Raising awareness for water polution based on game activities using internet of things

Awareness among young people regarding the environment and its resources and comprehension of the various factors that interplay, is key to changing human behaviour towards achieving a sustainable planet. In this paper IoT equipment, utilizing sensors for measuring various parameters of water quality, is used in an educational context targeting at a deeper understanding of the use of natural resources towards the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviours. We here note that the use of water sensors in STEM gameful learning is an area which has not received a lot of attention in the previous years. The IoT water sensing and related scenaria and practices, addressing children via discovery, gamification, and educational activities, are discussed in detail

Exploring social gambling: scoping, classification and evidence review

The aim of this report is to speculate on the level of concern we might have regarding consumer risk in relation to ‘social gambling.’ In doing so, this report is intended to help form the basis to initiate debate around a new and under-researched social issue; assist in setting a scientific research agenda; and, where appropriate, highlight concerns about any potential areas that need to be considered in terms of precautionary regulation. This report does not present a set of empirical research findings regarding ‘social gambling’ but rather gathers information to improve stakeholder understanding

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

'Close-the-loop': an iBeacon app to foster recycling through just-in-time feedback

Contemporary micro-location technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) show promise in enabling new experiences when interacting with physical spaces. An emerging BLE technology is iBeacons, with the retail sector pioneering their use to enhance shopping experiences. There is scope for the HCI sustainability community to explore the use of iBeacons to raise awareness around sustainability issues, particularly in public and communal spaces. This work presents embryonic research exploring the design of a prototype iBeacon-based sustainability application called 'Close-the-Loop'. The application builds on previous sustainability and just-in-time feedback research to encourage end-users to engage in recycling behaviours in a large university canteen space. Findings from a focus group and short ethnographic study provide design insights to further develop the prototype to increase engagement with appropriate recycling practices

The Investigation of Augmented Reality Marketing Tool Creation and Adaptability in Retail

This research paper investigates the potential integration of Augmented Reality (AR) into marketing strategies for small businesses, with a focus on how AR games can influence customer purchase journey. The research examines the concept of flow within AR experiences, emphasizing playfulness and perceived enjoyment as key factors in influencing consumer behaviour. The research work employs Research though Design (RtD) methodology to first create three prototype and use self-evaluation as a key method to evaluate the prototypes. This research paper demonstrates the prototype development and evaluates the prototype development process, investigating the practical application of AR for engaging retail customers. It also highlights the potential for AR to revolutionize retail environments. The research paper discusses the ethical implications of AR technology, including the discussion on the authority to augment spaces and the manipulation of consumer behavior. This research paper underscores the commercial potential and persuasive power of AR games in the retail sector, advocating for ethical practices in their deployment

A survey on the design of gamified systems for energy and water sustainability

Abstract In a world affected by the constant growth and concentration of the population in urban areas, the problem of preserving natural resources has become a priority. A promising approach to resource conservation is demand management, i.e., the ability to positively influence the behaviour of the population towards more sustainable consumption. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools have shown a great potential in influencing consumers’ behaviour, which could be exploited for the common good. However, the design of so-called persuasive systems for environmental purposes is a challenging task, because it cannot be based solely on the utilitarian motivation of users, but must be able to trigger a broader range of engagement factors deeply rooted in the human psychology. In this paper, we review the main design principles and models at the base of a class of persuasive system that exploits gamification and Games with a Purpose (GWAPs) to engage users towards sustainability; we identify the most commonly used incentive mechanisms for inducing behavioural changes; and present a selection of gamified systems for energy and water conservation. From such a survey, we distill design guidelines to be applied in the design of demand management socio-technical systems

Mobile Devices at the Cinema Theatre

The pre-show experience is a significant part of the movie industry. Moviegoers, on average arrive 24 min before when the previews start. Previews have been a part of the movie experience for more than a hundred years and are a culturally significant aspect of the whole experience. Over the last decade, the premovie in-theatre experience has grown to a $600 million industry. This growth continues to accelerate. Since 2012, this industry has increased by 150%. Consequently, there is an industry-wide demand for innovation in the pre-movie area. In this paper, we describe Paths, an innovative multiplayer real-time socially engaging game that we designed, developed and evaluated. An iterative refinement application development methodology was used to create the game. The game may be played on any smartphone and group interactions are viewed on the large theatre screen. This paper also reports on the quasiexperimental mixed method study with repeated measures that was conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of this new game. The results show that Paths is very engaging with elements of suspense, pleasant unpredictability and effective team building and crowd-pleasing characteristics

Towards a global participatory platform: Democratising open data, complexity science and collective intelligence

The FuturICT project seeks to use the power of big data, analytic models grounded in complexity science, and the collective intelligence they yield for societal benefit. Accordingly, this paper argues that these new tools should not remain the preserve of restricted government, scientific or corporate élites, but be opened up for societal engagement and critique. To democratise such assets as a public good, requires a sustainable ecosystem enabling different kinds of stakeholder in society, including but not limited to, citizens and advocacy groups, school and university students, policy analysts, scientists, software developers, journalists and politicians. Our working name for envisioning a sociotechnical infrastructure capable of engaging such a wide constituency is the Global Participatory Platform (GPP). We consider what it means to develop a GPP at the different levels of data, models and deliberation, motivating a framework for different stakeholders to find their ecological niches at different levels within the system, serving the functions of (i) sensing the environment in order to pool data, (ii) mining the resulting data for patterns in order to model the past/present/future, and (iii) sharing and contesting possible interpretations of what those models might mean, and in a policy context, possible decisions. A research objective is also to apply the concepts and tools of complexity science and social science to the project's own work. We therefore conceive the global participatory platform as a resilient, epistemic ecosystem, whose design will make it capable of self-organization and adaptation to a dynamic environment, and whose structure and contributions are themselves networks of stakeholders, challenges, issues, ideas and arguments whose structure and dynamics can be modelled and analysed. Graphical abstrac

Enhancing fan experience during live sports broadcasts through second screen applications

When sports fans attend live sports events, they usually engage in social experiences with friends, family members and other fans at the venue sharing the same affiliation. However, fans watching the same event through a live television broadcast end up not feeling so emotionally connected with the athletes and other fans as they would if they were watching it live, together with thousands of other fans. With this in mind, we seek to create mobile applications that deliver engaging social experiences involving remote fans watching live broadcasted sports events. Taking into account the growing use of mobile devices when watching TV broadcasts, these mobile applications explore the second screen concept, which allows users to interact with content that complements the TV broadcast. Within this context, we present a set of second screen application prototypes developed to test our concepts, the corresponding user studies and results, as well as suggestions on how to apply the prototypes’ concepts not only in different sports, but also during TV shows and electronic sports. Finally, we also present the challenges we faced and the guidelines we followed during the development and evaluation phases, which may give a considerable contribution to the development of future second screen applications for live broadcasted events