Examining service quality and social impact perceptions of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of service quality on perceived positive and negative social impact of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.Design/methodology/approachA field study was conducted in Rio de Janeiro, and data were collected from residents who attended the Olympic Games through a self-administered questionnaire (n=519). The questionnaire included measures of perceived service quality, positive and negative social impact. A confirmatory factor analysis analysed the psychometric properties of the constructs, and a subsequent structural equation model examined the relationships between service quality and social impact perceptions.FindingsThe results show good psychometric properties of a multidimensional construct of service quality composed of the technical, functional, aesthetic, access, accommodation and complementary events dimensions. The service quality construct was significantly related to both positive social impact (city image and community pride enhancement, social experiences and public infrastructures) and negative social impact (social conflicts and costs) perceptions.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by examining the role of service quality in sport mega-events and testing on different facets of social impact. The findings highlight that social atmosphere and new experiences in the Olympic Games are critical when planning these events.</jats:sec

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), Video Games, and the Adolescent\u27s Perceived Experience

Video games are an everyday experience for adolescents and have changed how adolescents interact with one another. Prior research has focused on positive and negative aspects of video game play in general, without distinguishing Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIPing) as the mode of play. Grounded in entertainment theory, motivational theory, and psychological distress theory, this cross-sectional, correlational study examined the relationship between VOIPing and quality of life (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory), Yee\u27s motivation to play video games, and resilience (Child and Youth Resilience Measure). A series of linear regression and multivariate canonical correlation models analyzed self-report responses of 103 adolescents aged 13 to18. Results indicated that VOIPing was not statistically related to quality of life or resilience. However, VOIPing correlated positively with motivation to play video games, particularly with the subscales of socialization and relationships. Canonical analysis of motivation for gaming and quality of life indicated that adolescents with high scores on customization and escapism motivation for gaming subscales tended to also have high scores on each of the emotional, social, and school quality of life subscales. Canonical analysis of motivation for gaming and resilience indicated that adolescents with low scores on the escapism motivation for gaming subscale tended to also have high scores on the individual, relationships, and community resilience subscales. The positive aspects of VOIPing, particularly with increased motivation to play video games, can be effectively used in coaching adolescents in social skills and relationship building

Peak-end rule in narrative videogames: analysis of players’ perceptions on social media about “The Last of Us Part II” and “God of War”

The peak-end rule is a psychological heuristic that describes how people remember experiences based on the most extreme or peak moment, and on the final moment. This experience tends to influence people in how they judge the overall quality of something, particularly in video games. The most intense and/or exciting moment of the game, and its conclusion, are the important factors in determining the player’s willingness to continue playing, the memorization, and the dissemination. Through an exploratory analysis of the perceptions of players on social networks, regarding the video games "The Last of Us Part II" and "God of War", it was found that it is essential that the games have a peak and an ending to produce the positive effect and, consequently, be recognized by the gaming community, making these games as the most representative, remarkable and finished.publishe

EnCity:A serious game for empowering young people with Down's syndrome

Down’s syndrome (also known as trisomy 21) is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of a third copy of chromosome 21 in a baby’s cell. With education and proper care the quality of life of these people can be improved, and with the right support people with Down’s syndrome can have an active role in the community. In this paper we examine how a virtual reality serious game, the EnCity game, could engage and encourage young people with Down’s syndrome to have a more active involvement in the community. Players should complete mini games related to everyday tasks (e.g. preparing a meal, shopping in the supermarket, paying a bill, buying a ticket to visit a museum or gallery), and through these mini-games players will gain the appropriate training and encouragement for leading their lives without requiring help from their families or social services

Examining community of inquiry model in influencing e-learning usage among female students

The use of online social games, nowadays, is so rampant especially among students of higher learning. This provides them with means to interact with one another by sharing the same interests irrespective of locations. The use of online social games tools is noticed to be high among female students. Meanwhile, an e-learning environment that has the features of social network tools such as games has great potential to innovate and stimulate the continual usage of E-learning among students, by fostering social interaction and knowledge sharing among the students. E-learning is an important online tool that can be used to achieve quality of learning and teaching among students in higher education.It is thus pertinent for any online technological tools that will maintain efficient usage, especially among female students to be able to facilitate social interaction, since female students are more comfortable sharing ideas among their peers.To this end, the study intend to consider the assumptions of community of inquiry model which highlights three important constructs that provide theoretical details for consideration in this study. To be specific, this research examines the impact of social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence of online social games on E-learning usage among female students of higher institutions .To achieve these objectives, three hypotheses were formulated based on previous studies. In order to examine these hypotheses, data was collected among female students at school of computing, Universiti Utara Malaysia . While the sample size of the study was 80 female students and the data was subjected to tests of reliability, descriptive statistics, correlations, and multiple regression analysis. The findings of this study revealed that, the attributes of online social games; cognitive presence and teaching presence have positive significant impact on E-learning usage. Meanwhile, social presence does not have a significant impact on E-learning usage

Modelling Heterogeneous Effects in Network Contagion: Evidence from the Steam Community

This study considers heterogeneous effects of reviews and social interactions on diffusion or contagion of new products in a networked setting, using a sample of interconnected public user profiles from the Steam Community. Ownership and reviews of two cult hit independent games – The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, and To the Moon – are analyzed over a period of four years. This data was fit with a Hawkes Process Hazard Regression Model with exponential decay kernels for each game, yielding estimates of scale and duration of incremental heterogeneous actions within the network. This analysis finds strong, short term, additive, and marginally decreasing, social contagion effects from other users buying games, with much smaller, but also far more durable and highly significant, effects from review posting behavior in the network, independent of review quality. This seems to suggest that review influence, while still distinguishable from network homophily, is unlikely to lead to cascade effects

Enfoques Innovadores en Juegos Serios

International audienceThe field of Serious Games focus on the design, development, application and use of games for other purposes beyond entertainment. Education and training are the main application areas, but Serious Games have been successfully used in health, research, planning, emergency, and military advertising. Despite the evidence of efficacy, displayed also in this special edition, there is still limited use of Serious Games. This has mainly to do with social issues and stereotypes about the relationship of games and serious purposes. Initiatives like the SEGAN network that address the need to systematize the European approaches to Serious Games assume therefore great relevance. SEGAN is a Community of Practice to exchange ideas and experiences related to Serious Games. For instance, SEGAN can be the right place to extend the discussion on the high-quality articles that we present in this special edition about innovative approaches to Serious Games