The Smart Services Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) is an Australian initiative designed to improve the service industry in Australia. The CRC partnership exists between 10 major industry players and six Australian universities. Its aim is the creation of research-enabled commercial outcomes for its partners. The current 7-year budget amounts to $120 million, with a grant of … [Read more...] about That’s QUT for YAWL in SL
AFTRS: directing the future
Gary Hayes has amazing talent. As with so many people who are masterful in their field, he can make the difficult look effortless. However, this time it's not an attractive and engaging machinima or build that has me excited, but Gary's words about the new diploma courses being run at AFTRS. Forget the glitz and glam, ignore the special effects of the promo videos if you are … [Read more...] about AFTRS: directing the future
Superstruct: six weeks to save the world
Play the game. Invent the future. This is the tag line for the MMO forecasting game Superstruct, an alternative reality game set in the future, developed by a team at The Institute for the Future (IFTF). It's a SF game, where SF has the original meaning of speculative fiction – crises are speculated upon by the game's designers, and the objective is to speculate upon … [Read more...] about Superstruct: six weeks to save the world
Second Life – game?
Using games in education is a thorny topic. Which games? Which goals? Which outcomes? Which games will warp and twist the minds of our youth, which will contribute to their ongoing development in a positive way? Games created solely for educational purposes often have their content boiled dry as old bones, all the fun ripped from them in order to create "serious" games. "Fun" … [Read more...] about Second Life – game?
“Gender Freedom Day in Digital Worlds” – hooray for diversity!
The 25th October 2008 heralds the coming of a new celebration: "Gender Freedom Day in Digital Worlds." Gender Freedom Day is the brainchild of Sophrosyne Stenvaag, a digital individual who inhabits digital environments such as Second Life. Stenvaag envisions the Day as a promotion of "freedom of expression of gender identity and sexual preference in digital worlds" – a … [Read more...] about “Gender Freedom Day in Digital Worlds” – hooray for diversity!