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VIEWS: 295 PAGES: 25 CATEGORY: White Papers POSTED ON: 4/13/2008
Synthetic Democracy: Associations and Social Capital in Virtual Worlds Capt James D. Fielder, USAF Instructor of Political Science United States Air Force Academy email@example.com (719) 333-8088 ABSTRACT My paper examines the connections among the internet, social capital and associations. A significant amount of literature exists examining the impact of the internet on politics in general; however, I extend this research by specifically looking at 2D and 3D representation of the self and its effect on online social interactions. I use Tocqueville as my theoretical foundation for investigating these levels of association. Our democracy is based on association, particularly face-to-face association and communication, which fosters trust and reciprocity. My research indicates that when the self is visually represented online the self-identity is projected in a similar manner as face-to-face communication, unlike other forms of electronic communication that lack non-verbal cues. Online virtual communities establish behavioral norms, develop social hierarchies, and ultimately reinforce self validation, which increases personal commitment. I argue that avatar-based communication via the internet has the potential to not only increase association in the Tocquevillian sense, but also expand the political discourse by pushing the concept of association beyond real-world time and space restraints while at the same time building trust. In his book Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that what prevents individual isolation and centralized tyranny within a democratic society is the power of association, the willingness to put aside individual goals and to apply many hands to achieve group endeavors. In contrast, in Bowling Alone Robert Putnam assessed that formal membership in face-to-face organizations dropped anywhere from 10% to 20% in the last third of the 20th Century, while active involvement in clubs and other voluntary associations plummeted more than 50%.1 The causes of such isolation include the telephone, television, automobile, and even the garage door that literally and symbolically closes the home from the rest of the community. The Internet, however, offers new patterns of potential isolation; it took a mere 7 years for the Internet to reach 75% user saturation, a feat that took the telephone 70 years to accomplish, and by 2004 88% of users reported the Internet played a role in their daily routines.2 Furthermore, in 2000 Norman Nie and Lutz Erbring released a time diary study that identified a hydraulic effect; that is, Internet usage displaced other forms of social interaction. As few as 2 hours spent on the Net equaled a 15% drop in social participation. Twenty-five percent of users who spent 5 hours on the internet reported spending less time with family and friends (both in person and over the phone), and 10% of the same users said they spent less time attending social events outside the home.3 For 4% of the US population, though, the Internet is not a place of isolation; but rather, a new frontier for finding social meaning within virtual societies. To note, by 2004 the population of EverQuest--a popular Massive Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game, or MMORPG--exceeded the population of Long Beach, CA, making EverQuest the 35th largest city in the United States. 1 Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000), 63. 2 Putnam, Bowling Alone, 169; Jensen, et al., introduction. 3 Norman Nie, and Lutz Erbring. Internet And Society: a Preliminary Report (Stanford University: Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, Feb 2007), 5. 1 Indeed, the US subscription base for the most popular online worlds grew from just over 1 million users in January 2000 to over 13 million users by January 2006.4 My question, then, is if association is the bedrock of civic participation and democracy, and face-to-face interaction encourages positive association, what are the ramifications of virtual interaction on Tocqueville's ideas of association? To answer this question I studied available literature on the impact of textual online interaction (i.e. chat rooms, forums) and graphical interaction (i.e. MMORPGs, First-Person Shooters) on social interaction. What I found in common with both was the Internet allows users to create new identities free of face-to-face social restrictions. But while the anonymity of textual interaction is a potential barrier to building trust, graphical interaction—where the user is represented by a 2D or 3D figure, or avatar—builds association through its immersive effect and through individuals grouping together to pursue shared goals within virtual worlds. ASSOCIATION (IN ANALOG) America is, among the countries of the world, the one where they have taken most advantage of association and where they have applied that powerful mode of action to a greater diversity of objects.5 To understand how association functions in virtual reality, it's worth revisiting why associations are crucial for the survival of the republic and how communication influences positive group development. In his book Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that a potential flaw of our democratic system is the threat individual isolation. What liberty granted in terms of equality amongst men comes with a price; that is, as opposed to the 4 T.L. Taylor, Play between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006), 21; Woodcock, Bruce. An Analysis of MMOG Subscription Growth, version 21.0. 29 June 2006. http://www.mmogchart.com (Accessed 8 Aug 07) 5 de Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America. Ed. Harvey Mansfield, and Winthrop, D. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 180. 2 former European social hierarchy which both restricted equality but guaranteed a peer group, democracy freed the individual from hierarchical bonds but provided no replacement for formal group interaction. Thus isolated from his fellows, democracy threatens to crush the individual under oppressive insignificance and loneliness. Such isolation leaves the individual at the mercy of the collective will of his fellow citizens, and the threat of tyranny looms as the government fills the vacuum caused by the paucity of civic interaction at the individual level: "Thus not only does Democracy make each man forget his ancestors, but it hides his descendants from him and separates him from his contemporaries; it constantly leads him back toward himself alone and threatens finally to confine him wholly in the solitude of his own heart…[and] it is clear that if each citizen, a he becomes individually weaker and consequently more incapable in isolation of preserving his freedom, does not learn the art of uniting with those like him to defend it, tyranny will necessarily grow with equality.6" Thus it is social and civic association that encourages citizens to accomplish goals at the community level and protects the community from centralized government. Community associations are groups formed without a direct relationship to the pursuit of political objectives, but which draw in the political habits and experiences of individuals and are directed at community interests rather than private interests; or as Verba, Nie, and Kim (1978) noted, "the motivation and capacity to take part in politics have their roots in the nonpolitical institutions with which the individuals are associated during the course of their lives."7 The shared meanings within such community associations connected individuals to everything from the annual firehouse bake sale to national groups such as the Rotary Club or American Legion, a vast collection of mundane local and national interaction that built a powerful civic identity. To wit, 6 Ibid, 484, 489 7 Gary Fine, and Brooke Harrington, "Tiny Publics: Small Groups and Civil Society," Sociological Theory 22 (Sep 2004): 347. 3 Tocqueville observed Americans gathering to build roads, raise churches, plan schools, and distribute books without government influence: "An obstacle comes up on the public highway, passage is interrupted, traffic stops; neighbors immediately establish themselves in a deliberating body; from this improvised assembly will issue an executive power that will remedy the ill—before the idea of an authority preexisting that of those interested has presented itself to anyone's imagination."8 Furthermore, positive group structure is reinforced through monitoring and sanctioning, especially through face-to-face interaction. Indeed, Tocqueville viewed face to face contact as central to the functioning of associations, noting that when people "have the opportunity of seeing each other, means of execution are readily combined, and opinions are maintained with a degree of warmth and energy that written language cannot approach.9" Meeting in person allows for shared verbal and nonverbal communication, which encourages individual decorum, respect for and understanding of group personalities, and facilitates assessment of member's strengths and weaknesses. It is through such understanding groups build trust between people of varied education and experience and deploy their strengths effectively while mitigating individual weaknesses.10 Such building of trust within the community also builds social capital, or the norms, trust, commitment, and communication that develop within social groups that encourage collective action and mutual reciprocity between members: Your corn is ripe today; mine will be so tomorrow. 'Tis profitable for us both, that I should labour with you today, and that you should aid me tomorrow…the seasons 8 de Tocqueville, 180-181. 9 Michael Jensen,, James Danziger, and Alladi Venkatesh. Electronic Democracy in America: Civil Society, Cyber Society and Participation in Local Politic (Irvine, CA: Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, Mar 2005), 7-8. 10 Andrew Sabl, "Community Organizing as Tocquevillean Politics: The Art, Practices, and Ethos of Association," American Journal of Political Science 46 (Jan., 2002): 10. 