An Ontology Engineering Approach to User Profiling for Virtual Tours of Museums and Galleries

This paper describes a study of the development of a hierarchical ontology for producing and maintaining personalized profiles to improve the experience of visitors to virtual art galleries and museums. The paper begins by describing some of the features of virtual exhibitions and offers examples of virtual tours that the reader may wish to examine in more detail. The paper then discusses the ontology engineering (OE) approach and domain modelling languages (e.g. KACTUS, SENSUS and METHONTOLOGY). It then follows a basic OE approach to define classes for a cultural heritage virtual tour and to produce a Visitor Profile Ontology that is hierarchical and has static and dynamic elements. It concludes by suggesting ways in which the ontology may be automated to provide a richer, more immersive personalized visitor experience

Understanding the Fanboy Culture; Their Place and Role within the Games Industry.

Within Video Game culture very few slights carry as much weight and disrespect as being called a ‘Fanboy’. Few understand what this term means and fewer have explored the role this type of consumer plays in the gaming industry, let alone their significant cultural impact. This paper seeks to understand and define what a Fanboy is using various social and psychological theories and discusses their use within the industry. This is done via analysing recent events and new media technologies in conjunction with multiple gaming franchises recent releases. It then evaluates the image of the Fanboy in popular culture, how it is has changed thanks to new methods of engagement with new strategies and brand types while acknowledging their limitations within their wider social cultures across the world

Massive Multiplayer Online Games Communities: Lessons for Diversity in School Classrooms.

Computer gaming is often seen as a barrier to good performance at school. It is claimed that young people are becoming more obese, demonstrating poor psychological adjustment and developing addictions to video games (Kulman, 2015). However, by using a systems approach to the understanding of group dynamics, based the Hackman and Morris (1975) Input-Process-Output Model of Group Performance, it is possible to find that there are lessons in learner experience from computer games, particularly the Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs), such as World of Warcraft, which may be applied to schools. By examining the Macro, Meso and Micro Levels (Hackman and Morris, 1975) and the accompanying Environmental Factors (Chou, 2015) of these two different communities, it may be seen that there are positive aspects of computer gaming that might be helpful in managing today’s highly diverse school communities. Meso Level characteristics from MMO Games such as “self-organising” groups and Environmental Factors such as positive motivational drivers (e.g, empowering creativity and ownership) may be beneficial in developing a more learner-centred classroom. These characteristics could at least partially replace the “concocted” groups and negative loss avoidance motivational strategies that currently exist in European schools. This may go some way to developing classrooms in which diversity among students is respected rather than treated with contempt

An Empirical Study of Icon Recognition in a Virtual Gallery Interface

This paper reports on an empirical study (an extension of a pilot study) that analyses the design of icons in a German 3-D virtual art gallery interface. It evaluates the extent to which a sample of typical computer users from a range of ages, educational attainments and employments can interpret the meaning of icons from the virtual interface taken ‘out of context’ and ‘in context’. The study assessed a sample of 21 icons representing the ‘action’, ‘information’ and ‘navigation’ functions of the virtual interface using a new Icon Recognition Testing method (IRT) developed by the researchers from existing usability test methods. The Icon Recognition Rate (IRR) of the icons was calculated and they were classified as ‘identifiable’, ‘mediocre’ or ‘vague’ in a novel and useful classification system. The IRT results show that the IRR of almost a quarter of the icons was below the ‘identifiable’ standard, which could seriously compromise the usability of a virtual interface. A comparison is made, using textual and thematic analysis, between the participants’ understanding of the icons’ meaning in and out of context and of the effect of positioning icons in relation to their virtual surroundings and of grouping them in tool bars. From the findings of the study, conclusions are drawn, and recommendations are made for economical icon redesign and replacement. It is suggested in the conclusions that further research is needed into how designers’ conceptual models can be better matched to users’ mental models in the design of virtual interfaces by bringing user profiles into the study

Diversity: Social and Cognitive Consequences. An investigation into the reasons for and the impact of diversity in schools

National research report for the Erasmus+ project entitled: @MINDSET – Managing Social Relations in Schools (project number: 2014-1-UK01-KA200-001766). Funded in part by the European Commission

Esports: Engaging Education

This was a White Paper created by UKie Digital Schoolhouse as part of this research was performed by Staffordshire University to answer the following two questions A. Does participating in esports create positive behavioural change in young players that will translate into behaviour modification in other aspects of their lives? B. Does participating in esports influence the career path and STEM interests of young players

Developing the @MINDSET Conflict Prevention Programme in Schools.

This paper examines issues of conflict in schools by using a systems approach based on the Hackman and Morris (1975) Input-Process-Output Model of group performance and Granovetter’s multiple level perspective on macro, meso and micro group levels (1973). This analysis informs the understanding of a school as a community in order to further develop the diversity management programme for the @MINDSET Erasmus+ project. The @MINDSET Conflict Prevention Programme is based on the extensive work of Dunsebury et al (1997) on critical elements of conflict prevention in the classroom

Developing the @MINDSET Conflict Prevention Programme

The @MINDSET Conflict Prevention Programme is based on the creation of 7 key components to setting up a successful conflict prevention programme in schools. It was the result of qualitative research from the @MINDSET Intensive study Programme, which took place 7th-11th March 2016 @MINDSET is an Erasmus+ European funded project. The objective of the @MINDSET project is to actively support diversity management within education settings, by equipping teachers with the appropriate tools to deal with diversity issues, while better encouraging students to become active citizens and empathizing adults. The project identifies the most common types of diversity in the school environment and develop on one hand the tools for the teachers to better manage it within the classroom and the school in general. While on the other promotes the issue of diversity and what it entails within society for pupils and help them embrace it

Serious Games

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th Joint International Conference on Serious Games, JCSG 2020, held in Stoke-on-Trent, UK, in November 2020. The 19 full papers presented together with 3 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 38 submissions. The papers offer a wide range in the use of serious games in several fields like learning, simulation, training, health, well-being, management, assessment or marketing and much more