ENGL202 033 FL-Ms. Lisa Marie McCombie (VPZN)

Introduction

What is an avatar?

When were avatars created?

Research question incorporated

Digital Technology and Avatars

How are avatars incorporated into digital life?

Definitions - Incorporate somehow

Confidence definition

"Confidence is that feeling by which the mind embarks in great and honorable courses with a sure hope and trust in itself." -Marcus T. Cicero

Assertiveness definition

Assertiveness is the ability to express your emotions and needs without violating others rights and in the same time without being aggressive. People who are not assertive do their best to please others violating their own rights. They just step on themselves in order to make others feel happy or in order to avoid being rejected.

Self-esteem definition

Avatar definition

History

History of Avatars

Interviews

Interview with Jason Rowe

"My character in the game is a lot different from what you see here in real life," Jason said. "[It] pretty much gave me a window to the world" (Qtd. in Levine). 

Interview with Celia Pearce

Her friend plays game everquest where she took on the character of a necromancer- which is a master and commander of the dead.

Before she played the game she was shy and was extremely conscious of pleasing other people. After playing the game she became stronger and more assertive

Interview with Filipino women

He interviewed one women who saw herself as a "short person with this squeaky little Filipino voice and nobody wants to pay attention". Her first avatar resembled herself, but as she realized that she was wasn't getting the respect she wanted by the way her avatar looked, she decided to change it. Her next avatar was the "biggest, blackest guy I could find" (Qtd. in Levine).

Survey

Include data from survey conducted

Analyze information

Conclusion

"The online world offers participants new freedoms - a chance to act away from the constraints of the real world. Avatars can walk, talk and shop but they can also fly, kill, and be re-born" (Cooper). 

"But stay in costume long enough -- whether a general in a Civil War re-enactment, or a wench at a Renaissance fair -- and the lines may blur between who you are and who you're pretending to be" (Levine).

Whether good or bad, pretending to be someone else does affect your self-regard. The people I included in my essay (along with many others all over the world) all have experienced some sort of change to their self-regard because of the time spent with online role playing.

Abstract:

I will need to refine my abstract and fine tune some of the statements I made. Some statements are not backed up with evidence on why they are true. Other statements are just my opinion that I need to get rid of.

Introduction:

He questioned why I used the definition of avatar source here. I thought I was supposed to introduce the topic... most people may have not ever heard of avatars before. I like that source used there, but I may need to rethink this. While talking about how avatars are important in digital technology,  i should include the difference with a pre-digital role-playing game and a game like dungens and dragons.

Fieldwork Statement and Source Review:

No bad feedback...

Sources:

Need to find relavence for some...

Four Main Components for Effective Outlines

Ideally, you should follow these four suggestions to create an effective outline. The examples are taken from the Sample Outline handout.

Parallelism - How do I accomplish this?

Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel structure. If the first heading is a verb, the second heading should be a verb. Example:

("Choose" and "Prepare" are both verbs. The present tense of the verb is usually the preferred form for an outline)

Coordination - How do I accomplish this?

(Campus and websites visits are equally significant. They are part of the main tasks you would need to do. Finding statistics and classes found on college websites are parts of the process involved in carrying out the main heading topics.)

Subordination - How do I accomplish this?

The information in the headings should be more general, while the information in the subheadings should be more specific. Example:

(A favorite teacher and grandparent are specific examples from the generalized category of influential people in your life.)

Division - How do I accomplish this?

Each heading should be divided into 2 or more parts. Example:

(The heading "Compile resume" is divided into 3 parts.)

Technically, there is no limit to the number of subdivisions for your headings; however, if you seem to have a lot, it may be useful to see if some of the parts can be combined.

Kinds of Fieldwork / Primary Research

1. Interview - person with experience (i.e. player), person involved in the practice (i.e. producer), experts
2. Survey - representative sample of people; get basic information
3. Observation - looking at others or self? logging
4. Primary document - undigested information

Discuss

• What can we do with fieldwork?
• Advantages?
• Practical considerations?

• How to integrate fieldwork and secondary sources?
  • confirm an established point
  • add nuance, particular details, or a concrete illustration
  • extend or get local insights

Get some expert knowledge from a psychologist or someone that is an expert in the field. I posted a status on my facebook for anyone who plays online games with avatars to respond. We'll see how this goes...

http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk/pp/overview.php?p=c2lkPTYmdGlkPTAmaWQ9MTgx

confidence definition

http://www.2knowmyself.com/self_confidence/assertiveness_definition

http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Assertiveness

assertiveness definition

http://www.macses.ucsf.edu/Research/Psychosocial/notebook/selfesteem.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-esteem

self-esteem definition

http://books.google.com/books?id=-InFgMNGDb0C&pg=PA266&lpg=PA266&dq=self+regard+definition+psychology&source=bl&ots=4TmH8Jx4Eg&sig=9SnuFxLEjQ7bWKJkec7M0vNc_zY&hl=en&ei=V2rwSrGnM5GVtgfilvH-Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=self%20regard%20definition%20psychology&f=false

self-regard definition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(computing)

avatar definition

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/6165.imc

REALLY GOOD SOURCE

The History of Avatars

By Sean P. Egen

http://www.seanegen.net/    - AUTHOR PROFILE

1. Title Page - Working Title, Your Name, Class information:ENGL 202, time, Spring 2009.

Virtual Escape: How Online Role Playing Affects Ones Self-Regard

Lisa McCombie

ENGL 202

Time?

