Socio-digital experiences

The experiences emerging from interacting with digital technology need to be understood, designed and engineered. This is quintessential for ensuring that related systems and services have a purpose and value for their users, helping them achieve their aspirations and desires. Rooted in this human-experience centered perspective, we explore ambient intelligence technologies, where computation and communication are embedded in our physical and social environment, adapting to users and their context. The overarching motivation is to create novel socio-digital experiences that address societal needs, like staying connected with dear ones, children’s outdoor play, achieving desirable behavior change, supporting independent living, and rehabilitation. Looking to the future, two grand challenges concern us. First is to design technologies that people can shape to meet idiosyncratic and dynamically emerging requirements, known as meta-design. Second is endowing ambient intelligence technologies with aspects of social intelligence

Digital Museum Transformation Strategy Against the Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis

During the last decade, the art industry and especially the museums, the art galleries and the auctions has stagnated due to the global financial crisis (2007–2017) and latest lockdowns brought by the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-). Many art institutions introduced digital technologies into their operations and transitioned to the online art market. Visits to art exhibitions include interaction with other visitors of similar interests. Hence, digital art venues must create the same environment vibes and offer similar opportunities as the physical ones. The paper indicates the application of the avatar technology as an interaction method in digital museum spaces. It also provides the functional requirements, a navigation process, and the implementation scenarios for the adaptation of such technologies. The application of this digital strategy can transform the art market, contribute to the museum’s sustainability, and offer the public different ways of learning and entertainment

Mapping the Monetization Challenge of Gaming in Various Domains

The cost of developing successful games for either entertainment or business purposes is a high-risk investment but mandatory due to the nature of the sector. However, there are discrete and innovative ways that minimize the investments risk and assure profitability without losing the player’s engagement. Gaming monetization can be approached from direct or indirect financial charges based on the scope of the game and its target group. As of today, no monetization practice can be considered as a silver bullet as they are all affected by geographical, cultural, social, economic and other factors. This paper attempts to define the major monetization elements in the gaming industry. It also attempts to define the major gaming categories and subcategories and associate on them the monetization elements and techniques. Furthermore, it creates a map for the development of gamification monetization approaches per case which can contribute towards effective gaming investments management

Digital Cultural Strategies Within the Context of Digital Humanities Economics

Staying sustainable in the world of cultural heritage is a major organizational challenge nationally and internationally. Due to the global financial crisis the funds available to sustain the operations of museums and libraries become difficult not only to obtain them but also to utilized them effectively and efficiently. The operational costs of museums increase over the time due to exhibit maintenance and acquisition costs. This cost is inversely proportional to the revenues that can be generated. Virtual reality, avatar technologies, virtual worlds, holograms, gaming and gamification can offer creative interactivity and unique experiences with low or no cost to the global visitor and introduce new revenue streams. This paper practically integrates the realization of digital cultural strategies and operations within the context of digital humanities economics that can turn museums and libraries from cost centres to profit centres for the benefit of the humanity and the society

Perceived Influence of the Ferguson Effect On Law Enforcement Officer Turnover Intentions

Law enforcement officer turnover lacks the support of empirical research (Monk-Turner, O’Leary, & Sumter, 2010; Wareham, Smith, & Lambert, 2013), despite being costly in terms of both human and monetary capital (Peña, 2013; Reaves, 2012; Wilson & Sheer, 2013). What literature is available describes factors such as job dissatisfaction and monetary issues as reasons to leave an agency (Cyprian, 2009; Hubbard, 2008; McIntyre, 1990). A new phenomenon, known as the “Ferguson Effect” has been examined in terms of community involvement (Nix & Wolfe, 2016; Wolfe & Nix, 2016) and violent crime rates (Rosenfeld, 2015), but there is no research that looks at the Ferguson Effect’s relationship to law enforcement officer turnover. This non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive design study adds to the body of knowledge for law enforcement turnover and includes four research objectives. Findings of the study include five Ferguson Effect variables that were directly related to law enforcement officer motivation and proactive work efforts were significant. Turnover intentions among respondents did not rise to a level that would indicate an overall desire to leave their agency. There was a weak relationship between the Ferguson Effect and turnover intentions with the population studied. Additional research should be conducted using a population of less senior law enforcement officers, particularly line officers, to determine if different turnover intentions exist

Assessing the effectiveness of usability evaluation methods for children

The comparison of three Usability Evaluation Methods (UEM's) is reported with respect to the number of problems uncovered on software products, by children participants. The UEM's compared require different levels of verbalisation of the child that is performing the evaluation. Age of the children, gender, verbal competence, and extroversion level are things that could influence which UEM works best. The outcome of the experiment was that a UEM that requires the children to verbalise a lot is the most effective, and that girls find more problems in the program than boys