Internet and Smartphone Use-Related Addiction Health Problems: Treatment, Education and Research

This Special Issue presents some of the main emerging research on technological topics of health and education approaches to Internet use-related problems, before and during the beginning of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective is to provide an overview to facilitate a comprehensive and practical approach to these new trends to promote research, interventions, education, and prevention. It contains 40 papers, four reviews and thirty-five empirical papers and an editorial introducing everything in a rapid review format. Overall, the empirical ones are of a relational type, associating specific behavioral addictive problems with individual factors, and a few with contextual factors, generally in adult populations. Many have adapted scales to measure these problems, and a few cover experiments and mixed methods studies. The reviews tend to be about the concepts and measures of these problems, intervention options, and prevention. In summary, it seems that these are a global culture trend impacting health and educational domains. Internet use-related addiction problems have emerged in almost all societies, and strategies to cope with them are under development to offer solutions to these contemporary challenges, especially during the pandemic situation that has highlighted the global health problems that we have, and how to holistically tackle them

Online gaming and addiction: a psychosocial investigation using mixed methods

Online virtual worlds known as Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) have gained increased popularity over the last decade. MMORPGs provide a sophisticated environment that enables complete immersion within the virtual world to the extent that it may become an alternative reality to its users. Some researchers have suggested that online gaming addiction is growing in prevalence among adolescents and adult gamers. It has been proposed that research is needed to establish the incidence and prevalence of MMORPG addiction. The aim of this body of research was to examine the impact of MMORPGs (psychologically and socially) on peoples' lives for the purpose of providing an empirical research base on which future research in the area can build. Using a mixed methods approach for data collection and analysis, an online scoping study, interview study and two questionnaire studies were conducted. The thesis provides a detailed conceptualisation of the psychological processes involved in MMORPG playing. The thesis was directed by previous research into video games, online gaming and addiction which provided a substantive picture of the psychosocial effects of online gaming. The findings showed that there were both positive and negative effects associated with online gaming; gamers used MMORPGs to alleviate negative feelings and to meet new people, learn about new cultures, and build friendships. Gamers also provided detailed descriptions of personal problems that had arisen due to playing MMORPGs. A small percentage of gamers (3.6%) were classified as addicted to MMORPGs, these gamers may find it difficult to control their game playing behaviour. However, there are still gaps in our knowledge of MMORPGs. Overall, the research has shown that the psychology of MMORPGs is an important topic that requires further in-depth investigation. The present research has revealed valuable information about the impact of MMORPGs on the lives of gamers that can be built upon by other researchers. Implications of the findings regarding excessive playing and addiction to MMORPGs, and social responsibility were discussed, and recommendations for future research studies were proposed

