Avatars at Work and Play: Collaboration and Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments

Content Provider	Springer-eBooks
Editor	Schroeder, Ralph Axelsson, Ann-Sofie
Copyright Year	2006
Abstract	Avatars at Work and Play brings together contributions from leading social scientists and computer scientists who have conducted research on virtual environments used for collaboration and online gaming. They present a well-rounded and state-of-the-art overview of current applications of multi-user virtual environments, ranging from highly immersive virtual reality systems to internet-based virtual environments on personal computers. The volume is a follow-up to a previous essay collection, ‘The Social Life of Avatars’, which explored general issues in this field. This collection goes further, examining uses of shared virtual environments in practical settings such as scientific collaboration, distributed meetings, building models together, and others. It also covers online gaming in virtual environments, which has attracted hundreds of thousands of users and presents an opportunity for studying a myriad of social issues. Covering both ‘work’ and ‘play’, the volume brings together issues common to the two areas, including: What kind of avatar appearance is suitable for different kinds of interaction? How best to foster collaboration and promote usable shared virtual spaces? What kinds of activities work well in different types of virtual environments and systems?
File Format	PDF
ISBN	9781402038983
Language	English
Publisher	SpringerLink Springer eBooks
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Computer Science User Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction Special Purpose and Application-Based Systems Computers and Society Media Design Social Sciences, general
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Book