Recentemente, pesquisadores têm se dedicado a investigar a similaridade entre os mundos virtuais e o que se sabe sobre o comportamento social do mundo real (YEE et al., 2009; JIANG et al., 2009; JONSSON, F., et al., 2011). Muitas relações têm se mostrado apropriadas, dando indicativos de que a atividade on-line pode constituir um verdadeiro laboratório para as ciências sociais. O intuito da pesquisa aqui apresentada é justamente contribuir para essa investigação. Realizamos esforços para identificar aspectos do mundo on-line análogos aos observados em sociedades do mundo real. Estamos especialmente interessados em avaliar, segundo a teoria de Durkheim (1893), qual tipo de solidariedade, mecânica ou orgânica, pode ser observada no mundo on-line. Outro foco de interesse é a existência dos laços fracos, descritos por Granovetter (1973), e sua função no mundo on-line. Elegemos uma guilda1 do jogo \"Zodiac Online\" como o objeto de nossa investigação. Esse jogo foi escolhido devido às suas características sociais e demográficas. Optamos por usar duas metodologias paralelas para proceder a nossa coleta de dados. A primeira destas sendo a netnografia, método análogo à etnografia porem adaptado ao mundo on-line. A segunda coleta de dados é feita automaticamente pelo servidor do jogo que iremos estudar: um registro de toda a atividade de cada jogador é gerado simultaneamente a cada interação realizada dentro do jogo. Com os dados coletados, desenhamos redes que representam as trocas de itens entre os membros da guilda em questão e procedemos então a uma análise das redes. Baseando-nos nesses procedimentos observamos uma tendência a solidariedade orgânica, embora nossos resultados não sejam conclusivos isso torna esse grupo online mais comparável a subcomunidades de mesma natureza do mundo real. Quanto aos laços fracos, pudemos observar sua ocorrência, mas, provavelmente devido ao tamanho e características do grupo observado, sua função parece ser diferente, e menos importante, do que aquela que espera-se observar no mundo real. / Recently, researchers have been devoting remarkable eefort to investigate the similarity between virtual worlds and what is known about the social behavior of the real world (YEE et al., 2009; JIANG et al., 2009; JONSSON, F., et al., 2011). Many relationships have been shown to be appropriate, giving indications that online activity may be a real laboratory for the social sciences. The purpose of the present research is precisely to contribute to this interest. We carry out efforts to identify aspects of the online world similar to those observed in the real world societies. We are especially interested in evaluating, according to Durkheims theory (1893), which kind of solidarity, mechanical or organic, can be seen in the online world. Another interesting point is the existence of weak ties, described by Granovetter (1973), and its role in the online world. We elected a guild game \"Zodiac Online\" as the object of our investigation. This game was chosen because of its social and demographic characteristics. We chose to use two parallel methodologies to make our data collection. The first of these being the netnography, analogous method put the ethnography adapted to the online world. The second data collection is done automatically by the game server you will study: a record of all activity is generated for each player simultaneously held every interaction within the game. We then proceed to Network analysis to elaborate this data. With the data collected, we design networks that represent the exchange of items between members of the guild in question and then proceed to an analysis of networks. Based on these procedures we observed a tendency to organic solidarity, although our results are not conclusive that makes this online group more comparable to subcommunities that display organic organizations of the same nature in the real world. As for weak ties, we could observe their occurrence, but probably due to the size and characteristics of the observed group, its function seems to be different, and less important than what it is expected to observe in the real world.

<p>This essay covers computer gaming as seen from a perspective of gender theory. The main purpose of the essay is to examine women’s relationship to computer games, and more specifically women’s attitudes to the games they play. The theoretical basis for this essay is sprung from a hermeneutic perspective. The empirical basis for analysis consists of two in depth interviews and game analysis of the two computer games Counter Strike and Final Fantasy XI. The theories and previous research we have taken in consideration discuss topics like computer usage, gender studies, identity, identification, cyborg theory, subculture, fanculture and narration. This essay has shown that the two computer games contain multiple gender related and theory relevant connotations. The aspects of the games the informants consider important in the identification process mainly consist of game related communion and the interaction with other players. Both informants have presented several views on what they find important in the process of identification and what they chose to discard. </p>

This essay covers computer gaming as seen from a perspective of gender theory. The main purpose of the essay is to examine women’s relationship to computer games, and more specifically women’s attitudes to the games they play. The theoretical basis for this essay is sprung from a hermeneutic perspective. The empirical basis for analysis consists of two in depth interviews and game analysis of the two computer games Counter Strike and Final Fantasy XI. The theories and previous research we have taken in consideration discuss topics like computer usage, gender studies, identity, identification, cyborg theory, subculture, fanculture and narration. This essay has shown that the two computer games contain multiple gender related and theory relevant connotations. The aspects of the games the informants consider important in the identification process mainly consist of game related communion and the interaction with other players. Both informants have presented several views on what they find important in the process of identification and what they chose to discard.

