Can Virtual Worlds Help Society?
Photo/Philip Channing
The $550,000 grant was made by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which last year launched a $50 million initiative to build the field of digital media and learning.
Jonathan Fanton, president of the MacArthur Foundation, made the announcement during a virtual discussion hosted by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, the first in a series of activities designed to help the foundation devise strategies for using virtual worlds to benefit society.
“One of the key tenets of our mission is to explore how technology can be used to build bridges and understanding between cultures, be they between or within virtual worlds or between countries,” said Joshua Fouts, director of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy. “We’re delighted to play such an important role, as the MacArthur Foundation launches a yearlong series of conversations within the Second Life community. We hope at the end of this year to have a far better understanding of how activities in virtual worlds might better the real world.”
With grant funding, the USC Center on Public Diplomacy will:
• organize and host conversations in virtual worlds about pressing issues and how a foundation can help address community needs;
• produce virtual world simulcasts of face-to-face conversations on issues such as migration, education, and global and civic engagement that impact both the real and virtual worlds.
“This project is key because it’s promoting genuine dialogue with the residents of virtual worlds about what really matters, taking the conversation beyond branding, marketing and profits,” Fouts said.
From a computer, individuals can access three-dimensional, vibrant participatory communities and interact with millions of residents in virtual worlds, which are created by and for residents inspired by their imagination. Each member creates a virtual self, called an avatar, that interacts with others in virtual settings.
Virtual worlds, as they become more user-friendly and popular, are considered to be critical tools for business collaboration and social activities.
In a June 22 New York Times article on the MacArthur Foundation grant to USC, Second Life was credited with more than 7 million members, about one-third of them American.
The USC Center on Public Diplomacy studies the impact of private activities – from popular culture to the Internet – that have an impact on international cooperation, foreign policy and national security as well as on trade, tourism and other national interests.
The MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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