Dana F. Zabet

Having received a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Kent at Canterbury and with a background in communication studies (Bachelor's degree and Master's degree), I am interested in the interactive transformations of society and technology, including online communities and how the social context informs the way technology is designed and used. In addition to theory building research, I have a strong interest in applied research, in particular, user experience research.
My ethnographic research focused on exploring the emerging practices of playing together with fellow players, friends, family and romantic partners and their functions within and around two online games, World of Warcraft and Star Kingdoms. The data were analysed through a ritualisation framework. In this framework, ritual and ritualised play were defined as referring to practices through which the game is enriched with new meanings, going beyond the game being `just a game'. These new meanings include those centered on relationships/social interactions and identity.
Supervisors: Michael Fischer and David Zeitlyn
Address: Get in touch: danaff2 (at) gmail.com (replace 'at' with @ and remove all spaces)