The purpose of this study was to explore the junior high school students' online gaming experiences and its relationship with self-concept, life adaptation and well-being. The data was collected by means of questionnaires, and the participants were junior high school students in Kaohsiung area. The employed instruments were to reorganize questionnaires of other people. A questionnaire including basic data, scale of online game experiences, scale of online game participation motive, scale of self-concept, scale of life adaptation, and scale of well-being was implied to the studnets of 10 junior high schools in Kaohsiung area and 887 effecitve paritcipants were obtained. Finally, the data was analyzed with the methods of Chi-square test, Independent t-test, MANOVA, Multiple Regression Analysis. The results of this study were as following: 1. At present, 68.5% of junior high students participate in online games. Among them, most students choose to play free online games at home. 2. In the online gaming participation rate, player experiences, everyday average time of playing online games and participation motive, boys are significantly higher than girls. 3. Parents don¡¦t restrict children to play online games, and then children spend longer time playing online games and the motive in playing online games is stronger. 4. Compared with the non-experience, students who have online gaming experiences have poor ¡§family self¡¨, but have better ¡§physical self¡¨. 5. Compared with students of having online gaming experiences, students who don¡¦t have online gaming experience have better ¡§life adaptation¡¨. 6. ¡§Self-assurance¡¨ dimensions, ¡§social interaction¡¨ dimensions and ¡§recreation amusement ¡§ dimensions of the online gaming participation motive toward self-concept, life adaptation and well-being are low explanation. That shows other important factors need exploring. Finally, some practical suggestions based on the results of this study were provided to those related education organizations, teachers, parents, and researchers as the references in the future.

The purpose of this study was to expand our understanding of the utility of identification in the reduction of out-group derogation. Specifically, this research examined the extent to which individuals can be persuaded to identify with members of a perceived out-group, particularly through the use of online games. Spent is an online, point-and-click game that places users in the role of the working poor. Spent was used to test the potential of serious or prosocial games to increase players’ identification with a group of people who are often on the fringes of social acceptance. Specifically, this research (a) developed a new measurement of cause identification, the Identification with Perceived Out-Group Scale (IPOGS), (b) tested the validity and reliability of the IPOGS, and (c) examined the change in identification with America’s poor after playing the online game Spent. Following a pilot test of the Identification with Perceived Out-Group Scale, 55 young adults (ages 18-35) were recruited to participate in a quasi-experiment. Initially, participants completed the IPOGS and then played the online game Spent. Upon completion of the game, participants took the IPOGS again. Participants were also asked questions about their game play experience and basic demographic information. Results indicate that individuals who had lower levels of identification with America's poor had significantly higher levels of identification after playing the online game. The increase in identification was evidenced in a greater perception of common interests and values, greater affective attachment, and greater willingness to interact with the working poor after playing Spent. These findings suggest that nonprofit organizations may find online gaming beneficial when trying to cultivate identification with their causes, particularly among young adults.

abstract: The goal of this research was to understand the different kinds of learning that take place in Mod The Sims (MTS), an online Sims gaming community. The study aimed to explore users' experiences and to understand learning practices that are not commonly observed in formal educational settings. To achieve this goal, the researcher conducted a four-year virtual ethnographic study that followed guidelines set forth in Hine (2000). After Hine, the study focused on understanding the complexity of the relationships between technology and social interactions among people, with a particular emphasis on investigating how participants shaped both the culture and structure of the affinity space. The format for the dissertation consists of an introduction, three core chapters that present different sets of findings, and a concluding chapter. Each of the core chapters, which can stand alone as separate studies, applies different theoretical lenses and analytic methods and uses a separate data set. The data corpus includes hundreds of thread posts, member profiles, online interview data obtained through email and personal messaging (PM), numerous screenshots, field notes, and additional artifacts, such as college coursework shared by a participant. Chapter 2 examines thread posts to understand the social support system in MTS and the language learning practices of one member who was a non-English speaker. Chapter 3 analyzes thread posts from administrative staff and users in MTS to identify patterns of interactions, with the goal of ascertaining how users contribute to the ongoing design and redesign of the site. Chapter 4 investigates user-generated tutorials to understand the nature of these instructional texts and how they are adapted to an online context. The final chapter (Chapter 5) presents conclusions about how the analyses overall represent examples of participatory learning practices that expand our understanding of 21st century learning. Finally, the chapter offers theoretical and practical implications, reflections on lessons learned, and suggestions for future research. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2012

English is a part of our lives from an early age, and it is important that pupils engage themselves in learning the language. Today many pupils have access to a computer and can play online games in collaboration with others from around the world. This study aims to examine how online gaming can help pupils develop their second language. By studying prior research and analysing the results, it was found that there are several factors which may have an effect on pupils’ second language development. Through online games, motivation increases. Also, the interaction with both native English speakers as well as other second language learners within the games, form immense language input from authentic communication. These findings show that there are possible benefits in playing online games. However, there is a need for much further research to get a clear overview over the possible affects online games have for pupils second language development. / <p>Engelska</p>

