Collaborative governance for the sustainable development goals

The advent of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals has refocused global attention on the roles of business and other nonstate actors in achieving global goals. Often, business involvement takes the form of collaborations with the more traditional actors—governments and non‐governmental organizations. Although such partnerships for development have been seen before, the scale and expectations are new. This paper explores how and why these cross‐sector collaborations are evolving, and what steps can or should be taken to ensure that partnerships create public and private value. The arguments are illustrated with reference to cases of market‐driven partnerships for agriculture in Southeast Asia that are intended to engage marginalized smallholder farmers in global value chains in agriculture. The aims of these cross‐sector collaborations coincide with several targets of the Sustainable Development Goals such as poverty alleviation, decreasing environmental impact, and achieving food security. This is a hard case for mechanisms intended to protect public interests, given that the target beneficiaries (low‐income smallholder farmers and the environment) are unable to speak effectively for themselves. We find that structures and processes to align interests in ways that protect the public interest are both necessary and feasible, though not easy to achieve

Playing with social and emotional game companions

This paper presents the findings of an empirical study that explores player game experience by implementing the ERiSA Framework in games. A study with Action Role-Playing Game (RPG) was designed to evaluate player interactions with game companions, who were imbued with social and emotional skill by the ERiSA Framework. Players had to complete a quest in the Skyrim game, in which players had to use social and emotional skills to obtain a sword. The results clearly show that game companions who are capable of perceiving and exhibit emotions, are perceived to have personality and can forge relationships with the players, enhancing the player experience during the game

Internet Gaming Disorder in children and adolescents

The American Psychiatric Association recently included Internet gaming disorder (IGD) as a potential diagnosis, recommending that further study be conducted to help illuminate it more clearly. This paper is a summary of the review undertaken by the IGD Working Group as part of the 2015 National Academy of Sciences Sackler Colloquium on Digital Media and Developing Minds. By using measures based on or similar to the IGD definition, we found that prevalence rates range between ∼1% and 9%, depending on age, country, and other sample characteristics. The etiology of IGD is not well-understood at this time, although it appears that impulsiveness and high amounts of time gaming may be risk factors. Estimates for the length of time the disorder can last vary widely, but it is unclear why. Although the authors of several studies have demonstrated that IGD can be treated, no randomized controlled trials have yet been published, making any definitive statements about treatment impossible. IGD does, therefore, appear to be an area in which additional research is clearly needed. We discuss several of the critical questions that future research should address and provide recommendations for clinicians, policy makers, and educators on the basis of what we know at this time

Validation of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) in an Italian-speaking sample

Background and aims: The inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in Section III of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has increased the interest of researchers in the development of new standardized psychometric tools for the assessment of such a disorder. To date, the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) has only been validated in English, Portuguese, and Slovenian languages. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to examine the psychometric properties of the IGDS9-SF in an Italian speaking sample. Methods: A total of 757 participants were recruited to the present study. Confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group analyses were applied to assess the construct validity. Reliability analyses comprised the average variance extracted, the standard error of measurement, and the factor determinacy coefficient. Convergent and criterion validities were established through the associations with other related constructs. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine an empirical cut-off point. Results: Findings confirmed the single factor structure of the instrument, its measurement invariance at the configural level, and the convergent and criterion validities. Satisfactory levels of reliability and a cut-off point of 21 were obtained. Discussion and conclusions: The present study provides validity evidence for the use of the Italian version of the IGDS9-SF and may foster research into gaming addiction in the Italian context

ReHabgame: A non-immersive virtual reality rehabilitation system with applications in neuroscience

This paper proposes the use of a non-immersive virtual reality rehabilitation system ”ReHabgame” developed using Microsoft KinectT M and the ThalmicT M Labs Myo gesture control armband. The ReHabgame was developed based on two third-person video games that provide a feasible possibility of assessing postural control and functional reach tests. It accurately quantifies specific postural control mechanisms including timed standing balance, functional reach tests using real-time anatomical landmark orientation, joint velocity, and acceleration while end trajectories were calculated using an inverse kinematics algorithm. The game was designed to help patients with neurological impairment to be subjected to physiotherapy activity and practice postures of daily activities. The subjective experience of the ReHabgame was studied through the development of an Engagement Questionnaire (EQ) for qualitative, quantitative and Rasch model. The Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) and Random object (ROG) generator algorithms were used to adapt the physical and gameplay intensity in the ReHabgame based on the Motor Assessment Scale (MAS) and Hierarchical Scoring System (HSS). Rasch analysis was conducted to assess the psychometric characteristics of the ReHabgame and to identify if these are any misfitting items in the game. Rasch rating scale model (RSM) was used to assess the engagement of players in the ReHabgame and evaluate the effectiveness and attractiveness of the game. The results showed that the scales assessing the rehabilitation process met Rasch expectations of reliability, and unidimensionality. Infit and outfit mean squares values are in the range of (0.68 − 1.52) for all considered 16 items. The Root Mean Square Residual (RMSR) and the person separation reliability were acceptable. The item/person map showed that the persons and items were clustered symmetrically

Is It Still Double Edged? Not for University Students’ Development of Moral Reasoning and Video Game Play

Previous research with video game play and moral development with adolescents, found both positive and negative relationships. This study aimed to extend this research to explore moral development and video game play with university students. One hundred and thirty-five undergraduate students (M = 20.29, SD = 2.70) took part in an online survey. The results suggested higher moral reasoning for participants who described themselves as gamers and those which do not play, compared those who play but do not identify as gamers. It was suggested that males had higher moral scores and more mature reasoning than females. The results of a regression analysis suggested that there were no significant predictors for moral development from either game play or the demographic variables. The findings suggest that moral development could be less influenced by sex, age, and video game play factors such as video game content and amount of game play, than was previously thought for this age group

It’s Doubled Edged: The Positive and Negative Relationships Between the Development of Moral Reasoning and Video Game Play Among Adolescents.

Due to the concerns over the effects of video game play, this study investigated adolescents’ moral development and their video game play. 166 adolescents aged 11-18 years (M = 13.08 SD = 1.91) attending an English school completed an online survey, which included a measure of moral development and questions regarding video game play. In contrast to previous research, male participants were found to have significantly (p = 0.02) higher moral reasoning scores than females. The results also suggested a transition in moral development, which takes place between the ages of 12–14. The results of moral development and video game played suggested both positive and negative relationships. Regression analysis suggested that there was a significant positive relationship between the more types of game genres played and higher moral scores. Although not significant, the results suggested trend for the following variables; years playing video games, mature content, engagement, moral narrative, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and length of time playing video games had a negative relationship with moral scores. The implications of these results are discussed with regards to moral education and the variables involved in video game play including the role content of video games

Flow and immersion in video games: The aftermath of a conceptual challenge

One of the most pleasurable aspects of video games is their ability to induce immersive experiences. However, there appears to be a tentative conceptualization of what an immersive experience is. In this short review, we specifically focus on the terms of flow and immersion, as they are the most widely used and applied definitions in the video game literature, whilst their differences remain disputable. We critically review the concepts separately and proceed with a comparison on their proposed differences. We conclude that immersion and flow do not substantially differ in current studies and that more evidence is needed to justify their separatio

A Measure of Student Engagement for Serious Games and IoT

Student Engagement has been a strong topic of research for the avoidance of student drop out and the increase in grading. Serious games have highlighted benefits in engaging students, primarily through edutainment, educating via games. This article suggests a Computer Algorithm, purposed at measuring and encouraging student engagement. In addition, the algorithm accounts for sensor networks accessed both directly and through the Internet, extending its application to the Internet of Things (IoT)