4 change; and both of us lose our harvests for want of mutual confidence and security. - David Hume11 As Hume indicates in the above quote, social capital is that which convinces the farmer to share tools and labor with his neighbor, thus allowing each to complete far more than the individual could. The community becomes more than the sum of its parts, with the individual gaining the advantages of the help and the fellowship of his neighbor. Such commitment reinforces trust between members and thus discourages deviant behaviors within the group through reputational norms. Associations, therefore, serve as the centers of civic life, drawing individuals into participation through shared ideas, material resources and commitment. As Tocqueville noted, small groups empower the individual and links the individual's allegiance to their community and civic institutions. They create social order without turning to legal action, such as settling land and water issues in rural communities.12 Without such mutual participation in public life, John Stuart Mill said: "…a citizen "never thinks of any collective interest, of any objects to be pursued jointly with others but only in competition with them, and in some measure at their expense…A neighbor, not being an ally or associate, since he is never engaged in any common undertaking for joint benefit, is therefore only a rival," The engaged citizen, by contrast, "is called upon…to weigh interests not his own; to be guided, in case of conflicting claims, by another rule than his private partialities…he is made to feel himself one of the public, and whatever is for their benefit to be for his benefit."13 Association, then, requires reciprocal trust and face-to-face communication; yet as noted above association membership has declined the U.S. due to a number of cause. But although Putnam and Nie cited the Internet as a potential cause of this decline, the question remains if the Internet is a stark symptom of the decline of associations and social capital. 11 Robert Putnam, "Social Capital and Public Affairs," Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 4 (May, 1994): 5. 12 Fine and Harrington, 344. 13 Putnam, Bowling Alone, 337. 5 THE INTERNET: ISOLATING OR INTEGRATING? For those for whom Real Life: The Game is indeed joyless, the synthetic world evidently represents a game that has many of the same features but is more fun to play…synthetic worlds, being much like our own world in their essence, will grow in popularity if they seem better places to spend time.14 A division exists amongst scholars on whether or not the Internet in general is an isolating or integrating technology. At the dawn of the internet era Robert Putnam argued online groups had the potential to create new electronic social organizations, possibly at the expense of physical communities. However, some scholars advocated that online groups exhibit the traits of physical associations, including reciprocity, shared beliefs, norm enforcement, and ultimately the ability to carry out collective action, while others doubt that physical social capital and can be virtually built amongst dispersed and anonymous online participants.15 But in a study of the virtual world Asheron's Call, Anne-Sofie Axelsson and Tim Regan (2002) found online groups make people more social online and offline: they have more close friends online, participate in social activities more often, and have more social contacts with players offline. Michael Jensen, James Danziger and Alladi Venkatesh (2005) concurred in a later survey, stating the Internet multiplied ties online and facilitated the deepening of offline social ties. 16 In addition, although the hydraulic effect means the citizens of virtual worlds spend less time in face-to-face activity, they are still investing both time and emotional capital in avatar-to-avatar interaction. As virtual worlds become more commonplace and used for more and more functions it will not seem at all strange for people to spend considerable time in these worlds and to regard membership in a virtual community as part of their multiple social 14 Edward Castronova, Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005), 71, 76. 15 Mary Culnan, "Online Communities: Infrastructure, Relational Cohesion and Sustainability" (lecture, Workshop on Social Informatics, Irvine, CA, March 11-12, 2005), 5. 16 Anne-Sofie Axelsson, and Tim Regan. How Belonging to an Online Group Affects Social Behavior--A Case Study of Asheron's Call (Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2002), 9; Jensen, et al, 7-8. 6 identities. Sherry Turkle stated, "we have learned to take things at interface value. We are moving toward a culture of simulation in which people are increasingly comfortable with substituting representations of reality for the real…we join virtual communities that exist only among people communicating on computer networks as well as communities in which we are physically present."17 There is a distinction, though, between general Internet interaction and interaction among graphical avatars. When taking part in textual communication over the Internet a person cannot physically see other participants, but through exposure they becomes familiar with others through their nicknames, e-mail addresses, or character names, and repeat exposure leads to positive or negative feelings about the person depending on the context of interaction.18 Unfortunately, textual communication transmits much less nonverbal information than face-to- face communication. Psychologist Albert Mehrabain writes that in the "realm of feelings" our "facial and vocal expressions, postures, movements, and gestures" are crucial. When our words "contradict the messages contained within them, others mistrust what we say—they rely almost completely on what we do. 19 The lack of social cues in textual communication inhibits collaboration and trust and makes it more difficult to reach consensus and solidarity with others. Virtual worlds, however, offer richer social interaction through the use visual gestures not found in textual meeting spaces. Furthermore, in a study conducted by Nick Yee, he found not just significant time involvement within virtual worlds, but also a substantial level of emotional involvement. A considerable portion of users derived experiences in these virtual environments 17 Jack Balkin, "Virtual Liberty: Freedom to Design and Freedom to Play in Virtual Worlds," Virginia Law Review 90 (Dec 2004), 2078; Carroli, Linda, "Virtual Encounters: Community or Collaboration on the Internet?" Leonardo 30 (1997), 361. 18 Katelyn McKenna, and John Bargh, "Plan 9 From Cyberspace: The Implications of the Internet for Personality and Social Psychology," Personality and Social Psychology Review 4 (2000), 66. 19 Putnam, Bowling Alone, 174, 176. 7 that were more satisfying and rewarding than their real-life experiences.20 Although not the true face-to-face interaction advocated by Tocqueville, the projection of personal emotion onto a graphic figure capable of displaying verbal and nonverbal cues helps build the foundation of trust required for positive group development. But what compels a user to spend such time/emotion on an online identity that is divorced from their real identity, and how does the online identity influence online association? THE VIRTUAL SELF In 1951, psychologist Carl Rogers proposed the individual is not a singular being, but rather a collection of expressed qualities dictated by social mores and unexpressed personalities that are often discouraged and suppressed (another way of looking at this is someone who considers himself humorous and easy going, but must project a straight-laced persona in a work environment). It is the latter, unexpressed persona Rogers calls, "the true self." Furthermore, the expressed persona is difficult to change, if at all. Peter Gollwitzer noted an individual cannot wholly change their public identity without the acceptance and acknowledge of their peers. 21 Moreover, one's physical appearance (gender, age, weight, race) are strongly associated with social categories, roles and stereotypes, and so additionally limit the individual's ability to successfully assume an alternative personality.22 But without cues generated by physical appearance, verbal communication, nonverbal signals and social mores, the individual controls what is or is not revealed to others online. Typically, our physical traits cannot be perceived by others when we go online, which allows for 20 Nick Yee, "The Demographics, Motivations and Derived Experiences of Users of Massively-Multiuser Online Graphical Environments," Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 15, (2006), 30. 21 Bargh and McKenna, 62. 22 Diane Saco, Cybering Democracy: Public Space and the Internet (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002), 129. 8 experimentation with alternate identities.23 When an individual begins to take part in the social outlets on the Internet they become part of a new peer group unencumbered by their offline social customs. Thus, online interaction provides individuals with the chance to successfully realize identity changes, and indeed this has been found to occur and to result in increased feelings of self-worth and acceptance. To wit, in a series of studies conducted by Bargh and McKenna (2000) the results indicated people liked each other more when they first met in an online setting rather than face-to-face.24 From a civic standpoint, in another experiment by Jensen, Danziger and Venkatesh (2005) the team proposed the Internet's erasure of traditional markers of identity frees persons from some of the constraints operating in offline political contexts.25 The team further offers such greater social inclusion online can beget greater levels of participation in the political community. Moreover, social interaction involves the communication of signals through verbal (spoken, written) and nonverbal (gestures, posture, expression) interaction. In addition, individuals must share the meaning of those symbols or cues--shared meanings allow individuals to share the same reality. Jim Blascovich identifies the concepts of social verification, agency and behavior realism which are necessary for effective avatar association:26 Social verification refers to the extent to which participants in virtual groups experience interactions with virtual others in ways that verify that they are engaging in semantically meaningful communication. Agency represents the extent to which individuals perceive virtual others as representations of real persons in real time. 23 Ibid, 127. 24 Bargh and McKenna, 62. 25 Jensen, et al., 18-19. 26 Jim Blascovich, "A Theoretical Model of Social Influence for Increasing the Utility of Collaborative Virtual Environments" (Paper, ACM Collaborative Virtual Environments conference, Bonn Germany, 2002), 26. 