Serious gama for integration in higher education

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201

The Potential of the Transformative Storytelling Technique for supporting informal caregiver wellbeing

In una società in cui i progressi e le innovazioni si verificano quotidianamente, lo sviluppo di strumenti digitali per la salute mentale continua a ritmi quasi incontrollabili. Seguendo le tendenze nell'utilizzo dello storytelling in tutti i campi e riflettendo sulla mancanza di modelli di lavoro e strutture per l'applicazione dello storytelling nel supporto della salute mentale, la Transformative Storytelling Technique è progettata e sviluppata come parte di questo lavoro. Questa tecnica rappresenta una nuova categoria per la creazione di contenuti ibridi per guidare l'esperienza del pubblico, a partire dal caso dei caregiver informali. Lo scopo di questa dissertazione è introdurre ed esplorare la fattibilità di una nuova tecnica - Transformative Storytelling (TST) - nel supportare la salute mentale e il benessere dei caregiver informali con storie audio progettate. La tesi è presentata in quattro capitoli in linea con gli obiettivi e strutturata secondo le fasi di ricerca e sviluppo applicate nello sviluppo di questa nuova tecnica. In questo lavoro viene utilizzato il disegno del metodo misto, inclusa la revisione qualitativa dell'ambito nel primo studio, l'indagine narrativa utilizzando interviste semi-strutturate progettate seguendo le categorie di esplorazione TST a priori nel secondo studio e lo studio quantitativo pre-post interventistico combinato con il facciale monitoraggio dell'espressione nello studio pilota. La Transformative Storytelling Technique è dimostrata come un approccio metodologico e narrativo digitale potenzialmente di successo per strutturare, sintetizzare tematicamente le esperienze dei gruppi target e consegnarle attraverso la narrazione digitale. Questo potenziale è stato osservato nella valutazione pilota pre-post, in cui la tecnica ha dimostrato una significativa riduzione del carico soggettivo e un significativo aumento della felicità durante l'esposizione della storia TST. Nello Studio 1, vengono esplorati gli strumenti di salute mentale digitale esistenti per i caregiver informali, seguiti dallo Studio 2 in cui è stata discussa e proposta una potenziale soluzione di supporto. In linea con ciò, il lavoro continua con lo Studio 3 in cui la Transformative Storytelling Technique viene adattata dal Transformative Video Design e viene eseguita la dimostrazione metodologica. Successivamente, la valutazione pilota della tecnica menzionata nello Studio 4 è inclusa per testare la fattibilità dell'utilizzo della tecnica di narrazione per supportare i caregiver informali con narrazioni digitali TST. Infine, i limiti e le implicazioni per la ricerca futura sono discussi nella sezione finale.In a society where advances and innovations occur daily, the development of digital mental health tools continues at almost uncontrollable rates. Following trends in utilization of storytelling across fields and reflecting on the lack of working models and frameworks for application of storytelling in mental health support, the Transformative Storytelling Technique is designed and developed as a part of this work. This technique represents a new category for creating hybrid content to guide the experience of audiences, starting with the case of informal caregivers. The aim of this dissertation is to introduce and explore the feasibility of a novel technique – Transformative Storytelling (TST) - in supporting informal caregivers’ mental health and wellbeing with designed audio stories. The dissertation is presented in four chapters in line with the objectives and structured according to the research and developmental phases applied in developing this novel technique. Mixed-method design is used in this work, including qualitative scoping review in first study, narrative inquiry using semi-structured interviews designed following a-priori TST categories of exploration in the second study, and quantitative pre-post interventional study combined with the facial expression tracking in the pilot study. Transformative Storytelling Technique is demonstrated as a potentially successful methodological and digital narrative approach for structuring, thematically synthesizing experiences of target groups, and delivering them via digital narration. This potential was observed in the pilot pre-post assessment, where the technique demonstrated significant reduction of the subjective burden and a significant increase in happiness during the TST story exposure. In Study 1, the existing digital mental health tools for informal caregivers are being explored, followed by the Study 2 where a potential support solution has been thoroughly discussed and proposed. In line with that, the work continues with Study 3 where the Transformative Storytelling Technique is adapted from the Transformative Video Design and methodological demonstration is being performed. Next, the pilot assessment of the mentioned technique in Study 4 is included to test the feasibility of using the storytelling technique for supporting informal caregivers with TST digital narratives. Finally, limitations and implications for future research are discussed in the final section

Proceedings of the 3rd Annual CUNY Games Festival

Proceedings of the CUNY Games Conference, held from January 22-23, 2016, at the CUNY Graduate Center and Borough of Manhattan Community College. Literacy and Story - Anything Can be Attempted: In-Person Simulations and Role-Plays in Educations - Game Design - STEM - Design Research - Literature and Story - Awareness: Gender and Sex - Transformative Games Initiative: Game Design as a Classroom Laboratory for Any Discipline - Narrative and Rhetoric - Design Challenges - Information Literacy and Language - Game Design for All: What’s Your Game Plan? Turn Any Idea into a Game! - Ghosts in the Machine - Game Types and Design - Research and Perspectives - Gameful Classroom