Fall 2009

2. Abstract - Overview of the project, specifying: general topic and specific research question. This should summarize what the reader will learn and summarize why it is worth knowing overall(50-100 words)

  The article ''Alter Egos in a Virtual World'' describes how people, more and more, are now experiencing online role-playing. They do this by playing online games in which they make and avatar to be one's digital self. Ketzel Levine (author of the article ''Alter Egos in a Virtual World'') traveled the world and interviewed all kinds of people that are into this type of entertainment.   

For those of us who are involved in this type of online gaming, "The online world offers participants new freedoms - a chance to act away from the constraints of the real world. Avatars can walk, talk and shop but they can also fly, kill, and be re-born" (Cooper). People often create avatars to break away from the norm of the real world. "But stay in costume long enough -- whether a general in a Civil War re-enactment, or a wench at a Renaissance fair -- and the lines may blur between who you are and who you're pretending to be" (Levine). Whether good or bad, pretending to be someone else does affect your self-regard. The people included in this paper (along with many others all over the world) all have experienced some sort of change to their personality because of the time spent with online role playing.

3. Introduction - This is the beginning of your full draft. It prepares a reader for your study by: identifying the topic, relevant conversation(s), and research question. It lays the foundation for the research question in terms of: your interest, OR its importance, OR relation to ongoing conversations. The introduction also addresses how your purpose relates to the theme of the digital life. (2-3 paragraphs)

How does having an online avatar affect ones personality in their first life?

          Ketzel Levine interviewed one women who saw herself as a "short person with this squeaky little Filipino voice and nobody wants to pay attention". Her first avatar resembled herself, but as she realized that she was wasn't getting the respect she wanted by the way her avatar looked, she decided to change it. Her next avatar was the "biggest, blackest guy I could find" (Qtd. in Levine). After this significant change she felt like her avatar was in charge and everyone listened to her. She began enjoying the game much more, and others began to pay attention to her talent.

Usually people who make avatars go one of two ways; they either make younger prettier versions of themselves or make complete opposites of themselves. Levine also interviewed a man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy named Jason Rowe. His avatar is a robot-like character with his head helmeted and his face unseen. His avatar rides Imperial speeder bikes and fights monsters. The picture of Jason in the article shows his frail body on a wheel chair with a ventilator strapped to his face. This is one example of someone who has made an avatar that is the complete opposite of them. "My character in the game is a lot different from what you see here in real life," Jason said. "[It] pretty much gave me a window to the world" (Qtd. in Levine). For him, going online is his way to be treated as an equal. According to Jason, online gaming is one way for everyone to be on common ground. Jason vanishes into his game an average of 80 hours a week to escape from his unfortunate reality. What Jason experiences in his virtual world gives him the chance to be something that is not possible within the constraints of the real world (Jenkins).

Celia Pearce, a game designer and assistant professor at Georgia Tech, knows firsthand about how online role playing can be transformative. She has a friend in her mid-40s that started playing Everquest (an online game where avatars are used). Pearce describes her friend as being shy and extremely conscious of pleasing other people. When her friend joined the game she chose the character of a necromancer (Levine). In Everquest, a necromancer is the master commander of the dead.  Pearce noticed her friend becoming much bolder, stronger and more assertive not only in the game but also in her real life from playing that role in the game. This is just one example of how escaping into a virtual reality can influence your self regard outside the game.  

4. Fieldwork Statement - Propose the specific activity you will pursue as your primary research. Make clear what information you seek, from whom, and how you will obtain it. The purpose and the "nuts & bolts" should be clear (ex. for a survey, detail how it will be administered, to whom, and samples of the questions).

5. Source Review / Conversations - Briefly overviews "key ideas and information in the sources you've collected so far." This is not your bibliography. Rather give a picture of the kinds/groups of resources you intend to work with. You should organize it in terms of conversations perspectives, disciplines or areas of knowledge, NOT source types such as books, articles, websites, etc. Draw on both your conversation brainstorming AND your individual source evaluations. Use the guidelines for evaluating sources to help make the appropriateness or contribution of each type to your RQ evident.

6. Working Bibliography - Conclude with an MLA-format list of sources that you have uncovered thus far and intend to incorporate into your final paper. Your final bibliography will list sources alphabetically by author. But for research proposal please GROUP THEM into kinds of information (history, personal stories, academic studies, etc.) in a way that corresponds with the section above.

Evaluating Sources 

                                                                                            Least                    Most

1. Relevance                                                                                     | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5|

How closely does the material address your research question?

Does it provide background or address a central issue? 

2. Evidence                                                                           | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5|

Are the ideas and information presented persuasively, with support (i.e. strong argument, relevant facts)?

Is the presentation seemingly fair and informed with appropriate sources credited?

3. Source                                                                                            | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5|

Who is the author? What "authority" or affiliation does he/she have? Does the style indicate reliability or biases?

Who is the publisher? What does this suggest about the purpose and trustworthiness of the material?

How does having an online avatar affect ones self regard, assertiveness in their first life?

self-regard - self esteem, assertiveness, confidence, how they see themselves, ...

people who feel small make avatars who are big so they can feel more in control...