A B S T R A C TRecent research on online learning suggests that virtual worlds are becoming an important environment to observe the experience of flow. From these simulated spaces, researchers may gather a deeper understanding of cognition in the context of game-based learning. Csikszentmihalyi (1997) describes flow as a feeling of increased psychological immersion and energized focus, with outcomes that evoke disregard for external pressures and the loss of time consciousness, issuing in a sense of pleasure. Past studies suggest that flow is encountered in an array of activities and places, including those in virtual worlds. The authors' posit that flow in virtual worlds, such as Second Life (SL), can be positively associated with degrees of the cognitive phenomenon of immersion and telepresence. Flow may also contribute to a better attitude and behavior during virtual game-based learning. This study tested three hypotheses related to flow and telepresence, using SL. Findings suggest that both flow and telepresence are experienced in SL and that there is a significant correlation between them. These findings shed light on the complex interrelationships and interactions that lead to flow experience in virtual gameplay and learning, while engendering hope that learners, who experience flow, may acquire an improved attitude of learning online.

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This article describes the theoretical underpinnings and preliminary experimental support for option awareness (OA): the perception and comprehension of the relative desirability of available options, as well the underlying factors and trade-offs that explain that desirability. The authors' research has produced a body of theory and experimental findings supporting the potential for OA to beneficially augment situation awareness (SA) and help decision makers identify the most robust options: those that are most likely to turn out well under the widest range of possible future conditions. OA incorporates perspectives from rationalistic and naturalistic models of decision making, as both are used concurrently in the types of complex high-technology work the authors have examined, including emergency management, infectious disease containment, and air traffic control. The authors have developed approaches to support OA through the use of exploratory modeling and visual analytics. These systems were tested over the course of four humanin-the-loop experiments. The results demonstrate the value of this approach to improve decision accuracy, confidence, and speed for decision makers facing scenarios at varying levels of difficulty. The methodology described here provides a framework to move forward with research on supporting OA in complex and uncertain scenarios in a variety of task domains.

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