upon request

This second of two Nonprofit Commons nonprofit sims was generously
donated by TakingITGlobal <http://www.takingitglobal.org/> . Like the
first Nonprofit Commons sim on Plush, a virtual space for nonprofits,
managed by TechSoup <http://www.techsoup.org/> , Nonprofit Commons 2
creates and houses a community of social benefit organizations in the
online virtual world of Second Life. This community of practice is
entirely volunteer-run and hosts organizations from across the globe. To
date, they have created a community blog
<http://www.nonprofitcommons.org/> , Google Group
<http://groups.google.com/group/TechSoup-Second-Life> and a
resource-rich wiki <http://npsl.wikispaces.com/> , and have held
mixed-reality events, workshops, and regular weekly town hall meetings
<http://npsl.wikispaces.com/Weekly+Meetings> . This international
community is a hub for charities to share best practices, work together
on innovative ways to benefit their causes, and network with
organizations from across the globe.

The Gala event will be a mixed-reality launch party, complete with
networking, a panel of speakers, and tours of the Nonprofit Commons.
This live event will take place in the real-world of San Jose,
California as part of the NetSquared Conference
<http://www.netsquared.org/conference> , and within the virtual world of
Second Life. These events will occur simultaneously and will also
feature interactivity between the two worlds. Following the
mixed-reality event, we will have an afternoon and evening full of live
entertainment in Second Life. Audience members in the Second Life
portion of the event will include Nonprofit Commons residents, their
invited guests, and media representatives. Don't miss this interactive
collaboration, connecting the virtual world with real-world issues.

Event details:

* The mixed-reality event takes place Wed.May 28th in Second Life,
broadcast live from the NetSquared conference in San Jose, 10:00 am-
12PM PST (SLT), online in Second Life
<http://slurl.com/secondlife/aloft%20island/100/68/25> , and is hosted
by TechSoup <http://www.techsoup.org/> , Nonprofit Commons
<http://www.nonprofitcommons.org/> and NetSquared
<http://www.netsquared.org/> .
* Second Life entertainment will continue throughout the day, into the
evening at the Nonprofit Commons 2:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/aloft%20nonprofit%20commons/100/68/25
<http://slurl.com/secondlife/aloft%20island/100/68/25>

Event activities:

10am- 11:30am PST/SLT (Second Life Time): Nonprofit Panel and Q & A
session

11:30- noon: Tours of the Nonprofit Commons offices in Second Life

Noon-->: Activities continue in Second Life throughout the afternoon
and night with major concerts, poetry readings, tours, dancing, and
games.

Information and Inquiries: More information about the real-world
NetSquared conference can be found on the NetSquared site
<http://www.netsquared.org/2008/conference> .

Please RSVP via email to Megan Keane (megan megan@techsoup.org>
@techsoup.org megan@techsoup.org> ) for in-world attendance to
this event or IM Penguin Kuhn in Second Life. Join the TechSoup group,
in-world to receive announcements about this event and future nonprofit
events in Second Life.

******************************************************

About the Non Profit Commons

2 Locations:
NPC1- Plush Non Profit Commons:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/128/178/26
<http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/133/232/76>
NPC2 - Aloft Non Profit Commons:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/aloft%20nonprofit%20commons/100/68/25
<http://slurl.com/secondlife/aloft%20island/100/68/25>

Members of Non Profit Commons meet each Friday at 8:30 PST/SLT at Plush
Nonprofit Commons Ampitheater. Visitors are always welcome to join us
in making a difference one pixel at a time.

Nonprofit Commons (NPC) consists of two virtual locations (sims) housing
over 65 social benefit organizations, managed by a community of
volunteers, under the leadership of TechSoup. The NPC1 sim was donated
by Anshe Chung Studios and NPC2 sim donated by TakingIT Global. NPC was
designed to lower the barriers of access to Second Life, to create a
community of practice for nonprofits to explore and learn about the
virtual world, and to investigate the many ways in which nonprofits
might utilize this unique environment. Through this community, we
provide free office space to qualifying groups, meet and collaborate,
create a cooperative learning environment and foster outreach,
education, fund-raising, all in a virtual space. We focus on providing
an accessible entry-point to Second Life and on creating a community of
NPOs, not just having NPOs live separately and exist separately
in-world. We believe that Second Life is a wonderful place not just to
entertain, but also to collaborate, educate, inspire and assist our
fellow avatars (and the humans behind them). We welcome all who wish to
join us as partners, collaborators or supporters.
-----------------

About TechSoup

TechSoup is a nonprofit organization that helps other nonprofits acquire
and use technology to better serve their missions. We are working toward
a time when every nonprofit and NGO on the planet has the technology
resources and knowledge they need to operate at their full potential.
Through our Website, nonprofits will find a broad range of software
donated by leading tech companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Symantec,
Intuit, and Adobe, along with content and community forums targeted
specifically at a nonprofit audience. The NetSquared conference
showcases social Web innovations that nonprofits can use to dramatically
increase their reach and impact.

