DrYesha

29-May-2013: My Talk at Lingnan HK University: 3D3C Augmented Reality: A New Place for Innovation.

2013-05-20T22:19:00.002-05:00

Date: 29 May 2013 (Wednesday)
Time: 14:00-15:30
Venue: SEK 210 2/F Simon & Eleanor Kwok Bldg.
Langauge: English

I have the great pleasure to give this review talk at Lingnan University.

About Lingnan from Wikipedia:
Lingnan University (of HK, China) is one of the eight government-funded universities in Hong Kong, which represents its status as one of the top eight colleges of higher education in the region. Its main campus is located in suburban Tuen Mun, close to the West Rail Station Siu Hong.
The Lingnan University administration believes that it provides students with a quality education distinguished by the best liberal arts tradition from both East and West. It attempts to adopt a whole-person approach to education which enables its students to think, judge, care and, ultimately, act responsibly in the changing circumstances of Hong Kong, the region and the world.

The Metaverse Assembled - JVWR 1st Issue of 2013 is published (30-Apr-2013)

2013-04-30T02:14:00.001-05:00




	We are happy to announce the new publication of The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research: Volume 6, Number 1: The Metaverse Assembled (2013) The editorial team: Leonel Morgado, INESC TEC (formerly INESC Porto), UTAD – University of Trás-os-Montes Alto Douro, Portugal Nelson Zagalo, University of Minho, Portugal (Cover: Nelson Fernandes) In this issue you will find selected papers from Slactions 2012 as well as other papers from 2012. These six papers present the diversity of topics and research methods in our field. JVWR will continue to encourage this diverse approach as we explore and expand our field. Managing Editor Corner Welcome to the First Issue of 2013 Yesha Y. Sivan Research Papers Language Learning in Virtual Worlds: The Role of Foreign Language and Technical Anxiety Sarah E. Pasfield-Neofitou vManagement: Initial Exploration of Management Practice Susan Wurtz, Dale Cyphert, Leslie K. Duclos Virtual Worlds as a Tool to Facilitate Weight Management for Young People Michael James Taylor, Dave Taylor, Myutan Kulendran, Paul Gately, Ara Darzi Do As We Do, Not As You Think: The Effect of Group Influence on Individual Choices in a Virtual Environment Rebecca Rayburn-Reeves, Jennifer Wu, Sara Wilson, Beth Kraemer, and Phillip Kraemer Architecting Scalable Academic Virtual World Grids: A Case Utilizing OpenSimulator Charles J. Lesko, Yolanda A. Hollingsworth Virtual Archaeology in Second Life and OpenSimulator Luís Miguel Sequeira, Leonel Caseiro Morgado We are also happy to let you know of the following: Check the summary of our ICIS 2012 Orlando workshop on Augmented Reality. Our web site includes a special page onevents in our field. We have a special page that includes a cover view of all our past issues. You are also welcome to join our Facebookpage (TheJVWR) and/or subscribe to our mailing list (on the top left of http://www.jvwresearch.org). You can follow our twitter @TheJVWR. You are all invited to participate (or present) at our meeting at ICIS 2013 in Milan. If you are interested in publishing a literature review on a particular area of Virtual Worlds, see our special Lantern issue, due to be published beginning of 2014. Enjoy your read. Thankfully, Tzafnat Shpak Coordinating Editor Prof. Yesha Y. Sivan Managing Editor TheJVWR - The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research http://jvwresearch.org

Google Glass unboxing video and Patent Link

2013-04-17T20:49:00.001-05:00

Few color options for Google Glass (Image source)

A short video that show the unboxing of Glass.

The video gives you a feel of the features (buttons), and style Google is bestowing on this project.

A major investment in adding 3D3C into our world.

and the long demo from google i/o from 2012 (include a hangout from Glass):

The actual patent details the many small innovations - that -- according to Google -- create unique innovation.

Protect Yourself:The One Action U MUST do: 2-step verification in ALL major tools: Google, Facebook, Dropbox, Apple ID.

2013-04-06T22:56:00.000-05:00

Adding 2-step verification to gmail is EASY

Israel is now being "attacked" (more liked being annoyed). One of the core challenges is stealing user passwords.(and yes, it can cause lots of demange -- if you are in the US see http://www.privatewifi.com/someone-stole-my-identity-now-what/).

People ask me a lot what to do. There is lots of advice out there... but people are often busy.
So I want you to do ONE THING (if you are like many people using gmail).

Please, plz, PLEASE -- use 2-step verification. I have been using it for 12 months and it is simple.
Adds just a bit of hassle, but works -- it will cut your cummuliative lots by 95% if your password is stolen.

It is basically easy -- but you do need to read and understand it (understand what to do when you do not have a phone).

Here's a short video about it:

And, while you are at it. Do it also for facebook and your other tools:

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150172618258920 (works very well).

* Apple ID: https://appleid.apple.com (cant say if it is easy, I just added it).

* Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/help/363/en (did it, easy).
* Google: http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=180744 (a MUST)
* Microsoft: partially implemented -- I never use it. Google it -- or shall i say Bing it.

Even more info: see http://www.howtogeek.com/130844/secure-yourself-by-using-two-step-verification-on-these-16-web-services/

Book I Read: Race Against the Machine << the Impact of Information Systems on Jobs

2013-03-26T00:40:00.002-05:00

This book is about jobs (lack of) and information technology (more and more of it) the main claim is strong and one that should be read by every student as they plan their future. The second part (about the potential) cover in short (too short) the potential. Lots of links to prime sources (which I like much).

Personally, I think we should plan for zero growth economy. Together with the nature of Digital products -- the books of economy needs to be re-written.

Written by two MIT/Harvard guys Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfeem it sums up the impact of technology (especially of IT) on jobs.

Erik Brynjolfsson is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Director of the MIT Center for Digital Business, Chairman of the Sloan Management Review, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and co-author of Wired for Innovation: How IT Is Reshaping the Economy. He graduated from Harvard University and MIT.

Andrew McAfee is a principal research scientist and associate director at the MIT Center for Digital Business at the Sloan School of Management. He is the author of Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization's Toughest Challenges. He graduated from MIT and Harvard University.

A perfect read for 3 hrs if you have time in your kindle. :-)

CfP: 3D3C Virtual Worlds -- Topical Lantern Review -- JVWR Special Issue and Workshop

2013-03-23T02:21:00.002-05:00




	CfP: 3D3C Virtual Worlds -- Topical Lantern Review -- JVWR Special Issue and Workshop in Milan, Italy December 15, 2013 Editors Yesha Y. Sivan, Metaverse-Labs and The Academic College of Tel-Aviv Yaffo School of Management and Economics, Israel. Maged N. Kamel Boulos, University of Plymouth’s Health Informatics, Devon, UK. David Gefen, Drexel University's LeBow College of Business, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Abhishek Kathuria, Hong Kong University’s School of Business, Hong Kong, China. * Lantern - see at the end of this call why we chose this image. Note: First Deadline May 19, 2013 -- Authors submit a proposed 2-page extended abstract or initial papers (see full deadlines schedule below.) Motivation and Scope The first thematic issue of our 7th year (next year) will focus on a literature review of 3D3C worlds according to specific topics. The issue will connect with our JVWR workshop in Milan, Italy, on December, 15 (as part of AIS ICIS 2013). (The issue will also be a base for a proposed book, where we will expand on this theme.) For this issue, “topical review” means a review of corpus of knowledge on one aspect of virtual worlds. It can be a classic literature review, a more formal statistical meta-analysis or other forms suggested by authors. For this issue, "3D3C Worlds" is defined as a combination of four factors: 3D as in three dimensional representation of worlds as seen in Google Earth, Augmented Reality, 3D printing and the like; Community as in the collection of people work, play and act together. Consider Facebook and Twitter as one example, and enhance it by the dynamics of World of Warcraft guilds; Creation is the ability to create new artifacts, as seen for example in Second Life or in Open Source movement; Commerce is the ability to harness these previous factors to gain monetary real value (consider Bitcoin, exchanges, etc.) The issue will be combined of three sections: Applications, Technologies and Policies, each includes several papers: Applications: Medical, Commerce, Defense etc. Technologies: 3D, AR, Money, etc. Policies: Standards, Privacy, Taxation, Legal, etc. We have initial submissions in the following topics: Collaboration Medicine Learning ART Taxation Possible topics include, but are not limited to: Applications Defense related virtual worlds Relations and Love and virtual worlds Ambient Life Music and virtual worlds Virtual Worlds for Sales Technologies The state of GPU Measuring virtual worlds Sensors Robotics Virtual Worlds and mobile Virtual worlds and the web (HTML5) 3D Printing Policies Economics and Virtual Worlds Privacy Avatar rights Legal rights Standards (open vs. close) Submission Instructions Interested authors should submit a two-page extended abstract by the deadline indicated below. Authors will then be invited to submit original scholarly papers of up to 7500 words including footnotes, references, and appendices. All submissions (abstracts and papers) should be made via the JVWR publishing system (see http://jvwresearch.org > About JVWR > For Authors). All submissions will be reviewed under our double open policyhttp://jvwresearch.org/index.php/2011-07-30-02-51-41/for-authors. Accepted papers will be published in Volume 7, Number 2 (2014) of the Journal (subject to change). Questions? email us to: info AT jvwresearch DOT org More about JVWR The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://www.jvwresearch.org/) is an online, open access academic journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship. JVWR welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect with virtual worlds research. Virtual worlds ignite a continuously evolving area of study that spans multiple disciplines. The JVWR editorial team looks forward to engaging a wide range of creative and scholarly research. Deadlines and Timeline March 23, 2013 - Call published May 19, 2013 - Authors submit proposed extended abstract or initial papers June 3, 2013 - Editors make decisions about proposals August 4, 2013 - Authors submit full paper September 2, 2013 - Editors return review report and initial decision September 29, 2013 - Authors submit revised paper November 3, 2013 - Editors return final comments and decision December 15, 2013 - ICIS JVWR workshop (Milan, Italy) January 12, 2014 - Authors final submit, based on comments, directly to JVWR coordinator February 16, 2014 - Publication: Q1 2014 Connection with 2013 International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2013) Authors with accepted and conditional accepted papers will be invited to the ICIS 2013 Milan workshop, where we will meet with the editors, fellow authors, and other JVWR community members. p.s. Why Lantern? The field of virtual worlds is vast, interconnected and expanding. In this issue, we take a review lantern and shed some light on some of the fields' sides. Clearly, we will not cover everything. We will often see shadows and not the full image. Ultimately, we hope to encourage further exploring of the field. More Information We are also happy to let you know of the following: Our next issue Metaverse Assembled (2013),led by Leonel Morgado, UTAD - ECT, Portugal & Nelson Zagalo, University of Minho, Portugal will be published mid-April 2013. The 2012 Orlando Augmented Reality workshop was interesting and successful. Summary, presentations and pictures are available on our site, special page events. Check our web site's special page on events in our field for updates. Review past issues on our website's specialall issues cover view page. We welcome you to join our Facebook page 'theJVWR' Follow us @theJVWR on Twitter Subscribe to our mailing list (on the top left ofJVWR homepage at http://jvwresearch.org/).No spam guaranteed (max. one email per week.)Note: Subscribing to our mailing list is different from being a JVWR user. To become a JVWR user (editor, author, reviewer) please seeREGISTER on the right-hand menu of the homepage. Spring is in the air with our best wishes for a Happy Easter to all. Thankfully, Yesha Sivan Managing Editor, The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research Professor and Head of the Management Information System Program, Tel Aviv Academic College Founder, Metaverse-Labs Ltd.

