Being There Together
Social Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments
Published on 2. December 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-19-537128-4 (ISBN)
Description
Virtual environments provide places for 'being there together ', for avatars to interact with each other in computer-generated spaces. They range from immersive systems in which people have life-size tracked avatar bodies to large-scale spaces such as Second Life where populations of users socialize in persistent virtual worlds. This book draws together research on how people interact in virtual environments: What difference does avatar appearance make? How do avatars collaborate and play together? How do the type of system and the space affect how people engage with each other? How does interaction between avatars differ from face-to-face interaction? What can social scientists learn from experiments and other studies of how people interact in virtual environments? What are the ethical and social issues in doing this research, and in the uses of this technology? And how do virtual environments differ from other communication technologies such as videoconferencing systems and other new media? This book is a state-of-the art survey of research on these topics, and offers a framework for understanding this technology and its future implications.
Reviews / Votes
The widespread use of social networking and social media, coupled with advances in rendering technologies and the ubiquity of computer networks have sparked a renewed interest in online virtual environments. Ecological and green issues force us to think again about the cost of meeting face-to-face, and the potential alternatives. In this book Schroeder maps out the current state-of-play for virtual environments drawing a nuanced picture of where we are, how wegot here, and where we are going next. This is a must read for those of us interested in how we communicate now and in the future.
Tim Regan, Microsoft
Many readers will be familiar with Ralph's previous edited books which
have served as important points of reference for researchers in the
field of multi-user virtual environments. In this new book, Ralph gives
a detailed overview of MUVE technologies and their social implications,
and gives a compelling account of where these technologies are leading.
The issue that Ralph highlights, how we ourselves are represented in the MUVE, is one of critical importance to the wide-spread acceptance of next-generation telepresence technologies.
-Anthony Steed
University College London
"Ralph Schroeder has been at the center of research on telepresence for more than a decade. In the current book he takes his unique historical perspective and looks ahead to how new media will change the fundamental processes of social interaction."
Jeremy Bailenson, Stanford University
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 155 mm
Width: 234 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
482 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-537128-4 (9780195371284)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2010
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€67.49
Available for download
Person
Ralph Schroeder is a senior research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford. His publications include Possible Worlds: The Social Dynamic of Virtual Reality Technology (1996) and Rethinking Science, Technology and Social Change (2007). He has also edited The Social Life of Avatars (2002) and co-edited Avatars at Work and Play (2006).
Content
Preface
Abbreviations Used
List of Figures and Tables
1. Virtual Environments and the Changing Landscape of Information and Communication Technologies
- Definitions and Overview
- The Development of Shared Virtual Environments Technology
- Two Technological End-States
2. The Varieties of Experiences of Being There Together
- The Range of MUVE Settings
- The Range of Experiences in MUVEs
- The Components of MUVE Experiences
- The Phenomenology of MUVE Experiences in Context
3. Avatars, Online Spaces, and Social Interaction
- Virtual Spaces
- Avatar Appearance and Realism
4. Collaboration in Immersive and Non-Immersive Spaces
- Distributed Work - Distributed Research - Distributed Collaboration
- Tasks, Collaboration, and Systems
- Long-term Collaboration
5. Social Life in Online Worlds
- The History of Virtual Worlds
- Roles and Frames
- Governance, Economies and Trust in Virtual Worlds
- Limits of Online Worlds, Limits of Offline Perceptions
6. Communication
- Modalities of Communication in SVEs
- Common Ground in Immersive and Non-Immersive Spaces
- Language Encounters in SVEs
- Text versus Voice, Videoconferences versus MUVEs, Face-to-Face versus Online
7. Research Uses of MUVEs
- The Variety of Research Uses of MUVEs
- Analysis of Small Group Interaction
8. Ethical and Social Issues in MUVEs
- Research Ethics
- Ethical and Social Issues in MUVEs
9. MUVEs and other Technologies for Being There Together
- Other Technologies for Being There Together
- Multiple Modalities, Multiple Networks
10. The Future of Being There Together
- MUVEs as an End-State
- The Future of Two End-States
Abbreviations Used
List of Figures and Tables
1. Virtual Environments and the Changing Landscape of Information and Communication Technologies
- Definitions and Overview
- The Development of Shared Virtual Environments Technology
- Two Technological End-States
2. The Varieties of Experiences of Being There Together
- The Range of MUVE Settings
- The Range of Experiences in MUVEs
- The Components of MUVE Experiences
- The Phenomenology of MUVE Experiences in Context
3. Avatars, Online Spaces, and Social Interaction
- Virtual Spaces
- Avatar Appearance and Realism
4. Collaboration in Immersive and Non-Immersive Spaces
- Distributed Work - Distributed Research - Distributed Collaboration
- Tasks, Collaboration, and Systems
- Long-term Collaboration
5. Social Life in Online Worlds
- The History of Virtual Worlds
- Roles and Frames
- Governance, Economies and Trust in Virtual Worlds
- Limits of Online Worlds, Limits of Offline Perceptions
6. Communication
- Modalities of Communication in SVEs
- Common Ground in Immersive and Non-Immersive Spaces
- Language Encounters in SVEs
- Text versus Voice, Videoconferences versus MUVEs, Face-to-Face versus Online
7. Research Uses of MUVEs
- The Variety of Research Uses of MUVEs
- Analysis of Small Group Interaction
8. Ethical and Social Issues in MUVEs
- Research Ethics
- Ethical and Social Issues in MUVEs
9. MUVEs and other Technologies for Being There Together
- Other Technologies for Being There Together
- Multiple Modalities, Multiple Networks
10. The Future of Being There Together
- MUVEs as an End-State
- The Future of Two End-States