Customer service challenges in a South African casino : a participatory intervention.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Background: In an era of global competition, customer service (CS) remains a key differentiating factor for organisations to gain a competitive advantage. Due to heighted emotions experienced by customers when winning and losing, customer mistreatment and difficulties associated with cross-cultural interactions, the casino environment remains a challenging context for the provision of excellent CS on the frontline. Literature is scarce regarding the development of interventions to improve CS within the South African casino industry. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of CS challenges facing frontline staff within a South African casino, and develop, implement and evaluate a participatory intervention to address these challenges. The main objectives were to: 1) To identify challenges facing slots staff in providing excellent CS and generating solutions these challenges; 2) To equip slots hosts with observational skills to identify body language to pre-empt a customers’ need for assistance; 3) To equip slots hosts with skills on how to deal with difficult customers and communicate effectively when dealing with customers; 4) To improve the cultural awareness of slots hosts to enhance their ability to deal with diverse customers 5) To determine the effectiveness of the intervention in addressing CS challenges, motivate slot hosts to exceed customer expectations and provide recommendations to management for improving CS. Method: A case study using intervention research and a multi-phase mixed method design was used. Intervention research was conducted over three phases including a situation analysis, implementation of the intervention and process evaluation. For the qualitative aspect of the study, purposive sampling was used to conduct semi-structured interviews, focus groups and observations in the situation analysis to identify CS challenges facing frontline staff. These findings were thematically analysed and used to develop the CS intervention using Lewin’s Unfreeze-Move-Refreeze Change Management Model as a theoretical framework. The researcher used the participatory action research approach to both develop and facilitate the intervention. At the end of the intervention, a training evaluation questionnaire was implemented for the quantitative aspect of the research. Three indexes were developed based on face validity including learnings gained, perceptions of learning and evaluation of facilitation. In addition, T-tests and One Way ANOVA were used to analyse the quantitative data. In the process evaluation phase, a second round of semi-structured interviews, focus group and observations were conducted to determine the effect of the CS intervention. Results: The qualitative results showed that poor equipment, inadequate CS processes and high workloads were highlighted as key factors impeding service. In addition, the study found that frontline staff from disenfranchised groups responded to perceived discrimination from customers through disengagement, withdrawal or slowing down of service behaviours. These responses were interpreted as poor CS, but were found to be defensive behaviours to reduce expected discrimination. In line with emotion contagion theory, positive or negative interactions with customers were found to shift the mood states of frontline staff, which in turn affected subsequent service interactions. The quantitative results of the workshop evaluation questionnaire suggested increased skills efficacy from learners in terms of learnt CS techniques such as identifying body language leading to customer complaints, as well as being better equipped to deal with difficult customers and customers from different cultures. The intervention also motivated staff to provide better CS with a series of interventions being recommended in future for encouraging sustainable CS behaviours. Conclusion: The study established clear guidelines for management to develop, implement and evaluate a participatory intervention to address CS challenges within a casino context. The participatory approach of the intervention was found to beneficial for knowledge-sharing, allowing for co-creation of workshop content, providing a forum for open communication on CS issues and building ownership of CS issues amongst staff. Further research is recommended to better understand the dynamics and effects of cross-cultural interactions on the frontline, so as to develop tools and techniques to assist staff to respond constructively in such situations and improve frontline CS in the organisation

Decoding random virtual rewards: a guide to identify hazard game design techniques in video games

The video game industry is an undeniable business that is increasing its revenue every year. More and more people are starting to invest time playing video games for different reasons and purposes such as entertainment, business, serious learning or education. The industry is rising and new methods to earn money do so, sometimes, with unethical and predatory tactics. Video games can bring us incredible and unforgettable experiences, valuable knowledge and learning resources, but when they are designed in order to take advantage of human behaviour and mental weaknesses, things won’t be positive in the player’s real life. In this research, we bring this question to the table: how can we build video games that are healthy for our players? The objective of this paper is to collect all the necessary data to understand the situation of this matter, how it is implemented in actual video games, summarise and understand them, and write down a solid guideline to follow while developing and designing games. The guideline answers the initial question of this research and it will be validated and iterated thanks to interviewing actual professionals in the videogame industr

The Basic Needs in Games (BANG) Model of Video Games and Mental Health: Untangling the Positive and Negative Effects of Games with Better Science

How do video games affect mental health? Despite decades of research and widespread interest from policymakers, parents, and players, in most cases the best answer we have is: it depends. I argue that our limited success stems largely from (1) a lack of theories that explain more than small portions of the varied evidence base, and (2) methodological limitations related to measurement, self-report data, questionable research practices, and more. In this thesis, I present the Basic Needs in Games (BANG) model. Building upon self-determination theory, BANG offers a novel theoretical account that provides mechanisms for both short- and long-term effects, positive and negative, resulting from quality or quantity of gaming. Under BANG, the primary mechanism through which games impact mental health is via need satisfaction and frustration: the extent to which both games, and players’ life in general, provide experiences of control and volition (autonomy), mastery and growth (competence), and connection and belonging (relatedness). To generate BANG, I conducted semi-structured interviews, finding that need-frustrating experiences within games have important effects on player behavior, likelihood of continuing play, and expectations for future experiences (Study 1). In a mixed-method survey, I show that some—but not all—players are successful in compensating for frustrated needs in daily life by playing games (Study 2). These findings informed the validation of the the Basic Needs in Games Scale (BANGS), as previous instruments either did not measure need frustration or were not designed for gaming contexts. Across 1400 participants and various validity analyses, I show that the questionnaire is suitable for wide-ranging use (Study 3). Finally, I collected 12 weeks of digital trace data using a novel method of monitoring the Xbox network, and combined this with 6 biweekly surveys measuring need satisfaction and frustration alongside three mental health constructs (Study 4). Across 2000 responses (n = 400), I find partial support for BANG: there is strong evidence to rule out a meaningful relationship between playtime and subsequent mental health. However, players who felt more need satisfaction than usual in games also reported higher than usual need satisfaction in general, which in turn related to better mental health. My results help push the field beyond simplified notions of playtime by offering a framework that can systematically account for a wide variety of observed gaming effects. I hope that this work can serve as both a call to action and an illustrative example of how games research can be more productive