9 Behavioral realism represents the degree to which virtual others appear to participants to behave as those participants have been socialized to expect others to behave. The above concepts are realized through "presence," or the sense that the user has projected their identity to a real place filled with real people. Users experience the interactions of their avatars as if they themselves are inside the world, or "I am there," as opposed to, "my character is in the game."27 The citizens of virtual worlds can then not just be anonymous, but they can also build an ideal graphical self that is visible to other participants. The individual who is weak of body or mind in real life can build their inner warrior or wizard, virtual identities which are validated as real online.28 Given that users can choose to appear as attractive as they want within the world's software limitations, users may become friendlier and more sincere with each other because of the heroic attributes their avatars project. In addition, the concept of virtual presence strengthens online identity and social interaction. For serious users the routine of participating in a virtual world becomes part of the individual's everyday life, blurring the borders between the real self and virtual avatar. Players talk about their "real" selves as a composite of their collection of avatars and sometimes talk about their avatars as means for working on their "real" lives. One player says, "You are what you pretend to be…you are what you play."29 The importance of presence in virtual reality was demonstrated through two small group behavior experiment conducted between 1995 and 1998. In the first experiment conducted at the University College London, the research team recruited ten groups, with individuals in each group divided into teams that interacted virtually on a desktop system (Green and Blue) or an 27 Mel Slater, Amela Sadagic, Martin Usoh, and Ralph Shroeder, "Small-Group Behavior in a Virtual and Real Environment: A Comparative Study," Presence 9 (Feb 2000), 41; Castronova, 51; Balkin, 2047. 28 Castronova, 78; Yee, Demographics, 13; Balkin, 2057. 29 Turkle, Sherry, "Computer Games as Evocative Objects: From Projective Screens to Relational Artifacts," in Handbook of Computer Game Studies, ed. Joost Raessens, and Jeffrey Goldstein, (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005), 270. 10 immersive system with a head-mounted display (Red). In addition, each subject was represented by an avatar of the same color as their assigned team. Each subject was given a sheet describing a task to be performed and then was asked to introduce themselves to one another online through the system's audio function. They could only refer to themselves and to the others by their color. The task was to locate a room which had sheets of paper stuck around the walls. The sheets each had several words in a column, each preceded by a number. The task was first to figure this out and second to unscramble as many of these sayings as possible. The most surprising indicator of presence was how subjects were respectful of the avatars of the other people, and tried to avoid carrying out actions that would cause distress or be impossible in real life. For example, because of the lack of collision detection (i.e. the avatars were not solid and therefore avatars could walk through each other) subjects reported feelings of fright and embarrassment if another subject walked through their avatar. Others felt it rude to walk through others, as if they were violating the personal space of a real person. In addition, even with rudimentary avatar movement and gesture control, participants both attempted to use cues and were influenced by cues (both purposeful and inadvertent). For example, one member interpreted another's crackling audio to be deliberate interference, while another member felt as if a participant's avatar was staring at everyone else simply because the avatar was facing other avatars.30 Another empirical study on unstructured virtual interaction based on the MASSIVE system (Model, Architecture and System for Spatial Interaction in Virtual Environments)31 attempted to understand the projection of real communication onto basic avatars. The study used Conversational Analysis to transcribe dialogue and was extended to include the simple avatar 30 Slater, et al., 45 31 University of Nottingham, UK, http://www.crg.cs.nott.ac.uk/research/systems/MASSIVE (Accessed 10 June 07) 11 'gestures' possible in the system (such as whole body turning or 'ear flapping'). The study found that in spite of the very limited range of avatar movement, the avatars were used to supplement language as an additional mechanism in social interaction. Participants sought 'face-to-face' communication, even though everyone could communicate through audio channels. Participants also coordinated movements to communicate, sharing patterns of movement and ear flapping to establish common communication cues.32 The avatars were not just a means of navigation and representation, but became invested with social meaning. What is common between both these early experiments was the use of rudimentary avatars, with limited movement and no capability for motional expression. Yet, both inspired significant emotional responses from the participants merely though basic facing and digit movements. 10 years later, we see the use of Voice over Internet Protocol, full facial expressions, and complex gestures in worlds such as Second Life, World of Warcraft and EverQuest. The next section of this paper, then, explores how technology influences virtual association. THE TECHNOLOGY OF VIRTUAL ASSOCIATION Unlike the simplest computer games, there is no set narrative or fixed set of possible narrative chains of events [in a virtual world]. As a result, virtual worlds have histories. They allow not only the game designer, but also the participants, to make new meanings, to have new adventures, and to express themselves in new ways.33 In his 1955 book Homo Ludens Johan Huizinga defined play as: "...a free activity standing quite consciously outside "ordinary" life as being "not serious", but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is an activity connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained by it. It proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner. It promotes the formation of social groupings which tend to surround themselves with secrecy and to stress their difference from the common world by disguise or other means…The arena, the card-table, the magic circle, the temple, the stage, the screen, the tennis court, the court of justice, etc., are all in form and function play-grounds, i.e., 32 Slater, et al., 49. 33 Balkin, 2056. 12 forbidden spots, isolated, hedged round, hallowed, within special rules obtain. All are temporary worlds within the ordinary world, dedicated to the performance of an act apart."34 Game theorists refer to Huizinga's game space as "the magic circle," or the literal and/or figurative line players cross when they exit real-world boundaries and immerse themselves in the game. Game theorists Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman in particular asked, "How open (crosses into real-world behavior) or closed (remains within the game once the game ends) are the boundaries of the magic circle of the game and the world outside the game?" In response, Zimmerman proposed the concepts of rules, play and culture:35 Rules: formal, closed systems that immerse the player in the game space. Play: Game experiences that are open or closed. Culture: Extremely open boundary where the player takes game experiences out of the circle. For example, under these rules a simple game such as Tic-Tac-Toe remains closed within the magic circle; that is, the rules, play and culture of the game only immerse the player for the duration of the game. On the other hand, while the rules of a virtual world remain closed to define the game space, the world's play and culture are decidedly open, as presence in-game can influence the player's offline identity. Rules within virtual worlds are typically designed to make sure the best strategies require communication and cooperation. For example, fans of First-Person Shooters (FPS) such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress do not see the games as singular events, but rather work to improve their edge by forming clans, competing in tournaments, and discussing strategy tips on websites. Similarly MMORPGs such as EverQuest and World of Warcraft promote playing in 34 Marinka Copier, "Connecting Worlds. Fantasy Role-Playing Games, Ritual Acts and the Magic Circle." (lecture, Proceedings of Digital Games Research Association Conference, 2005), 5. 35 Copier, 5-7. 13 groups because certain tasks cannot be completed by an individual player.36 Thus, for both styles of play, strategic planning and communication encourages community building. Game designers also control the rules by coding the physics, establishing spatial boundaries and defining character abilities. Through code they can modify the landscape, grant or deny player powers, and kick participants out. The designers can also control what goes on in the game through contract; in most worlds players must agree to the platform owner's Terms of Service ("TOS") or End User License Agreement ("EULA"), which cover features of proper play and etiquette that cannot be coded. Game designers can then enforce in-game social norms by threatening or removing players who violate the EULA. However, virtual worlds form communities that grow and develop in ways that the platform owners do not predict and cannot fully control and can become joint projects between platform owners and players. Indeed, Second Life has already experienced a "tax revolt" in which the players persuaded the platform owner to modify its code." 37 In terms of play, Economist Ed Castronova observed if a virtual world is to be treated as real by users rather than a glorified chat room, then the world must have functionality similar to real- world experiences: persistent, physical and interactive.38 First, persistence is the glue that connects players to a world with a shared identity. Community is relationships between players, be it friendly or adversarial, symbiotic or competitive. Without community, the virtual world becomes simply a space shared by individuals without a shared identity, which discourages repeat play. Next, Katie Salen (2005) added that interactivity was not simply about manipulating the environment through your avatar's hands, but also having choices in how you interact with 36 Jesper Juul, Half Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005), 91. 