SL(Z) Bolton

An MA student is proposing putting a 'Live Wall' in the social learning zone with windows onto second life for students to see and interact with. Take a look at Cy's Blog and let him know what you think.

A curious (light) article on The Psychologyof Twitter in 'Pychology Today', Interestingly, the last time I mentioned this app on here I, fairly randomly, argued against it on the basis of it not meeting Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs'; the author of this article offers a fairly compelling argument for how it DOES (and hence its pull). See what you think.

A Disclosure too Far

"An army has jailed a soldier and cancelled a military operation after he published its details on Facebook. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had to call off an incursion into a West Bank village because the soldier revealed his combat unit, the location of the operation and when it was set to take place". Full story here

So you guys know a bit about formal models of cyberpsychology now...so what do you think might contribute to explainng this type of online behaviour? Lack of social presence? Social Context Cues attenuated leading to deindividuated, self-absorbed behaviour? Weak public self-awareness / heightened private self-awareness? Tell me...

A little fun :)

Last night we were talking about the necessity for social context cues in interaction...that we have to be armed with this observable information on those we're talking to (which we are in f2f) to be able to pitch our verbals appropriately...or we deindividuate and self-focus. Sometimes, the written linguistic style is enough to provide a very salient social context template even in the absolute absence of 'facts' about those we speak to....such as when we read something written in txtspk. It yells social context with a thunderous roar. See what you would 'look like' talking in the style of a 12 year old AOL chatter. IT DAFINIETLEY SAYS MRO3 THAN DA WORDS.SE!!1!!1!111!!11!11!!11!1 OMG WTF LOL C U SON AL

(Yeah...whut ^ said)

"Soldiers Get Virtual Reality Therapy for Burn Pain"

Youtube video here.

The comments underneath the video provoke interesting thought. Is it simply distraction or a specific feature or quality of VR / of that game?

Immersion in Cyberspace: Pause for Thoughts

"Sitting almost motionless at a computer, our eyes fixed to a screen, our fingers tapping at a keyboard, can we free our minds from the physical body, reaching across space and time to the minds of others, expanding it outward into a universal human Mind? Or, attached to a mostly dormant body, will our cyberminds wander off into a dangerous territory of unrestrained illusion? Perhaps the many millennia of evolution of the mind-body human have reached a point where we can progress beyond the physiological side of that integrated duality. Or maybe we are slapping Mother Nature in the face. If we try to leap out of those millions of years of evolution, maybe we are leaping right into disaster.

These are complex scientific, philosophical, and religious questions. At the moment, we have no answers. Good solutions usually show themselves as a compromise, a Middle Way. In the future, we won't have to choose between cyberspace and the f2f world. We'll choose between different ways of combining the two. In the meanwhile, if we're going to entertain any hypothetical but enlightening ultimatum, consider this one: If you had to choose between spending the rest of your life only in cyberspace, or in the f2f world, which would you pick?"

So which would you pick? Think carefully before you answer...pros and cons stated.

(The above came from a recommended article in Suler' EBook. Read it here) This article on The Two Paths of Virtual Reality is also a good and easy read).

Students' Brains Re-wired by Internet

"British students are unable to concentrate on reading an academic book because the internet is 're-wiring' their brains a new documentary claims".

Take a look at the article. Hold any validity? (from your experience)?

(Armchair) Work-Based Learning

Think our Work-Based Learning Modules might be more or less popular? Think this approach might be more or less useful to our undergrads? Advantages and disadvantages?

Using Second Life for Workplace Learning 03-25-09

View more presentations from twerner.

SLowly resembling FL?

A presentation that provides a good overview of the uses of SL. Any surprises?

SecondLife, a real new world: life, business and toxic immersion

View more presentations from danrev.

For those of you interested in readng about SL culture and news, here's a link to what has been voted the best blog on the subject. 'New World News' by Wagner James. Cornupcopia of the cranky and manky (amongst the sane tidbits) BUT, it does give an insight into the 'culture'. The 'Avatars United' article is particularly bizarre. At least to me...and now. :/

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/

'Ello all. Here's a little snippet of John Perry Barlow's 'Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace' manifesto (which we'll be visiting briefly, in full, next week) to assist in appreciating dominant mental models of cyberspace.

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace

"Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind….

Cyberspace consists of transactions, relationships, and thought itself, arrayed like a standing wave in the web of our communications. Ours is a world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live…

Your legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, andcontext do not apply to us. They are based on matter, There is no matter here… Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion….Our identities may be distributed across many of your jurisdictions…

We must declare our virtual selves immune to your sovereignty, even as we continue to consent to your rule over our bodies. We will spread ourselves across the Planet so that no one can arrest our thoughts. We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than the world your governments have made before".

John Perry Barlow

Davos, Switzerland, February 8, 1996.

Inspired by the 'Brain in the Vat'

'I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man

Hi all you current and ex-cyberspacers!

