6 research outputs found
A Study of Leadership Behaviors in Esports Contexts
Soft skills, leadership in particular, are highly sought-after traits for businesses when searching for new employees. Using games as a tool to teach soft skills is fairly well documented. One way that games can do this is by creating a space where learners can practice these skills. Esports in particular seem to be an already existing space where modern, dynamic types of leadership are already practiced. In order to determine if this was indeed the case, I interviewed people who were involved in different levels of esports about the ways they behaved while playing esports. I found that in order to succeed while playing esports, it was often necessary to share leadership across various members of the team. Because of this sharing of leadership, I found that esports could be a great tool for training and building leadership skills
Factores relacionados con la adicción a los videojuegos: Un estudio empírico sobre las variables psicológicas y del juego.
El objetivo del estudio es analizar la relación de la tolerancia a la frustración con
la adicción a los videojuegos. Asimismo, se pretende analizar una serie de variables
relacionadas con la conducta de juego y ciertas características de los videojuegos que
puedan mediar en dicha adicción. Para ello, se realizó un estudio con una muestra de
203 personas, de las cuales 123 afirmaban ser jugadores habituales. Se aplicaron
diferentes pruebas: un test de tolerancia a la frustración a la muestra total, un test de
adicción a videojuegos y una escala ad hoc sobre las características de los videojuegos
y la conducta de juego a los usuarios habituales de videojuegos. Los resultados
obtenidos muestran que existen diferencias significativas en tolerancia a la frustración
entre los jugadores con puntuaciones extremas en adicción a videojuegos. Asimismo,
existe relación entre la adicción a los videojuegos y algunas variables sociodemográficas
como el sexo o la edad. Del mismo modo, las variables relacionadas con las
características de los videojuegos y de la conducta de juego obtuvieron una relación
significativa con la adicción a los videojuegos. A partir del estudio se concluye que la
tolerancia a la frustración es un elemento a considerar al abordar la adicción a los
videojuegos, además de que se deben tener en cuenta las variables asociadas a los
juegos para entender la interacción entre los videojuegos y la adicción.The aim of this study is to analise the relation between frustration tolerance and
video game addiction. It is also intended to analyze a series of variables related to video
game behavior and certain characteristics of video games that may mediante in such
addiction. A sample of 203 people, of which 123 people claimed to be regular video game
players, was obtained for this study. Different tests were used: a test dedicated to
evaluate frustration tolerance was applied to the totality of the sample, while a test
dedicated to evaluate video game addiction and an ad hoc scale built to evaluate the
characteristics of both the video games played and the gaming behavior were applied
2
only to the group of regular video game players. The results obtained show that
frustration tolerance was signifficantly different between the video game players when
only extreme scores in video game addiction were considered. In the same way, all the
variables related to the characteristics of the videogames and video game behaviour
obtained signifficant relation with video game addiction. By the results of this study we
can conclude that frustration tolerance is a key element that needs to be considered
when video game addiction is being approached. Video game characteristics also need
to be considered in order to understand the relation between video games and addiction
Entornos virtuales para la escritura académica. Un modelo en Minecraft
El presente trabajo analiza las posibilidades que un entorno virtual mediante un videojuego comercial presenta para la escritura y la publicación académicas en el marco de la formación universitaria. A finales del 2017 se realizó una investigación mixta por medio un estudio de caso único con un grupo de 28 estudiantes de licenciatura; se combinaron técnicas de observación y recolección de información (preguntas abiertas, fotografías dentro del entorno virtual, bitácora del investigador, registros de sistema), así como de medición (escala Likert) para dar cuenta de la Afinidad y la Adaptabilidad expresada por los estudiantes en la realización del ejercicio de escritura colectiva dentro del videojuego. Tras la realización del ejercicio, el tratamiento estadístico permitió establecer la presencia de las dos variables propuestas y establecer correlaciones con el resto de las variables del instrumento. Para este artículo, se presenta una selección de los resultados del cuestionario —e.g. Afinidad (0.522, 0.531) y Adaptabilidad (0.508, 0.688) del grupo independientemente del género— así como una selección de los registros complementarios de indagación. Los hallazgos en su parcialidad apuntan hacia la pertinencia del uso de videojuegos adaptados como plataformas para la escritura académica en el marco de la formación disciplinar universitaria. Se abre la posibilidad de pensar en usos extendidos de entornos virtuales de escritura y publicación académica inter e intra institucionales para desarrollar la alfabetización académica.