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Category
Education in Virtual Worlds
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09.06.08Quick Link: Second Life Patient DemoKathleen Rose at Resilient Ambassadors of Change wrote a short entry about a Second Life demo she recently attended, where a group of avatars tended to an avatar that had been thrown from his (virtual) motorcycle. Some very interesting conclusions in the post about real-world, ER-type collaboration here. The group pokes and prods at the still body, as the crashed-avatar, who is available to communicate via text, is able to tell the group what he is feeling. The group then administered ibuprofen to the patient and then placed him on a backboard, ready for transport by an ambulance, which, sadly, the ...
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09.01.08Healthcare Logistics Tackled in Second LifeWhile surgery may not (yet) be a function of Second Life, many of the logistical challenges of healthcare - operations including networks, database management, and patient information systems - may be corrected and improved upon by using Second Life as a test site. Researchers at the University of Arkansas are delving into Second Life to see if these logistical inefficiencies can be improved upon in a virtual world. Starting with virtual models, the researchers hope to glean real world insights into how to decrease some of the massive cost overruns in the US healthcare system. The group posted the following demo video: “What ...
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09.01.08Virtual Worlds Impact the Real World… AgainAs the healthcare landscape increasingly responds to the shifts demanded by a more informed populace, three healthcare organizations are turning to Second Life, as reported on AISHealth.com, a healthcare business information site. CIGNA, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Boston's Partners Healthcare System Inc. have in a variety of ways turned to SL to help consumers access health information. Citing the need to respond to consumer's interest in user experiences, for example, CIGNA has created its own SL island out of the need to allow consumers to access information alongside professionals and peers. Photo: Venture Beat "More and more people ...
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09.01.08Reports from the Workshop on Virtual Law LibrariesSlaw.ca, a Canadian weblog devoted to legal issues, recently wrote about the workshops dedicated to legal libraries that took place over the last few months in Second Life. The workshops were hosted by the Law Librarians in Virtual Worlds with money granted from the AALL/BNA Continuing Education Grants Program. Overall, the workshop seemed to be a success. With more than 65 lawyers and firms present in SL and with 200 members of the Second Life Bar Association, these issues - legal practice and best practices for virtual law libraries - are becoming more important, and further justifying the educational component of SL. ...
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08.23.08The Social Life of Avatars: 30 Days in Active WorldsBy way of Digital Urban a chapter by Dr. Andrew Hudson Smith on 30 days in a Active World tracing the evolution of a virtual community, condom machines and, well, a ghostly abandoned sim with a lot of spare prims lying around. Worth a read however, described as:"a project aimed at documenting the development of a virtual environment from the beginning to end, the point where a plot of virgin land would develop into a community with a urban layout. In a sense the project was similar to an early days 'Big Brother' in that the community was watched and logged 24 ...
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08.19.08Journalism in Virtual Worlds: University of Syndey Student, 4th Estate, 2nd LifeThe Metaverse Journal highlights the work of Annabelle Boyd Jones at the University of Sydney, who is researching the role of journalism and governance in Second Life. Blogging her progress, I was intrigued (or maybe bemused?) to note her comments on the issues of studying virtual world governance because of the seeming contradiction between, well, totalitarianism and participatory democracy. She notes: "Firstly, the situation resembles (Note resembles, not is!) a totalitarian government, whereby all aspects of the ‘contituents’ lives are effectively controlled by the government, they hold absolute power over their society and can rule without any real mandate or permission ...
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08.12.08Obesity Training in a Virtual WorldThe University of Houston (UH) has come up with a controversial way to teach people about treating obesity: have participants sit in front of a computer. Photo: Malingerer, Flickr Image via AP Metablog As part of the school's Obesity Research Center, UH is seeking 500 participants willing to use the school's obesity training module in Second Life according to Science Daily. "This is an excellent opportunity to learn and practice these new behaviors in a virtual environment and in real life," said Rebecca Lee, associate professor and director of TORC, in the Science Daily article. "It's also a great place to meet other avatars ...
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08.12.08Virtual Worlds Provide Another Model of the Future HospitalStudents in Arkansas spent the last few months developing a virtual hospital that showcases the technologies that will hopefully be present in future healthcare settings, according to Smart Economy. The hospital, called Razorback Hospital, was built on the University of Arkansas island in Second Life, an online 3D virtual world, and was built by students along with two UA professors. It was created also in tandem with the school's Computer Science and Computer Engineering department who built the project Web site. The students first consulted real life hospitals to see what needs existed, and then created the virtual one. The main goal ...
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08.11.08Virtual World Goggles Reveal Carbon FootprintsJim Pubrick, a developer at Linden Labs, developed Carbon Goggles, allowing users to see the real-life carbon footprint of virtual objects - like cars and airplanes - in Second Life. Pop!Tech reports that the motivation behind the project is to provide a real visual sense of the carbon emissions of a given object without having to look at spreadsheets. Here's the video, taken after a 24-hour software programming craze at Mashed08 in London: Carbon Goggles from Jim Purbrick on Vimeo. Carbon Goggles gives an almost-exact measure of an items carbon footprint. Check out the accompanying Web site for a list of objects whose carbon ...
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08.07.08Palomar West : Hospital of the Future, Prototyped in Second LifeAs the Palomar Medical Center West facility heads towards its completion date of July 2011 on schedule, the San Diego Business Journal reports that its technological backbone will be state of the art. The facility, which already plans to break uncharted ground for a healthcare facility, is testing new technologies through the Palomar Pomerado Health district. Some of the technologies the 'hospital of the future' hopes to use include wireless patient monitoring and telepresence robots. As well, patients will, through the use of a large LCD screen, have more control over the goings-on in their hospital room. A patient will be ...
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