فصلنامه تحقیقات فرهنگی ایران
سال شانزدهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 62، تابستان 1402)

Metaverse, as an embodied space with an industrial nature, is the result of the convergence of industry and imagination, and it allows users to have a three-dimensional and immersive presence. Games are the pioneers of the metaverse and by combining simulation technologies and Intimate technologies, they form virtual worlds. Zepeto is the largest Metaverse platform in South Korea and Asia with users from all over the world. With the increasing popularity of Korean wave products such as K-pop, K-drama and K-pop dance among Iranian teenagers, Zepeto has become a popular and attractive game among them. In this exploratory article, two issues have been addressed. First, in the framework of the technology acceptance model, the focus is on the user experience in Zepto and the study of the determining factors that affect the willingness of Iranian users to play and work in Zepto. Second, based on the content format that Zepto has, what harm can it bring to the Iranian user. The target population in this research was all Iranian users of Zepeto, and using the Simple Random Sampling method, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 40 Zepeto users. The findings of this research show that Zepeto is a popularizer of the western lifestyle in the field of entertainment and based on having the capacity to shape the taste and attitude and behavior of Iranian users, it provides a window for cultivating a non-Islamic lifestyle.

Gen Alpha, as the most materially endowed generation ever, have completely different beliefs and expectations due to their varied lived experiences and emerging trends in society. Born between 2010 and 2024, this is known as the youngest generation. In the near future, they will enter the workplace and create a different world, and therefore it is necessary to know their characteristics and perceptions of future jobs and workplaces. In this regard, the aim of this research is to examine the job concept from the perspective of Gen Alpha, which can be a useful source for managerial decisions in various fields, including educational institutions, as well as human resource management and organizational culture in the future. The research data was collected using the WDST (write, draw, show and tell) method and finally analyzed using the thematic analysis. The results showed that Gen Alpha have personality and behavioral characteristics such as creativity, adherence to human and moral values, transsexual perspective, adventure, leadership and a strong connection with technology. This generation has little desire for fixed salary jobs and will be more inclined towards entrepreneurship, leading to work teams and technology-related professions such as metaverse, robotics and artificial intelligence. Here, its implications for educational institutions and future work environments are discussed and strategies are proposed.

The ever-increasing use of information and communication technologies and virtual networks has created a possibility for educational development and transformation in the metaverse context. This possibility is related to the infrastructural development capabilities on the one hand and the content and structural aspects of education in society on the other hand. Despite its positive and negative aspects, this subject requires serious attention to achieve meta-education. This study, by taking into account the perspectives of experts, intends to analyze the challenges of education in the metaverse. Here, a qualitative content analysis method was adopted, with the data collection tool being semi-structured interviews with 12 people until reaching the saturation level. The data was analyzed through an inductive approach and the reliability of contents was checked by "independent coders and expert group" method. The findings showed that the educational challenges in the metaverse include themes such as deconstruction of education, gamification, the conflict of diversity and singularity, the challenge of unknownness, the intellectual property interest, educational justice, perceived compatibility, the challenge of conflict, dependence and post-realism learning.  It seems that the capabilities of using the educational metaverse in Iran are still not available due to the aforementioned challenges. Since capacities and capabilities are necessary for educational development, preparing grounds for its use by the next generation through a planning based on the findings of this paper can greatly increase the utilization rate of its positive aspects.

The future challenges of artificial intelligence, especially in the relationship between humans and intelligent systems or technologically advanced machines as well as the power of its functions in social media, are a cause of concern whose cultural impacts have been presented after further investigation. As such, the main goal of the article is to analyze the cultural consequences of artificial intelligence in social media i.e. what positive and negative impacts the use of AI have on social media. Taking into account the analytical method of thematic analysis, the data has been collected through questionnaire-based interviews with experts. The findings show that one of the most important cultural impacts of the use and development of artificial intelligence on social media is the scalability (expansion of the scope) of the effectiveness of human decisions and actions, new structuring of the human communication system, transformation in the way of cultural consumption, reducing the power of human choice and delegation. Other aspects mentioned are the disruption of the functioning of the representation of truth in the media, the disruption of the balance between the benefits of personalized content and privacy protection, the countercultural effects of designers and technology owners on the functioning of intelligent systems, the transformation in the way humans and technology interact, the lack of transparency of the consequences of the use of artificial intelligence, and the limitation of the power of governance as well as traditional and the impossibility of effective supervision and legislation, etc.

The online learning process during the recent Covid-19 pandemic gave us an input about the significance of technological requirements for improving learning experiences in long-distance education. Scanning textbook pages, typing course materials, playing videos of scientific experiments, asking students to record a vide while doing homework, discussions in the chat-box, and even using an interactive whiteboard in virtual classrooms are all examples of technologies used, but they are not unavailable or inaccessible cutting-edge technologies any more. Increasing students’ performance and satisfaction requires adoption and adaptation to other technologies. Therefore some schools and universities in Iran have been equipped with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software. Metaverse labs in some schools s well as universities have been launched; although its effectiveness is questionable. But the main question is if the metaverse is accessible to learning outside of academia, why do we need universities anymore? Is expansion of the metaverse synonymous with the reduction of the university? May universities use the metaverse in learning activities, but keeping their function to formal higher education? Will universities be transferred to (and transformed in) the metaverse? Will organizational structure (and social role) of universities change in the metaverse? Answering such questions wants us to reconsider the linguistic construct and the social relation of university, technology, and society - which needs returning to the conceptions and conceptualization of the university, turning points of great expectations for/from the university, and megatrends of socio-digital transformations. In this paper, we reviewed John Henry Newman’s idea of a university in its historical context, the discursive turn of higher education (HE) from university to Clark Kerr’s multiversity, and the resurgence of the idea of the metaverse (i.e. a single, universal, and immersive virtual world) as a consequence of pervasive prevalence of alternative technologies. Attempts are to re-articulate those concepts, draw a big picture of their social relations (in what Karl Popper called world 3), and provide an epistemological criticism of current debates on consistencies and controversies of university and the metaverse.

Decentraland is a user-owned digital realm built on the Ethereum block chain that allows the global community to engage in, connect, and enjoy its immersive experience. As a decentralized virtual world, this platform gives users an opportunity to purchase and trade virtual real estate through in-app portals and peer-to-peer networks. Virtual properties can be owned by those who acquire land tokens. However, the ownership of these properties is subject to regulation based on terms of service agreed upon. This agreement serves as a contract between the platform owner and the user, outlining policies and standards that must be adhered to. Through the use of analytical methods and library resources, including decentraland contracts, this article explores the rights of virtual property owners in relation to platform owners. It is important to note that the terms of agreement of decentraland state that ownership of the code, on which, the platform is based and default game items are solely of the platform owners. However, property owners do have ownership rights concerning the respective titles and virtual land. As per the regulations set by the landowners, they hold the right to exercise their property rights and publish any permissible content. It should be noted that prohibited content is determined by the terms of service agreement which heavily favors the platform, granting them extensive authority to terminate or suspend the agreement without prior warning. It should also be noted that user ownership may become precarious if platform owners opt to dissolve the platform, considering the dependence on the ownership of the platform code and the collective valuation of digital assets.