//The article explores the possibilities that a virtual environment through a commercial video game presents for academic writing within the framework of university education. At the end of 2017, a mixed investigation was conducted through a single case study with a group of 28 undergraduate students; combined techniques of observation and information gathering (open questions, photographs within the virtual environment, field diary, system records), as well as measurement (Likert scale questionnaire) were used to account for the affinity and adaptability expressed by students in the realization of the collective writing exercise within Minecraft. After completing the exercise, the statistical treatment of the questionnaire allowed to establish the presence of the two proposed variables and establish correlations with the rest of the variables of the instrument. For this article, we present only a selection of the results of the questionnaire —e.g. Affinity (0.522, 0.531) and Adaptability (0.508, 0.688) within the group independently of genre— as well as a selection of the complementary observation records. The findings point towards the relevance of the use of adapted videogames as platforms for academic writing within the framework of university disciplinary training. This opens the possibility of thinking about extended uses of virtual environments for inter and intrainstitutional writing and publishing to develop academic literacy
Design and evaluation of mobile computer-assisted pronunciation training tools for second language learning
The quality of speech technology (automatic speech recognition, ASR, and textto-
speech, TTS) has considerably improved and, consequently, an increasing number
of computer-assisted pronunciation (CAPT) tools has included it. However, pronunciation
is one area of teaching that has not been developed enough since there
is scarce empirical evidence assessing the effectiveness of tools and games that include
speech technology in the field of pronunciation training and teaching. This
PhD thesis addresses the design and validation of an innovative CAPT system for
smart devices for training second language (L2) pronunciation. Particularly, it aims
to improve learner’s L2 pronunciation at the segmental level with a specific set of
methodological choices, such as learner’s first and second language connection (L1–
L2), minimal pairs, a training cycle of exposure–perception–production, individualistic
and social approaches, and the inclusion of ASR and TTS technology. The
experimental research conducted applying these methodological choices with real
users validates the efficiency of the CAPT prototypes developed for the four main
experiments of this dissertation. Data is automatically gathered by the CAPT systems
to give an immediate specific feedback to users and to analyze all results. The
protocols, metrics, algorithms, and methods necessary to statistically analyze and
discuss the results are also detailed. The two main L2 tested during the experimental
procedure are American English and Spanish. The different CAPT prototypes designed
and validated in this thesis, and the methodological choices that they implement,
allow to accurately measuring the relative pronunciation improvement of the
individuals who trained with them. Both rater’s subjective scores and CAPT’s objective
scores show a strong correlation, being useful in the future to be able to assess
a large amount of data and reducing human costs. Results also show an intensive
practice supported by a significant number of activities carried out. In the case of the
controlled experiments, students who worked with the CAPT tool achieved better
pronunciation improvement values than their peers in the traditional in-classroom
instruction group. In the case of the challenge-based CAPT learning game proposed,
the most active players in the competition kept on playing until the end and
achieved significant pronunciation improvement results.Departamento de Informática (Arquitectura y Tecnología de Computadores, Ciencias de la Computación e Inteligencia Artificial, Lenguajes y Sistemas Informáticos)Doctorado en Informátic
XBadges. How soft skills are boosted by video games: Improving persistence, risk taking & spatial reasoning with Flappy Bird, Pacman & Tetris
Abstract — XBadges is a research project based on the
hypothesis that commercial video games (nonserious games) can
train and promote certain soft skills. With a pre and post test model,
Persistence, Spatial Reasoning and Risk Taking were measured
before and after in the subjects (15 divided into groups of 5) trained
for 2 hours with the video games: Flappy Bird, Tetris and Pacman
(respectively). In addition, the emotions of the players were
captured too (thanks to a facial and emotional recognition system),
to determine if emotions also have something to do with the skills
acquisition. The results show how Tetris significantly improves
spatial reasoning and how Pacman significantly improves prudence
in certain areas of behavior. As for emotions, they reveal that being
concentrated helps improve performance and skills acquisition but
frustration is also shown as a key element in the process. With the
results obtained we can begin to glimpse multiple applications in
the education sector and Skilling Development area