The purpose of this article is to inform researchers and developers of cross-media solutions about the risks of exposing too much information about their users when they integrate social networks such as Facebook into their products. Lately online games and virtual worlds has started looking more and more towards Facebook and twitter as potential ways to increase their presence among users. This article will look at the negative aspects of doing this to help avoid doing mistakes that affects users negatively. This article will also look at some of the consequences of personal information getting in the wrong hands. Even though the majority of internet users are unaffected by their personal information being shared, it's important to think about the few people that do get in trouble from it.

This diploma thesis tackles the theme of the mythical arrival of Father Čech and his processing in literary texts. The purpose of the thesis is not a historical interpretation, but a narratological comparative interpretation. After the characteristic of the myth and its functioning in literary texts, there follows an interpretation of the theory of fictional worlds, which also deals with myths. Then follows the individual variations of the story, subjected to the submitted narrative-interpretation analysis also in terms of composition, characters and narrators. The objective is to capture the individual changes of the story and provide a comprehensive picture of how individual authors work with this narrative and how the story changes and transforms. Key words Myth, topos, father Čech, narrative, fictional worlds, narrator

Virtuella världar kan vara så mycket mer än bara spel vilket jag går igenom. Frågan är då vad mer är det och till vad kan de användas? Genom studier och genomgångar av vetenskapliga visar vart det virtuella användandet står idag och till vad virtuella världar kan användas. Jag försöker också ge svar på om det bör vidareutvecklas och användas mer. Det jag går in på är bland annat virtuella obduktioner. Hur de kan användes för att snabba på polisens arbete och hitta dödsorsaker som annars skulle missats och hur personer med vissa religioner som tidigare motsagt sig obduktion kan obduceras snabb och enkelt. Hur datorspelare kan lösa medicinska problem som gäckat forskare i många år på bara några dagar. Hur dessa datorspelare lyckats rekonstruera aidsprotein som kan komma att användas för botemedel eller vaccin. Samt hur många forskare utför beteendeforskning i spel där forskningen kan kopplas till verkliga händelser. Avslutningsvis går jag igenom olika områden där virtuell forskning eller virtuella världar skulle kunna användas till olika ändamål.

This paper tries to characterize relation between narrative of novels and computer games. In its first part it points out specifics of the narrative of videogames, but also shows how narrative used in literature reacted in a form of multiform stories. It defines the possible kinds of relations between these two media (genetical influence, influence of structural analogy, influence of functional similarity, influence of shared contextual functioning, metatextual relation and changes caused by shared influences of perception), shows possible directions in which they can be used and finally it shows some of the prominent examples from both media to make these relations clearer. The main interest of the paper is then influence of structural analogy because of comparison of possibilities in both kinds of narrative. KEYWORDS narratology - narrative - fictional worlds - comparatistics - literature - computer games

Human behaviour in educational contexts can be facilitated and supported by technology enhancements. This thesis considers a virtual 3D world as one such technological enhancement and explores its use in supporting technology acceptance in pre-service teacher education. The adaptation of different educational technology tools can often be challenging for teachers due to negative perceptions, lack of experience and a fear of technology. This thesis investigates the role that immersion within virtual environments can play to change perceptions, increase experience with and overcome fears associated to adopting technologies in the classroom. For this reason, this thesis asks the following questions: What factors and indicators show a positive influence on the participants’ perceptions of learning technologies? Do the virtual world (VW) activities encourage more VW connections and interactions inside the VW? What are the pre-service teachers’ reflections on learning in the VW setting? How is the learning experience in the VW applied to the real world classroom practice? This study focuses on the use of classroom technologies in a pre-service teaching program at the University of Malta. PreVieW (Pre-service teachers Virtual World experience) is evaluated using quantitative, qualitative and social network analysis (SNA). The combination of these three methods is used to measure the extent of the VW’s influence as a medium in affecting the participants’ perceptions about classroom technologies and their behavioural intentions to adopt technology during teaching. The results show that the VW experience has an overall significant positive effect on the self-reported perceptions of technology. Factors affecting this result are perceived ease of use, experience and attitude, whilst social network graphs show that VW activities are responsible for social group formations. Participants attribute the strengths of PreVieW to its flexibility and learner-centric activities whilst finding the technical setup as challenging. Participants reflect on the cultural differences in the understanding of teaching and learning in the VW as opposed to a traditional classroom. Findings lead to a deeper understanding of the human-computer interactions in a VW set in a formal learning experience. Following this a model is recommended proposing the integration of a VW experience in a teacher education program together with a number of propositions to enrich learning in a 3D VW.