Encoding chance: a technocultural analysis of digital gambling

This thesis explores how gambling and gambling-like practices are increasingly mediated by digital technologies. Digital gambling brings gambling closer to the practices and features of videogames, as audiovisual simulations structure users’ experiences. New forms of digital gambling have clear political implications and institute new economic dynamics, as operators increasingly rely on the exploitation of constant interaction, as well as fostering compulsive play. By studying digital gambling from media studies, videogame and cultural studies approaches, this thesis offers a new critical perspective on the issues raised by computer-mediated gambling, while expanding our perspective on what media and gambling are. Current research on gambling practices and markets in disciplines such as psychology, sociology and law has positioned wagering as an exceptional activity because of its association with problem gambling, taxation and financial loss. The increasingly malleable nature of digital gambling media complicates these understandings. Digital gambling and play take a number of shapes: state-of-the-art slot machines, desktop platforms and mobile apps for smartphones and tablets. These cultural forms involve both gambling companies such as Aristocrat and IGT, and videogame companies such as Atari and Zynga. Digital gambling products are consumed by millions of users, primarily in Australia, Europe and North America. In contemporary forms of digital gambling, many users have a gambling or gambling-like experience with or without real money involved. Consumers pay with money and/or labour and/or time and/or access to their digital social networks and contacts. These dynamics represent a significant departure from previous gambling studies, which only consider gambling as those games that involve real money and are demarcated from everyday life. The development of digital gambling sees new cultural forms, including gamble-play media (gambling and gambling-like platforms constructed as videogames), the procedure-image (images that articulate interactive rhetoric), mobile social gambling (the practice carried out through social casino apps) and gambling-machines (an iteration of Deleuze and Guattari’s desiring-machines). Digital gambling operates through assemblages that are materially heterogeneous and increasingly deterritorialised. Through a selection of case studies – including the 3D online casino PKR, the mobile apps Slotomania and Slots Journey, the Electronic Gaming Machine market in New South Wales, Australia, and the online casinos PokerStars and 888 – this thesis analyses the interplay between various digital gambling assemblages and their relations to other media such as videogames and social networking sites

Foundations for Esports Curricula in Higher Education

Esports has generated an industry of increasing economic and cultural importance. In recent years, universities and other higher education institutions have responded to its growth by establishing programmes of study which aim to satisfy the needs of innovators operating in the area. However, there is not yet consensus on what an esports curriculum should include. Despite being a technology-driven sector with ethical and professional dimensions that intersect computing, current ACM and IEEE curricula do not mention esports. Furthermore, existing courses tend to provide teaching and training on a wide variety of topics aside from those traditionally in computer science. These include: live events management; psychological research; sports science; marketing; public relations; video (livestream) production; and community management; in addition to coaching and communication. This working group examined the requirements for developing esports studies at universities with a focus on understanding career prospects in esports and on the challenges presented by its interdisciplinary complexity. Thereby, paving the way for a framework to support the design of esports curricula in higher education

Healthy Individuals’ Decision Making in Online Poker : Perspectives on Emotional Stability and Wellbeing

