0000000001264138
AUTHOR
Essi Pöyry
Sociability in Virtual Reality
This study investigates sociability in the context of immersive Virtual Reality (VR). A Design Science Research process was applied, and three iterative development versions of a VR application were studied. Sociability around the technology was investigated with two theoretical perspectives: social presence and social interactions. The results of qualitative interviews and observations as well as a quantitative experiment are combined to make a proposal for four design principles enhancing the beneficial sociability of VR systems. These principles address the importance of ease-of-use and personalization in the activation of a customer, customer empowerment and emancipation through familia…
Enabling Sociability When Using Virtual Reality Applications : A Design Science Research Approach
Immersive virtual reality applications aim at providing an all-encompassing spatial experience where a user can feel like being in another world or dimension. The systems are inherently designed for individual use as the devices disconnect the user from the physical environment. However, the applications are seldom used alone. Specifically, when used for sales and marketing, the user often needs help from other people but also benefits from social interaction as a part of the experience. Design research methodology is applied to three iterative development versions of a virtual-reality application. The focus of the evaluation of the artifacts is in the social use emphasizing three sociabili…
Problem Space Identification for Developing Virtual Reality Learning Environments
Our study argues that the extant literature on virtual reality-based learning environments (VRLEs) currently lacks proper definitions and context descriptions for a problem space, which is fundamental for conducting design science research (DSR). Without properly conducted problem space identification, the most pivotal problems cannot be identified resulting solutions lacking validity and unreliable evaluations. This is a major challenge for the DSR in the educational field, but also for the research on VRLEs. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel DSR method to support rigorous problem space identification, which would allow rigorous and profound problem space analysis. The inst…
Virtual reality as a recovering environment - Implications for design principles
In this study, a simulated, VR-based environment was built and analyzed to explore if a VR environment can possess recovering effects. 61 university students tested a VR application depicting a forest and answered survey questions about the experience. The results showed that VR-environment can indeed have recovering effects. Moreover, when comparing to previous studies in real forests, the recovery effects were at similar levels. The study results suggest that as the VR-based environments can possess recovery effects, they can work as recovery environments at schools or similar environments. The study results offer implications for the designers and propose design principles to build recov…
The Role of Social Media Influencers in Public Health Communication: Case COVID-19 Pandemic
During public health crises, public organizations face a variety of strategic communication challenges, and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is an extreme example. In Finland, the Prime Minister’s Office initiated a communication campaign that utilized social media influencers to communicate timely instructions regarding the pandemic. However, it is uncertain how social media influencers adapt to briefings of public organizations given that they typically work with brands that align with their own interests and expertise, which rarely is epidemiology. We use the two-step flow of communication model and social influence theory to analyze research data that consisted of 96 Instag…
Applying Affordances Scale as a Design Method : Case Virtual Reality Course Design
Practitioners including designers and teachers developing Virtual Reality (VR) courses are facing a question regarding the strengths and subject areas in which VR-enriched courses might have the highest potential compared to conventional courses. The present study develops a survey scale to assess and match industry managers’ requirements for skills for working life. The same scale was surveyed among two different groups of higher education students participating in conventional courses and a VR-aided course. The results indicate that the industry requirements were higher than met by the both course types. However, the results highlight a set of skills for which the VR courses have the high…
Stakeholder Strategy and Design Alignment Framework for Design Science Research – A Study in the Context of VR-Aided Marketing and Sales
This study introduces a framework to align various perceptions and objectives that different stakeholders have at the beginning of a Design Science Research (DSR) process and consolidate them into stakeholders’ strategies and theory-ingrained design artifacts. We coin this framework as Stakeholder Strategy and Design Alignment (SSDA). As an application area, we concentrate on a Virtual Reality (VR) application designed for marketing and sales purposes. The empirical testing of the framework shows that the marketing and sales potential of the application are, indeed, perceived very differently among three stakeholder groups: company representatives, developers and customers. In addition to t…
Conquering the liminal space : Strategic social media influencer communication in the Finnish public sector during the COVID-19 pandemic
Public sector organisations have traditionally used mass media and their own communication channels to communicate urgent matters to citizens. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced these organisations to look for new communication approaches. In Finland, several public-sector organisations collaborated with social media influencers (SMIs) to maximise their efforts in communicating about the measures needed to constrain the spread of the virus. Using a multiple-case study design, this chapter scrutinises four public-sector organisations and their collaboration with SMIs during the pandemic in 2020. We found that public organisations turned to SMIs through influencer marketing and influen…
Enemmän kuin ystäviä? Sanna Marinin bileremmi ja politiikan markkinointi
Suomen pääministerin ystävät ovat herättäneet poikkeuksellisen paljon huomiota mediassa. Elokuussa 2022 kohistiin mediaan vuotaneista Sanna Marinin bilevideoista ja -kuvista, joissa esiintyi joukko julkisuudesta tuttuja kasvoja. Sanna Marinin posse ei koostunut demariaktiiveista ja ay-pomoista, vaan muun muassa somevaikuttajista, laulajista ja mediapersoonista. Kohua käsiteltiin pitkään ja hartaasti monesta eri näkökulmasta, ja useissa kannanotoissa Marinin ystäväporukka tuomittiin “b-luokan julkkisten bileremmiksi”, joka on Marinille mainehaitta tai jopa turvallisuusuhka, ja joka haluaa hyötyä Marinista henkilökohtaisesti. Marinin ja kohuun liittyneiden henkilöiden ystävyyden todellisesta …
Somevaikuttajat koronaviestinnässä : Faktaa koronasta -kampanjan analyysia
Somevaikuttajat kutsuttiin mukaan valtioneuvoston koronaviestintään keväällä 2020. Vaikuttajien somepostausten ja seuraajien kommenttien analysointi kielii siitä, että Suomessa elettiin vielä pandemian alkutaipaleella yhtenäisyyden aikaa. nonPeerReviewed