37 Wagner Au, "Tax Revolt In Americana!" http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2003/09/tax_revolt_in_a.html, 12 Sep 2003 (accessed 27 Sep 07); Balkin, 2049. 38 Castronova, 80. 14 the environment.39 A linear world with few choice options, then, reduces the overall replay ability of the game; and, as with a dearth of persistence, it also discourages repeat play. Finally, it is risk that influences physical interaction, since the player soon learns the consequences of mistakes (typically measured in time and treasure lost). Concerning culture, although the given world's manual will teach the user how to build a character, purchase items and fight monsters, it does not tell the user how their chosen character fits within the world community, let alone how thousands of other users developed character customs over time. The manual doesn't teach user-developed slang, particulars about when and when not to mix modern and game period-specific vocabulary (i.e. shouting "Wal-Mart!" in a strict medieval role-playing world), or discuss how violations of any of the myriad of user- created norms can damage your in-game reputation.40 Within virtual worlds the users will understand the particular risks and rewards particular to the world and thus maintain a shared emotional validation, which makes status and advancement meaningful and encourages the development of virtual social groups. Indeed, most virtual worlds are purposely designed to encourage grouping in order to achieve high-level goals that cannot be completed by the individual player. Outside the realm of combat and adventure, group structures give players access to markets and opportunities to socialize. All of this builds community, which encourages players to cross continuously into the game's magic circle. In addition, such designed grouping mechanics ensure players who do not get along with others generally do not advance--as with face-to-face association, reputation and norms are often more powerful than any rule the game designer could place in the code or EULA. 39 Katie Salen, and Eric Zimmerman, "Game Design and Meaningful Play," in Handbook of Computer Game Studies, ed. J. Raessens, and Goldstein (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005), 72. 40 Mikael Jakobsson, and T.L. Taylor. The Sopranos Meets EverQuest: Social Networking in Massively Multiplayer Online Games. (2003), 81; Castronova, 112, 115. 15 However, changes of in-world technology can also have adverse effects on association; for example, the early lack of easy transportation options in EverQuest forced players to find workarounds. Players with the ability to cast transport spells bartered with those who could not, and such bartering encouraged development of regional trading and social gathering centers. 41 In addition, such bartering encouraged players to negotiate prices, display generosity (i.e. the occasional player offering free transportation to build a local reputation), and ultimately generating trust between players meeting face-to-face. Unfortunately, automated travel was added in a later version of the game, which reduced the nuisances of travel but turned the player- created trade centers into ghost towns. As a historical example of the facets discussed in this section, in 1985 Lucasfilm (now LucasArts) began developing Habitat, the first major attempt to build a graphical front-end interactive world that could support thousands of players on a standard home system—the Commodore 64. In particular, Habitat was specifically designed without goals or a fixed end- game.42 The design team simply sought to provide tools and activities users could manipulate and pursue based on their self-derived goals. The designers envisioned everything from simply meeting with friends to establishing businesses, founding religions, and experimenting with self- government. Habitat was live from 1986 to 1988 in the US, but in that short time the designers made crucial behavior observations regarding cyber-group dynamics. Above all, the team noted social engineering through game design typically did not play out as they expected; although the team could create tools and activities with preconceived outcomes, rarely did users apply the tools, approach the activities, or create the outcomes the team expected. As one developer said, "In the 41 Taylor, 61-62, 64. 42 Chip Morningstar, and Randall Farmer. "The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat." In Cyberspace: First Steps, ed. Michael Benedikt (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991), 1. 16 most carefully constructed experiment under the most carefully controlled conditions, the organism will do whatever it damn well pleases."43 But considering the users were presented a world with an absence of order, users quickly established norms and groups to encourage positive play experience. One example was the establishment of the first Habitat faith: the Order of the Holy Walnut. The creator, a Greek Orthodox priest offline, forbade members from participating in violence of any kind, to include carrying weapons.44 Technological mediums have, of course, improved since Habitat, when play over a 300 baud modem limited graphical functionality. However, even then Lucasfilm noted users could communicate effectively within a virtual world as long as the users maintained a shared meaning within the world's technological confines. Their observations of communication carried over to other areas of game functionality, as well. For example, whether or not an in-game table was rendered in full textured-wood or as a simple geometric shape, function was more important than form to immerse the user. 45 If users understood how to interact with the basic geometric table, then the collective consciousness of the world accepted the basic table as real. ASSOCIATION (IN DIGITAL) The second degree in the exercise of the right of association is the power to assemble… there men see each other; means of execution are combined and opinions are deployed with the force and heat that written thought can never attain.46 On entering the virtual world, the typical first action is to move around to get familiar with the world. New users will then start conversing with others, beginning with 'where-are-you- from?' or 'what do you do in the real world?' In other words, the small talk used to establish 43 Ibid, 13. 44 Ibid, 14. 45 Ibid, 6, 10. 46 Tocqueville, 181. 17 rapport amongst established and new group participants.47 New participants then undergo a socialization process above and beyond the rules found in the game manual, teaching the new user the culture and practices that have emerged within the game community. One example is how a player issues a public warning in EverQuest. A player running frantically from an army of monsters is expected to use the "shout" channel to let other players know there is trouble brewing. This is not something mentioned in the official company game rules, yet over time the player community has established this norm as a means to collectively manage danger.48 New players will learn additional communication shortcuts, expected mores (i.e. don't steal loot from another player's kill), who and what is or is not important in the game, and a myriad of other tips and unofficial rules that assimilate the player in the world. Also, while identity is malleable online, an individual's role within the world both restricts their behavior while at the same time enhances their potential experiences. For example, if a player chooses to play a healer, the collective norms of the game will most likely restrict the player to healing others and discourage participation in melee combat; but by conforming to the expected role of a healer the player can build a substantial reserve of trust, reputation and social capital amongst other players. All roles have strengths and weaknesses, but a cohesive group learns to effectively employ individual strengths against opponents while at the same time mitigating each other's weakness (i.e. the warrior archetype with the higher damage threshold charges the enemy while the mage or archer provides missile support from afar).49 Only by submitting the real self to a virtual role can a group take on and defeat opponents mightier than individual characters in the group. 47 Ralph Schroeder, "Networked Worlds: Social Aspects of Multi-User Virtual Reality Technology," Social Research Online 2, (1997), para 4.4. 48 Taylor, 34. 49 Castronova, 102; Yee, Demographics, 29 18 To maintain standards within the community, players who continually cause trouble often find themselves ostracized. Bad players can acquire a reputation that has serious effects on their ability to get groups, be invited into a guild, and by extension meaningfully advance in the virtual world. Thus, given the reliance on social networks to progress, sustained bad player behavior carries a significant cost. The strong emphasis on reputation in the creation of social networks grows out of a need from the players to protect their positive gaming experience from the combination of deviant behaviors and the absence of an effective official governing system. This system of norms develops slowly through the input of thousands of players, making the developer and player co-creators of the given virtual world.50 Being perceived as a team-player, gregarious in helping with raids, or simply being powerful enough to tip the balance in an alliance, can significantly affect ones ability to mobilize resources when needed. While a character might be quite individually powerful, as in real-world Tocquevillian association players also need social capital to draw on to progress to the highest levels and reaches of the game. To fully appreciate such group dynamics, consider this: the risk calculus, varied opinions and united or divided decisions of a group are communicated in as short as 5 seconds; and depending on the difficulty of the objectives the deviance of even one member will determine the life or death of potentially all the members of the group.51 Given the high-level decision making processes required to organize or pursue an advanced objective, such virtual association also allows players to apply leadership attributes within groups made up of varied experiences and roles; to include task delegation, logistics, motivating group members, managing group conflicts, and building team cohesion. In a survey conducted by Nick Yee at Stanford University, 10% of respondents felt they had learned a lot about 50 Taylor, 36; Fine and Harrington, 349; Jakobsson and Taylor, 89. 