In our previous studies it has been found that a phenomenon labeled tilting is a form of moral anger. When players are in tilt they make a series of bad decisions, chase their losses and express anger by cursing their opponents. In the context of tilting, the players also report episodes of memory loss. Additionally, we also developed a scale that measures the level of a player's poker experience, and we found evidence to suggest that poker experience is associated with mature self-reflection skills. We also found that the likelihood of a poker player making the correct decision in poker decision making tasks increased as a function of self-reflection and poker experience. In Study 1 I found evidence supporting the hypothesis that the regulation of emotions is an important part of the skill set of poker players. Specifically, if poker players have read a story about betrayal where they are asked to take the position of the victim before they make their decisions in poker decision making tasks, they make mathematically worse decisions than those participants who have only read a control story. The effect was moderated by the presence of a pair of moving eyes placed on the screen, which were used as proxy for the social environment. The results support the hypothesis that tilting is related to moral anger, or at least some form of anger that seems consistent with the events taking place in the social context. In Study 2, I assessed the associations between the HEXACO personality inventory -revised and poker experience. I obtained evidence supporting the notion that emotional stability is positively associated with accumulated poker experience. In Study 3 I showed that poker experience does not seem to be correlated with emotional intelligence, selfishness, self-control problems, social alienation or lowered levels of life satisfaction. I also note that these measures correlate with instruments measuring problem gambling. However, I observed either no correlations, or correlations hinting towards health benefits, between these instruments and poker experience. I concluded that problem gambling instruments need further development Taken together our results indicate that there are numerous benefits in approaching the field of gambling studies from a non-clinical angle.Väitöskirja koostuu kolmesta osatutkimuksesta, jotka laajentavat aikaisempia tutkimuksiamme. Aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissamme osoitettiin että tilttaamiseksi nimetty ilmiö on moraalisen raivon muoto. Tilttaaminen on ilmiö, jossa pelaajat tekevät sarjan huonoja päätöksiä ja jahtaavat häviöitään ja ilmaisevat suuttumusta mm. kiroten kanssapelaajiaan. Tilttaamisen yhteydessä pelaajat ovat raportoineet myös muisti-katkoksia. Lisäksi kehitimme pokerikokemusmittarin ja löysimme todistusaineistoa, joka vittasi pokerikokemuksen olevan yhteydessä kypsiin itsereflektiotaipumuksiin. Huomasimme myös kokeneiden pelaajien tekevän sitä todennäköisemmin matemaattisesti oikeita päätöksiä, mitä korkeampi itsereflektiotaipumus heillä on. Väitöskirjani enimmäisessä artikkeleissa tulokset puoltavat hypoteesia jonka mukaan emootioiden hallinta rationaalisten päätösten tekemi-seksi on tärkeä osa pokerinpelaajan taitopatteristoa. Mikäli pokerinpelaajat olivat luke-neet suuttumusta aiheuttavan tarinan, jossa heidän piti asettua petoksen kohteeksi joutuneen ihmisen asemaan, tekivät he matemaattisesti huonompia ratkaisuja ratio-naalista päätöksentekoa edellyttävissä pokeripäätöksentekotehtävissä. Kyseinen ilmiö oli riippuvainen siitä tekivätkö pelaajat päätöksiään silloin kun näytöllä oli liikkuva silmäpari. Silmäpari toimii vastineena pokeripelin sosiaaliselle ympäristölle. Tulokset tukevat hypoteesia että tilttaamisessa olisi kyse moraalisesta raivosta Toisessa artikkelissa arvioimme HEXACO-PI-R persoonallisuusmittarin ja pokerikokemuksen välisiä yhteyksiä. Tulosten mukaan emotionaalinen tasapainoisuus on yhteydessä pokerikokemuksen kehittymiseen. Kolmannessa artikkelissa toteamme ettei pokerikokemus näytä olevan yhteydessä alhaiseen tunneälyyn, itsekkyyteen, itsekontrolliongelmiin, syrjäytyneisyy-teen tai alentuneeseen elämäntyytyväisyyteen. Samassa artikkelissa edellä mainitut ongelmat korreloivat ongelmapelaamista mittaavien instrumenttien kanssa ja ongelma-pelaaminen näyttää korreloivan pokerikokemuksen kanssa (joka ei kuitenkaan korreloi negatiivisten hyvinvointivaikutusten kanssa). Toteamme, että ongelmapelaamismittarei-ta pitänee vielä kehittää lisää