This paper describes the findings of a textual and structural analysis of the free-to-play social networking game FarmVille 2 (FV2) with a focus on the values (social, economic, etc.) available to players for digital objects within the game. FV2 is purportedly a social game, which might suggest that findings regarding the social values of objects from the study of material culture could play ou...

A multiattribute utility function can be represented by a function of single-attribute utility functions if the decision maker’s preference satisfies additive independence or mutually utility independence. Additive independence is a preference condition stronger than mutually utility independence, and the multiattribute utility function is in the additive form if the former condition is satisfi...

The effect of brand on consumer attitudes towards real and virtual goods is largely documented in consumer psychology and marketing. There is an obvious link between the design of a website and its brand. Yet, this effect has attracted little attention from the HCI community. This paper presents empirical evidence showing that brand attitude influences the evaluation of websites. The effect was...

This research is designed to study consumers’ purchasing attitudes to counterfeit luxury goods on electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces). And two research hypotheses are proposed in this research. Based on data analysis of 243 samples, this study explores the dimensions of consumer attitudes (morality and law, accessibility, burden-bearing, function effectiveness, economical efficiency) and m...

Through the integrated framework of participation theory and political economy, this article analyzes participatory opportunities in the virtual world Habbo Hotel, and how participation is constrained and framed by the producer’s commercial strategies, which are based on advertising and sales of virtual goods. The study also looks into the ways in which the producer Sulake Corporation discursiv...

Virtual consumption, or consumption of virtual goods and property, has become a major economic activity in social virtual worlds such as Second Life. Given that virtual consumption has become an important part of everyday virtual life in social virtual worlds, understanding virtual consumption can be an essential aspect to understanding user behavior in those worlds. Despite its significance, l...

This paper considers a world of two symmetric countries with two factors and two sectors. Outputs of the two sectors are imperfect substitutes and sectors differ in relative factor intensity. Each sector contains a continuum of heterogenous firms that produce differentiated goods within their sector. Trade is costly and there are both variable and fixed costs of exporting. The paper shows that ...

In this study we investigate purchase behavior for virtual goods in three free-to-play game environments. In the modern free games, publishers sell virtual goods in order to generate revenue. However, game publishers face dire negative attitudes toward the business model as it can entice publishers to degrade the enjoyment of the game in order to sell more virtual goods that address the artific...

Rangelands T he topic of global change is found almost daily in newspaper and magazine articles and on television. Global change refers to large-scale changes in the Earth’s biological, geological, hydrological, and atmospheric systems, whether of human or natural origin. The primary concern of global change has centered on the rapid increase in atmospheric concentrations of primary greenhouse ...

Nevada. The speakers, their affi liations, and topics are listed in the sidebar. Two important concepts emerged from the presentations and discussions. First, the ecological concepts and assumptions that underlie the development and implementation of ESDs are undergoing revision at a rapid pace. Most importantly, the assumption that reconstructing the ecological dynamics of a group of similar s...