Conference Paper: Razing the Virtual Glass Ceiling: Gendered Economic Disparity in Two Massive Online Games

Rabindra A. Ratan (1), Vili Lehdonvirta (2), Tracy L. M. Kennedy (3) &  Dmitri Williams (4)

1. Michigan State University, r...@msu.edu

2. Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, vili...@hiit.fi

3. Brock U, netw...@gmail.com

4. U of Southern California, dmit...@usc.edu

Abstract

Research has consistently shown a gap between male and female income earners. Explanations have been found in social expectations and mechanisms relating to gender roles. In this paper, we investigate what happens to gendered economic disparity when those mechanisms are removed. We examine wealth creation within the virtual economies of two massively-multiplayer online games (MMOs)— environments where gender cues are malleable and meritocracy trumps identity—in the first study on economic disparity within multiple MMOs. Observed measures of player behavior indicate that player sex and character gender have a statistically significant relationship with virtual wealth, but in practice the effect is very small. While further research is needed on observed gender differences in play styles and motivations in virtual environments, the present results support an optimistic argument: as workplaces turn increasingly virtual, obfuscating physical gender cues and traditional allocation mechanisms, gendered economic disparity in society is likely reduced.

Conference Paper: Telling Other People’s Stories: The Iconic Image of Reconciliation in Peru

Robin Hoecker, Northwestern University, robi...@u.northwestern.edu

Abstract

In the past 50 years, more than 40 countries have created “truth and reconciliation” commissions to deal with historical atrocities and injustices. A critical step in this process is the gathering of witness testimonies. The stories of these witnesses are then appropriated and re-told as “cautionary tales,” with the intention of preventing future atrocities. But what happens when these stories are told outside of their original context? Iconic photographs are perfect examples of how individual stories come to symbolize much more than the subject’s individual experience. This paper takes as an example one victim’s story and how his image was used by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru to visually represent two decades of political violence. It looks at the role of photography in the reconciliation process and what happens when the subjects of those photographs speak for themselves.

Conference Paper: Effects of Modality-Interactivity in Exergames on Health Behavior Intentions: Moderating Role of Regulatory Focus

Su” Sung Yeun Kim (1), Yoo Min Lee (2), Richard H. Gramzow (3) & Frank Biocca (4)

1. Media, Interface, and Network Design (M.I.N.D.) Lab, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, skim...@syr.edu

2. School of Media & Communications, Korea University, yoom...@hotmail.com

3. Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, rhgr...@syr.edu

4. Media, Interface, and Network Design (M.I.N.D.) Lab, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, fbio...@syr.edu

Abstract

Ever since the introduction of interactive fitness video games, known as “exergames,” there has been a growing interest in understanding their influence on behavioral outcomes. Can playing exergames motivate sedentary people to exercise? What aspects of exergames can facilitate people’s desires or intentions to engage in actual physical exercise? Will the type of self-regulatory goal-striving process that individuals adopt moderate their own health behavior? A 4 (levels of modality-interactivity) × 2 (levels of promotion focus) between-subjects experiment was conducted to explore the effect of modality-interactivity in augmented virtuality-based exergames on participants’ perceived presence, physiological reactivity (measured by heart rate), exergame playing intention, and exercise intention. The potential moderating role of individual regulatory focus also was examined. There was a significant main effect of exergame interactivity on presence, heart rate, and exergame playing intention, but not on exercise intention (N = 159). In addition, individual differences in regulatory focus significantly moderated psychological and psychophysiological reactions to the exergame playing experience.

Conference Paper: The Development of Community Radio in Britain Under New Labour

Salvatore Scifo, University of Westminster, Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI),  salv...@communitymedia.eu

Abstract

Since its introduction in 2004 Community Radio has grown rapidly in the UK outnumbering 200 stations licensed over the last 6 years. The regulation does make this sector very distinct from mainstream broadcasters and requires the community radio stations to be filling the spaces not covered by larger and mainstream broadcasters. The author argues that the birth of Community Radio (CR) in Britain cannot be understood unless it is placed in the context of New Labour social and cultural policies. This paper therefore offers a background to the development of British CR between 1997 and 2009 by identifying and analysing areas of government social, urban, cultural and media policies which, arguably, shaped the context where community radio operated, and, specifically, its conception within the framework of a particular view of community life and its regeneration.

Conference Paper: Online Educational Simulations: Exploring Questions, Context, and Moral Development

Jonathan D’Angelo (1) & Susan L. Kline (2)

1. University of Wisconsin, jdda...@wisc.edu

2. Ohio State University, klin...@osu.edu

Abstract

Critical thinking and argument skills are significant for developing a range of competencies for participating in society, including moral development. Hence, the focus in this research is on argument discourse skill, and on exploring the effectiveness of a particular intervention – online educational games – as a context for enhancing argument skills, and serving as a platform for moral development. This research examined a specific computer simulation called Place Out of Time, which involved 168 students in five schools from middle through graduate school over a 10 week time period. Here two studies are presented. The first focused on argumentative discourse, finding that students utilize questioning in distinct ways not before accounted for in literature. The second situated these findings by exploring evidence of larger educational development. It is concluded that this context, and online educational simulations, may present a unique and especially effective context for development of argumentation skills, as well as moral development.