A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Player Motivations and Problematic Involvement in Multiplayer Online Games: Exploring an Alternative Diagnostic Approach that Minimizes the Risk of Pathologizing Healthy Gaming Behaviors

More than 80 million people in the United States play online video games, and this prevalent form of entertainment has enabled players from various geographic settings to interact in highly complex and realistic virtual worlds. However, despite the popularity of online gaming and the evolution of a socially oriented culture, the rapid growth of the industry has raised concerns among parents, educators, clinicians, and the general public about the potential consequences of online gaming. The proposal to classify Internet gaming disorder as a behavioral addiction has produced considerable debate as to whether the classification is empirically justified. Evidence suggests that problematic online gaming cannot be measured using addiction criteria because of its inability to distinguish problematic usage from high levels of healthy engagement. The purpose of this study was to explore an alternative, non-addiction approach that would minimize the risk of pathologizing healthy gaming behaviors. A systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to measure the relationships between player motivations and gaming-related problems. Results indicated that escapism and advancement were strongly associated with gaming-related problems. Teamwork and discovery were found to be unassociated with gaming-related problems. Implications regarding the complexity of the escapism construct, the need for a deeper understanding of advancement, the relevance of motivations that are unassociated with problems, and methodological issues within the literature are discussed. Recommendations for researchers, parents, gamers, clinicians, policy makers, and executive leaders are also provided

Teens, Video Games, and Civics

Analyzes survey findings on trends in teenagers' video gaming, the social context, the role of parents and monitoring, and the link between specific gaming experiences and civic activities. Explores gaming's potential as civic learning opportunities

Virtual MET Institution : assessing the potentials and challenges of applying multi-user virtual environment in maritime education and training

The dissertation is a study to assess the potentials and challenges in the use of Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) in Maritime Education and Training (MET) context. Virtual technology is growing at fast pace. The applications of MUVE are being utilized by numerous institutions across many educational professions. However, the area of utilizing MUVE in MET is still very limited. At the time being, it is indicated that there is possibility to take advantages of MUVE to create: (1) an enhance learning environment, (2) collaboration tools to support the distributed knowledge community, and (3) new modes of distance learning. METs are facing with several contemporary issues. There are necessities to foster the learning experience of future seafarers, to promote expertise exchange, and to continuously support its community of practice from distance. The investigation of MUVE’s characteristics and its applications suggests chances to tackle the such issues. Obviously, assessing the potentials and challenges of applying MUVE in MET become critical. The assessment tasks are conducted by examining the potentials that an institution can benefit as well as challenges that it would face. Then it is repositioned into MET contexts by taking into account the reality of MET’s culture and practices. The outcomes of the assessments indicate the affordance of MUVE for educational activities in MET institutions. Being aware of the limitations of the research itself, a number of recommendations are made concerning the need for further investigation in the subject

A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Studies on Learning Analytics in Educational Games

Learning analytics (LA) in educational games is considered an emerging practice due to its potential of enhancing the learning process. Growing research on formative assessment has shed light on the ways in which students' meaningful and in-situ learning experiences can be supported through educational games. To understand learners' playful experiences during gameplay, researchers have applied LA, which focuses on understanding students' in-game behaviour trajectories and personal learning needs during play. However, there is a lack of studies exploring how further research on LA in educational games can be conducted. Only a few analyses have discussed how LA has been designed, integrated, and implemented in educational games. Accordingly, this systematic literature review examined how LA in educational games has evolved. The study findings suggest that: (1) there is an increasing need to consider factors such as student modelling, iterative game design and personalisation when designing and implementing LA through educational games; and (2) the use of LA creates several challenges from technical, data management and ethical perspectives. In addition to outlining these findings, this article offers important notes for practitioners, and discusses the implications of the study’s results

Using serious games in an educational setting

This literature review examines the use of digital games also known as serious games in a school setting to determine the benefits of games on preparing students for using 21st century skills. Studies on using serious games from the last 12 years were analyzed and evaluated. The review explores different genres of serious games. It examines benefits of serious games including social interaction, collaboration, and complex thinking skills, as well as their disadvantages The review also identifies game characteristics that support best practices in education. Serious games are a vital tool to teach students many skills needed for the future

Predictors and patterns of problematic Internet game use using a decision tree model

Background and aims Problematic Internet game use is an important social issue that increases social expenditures for both individuals and nations. This study identified predictors and patterns of problematic Internet game use. Methods Data were collected from online surveys between November 26 and December 26, 2014. We identified 3,881 Internet game users from a total of 5,003 respondents. A total of 511 participants were assigned to the problematic Internet game user group according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Internet gaming disorder criteria. From the remaining 3,370 participants, we used propensity score matching to develop a normal comparison group of 511 participants. In all, 1,022 participants were analyzed using the chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAID) algorithm. Results According to the CHAID algorithm, six important predictors were found: gaming costs (50%), average weekday gaming time (23%), offline Internet gaming community meeting attendance (13%), average weekend and holiday gaming time (7%), marital status (4%), and self-perceptions of addiction to Internet game use (3%). In addition, three patterns out of six classification rules were explored: cost-consuming, socializing, and solitary gamers. Conclusion This study provides direction for future work on the screening of problematic Internet game use in adults