Watch This Academic's Moving Speech on How Virtual Worlds Can Help People With Disabilities

Jay Jay Jegathesan is a PhD candidate from the University of Western Australia, and his thesis is about how virtual worlds (specifically Second Life) can help build communities, and this is him passionately presenting a short summary of his work so far:

"In 2009," Jay Jay explains to me, "I founded a fully immersive 3D University campus on the virtual world of Second Life [official site here], and we are now recognized as world leaders in global community development through this technology. This turned into my PhD, which examines how global communities have emerged through virtual worlds in particular among people with disability or chronic illnesses."

Here's how he explains why this is possible:

"An immersive virtual world is a 3D environment you can enter and explore... touch, experience, move within and listen and speak to others through. It includes elements representing both reality and fantasy. My published research papers have shown that virtual worlds allow for the creation of community, empowering individuals and providing the ability to transcend physical and psychological barriers to connect to global communities."

I've definitely reported on anecdotal cases where this is true, such as this awesome 86 year old woman who uses Second Life in part as therapy for Parkinson's. At the same time, it still remains to be seen if this can become more than a niche for the very small percentage of people with disabilities who can access a virtual world.

Anyway, if you're academically inclined, click to read the .pdf of Jay Jay's thesis so far, below:

Pilot Study: Breaking the Virtual Boundary and Forging Communities of Practice through Virtual Worlds by Jegatheva "Jay Jay" Jegathesan

Abstract: 3D Virtual worlds are crossing and bridging boundaries between the virtual and the real, as well as creating dynamic communities across and between researchers, artists and filmmakers, among others. This paper is the result of a pilot study that points to three strands of investigation that have now been planned to be carried out over the coming two years. The first strand where preliminary questionnaire data were collected shows how positive perceptions can be formed of a physical institution after having experienced it in a virtual sense. The second strand, in which international focus groups were used, seems to indicate how communities of practice have developed within and between artists and film makers using 3D virtual worlds instead of through conventional approaches. The third strand, in which an international focus group was also used, also seems to indicate how a community of practice has developed and further shows how the use of 3D virtual technologies have allowed educators and researchers in educational institutions to increase the breadth, depth, diversity and frequency of their research collaborations as compared to periods prior to them using 3D virtual technologies. More in-depth empirical studies on all of this will follow.

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Comments

[Pathfinder]

UWA's been a pioneering presence in SL for many years. Great article. :)