My top 10 insights re Mobile: From Pope Francis 2005, 2013

2013-03-14T17:52:00.001-05:00

The lower image was taken at the announcement of the new Vatican - Pope Francis. (see slide #8 here). (I could not track the upper image, combined image appeared in feeder.co.il)

According to this chart (published 13-mar-2013), it is estimated that Google activates "around 1.4 million Android devices per day."

[if you know of updated iOS data I would love to post them here as background.]

So what is the meaning of mobile devices (phones + tables + minis), here are my top 10 insights.

(1) More people are and will connect to the world via these mobile devices.

(2) We are using computers less and less. In fact, the use of computers is now kept just for more complex tasks (documents, excel, design, etc.) Regular use (surfing the net, video, Facebook, email) is done much easier with mobile devices.

(3) Mobile is not a computer. It is much more: a computer, bunch of sensors, cloud computing. This is a qualitative difference.

(4) If you are an established firm and have no mobile web site -- you are loosing.

(5) If you are an ICT start-up that has NO mobile strategy -- you are lost.

(6) You have to think well about native apps vs. HTML5. (I vote for HTML5 -- but it is slow to come). (disclosure 1: I'm the head of the W3C office in Israel; disclosure 2: W3C IMHO are too slow in HTML5)

(7) More people are using the internet via apps (less via browsers).

(8) There will be limits to bandwidth (even with 4G), net neutrality is not possible.

(9) Lots of new opportunities for mobile applications. Industries will change (some will die: newspapers as we know them. Finally, I canceled my last paper this January).

(10) New devices -- iOS watch, Google Glass will bring even more value.

and for fun, two videos about these new devices:

Video about the Apple Watch:

Video of Google Glass

JVWR workshop ICIS 2013 (Milan, Italy, December 15) and CFP for "Virtual Worlds - Meta Analysis" Issue

2013-03-08T06:34:00.000-05:00

See the updated CfP

March 18-21, 2013: GPU Technology Conference (GTC) - San Jose Conference Center, CA

2013-02-27T00:43:00.002-05:00




	Register today and received an additional JVWR 10% discount when you use promo code GMNVE875512UX1Z. GPU Technology Conference (GTC), San Jose Conference Center March 18-21, 2013 San Jose, CA, USA GTC is the place to learn about and share how advances in GPU technology help scientists, developers, graphic artists, designers, researchers, engineers, and IT managers tackle their day-to-day graphics and computational challenges. Through world-class education, including hundreds of technical sessions, tutorials, panel discussions, and moderated roundtables, GTC brings together thought leaders from a wide range of fields. Explore the full line-up of 400+ sessions:https://registration.gputechconf.com/form/session-listing Register: http://www.gputechconf.com/page/registration-pricing.html Thankfully, Yesha Sivan Managing Editor, The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research Professor and Head of the Management Information System Program, Tel Aviv Academic College Founder, Metaverse-Labs Ltd.

