Array Of Health-related Activity Occurs In Virtual World Of Second Life

Researchers at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network's Centre for Innovation in Complex Care (CICC) have found that a wide array of health-related activity occurs in the 3 dimensional virtual world of Second Life. Second Life is free for users with basic accounts, and reported over 16 million registered users worldwide in 2008.

The web-based platform, which is often associated with pornography and "cheating" spouses, is also used to educate people about illness, train physicians, nurses and medical students with virtual simulations, enable disease-specific support and discussion groups, fundraise real-life dollars for medical research, and to conduct research.

The group found that health-related activities in the virtual world have significant implications in the real world. Dante Morra, medical director of the CICC, says "virtual worlds and the social networks that populate the Internet offer a new domain for healthcare. Although it is early in the development, there is a great opportunity to use these platforms for education, research and even disease surveillance."

Jennifer Keelan, principal investigator on the project, suggests that a major feature for users is the "relative anonymity where patients can seek out information and share health experiences in a safe environment. There is also a great potential for patients to "practice being patients" by virtually experiencing a mammogram or navigating a hospital's virtual ward—they can gain insight into medical procedures and processes to become more informed."

"There is a great opportunity here to understand the design features of social media that make it so appealing and accessible to people," says Leslie Beard, the designer on the team. "Once we understand what pulls people to Web 2.0, we can design and apply more effective communication strategies both within and beyond the Internet."

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Seeking Real Relief In A Virtual World

The developer of a popular virtual world on the Internet has begun seeking donations to ease the real-world suffering of victims of Cyclone Nargis in the Asian nation of Myanmar.

Simuality LLC has joined the effort to help relieve the suffering in Myanmar in the wake of Cyclone Nargis. Special donation kiosks have been developed and are being placed in high-traffic locations in thevirtual world of Second Life, with coordination being arranged via the Simuality welcome center on their main island.

The death toll for the cyclone could reach 100,000. Relief has begun trickling into Myanmar, which used to be known as Burma. The nation is ruled by a military junta.

In addition, links to the donation centers are being featured on thefront pages of all of the Simuality sites, including SlippCat, the recently unveiled metaverse advertising system, Avatrait the web site associated with the popular Second Life art gallery of the same name, and the main Simuality site, according to a statement about the online relief effort.

Virtual world donations are being collected in the Second Life currency of Linden Dollars. All monies collected will be donated to the International Red Cross to support their efforts to help relieve the effects of the massive devastation left by the tropical storm, the announcement says.

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Teaching, Avatar-to-Avatar

Under the guise of his avatar, Aaron Uhrmacher from Text 100 Public Relations Company came to an Ithaca College island on Second Life to present to a class, also in the guise of their avatars. No plane ticket needed to get to this island.

There in a virtual world, students' avatars from Kim Gregson's Qualitative Research class sat in a virtual amphitheatre on the side of a hill while Uhrmacher presented them with real-world information. After the presentation, the students typed in questions and Uhrmacher responded verbally.

Second Life is an Internet-based virtual world that enables its members to play, do business, and otherwise communicate with each other through avatars. Second Life has its own economy, through which members can purchase land and create a virtual island, monitoring who is allowed on the island and what kind of activity can take place there.

"This is a great opportunity for the students; they get to meet people they never would otherwise on a regular basis. They don't just hang out there -- this is education so they need real life experiences, and for a virtual world that is as real as you can get," says Gregson, pointing out that Uhrmacher won the Young PR Professional of the Year Award.

What's the educational result? "They are definitely more engaged with the topic and their papers are better; they seem to do more thinking about different questions and they spend more time on the class," says Gregson.

And that's not all. After class they invest more time blogging about theclass experience. For some there is also a language benefit. "They are talking to people from all over, not just the U.S.," says Gregson, noting that not only is it a diverse experience but also, "I hear things like, 'O.K. I can do this in Spanish' or 'Does anybody speak Italian?'"

Gregson, assistant professor of television-radio in the Roy H. Park School of Communications and a leader in the use of the Internet/alternative media, explains that that these virtual islands in Second Life amount to a server that allows those who purchase space to create a virtual island and monitor who is allowed on that island.

Gregson is currently designing and developing two islands; one island, complete with palm trees, a hill and a building that looks a lot like the college's own Park School the Ithaca College campus; this island allows those who enter, such as Uhrmacher or prospective students, to experience the Park School. The second island will be the Center for Independent Media, which will focus on media outside of the traditional means, such as blogs, podcasts, and Second Life, created by individuals.

Are there more of these virtual presentations to come? "Absolutely," says Gregson, who plans to bring a speaker from Los Angeles and one from North Carolina to the island for her Audience Research class. Beyond that, Gregson is currently working with an experimental film class who will show their work at an experimental film festival on the Ithaca College island.


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