Towards a critical game based pedagogy

This thesis outlines and examines core concepts of game-based learning as identified by James Paul Gee, and Kurt Squire, among other scholars. These findings are then connected to the contemporary, transformative threshold concepts of composition—as explored in Naming What We Know. This connection seeks to argue game-based pedagogy may be an invaluable tool for introducing critical perspectives to composition students in order to better equip them with critical thinking strategies and cultural critiques, while improving their writing skills. A theoretical framework is presented in the form of four “Pillars” of a Critical Game-Based Pedagogy: Literacy, Identity, Social Learning, and Multimodality—all key components of critical game-based curricula, which centers expanded definitions of literacy, resists social constructions, encourages cooperation, and practices a wide variety of multimedia composition strategies. The concluding discussion attempts to illustrate these concepts through anecdotal reflections on teaching, particular games, and their relationship to digital humanities—including a supplementary digital platform hosting this research

Protocol for a randomized controlled trial examining multilevel prediction of response to behavioral activation and exposure-based therapy for generalized anxiety disorder.

BACKGROUND:Only 40-60% of patients with generalized anxiety disorder experience long-lasting improvement with gold standard psychosocial interventions. Identifying neurobehavioral factors that predict treatment success might provide specific targets for more individualized interventions, fostering more optimal outcomes and bringing us closer to the goal of "personalized medicine." Research suggests that reward and threat processing (approach/avoidance behavior) and cognitive control may be important for understanding anxiety and comorbid depressive disorders and may have relevance to treatment outcomes. This study was designed to determine whether approach-avoidance behaviors and associated neural responses moderate treatment response to exposure-based versus behavioral activation therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. METHODS/DESIGN:We are conducting a randomized controlled trial involving two 10-week group-based interventions: exposure-based therapy or behavioral activation therapy. These interventions focus on specific and unique aspects of threat and reward processing, respectively. Prior to and after treatment, participants are interviewed and undergo behavioral, biomarker, and neuroimaging assessments, with a focus on approach and avoidance processing and decision-making. Primary analyses will use mixed models to examine whether hypothesized approach, avoidance, and conflict arbitration behaviors and associated neural responses at baseline moderate symptom change with treatment, as assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item scale. Exploratory analyses will examine additional potential treatment moderators and use data reduction and machine learning methods. DISCUSSION:This protocol provides a framework for how studies may be designed to move the field toward neuroscience-informed and personalized psychosocial treatments. The results of this trial will have implications for approach-avoidance processing in generalized anxiety disorder, relationships between levels of analysis (i.e., behavioral, neural), and predictors of behavioral therapy outcome. TRIAL REGISTRATION:The study was retrospectively registered within 21 days of first participant enrollment in accordance with FDAAA 801 with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02807480. Registered on June 21, 2016, before results

Social media as a data gathering tool for international business qualitative research: opportunities and challenges

Lusophone African (LA) multinational enterprises (MNEs) are becoming a significant pan-African and global economic force regarding their international presence and influence. However, given the extreme poverty and lack of development in their home markets, many LA enterprises seeking to internationalize lack resources and legitimacy in international markets. Compared to higher income emerging markets, Lusophone enterprises in Africa face more significant challenges in their internationalization efforts. Concomitantly, conducting significant international business (IB) research in these markets to understand these MNEs internationalization strategies can be a very daunting task. The fast-growing rise of social media on the Internet, however, provides an opportunity for IB researchers to examine new phenomena in these markets in innovative ways. Unfortunately, for various reasons, qualitative researchers in IB have not fully embraced this opportunity. This article studies the use of social media in qualitative research in the field of IB. It offers an illustrative case based on qualitative research on internationalization modes of LAMNEs conducted by the authors in Angola and Mozambique using social media to identify and qualify the population sample, as well as interact with subjects and collect data. It discusses some of the challenges of using social media in those regions of Africa and suggests how scholars can design their studies to capitalize on social media and corresponding data as a tool for qualitative research. This article underscores the potential opportunities and challenges inherent in the use of social media in IB-oriented qualitative research, providing recommendations on how qualitative IB researchers can design their studies to capitalize on data generated by social media.https://doi.org/10.1080/15475778.2019.1634406https://doi.org/10.1080/15475778.2019.1634406https://doi.org/10.1080/15475778.2019.1634406https://doi.org/10.1080/15475778.2019.1634406Accepted manuscriptPublished versio

