tagged w/ University of Texas
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Marine scientist Ken Dunton talks about what the disappearing ice means for humans and animals in the "new" Arctic.
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Published on Mar 29, 2013Marine scientist Ken Dunton talks about what the disappearing ice means for humans and... more
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American researchers took control of a flying drone by "hacking" into its GPS system - acting on a $1,000 (£640) dare from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
A University of Texas at Austin team used "spoofing" - a technique where the drone mistakes the signal from hackers for the one sent from GPS satellites.
The same method may have been used to bring down a US drone in Iran in 2011.
Analysts say that the demo shows the potential danger of using drones.
Drones are unmanned aircraft, often controlled from a hub located thousands of kilometres away.
They are mostly used by the military in conflict zones such as Afghanistan.
Todd Humphreys and his colleagues from the Radionavigation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin hacked the GPS system of a drone belonging to the university.
They demonstrated the technique to DHS officials, using a mini helicopter drone, flown over a stadium in Austin, said Fox News, who broke the story.
Full Story: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18643134American researchers took control of a flying drone by "hacking" into its... more
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Not seeing is believing, at least in the case of what’s reportedly the world’s first demonstrated cloaking of a three-dimensional object.
Scientists at the University of Texas in Austin (UT) on Wednesday published a paper in the New Journal of Physics describing how they managed to cloak a 7-inch-long cylinder from every angle.
“This object’s invisibility is independent of where the observer is,” Dr. Andrea Alu, a professor of electrical engineering at UT and one of the paper’s co-authors, told Wired’s Danger Room. “So you’d walk right around it, and never see it.”
Previous displays of cloaking, by contrast — such as the “mirage effect” that captivated the Web’s attention in October 2011 — only achieved cloaking of a two-dimensional surface. Walk around the cloaking field and you’d see the object.
That’s not the case with what the UT scientists devised, though: They’ve managed to demonstrate it is possible to cloak any 3D object from any observer’s point of few, even those closest to it.
That said, Alu and his team haven’t actually managed to cloak the object from the visual field quite yet, only from being detected by microwave scans around the 3 GHZ spectrum.
But they’re working on expanding the effect to more wavelengths, including that of visible light, which would render it actually invisible to the naked eye from all 360 degrees.
“Broadening the bandwidth is a relevant issue, which we are working on right now,” Alu wrote to TPM via email.
Another issue is the size. Humans would be a bit too be big to be cloaked using the current technique devised by Alu.
“For larger sizes, any passive cloaking technique has inherent limitations,” Alu said. “We are exploring venues to increase the size of the objects to be cloaked and the bandwidth of operation.”
Still, it’s worth noting how far the team has come: Back in 2009, Alu and his collaborators demonstrated 2D cloaking using the same technique. In 2010, they published a paper explaining that it was theoretically possible to cloak a 3D object, but it took them about half-a-year to achieve the desired effect.
Alu and his fellow researchers managed to achieve the 3D cloaking using “plasmonic metamaterials,” synthetic materials consisting of alternating pieces of metal and insulation that have ultra-small differences in shape, smaller than than the wavelength of light.
When light hits non-transparent 3D objects, it scatters, and some of it bounces back to our eyes, allowing us to see them.
When light and energy of other wavelengths strike plasmonic metamerials, though, they act as though they were passing through glass rather than an opaque, solid material. That’s because the tiny features of the plasmonic metematerials surpress the natural “scattering effect” that occurs when energy, like light, strikes an object.
“The field [of energy] goes through the object and the cloak, as if they were made of the same transparent material (think of glass),” Alu told TPM via email.
Still, it’s worth pointing out that UT’s Applied Research Laboratories, where some of Alu’s team works, receives most of its research funding from the Department of Defense. That means that if and when they develop an actual unseeable-to-the-human-eye invisibility cloak, it’s probably going to be less like Harry Potter’s than the Predator’s.Not seeing is believing, at least in the case of what’s reportedly the... more
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Now that this is starting to draw media attention, I wonder if this will change their decision.Now that this is starting to draw media attention, I wonder if this will change their... more
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The biggest solar blast in four years erupted late Monday, and it’s sending jets of charged particles right at Earth. The flare will spark bright auroras when it hits the magnetosphere in the next 24 to 48 hours.
