Changing the Channel - From Face to Face to Digital Space: Framing the Foundations of Video Based Presentation & Meeting Channels

Effective presentation skills never go out of style, however, the channel by which we deliver presentations has been rapidly changing over the past two decades. Technological developments have made it easier to bring audiences together in virtual spaces and as a result, more and more presentations are taking place every day through digital channels. The cornerstones of effective and engaging presentations have remained the same for hundreds of years, but digital presentation and meeting channels bring both new challenges and opportunities that need to be examined in order to ensure we as a field are applying and teaching the best practices for this new channel. While some face-to-face presentation skills and best practices carry over to the digital world, there are new and unique practices that must be considered when attempting to engage digital audiences. The primary aim of this manuscript is to provide presenters and facilitators an overview of the unique opportunities and challenges that digital channels present along with details on the best practices and approaches for engaging digital audiences in an effective manner. An examination of future challenges for training and coaching presenters within these digital channels is also discussed

Challenge Accepted! Evaluating the Personality and Social Network Characteristics of Individuals Who Participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was a popular campaign on Facebook for raising awareness and money for the research of ALS. Given its unprecedented success, it is important to identify the personality and individual difference characteristics that distinguished participants from non-participants. Using an online survey of Facebook users (N = 261), this study investigates the influence that the Big Five personality variables, narcissism, altruism, online social capital, and online opinion leadership have on participation in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Results indicated that extraversion, openness to experience, and altruism positively predict bridging social capital on Facebook. Facebook users with higher social capital were found to have greater opinion leadership on Facebook, which in turn made them more likely to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. These findings have important implications for predicting which individuals will participate in future online social campaigns, which may help organizers target these audiences

Model Matching Theory: A Framework for Examining the Alignment between Game Mechanics and Mental Models

The primary aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive review and elaboration of model matching and its theo- retical propositions. Model matching explains and predicts individuals’ outcomes related to gameplay by focusing on the interrelationships among games’ systems of mechanics, relevant situations external to the game, and players’ mental mod- els. Formalizing model matching theory in this way provides researchers a unified explanation for game-based learning, game performance, and related gameplay outcomes while also providing a theory-based direction for advancing the study of games more broadly. The propositions explicated in this article are intended to serve as the primary tenets of model matching theory. Considerations for how these propositions may be tested in future games studies research are discussed

Model Matching Theory: A Framework for Examining the Alignment between Game Mechanics and Mental Models

The primary aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive review and elaboration of model matching and its theoretical propositions. Model matching explains and predicts individuals’ outcomes related to gameplay by focusing on the interrelationships among games’ systems of mechanics, relevant situations external to the game, and players’ mental models. Formalizing model matching theory in this way provides researchers a unified explanation for game-based learning, game performance, and related gameplay outcomes while also providing a theory-based direction for advancing the study of games more broadly. The propositions explicated in this article are intended to serve as the primary tenets of model matching theory. Considerations for how these propositions may be tested in future games studies research are discussed

The Effects of Perceived Realism and Controller Naturalness on Immersion and Aggression in a Violent Video Game

Video games are both a popular and pervasive medium in society and emerging technologies have dramatically enhanced the video gaming experience, specifically in terms of realistic simulation. Recent research has employed the Nintendo Wii and its motion capturing controllers to investigate the relationship between controller naturalness and its influence on perceptions of realism and immersion. Motion capturing controllers allow users to interact with the virtual environment using real world behaviors, which raises questions about how this unique style of gameplay may be influencing users. Given the pervasiveness of violence in contemporary video games, potential exists for socially negative outcomes, however this research attempts to move beyond speculation on the topic and provide empirical insight as to whether or not a significant relationship exists between controller naturalness, realism, and aggression. The theory of mental models is applied to the hypothesized relationships within the causal model being tested. This theoretical approach suggests that a more realistic and natural interaction should allow users to access relevant cognitions and apply these mental models to the game at hand, which may result in increased aggression. ^ This dissertation employed a 2 X 2 experimental design that manipulated both realism and controller naturalness. Results (N = 345) indicated that the manipulations of game realism and controller naturalness had a priming effect on participant\u27s cognitions, such that, more aggressive cognitions were found amongst the participants who were in the high game realism condition and high controller naturalness condition. Despite perceptions of realism not being significant predictors of participant aggression, the relationship between perceived realism and controller naturalness was significantly positive as expected, and provided further support for the argument that controller naturalness can influence perceptions of a game\u27s realism. Finally, the results of this study showed that both perceptions of realism and perceptions of controller naturalness are significant predictors of immersion. These findings provide support for the argument that specific contextual features (greater realism and greater controller naturalness) are capable of producing feelings of greater immersion amongst users.

The Influence of Peer Reviews on Source Credibility and Purchase Intention

Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) is information shared on the Internet about a product, which allows people to receive information from others they may not otherwise encounter. Online product reviews are a type of eWOM where a user posts a comment about a product and selects an image to represent the self. The perception of the image and the text in the product review can influence source credibility and the perception of the product, as well as the likelihood that someone will purchase the product. This study examines the effect of the product reviews and their different images and text on perceived credibility, source trustworthiness and purchase intention. Consistent with predictions based on the information processing theory, perceived anthropomorphism influences perceived credibility, source trust, and purchase intention