Virtual Sociocultural Convergence (Paperback, Softcover Repri)

Introduction: Virtual Sociocultural Convergence.- Technological Determinism in Construction of an Online Society.- Convergence in Online Urban Environments.- Social Organizations in Online Virtual Worlds.- Autonomy within Rigid Rule-Based Systems.- Modeling Social Stratification in Online Games.- Linguistic Convergence and Divergence in Middle Earth.- Functional Equivalence across Virtual Cultures.- Individual Incentives for Investment in Gameworlds.- Divergence in the Fall of a Virtual Civilization.- Alienation and Assimilation in a Warcraft World.