Gamification of E-Participation: A Literature Review

Gamification is one of the most commonly employed approaches for motivating individuals to participate in several types of activities. One of its largest application areas has been e-participation (i.e. citizen engagement in policy-making). Even though the required ICT infrastructure to facilitate e- participation mostly exists today, the focus of the problem has shifted towards humans; citizens are not motivated enough to participate. Gamification is a potential approach to increase motivation towards e- participation. However, currently there is a dearth in our understanding of how gamification is being applied and researched as well as what kinds of result there exist from gamification. The aim of this paper is to synthesize research and findings on gamified e-participation, providing directions for future research in this area

Introduction to the Minitrack on Gamification

Non peer reviewe

Participatory Budgeting Case Studies throughout the Ages: A Longitudinal, Thematic, Systematic Literature Study

Budgeting (PB) is often utilized to initiate citizen involvement in governmental processes and familiarize them with public spending. It can help to increase transparency, communication between citizens and government and improve quality of lives of the communities. Other times, it can increase costs with little returns. Overall, we have limited knowledge about PB development trajectories, practices, state of art, and future research possibility. Hence, we have conducted a systematic, longitudinal, thematic literature review, that has examined 92 case studies of PB, and reveals that interest in PB research has been reflective of global movements e.g., the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, and the like. The field, however, is also growing in maturity and needs specialized research on PB tools, sustainability, inclusion, amongst other topics

Thermal Performance of a High-Rise Residential Building with Internal Courtyard in Tropical Climate

Natural ventilation is an effectual passive design approach to create a better indoor thermal condition as well as energy efficiency. The primary goal of building design is providing a healthy and comfortable indoor environment titled as sustainable architecture.  Literature suggests that the significant feature that alteration has to take place on for better energy performance is the envelope design. This paper aims to augment the Window to Wall Ratio (WWR), orientation and courtyard corridor size for improving the design of naturally ventilated courtyard high-rise residential buildings. Briefly, the findings indicate that contending with WWR, orientation and courtyard corridor size could increase the potential of improving its natural ventilation and thus, thermal performance

A Study of Vitamin D Insufficiency in Postmenopausal Type 2 Diabetic Women

AbstractBackgroundType 2 diabetic elderly women are at increased risk for osteoporotic fractures. Low levels of vitamin D increases this risk. We aimed to measure levels of 25 hydroxy vitamin D (25 OH-D) in these patients to help assess the level of risk.Patients and MethodsIn this cross sectional case-control study, the serum concentrations of 25 OH-D were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in 60 ambulatory, postmenopausal, type 2 diabetic female patients under oral anti-diabetic treatment. Thirty control females were comparable for weight, age and years since menopause. Calcium and Vitamin D intake (obtained by 24 hour dietary recall), sun exposure, parathyroid hormone (PTH), serum calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase were also assessed.ResultsThe prevalence of 25 OH-D insufficiency was significantly higher in diabetic patients than in control subjects (38.3% vs. 20%, p<0.01). About 13% of diabetics with vitamin D insufficiency had high PTH levels. While most of the control group with 25 OH-D insufficiency had elevated PTH levels. Out of 66 diabetic women, only 11.7% had adequate vitamin D intake and 30% had adequate calcium intake. Similarly, in non-diabetic women, only 13.3% had adequate vitamin D intake and 26.7% had adequate calcium intake. However, a highly significantly percentage of diabetic women (43.4%) with inadequate vitamin D intake develop vitamin D insufficiency compared with non-diabetic women (23.1%) (p<0.001). Diabetic patients with 25 OH-D insufficiency tend to be older, with higher BMI, and HBA1C (P<0.01, <0.01, <0.001 respectively).ConclusionWe documented increased risk of vitamin D insufficiency in type 2 diabetic postmenopausal women in the face of inadequate dietary vitamin D and low sun exposure. This finding might partially explain the increased risk for osteoporosis among this group and warrants consideration of dietary vitamin D supplementation

Flow in VR: A Study on the Relationships Between Preconditions, Experience and Continued Use

Flow is characterized as an autotelic experience where action and awareness merge, there is high concentration on task and little attention is paid to time or self. It is believed that VR has a powerful affordance for inducing the flow state, as VR is, at least anecdotally, a technology that transports users to immersive realities, which can facilitate flow. However, VR imposes usability challenges that may inhibit flow. This research investigates flow in VR and its characteristics, determinants and outcomes through a survey (n = 681) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicate that flow in VR is positively association with intentions to continue VR use and longer VR sessions

Play, Playbour or Labour? The Relationships between Perception of Occupational Activity and Outcomes among Streamers and YouTubers

The increasing digitalization and gamification of different aspects of our lives has blurred the line between what we consider work and play. Therefore, our productivity may increasingly depend on how we negotiate and view our occupations and work. Through an online survey (n=382), this study examines the relationship between the perception of online video content creation as either work, play or equally as both, and the activities and income of these video content creators (streamers and YouTubers). The results indicate that those who view their content creation as work had the highest levels of activity and income, whereas those who associated their content creation with play, earned more income than those who regard their content creation equally as play and work. The results demonstrate the emergence of new forms of digital entrepreneurial practices in the work-oriented group, but also the highlight the increasing workification of our play activities