Gamifying research : Strategies, opportunities, challenges, ethics

From social sciences to biology and physics, gamified systems and games are increasingly being used as contexts and tools for research: as "petri dishes" for observing macro-social and economic dynamics; as sources of "big" and/or ecologically valid user behavior and health data; as crowdsourcing tools for research tasks; or as a means to motivate e.g. survey completion. However, this gamification of research comes with significant ethical ramifications. This workshop therefore explores opportunities, challenges, best practices, and ethical issues arising from different strategies of gamifying research

Sex-specific fundamental and formant frequency patterns in a cross-sectional study

An extensive developmental acoustic study of the speech patterns of children and adults was reported by Lee and colleagues [Lee et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105, 1455-1468 (1999)]. This paper presents a reexamination of selected fundamental frequency and formant frequency data presented in their report for 10 monophthongs by investigating sex-specific and developmental patterns using two different approaches. The first of these includes the investigation of age- and sex-specific formant frequency patterns in the monophthongs. The second, the investigation of fundamental frequency and formant frequency data using the critical band rate (bark) scale and a number of acoustic-phonetic dimensions of the monophthongs from an age- and sex-specific perspective. These acoustic-phonetic dimensions include: vowel spaces and distances from speaker centroids; frequency differences between the formant frequencies of males and females; vowel openness/closeness and frontness/backness; the degree of vocal effort; and formant frequency ranges. Both approaches reveal both age- and sex-specific development patterns which also appear to be dependent on whether vowels are peripheral or non-peripheral. The developmental emergence of these sex-specific differences are discussed with reference to anatomical, physiological, sociophonetic and culturally determined factors. Some directions for further investigation into the age-linked sex differences in speech across the lifespan are also proposed

Are You Open? : A Content Analysis of Transparency and Openness Guidelines in HCI Journals

Within the wider open science reform movement, HCI researchers are actively debating how to foster transparency in their own field. Publication venues play a crucial role in instituting open science practices, especially journals, whose procedures arguably lend themselves better to them than conferences. Yet we know lit- tle about how much HCI journals presently support open science practices. We identified the 51 most frequently published-in jour- nals by recent CHI first authors and coded them according to the Transparency and Openness Promotion guidelines, a high-profile standard of evaluating editorial practices. Results indicate that jour- nals in our sample currently do not set or specify clear openness and transparency standards. Out of a maximum of 29, the modal score was 0 (mean = 2.5, SD = 3.6, max = 15). We discuss potential reasons, the aptness of natural science-based guidelines for HCI, and next steps for the HCI community in furthering openness and transparency

Gamification in Management : Between Choice Architecture and Humanistic Design

Gamification in management is currently informed by two contradicting framings or rhetorics: the rhetoric of choice architecture casts humans as rational actors and games as perfect information and incentive dispensers, giving managers fine-grained control over people’s behavior. It aligns with basic tenets of neoclassical economics, scientific management, operations research/management science, and current big data-driven decision-making. In contrast, the rhetoric of humanistic design casts humans as growth-oriented and games as environments optimally designed to afford positive, meaningful experiences. This view, fitting humanistic management ideas and the rise of design and customer experience, casts managers as ‘second order’ designers. While both rhetorics highlight important aspects of games and management, the former is more likely to be adopted and absorbed into business as usual, whereas the latter holds more uncertainty but also transformative potential

Study design of a randomised, placebo-controlled trial of nintedanib in children and adolescents with fibrosing interstitial lung disease

Childhood interstitial lung disease (chILD) comprises >200 rare respiratory disorders, with no currently approved therapies and variable prognosis. Nintedanib reduces the rate of forced vital capacity (FVC) decline in adults with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). We present the design of a multicentre, prospective, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial of nintedanib in patients with fibrosing chILD (1199-0337 or InPedILD; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04093024). Male or female children and adolescents aged 6–17 years (≥30; including ≥20 adolescents aged 12–17 years) with clinically significant fibrosing ILD will be randomised 2:1 to receive oral nintedanib or placebo on top of standard of care for 24 weeks (double-blind), followed by variable-duration nintedanib (open-label). Nintedanib dosing will be based on body weight-dependent allometric scaling, with single-step dose reductions permitted to manage adverse events. Eligible patients will have evidence of fibrosis on high-resolution computed tomography (within 12 months of their first screening visit), FVC ≥25% predicted, and clinically significant disease (Fan score of ≥3 or evidence of clinical progression over time). Patients with underlying chronic liver disease, significant pulmonary arterial hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or increased bleeding risk are ineligible. The primary endpoints are pharmacokinetics and the proportion of patients with treatment-emergent adverse events at week 24. Secondary endpoints include change in FVC% predicted from baseline, Pediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire, oxygen saturation, and 6-min walk distance at weeks 24 and 52. Additional efficacy and safety endpoints will be collected to explore long-term effects

Gamification through leaderboards : an empirical study in engineering education

Universities are looking for solutions to engage more students in STEM domains and enhance their learning performance (LP). In this context, gamification is put forward as a solution to achieve this aim. The present study examined the effect of gamification – building on leaderboards ‐ on LP. Furthermore, mediating variables, such as intrinsic motivation, self‐efficacy, engagement, and background variables, such as sex, previous gaming experience, and undergraduate major, were considered. A pretest‐posttest quasi‐experimental design with an experimental and a control condition was set up (n = 89) in an Introductory Computer Programming course. We observed a significant improvement in the LP of students in the gamified condition. However, no interaction effect was detected, due to mediating and background variables. The high learning gain is a favorable indicator that gamification might be a promising approach to promote STEM programs

In vitro growth inhibition of bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma congolense by iron chelators

African trypanosomes exert significant morbidity and mortality in man and livestock. Only a few drugs are available for the treatment of trypanosome infections and therefore, the development of new anti-trypanosomal agents is required. Previously it has been shown that bloodstream-form trypanosomes are sensitive to the iron chelator deferoxamine. In this study the effect of 13 iron chelators on the growth of Trypanosoma brucei, T. congolense and human HL-60 cells was tested in vitro. With the exception of 2 compounds, all chelators exhibited anti-trypanosomal activities, with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) values ranging between 2.1 – 220 μM. However, the iron chelators also displayed cytotoxicity towards human HL-60 cells and therefore, only less favourable selectivity indices compared to commercially available drugs. Interfering with iron metabolism may be a new strategy in the treatment of trypanosome infections. More specifically, lipophilic iron-chelating agents may serve as lead compounds for novel anti-trypanosomal drug development