Virtuālās Realitātes mācīšanās taksonomija

Promocijas darbs tika izstrādāts izglītības zinātņu nozarē, vispārīgās pedagoģijas apakšnozarē Latvijas Universitātes Pedagoģijas, psiholoģijas un mākslas fakultātē, profesores, Dr. paed. Lindas Danielas vadībā. Darba apjoms ir 147 lpp., ieskaitot 30 attēlus un 16 tabulas, kā arī literatūras un avotu sarakstu ar 114 nosaukumiem. Darbam papildus pievienoti arī 2 pielikumi uz 21 lpp. Pētījuma mērķis ir informēt pedagogus un mācīšanas dizaina izstrādātājus, kā arī VR tehnoloģiju izstrādātājus, un potenciālos izglītojamos par VR mācīšanās principiem, tostarp, to sinerģijām un mijsakarībām, piedāvājot pamatotu teoriju virtuālās realitātes mācīšanās taksonomijai. Šī pētījuma nozīmīgākais devums ietver esošo, bet sadrumstaloto zināšanu apkopošanu un sistematizēšanu, pierādījumos balstītas teorētiskās bāzes izstrādi virtuālās realitātes mācīšanās taksonomijai, kā arī praktisku VR mācīšanas pieredžu dizaina un izvērtēšanas rīku izstrādiThe doctoral thesis by Lana Frančeska Dreimane titled “Taxonomy of Learning in Virtual Reality” was developed in the field of Education at the Faculty of Education, Psychology and Arts of the University of Latvia, under supervision of Dr. paed., professor Linda Daniela. The volume of the thesis is 147 pages, 30 figures and 16 tables in the main text, as well as list of bibliographic sources with 114 titles and 2 appendices. This research aims to inform educators and instructors, as well as VR technology developers and potential learners, about the alignment synergies and interconnections of VR learning principles by generating a substantive theory for the taxonomy of learning in Virtual Reality. The most important contribution of this inquiry is in systemising already existing but fragmented knowledge, and presenting evidence for theoretical basis for the taxonomy, as well as developing VR learning experience design and evaluation tools for practical applications

Virtual Reality Simulation: An Innovative Teaching Tool for Dietetics Experiential Education

This paper investigates the role of virtual reality and web technologies in the field of dietetics education. Within this frame, special emphasis is given on the building of web-based virtual learning environments so as to successfully fulfill their educational objectives. In particular, basic pedagogical methods are studied, focusing mainly on the efficient preparation, approach and presentation of learning content, and specific designing rules are presented considering the hypermedia, virtual and educational nature of this kind of applications. The paper also aims to highlight the educational benefits arising from the use of virtual reality technology in dietetics and study the emerging area of web-based dietetic simulations. Virtual reality simulation allows the visualization of data in three dimensions and provides interactive functionalities that reinforce the feeling of immersion into a computer-generated virtual world. Finally, the innovative virtual reality environment for dietetics education pedagogy and development is demonstrated

REALL: Rubric for the evaluation of apps in language learning

Rubrics, or documents for standardized assessment have been generalized in education in the past decade, and several benefits can be drawn from their use: a more objective assessment, a clear understanding of the criteria used, a homogenization of expectations and desirable features, etc. Thus, there have been several attempts to create rubrics for evaluating educational apps (see, for example, Avatar Generation, 2012 or Santiago, 2012) but not much has been done specifically in the field of Foreign Language Teaching (FLT). Our contribution seeks to fill that gap by presenting a rubric which includes criteria that are educational but also linguistic

Guardians of the Metaverse: Expert Assessment of Emerging Privacy Challenges and Mitigation Strategies

The metaverse describes persistent and interconnected 3D multi-user environments that are characterized by the fusion of physical and virtual worlds. Fueled by the rebranding of Meta, the metaverse is experiencing a resurgence and has attracted the attention of practitioners and scholars, resulting in a new wave of publications. While cutting-edge technologies offer unprecedented immersive experiences, users face new privacy situations as metaverse technologies require extensive data collection. Additionally, the spatial nature of the metaverse allows for the observation of digital footprints. This changing context of data disclosure necessitates a re-evaluation of privacy. Building on the Multidimensional Development Theory as an overarching framework, I conducted 35 expert interviews, resulting in 16 emerging privacy challenges and corresponding privacy protection measures. With these findings, this paper contributes to research on today’s metaverse by empirically investigating privacy as a crucial aspect and providing practical recommendations for organizations to mitigate negative user reactions

Serious gama for integration in higher education

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