Forward to a friend

© 2013 Journal of Virtual Worlds Research All rights reserved.

Template created by Dominique Elkind

WIX Hackathon: March 7-9 2013 Call for developers to make money

2013-02-12T00:59:00.001-05:00

Wix, is a power house, in the web ecosystem. Via Wix, over 30 million sites were created. and Wix -- if you did not know -- is an Israeli company. I had the great pleasure to visit last week.

This year, Wix has gone the next step, and has created an the Wix app market where 3rd parties can create AND SELL apps to Wix site.

In the Hackathon, you will first learn how to build the apps, and then ... build them.

See sign up page
and Facebook group

RSVP is a must

Thursday, March 7 - Pre Hackathon workshop
18:00 Meet up and drinks
18:30 David Schwartz - Wix App Market - designing the right App to win
19:00 Yoav Abrahami - Working with Wix SDK
21:00 Drinks and mingling - Start crafting your ideas and building your teams.

Friday, March 8 - First day

10:00 Get together and breakfast

11:00 Opening
11:30 Entrepreneurs and innovators pitches. 1 minute each!!!
12:30 Lunch and Team up!
19:00 Dinner

Saturday, March 9 - Second day

10:00 Breakfast

12:30 Lunch
17:00 Last chance to submit App
18:00 Demos
19:30 Winners announced
20:00 Food, drinks and after party

CFP JVWR Special Issue on Arts

2013-02-05T02:40:00.001-05:00




	CFP JVWR Issue on the Arts At the end of the year (2012) we looked at all past unpublished submissions to find the best papers for the Assembled issue. We had more than 50 submissions. Apparently, we had several unique papers connecting virtual worlds and the arts. Thus we have decided to make a special issue about "Arts and Virtual Worlds" as Volume 6 No. 2 (due for publication around June 2013 -- this year!) So... We are looking for 1-2 co-editors for this issue -- if you have an interest and background in the field as well as experience in academic editing, please let us know by sending your CV and a cover letter to tzafnat.shpak@jvwresearch.org. Also: if you have a ready FULL art-related paper that you think may fit this issue, please submit it ASAP (deadline: 20-Feb-2013). Current authors, who have already submitted relevant papers will be notified, as their papers start the review process. New authors are invited to submit papers that are innovative, original, and contribute to the advancement of understanding of the arts as it applies to virtual worlds. Papers will be considered by the Guest Editorial Board and reviewed by expert referees using our double -open policy. Double-open policy means that in general, authors do not need to anonymize their papers, and reviewers identity is also known to authors. For more details about it see JVWR site --> About JVWR --> For Authors --> Our double-Open Policy. Submission Instructions Authors are invited to submit full papers via the JVWR publishing system (see www.jvwreserach.org> about > for authors). Accepted papers will be published online in Volume 6, Number 2 of the Journal, 2013. Deadlines and Timeline Please use the Journal publishing system (login at the top right of the journal site, state that your submission is for the Arts issue.) Tentative Deadlines Authors submit full paper: 15 February, 2013 Editors send reviewers’ feedback on the paper, and indication of acceptance or rejection: 15 March 2013 Submission of revised paper (if necessary): 1 April 2013 Editors’ decision and comments for accepted papers: 15 April 2013 Authors submission of final version: 30 April 2013 Staff editors & authors work till planned publication date: 15 June 2013 Further Information The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (http://www.jvwresearch.org/) is an online, open access academic journal that engages a wide spectrum of scholarship and welcomes contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that intersect virtual worlds research. The field of virtual worlds research is a continuously evolving area of study that spans across many disciplines and the JVWR editorial team looks forward to engaging a wide range of creative and scholarly work. For any information regarding this call, please contact: Tzafnat Shpak, Coordinating Editor tzafnat.shpak@jvwresearch.org We are also happy to let you know of the following: Save the dates: JVWR event in Milan, Italy at ICIS 2013. So -- mark your calendars around December 16-18, 2013 (http://icis2013.aisnet.org/). Check our web site's special page on events for updates in our field. Review past issues on our website's special all issues cover view page. We welcome you to join our Facebook page 'theJVWR' Follow us @theJVWR on Twitter And/or subscribe to our mailing list (on the top left of http://www.jvwreserach.org). We wish us all a healthy and productive year. Tzafnat Shpak Coordinating Editor Prof. Yesha Y. Sivan Managing Editor TheJVWR - The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research http://jvwresearch.org

Hebrew: 29-Jan-2013 > Prof Sivan will chair the software track at INNOVEX2013

2013-01-29T03:44:00.000-05:00

This is mostly for my Hebrew reading friends. It is the largest exhibition for innovation in Israel. 29-Jan-2013.

