The Industry and Policy Context for Digital Games for Empowerment and Inclusion:Market Analysis, Future Prospects and Key Challenges in Videogames, Serious Games and Gamification

The effective use of digital games for empowerment and social inclusion (DGEI) of people and communities at risk of exclusion will be shaped by, and may influence the development of a range of sectors that supply products, services, technology and research. The principal industries that would appear to be implicated are the 'videogames' industry, and an emerging 'serious games' industry. The videogames industry is an ecosystem of developers, publishers and other service providers drawn from the interactive media, software and broader ICT industry that services the mainstream leisure market in games, The 'serious games' industry is a rather fragmented and growing network of firms, users, research and policy makers from a variety of sectors. This emerging industry is are trying to develop knowledge, products, services and a market for the use of digital games, and products inspired by digital games, for a range of non-leisure applications. This report provides a summary of the state of play of these industries, their trajectories and the challenges they face. It also analyses the contribution they could make to exploiting digital games for empowerment and social inclusion. Finally, it explores existing policy towards activities in these industries and markets, and draws conclusions as to the future policy relevance of engaging with them to support innovation and uptake of effective digital game-based approaches to empowerment and social inclusion.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

Glu: An Online Type 1 Diabetes Information Community

This research paper examines the online health community Glu (MyGlu.org), a type 1 diabetes social media site. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic medical condition that requires constant and specialized medical attention. Online health communities like Glu, are an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for many of its members. This study discusses the composition of this information community, the motivations of its members, and the benefits members gain through their participation. It describes the major characteristics of the community and focuses on the information needs of type 1 diabetics. It concludes with reflections on how libraries and LIS professionals can better serve the information needs of health communities like Glu and accommodate their needs in the physical space of the library

Self-monitoring Practices, Attitudes, and Needs of Individuals with Bipolar Disorder: Implications for the Design of Technologies to Manage Mental Health

Objective To understand self-monitoring strategies used independently of clinical treatment by individuals with bipolar disorder (BD), in order to recommend technology design principles to support mental health management. Materials and Methods Participants with BD (N = 552) were recruited through the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, the International Bipolar Foundation, and WeSearchTogether.org to complete a survey of closed- and open-ended questions. In this study, we focus on descriptive results and qualitative analyses. Results Individuals reported primarily self-monitoring items related to their bipolar disorder (mood, sleep, finances, exercise, and social interactions), with an increasing trend towards the use of digital tracking methods observed. Most participants reported having positive experiences with technology-based tracking because it enables self-reflection and agency regarding health management and also enhances lines of communication with treatment teams. Reported challenges stem from poor usability or difficulty interpreting self-tracked data. Discussion Two major implications for technology-based self-monitoring emerged from our results. First, technologies can be designed to be more condition-oriented, intuitive, and proactive. Second, more automated forms of digital symptom tracking and intervention are desired, and our results suggest the feasibility of detecting and predicting emotional states from patterns of technology usage. However, we also uncovered tension points, namely that technology designed to support mental health can also be a disruptor. Conclusion This study provides increased understanding of self-monitoring practices, attitudes, and needs of individuals with bipolar disorder. This knowledge bears implications for clinical researchers and practitioners seeking insight into how individuals independently self-manage their condition as well as for researchers designing monitoring technologies to support mental health management

License to chill!: how to empower users to cope with stress

There exists today a paucity of tools and devices that empower people to take control over their everyday behaviors and balance their stress levels. To overcome this deficit, we are creating a mobile service, Affective Health, where we aim to provide a holistic approach towards health by enabling users to make a connection between their daily activities and their own memories and subjective experiences. This construction is based upon values detected from certain bodily reactions that are then visualized on a mobile phone. Accomplishing this entailed figuring out how to provide real-time feedback without making the individual even more stressed, while also making certain that the representation empowered rather than controlled them. Useful design feedback was derived from testing two different visualizations on the mobile in a Wizard of Oz study. In short, we found that a successful design needs to: feel alive, allow for interpretative openness, include short-term history, and be updated in real-time. We also found that the interaction did not increase our participants stress reactions