{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T14:39:05Z","timestamp":1777646345563,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2009,12,29]],"date-time":"2009-12-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1262044800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Games and Culture"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2010,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Learning scientists have created and used virtual worlds to support players\u2019 historical, scientific, and ecological inquiries. Much less explored has been the impact of community events on players\u2019 investigations in virtual worlds. The authors present here the case of a community event Whypox, a virtual epidemic whose annual outbreak in Whyville affects players\u2019 communication and appearance. The authors analyze the different levels of participation ranging from casual to systematic in which players searched out more information about the Whypox, participated in online discussions about its causes and investigated different scenarios with simulations. The discussion examines ethical concerns, the contributions of our findings for the design of such community events, and educational resources in virtual worlds to support informal learning.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1555412009351265","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2009,12,30]],"date-time":"2009-12-30T00:58:53Z","timestamp":1262134733000},"page":"116-135","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":53,"title":["Investigating the \u2018\u2018Why\u2019\u2019 in Whypox"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"5","author":[{"given":"Yasmin B.","family":"Kafai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania,\rPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Quintero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Education, University of California, Los\rAngeles, Moore Hall, Los Angeles, California"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Feldon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, Charlottesville,\rVirginia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2009,12,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"atypb1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1146930"},{"key":"atypb2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02504859"},{"key":"atypb3","volume-title":"Lethal guinea pig kills virtual people","author":"BBC News.","year":"2000"},{"key":"atypb4","volume-title":"Synthetic worlds: The business and pleasure of gaming","author":"Castronova, E.","year":"2005"},{"key":"atypb5","volume-title":"Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference of the Learning Sciences","author":"Dede, C."},{"key":"atypb6","volume-title":"Annual report","author":"Electronic Software Association.","year":"2006"},{"key":"atypb7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Feldon, D.F. & Gilmore, J. ( 2006). Patterns in children\u2019s online behavior and scientific problem-solving: A large-N microgenetic study. In G. Clarebout & J. Elen (Eds.), Avoiding simplicity, confronting complexity: Advances in studying and designing (computerbased) powerful learning environments (pp. 117-125). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.","DOI":"10.1163\/9789087901189_014"},{"key":"atypb8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3115\/1599600.1599640"},{"key":"atypb9","volume-title":"What videogames can teach us about literacy and learning","author":"Gee, J.","year":"2003"},{"key":"atypb10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kafai, Y.B., Feldon, D., Fields, D., Giang, M. & Quintero, M. ( 2007). Life in the times of Whypox: A Virtual epidemic as a community event. In C. Steinfeld, B. Pentland, M. Ackermann , & N. Contractor (Eds.), Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Communities and Technology (pp. 171-190). New York: Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-84628-905-7_9"},{"key":"atypb11","unstructured":"Kafai, Y.B., Fields, D.A. & Cook, M.S. ( 2007). Your second selves: Resources, agency and constraints in avatar design in a tween virtual world. In A. Baba (Ed.), Situated play: Proceedings of the Third International Conference of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) (pp. 31-39). Japan: The University of Tokyo."},{"key":"atypb12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kafai, Y.B. & Giang, M. ( 2007). Virtual playgrounds. In T. Willoughby & E. Wood (Eds.), Children\u2019s learning in a digital world (pp. 196-217). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.","DOI":"10.1002\/9780470696682.ch8"},{"key":"atypb13","volume-title":"The great mortality: An intimate history of the Black Death, the most devastating plague of all time","author":"Kelly, J.","year":"2005"},{"key":"atypb14","volume-title":"Flu: The story of the great influenza pandemic","author":"Kolata, G.","year":"2001"},{"key":"atypb15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0065-2407(08)60356-0"},{"key":"atypb16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10956-006-9029-z"},{"key":"atypb17","volume-title":"The \u2018\u2018why\u2019\u2019 in Whypox: Teens\u2019 investigations of a virtual epidemic in an online world. Unpublished Master Thesis","author":"Quintero, M.","year":"2007"},{"key":"atypb18","first-page":"102","volume":"32","author":"Schauble, L.","year":"1990","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Child Psychology"},{"key":"atypb19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/tea.3660280910"},{"key":"atypb20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1745-3984.1993.tb00424.x"},{"key":"atypb21","volume-title":"Replaying history: Engaging urban underserved students in learning world history through computer simulation games","author":"Squire, K.","year":"2004"},{"key":"atypb22","volume-title":"Learning in MMORPGs","author":"Steinkuehler, C.","year":"2004"},{"key":"atypb23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/5418.001.0001"},{"key":"atypb24","author":"Ward, M.","year":"2005","journal-title":"BBC News"}],"container-title":["Games and Culture"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/1555412009351265","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/1555412009351265","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T06:34:58Z","timestamp":1777444498000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/1555412009351265"}},"subtitle":["Casual and Systematic Explorations of a Virtual Epidemic"],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2009,12,29]]},"references-count":24,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2010,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/1555412009351265"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1555412009351265","relation":{},"ISSN":["1555-4120","1555-4139"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1555-4120","type":"print"},{"value":"1555-4139","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2009,12,29]]}}}