כנס החדשנות iNNOVEX2013 מיועד לעודד את החדשנות והיצירתיות בישראל בכלל, ובחברות הטכנולוגיה בפרט. הכנס מתקיים בשיתוף עם משרד התמ"ת (משרד המדען הראשי), איגוד תעשיות הייטק, פורום מנכ"לי הייטק, פורום מנהלי החממות הטכנולוגיות, פורום MIT ליזמות וחברות הייטק מובילות כגון יבמ, מיקרוסופט, אינטל, HP , גוגל, קבוצת רד בינת ורבות אחרות.

בכנס יציגו חברות הטכנולוגיה את המוצרים והחידושים שפיתחו לאחרונה במגוון תחומים כולל תקשורת, מיקרואלקטרוניקה, ננוטכנולוגיה, רפואה, תחבורה, צבא וטכנולוגיות ירוקות, ועוד. לצד התערוכה יתקיים כנס מקצועי בו יתנהלו דיונים בדרכים ושיטות לעידוד החדשנות בארגונים. מפתחים, מדענים ומומחים עולמיים, יוזמנו להציג את החידושים הטכנולוגים האחרונים בתחומי התמחותם.

נשמח לראותכם ב-29 בינואר בכנס iNNOVEX2013 , מרכז הכנסים "אבניו" קריית שדה התעופה

See full Full Program in English

Augmented Reality: Setting the Research Agenda, Slides

2013-01-05T07:30:00.002-05:00

Note: This post is relevant to those who have participated in the ICIS2012 workshop or have seen my talks In January 2013 in Hong-Kong. Slides will not work as a stand alone presentation.

In December, 2012 I had the opportunity of hosting a workshop about Augmented Reality at ICIS2012 (we plan to publish all the presentations as part of the JVWR web site, follow JVWR accouterments.)

My AR review presentation is now located here
https://www.slideshark.com/Landing.aspx?pi=zHcz2TZxKz9fVwz0&re=1&r=eWVzaGEuc2l2YW5AZ21haWwuY29t&intk=611261702

Slide Shark is an app/cloud service that enabled me to take a PC-based regular PowerPoint and present it via iPad. (If you want to experiment yourself: try it here).

29-Dec-2012: JVWR New Issue online - Managerial & Commercial Applications

2012-12-31T02:01:00.001-05:00




	We are happy to announce the new publication of The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research: Volume 5, Number 3: Managerial & Commercial Applications The editorial team for this issue: Shu Schiller, Wright State University, USA Brian Mennecke, Iowa State University, USA Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA Scholars and practitioners are confronted with an apparent contradiction: on the one hand, the business case for virtual worlds appears to offer great promise; while on the other hand, the observed returns and demonstrable successes are often absent or negligible. This special issue on “managerial and commercial applications” of virtual worlds aims to highlight research that makes a significant and novel contribution in theory and practice about virtual worlds in the business domain. In this last issue of 2012 you will find three papers on the topic, two “Assembled” papers and one “Think Piece.” Managing Editor Corner From Orlando to Milan: Virtual Worlds Business Disillusionment Yesha Y. Sivan Research Papers Time for a Post-Mortem?: Business Professionals’ Perspectives on the Disillusionment of Virtual Worlds Patrick J. Bateman, Jacqueline C. Pike, Nicholas Berente, Sean Hansen Training Evaluation in Virtual Worlds: Development of a Model Richard N. Landers, Rachel C. Callan Avatar Identification on a 3D Commercial Website: Gender Issues Ingrid Poncin, Marion Garnier Assembled (Rush to Press Papers) Does Loving an Avatar Threaten Real Life Marriage? Richard A Kolotkin, Maggie M Williams, Casey Lloyd, Earnest W Hallford The Cowl Makes the Monk: How Avatar Appearance and Role Labels Affect Cognition in Virtual Worlds Jorge Peña, Matthew S McGlone, Joseph Sanchez “Think Pieces” A Cross-Case Analysis of Possible Facial Emotion Extraction Methods that Could Be Used in Second Life - Pre Experimental Work Shahnaz Kamberi We are also happy to let you know of the following: Our next issue Assembled (2013) will be led by JVWR Managing Editor Prof. Yesha Sivan, Metaverse Labs & Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Israel We just came back from Orlando Augmented Reality workshop and are already planning our next major JVWR event – in Milan, Italy. So mark your calendars around December 16-18, 2013 (http://icis2013.aisnet.org/). Check our web site's special page on events in our field for updates. Review past issues on our website's specialall issues cover view page. We welcome you to join our Facebook page 'theJVWR' Follow us @theJVWR on Twitter And/or subscribe to our mailing list (on the top left of http://www.jvwreserach.org). It is in the spirit of these holidays that we would like to say thank you and best wishes for 2013! May peace, prosperity, and happiness be yours throughout RL and VWs alike. Tzafnat Shpak Coordinating Editor Prof. Yesha Y. Sivan Managing Editor TheJVWR - The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research http://jvwresearch.org

Augmented Reality at ICIS 2012 - Teaser

2012-12-10T04:11:00.000-05:00

1. Download String™ AR Showcase app for iPhone/iPad.
2. Point the camera at this image:

3. Look around & inside. Don’t be afraid.

4. Come to “AR@ICIS2012” Augmented Reality in Information Systems: Setting a Research Agenda.

December 16, 2012 08:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Orlando Marriott World Center, Room: Crystal-N

http://www.jvwresearch.org/

Source &

SIGHT a futuristic film about Augment Reality

2012-11-29T04:03:00.000-05:00

A short futuristic film by Eran May-raz and Daniel Lazo - a graduation project from Bezaleal Academy of Arts.

