World of Warcraft Disease Spurs Real Life Study

Virtual game is a 'disease model'

Scientists believe the game error could offer a valuable insight How it reflects reality An outbreak of a deadly disease in a virtual world can offer insights into real life epidemics, scientists suggest. The "corrupted blood" disease spread rapidly within the popular online World of Warcraft game, killing off thousands of players in an uncontrolled plague. The infection raged, wreaking social chaos, despite quarantine measures. The experience provides essential clues to how people behave in such crises, Lancet Infectious Diseases reports. In the game, there was a real diversity of response from the players to the threat of infection, similar to those seen in real life. The players seemed to really feel they were at risk and took the threat of infection seriously Professor Nina Fefferman, from Tufts University School of Medicine Some acted selflessly, rushing to the aid of other characters even though that meant they risked infection themselves. Others fled infected cities in an attempt to save themselves. And some who were sick made it their mission to deliberately infect others. Researcher Professor Nina Fefferman, from Tufts University School of Medicine, said: "Human behaviour has a big impact on disease spread. And virtual worlds offer an excellent platform for studying human behaviour. "The players seemed to really feel they were at risk and took the threat of infection seriously, even though it was only a game." She acknowledged that a virtual setting might encourage riskier behaviour, but said this could be estimated and allowed for when drawing conclusions. Constraint She said a major constraint for epidemiologists studying disease dynamics at the moment was that they were limited to observational and retrospective studies. For example, it would be unethical to release an infectious disease in real life in order to study what the consequences might be. Computer models allow for experimentation on virtual populations without such limitations, but still rely on mathematical rules to approximate human behaviour. A virtual world may be a way to bridge this gap, said Professor Fefferman. Her team at Tufts are looking to use models such as the World of Warcraft to further study human behaviour, particularly in relation to disease outbreaks. Dr Gary Smith, professor of Population Biology and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, has been working on modelling infectious diseases. He said: "Very few mathematical models of disease transmission take host behaviour into account." But he questioned how representative of real life a virtual model could be. "Although the characteristics of the disease could be defined before hand, once released into the virtual world, the study is just as 'observational' as disease outbreak studies in the real world. "Nevertheless, I suppose one could argue that the proposal describes an opportunity for study that we might not otherwise have."

Save the Whales! Ha...

OK, imagine sticking your foot in a toaster to make a point... turning it on to make a point... then complaining and getting the government involved when your foot got burned. You'd have to be a total idiot, right?

So, some whale huggers decided it would be a great idea to go pester Japanese ships. Then, since the Japanese wouldn't listen to them, they decided it would be smart to climb up on their boat uninvited (see: trespassing). The Japanese folks apparently thought they were gonna do something violent. (Don't know where they would get that idea other than that the whale-huggers tried to ram their ship the other day.) So, the Japanese didn't let the activists go. Instead they tied them to the ship, then brought them inside and gave them some tea. Now the whale-huggers are saying their people have been "kidnapped." Hah!

Seriously, when you've already harassed folks and climbed onto their ship, you've surrendered the moral high ground. Personally, i think the activists should stand trial in Japanese court for trespassing.

Heck, I've got nothing against whales, but an idiot's an idiot. Here's the story:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/16/activists.ship/index.html?iref=topnews

There but for the grace of God...

John Wesley once explained that he could not judge others for their sinful state. He pointed to one person and said, "There, but for the grace of God, am I."

Its pretty easy to distinguish ourselves from the "bad" people of the world. Dylan Klebold and I didn't have much of anything in common. Cho Seung-Hui was a second generation immigrant with mental issues. I'm not an Islamic Fundamentalist or a fame-starved teenager. I grew up in church. My parents were careful too steer me away from violent shows and movies. I love the church, though I'm fine with exposing its hypocrisy when need be. Heck, I worked in missions. I signed on for a mission trip to Bosnia a few years ago. I'm just your average twenty-something white guy, a nerd with facial hair and glasses.

There, but for the grace of God...

Its so easy to distance myself from the folks that aren't like me. This time, I can't do it. Maybe its that I've got friends in Bosnia that Matthew Murray would have worked with. Maybe its that we had the same upbringing, or share the same distaste for the hypocrisy God's followers are capable of. Maybe its that I match his physical description or know a Christian guy by the same name. Maybe its that I'm just more sensetive to tragedies that happen to Christian's my own age, but I can't just write this one off.

There, but for the grace of God...

I think the difference between me and Matthew is our view of God's grace. I know God's forgiven me, and because of that, I need to forgive others, even if they're the staff at a ministry that didn't let me work in the way I had intended. I know that God has forgiven not only me, but Mr. Haggard and all the other hypocrites like me. If only Matthew had known how to forgive and be forgiven, to let the past be the past, and show others the grace God has given him. It all comes down to our views of God's grace.

There, but for the grace of God, am I.

Social Capital

One of the things I have to hear about incessantly in Master's courses is called Social Capital. It refers to the norms of reciprocity and trust that people develop as they make friends and do things for them. Basically, in a strong community with lots of interconnectivity, I generally trust people (referred to in fancy-schmancy terms as "generalized trust") and I might do a favor for someone, for instance, Seth, knowing that even if Seth doesn't directly do something for me, perhaps John will do me a favor, even though I haven't done anything for him. This generalized trust builds security and strengthens bonds as people are willing to help each other out, regardless of direct return on their time. Generalized trust is the difference betwen "doing unto another because he will do back to you" and "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Its all called Social Capital because, just like investment capital, social capital can be leveraged get things done. In a community with strong social capital, I can get a ride home with someone without them demanding gas money, because they know I'd do the same for others in a pinch. It even leads to safer neighborhoods and even better jobs. (Most people get their jobs because of who they know, rather than what they know, especially politicians.)

So, the question is, in communities you are part of, is there a good deal of "social capital" or generalized trust? Let me know what you think.

As for me, I live in an inner city area where there is low social capital and very little generalized trust. However, in my church, there is a great deal of both. In my Master's program, I would say that there are high levels of both, but the strongest I've found is my alma mater.

More on this later. I have to do some homework.

I love,