This thesis explores different ways of navigation in Virtual environments. It also investigates how Virtual environments can support human memory. Tests are done using a self made virtual model of Orkanen Library, Malmö högskolas school library. Among the different navigation tests that were done, a visual guidance in form of a line on the ground leading to the goal is showed superior when navigating a Virtual environment but that people prefer legible landmarks instead. Tests were also done which show that a 3D-model of a real location supports context based memory.

Today it?s common that companies and organizations are facing several challenges and problems when it comes to making their IT-environment more efficient. Some of these are the management of user?s computers and file security. Comput-er users are often tied to their personal computer due to personal programs and files.

Virtual Communities is an increasingly common phenomenon on the Internet. Most of the Virtual Communities are operated and maintained on a non-profit basis with a direction towards entertainment. However, as more state administrated and commercial services become web-based, we believe that the number of Virtual Communities with a community-based or commercial direction will increase in a near future. In this thesis, we describe our participation in, and studies of, a number of Virtual Communities with focus on the IRC-channel ?3dfxsweden?.

This study examines the use of building modeling and energy simulations in the design process  of  a  building.  The  take-off  point  is  the  notion  of  energy  simulations  being needed early and throughout the building design process, and that the lack of energy simulations may be explained by the fact that they are time consuming and therefore often too expensive. A greater interoperability between software tools used by relevant disciplines,  such  as  the  architect  and  the  energy  specialist,  would  create  smoother workflows, which would reduce this cost and open up for more frequent and iterative energy  simulation  processes.  The  study  is  an  assessment  of  the  modeling  tool  Revit and  the  simulation  tool  Virtual  Environment  and  whether  they  can  create  smoother workflows, and make leeway for a more frequent use of energy simulations throughout the  design  process.  It  also  investigates  the  limitations  of  what  can  be  examined  by simulations in Virtual environment. This will hopefully help clarify the future role of energy  simulations  in  design  processes.  The  method  is  a  trial  by  error  approach  of testing the two software tools by building and simulating a model. The results of these tests  show  that  the  workflow  is  not  optimal  (and  therefore  time  consuming)  for frequent  and  iterative simulations  throughout the  design  process,  but  it  also  reveals some  great  possibilities  of  what  can  be  performed  with  these  two  powerful  tools  at hand.  Further  development  with  regards  on  platform  independency  of  the  building information  model,  including  seamless  exporting  and  importing,  seems  necessary  to strengthen the future role of energy simulations..

The technical achievements that have occurred in recent years have led to a greater use of the Internet around the world. Today, more and more people are using virtual communities, a place where communication occurs with people who have similar interest. Due to the option of being an anonymous user, the concept of trust plays a big part in how virtual communities are working. It is therefore of interest to investigate how trust develops between users in virtual communities. This report asks the following question:"How is trust formed between users at a virtual community?"A qualitative and netnographical study was conducted to answer the question above.

Today it?s common that companies and organizations are facing several challenges and problems when it comes to making their IT-environment more efficient. Some of these are the management of user?s computers and file security. Comput-er users are often tied to their personal computer due to personal programs and files.

The purpose of this thesis was to study the importance of virtual communities for independent record companies. It also aims to examine how these companies use virtual communities in their marketing activities and how to gain competitive advantages by working with virtual communities. A case study based on interviews was conducted with managers from two independent record companies, Music Is My Girlfriend Recordings and B&B Records. Our study has shown that virtual communities are important for independent record companies as tools for finding and addressing the right target market. Useful information about the members of these communities can easily be gathered with the use of the various search options that are available.

Målet med detta projektet var att se hur långt vi kunde ta virtual reality med hjälp av moderna tekniker och ideer. Detta genom att kombinera traditionell virtual reality med en Head Mounted Display samt headtracking, sedan lägga till relativ positionering. Sammantaget skulle det ge en helt ny spelupplevelse med dig som spelare i centrum. Genom att titta på andra projekt ska vi undvika att göra om deras misstag. Sedan var vårat huvudmål att utvärdera människans reaktion på en virituell verklighet..

Målet med detta projektet var att se hur långt vi kunde ta virtual reality med hjälp av moderna tekniker och ideer. Detta genom att kombinera traditionell virtual reality med en Head Mounted Display samt headtracking, sedan lägga till relativ positionering. Sammantaget skulle det ge en helt ny spelupplevelse med dig som spelare i centrum. Genom att titta på andra projekt ska vi undvika att göra om deras misstag. Sedan var vårat huvudmål att utvärdera människans reaktion på en virtuell verklighet..

The purpose of this master?s thesis is to examine virtual reading groups, and which meaning the users perceive that the virtual reading groups offer. In addition, the study inquires which details can be improved to further amend the needs and wants among the users of virtual reading groups. Through these outlines, it is discussed how libraries and librarians can make use of virtual reading groups as a resource. The study is based upon qualitative interviews, consisting of asynchronous e-mail interviews with a total of sixteen members in two different virtual reading groups.

Virtual Communities is an increasingly common phenomenon on the Internet. Most of the Virtual Communities are operated and maintained on a non-profit basis with a direction towards entertainment. However, as more state administrated and commercial services become web-based, we believe that the number of Virtual Communities with a community-based or commercial direction will increase in a near future. In this thesis, we describe our participation in, and studies of, a number of Virtual Communities with focus on the IRC-channel ?3dfxsweden?. On the basis of our experiences, we describe the social elements that form the foundation on which the Virtual Community rely on.

Virtual teams are teams where team members don?t sit and work in the same place, they canwork in different countries, cities and buildings. It?s not the distance between team members that defines a virtual team, it's the extent to which the team is dependent on information technology to communicate and carry out a task. Virtual teams is becoming more common in organizations, to use virtual teams organizations can reduced time and travel costs and create a larger knowledgebase.A project manager for virtual teams faces many challenges, they have to build trust with and among team members they rarely or never meet, create a common understanding of project objectives and manage the challenges that culture and information technology creates.

Our study illustrates the nature and characteristics of the virtual world Second Life. We have identified that the online community aims to satisfy hedonistic needs through social and conspicuous consumption, for online use only, concentrating on socially accepted identity construction..

In this study, we investigate various lighting applications in a Virtual environment, where we compare between light based in naturalism (natural light) and pictorialism (artistic light). The purpose of this study is to gain further knowledge in lighting, which is increasingly important for game graphics. Theory are examined to gather information and recommendations on how to use various light settings that convey different emotions. We then use this information to illuminate the environment that we have built. The environment is presented in Unreal 4 for respondents who are allowed to move around freely in the environment.

This Master thesis discusses the development of a virtual human soft tissue object for use in exercise applications of various medical procedures.The soft tissue object to be developed shall look like, feel like and behave as living human tissue. It shall give the user a realistic feeling of weight, softness and roughness, and shall behave in a correct way for exercise purposes. The soft tissue model is to be used in a three dimensional stereo graphic environment with haptic feedback. A prototype for practicing the procedure of inserting a catheter is built. The prototype is used to evaluate the potential of the Virtual environment for medical exercise applications, and to assess the realism and usability of the soft tissue object.