The Assets Are Virtual but the Behavior Is Real: An Analysis of Fraud in Virtual Worlds and Its Implications for the Real World

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
William N. Dilla ◽  
Andrew J. Harrison ◽  
Brian E. Mennecke ◽  
Diane J. Janvrin
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
Financial Gain ◽  
Diamond Model ◽  
Risk Management Strategies ◽  
Research Questions

ABSTRACT Virtual worlds are computer-generated, immersive environments where participants interact with others while engaging in social, entertainment, and economic endeavors. To illustrate how virtual worlds can be used to study fraud, we examine documented virtual world fraud cases using the “fraud diamond” model (Wolfe and Hermanson 2004). Our findings have real-world implications regarding the causes and prevention of fraud. They include: (1) perpetrator motivations often include non-monetary achievement and manipulation, as well as financial gain, (2) fraud victims tend to have misplaced trust and overestimate the capability of fraud prevention governance mechanisms, (3) participant-designed record-keeping systems may protect corporate assets from theft, and (4) virtual worlds may serve as a laboratory for evaluating risk management strategies. We also identify future research questions related to these issues. This research illustrates how parallels between fraudulent behaviors in virtual and real worlds can advance our understanding of fraud antecedents.

The Third Culture

2017 ◽  
pp. 318-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Cheng (Sandrine) Han
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Third Culture ◽  
The Real ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The Third ◽  
Culture Education

The purpose of this research is to improve the understanding of how users of online virtual worlds learn and/or relearn ‘culture' through the use of visual components. The goal of this research is to understand if culturally and historically authentic imagery is necessary for users to understand the virtual world; how virtual world residents form and reform their virtual culture; and whether the visual culture in the virtual world is imported from the real world, colonized by any dominate culture, or assimilated into a new culture. The main research question is: Is the authenticity of cultural imagery important to virtual world residents? This research investigates whether visual culture awareness can help students develop a better understanding of visual culture in the real world, and whether this awareness can help educators construct better curricula and pedagogy for visual culture education.

Why Virtual Worlds Matter

2010 ◽  
pp. 198-202
Author(s):  
Angela Adrian
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
The World

To return to the quote which began this book, what is man? He has existence. He uses his faculties to improve his existence. He assimilates the world around him. Bastiat labelled these personality, liberty and property. What is an avatar but a manifestation of self beyond the realm of the physical? He has existence in a virtual world. He has a distinct personality. The avatar must use his faculties to improve his existence. He must level himself into a more powerful character to survive in his virtual world. He must have the liberty to become what he wants or needs to become. The avatar assimilates the world around him. By questing and click slavery, an avatar can acquire property. Personality, liberty and property are intrinsic traits of avatars as well as men. And they exist whether laws have been passed by governments or game companies. If there is a world to exist in, then these traits exist and men will want to set limits on them. Gaming identities are becoming indistinguishable from ‘real’ identities – just as e-commerce has become indistinguishable from ‘commerce’. Control over these online avatar identities has real-world consequences. As soon as something is valuable and persistent, people seek to associate rights and duties with it. The questions posed in this book revolved around the ideas of personality (personhood, identity), liberty (freedom v servitude), and property (copyright and intangible property).

A Policy Game in a Virtual World

2011 ◽  
pp. 910-927
Author(s):  
Martha Garcia-Murillo ◽  
Ian MacInnes
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Policy Game ◽  
Electronic Environments ◽  
Learning Principles ◽  
Real World Situation

Advances in computing and telecommunications make it possible to take advantage of immersive electronic environments to deliver content. In this chapter we present a policy game to be used in a virtual world. The benefits of this tool are examined using Gee’s learning principles. From this analysis we find that games in virtual worlds enable reflective exploration that helps participants learn from their mistakes. Learning takes place from the content conveyed through the game and through the multimedia immersion that allows students to learn the nuances of these virtual contexts. Because there are no realworld consequences, participants can take risks, provide or receive help from other students, and most importantly, apply this knowledge to a real-world situation. Recommendations are provided to educators to help them exploit the great potential of games while being prepared for the obstacles they will face.

Virtual World Professionals and the Interloper Effect in 3D Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 321-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria McArthur
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Specific Mechanism ◽  
3D Virtual Worlds ◽  
Or Organization ◽  
A Company

In this chapter we discuss virtual world professionals: real world employees deployed in virtual worlds for the purpose of representing a company or organization there. We investigate the notions of belonging and community in 3D virtual worlds, and identify the ways in which “belonging” and “not belonging” are constructed and perceived, especially in relation to so-called employee avatars. We explore the dimension of social stigma in virtual worlds and discuss the utility of the separate categories of outsiders and interlopers for inhabitant characterization. Our motivation for doing so is to determine the degree to which corporate presence can be mediated through the specific mechanism of employee avatar appearance. In considering the possibility that some employee avatars may be perceived as interlopers, we propose three methods for investigating the effect of their presence in virtual worlds, called the “interloper effect.”

