1. Car manufacturer Ford has started using a virtual human to improve the ergonomics of its manufacturing plants. 2. In a month's time, Second Life's 7th Birthday celebrations kick off. 3. I hadn't stumbled across the world of Tinier Me until received a press release from their PR company announcing the debut of "popular Japanese anime character, Gloomy Bear". Now you … [Read more...] about Merged realities – events and issues for virtual worlds
Health
Murdoch University: ME/CFS Support in Second Life
This story appeared originally on Metaverse Health. In recent weeks, thanks to a health professional colleague, I became aware of a research project underway at Murdoch University, looking at the use of virtual worlds as a support mechanism for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). It's an ARC funded, three-year project titled Isolation, … [Read more...] about Murdoch University: ME/CFS Support in Second Life
Momentum continues with counselling in virtual worlds
This post appeared earlier this week over at Metaverse Health. It's coming up to a year since we interviewed DeeAnna Nagel and Kate Anthony and discussed counselling in online environments broadly and in virtual environments more specifically. Over that time, the Online Therapy Institute has continued to grow. One example of this is the announcement of a five-hour course on … [Read more...] about Momentum continues with counselling in virtual worlds
Medical education in Second Life: it works
(This story originally appeared over at Metaverse Health) The Journal of Medical Internet Research has published a study on the outcomes of a a pilot postgraduate medical education program at the Boston University School of Medicine presence in Second Life. You can read the full paper here, but the synopsis of the study is: 1. Fourteen physicians participated in the pilot, … [Read more...] about Medical education in Second Life: it works
Body image and virtual worlds: call for study participants
Jon-Paul Cacioli is a Doctor of Clinical Psychology student at Deakin University, and he's currently conducting a study on body image in virtual worlds. In his words: "I am looking for participants, male and 18+ to complete a survey regarding both their real world and virtual world body images and psychological states." He needs 300 or so participants to take the survey. It's … [Read more...] about Body image and virtual worlds: call for study participants