I will present this short movie at JVWR's Augmented Reality workshop at ICIS 2012 on December 16, 2012, as a basis for research discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/lK_cdkpazjI

Video: Inside Ingress, Google's new augmented-reality game

2012-11-21T05:03:00.002-05:00

Google reveals a new game from its Niantic Labs project.

Ingress describes a world in which two shadowy sides are vying for dominance: the Enlightened, who are trying to establish portals around the world that will let them control people's minds, and the Resistance, who are trying to stop them.

Read more about it at CNET by by Casey Newton (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57550819-93/inside-ingress-googles-new-augmented-reality-game/)

Yesha's talk: Augmenting Museums

2012-11-13T11:10:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of talking at EVA / MINERVA 2012 conference (http://www.digital-heritage.org.il/) - The 9th Jerusalem Conference on the Digitisation of Cultural Heritage. This annual, international event for professionals in Cultural Heritage and Advanced Technologies focuses on advanced technologies and the augmentation, preservation, access, and the dissemination of cultural heritage through education and training in information and communication technologies (ICT) -- the place where cultural heritage in Europe and in Israel and technologies intersect.

This is the feedback I got from Co-chair Dr. Susan Hazan about my lecture Connecting 3D3C - 3D, Community, Creation and Commerce

"Yesha left our audience literally dumbstruck! I am not sure if it was the breathtaking pace, his spirited delivery, or simply the eye-opening glimpse into accessible, augmented reality - what ever happened in that half hour left our audiences informed, delighted, and truly inspired!"

If you want a PDF copy of the presentation, please send email to yesha.sivan AT metaverse-labs DOT com.

Video: Google day Israel: Powered By You 2012

2012-11-11T16:16:00.001-05:00

One of the best parties in Israel... Fun Fun fun...

Is the World a Game? Interdisciplinary View on Virtual Worlds (Hebrew)

2012-11-01T05:02:00.001-05:00

I will give a lecture about Digital Games towards New Economy

יום חמישי, א' בכסלו תשע"ג, 15 בנובמבר 2012 קריית האוניברסיטה הפתוחה ע"ש דורותי דה רוטשילד, דרך האוניברסיטה 1, רעננה
(הכניסה לחניה דרך צומת רעננה צפון; החניה ללא תשלום)


16:15	התכנסות וכיבוד קל

16:30	מושב ראשון: ניהול, כלכלה ומשחק יו"ר: ד"ר דיאמנטה בנסון-קרעי, המחלקה למתמטיקה ולמדעי המחשב, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה

	פרופ' ישע סיון, בית הספר לניהול וכלכלה, המכללה האקדמית תל־אביב-יפו משחקים דיגיטליים: לקראת כלכלה מסוג חדש

	ד"ר דפנה רבן, בית הספר לניהול, אוניברסיטת חיפה משחקים זה עסק רציני

17:45	הפסקה

18:00	מושב שני: משחק ולמידה: היילכו שניים בלתי אם נועדו? יו"ר: ד"ר דורית אולניק־שמש, המחלקה לחינוך ולפסיכולוגיה, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה

	מר דודי פלס, התכנית למדע, טכנולוגיה וחברה, אוניברסיטת בר־אילן חינוך מְמוּשחק: מימוש תובנות מעולם משחקי המחשב בחינוך

	ד"ר שרית ברזלי, הפקולטה לחינוך, אוניברסיטת חיפה ד"ר אינה בלאו, המחלקה לחינוך ולפסיכולוגיה, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה משחק מחשב לימודי: משרתם של שני אדונים?

	פרופ' יורם עשת אלקלעי, המחלקה לחינוך ולפסיכולוגיה, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה ד"ר סיגל עדן, בית הספר לחינוך, אוניברסיטת בר־אילן גב' תמי דובי, המחלקה לחינוך ולפסיכולוגיה, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה משחקים ותוקפנות: מיתוס ומציאות
סיום משוער בשעה 19:30 ההשתתפות ללא תשלום על בסיס הרשמה מראש בטלפון 3337* (03-5114412) או באתר האינטרנט: www.openu.ac.il/games

Mobile = Cloud Sensors < Prof. Sivan at the Go Mobile 2012 Israeli Conference

2012-10-29T00:04:00.000-05:00

Over 1000 people gathered in Israel to explore the 2012 meaning of Mobile.
I had the pleasure to host the Technological Track. Presenting key innovation.
For me Mobile is "a bunch of sensors that connect to the cloud" that was my main message.