A cluster of sunspots called Active Region 1158 unleashed the flare at 8:50 p.m. EST, Feb. 14 [1:50 a.m. UT, Feb. 15]. The flare was classified as a class X2.2, meaning it is the most powerful flare since December 2006. The sunspots have continued to let loose smaller flares and may still be active now.
NOAA forecasters estimate a 45 percent chance of geomagnetic activity on Thursday, Feb. 17, when the bulk of the radiation hits Earth’s magnetic field. It may create a stunning display of aurora borealis, better known as northern lights. So look up! If you take pictures, send us your best shots. If we get enough, we’ll create a reader gallery.The biggest solar blast in four years erupted late Monday, and it’s sending jets... more
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Porn for Bibles: A student atheist group, the Atheist Agenda, located at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), is once again engaged in their annual "Smut for Smut" campaign, in which they offer pornography in exchange for Bibles, or other so called "holy" texts.
http://www.examiner.com/humanist-in-national/texas-atheists-trade-porn-for-biblesPorn for Bibles: A student atheist group, the Atheist Agenda, located at the... more
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(Reuters) - American researchers have found a new way to predict the success of a relationship -- compare the speaking style of a couple.
In a study of college students they found that couples whose language was in sync were almost four times more likely to want to see each other again than those who did not use similar language.
"We are able to predict this at higher rates than the people themselves," said Professor James Pennebaker, of the University of Texas, who headed the research team.
The researchers, who reported their findings in the journal Psychological Science, focused on function words -- which are not nouns or verbs but the words that show how those words relate. For example: a, be, anything, that, will, him.
"Function words are highly social and they require social skills to use," Pennebaker explained. "For example, if I'm talking about the article that's coming out, and in a few minutes I make some reference to 'the article', you and I both know what that article means."
As part of the experiment, about 40 pairs of college students participated in four-minute speed dates and had their conversations recorded.
"We found that function words are a powerful reflection of somebody's psychological state," Pennebaker said. "You can tell when people are in the same state or are on the same page."
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/01/us-relationships-language-odds-idUSTRE7106N220110201(Reuters) - American researchers have found a new way to predict the success of a... more
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( . . . .well,. . .SOME guys. )
Girl with girl cheating OK, half of boyfriends say
By Basil Katz
NEW YORK | Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:05pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Half of men would forgive their female partner's infidelity, as long as it was with another woman, according to a new study on cheating.
Women, however, were less likely to forgive and forget if their boyfriend had been with another man, the University of Texas at Austin study showed.
Researchers asked 718 college students to imagine being in a long-term relationship and what their reactions would be to several different cheating scenarios.
They found that overall, 50 percent of men would likely continue a relationship with a woman who had a dalliance with another woman, while 22 percent said they could forgive betrayal with another man.
For women, the results were reversed. If their boyfriend cheated with another woman, 28 percent said they'd keep him around, but only 21 percent said they would if he cheated with another man.
Published this month in the journal "Personality and Individual Differences," the study concluded the participant's reactions were based on basic jealousy instincts.
"A robust jealousy mechanism is activated in men and women by different types of cues -- those that threaten paternity in men and those that threaten abandonment in women," said Jaime Confer, the study's lead author and a PhD candidate in evolutionary psychology.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/28/us-cheating-study-odd-idUSTRE70R6WY20110128( . . . .well,. . .SOME guys. )
Girl with girl cheating OK, half of boyfriends say... more
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Wheres the BEEF !?!
Nostalgia: When Bevo was barbecue, and other trials of Texas' most famous longhorn
-Jim Weber runs the college football and men’s basketball site LostLettermen.com. This week, he looks at the early trials of Bevo, introduced to Texas on Thanksgiving 1916, ahead of Thursday night's rivalry showdown between the Longhorns and Texas A&M in Austin.
-There isn't a fan base more proud of its school or more in love with its mascot than the faithful from the University of Texas. Longhorn fans stay true to their school by traveling en masse to road games, decking themselves head to toe in burnt orange and obsessively lashing the "Hook 'em Horns."
And they show their affection for the live longhorn mascot, Bevo, with endless merchandise that ranges from golf head covers to Halloween costumes, as well as a student group, the Silver Spurs, whose sole purpose is the care and transport of the 2,000-pound steer. These days, he's treated like royalty while taking in games from the field.
