Suicide Intervention Prevention and Immersive Health Games

poster abstractMost recently, experts have recommended that interventions on social and behavioral factors related to health should link multiple levels of influence, including the individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy levels (Smedley and Syme, 2000). Suicide Intervention Prevention focuses on health behavior theory of prevention through simulation. In this project, examples of causal relationships (immersion and interaction) between the characters in the simulation and the participant (player) become more meaningful and provide a unique platform to promote health education on the topic of mental health. Prevention theory enhances our work as researchers and practitioners in many ways

Social Network for Veterans

poster abstractThe purpose of the Social Network for Veterans is to find an informal method to help Veterans stay in contact, engage in social interaction, discover areas for assistance, develop an awareness of health behavior issues concerning Veterans. The Social Network for Veterans will use animated characters (avatars) similar to characters used in Second Life or Metaverse. The Social Network will be for Veterans only. It is a collective online shared space where the Veteran can explore, meet other Veterans, socialize and participate in activities as a group or individually while chatting in real-time. Veterans are more likely to seek help from other Veterans and with a Social Network in play Veterans can offer each other help and advice no matter where their location on the planet. The Social Network will offer informative games, pet therapy, music therapy etc., social interaction, help channels, help links, health information and other basic information while providing an entertaining, safe and pleasant atmosphere

Health Educational Games and Their Effectiveness Among Children

poster abstractAfter the release of the health educational games, Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus and Packy and Marlon in 1995, the production of health educational games for children started to increase. Over the past couple of decades, health educational video games on the topics of Asthma, Cancer, Diabetes and Risk Prevention, have been proven to be an effective form of learning for children. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of these health education games among children. For this study, search engines such as Google, Bing, and Google Scholar were used to find health educational games on the topics of Asthma, Cancer, Diabetes, and Risk Prevention. In order to produce the best results, several searches were conducted using a series of keyword identifiers. Keyword searches were completed to discover content in the areas of frequency of use, effectiveness, and evidence-based outcomes from these games. To date, twenty-three health educational games were found. Out of twenty-three games, twenty-one were successful in their reported effectiveness. Our research also shows that some hospitals around the United States have started to incorporate these games into their patients’ regimen because of the degree of success reported

Serious Health Educational Games and Their Effectiveness Among Children

poster abstractResearchers have struggled to create effective mechanisms that help educate children on various health-related topics. Since the release of Captain Novolin and Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus in the early 1990’s, there has been a steady production of health educational games for children. The authors have conducted an exhaustive literature review and found twenty-six health related games that have been released in the United States. From 1992 - 2013, these games cover a range of health related issues such as Asthma, Depression, Diabetes, and Cancer. Our findings suggest that the majority of the health education games focus on educating younger children about diabetes and reducing diabetes-related emergency visits. Thus, our focus is on six diabetes related games, Captain Novolin, Packy and Marlon, Dbaza’s Diabetes Education for Kids, Starbright Life Adventure Series, Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space, Escape from Diab. Our research questions are: “What are the common characteristics that promote these games to be a success?” “What is the relevance of only focusing on the topic of diabetes?

CHARACTERISTICS OF MUSUEM EXHIBIT LEARNING OBJECTS IN 21st CENTURY?

poster abstractIn contrast to traditional museum brick and mortar exhibits, visitors now experience online museums where two and three dimensional digital artifacts convey the ideas and knowledge of the curator. Prior studies examined how visitors gained new knowledge and experience through learning theories of passive and incremental knowledge versus active learning constructs incorporated by museums. The objective of this literature review is to examine how twenty-first century museum exhibits evolved from historical/aesthetic representations into learning objects using cognitive load and constructivist theories. Results indicate that some museums appear unwilling or unable to evolve or adapt constructivist theories that prioritize delivery of facts and instead pursue popularity and increased revenues through high-profile exhibitions. Future investigations might focus on reasons preventing change and cutting edge museums that implement multi-user virtual environments