My takes:
- Lots of new players in their field
- Lots of traditional players moving fast into the field (IBM. Tibco)
- Lots of Large and SMB customers were present
- Mix of new business and new technology
- Israel -- relatively strong -- but slow in LTE adoption
- I was missing Google and Samsung.. and of course Apple.

More about it later.

Video: Star Wars in my hand: Demo of Augment App

2012-10-27T12:46:00.001-05:00

I was able to use bring a Star Wars stormtrooper figure to my house using Augment

I had the pleasure meeting @jfChianetta, one of the founders of Augment, a paris based firm in the area of Augmented Reality. Their application (for IOS and Android) works very well with a special marker.

I created a 2-min video demo. You can experience this by simply downloading the paper marker from Augment's site, after loading the app from the store (app name: Augment -- search for it).

We will further explore this in the Augmented Reality at ICIS workshop in Dec 2012.

Smarting Government: From IT Doers to IT Leaders (ICA Open Keynote)

2012-10-26T03:10:00.002-05:00

Left to right: James Kang, Government CIO, Singapore, Costas Agrotis, Director, Department of Information Services, Cyprus; Andy Nelson, Government CIO, UK; Nachman Oron, Executive Strategic Consultant, Government of Israel; Carmela Avner, Government CIO, Israel

I had the great pleasure to give the opening keynote for the ICA conference which was held in Israel.

The International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration (ICA) is a non-profit international association founded in 1986. It promotes and facilitates the informal exchange of ideas, knowledge and experiences on the management, organizational impact and use of information technology (IT) in central government administration. Annual conferences, study groups, regular publications and frequent contacts between ICA members and associates are used to achieve ICA's goals.

My talk abstract:

Opening Keynote: “Smarting Government: From IT Doers to IT Leaders”

IT is moving from back office to the front office. In many settings -- including Government and public services -- the organization depends more and more on IT-based processes. In this talk, Prof. Sivan will cover 10 critical lessons that turn IT doers into IT Leaders. Examples include: What are the skills, and mental models needed for the Government CIO? What are the governance models that match long term prosperity? And what does research tell us about short term vs. long term IT based innovations?

My key points:

Understand the strategic cycle.
Build IT as an innovation infrastructure.
Use cloud as more than a new kind of servers.
Learn and Use the language of CXO.
Push “money” as tool.
Disconnect Data and Applications.
Do Not Fail!
Work from a big picture view.
Build from the centricity of IT.
Get/Make good people (shameless plug!).

If you participated in the presentation please drop me a line and and I will share the PDF. (yesha.sivan AT g mail) [you know how it ends.. and want to make it hard for spam engines to find my email).

Augmented Reality in Information Systems: Setting a Research Agenda (ARatICIS2012) – Full Program