The Dynamic Story Mosaic: Defining Narrative Strategies in Transmedia Environments

Transmedia storytelling became one of the most prevalent buzzwords in the mid- 2000s used to describe a wide array of storytelling forms ranging from entertainment franchises to alternate reality games to any project that told stories across more than one medium. Over time, the term had been diluted so significantly that it has lost most of its meaning, and the opaque discourse has left practitioners, scholars, and audiences alike confused about its true meaning. The Dynamic Story Mosaic: Defining Narrative Strategies in Transmedia Environments charts this development and offers a typology to identify and explain narrative strategies in multi-platform environments. The typology anchors on the two dimensions of narrative deviation and the number of release events over time; these dimensions are constitutive for the production, reception and marketing and branding of transmedia projects, and provide a stable basis for analysis and interpretation. Through a blend of analytic, comparative, and descriptive approaches, paired with a number of case studies, this dissertation is a historical analysis of the emergence of transmedia storytelling and transmedia discourse, and provides a direction in the analysis of transmedia projects by providing a typology that remains stable regardless of the future of storytelling in this area

State of the art in business games

The use of digital games and gamification has demonstrated potential to improve many aspects of how businesses provide training to staff, and communicate with consumers. However, there is still a need for better understanding of how the adoption of games and gasification would influence the process of decision-making in organisations across different industry. This article provides a structured review of existing literature on the use of games in the business environment, and seeks to consolidate findings to address research questions regarding their perception, proven efficacy, and identifies key areas for future work. The findings highlight that serious games can have positive and effective impacts in multiple areas of a business, including training, decision-support, and consumer outreach. They also emphasise the challenges and pitfalls of applying serious games and gamification principles within a business context, and discuss the implications of development and evaluation methodologies on the success of a game-based solution

Gamificação e cicloturismo sénior : design de uma app para a comunidade miOne

As the aging population continues to grow, there has been an increasing interest in the subject of gerontechnology. In the specific case of the digital game industry, senior citizens are becoming better consumers due to their purchasing power and free time, so it is important to focus on the role of games to their wellbeing and meet their needs and preferences. However, there is a general lack of information and products that address physical exercise in the interrelationship of cycling, tourism, games, gamification and senior citizens. The aim of this research is to understand the way gamification interventions can motivate senior citizens to adhere to cyclo-tourism. This dissertation reports on the use of the Development Research Method, deploying a broad array of methods, including focus groups, eye-tracking and interviews. A total of 46 participants (7 focus group participants, 8 participants in eye-tracking and 31 cyclists’ interviewees) were involved in this research. Based on the literature review, related work and the insights from each method, a cyclo-tourism digital app entitled Jizo was co-designed and prototyped. Findings indicate that certain gamification techniques and elements can trigger senior citizens’ motivations towards cyclo-tourism, being essential integrative parts of a digital app in this context. The elements highlighted were social relationships, progression, challenges, competition, feedback and rewards, having an important role in pre-, in loco and post- experience. These data support the view on gamification capability to motivate senior cyclo-tourism.Com o contínuo crescimento do envelhecimento da população, tem havido um interesse progressivo na área da gerontecnologia. No caso específico da indústria dos jogos digitais, os cidadãos seniores fazem parte de um grupo de consumidores com poder de compra e tempo livre, pelo que é essencial compreender o papel dos jogos digitais no seu bem-estar e atender às suas necessidades e preferências. No entanto, continua a prevalecer uma falta de informação e de produtos que abordam o exercício físico nas inter-relações entre o ciclismo, turismo, jogos, gamificação e cidadãos seniores. O objetivo desta investigação é compreender o uso de estratégias de gamificação para motivar os cidadãos seniores a aderirem ao cicloturismo. Esta dissertação reporta a utilização do Método de Investigação de Desenvolvimento, tendo como base os seguintes métodos: grupos de discussão, eye-tracking e entrevistas. Um total de 46 participantes (7 participantes de grupos de discussão, 8 participantes de eye-tracking e 31 ciclistas entrevistados) foram envolvidos nesta investigação. Após a revisão da literatura, trabalho relacionado, e os resultados obtidos de cada método, procedeu-se ao co-design e prototipagem uma app de cicloturismo designada Jizo. Os resultados indicam que certas técnicas e elementos da gamificação podem desencadear as motivações dos cidadãos seniores para o cicloturismo, além de serem partes essenciais e integrantes de um aplicativo deste contexto. Os elementos destacados foram as relações sociais, progressão, desafios, competição, feedback e recompensas, na medida em que eles têm um papel importante na pré, in loco e na pós-experiência. Estes dados suportam a ideia da capacidade da gamificação para motivar o cicloturismo sénior.Mestrado em Comunicação Multimédi

The role of the writer in creating narrative-driven digital educational games

&nbsp;The two interlocking studies within this inquiry were undertaken to discover how the writers of narrative-driven digital educational games can improve these games&rsquo; potential effectiveness, using action and textual elements. This was achieved by conducting a critical analysis of the literature, analysing best practice games and interviewing their writers.<br /