1st and foremost, HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!!!

this blog has become really dead since min and rainy stop posting lol.. hais...

anyway... my fren is conducting some research on romantic relationships in maple and there's apparently a reward for $30.. and all you have to do is to take part in a 1 1/2 hour interview... easy money rite? for those interested, here's the info...


Participants needed for research on mediated intimacy (MI)

We need your help!!!

Who are we and what is this about?
We are a group of two student researchers (and gamers too!) from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University, and we are carrying out a research project to understand more about MapleSEA players. This is part of our final year thesis, and the research aims to explore the development of romantic relationships in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs).

What can you help in?
We are currently looking for players to participate in our online interviews, each lasting approximately 1.5 hours. In the interview, we shall be asking you questions on your experiences in the romantic relationships formed in Maple Story. All you need to do is to be present on your instant messenger at the date and time arranged with you to answer our questions, and you will be provided with a cash remuneration of 30 SGD as our token of appreciation and compensation for your time, which you can collect from us physically in the form of a cheque upon the end of the interview.

Who is eligible to participate?
Players who play MapleSEA official servers (please note that private servers do not count) are eligible to participate in this study if they fulfill the following criteria:
• Between 15 to 35 years of age
• Geographically residing in Singapore (so as to be able to collect the remuneration face-to-face)
• Ever involved in romantic relationships that were started in MapleSEA (i.e., you and your partner first met in MapleSEA)


Feeling unsure or doubtful?
Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. If you choose not to participate or to withdraw from the study at any point of time, there will be no penalty. The interview will be carried out through instant messaging, and will be saved and analyzed for research purposes. The results of this study may be published, but be rest assured that your name will not be used. The records of this study will be kept private. In any sort of report which we may make public, we will not include any information that will make it possible to identify you.

I am interested to participate! How do I start?
We would like all interested gamers who fulfill the above criteria to fill up a questionnaire in order for us to know more about you. The information given in this questionnaire will be kept confidential and used for research purposes only. It will take approximately 20 to 25 minutes to complete. You can access the questionnaire here. After completing the questionnaire, we will contact you shortly to arrange the date and time for the interview.

Questions to ask?
If you have any questions or concerns related to this study, you may contact us at our official email address MI.Research.Team@gmail.com or give us a call on our mobile (Kim Phong – 90832744 / Si Wei – 98280040).

Thank you for your time and interest in participation. We look forward to meeting with you in the interview!

Sincerely,
Mediated Intimacy Research Team
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information
Nanyang Technological University

there's a thread in the forums for this so do check it out
http://forums.asiasoftsea.net/forumdisplay.php?f=6

-Nic