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http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Nostalgia-When-Bevo-was-barbecue-and-other-tri?urn=ncaaf-289081Wheres the BEEF !?!
Nostalgia: When Bevo was barbecue, and other trials of... more
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Being the natural opposite, some may believe I had a fierce hatred of cheerleaders in high school.
But I’m actually more like the girl from MTV’s Made who tried out to be an Atlanta Falcons cheerleader. I too secretly want someone to professionally train me to dance. (Although at our school, it wasn’t the cheerleaders who had the best moves. It was the drill team.)
The desire to be part of any pep squad has nothing to do with social status or football player boyfriends. It’s about movement. I have the same desire to be a ninja warrior… or a fire bender.
I had a chance to perform once.
For a semester we trained under the pregnant head coach of the cheer leading squad. (I would wince when she did the splits. Would it fall out?)
She spent most of the semester focusing on her cheer team and didn’t seem interested in preparing us for our debut at the high school talent show – a requirement for the class.
While we had little direction, there was one move the teacher refused to change.
The movement mimicked a crude jester hooligans use to reference mentally challenged people. It was a little sharper, almost like a hail Hitler. But instead of going from your shoulder outward, our arms came up to the opposite shoulder from our side.
Myself and a fellow dancer named Sara took the lead, editing choreography and pushing the girls to do their best.
Before the show, Sara peered out behind the curtain. “Oh my God. Why are there people there?” She said, her voice trembling. “This is just practice. Why are there people? They shouldn’t be there!”
I grabbed her shoulders and tried to explain calmly where we were, but she grew increasingly hysterical and the rest of the girls were starting to crowd around us.
I started humming and broke into song. “Tell me why. Ain’t nothing but a heart ache. Tell me why. Ain’t nothing but a mistake. Tell me why I never want to hear you say, I want it that way.”
She and a few of her friends joined me in song, and we took a collective deep breath before going on stage.
Looking out into the sea of nothingness and bright lights, I forgot all the moves.
“Go Margie!” My brother’s friend cried from the audience. My memory came back.
And then came time for the controversial movement. When we all looked left and raised our arms in unison, the audience laughed and then it didn’t matter that I had forgotten most of the moves.
Since then I had put aside my desires to perform on a stage. So I was surprised to find myself running with Longhorn cheerleaders… and even better, we were about to come out on the ultimate stage for a girl from Dallas – Cowboys Stadium.
We were on an even playing field, the cheerleaders and I. With a media badge and a camera, I attracted and held just as much attention. We were free to run together with no judgment.
That is – until halftime was over.
I didn’t make it on to the field until after the Longhorns won. We were going to Cali.Being the natural opposite, some may believe I had a fierce hatred of cheerleaders in... more
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QLY3S0dQLY&feature=player_embedded
28 September 2010 Last updated at 12:46 ET Help
Officials are telling all students to stay inside after gunshots were fired at the University of Texas campus in Austin.
They say a suspect brought a semi-automatic gun to the Perry-Casteneda Library, fired shots and then apparently turned the gun on himself.
A second suspect is still on the loose.
Director of Communication at the university, Rhonda Weldon, said everyone was being urged to stay off campus.
Campus police chief Robert Dahlstrom said officials had initially believed there might be a second shooter because the gunman had fired shots in more than one location.
Austin police chief Art Acevedo said police were investigating a possible second crime scene outside the library, where shots were also fired.
No-one else was hurt when the man opened fire on the sixth floor of the school's library, university spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon said.
"He subsequently shot himself. He is deceased," Ms Weldon said.
Student Robby Reeb told ABC News he was on his way to class when a person sprinted past him saying they had seen a man with a gun.
"I looked up and saw a man in a ski mask, wearing a suit, and carrying an assault rifle. And I called 911," Mr Reeb said, referring to the emergency service telephone number.
Adjunct law professor Randall Wilhite told the Associated Press news agency he had been driving to class when he saw students "scrambling behind wastebaskets, trees and monuments" and a young man sprinting along the street with a rifle.
"He was running right in front of me - and he shot what I thought were three more shots - not at me. In my direction, but not at me, clearly not at me," Mr Wilhite said.
