Virtual Worlds - Real Decisions?
Virtual Worlds - Real Decisions?

Author: Ariane Walz

Publisher: vdf Hochschulverlag AG

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 3728132039

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With landscapes there is no room for experimentation. Real changes to the landscape become an indelible part of it ¿ mostly for decades or even centuries. That is why level-headed and foresighted planning is required before final decisions are made. Computer-based models allow the testing and visualization of development options and decision alternatives. For this reason virtual representation of landscape processes is gaining increasing importance in planning.The Thematic Synthesis Report V of the National Research Programme 48 "Landscapes and Habitats of the Alps" shows the potential of computer-based models and visualizations for spatial and landscape planning and examines the current state of research. The models developed within NRP 48 deal with the most important issues in spatial and landscape planning in the Alps ¿ mechanisms and landscape changes through changing agricultural use patterns, tourism and intensive settlement development, and changes in the natural hazards potential due to global warming. Synthesis Report V throws light on chances and obstacles of models and visualizations in planning practice and demonstrates how the formulation of use cases facilitates the development and improvement of computer-based models and the corresponding software for the world of practice.

Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy
Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy

Author: David J. Chalmers

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2022-01-25

Total Pages: 544

ISBN-13: 0393635813

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A leading philosopher takes a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it. Virtual reality is genuine reality; that’s the central thesis of Reality+. In a highly original work of “technophilosophy,” David J. Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. We may even be in a virtual world already. Along the way, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of big ideas in philosophy and science. He uses virtual reality technology to offer a new perspective on long-established philosophical questions. How do we know that there’s an external world? Is there a god? What is the nature of reality? What’s the relation between mind and body? How can we lead a good life? All of these questions are illuminated or transformed by Chalmers’ mind-bending analysis. Studded with illustrations that bring philosophical issues to life, Reality+ is a major statement that will shape discussion of philosophy, science, and technology for years to come.

Exodus to the Virtual World
Exodus to the Virtual World

Author: Edward Castronova

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2007-11-27

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 0230608612

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Virtual worlds have exploded out of online game culture and now capture the attention of millions of ordinary people: husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, workers, retirees. Devoting dozens of hours each week to massively multiplayer virtual reality environments (like World of Warcraft and Second Life), these millions are the start of an exodus into the refuge of fantasy, where they experience life under a new social, political, and economic order built around fun. Given the choice between a fantasy world and the real world, how many of us would choose reality? Exodus to the Virtual World explains the growing migration into virtual reality, and how it will change the way we live--both in fantasy worlds and in the real one.

The Invisible Hand in Virtual Worlds
The Invisible Hand in Virtual Worlds

Author: Matthew McCaffrey

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-02-03

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1108839711

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Studies the economic order that governs virtual worlds and ways individuals work together to govern social relations in the digital space.

Designing Virtual Worlds
Designing Virtual Worlds

Author: Richard A. Bartle

Publisher: New Riders

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 768

ISBN-13: 9780131018167

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This text provides a comprehensive treatment of virtual world design from one of its pioneers. It covers everything from MUDs to MOOs to MMORPGs, from text-based to graphical VWs.

Coming of Age in Second Life
Coming of Age in Second Life

Author: Tom Boellstorff

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2015-08-25

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0691168342

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Millions of people around the world today spend portions of their lives in online virtual worlds. Second Life is one of the largest of these virtual worlds. The residents of Second Life create communities, buy property and build homes, go to concerts, meet in bars, attend weddings and religious services, buy and sell virtual goods and services, find friendship, fall in love--the possibilities are endless, and all encountered through a computer screen. At the time of its initial publication in 2008, Coming of Age in Second Life was the first book of anthropology to examine this thriving alternate universe. Tom Boellstorff conducted more than two years of fieldwork in Second Life, living among and observing its residents in exactly the same way anthropologists traditionally have done to learn about cultures and social groups in the so-called real world. He conducted his research as the avatar "Tom Bukowski," and applied the rigorous methods of anthropology to study many facets of this new frontier of human life, including issues of gender, race, sex, money, conflict and antisocial behavior, the construction of place and time, and the interplay of self and group. Coming of Age in Second Life shows how virtual worlds can change ideas about identity and society. Bringing anthropology into territory never before studied, this book demonstrates that in some ways humans have always been virtual, and that virtual worlds in all their rich complexity build upon a human capacity for culture that is as old as humanity itself. Now with a new preface in which the author places his book in light of the most recent transformations in online culture, Coming of Age in Second Life remains the classic ethnography of virtual worlds.

Collaborative Decision Making
Collaborative Decision Making

Author: Pascale Zaraté

Publisher: IOS Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 516

ISBN-13: 1586038818

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This publication presents the latest innovations and achievements of academic communities on Decision Support Systems (DSS). These advances include theory systems, computer-aided methods, algorithms, techniques and applications related to supporting decision making. The aim is to develop approaches for applying information systems technology to increase the effectiveness of decision making in situations where the computer system can support and enhance human judgements in the performance of tasks that have elements which cannot be specified in advance. Also it is intended to improve ways of synthesizing and applying relevant work from resource disciplines to practical implementation of systems that enhance decision support capability. The resource disciplines include: information technology, artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, decision theory, organizational theory, operations research and modeling. Researchers come from the Operational Research area but also from Decision Theory, Multicriteria Decision Making methodologies, Fuzzy sets and modeling tools. Based on the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies in organizations, the decisional process is evolving from a mono actor to a multi actor situation in which cooperation is a way to make the decision.

Virtual Reality in Geography
Virtual Reality in Geography

Author: Peter Fisher

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2001-11-22

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 020330585X

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Virtual Reality in Geography covers "through the window" VR systems, "fully immersive" VR systems, and hybrids of the two types. The authors examine the Virtual Reality Modeling Language approach and explore its deficiencies when applied to real geographic environments. This is a totally unique book covers all the major uses and methods of virtual reality used by geographers. The authors have produced a CDROM that comes with the book of virtual reality images that will be a fascinating companion to the text. This book will be of great interest to geographers, computer scientists and all those interested in multimedia and computer graphics.

Implications of Modern Decision Science for Military Decision-support Systems
Implications of Modern Decision Science for Military Decision-support Systems

Author: Paul K. Davis

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 0833038087

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A selective review of modern decision science and implications for decision-support systems. The study suggests ways to synthesize lessons from research on heuristics and biases with those from "naturalistic research." It also discusses modern tools, such as increasingly realistic simulations, multiresolution modeling, and exploratory analysis, which can assist decisionmakers in choosing strategies that are flexible, adaptive, and robust.

Constructing Self-Discovery Learning Spaces Online: Scaffolding and Decision Making Technologies
Constructing Self-Discovery Learning Spaces Online: Scaffolding and Decision Making Technologies

Author: Hai-Jew, Shalin

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2011-11-30

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 1613503210

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As an increasing amount of information is made available online, the assumption is that people who visit Web sites will be able to strategize their learning to optimize access to this information. Constructing Self-Discovery Learning Spaces Online: Scaffolding and Decision Making Technologies raises awareness of the strategies supporting self-driven learner efficacy on a number of site types. This book reflects on existing literature about self-discovery learning and what learners need in terms of scaffolding to help them make the right decisions, assess their own level of learning, vet information strategically, collaborate with other learners, and build their own skill sets.