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?.

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 communities are a phenomenon that is becoming more common as the information technology comes with in reach for the general public. This report will bring the theories and construction of a Virtual community together. The purpose of this report is to describe the different theories that have emerged from the research within this field and to examine the work procedures that have been used during the development of a site for a MDA-community. The MDA-website is a homepage on the Internet that was developed to bring the students closer together. The report describes the work of the project group, why the website was not completed and at the end the theories are looked at on the basis of the construction of the website..

Virtual communities are a phenomenon that is becoming more common as the information technology comes with in reach for the general public. This report will bring the theories and construction of a Virtual community together. The purpose of this report is to describe the different theories that have emerged from the research within this field and to examine the work procedures that have been used during the development of a site for a MDA-community. The MDA-website is a homepage on the Internet that was developed to bring the students closer together. The report describes the work of the project group, why the website was not completed and at the end the theories are looked at on the basis of the construction of the website..

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.

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..

The aim with this thesis is to investigate how librarians experience communication with children in reference interviews. In today?s interactive community it is meaningful to study how children communicate with the librarian in virtual reference interview as well as in ordinary reference interviews in physical libraries. Focus has been on finding out what children ask about and how they are asking in virtual reference interviews and in ordinary reference interviews, what type of information needs the children have. The study also focuses on which barriers there can be in reference interviews.

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 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.

This thesis advances an explicit, consequent, and wholesome ethnomethodological perspective on brand community. It recognizes brand community as a social problem ? something to be continuously solved and achieved. The two main perceivably stable features of the Nikonian community are (1) practical usefulness and (2) the social link. The authors suggest that both features are constantly accomplished through three types of aggregate behaviour (1) lurking, (2) ordinary membership, and (3) community citizenship behaviour (CCB).

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.

The design process of an interaction design student is mostly collaborative and computer oriented. Based on this, it?s hard to believe that we have not yet found a tool that will facilitate our needs. With this in mind, which elements do we need to promote collaboration in a virtual design process? This thesis will include design processes, collaboration, creativity and virtual awareness, amongst others.