51 Yee, Psychology, 5-6. 19 mediating group conflicts, motivating team members, persuading others, and becoming a better leader in general within MMORPG environments, while 40% of users felt that they had learned a little of these skills. The findings are even more remarkable given commercial virtual worlds are not explicitly designed to teach such skills.52 Associations within goal-oriented worlds such as World of Warcraft typically fall under three categories: combat groups (temporary association between a few users), guilds (formal, long- term membership organizations), and ideological alliances (agreements between guilds or "racial" groups).53 But of all three, guilds best represent the application of real-world association into a virtual world. In short, guilds are organizations of players with a basic hierarchical leadership structure; guilds provide characters membership into a private chat channel, a tag under their name stating their guild, and generally participation in bulletin boards or email list, and provide a formal means for players to gain experience through teamwork. 54 The guild also has a leader who can invite and disband members, thus granting some authority within a larger virtual world that typically lacks formal law structures. There two main types of guilds: the social guilds that focus on informal fun, and uber or raiding guilds which are defined by extremely high time commitment in pursuit advanced goals. The main mechanisms at work in all guilds, to varying degrees, are reputation, trust, and responsibility. Guild members are frequently risking their lives for each other and, in turn, trusting each other that raids will be well planned and that if problems arise the group will band together to solve them. Advanced play involves immense coordination and cooperation and participants trust each other to not only play their characters well but to see through group events 52 Yee, Psychology, 23. 53 Yee, Demographics, 6. 54 Taylor, 40 20 until everyone leaves safely.55 Furthermore, such group membership encourages social interaction. In a study of the MMORPG Asheron's Call, Axelsson determined the more groups a player belongs to, the more social they are. People who are members of both game allegiances and fellowships (types of groups specific to the Asheron's Call world) reported more close friends online than other players who did not align with a group. Players also reported a higher participation in social activities like adventuring with other players and increased engagement within the Asheron's Call chat room.56 The end result is serious members of virtual worlds are investing significant emotional energy into their actions and into the support of virtual groups. As with the brick and mortar community that builds trust and reciprocity through continuous and varied projects, online groups are also building trust between real people represented by pixels. WHY DOES THIS MATTER? Why would you type into your computer when you could talk? And why talk to a gray screen when you could instead have conversation over a virtual lunch with an attractive humanoid- looking being?57 What is the forecast for face-to-face Tocquevillian association when over 13 million Americans find more meaning pursuing virtual goals? Indeed, every virtual church, road, and school built in Second Life means there are that many fewer hands supporting real-world community endeavors. But, given all the sources of civic decline highlighted by Robert Putnam, I see virtual association as a positive reversal of the decline of physical association and social capital. Tocqueville stated, "Political associations may therefore be considered as large free schools, where all the members of the community go to learn the general theory of 55 Taylor, 43-48; Jakobsson and Taylor, 87. 56 Axelsson and Regan, 8. 57 Castronova, 9. 21 association."58 But while the garage isolates the citizen from social groups, virtual worlds bring citizens together. While the television passively feeds the viewer, the citizen feeds virtual world with emotion and commitment. Synthetic democracy creates "virtual" schools where users learn political association by applying the general theory of association. So, is social capital built within a virtual society less real than capital built in the town square? That remains to be seen through further empirical study. But if virtual worlds are integrating rather than isolating, and if social lessons learned in a virtual environment carry over into one's offline identity, than virtual worlds can strengthen face-to-face association. 58 Jensen, et al., 3. 22 BIBLOGRAPHY Au, Wagner, "Tax Revolt in Americana!" http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2003/09/tax_revolt_in_a.html, 12 Sep 2003 (accessed 27 Sep 07 Axelsson, Anne-Sofie and Tim Regan. How Belonging to an Online Group Affects Social Behavior--A Case Study of Asheron's Call. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2002. Balkin, Jack. "Virtual Liberty: Freedom to Design and Freedom to Play in Virtual Worlds," Virginia Law Review 90, no. 8 (Dec 2004): 2043-2098. Bargh, John, Katelyn McKenna, and Grainne Fitzsimons. "Can You See the Real Me? Activation and Expression of the "True Self" on the Internet," Journal of Social Issues 58, no.1 (2002): pp. 33-48 Blascovich, Jim, "A Theoretical Model of Social Influence for Increasing the Utility of Collaborative Virtual Environments." Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Collaborative Virtual Environments. 30 Sep – 2 Oct, 2002. Carroli, Linda, "Virtual Encounters: Community or Collaboration on the Internet?" Leonardo 30, no. 5 (1997): pp. 359-363. Castronova, Edward. Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. Copier, Marinka, "Connecting Worlds. Fantasy Role-Playing Games, Ritual Acts and the Magic Circle." Proceedings of Digital Games Research Association Conference, Changing Views – Worlds in Play, 2005. Culnan, Mary, "Online Communities: Infrastructure, Relational Cohesion and Sustainability." Workshop on Social Informatics: Extending the Contributions of Professor Rob Kling to the Analysis of Computerization Movements, Irvine, CA, March 11-12, 2005. de Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America. Translated and edited by Mansfield, Harvey, and Delba Winthrop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Fine, Gary, and Brooke Harrington, "Tiny Publics: Small Groups and Civil Society," Sociological Theory 22, no. 3 (Sep 2004): pp. 341-356. Jakobsson, Mikael, and T.L. Taylor, "The Sopranos meets EverQuest: Social Networking in Massively Multiplayer Online Games," In Proceedings of DAC 2003. Melbourne, Australia. Jensen, Michael, James Danziger, and Alladi Venkatesh. Electronic Democracy in America: Civil Society, Cyber Society and Participation in Local Politics. Irvine, CA: University of California, Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, Mar 2005. Juul, Jesper. Half Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. Model, Architecture and System for Spatial Interaction in Virtual Environments (MASSIVE), University of Nottingham, UK, http://www.crg.cs.nott.ac.uk/research/systems/MASSIVE (Accessed 10 June 07) McKenna, Katelyn, and John Bargh, "Plan 9 From Cyberspace: The Implications of the Internet for Personality and Social Psychology," Personality and Social Psychology Review 4, no. 1 (2000): 57–75. Morningstar, Chip, and Randall Farmer. "The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat." In Cyberspace: First Steps, edited by Michael Benedikt. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991. 23 Nie, Norman, and Lutz Erbring. Internet And Society: a Preliminary Report. Stanford University: Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, Feb 2007. Putnam, Robert. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000. Putnam, Robert, "Social Capital and Public Affairs," Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 47, no. 8 (May, 1994): pp. 5-19. Sabl, Andrew, "Community Organizing as Tocquevillean Politics: The Art, Practices, and Ethos of Association," American Journal of Political Science 46, no. 1 (Jan., 2002): pp. 1-19. Saco, Diana. Cybering Democracy: Public Space and the Internet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002. Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E, "Game Design and Meaningful Play." In Handbook of Computer Game Studies, edited by Raessens, Joost. and Jeffrey Goldstein. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. Schroeder, Ralph, "Networked Worlds: Social Aspects of Multi-User Virtual Reality Technology," Social Research Online 2, no. 4 (1997), http://www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/2/4/5.html (accessed 27 Jul 07). Slater, Mel, Amela Sadagic, Martin Usoh, and Ralph Shroeder, "Small-Group Behavior in a Virtual and Real Environment: A Comparative Study," Presence 9, no. 1, (Feb 2000): pp. 37-51. Taylor, T.L. Play between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006. Turkle, Sherry, "Computer Games as Evocative Objects: From Projective Screens to Relational Artifacts." In Handbook of Computer Game Studies, edited by Raessens, Joost. and Jeffrey Goldstein. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. Wellman, Barry, "Computer Networks as Social Networks," Science 293, no. 5537 (Sep. 14, 2001): pp. 2031-2034. Yee, Nick, "The Demographics, Motivations and Derived Experiences of Users of Massively-Multiuser Online Graphical Environments," Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 15, (2006): pp. 309-329. Yee, Nick, "The Psychology of MMORPGs: Emotional Investment, Motivations, Relationship Formation, and Problematic Usage," In Avatars at Work and Play: Collaboration and Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments, edited by Schroeder, Ralph, and Anne-Sofie Axelsson. London: Springer-Verlag, 2006. Woodcock, Bruce. An Analysis of MMOG Subscription Growth, version 21.0. 29 June 2006. http://www.mmogchart.com (Accessed 8 Aug 07) 24
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Thursday, 15 Apr 2010 09:41 PM
Rep. Heath Shuler is denying a report that he heard racial slurs yelled from a crowd of angry healthcare protesters outside the U.S. Capitol.