A Policy Game in a Virtual World

2009 ◽  
pp. 489-507
Author(s):  
Martha Garcia-Murillo ◽  
Ian MacInnes
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Policy Game ◽  
Electronic Environments ◽  
Learning Principles ◽  
Real World Situation

Advances in computing and telecommunications make it possible to take advantage of immersive electronic environments to deliver content. In this chapter we present a policy game to be used in a virtual world. The benefits of this tool are examined using Gee’s learning principles. From this analysis we find that games in virtual worlds enable reflective exploration that helps participants learn from their mistakes. Learning takes place from the content conveyed through the game and through the multimedia immersion that allows students to learn the nuances of these virtual contexts. Because there are no realworld consequences, participants can take risks, provide or receive help from other students, and most importantly, apply this knowledge to a real-world situation. Recommendations are provided to educators to help them exploit the great potential of games while being prepared for the obstacles they will face.

A 360-Degree Perspective of Education in 3-D Virtual Worlds

2010 ◽  
pp. 291-309
Author(s):  
Brenda Eschenbrenner ◽  
Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah ◽  
Keng Siau
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Virtual World Environments ◽  
The Impact

Three-dimensional virtual world environments are providing new opportunities to develop engaging, immersive experiences in education. These virtual worlds are unique in that they allow individuals to interact with others through their avatars and with objects in the environment, and can create experiences that are not necessarily possible in the real world. Hence, virtual worlds are presenting opportunities for students to engage in both constructivist and collaborative learning. To assess the impact of the use of virtual worlds on education, a literature review is conducted to identify current applications, benefits being realized, as well as issues faced. Based on the review, educational opportunities in virtual worlds and gaps in meeting pedagogical objectives are discussed. Practical and research implications are also addressed. Virtual worlds are proving to provide unique educational experiences, with its potential only at the cusp of being explored.

scholarly journals The P.R.O.S.E. (Psychological Research on Synthetic Environments) Project: Conducting In-World Psychological Research on 3D Virtual Worlds

1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Real ◽  
3D Virtual Worlds ◽  
Core Questions

The P.R.O.S.E. (Psychological Research on Synthetic Environments) Project was established to investigate the psychology of 3D virtual worlds. Under the auspices of the project, a systematic program of in-world behavioral research is being conducted that addresses three core questions related to the psychology of 3D immersive environments: What are the characteristics of active participants in virtual worlds? Do the principles of psychology that operate in the real world also apply to the virtual world? Do experiences in the virtual world have the capacity to influence behavior and subjective experience in the real world? The current paper describes a series of studies that examine each of these questions and outlines future directions for the project. If projections for a highly populated, ubiquitously accessible (web-based), and seamlessly integrated (interoperable) network of virtual worlds are borne out, a new realm of psychological reality and interaction will have been created that will be increasingly important for behavioral scientists to investigate and understand.

scholarly journals 3D Interactions between Virtual Worlds and Real Life in an E-Learning Community

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Lucke ◽  
Raphael Zender
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Scenarios

Virtual worlds became an appealing and fascinating component of today's internet. In particular, the number of educational providers that see a potential for E-Learning in such new platforms increases. Unfortunately, most of the environments and processes implemented up to now do not exceed a virtual modelling of real-world scenarios. In particular, this paper shows that Second Life can be more than just another learning platform. A flexible and bidirectional link between the reality and the virtual world enables synchronous and seamless interaction between users and devices across both worlds. The primary advantages of this interconnection are a spatial extension of face-to-face and online learning scenarios and a closer relationship between virtual learners and the real world.

Functionalization and the Real Virtual

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Ulrich Gehmann ◽  
Martin Reiche
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
The Real ◽  
Ongoing Process ◽  
Step Model ◽  
The Creation

In this article the authors are going to explore a tendency in virtual world design towards the creation of non-functionalized virtual worlds, i.e. worlds which only exist to exist without resembling any function in their design. They are going to show how this tendency is grounded in the ongoing process of formatization in the real world by introducing a 4-step model of de-functionalization and show which chances exist for these non-functional virtual worlds to affect the real world through the mental world conception of the user.

Real Experiences with Virtual Worlds

2012 ◽  
pp. 41-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Cram ◽  
John G. Hedberg
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Design Task ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Role Play Simulation

The virtual world provides a useful experimental space in which learners can experience the design parameters of a real world task. The importance of the simulated space is that it enables the learner to explore their solution to a design task. This chapter explores some educational opportunities offered by virtual world simulations, and presents a conceptual framework to guide their design and implementation. The framework is illustrated by exploring three contrasting simulation examples. In particular, the examples explain how simulations within virtual worlds can be linked to real world performances and provide an efficient way of developing difficult concepts. The examples outline different types of simulations: an exploratory simulation for learning socio-scientific inquiry; a role play simulation involving an ethically toned situation; and a design simulation in which learners test and refine their ideas for subsequent creation using concrete materials.

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