Tag: Second Life

academic, Open University, Sussex Partnership1 Comment

When people fall out of the sky and you’re sitting next to a crow

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

There can’t be many conferences where delegates spontaneously generate, sit on your head, arrive stark naked, or drop out of the sky into their seats but, at yesterday’s Virtual Worlds twenty-four hour global event, that was pretty much the norm. Hosted in the UK by the Open University, renowned specialists in technology, health care, and social applications in education & learning had begun presenting in Hong Kong at 1 a.m. UK time, handed over to us at 9 a.m. and concluded with the US timezone from 5 p.m. It is almost more difficult to imagine bringing speakers of such calibre … Continue reading When people fall out of the sky and you’re sitting next to a crow

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academic, disability, health care, NHS1 Comment

Goodbye friends and family!

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

∑ Until mid June at any rate! For some reason, all the calls for new research funding bids are open now and have to be submitted in the next few weeks, come Hull, Hell or Halifax! Along with that is the mandatory report on our virtual world study, delayed by Christmas, snow, and participants who would rather go line dancing (who can blame them?) than talk to us. We pleaded for an extension. Computer said no. Resoundingly. So today I went into free-fall over the data for the recent study, had an apoplectic moment over my mean squares while trying … Continue reading Goodbye friends and family!

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What Havok and Smurfs can do for you

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Remember my post about Havok7 and things tumbling about in virtual worlds? Well this week, events in my real world have been tumbling about too! First up, I played football in Second Life with Dave Taylor (Our Man at Imperial College ) using an on-the-spot created ball by way of a demonstration of what the current version of Havok can do. We already have bump, jiggle, and dislodge, it seems so next time we can maybe incorporate it into our build. That’s the value of teams – Dave knew what could be done but not that it might be useful, … Continue reading What Havok and Smurfs can do for you

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authors, publish fiction, twitter, writers, writing3 Comments

Authors and writers in Second Life

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Just a little while ago, we were talking about the kinds of support we get from other writers and how we value the small communities that build up around blogs and tweets. Some of us are beginners with little to offer except awe for those who are into their third novel. Published or not, that’s tenacity, and if so far they haven’t hooked a publisher, this may say more about the vastness of the market than the quality of their work. If you can’t find ’em, you can’t impress ’em, and as the same principle applies in reverse, getting an … Continue reading Authors and writers in Second Life

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Havok7 in Second Life

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

IndigoMertal, a builder in Second Life, sent me this link to a wonderful video of what seems to be the next generation of Second Life viewers. In this iteration, the underlying physics engine allows for tumbling, bumping, and colliding in ways not possible at the moment. Take a look here, magic! Of course, that isn’t where it stops, this isn’t just a pretty face. The kind of reality introduced by this capability seems likely to increase the sense of presence people experience in the virtual environment and that has huge implications for the kinds of social, psychological, and medical research … Continue reading Havok7 in Second Life

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Space Destiny in Second Life

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

It’s not often you get a personal tour around a space science research centre, especially one that has a dance floor, free drinks, and a sofa on the ceiling! Yesterday, at Space Destiny SylvianaJ took three of us in a big blue bus to see what’s being developed there. Space Destiny is a research facility used by scientists from many different disciplines – environment design, sustainable agriculture (hydroponics), physics, biology, amongst  others. The venue is open to the public – just so long as you are a Second Life resident – and there are open days during which you can … Continue reading Space Destiny in Second Life

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academic, Sussex Partnership1 Comment

Outing SL researchers

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Very interesting meeting at Sussex uni this afternoon with academics and clinicians from Imperial College, Brighton uni, Sussex uni, Brighton & Sussex medical school and Sussex Partnership looking at using SL as a training platform for medical students. So many SL afficionados, so much other research going on, so few spring chickens doing it! Contrary to possible expectations, these SL researchers seemed to be the antithesis of the stereotypical young male gamer and came in at the older, female, rather sensible but highly creative end of the spectrum. Eat your heart out, WoW! Continue reading Outing SL researchers

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Migrating from MySpace

Suzanne Conboy-Hill

Today I’m having a rationalising session and that has included coralling several of my disparate online presences (if there is such a word)  into one enclosure. WordPress has a nicely manicured lawn, tidy edgings, and neighbours with eclectic tastes so it makes sense to move in and put up the curtains. I came here on a visit from MySpace, hauling along a nascent blog offering views on the world that may or may not be shared by others. It liked what it saw and pitched its tent so I went back to fetch Dem and now I won’t get lost making my … Continue reading Migrating from MySpace

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