On March 20, black Democratic Congressmen John Lewis, Andre Carson and Emanuel Cleaver said they heard the N-word as they walked to the Capitol to vote on healthcare. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who is gay, said he was called an anti-homosexual slur.
On March 23, the Hendersonville (N.C.) Times-News published an interview with Shuler, D-N.C. The story said Shuler was walking with Cleaver and heard racial epithets. The Associated Press, after Shuler's office did not return phone calls or e-mails, quoted the Times-News report Wednesday in a story on the controversy over whether racial slurs had been shouted.
On Wednesday, Shuler told the AP that he heard slurs against Frank, but not Cleaver.
The issue of whether the N-word was used has turned into a political battle, with many conservatives skeptical that it happened and some saying the congressmen lied. The three congressmen say they are telling the truth.
© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters rallied in the Hamas stronghold of Gaza on Friday for the first time since they we . . .
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This tops the 18 minutes of erased Watergate tapes. This woman is flat-out...
First order of business, at 12:01 AM first day of the new President's term:...
Another disgusting betrayal of an ally by this Administration -- driven solely...
Yes, Bergdahl needs to be charged with desertion and imprisoned . Obama needs...
I used to be a Deputy Sheriff , I can tell you that Reverend Graham is dead...
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Gospel-Driven Sanctification
Tullian TchividjianWilliam Graham Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin) is the Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A Florida native, Tullian is also the grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham, a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, and a contributing editor to Leadership Journal. A graduate of Columbia International University (philosophy) and Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando (M.Div.), Tullian has authored a number of books including Jesus + Nothing = Everything (Crossway). He travels extensively, speaking at conferences throughout the U.S., and his sermons are broadcast daily on the radio program LIBERATE. As a respected pastor, author, and speaker, Tullian is singularly and passionately devoted to seeing people set free by the radical, amazing power of God's grace. When he is not reading, studying, preaching, or writing, Tullian enjoys being with people and relaxing with his wife, Kim, and their three children—Gabe, Nate, and Genna. He loves the beach, loves to exercise, and when he has time, he loves to surf.
- 2010 May 19
Sinclair Ferguson reminds us that piety not marinated in the gospel will run out of gas-that imperatives minus indicatives equal impossibilities:
The first thing to remember is that we must never separate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The Christians who are most focused on their own spirituality may give the impression of being the most spiritual … but from the New Testament's point of view, those who have almost forgotten about their own spirituality because their focus is so exclusively on their union with Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished are those who are growing and exhibiting fruitfulness. Historically speaking, whenever the piety of a particular group is focused on OUR spirituality that piety will eventually exhaust itself on its own resources. Only where our piety forgets about us and focuses on Jesus Christ will our piety nourished by the ongoing resources the Spirit brings to us from the source of all true piety, our Lord Jesus Christ.


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Success of Shirish Kunder directed `Joker` looks very bleak.
`Ferrari Ki Sawaari` is steered to its destination, thanks to its two and a half men!
Dibakar Banerjee and his incisive take on Indian politics hits people below the belt, and hits hard, with the caustically cutting political thriller called 'Shanghai'.
If the title of the film prods you on to believe the hitherto-thought inevitable, I'd suggest you to be better prepared for the shock that is bound to meet you as the film nears its end.
'Taken 2' just reaffirms the fact that Liam Neeson is truly an action movie star.
Trust on the awesome trio of mammoth Manny (Ray Romano), saber-tooth cat Diego (Denis Leary) and Sid, the sloth (John Leguizamo) for a wholesome family entertainer.
Christopher Nolan has done it again. They say the third outing is always tricky as there is awful lot of pressure to present a convincing plot for the audience in a way that the trilogy culminates into one phenomenal celluloid experience. Nolan has undoubtedly, outdone himself with his latest film which also happens to be the last in the Batman franchise.
For a moment, imagine yourself as a filmmaker who has been given this scenario to make a film - three flatmates who fall for the same hot, young woman but she is no damsel in distress but a strong woman with a mind of her own.
The four stories, originally written by Nirmal Varma, come together in a mysterious melange of pain, longing and tentative redemption in 'Chaurahen'.
Remakes of blockbuster film seldom do get equal appreciation for they are nothing but duplication. But 'Nanban', which happens to be a Tamil version of Bollywood superhit film '3 Idiots' has pulled it off with élan.
Day in Pics: 29th March
Showbiz World - March 29, 2015
Cricket World Cup: Team India members return home


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Have a Deadpan Easter!
Flip the switch on that time machine and let's go back to the 1920s, when Calvin Coolidge was president, ice cream cones cost a nickel and a hapless man in a pork-pie hat could outrun an avalanche of boulders. That's what happened in Seven Chances, Buster Keaton's loser-must-marry-by-7-p.m.-to-get-his-inheritance comedy, one of six Keaton silents screening at the Aero's "Buster Keaton Weekend." Certifiable classics like The General, Go West and Sherlock Jr. are on Friday and Saturday's schedule, but it's Sunday you'll regret if you miss: The Navigator, with Keaton adrift at sea with the girl who spurned him, and Steamboat Bill Jr., a Mississippi riverboat ride gone awry, culminating in a cyclone and one of Keaton's most astonishing stunts. They don't make 'em like this anymore, kids. Without sound, I mean.
April 22-24, 2011
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Aztec conquest altered Mexican geneticstags: Mexico, genetics, Aztecs, pre-Columbian America, UT Austin
AUSTIN, Texas — For centuries, the fate of the original Otomí inhabitants of Xaltocan, the capital of a pre-Aztec Mexican city-state, has remained unknown. Researchers have long wondered whether they assimilated with the Aztecs or abandoned the town altogether.
According to new anthropological research from The University of Texas at Austin, Wichita State University and Washington State University, the answers may lie in DNA. Following this line of evidence, the researchers theorize that some original Otomies, possibly elite rulers, may have fled the town. Their exodus may have led to the reorganization of the original residents within Xaltocan, or to the influx of new residents, who may have intermarried with the Otomí population.
Using ancient DNA (aDNA) sampling, Jaime Mata-Míguez, an anthropology graduate student and lead author of the study, tracked the biological comings and goings of the Otomí people following the incorporation of Xaltocan into the Aztec empire. The study, published in American Journal of Physical Anthropology, is the first to provide genetic evidence for the anthropological cold case....
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Get free worksheets plus activities, articles and science projects.
Help the rabbit find the egg by completing this Easter-themed maze activity! Use a pencil to draw a pathway for the rabbit to follow through the maze to get to the egg. This will surely put your preschooler in the Easter spirit.
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An abandoned military bunker in The Netherlands has been transformed into a striking waterside landmark by Reitvel Landscape. Used from 1815 until 1940, the area in which the structure is settled was a strategic military zone protecting the cities of Muiden, Utrecht, Vreeswijk and Gorinchem by means of intentional flooding. Sitting atop ground near the water's edge, this seemingly indestructible bunker has been sliced open, revealing the heavy-duty yet miniscule interior. Both stoic and strangely beautiful, the segmented bunker forms a publicly-accessible attraction for visitors of the New Dutch Waterline.
