The JVWR, Volume 12, No. 2
Published: September 18, 2019

Issue editors:
Michael Thomas, University of Central Lancashire, UK, (Prime)
Tuncer Can, University of Istanbul, Turkey
Michael Vallance, Future University, Japan
In the context of educational research, definitions of “impact†have proliferated alongside critiques of its efficacy and appropriateness, and it is important to consider the applicability of the term, as well as to reflect on how it can be shaped and defined.
In this sense, impact does not merely relate to measuring dissemination activity, e.g., how many people read a book, or visited an exhibition in an art gallery, or followed your latest research findings on social media. Rather, it relates to what measurable influence the research has had on its beneficiaries as a result of activities in such a way that a discernible ‘step-change’ is evident.
In order to address these issues of increasing importance and relevance in virtual and immersive environments, this special edition of The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research brings together four articles to consider these questions in the specific field of education.Â
Original call: CfP – Impact
Issue Editors’ Corner
Michael Thomas, Tuncer Can, Michael Vallance
Peer-Reviewed Research Papers
Project:Filter – Using Applied Games to Engage Secondary Schoolchildren with Public Policy
Andrew James Reid
Their Memory: Exploring Veterans’ Voices, Virtual Reality, and Collective Memory
Iain Donald, Kenneth Scott-Brown
Tony Liao, Nancy A Jennings, Laura Dell, Chris Collins
A Hybrid Model of Experiential Learning within the Social Virtual World of Second Life
K. Brant Knutzen