Campus law enforcement officers, Austin police and the state Department of Public Safety responded to the incident.
Campus alerts
The university updated students and staff via text message and e-mail throughout the morning.
"A suspected shooter in PCL library is dead. Police are searching for possible second shooter. Lock doors, do not leave your building," the university said an earlier e-mail alert.
Texas University professor Juan Garcia told CNN he had received his first text message from the university about the gunfire at 0843 local time (1343 GMT).
He added that there probably were not many students in the library at the time the gunman entered the building.
Mr Garcia said students were using Twitter and Facebook to communicate about the incident.
The authorities are now investigating what prompted the gunman's actions.
The shooting on Tuesday is the not the first for the University of Texas.
On 1 August 1966, a shooter killed 16 people and wounded nearly three dozen from the 28th floor of the university clock tower, before being killed by policehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QLY3S0dQLY&feature=player_embedded
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Latest News Updates Called Off After UT Shooting | MeoNews: AUSTIN, Texas -- A gunman opened fire Tuesday inside a University of Texas campus library then fatally shot himself, and police are searching for a possible second suspect, university police said.Latest News Updates Called Off After UT Shooting | MeoNews: AUSTIN, Texas -- A gunman... more
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Vince Young Assault: QB Cited In Dallas Strip Club Fight (VIDEO)
HuffingtonPost.Com
06-13-10
Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young was issued a Class C assault citation in Dallas Sunday, CBS 11 reports. According to the web site’s earlier reports, Young was the “prime suspect” in an altercation that left a victim suffering “bodily injury.” The AP reports that no arrests are planned.
for full story and VIDEO...Titans QB Vince Young Assault: Dallas Strip Club Fight (VIDEO)...http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/titans-qb-vince-young-assault-qb-cited-in-dallas-strip-club-fight-video/
The incident is said to have occurred at a Dallas strip club early Sunday morning after a man at the club insulted the University of Texas, Young’s alma mater.Vince Young Assault: QB Cited In Dallas Strip Club Fight (VIDEO)
HuffingtonPost.Com... more
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AUSTIN -- Luxury condos were the backdrop for two protests yesterday, April 28, in Austin. The Workers Defense Project, also known as Proyecto Defensa Laboral, brought 120 workers and supporters into the streets at two different sites demanding wages and safe working conditions.
“Three of my co-workers were killed, and the rest of us are still owed our money. When is it enough?” said Gumercindo Rodriquez, who performed plaster work at 21 Rio and Gables Park Plaza. Gumercindo, along with two dozen other workers are owed over $120,000 in wages by a Dallas-based contractor, GMI (Greater Metroplex Interiors).
Protesters focused attention on Gables Park Plaza, a high-end condo on the north side of Town Lake in Austin. At that site, wages have gone unpaid. Later, demonstrators moved into the West Campus where 21 Rio has also refused to pay final wages. It was at this luxury high rise that three workers died last summer when faulty scaffolding collapsed.
A recent study by the Workers Defense Project and the University of Texas found that workers who are denied payment are most likely not to receive appropriate safety training or equipment. The report also found that Texas leads the nation in construction deaths, with a worker dying every 2.5 days in the state and that Austin construction workers have a one in five chance of not being paid their wages.
The issue of immigrant rights has once again captured media attention as debate heats up over Arizona’s recent draconian legislation. “Show me your papers or go to jail” is an approach that collapses civil liberties.
In this atmosphere, the organizing work of the Workers Defense Project brings humanity back into the discourse. The plaster and stucco of luxury condos depended on immigrant labor. For the workers who toiled 70-hour work weeks, six days a week, without rest breaks or overtime pay, the human issue is simply to be paid for their work. For the three men who lost their lives at 21 Rio, the human issue is a safe working environment.
The protesters remembered those who died at 21 Rio by calling out their names.
Wilson, Presente!
Raudel, Presente!
Jesus Angel, Presente!
No los vamos olvidar.
We will not forget.
Visit http://www.WorkersDefense.org to learn how you can help bring justice for workers in Austin!
This is a http://ZGraphix.org production. Produced by Jeffry Zavala.AUSTIN -- Luxury condos were the backdrop for two protests yesterday, April 28, in... more
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University of Texas May Mandate Students Graduate in Five Years or Less.
