Making A Real Connection:Pro-Social Collaborative Play in Extended Realities – Trends, Challenges and Potentials

Extended reality (XR) has emerged as new cutting-edge technology, encompassing augmented, virtual and mixed reality. Extended reality redefines and elevates the game user experience within immersive and blended environments and opens new horizons, not just for gaming but also for enhancing pro-social connections through collaborative play. This workshop is dedicated to charting the course of trends, identifying and dissecting challenges, and probing the potential inherent in pro-social collaborative play within extended realities. We invite researchers, designers, and practitioners to come together, offering a platform to showcase different approaches. The core objective is to foster the exchange of knowledge and rigorous research findings within this emerging field. By doing so, we aim to build a network and lay a robust foundation for the future implementation of collaborative play in extended reality, paving the way for its seamless integration into the scientific discourse and practice

Using Augmented Reality Toward Improving Social Skills:Scoping Review

BackgroundAugmented reality (AR) has emerged as a promising technology in educational settings owing to its engaging nature. However, apart from applications aimed at the autism spectrum disorder population, the potential of AR in social-emotional learning has received less attention. ObjectiveThis scoping review aims to map the range of AR applications that improve social skills and map the characteristics of such applications. MethodsIn total, 2 independent researchers screened 2748 records derived from 3 databases in December 2021—PubMed, IEEE Xplore, and ACM Guide to Computing Literature. In addition, the reference lists of all the included records and existing reviews were screened. Records that had developed a prototype with the main outcome of improving social skills were included in the scoping review. Included records were narratively described for their content regarding AR and social skills, their target populations, and their outcomes. Evaluation studies were assessed for methodological quality. ResultsA total of 17 records met the inclusion criteria for this study. Overall, 10 records describe applications for children with autism, primarily teaching about reading emotions in facial expressions; 7 records describe applications for a general population, targeting both children and adults, with a diverse range of outcome goals. The methodological quality of evaluation studies was found to be weak. ConclusionsMost applications are designed to be used alone, although AR is well suited to facilitating real-world interactions during a digital experience, including interactions with other people. Therefore, future AR applications could endorse social skills in a general population in more complex group settings

Digitale Angebote für Jugendliche als innovativer Ansatz zum Aufbau einer inklusiven Versorgungsstruktur in der Sozialen Arbeit

Der Beitrag untersucht die Unterstützungsbedarfe von Schüler_innen während der Schultransition in Österreich und fragt nach Möglichkeiten zum Aufbau von inklusiven Unterstützungsangeboten. Um diesbezüglich Erkenntnisse zu gewinnen, wurden zwei qualitative Datensätze analysiert: Einerseits ein Datensatz aus 2018, in welchem die Transition von der Volks- in die Sekundarschule und damit verbundene Herausforderungen mittels Interviews mit Schüler_innen und involvierten Erwachsenen untersucht wurden. Andererseits ein Datensatz aus 2020, in dem Praktiker_innen über Veränderungen der psychosozialen Unterstützungsangebote für Kinder und Familien während der Covid-19-Pandemie befragt wurden. Die Daten von 2018 zeigen, dass der Aufbau von positiven sozialen Beziehungen zu Gleichaltrigen eine wichtige Ressource für eine gelungene Schultransition darstellt, jedoch nicht immer gelingt, weshalb Unterstützungsbedarf benannt wird. Zugleich werden Zugangsbarrieren zu vorhandenen Unterstützungsangeboten deutlich, die in Zusammenhang mit drei soziodemografischen Charakteristika stehen: (1) Lebenssituation und geografischer Standort, (2) finanzielle Ressourcen und (3) Migrationshintergrund. Die Daten aus dem Jahr 2020 zeigen, dass es durch den Einsatz digitaler Angebote zu einer Überwindung von Zugangsbarrieren und hemmenden Strukturen kommen kann. Die Betrachtung beider Studienergebnisse lässt somit Implikationen für eine verbesserte, inklusive und innovative Versorgungsstruktur für Adressat_innen der Sozialen Arbeit zu

Grand Theft Empathy? Evidence for the absence of effects of violent video games on empathy for pain and emotional reactivity to violence

Influential accounts claim that violent video games (VVG) decrease players' emotional empathy by desensitizing them to both virtual and real-life violence. However, scientific evidence for this claim is inconclusive and controversially debated. To assess the causal effect of VVGs on the behavioral and neural correlates of empathy and emotional reactivity to violence, we conducted a prospective experimental study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We recruited eighty-nine male participants without prior VVG experience. Over the course of two weeks, participants played either a highly violent video game, or a non-violent version of the same game. Before and after this period, participants completed an fMRI experiment with paradigms measuring their empathy for pain and emotional reactivity to violent images. Applying a Bayesian analysis approach throughout enabled us to find substantial evidence for the absence of an effect of VVGs on the behavioral and neural correlates of empathy. Moreover, participants in the VVG group were not desensitized to images of real-world violence. These results imply that short and controlled exposure to VVGs does not numb empathy nor the responses to real-world violence. We discuss the implications of our findings regarding the potential and limitations of experimental research on the causal effects of VVGs

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Artifacts and Cochlear Implant Positioning at 1.5 T In Vivo

Objective. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging with the magnet of the cochlear implant receiver/stimulator in place causes artifacts and hinders evaluation of intracerebral structures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the internal auditory canal and the labyrinth in a 1.5T MRI with the magnet in place. Study Design. Observational study. Setting. Tertiary referral center. Subjects and Methods. The receiver/stimulator unit was placed and fixed onto the head of three volunteers at three different angles to the nasion–outer ear canal (90°–160°) and at three different distances from the outer ear canal (5–9 cm). T1 and T2 weighted sequences were conducted for each position. Results. Excellent visibility of the internal auditory canal and the labyrinth was seen in the T2 weighted sequences with 9 cm between the magnet and the outer ear canal at every nasion–outer ear canal angle. T1 sequences showed poorer visibility of the internal auditory canal and the labyrinth. Conclusion. Aftercare and visibility of intracerebral structures after cochlear implantation is becoming more important as cochlear implant indications are widened worldwide. With a distance of at least 9 cm from the outer ear canal the artifact induced by the magnet allows evaluation of the labyrinth and the internal auditory canal

Cochlear implants and 1.5 T MRI scans: the effect of diametrically bipolar magnets and screw fixation on pain

Abstract Background The probability that a patient will need an MRI scan at least once in a lifetime is high. However, MRI scanning in cochlear implantees is associated with side effects. Moreover, MRI scan-related artifacts, dislodging magnets, and pain are often the most frequent complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of pain in patients with cochlear implant systems using 1.5T MRI scans. Methods In a prospective case study of 10 implantees, an MRI scan was performed and the degree of pain was evaluated by a visual analog scale. Scans were performed firstly with and depending on the degree of discomfort/pain, without a headband. Four of the cochlear implants contained a screw fixation. Six cochlear implants contained an internal diametrically bipolar magnet. MRI observations were performed with a 1.5 T scanner. Results MRI scans were performed on all patients without causing any degree of pain, even without the use of a headband. Conclusion Patients undergoing 1.5 T MRIs with devices including a diametrically bipolar magnet or a rigid implant screw fixation, experienced no pain, even without headbands