An examination of our many modes of online identity and how we live on the continuum between the virtual and the real.Hello Avatar! Or, {llSay(0, "Hello, Avatar!"); is a tiny piece of user-friendly ...code that allows us to program our virtual selves. In Hello Avatar, B. Coleman examines a crucial aspect of our cultural shift from analog to digital: the continuum between online and off-, what she calls the "x-reality" that crosses between the virtual and the real. She looks at the emergence of a world that is neither virtual nor real but encompasses a multiplicity of network combinations. And she argues that it is the role of the avatar to help us express our new agency-our new power to customize our networked life.By avatar, Coleman means not just the animated figures that populate our screens but the gestalt of images, text, and multimedia that make up our online identities-in virtual worlds like Second Life and in the form of email, video chat, and other digital artifacts. Exploring such network activities as embodiment, extreme (virtual) violence, and the work in virtual reality labs, and offering sidebar interviews with designers and practitioners, she argues that what is new is real-time collaboration and copresence, the way we make connections using networked media and the cultures we have created around this. The star of this drama of expanded horizons is the networked subject-all of us who represent aspects of ourselves and our work across the mediascape.
Virtual Reality Therapy in Mental Health Emmelkamp, Paul M.G; Meyerbröker, Katharina
Annual review of clinical psychology,
05/2021, Volume:
17, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Initially designed for the treatment of phobias, the use of virtual reality in phobic disorders has expanded to other mental health disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, substance-related ...disorders, eating disorders, psychosis, and autism spectrum disorder. The goal of this review is to provide an accessible understanding of why this approach is important for future practice, given its potential to provide clinically relevant information associated with the assessment and treatment of people suffering from mental illness. Most of the evidence is available for the use of virtual reality exposure therapy in anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. There is hardly any evidence that virtual reality therapy is effective in generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. There is increasing evidence that cue exposure therapy is effective in addiction and eating disorders. Studies into the use of virtual reality therapy in psychosis, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are promising.
This practical and illustrated book looks at how to generate advanced virtual reality worlds. It covers principles, techniques, devices and mathematical foundations. It begins with basic definitions, ...and then moves on to the latest results from current research.
•Hedonic motivation has not previously been used to assess VR subjective well-being.•This study uses the hedonic adoption model to examine consumer use of VR tourism.•The effect of enjoyment on flow ...state is highly related to subjective well-being.•Flow state and subjective well-being significantly influence continued use of VR.•Visitor/non-visitor moderates the relationship between usefulness and flow state.
Virtual reality (VR) tourism provides consumers with the opportunity to experience a destination in VR and can play a significant role in encouraging visitation and engaging in particular travel activities and behaviors. Hedonic motivation adoption frameworks with flow state and subjective well-being have been shown to have significant roles in continued use of information technology. However, research on a theoretically integrated hedonic motivation system adoption model (HMSAM) specifically with enjoyment, flow state, subjective well-being, and continued use has not previously been conducted with respect to VR tourism. To address this gap, this study develops and investigates a conceptually comprehensive model on the effect of consumers’ hedonic behaviors on continued use, with the moderating role of visitor or non-visitor at the destination portrayed in VR tourism. Results identified the highly significant effect of consumers’ perceived enjoyment on flow state and of flow state on subjective well-being. Continued use was greatly influenced by flow state and subjective well-being. Importantly for destinations association between usefulness and flow state had a significant moderating effect depending on whether a visitor or non-visitor. The findings offer new knowledge to researchers and industry in the VR tourism fields.
Working Through Synthetic Worlds explores different tasks that might benefit by being performed within a synthetic world. The term 'synthetic world' refers to a subset of virtual environments, having ...a large virtual landscape and a set of rules that govern the interactions among participants. Currently, their primary motivators appear to be fun and novelty. If synthetic worlds are to prosper the non-game-oriented worlds will need to facilitate business processes to a degree that exceeds their substantial costs for development and maintenance.
Objective purpose: This review synthesized the literature examining the effects of virtual reality (VR)-based exercise on physiological, psychological, and rehabilitative outcomes in various ...populations. Design: A systematic review. Data sources: 246 articles were retrieved using key words, such as “VR”, “exercise intervention”, “physiological”, “psychology”, and “rehabilitation” through nine databases including Academic Search Premier and PubMed. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: 15 articles which met the following criteria were included in the review: (1) peer-reviewed; (2) published in English; (3) randomized controlled trials (RCTs), controlled trials or causal-comparative design; (4) interventions using VR devices; and (5) examined effects on physiological, psychological, and/or rehabilitative outcomes. Descriptive and thematic analyses were used. Results: Of the 12 articles examining physiological outcomes, eight showed a positive effect on physical fitness, muscle strength, balance, and extremity function. Only four articles examined the effects on psychological outcomes, three showed positive effects such that VR exercise could ease fatigue, tension, and depression and induce calmness and enhance quality of life. Nine articles investigated the effects of VR-based exercise on rehabilitative outcomes with physiological and/or psychological outcomes, and six observed significant positive changes. In detail, patients who suffered from chronic stroke, hemodialysis, spinal-cord injury, cerebral palsy in early ages, and cognitive decline usually saw better improvements using VR-based exercise. Conclusion: The findings suggest that VR exercise has the potential to exert a positive impact on individual’s physiological, psychological, and rehabilitative outcomes compared with traditional exercise. However, the quality, quantity, and sample size of existing studies are far from ideal. Therefore, more rigorous studies are needed to confirm the observed positive effects.
Successful drug development relies on accurate and efficient clinical trials to deliver the best and most effective pharmaceuticals and clinical care to patients. However, the current model for ...clinical trials is outdated, inefficient and costly. Clinical trials are limited by small sample sizes that do not reflect variations among patients in the real world, financial burdens on participants, and slow processes, and these factors contribute to the disconnect between clinical research and clinical practice.
On November 28-29, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to investigate the current clinical trials system and explore the potential benefits and challenges of implementing virtual clinical trials as an enhanced alternative for the future. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.
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