Last month, members of the Second Task Force on Enrollment Strategy recommended the school's administration adopt a 10-semester limit on how long students can stay to pursue their degree in Austin. This academic restriction would probably be the first of its kind, said Steven Leslie, UT executive vice president and provost, who appointed the task force.
"The intent is not to get out any student," said Isabella Cunningham, the task force's chairwoman. "[It's] to provide the right kind of environment to have a successful career at the University of Texas."
To receive a bachelor's degree, UT students must finish 120 hours of coursework -- either 12 hours a semester for 10 semesters, or 15 hours a semester over the course of four years. Cunningham said the average student's academic career spans 4.5 years, or nine semesters.
According to the Office of Information Management and Analysis, a little more than half of the school's 38,168 undergraduate students finish in four years or fewer, with an additional 23 percent graduating within five years. While 5 percent more graduate within six years, it's estimated that approximately 19 percent of undergraduate students take more than six years to obtain a bachelor's degree at UT -- if they get one at all.
"There are some students that really don't have any stimulus to finish their degree, and [they] get caught up in the system," Cunningham said.
Interestingly enough, the system has actually seen this sort of proposal before. In 2003, the First Task Force on Enrollment Strategy suggested the same semester cap, though it was never implemented.
http://abcnews.go.com/OnCampus/cracking-down-college-students-stay-too-long/story?id=10115069University of Texas May Mandate Students Graduate in Five Years or Less.
Last... more
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PANELS ON IMMIGRATION & BORDERS
ICE-OUT: Stopping US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Collusion with Local Law Enforcement
* Jason Cato, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition, UT Austin, Anthropology
* Caroline Keating-Guerra, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition
* Andrea Guttin, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition
* Patty Zavala, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition
* John Reyes, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition
Asian Culture Room
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010
For the full Abriendo Brecha Event, visit:
http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/abriendobrecha/index.htmlPANELS ON IMMIGRATION & BORDERS
ICE-OUT: Stopping US Immigration and Customs... more
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PANELS ON IMMIGRATION & BORDERS
ICE-OUT: Stopping US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Collusion with Local Law Enforcement
* Jason Cato, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition, UT Austin, Anthropology
* Caroline Keating-Guerra, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition
* Andrea Guttin, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition
* Patty Zavala, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition
* John Reyes, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition
Asian Culture Room
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010
For the full Briendo Brecha Event, visit:
http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/abriendobrecha/index.htmlPANELS ON IMMIGRATION & BORDERS
ICE-OUT: Stopping US Immigration and Customs... more
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Iran and Texas seem to be polar opposites. What happens when you are an Iranian who is raised in Texas? Maybe fans of college football will have some insight._________
MUSIC BY: FERRABY LIONHEART
MySpace URL:
http://www.myspace.com/ferrabylionheart _______
CAMERA: Anlo SepulvedaIran and Texas seem to be polar opposites. What happens when you are an Iranian who is... more
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bita16
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A LUCKY few seem to be able to laugh in the face of death, surviving massive blood loss and injuries that would kill others. Now a drug has been found that might turn virtually any injured person into a "super-survivor", by preventing certain biological mechanisms from shutting down.
The drug has so far only been tested in animals. If it has a similar effect in humans, it could vastly improve survival from horrific injuries, particularly in soldiers, by allowing them to live long enough to make it to a hospital.
Loss of blood is the main problem with many battlefield injuries, and a blood transfusion the best treatment, although replacing lost fluid with saline can help. But both are difficult to transport in sufficient quantities. "You can't carry a blood bank into the battlefield," says Hasan Alam of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "What we're looking for is a pill or a shot that would keep a person alive for long enough to get to them to a hospital."
We're looking for a pill that would keep a person alive for long enough to get them to hospital
When the body loses a lot of blood, it tries to compensate by going into shock. This is a set of emergency measures to raise blood pressure and conserve energy, such as increasing heart rate and shutting down expression of some proteins. However, if the body stays in shock for more than a short time, it can lead to organ failure, and death soon follows.
Recent studies have suggested that around 6 or 7 per cent of genes change their expression in response to shock, via the removal of "epigenetic", chemical additions to the genome called acetylations. As histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors can prevent the removal of such acetylations, Alam wondered if these drugs might improve survival after blood loss.