Since the 1960s and in reaction to its increasing popularity within Latino populations in the U.S., mariachi has become a common component of curriculum-based music courses in a growing number of public schools. Even though one of the principal purposes for the existence of mariachi programs is to improve students’ academic performance, music scholars have yet to address how mariachi education encourages higher academic achievement. On the other hand, anthropological educators argue that children underperform in school due to cultural difference or cultural mismatch; therefore, it is necessary to incorporate the cultural heritage of students into the curricula for academic success. The purpose of this study is to gain an increased understanding of the impact of mariachi programs on high school students' experiences and academic achievement and look for the relationship between achievement and cultural identity. This study examines two mariachi programs in the Tucson Unified School District as microcosms within the larger mariachi community in Tucson. In this interdisciplinary study, I use both ethnomusicology and anthropology of education as frameworks. I argue that students enrolled in the two mariachi programs are re-creating their cultural identities in response to the sociocultural context of the music education in the United States. This process of identity formation allows them to move more smoothly from one setting to another in their family, peer, and school worlds. The interrelationship between students and their peers, parents, and teachers facilitates their academic achievement.

This thesis presents transformation as the key principle of production, as well as reception of a literary text. As far as production is concerned, the thesis takes off from the passing nature of any moment, any element of reality, and it perceives a literary text as a way to save and conserve that element. It is obvious that should the given element of the physical reality - perishable in its true character - survive in a text, it needs to undergo a change, a transformation: what needs to change in order for it to survive? By analyzing authors who discuss this nature of the text in their works, the thesis comes to understanding the production of a text as a discovery of such an environment within the text, which would allow the element of reality to be conserved. As far as reception is concerned, the thesis studies the influence a literary text has on our experience of reality. The problem is not only tackled as a perception of the world via a certain literary work, which was for example the case with the literary characters of Don Quixote or Madame Bovary, but the thesis tries to describe the deep transformation of our perception of reality caused by a poetic outlook on elements of the real world.

This dissertation examines how gender is expressed and performed in the virtual gaming community of World of Warcraft. Players were approached through the medium of the game and through various on-line bulletin boards to answer surveys and open-ended interview questions about their experiences as a female player or with female players in this virtual society. In addition to answering questions, this project involved participant observations within several different types of realms or servers in World of Warcraft in order to gain a better understanding of community dynamics. The premise for this research is working through an idealistic notion that virtual communities might break down gender lines through allowing members to pick their gender or doing away with biological differences in gender altogether. This research hopes to dissect this idea and, furthermore, fill an important gap in existing sociological studies about virtual societies and games by making the argument that gender stereotypes carry over from the physical world into virtual spaces and, consequently, affect the vabried interactions of players within this virtual community as well as the gender performance of female players, in particular. Observations and game design suggests that many of the aesthetic principles of the female avatars available in World of Warcraft cater to attracting heterosexual male players. Clothing and armor is revealing and female avatars are highly sexualized not just through appearance, but through programmed behaviors in the game. This research examines the effects of such pre-conditioned parameters on the population of this top ranked game.

Calculus at the university level is taken by thousands of undergraduate students each year. However, a significant number of students struggle with the subject, resulting in poor problem solving, low achievement, and high failure rates in the calculus courses overall (e.g., Kaput, 1994; Szydlik, 2000; Tall, 1985; Tall & Ramos, 2004; White & Mitchelmore, 1996). This is cause for concern as the lack of success in university calculus creates further barriers for students who require the course for their programs of study. This study examines this issue from the perspective of Tall’s Three Worlds of Mathematics (Tall, 2004a, 2004b, 2008), a theory of mathematics and mathematical cognitive development. A fundamental argument of Tall’s theory suggests that connecting between the different mathematical worlds, named the Embodied-Conceptual, Symbolic-Proceptual, and Formal-Axiomatic worlds, is essential for full cognitive development and understanding of mathematical concepts. Working from this perspective, this research examined, through the use of calculus task questions and semi-structured interviews, how fifteen undergraduate calculus students made connections between the different mathematical worlds for the calculus topics of limits and derivatives. The analysis of the findings suggests that how the students make connections can be described by eight different Response Categories. The study also found that how the participants made connections between mathematical worlds might be influenced by the type of questions that are asked and their experience in calculus courses. I infer that these Response Categories have significance for this study and offer potential for further study and educational practice. I conclude by identifying areas of further research in regards to calculus achievement, the Response Categories, and other findings such as a more detailed study of the influence of experience.

Thesis is concerned by virtual worlds and possibilities of their utilization other than are their original purposes. The objectives of this paper are to confront virtual worlds with mass media and their utilization. The author wants to show that virtual worlds are in many aspects similar to mass media. The author also shows possible utilization of virtual worlds for commercial companies, non-profit organizations, research and individuals. Work shows possible options for usage of virtual worlds together with option to cooperate with providers of the virtual world. This cooperation may take two forms. Content alternation means that providers of the virtual world change items or places inside the virtual world into the form desired by client. Providers may even sell their data about events inside the virtual world, thus clients may obtain unique data about human behavior and reaction to e.g. propagation campaign. Confrontation of virtual worlds with the mass media and describing possible utilizations that come from this confrontation, make content of this paper is original.