6533b7d0fe1ef96bd125b96e

RESEARCH PRODUCT

From technology engineering to social engineering

subject

description

Virtual worlds have a long history, and it also includes various technologies. Yet research interest towards them has diverged over the years. It seems that nowadays they are on focus again with the evolution of socially oriented and community-supporting virtual worlds. Instead of technical factors, human factors and the motivation behind the use are highlighted. In this paper, we will briefly review the research efforts made in the 90's, and derive a set of themes that were of interest back then. Next, we will expand the set by arguing for newer themes, identified in the latest information systems literature. These two sets of themes form a basis of a research agenda for studying virtual worlds in the next five years. The sets also compose N-dimensional space for further theorizing and developing new virtual worlds or virtual places for work and pleasure. Hence, the paper presents and argues for a transition from technology engineering to social engineering.