Please Take This Survey RE: Business in SL

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:44:00 +0000

Sent to me via a listserve:

I'm working on a project to explicate users willingness to do business in SL. The results of this study should be useful in understanding the determinants of SL users decision to conduct business in the SL environment. I would really appreciate if you can help me in filling out a survey. The survey is very short and it will take about 10 minutes.

Please note that your responses are confidential and your participation is anonymous.

Here is the link to the survey.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6VLGGoY9V9w5gb2m2hK4Qw_3d_3d

oohpppps...I'm absolutely broke, hence I'm unable offer a LUCK DRAW incentive. However, I will be willing to email the results of my survey to any one that is interested.

Thank you for your anticipated response. If you have any queries about the survey, I can be reached via email and the telephone number provided below.

kindest regards

Adesegun Oyedele
College of Business Administration
Department of Management, Marketing and International Business
The University of Texas-Pan American
1201 West University Dr.
Edinburg, TX 78539-2999
e-mail: adeseguno@yahoo.com
Phone: (956) 381 3383
Fax: (956) 381-2867

The Gold of Virtual Worlds

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:55:00 +0000

When businesses employ geographically dispersed employees, they have to overcome the challenges of culture and lack of social contact. It seems that Second Life and other virtual worlds can provide a medium where social interactions can be provided, while also allowing for cultural differences (example bowing, deferring to superiors when using email or phone).

Yet, what's really interesting is that these are game environments; so, one should be able to to create your own workplace rules that everyone must follow. Since it's a game-like environment and people are conditioned to follow game rules, individual may follow those rules. So you could make different workplaces based on different rules of the game. STAPLER FIGHTS MANDATORY!

Australasian Virtual Worlds Workshop 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:50:00 +0000

Call for Participation

Workshop Dates: 28th and 29th November 2008

The Australasian Virtual Worlds Workshop is an event for Australasian researchers, educators and business people involved in virtual worlds, to meet and discuss topics related to virtual worlds.

The aim of this workshop is to build local capacity and virtual world expertise that connects with global expertise.

This workshop builds upon foundations established by the Second Life Discovery Day held in 2007 at Monash University, Australia. Proceedings from that workshop are available at the website http://www.avww.org.

Participants are encouraged to submit an abstract, presentation or panel proposal. Presentation formats that encourage active participation by attendees are preferred.

Selected authors may also be invited by the conference committee to write up their presentations for publication in a special issue of a journal after the workshop.

The workshop discussions will be mixed reality events held both at Swinburne and in Second Life to facilitate local and international participation.

== Important Dates ==

Submissions Open: June 2nd 2008
Submission Deadline: August 1st 2008
Email Notification: September 15th 2008
Workshop Dates: 28th and 29th November 2008
Journal publication: late 2009

== Presentations being accepted ==

You can submit a 30 minute presentation proposal on a topic related to virtual worlds. Suggested areas are:

- Using virtual worlds for education
- Current research into virtual world technology and the uses of virtual worlds
- Virtual world implementations
- Conducting business using virtual worlds
- Tools for working in and with virtual worlds (hardware & software)

The proposal should be submitted at http://avww.org/?q=cfp

== Contact ==
Lead conference organiser: Sukunesan Sinnappan

David Egger' TED Wish

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:28:00 +0000

I find it interesting that the author who wrote the short story "Where Were We," which details two characters inability to give away a large sum of money in Africa, is supporting this wish: Once Upon A School » Challenge

More Scripts for Doors

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Wed, 21 May 2008 04:24:00 +0000

So it seems that I could post nothing on this blog and still get hits because of two blog posts about scripting doors in SL. So that I can die and live on in my blog posts, I have yet another post about doors. Enjoy the link to scripts you can use to create a door with an 11 button key pad door. Key Pad Door - Second Life Wiki

Exploring

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Wed, 21 May 2008 04:05:00 +0000

I finally got a chance to check out Whimsey:

I'm thinking this is a nice place to hang out. I especially like the view of the dunking bird from here.

Links for Today

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:40:00 +0000

Brands and Worlds. Who’s the Daddy? : Kzero
This is an excellent article on RL brands and virtual worlds. Trys to answer the question: "Do brands need VW?"
How Second Life Affects Real Life - TIME

This article summarizes research on how having an avatar affects how you view yourself in RL. For example, if you have a "good-looking" avi, you will feel more confident in RL. What does it mean when you have wings I wonder?

Share videos, Create compilations, Add slides and annotations | Omnisio

This piece of online software looks interesting if you want to do a video presentation with slides. I get annoyed when you get to see the speaker whose talking about certain slide, but you don't get to see the slides in the video.