2012-10-24T05:17:00.000-05:00




	Dear friends, Augmented Reality in Information Systems: Setting a Research Agenda (ARatICIS2012) – Full Program December 16, 2012 08:30AM-12:00PM Orlando FL, USA We are happy to share with you the full program for our workshop: Journal web: www.jvwresearch.org Event page: http://jvwresearch.org/index.php/2011-06-12-18-46-09/11-events/49 Confirmed Speakers Yesha Sivan, Jon Preston, Jeff Chastine, Dov Teeni, Arijit Sengupta, Shu Schiller, Lester Leavitt, Anna-Kaisa Sjölund Agenda 08:30--09:00 Breakfast & Welcome 09:00--09:30 Status of AR Today (followed by the "SIGHT" Movie) Prof. Yesha Sivan, JVWR Managing Editor, Tel Aviv-Yafo Academic College, Israel A review of the current state of the field, and its potential impact. 009:30--10:00 Augmented Reality: a Narrative, Symbiotic Approach in Combining Virtual and Physical Worlds Jon Preston, Associate Professor, Computer Game Design and Development, Southern Polytechnic State University, GA , USA; and Jeff Chastine, Associate Professor, School of Computing and Software Eng., Southern Polytechnic State University, GA, USA Present a new breed of AR computing services and applications to explore collaborative, location-aware augmented reality. Such a system could be visually based, but could also be passive and be working within a user's pocket while they go about their daily activities. We foresee applications of gamification and encouraging positive behaviors such as attending meetings, courses for students, and visiting stores from a marketing perspective based upon this system. Our approach is novel in that it explicitly asks what is possible via non-visual augmented reality and how far this passive computing system can be expanded with virtual interactions. We will demo this fully-functional system at the workshop and seek partners in expanding this research. 10:00--11:00 Submitted Presentations: - Enabling Virtual Assistance in the Real World using Augmented Reality and Sensor-equipped Mobile Devices Arijit Sengupta, Professor of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management, Faculty of Information Systems and Operations, Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, OH, USA; and Shu Schiller, Associate Professor, Faculty of Information Systems and Operations, Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, OH, USA. The aim of this research is to create an augmented reality architecture and application, the Virtual Assistant, to link the real world and the virtual equivalent using mobile technology. The presentation will cover the model, its underlying architecture, applicability and extensibility in current AR research, and provide a working demonstration of the developed application that implements this concept. - Augmented Reality ICT and Governing: Imagining a Day When Elections become Redundant Lester Leavitt, Graduate Assistant, School of Public Administration, Florida Atlantic University. This presentation outlines an augmented reality socio-technical governing institution that has been designed singularly for marginalized minority groups and global solidarity movements such as those witnessed in 2011. Beyond providing a simple virtual office environment or legislature, the ICT and database algorithms described in this presentation outline how the creation of a global, crowd-sourced, multimedia “institutional memory” that supports progressive “collectivethought” policy-making will serve to incubate comprehensive, community-sized, virtual collectives from which entire web-based economies might emerge, complete with brick-and-mortar extensions. - AR-tools for Emergency Care – Education in Virtual World Anna-Kaisa Sjölund, Doctoral Student, researcher at Digital Culture, University of Turku, Finland This presentation is about creating AR–tools and describing how to use them in immersive way. Paramedic students and teachers from Turku University of applied sciences will have a course in Second Life to test AR–tools in two-way, to and from virtual world. 11:00--11:30 Augmented Reality in I.S.: Setting a Research Agenda Dov Teeni, Professor of Information Systems in the faculty of Management at Tel-Aviv University, Israel 11:30--12:00 Review and Discussion Registration Please register soon; space is limited. You can register to this event in three ways (a) as part of your ICIS registration or (b) just for the workshop (c) fax based registration. (a) The registration for ICIS 2012 including the AR workshop (you will see it in the list on ancillary events) is now open athttp://icis2012.aisnet.org/index.php/conf-registration, choose the first option. You must use your AIS member information to log in and register. (b) You can attend just the AR workshop -- register herehttp://icis2012.aisnet.org/index.php/conf-registrationand choose the second option. (c) If you need fax based registration go here:http://icis2012.aisnet.org/index.php/conf-registrationchoose third option (this is NOT recommended). We look forward to seeing you in Orlando! Thankfully, Yesha Sivan Professor and Head of the Management Information System Program Tel Aviv Academic College Managing Editor, The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research Shu Schiller Associate Professor Department of Information Systems & Operations Management Raj Soin College of Business Wright State University Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah Professor of Business & Information Technology Department of Business & Information Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology

[JVWR] Asian Perspectives: A New Issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

2012-09-29T02:23:00.000-05:00




	Dear members, We are happy to announce the new publication of The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research: Volume 5, Number 2: Asian Perspectives The editorial team for this issue: Kenneth Y T Lim, National Institute of Education, Singapore Young Hoan Cho, National Institute of Education, Singapore Michael Vallance, Future University, Hakodate, Japan East vs. West? More like East and West. There is a lot the West and the East can learn from each other. Virtual worlds are perhaps one of the best examples. China, Singapore, Korea and Japan all present different approaches to virtual life. Technical and social norms reshape each other. These unique Asian perspectives about virtual worlds were the seed for this issue. In this issue you will find perspectives from East Asia and Southeast Asia; the contrasts and comparisons are at once diverse and revealing. Managing Editor Corner: East vs. West? More like East and West Yesha Y. Sivan Issue Editors' Corner: Virtual Worlds Asian Perspectives: a Landscape with Peaks and Valleys Kenneth Y T Lim Escaping the World: A Chinese Perspective on Virtual Worlds David Kurt Herold The Demographic Distribution and Social Experience of Chinese MMO Players Li Xiong The Abyss Observatory - Designing for Remote Collaboration, Self-directed Discovery and Intuition Development in Multi-user Interactive 3D Virtual Environments Hajime Nishimura, Kenneth Y T Lim, Koji Koyamada Assessment and Learning in the Virtual World: Tasks, Taxonomies and Teaching for Real Michael Vallance, Stewart M. Martin Effects of Digital Game Play Among Young Singaporean Gamers: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study Dongdong Li, Hyekyung Choo, Angeline Khoo, Albert K. Liau Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: The Role of the Facilitator Benjamin G Wigert, Gert-Jan de Vreede, Imed Boughzala, Ikram Bououd We are also happy to let you know of the following: Our next issue Managerial and Commercial Applications will be led by Shu Schiller, from Wright State University, USA Check our web site's special page on events in our field. Review past issues on our website's special all issues cover view page. We welcome you to join our Facebook page 'theJVWR' and follow @theJVWR on Twitter And/or subscribe to our mailing list (on the top left of http://www.jvwreserach.org). Wishing you all an interesting reading in this special "Asian Perspectives" issue, and a joyful journey in the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, Tzafnat Shpak Coordinating Editor Prof. Yesha Y. Sivan Managing Editor TheJVWR - The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research http://jvwresearch.org