Despite being one of nearly 700 structures along the NDW, the interior of Bunker 599 was completely cut off from view. The designers at Rietveld Landcape cut away the center, giving visitors the opportunity to more closely survey the complicated and chilling nature of war and defense. Additionally, a long wooden boardwalk cuts through the construction, opening up a path into the flooded area and footpaths of the adjacent natural reserve. The pier and the piles supporting the boardwalk serve as reminders that the water surrounding them is due a shallow water plain characteristic of the flooding tactics once used in times of war.
The bunkers are also visible from the A2 highway and can be seen by tens of thousands of passers-by each day. The project is part of a greater plan by Rietveld Landscape to make this unique part of Dutch history accessible and tangible to all types of visitors.
Via Designboom
Photos © Rietveld Landscape
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So after looking at other posts and blogs I think I might not be mashing correctly. My steps are as follows:
1. Preheat my round Igloo cooler
2. Mash in with water temp usually in the 160 range to give me my mash temps (determined by Beersmith). Stir well and make sure the temp in on point.
3. Mash for 60-90min depending on grain type
4. Start vorlaufing. Usually takes about 12-16 qts to get clear wort, then drain into brew kettle with a wide open valve. I get bubbles/foam in the kettle doing this.
5. Pour in sparge water which always seems to be 168 degrees according to Beersmith. Stir and wait for 15mins.
6. Vorlauf as I did for the mash. Drain with a wide open valve
Most of the time pre-boil gravity and volume are spot on and efficiency is around 75%
Here are my questions:
1. Is the bubbling wort into the kettle an issue? Hot side aeration? I have hear that is not really an issue with homebrewers, I don't have a stale flvor to my beer, but it would be easy to just buy a longer piece of tubing.
2. Should I be mashing out? Once again I have read some people say they do it and others that they don't. Will it help with mash ph or not extracting tannins?
Is the easiest way to just add boiling water and do I need to worry about the new water to grist ratio?
3. Should my sparge water be a high temp? It seems like I want my grain to be at 168 degrees and therefor my sparge water hotter?
Here is a screen shot of one of my Beersmith recipes.
Thanks again,
You are correct that you want to bring the grain temp to 168 with your "batch sparge". I dont know your grain bill but usually 180 to 185 is necessary. Dont worry about mashing out when batch sparging. Hot side aeration? Who knows.. just by a longer hose.
Your process seems fine. I believe hot side aeration is an issue post-boil. The act of boiling will remove the oxygen in your wort.
I never mash out when I batch sparge. I take my first runnings and add my sparge water which is around 170F.
If you're hitting 75% efficiency regularly and do not have off flavors, I see no reason to alter your process. This is of course just my opinion.
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Vorlaufing with 12-16 qts? I must not understand this. When I start to drain my mash I collect 1-2 qts of the first runnings that are cloudy, and then dump them back in. I repeat this with each of my sparges.
Have I been doing that wrong? Isn't 12-16 quarts more than what you would use in the mash for a typical 5 gal batch?
Sorry don't know what I was thinking 6-8 qts. I know that still seems like a lot to some of you, but that is what it takes.
I am having some off flavors and in my darker (porters, stouts) a little tannic off flavors, just seeing if it might have to do with not mashing out or too low of sparge temps.
I am having some off flavors and in my darker (porters, stouts) a little tannic off flavors, just seeing if it might have to do with not mashing out or too low of sparge temps.[/QUOTE]
Those dont sound like the culprit. You may want to look into your water chemistry.
I'm thinking it's your mash pH if it's only with your dark grains
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Agreed, if your other brews are coming out ok and it's just your dark beers with the off flavors it may be your mash PH which could be related to your brewing water chemistry.
Get some cheap PH strips to test. Your process looks good though.
Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Thanks. I think there is an off flavor in all of my beers but it is fainter in say an IPA and no one else I give them too seems to think that there is an issue. Starting to work on figuring out my ph and water chemistry stuff.
And I guess I have gotten two answers for sparge water temp. One person has said around 180 degress and the other has said around 170. Which do I go with?


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Scott Witter is an advertising and editorial photographer based out of Los Angeles and represented by Wonderful Machine. He writes:
'Cure People is a series of images I've been creating since this past November of diehard fans of the musical group The Cure. I'm a longtime fan myself and was inspired to do the project at a Cure concert back in 2011 at the Pantages Theater. As of now I have photographed over 20 fans and plan to keep shooting.'
Announcing The BlowUp NYC: A new photographic storytelling event presented by Feature Shoot. Speakers include Bob Gruen, Chris Stein, Danny Clinch, Janette Beckman, Amy Lombard, and many more. New York, April 3. More info and tickets here


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Pope Francis meets with Italian and Argentinian soccer players in Rome
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Visit create.airbnb.com »
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My girlfriend and I enjoyed our stay with Dalor! He is very friendly and more than accommodating. He lives in a convenient location and was very helpful with city information!
Great location, comfortable clean apartment, very good value. For someone travelling alone who wants to improve their spanish it is ideal as the guys living in the flat are very friendly and sociable.
Everyone was great, I was even fed one night, and very tolerant (I rang the doorbell by accident on the first night at 3am!)
Many thanks for a great stay
Very interesting and intellectual people. Dalor is very helpful, organized, provides a clean space, advice and good conversation.
Dálor's a super nice guy. Made me tea when I got there. The other folks living there cooked a feast and generously shared as well. Its also right in the center of town. I recommend this spot for sure.
Dálor was a great host, and his flat is very clean and close to everything in Granada, including The Alhambra, Cathedral, Albaycin, Sacramonte, and the main city center. He is very welcoming and wants you to feel at home in his apartment. My favorite place in Spain was Granada. Thanks Dálor!
Dalor was an excellent host--always available if we needed him. The apartment was clean and very unique, and all inhabitants were kind and respectful. Great location right off Gran Via. Would recommend this apartment to anyone wishing to experience Granada like a local.


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Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Jonathan Lucroy's two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 7-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the second of a four-game set.
With Aroldis Chapman (3-5) on the mound, Jean Segura started the inning by beating out an infield single. Lucroy then blasted a 1-2 pitch well into the left-field stands for his first career walk-off home run.
"He hung a slider to him and he didn't miss," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
Lucroy went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Khris Davis also drove in a pair of runs for the Brewers, who had lost three of four.
"It just feels good to get the win. We kind of had a rough game throwing the ball. It feels good to get a win hitting-wise," Lucroy said.
Tom Gorzelanny lasted just 4 2/3 innings in the start as he was charged with five runs on six hits. John Axford (6-6) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to take home the win.
Todd Frazier went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and four RBI and Chris Heisey added a two-run shot for the Reds, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.
Mike Leake gave up four runs on nine hits in five innings of starting action.
The Reds got on the board in the first inning as Frazier's two-out single with the bases loaded plated a pair of runs for a 2-0 lead.
Milwaukee got one back in the second on Juan Francisco's solo homer to left, his 18th of the season.
The Brewers took the lead in the third. Segura tripled with one out and came home when Lucroy followed with a single. Aramis Ramirez then singled and, two batters later, Davis doubled home both runners for a 4-2 lead.
Cincinnati made it a one-run game in the fourth as Frazier led off the frame with his 12th homer of the season, and the Reds again used the long ball in the fifth to take the lead as Heisey homered after Shin-Soo Choo singled for a 5-4 advantage.
A Segura RBI single in the sixth tied the game, but Frazier plated Heisey with an RBI single in the seventh to put the Reds back on top, 6-5.
Cincinnati has won seven of the 11 games against the Brewers this season ...
Both teams left eight men on base as the Brewers went 4-for-10 with runners in
scoring position while the Reds were 2-for-7 ... Mat Latos takes the mound for
Cincinnati on Saturday, and Yovani Gallardo will pitch for the Brewers.