Theory and Research into Practice: Using Self-Determination Theory to Analyze Gamification and Motivational Affordances in Serious Games for Health Education

poster abstractIn serious games for health education, regulation styles in gamification help the player achieve goals through behavioral motivations that may not be apparent in an educational activity. These regulation styles are referred to as motivational affordances and might be widely employed in gamification or game-like systems that motivate users to engage in play a “gameful-type” experience. Gamification is defined as the application of game mechanics (point scoring, competition, rules, etc.) and game design techniques in order to engage and motivate players to achieve goals. Zhang defined affordance as “the actionable properties between an object and an actor” which determine how they can support one’s motivational needs. Are there common gamification and motivational affordances in serious games that prove to be effective in game play on the topic of diabetes? To answer this question, the authors explore the effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation during game play by analyzing six serious games in health education on the topic of diabetes. The games selected for this study are: Carb Counting with Lenny, Dex: Your Virtual Pet, Pancreas!, I Got This, Packy & Marlon, and Captain Novolin. As a work-in-progress, the authors provide evidence using the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and the constructs of motivational affordances. The characteristics in SDT were identified as competence, relatedness, and autonomy. In addition, the author’s research explores motivational affordances found in these health education games namely: psychological outcomes: motivation – keeping the player engaged, attitude – the effect of solving a problem or challenge, and enjoyment – a behavioral outcome produced by competition, play, and achievement. Behavioral outcomes: achievement – attaining success, learning evidence – gaining new knowledge (learning outcome), participation – player immersion in the game objective or story. The authors present their findings and identify, compare, and contrast gamification and the motivational affordances found in each game. Mentor: Joseph Defazio Ph.D., Department of Human-Centered Computing, IU School of Informatics and Computing, IUPUI; Indianapolis, I

Interactive Course Builder: A Novel Approach to CMS Development

poster abstractInteractive Course Builder is a creative research-based, design and development project. The goal is to develop a content management system (CMS) that allows the storage and manipulation of course content (e.g., syllabi, assignments, grading criteria, weekly class schedules, etc.) for e-Learning using 'smart technology such as the iPad. This application will enhance and streamline online course development. This application will be pilot-tested using the School of Informatics Media Arts and Science Gateway course titled: N100 - Foundations of New Media

The Science and Art of Health Behavior: Theory of Prevention.

poster abstractAccording to Glanz, Rimer and Viswanath (2008), “The science and art of health behavior and health education are eclectic and rapidly evolving; they reflect an amalgamation of approaches, methods, and strategies from social and health sciences, drawing on theoretical perspectives, research, practice tools of such diverse disciplines as psychology, sociology, anthropology, communications, nursing, economics, and marketing” (p. 1). The view of health education as an instrument of social change has received renewed interest in the past few years. Most recently, experts have recommended that interventions on social and behavioral factors related to health should link multiple levels of influence, including the individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy levels (Smedley and Syme, 2000). The author’s current work on a health education simulation titled; Suicide Intervention Prevention focuses on a health behavior theory of prevention. Prevention theory is used to guide the framework for this simulation. Examples of causal relationships (immersion and interaction) between the characters in the simulation and the participant (player) become more meaningful and provide a unique platform to promote health education on the topic of mental health. Prevention theory enhances our work as researchers and practitioners in many ways. Theory helps us build the science of prevention by directing our hypotheses and research questions and informs the selection of appropriate populations to study. “Ultimately, theories of prevention determine intervention approaches including individual treatments, models of health care delivery, public health practice, and health policy” (Shumaker, Ockene, & Riekert, 2009, p. 4)

PERVASIVE TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE ROAD RAGE: A STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF METABOLIC CHANGES IN INDIVIDUALS WHILE DRIVING

poster abstractSince 1990, there have been 250,000 fatalities from car accidents in the United States (Warp, 2006). According to the United States Department of Transportation (nhtsa.dot.com), two-thirds of those fatalities are from acci-dents caused by road rage. That means 166,666 people died due to driver’s inability to control their anger on the road. Road rage is a serious issue that should be addressed. Often times, people don’t even realize they are becom-ing dangerously agitated until it is too late. The purpose of this study is to measure a drivers’ reaction to diverse stimuli in a simulated environment in order to examine how raising the awareness of the symptoms described might allow the driver to modify his/her behavior before engaging in disas-trous consequences. The stimuli used in testing for this study would include an array of graphics, videos and sounds. This study uses an Arduino board that connects to three bio-metric sensors which will track the users pulse, temperature and skin-conductivity. Whenever the human body is under mental stress, the parasympathetic activities of his/her heart decreases and the sympathetic activity increases (Rani, 2002). In other words, their pulse increases dramatically. Other signs of agitation include, but are not limited to: conductivity of skin increases and the tensing of muscles which causes the temperature of their extremities (fingers, hands and feet) to drop signifi-cantly. Upon IRB approval, this research will be conducted with fifty partici-pants. The data extracted from testing will be analyzed and finding’s report-ed