Just in case there is not enough sunshine and other non-academic activities to entertain you I have seen an interesting article in the June edition of The Psychologist called 'Get a second life' by Christian Jarrett. It covers a lot of the topics from the module as well as looking at the conduction of therapy in second life. I will try and email it as an attachment onto the webct discussion forum and to Debbie.

Happy hols
Polly

Party!

By the time you read this , it will, for most of you be allllllllllllllll (see? emotext!) over. No more exams; no more essays! Congratulations all of you! We hope you enjoyed The Psychology of Cyberspace......it's been a pleasure teaching you on this (and other) modules and we wish you all the best in your future careers, whether that be more study or the real world (work - ugh).

Do drop by here when you have anything say that's internet-related. Once a member of Neuroromantics, always a member!

Adios!

Debbie
Paul
John C

Ive just watched the Gadget Show and its really made me think about blogging. The presenters were doing Facebook vs. Twitter, one presenter had a facebook profile and asked all her 'friends' to meet at a certain location for a dance off and the second presenter had a Twitter blog and did the same to his 'followers'. Twitter won by a mile with a lot more people turning up at the location. This has made me see a positive social element to blogging, they also gave a little info on Twitter and how Steven Fry and Phillip Scofield are big users of Twitter. I like the thought of blogging to spark debate and intelligent conversations that I may not be able to have (with as much input) in my every day life. I feel I may of come across a little cynical in my response to Haylee's last post, i did not mean to sound so agasint blogging. I actually think bloggging can be good socially and especially good for those who need debate and creativity to boost their professional lives.

I may create a Twitter account, has anybody else got one?

Opinion - Good blog, bad blog: does the value of blogging outweigh its risks?

After the lecture on internet deaths and such I searched the web to see if blogs are involved. i found an interesting debate at the link below:http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_ journalism/2008/04/good_blog_bad_blog_does _the_value_of_blo.php

As to be expected the blogosphere has exploded with commentary following the New York Times' "death by blogging" article.

The New York Times suggests that the ceaseless work required to stay afloat led, at least partly, to the recent death of two "prolific" bloggers. This, however, leads to the larger question: does the value of a non-stop internet economy outweigh its risks? We can all agree that blogs have become an integral part of how we consume news.

Blogging's viral nature, as well as the chance to engage without a major-up front investment, has enabled the "little guy" in a way never before possible.

Take the recent success of a covert video by an animal rights activist who posed as a slaughterhouse worker for six weeks. The undercover vegan citizen journalist released the video, which went viral within hours on the blogosphere, reports the New York Times. Consequently the slaughterhouse was closed, the United States Congress held hearings, and the Agriculture Department recalled 65 million kilograms of meat, the largest recall in American history.

"to be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging." But they do hit on a nasty side effect of the ceaselessness that has made bloggers a success; the around-the-clock demands of the internet forces bloggers work extreme hours in order to keep up. The same concerns of excessive overtime hours are weighing on newspaper journalists, who are being encouraged to blog on top of producing articles. It also stands to detract from quality journalism; if journalists have to compete in the same "pay-per-click economy" in which bloggers exist, quality inevitably slides. With these two opposing pulls on journalists' time, it is hardly surprising that newspaper blogs are not yet perfectly oiled machines,

So does blogging need regulation? Healthwise, perhaps the answer is yes. But that would go against the essence of blogging, which owes its popularity and its relevance to its 24/7 engagement. Even the stress-level issue is up for grabs.

mine: i feel that blogging is a way to show the world what interests you, even if no one is looking, its a place to vent and a place to debate, but addicts are risking health due to pressures to blog 24/7. All day bloggers - go watch a movie or play in the park every now and then! Personally i feel there is a psychological issue with blogging.. when no one reads your posts, sometimes it is annoying, and some people could take it the wrong way and become really upset. Also, blogs can be used to say aweful things which can impede on the health of both the blogger and the reader.

what are your views on the health risks of blogging?

Cyber-self-defence

For even those of you who are vets of web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, here's a heads-up on how the site can be infiltrated by fraudulent users to gain access to your personal info.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2343484,00.asp

On a related theme....a blog for those of you interested in the (expontentially evolving) field of cybercrimes. Cybersleuth http://www.thecybersleuth.blogspot.com/2009/03/monday-morning-news-and-notes.html

Superlash

Superlash is wearing a blue sparkly ballgown to convey the image that she is sophisticated and sassy and a classy bird.

Superlash enjoys wine and posh dinners and prefers to date rich guys, particulary tall , handsome and dark (they may happen to look like steve jones or jamie theakson).

Superlash is deeply sensual and cannot stand fakery.

Superlash is 21 years old and lives in a mansion in bramhope with her parents and her pet cat
Even though she looks rich her past is full of harship and trials that she has faced ,her familys money came from a fortunate win on the lottery of 25 million pounds

Superlash enjoys spending the money on different charities especially animal charities!

Behind the beautiful looks and hollywood film star dress lies a family girl who loves her Sunday dinners especially yorkshire puddings!!

Superlash’s favourite country is italy and one day she aspires to live in italy and have lots of bambini and a hot italian husband who treats her the way she deserves !!!

RaphaelGuy

Steph