Vanderbilt quarterback Patton Robinette said Friday he is walking away from football to enter medical school.
Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Larson was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons after he fainted during an autograph session at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday.
If contradiction was an Olympic sport, Chip Kelly would certainly be medal-worthy judging by his performance at the NFL's owners meeting but the Eagles coach might have to settle for silver because Daniel Snyder's critics will take the gold every time.
There isn't much after that. The Miami Marlins are loaded up for a playoff push -- likely through a wild card spot -- and the New York Mets are up-and- coming but still raw. The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies, former powerhouses of the division, are going through rebuilds and won't contend anytime soon.
Longtime Jazz announcer Rod Hundley died Friday at the ago of 80.
Mathieu Perreault will be back in the lineup when the Winnipeg Jets host the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.


text:
Credits: Benjamin Bersoussan
Duration: 3:40
Posted: 03.31.11
2011 FOKUS Film Festival Experimental Entry.
In the binary system a two's complement is a number representing the exact opposite of another number . The sum of these two numbers is zero.
2.36K Views0 Comments0 Likes
2014 FOKUS Festival winner for "Best of Fiction"...
Credits: Daniel Beresh
406 Views0 Comments0 Likes
2011 FOKUS Film Festival Fiction Entry.
What do you do when you've got nothing to lose?
Credits: Mark James
424 Views0 Comments0 Likes
2011 FOKUS Film Festival Fiction Entry
When Bruno is laid-off from superhero agency, he isn't really sure what to do with his time. So he takes to the drink, and has to find new ways to help people.
Credits: Yasmeen Gholmieh, Charlotte Wynn, Benjamh Share, Michael El-diz
581 Views0 Comments2 Likes
2011 FOKUS Film Festival 72-hour Filmmaking Competition Entry.
Jessica recently met a really cute guy at a bar. Everything is going well until she receives a facebook chat that tangles everything.
can't get enough of this movie


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32 year old man | Koreatown, CA, USA | Seeking women 23-34 within 50 miles of Los Angeles, CA
...desirable traits through MATCHural selection
I live simply, love being in transit to new places, am very open minded and eternally restless. Discovering new things to learn, experience and understand is what motivates me. I've always been curious and somewhat awe-struck by the beauty and complexity of the world. I'm told that when I started to walk, I headed straight to the screen door and tried to leave the house. I'm looking for someone to go on spontaneous excursions with, someone who understands the skill of balancing life's responsibilities with knowing how to party-down too! Like with many things in life, balance and good communication are key. I once purchased a flight to London on a whim. It was only for a single sleepless weekend and it's one of my favorite memories. I'd like to make more spontaneous memories like that.
Coffee and conversation , Dining out , Movies/Videos , Music and concerts , Exploring new areas , Performing arts , Travel/Sightseeing
Soccer, Weights / Machines
I exercise 3-4 times per week.
I like Cats, Dogs
Most animals in general are pretty rad. If you happen to "hate" cats, move along.
I enjoy the eloquent appraisals (and rants) of those like: Carl Sagan (a legend), Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens. There's not enough room here for movies, tv and music. Best: Dark Knight, HIMYM, Smashing Pumpkins (early 90's)
On the weekends I'm usually out with my friends, either at a bar or catching a movie.
Does Reddit count?
Z{{Cta}} {{#if HasMoreInfo}} ?{{CtaSecondary}} {{/if}}
|What he is looking for
|5'10" (177cms)
|3'0" (91cms) to 6'0" (182cms)
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"Suppose we've chosen the wrong god. Every time we go to church we're just making him madder and madder" - Homer Simpson
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text:
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Vote's over; it's back to work for Katz
It's mayor's final term in office... well, maybe
On the first day of this third and supposedly final term in office, Mayor Sam Katz left the door open just a crack for a fourth.
Since 2006, Katz has said he would not seek more than two full terms in office. Taking part in a third election campaign this year did not violate that policy, as the mayor first took office by winning a mid-term byelection.
On Thursday, however, Katz mused he could run for office a fourth time if the public still supports him in 2014.
"I have told you I have always supported term limits," said Katz, confirming that right now he intends the new session of council to be his final term, but "we'll see" whether that might change.
"I think most people know where I'm at in my heart, but anything can happen to have an impact one way or another."
Katz said he would not have run for re-election this year if he were not convinced he enjoyed the support of the general public. On Wednesday, when Winnipeggers went to the polls, Katz won 55 per cent of the mayoral vote.
Back in office on Thursday morning, Katz started figuring out who will join him on executive policy committee. He also spoke to Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger, who congratulated him on his third election victory.
Katz said he and Selinger are eagerly waiting to hear new estimates about the cost of the new football stadium planned for the University of Manitoba. He said he does not have any new information from Creswin Properties just yet.
Katz also said he also plans to meet with chief financial officer and acting chief administrator Mike Ruta to see how close the city's spending and revenue estimates are to operating budget projections for the end of June.
A financial status report routinely issued in September was not issued this year. It is customary for the city to project a modest year-end deficit in the fall but wind up in a surplus position when the actual year-end numbers are reviewed.
"I don't think it will be any different than any numbers we've had in the past," he said.
This year, however, the city is counting on receiving $10.6 million from the settlement of a lawsuit against Manitoba Hydro to balance its operating budget. The lawsuit has yet to make it to court. Katz also said he is meeting with public works officials to smooth out another wrinkle in the city's $20.4-million active transportation upgrade. A property-access issue has complicated a path alongside Lagimodiere Boulevard, said the mayor, noting the issue has nothing to do with public consultation this time.
Also on Thursday, all four of the city's new councillors met each other in the foyer outside the mayor's office. Future councillors Ross Eadie (Mynarski), Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood-Tuxedo), Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) and Thomas Steen (Elmwood-East Kildonan) spent most of their first day as elected officials conducting media interviews. The new councillors, who range in age from 38 to 50, will be sworn in Tuesday night at an inaugural meeting of Winnipeg's 13th city council since the creation of Unicity in 1971.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 29, 2010 B2
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Screwing around with a VW Eurovan!
View Single Post
Joined: May 2008
Location: SaddleRock, Colorado
Oddometer: 2,051
Think I may actually make some notable progress today. It's been tricky to sneak out in the garage with a 13 week old daughter around.
Got a bit done yesterday. It's just been lots of cleaning, and not the type of cleaning that makes you go "wow, look at how clean that is". More the type of cleaning that makes you go "ugh, finally its clean enough to not cause problems!"
Here is an example of what I've been dealing with. There are a few things that must be swapped from the AXK Eurovan motor to the BDF Jetta motor. Things like the valve cover, oil pan, oil pickup tube, oil cooler, oil filler neck (start to see a pattern here?) I have to swap over a bunch of oil system parts from a motor that had an oil system problem. So everything must be cleaned to a fault to make sure to not contaminate the new engine.
Here is the underside of the valve covers. Note that the one on top has already been media blasted once and I've spent about 2 hours with various degreasers, even soaked it over night and lots of scrubbing.
I finally got it clean enough to see that the black plastic end piece was removable. (I wish I would have taken a picture of this when I started, you couldn't tell the black plastic end piece was a different material than the Aluminum cover. How crazy is that?
When I removed the cover I discovered a whole new valley of crud. Took quite awhile to get it clean enough to install.
The interior angles, hose mounts and oil filler mount are totally different on the Eurovan valve cover. Which is why it had to be reused.
There was no way that nasty old cover was going over this new valve train!
Once the parts were finally clean enough (no picture), I filled the motor with new Mobile One oil and pulled the oil pump drive and primed the pump with an air ratchet. Normally I'd do this a bit later in the process but the oil pump drive lives under one of the headers. Which means to access it you must have the intake and header off.
Then the valve cover was finally ready to go back on with as many new parts off the new cover as possible. (And a bunch of other stuff magically hopped onto the engine too)
06 KTM 950 Adventure
(The Fainting Goat)
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