There are several different types of games that are played in multiplayer mode over networks. The type of network games that, from a network’s perspective, are the most demanding is real-time based multiplayer games. Users of such games both assume and require that game play interaction happens in near real-time and these games often support a large number of simultaneous players. Most networks are specialized to either voice traffic (such as the first and second generation of mobile networks) or data traffic (such as wired data networks). It is not clear that the requirements for such real time games can always be met on either type of network. The core of this thesis investigates the performance requirements real-time multiplayer games place on packet switched data networks and the connection between network impairments and game quality degradation. Traffic generated by network games distinguishes itself from other traffic both regarding its general characteristics and the requirements it places on the network. Understanding these traffic characteristics, requirements, and what consequences failures to support such requirements entail are of great importance when designing new networks in order to guarantee suitable quality of service for such real-time games. / Det finns idag en stor mängd datorspel som spelas i flerspelarläge över nätverk. De spel som från ett hårdvaru- och nätverksperspektiv ställer högst krav är realtidsbaserade flerspelarspel. Slutanvändare av dessa realtidsspel både förutsätter och tar för givet att interaktionen sker i så nära realtid som möjligt samtidigt som dessa spel ofta stödjer ett stort antal samtidiga användare. De flesta nätverk är i första hand anpassade för rösttrafik (som första och andra generationens mobilnät) eller datatrafik (som trådade datanätverk). Det står inte klart huruvida någon av dessa nätverk kan garantera tillräcklig prestanda för att en acceptabel spelkvalité skall uppnås för slutanvändaren. Kärnan i denna rapport utreder vilka krav som dagens mest krävande realtidsbaserade flerspelarspel ställer på nätverken de spelas över samt kopplingen mellan brister i dessa nätverk och den upplevda spelkvalitén för användarna. Trafik genererad av realtidsbaserade flerspelarspel särskiljer sig från annan trafik både när det gäller generell karaktäristik och när det gäller de krav som de ställer på nätverken. Det är viktigt att ha en förståelse kring den trafik som dessa spel skapar, kraven de ställer, samt de konsekvenser ett misslyckande av upprätthållande av sådana krav medför. Denna förståelse är av yttersta vikt när man designar nya nätverk för att kunna erbjuda en passande Quality of Service för denna typ av interaktiva multimediatjänster.

Sociala relationer har en betydande roll för den psykiska hälsan. Idag är det populärt bland ungdomar att ha sociala relationer online vilket sker bland annat via online gaming.  Det finns ett flertal studier som undersökt negativa konsekvenser av online gaming på den psykiska hälsan men det saknas kunskap om hur online gaming kan bidra till psykisk hälsa. Följaktligen har denna uppsats för avsikt att undersöka ungdomars upplevelser av sociala relationer i online gaming och dess betydelse för deras psykiska hälsa. Uppsatsen utgår från en kvalitativ ansats där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts. Sex ungdomar rekryterades utifrån ett målstyrt urval med krav på erfarenhet av online gaming. Efter genomförda digitala intervjuer, gjordes en innehållsanalys. Resultatet av undersökningen visade att ungdomar upplever sociala relationer i online gaming som något positivt och stärkande för den psykiska hälsan. Ungdomarna motiverade att sociala relationer var en avgörande del i deras fortsatta spelande och bidrog till positiva känslor som glädje. Det fanns dock en medvetenhet bland ungdomarna att vissa sociala relationer i online gaming kan påverka den psykiska hälsan negativt. Utifrån uppsatsens resultat dras slutsatsen att sociala relationer i online gaming är betydelsefullt för ungdomarna och deras psykiska hälsa. Uppsatsen leder också till slutsatsen att vidare forskning behövs inom området.

Online services such as e-marketplaces, social networking sites, online gaming environments etc have grown in popularity in the recent years. These services represent situation where participants do not get to negotiate face to face before interaction and most of the time parties to transaction remain anonymous. It is thus necessary to have a system that rightly assesses trustworthiness of the other party in order to maintain quality assurance in such systems. Recent works on Trust and Reputation in online communities have focused on identifying probable defaulters, but less effort has been put to come up with system that make cooperation attractive over defection in order to achieve cooperation without enforcement. Our work in this regard concerns design and investigation of trust assessment systems that not only filter defaulters but also promote evolution of cooperativeness in player society. Based on the concept of game theory and prisoner¿s dilemma, we model business games and design incentive method, compensation method, acquaintance based assessment method and decision theoretic assessment method as mechanisms to assure trustworthiness in online business environments. Effectiveness of each of these methods in promoting the evolution of cooperation in player society has been investigated. Our results show that these methods contribute positively in promoting cooperative evolution. We have further extended our trust assessment model to suit the needs of a mobile ad-hoc network setting. The effectiveness of this model has been tested against its capability to reduce packet drop rate and energy conservation. In both of these the results show promise. / EU Asia-link project TH/Asia Link/004(91712) East-West and its local host Kantipur Engineering College in Nepal, and Kathmandu University.