His team previously showed that valproic acid, an HDAC inhibitor already used to treat epilepsy, increased survival rates in rats that had lost a lot of blood. It seemed to be doing this by preventing acetylation, causing certain "survival pathways" to remain switched on.
Now Alam has repeated the study in pigs. He anaesthetised the animals, drained 60 per cent of their blood, and subjected them to other injuries before giving them a saline transfusion. He then injected some of the pigs with valproic acid, gave others a blood transfusion and left the remainder untreated.
Just 25 per cent of the pigs receiving only saline survived for 4 hours - the typical time it takes to get hospital treatment - while 86 per cent of those injected with valproic acid survived. All those that had a blood transfusion lived (Surgery, DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2009.04.007).
Alam is currently repeating the trial to make sure valproic acid does not hinder survival in the longer term. If so, he will apply for permission to do human trials by the end of the year.
"It's exciting," says John Holcomb of the Center for Translational Injury Research at the University of Texas in Houston. "They're looking at resuscitation in a different way."
Earlier studies by Alam's team showed that rats that naturally survive traumatic blood loss also experience fewer changes in gene expression than those that die or suffer complications. He thinks the same might be true in humans. "Every person has this capacity to survive a huge insult, but most of the time it's dormant," he says. "That's why the same insult kills some people while others laugh and move on. What we're trying to do is make you super-resistant using the pathways and proteins that already exist."
However, Graham Packham of Southampton General Hospital, UK, who is investigating the use of HDAC inhibitors to treat cancer, says it isn't yet clear how valproic acid, which reacts with a wide range of molecules, is actually prolonging survival. "It's not clear whether this is driven by valproic acid's epigenetic activity," he says.
More at the link:A LUCKY few seem to be able to laugh in the face of death, surviving massive blood... more
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Although often seen as an inconsequential feature of digital technologies, one's self-representation, or avatar, in a virtual environment can affect the user's thoughts, according to research by a University of Texas at Austin communication professor.
In the first study to use avatars to prime negative responses in a desktop virtual setting, Jorge Peña, assistant professor in the College of Communication, demonstrated that the subtext of an avatar's appearance can simultaneously prime negative (or anti-social) thoughts and inhibit positive (or pro-social) thoughts inconsistent with the avatar's appearance. All of this while study participants remained unaware they had been primed. The study, co-written with Cornell University Professor Jeffrey T. Hancock and University of Texas at Austin graduate student Nicholas A. Merola, appears in the December 2009 issue of Communication Research.
In two separate experiments, research participants were randomly assigned a dark- or white-cloaked avatar, or to avatars wearing physician or Ku Klux Klan-like uniforms or a transparent avatar. The participants were assigned tasks including writing a story about a picture, or playing a video game on a virtual team and then coming to consensus on how to deal with infractions.
Consistently, participants represented by an avatar in a dark cloak or a KKK-like uniform demonstrated negative or anti-social behavior in team situations and in individual writing assignments.
Previous studies have demonstrated these uniform types to have negative effects on people's behaviors in face-to-face interactions. For example, Cornell researchers Mark Frank and Tom Gilovich showed that dark uniforms influence professional sports teams to play more aggressively on the playing field and in the laboratory. Peña's research demonstrates how these effects operate in desktop-based video games, and sheds light on the automatic cognitive processes that explain this effect.
"When you step into a virtual environment, you can potentially become 'Mario' or whatever other character you are portraying," said Peña, who studies how humans think, behave and feel online. "Oftentimes, the connotations of our own virtual character will subtly remind us of common stereotypes, such as 'bad guys wear black or dress up in hooded robes.' This association may surreptitiously steer users to think and behave more antisocially, but also inhibit more pro-social thoughts and responses in a virtual environment."
According to Peña, these findings can be particularly useful to video game and combat simulation developers.
"By manipulating the appearance of the avatar, you can augment the probability of people thinking and behaving in predictable ways without raising suspicion," said Peña. "Thus, you can automatically make a virtual encounter more competitive or cooperative by simply changing the connotations of one's avatar."
Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110211037.htmAlthough often seen as an inconsequential feature of digital technologies, one's... more
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