Vara Software : ScreenFlow - Professional Screencasting Studio

I'm thinking I need to download this for some screencasting fun. Although, I first need a reason to screencast. *sighs* Never mind.

Call for Papers League of Worlds Conference Oct 2008 Hong Kong

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:42:00 +0000

The International Conference on Exploring Virtuality
5th Annual Colloquium on Online Simulations, Role-playing, and Virtual Worlds

October 13-17, 2008

Hong Kong University
Hong Kong, China

Future worlds: Virtual worlds today and tomorrow

Call for Papers

About the League of Worlds
The League of Worlds (LoW) annual colloquium brings together people engaged in the creation of virtual worlds and real-time simulations for educational and training purposes. Our mission is (1) to stimulate and disseminate research and analysis regarding the theoretical, technical, and curricular developments in; and (2) to contribute towards the development of coherent frameworks for the advancement, application and assessment of educational and social uses of role-playing, simulations, and virtual worlds. Our primary areas of interest include:

Theoretical analysis
The development of practical applications
The documentation of framework projects and case studies.
LoW5 Theme
"Future worlds: Virtual worlds today and tomorrow."

Hundreds of virtual worlds exist to serve youth, educational, and corporate markets, yet few offer anything more than a glimpse of how technological innovations such as virtual worlds may lead to new forms, methods, and modes of communication, collaboration, and creation. We are experiencing unprecedented growth in the funding and development of virtual worlds, but toward what purpose?

This year, we will consider the opportunities and challenges the proliferation of virtual worlds offer today, and contemplate what they hold for tomorrow. In many ways, the future of virtual worlds depends on how early adopters decide to use them to advance and to extend their organizational mission. But what factors will influence which platforms and worlds survive and which ones do not?

About the colloquium
The League of Worlds colloquium is not an ordinary conference.

The League of Worlds brings together creators of virtual worlds and real-time simulations for educational, artistic, and creative purposes. Participants share a passionate interest in advancing theory and praxis in creative, educational, and cultural contexts. The League of Worlds is committed to exploring complex, networked social spaces, such as Second Life, Croquet, Metaverse, Fablusi, Active Worlds and other simulation and/or role-playing platforms, as they relate to questions of virtuality vs. reality, identity construction in new media technologies, and other key questions. In particular, we invite research into framework projects and case studies and strongly encourage exploration with pedagogical or other practical applications. Both creative and technical studies are welcome.

Participants are expected to challenge one another to take a fresh look at the questions that arise when people meet in virtual territories to play, to learn, and to share. Participation is purposely limited and there will be no concurrent sessions. Instead, participants will engage in an ongoing dialogue about virtual environments, integrating their own perspectives and expertise into the conversation.

Proposal categories
The League of Worlds colloquium is designed to support sharing and meaningful reflection. Participants should allow one another the opportunity to share experiences, to demonstrate technologies, and to think critically. To facilitate these activities, the colloquium review committee is interested in submissions on the following topics:

Technologies used to create and manage virtual environments (tools, hardware, software)
Vision for what virtual environments could be (architecture, metaphors)
Teaching and Learning in virtual environments
Role playing and simulations
Social constructivism
Communication and collaboration
Serendipitous interactions and learning
Community formation in virtual environments (interaction, presentation of self, presence)
Culture (development of, artefacts)
Administrative/technical support issues in virtual environments
Change (Advocacy for, dissemination and sharing of research, how change takes place)
Resources (to create and/or support any of the above themes)
Research (on virtual env of what you are doing with virtual environments and how it relates to one of the above themes (including description of practice and relevant research)

Explanation of how this summary can contribute to the dialogue theme planned for the colloquium.

Paper submissions are double blind peer-reviewed. All accepted papers, the colloquium program, and a list of attendees will be published on the colloquium website. Papers should be between 2500-5000 words (4-8 pages).

Contac t information for each
Affiliated institution(s)
Job title(s)
Brief description of experience with virtual worlds, simulations, and/or role playing technology
Submit all proposals in Word, RTF, PDF or HTML format to:
Dr. Stephen Bronack at bronacksc@appstate.edu

Please refer to the League of Worlds website for information regarding fees, facilities, and accommodations: http://www.leagueofworlds.com

Hope you will feel free to distribute this revised version to interested parties.
League of World

Important Dates

Paper submission - summary and explanation July 20, 2008
Registration Deadline September 5, 2008
Final Draft Due September 5, 2008

Dreams of Zombies Dancing in Their Heads

noreply@blogger.com (Dorje Kawabata) — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:16:00 +0000

Between One Eighteen Migration episodes, I'm finding that I startle to noticing that I'm being drawn to zombie media: Shawn of the Dead, Thriller, Army of Darkness, The Serpent and the Rainbow...hell, I even stumbled over an old Eclectic Review podcast about them. *sighs* Is it JUST me? I think it's time to get some help.