A Novel Approach for Training Crane Operators: Serious Game on Crane Simulator

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amal K. George ◽  
M. L. McLain ◽  
Kamal Bijlani ◽  
R. Jayakrishnan ◽  
Rao R. Bhavani
Keyword(s):  
Serious Game ◽  
Novel Approach

scholarly journals A Game to Deal With Alcohol Abuse (Jib): Development and Game Experience Evaluation (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darlinton Barbosa Feres Carvalho ◽  
Daniel Bueno Domingueti ◽  
Sandro Martins De Almeida Santos ◽  
Diego Roberto Colombo Dias
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Alcohol Abuse ◽  
Premature Death ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Adventure Games ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Historical Heritage ◽  
The University ◽  
Relationship Of

BACKGROUND Alcohol abuse is the primary cause of (public) health problems in most parts of the world. However, it is undeniable that alcohol consumption is a practice that is widely accepted socially in many places, even being protected by law as a cultural and historical heritage. The issue of alcohol abuse is complex and urgent, and consequently, it is necessary to create innovative approaches such as the proposal explored in this study. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the development and evaluation of a serious game for smartphones to present a novel approach to address the issue of alcohol abuse. METHODS A serious game was developed to instill the consequences of alcohol abuse into the player through experimentation in the game. In the game, the consequences of alcohol use are demonstrated by increasing the game speed that gives an illusion of fun but also leads to a premature death. The evaluation employed an assessment based on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ). The participants belonged to the university student’s house. RESULTS The game development process has been presented, including its mechanics and gameplay. The game has the style of action and adventure games in which the player controls an indigenous avatar that can deflect or attack opponents coming his or her way. The game evaluation comprised an assessment based on 23 participants, aged 20 to 29 years. According to the AUDIT assessment, 18 participants reported having a low or nonexistent degree of alcohol dependence and 5 declared average dependence. Regarding their habit of playing games on smartphones, 9 participants declared they have this habit of playing (habitual players), and among the 14 that did not have this habit of playing (nonhabitual players), 3 participants declared not having a smartphone at all. The GEQ core assessment showed a higher positive affect among the participants with a habit of playing games, scoring 2.80 (habitual players) on a scale of 4.0 versus 1.61 (nonhabitual players), and higher tension as an opposite relationship of 0.81 (nonhabitual players) versus 0.37 (habitual players). The overall GEQ evaluation showed that the game presents a more positive than negative affect on all users, besides showing the other desirable characteristics of serious games. CONCLUSIONS We present a new way of dealing with the issue of alcohol abuse through a game designed for smartphones. It promotes an overall positive user experience, having a greater impact on users accustomed to games. The proposed approach has its niche, though it is still a minority in the evaluated population. Further research should explore new game features, such as new styles, to make the game more attractive to a wider audience, in addition to performing an in-depth study on the effects of playing it.

scholarly journals A Game to Deal With Alcohol Abuse (Jib): Development and Game Experience Evaluation

10.2196/11151 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. e11151
Author(s):  
Darlinton Barbosa Feres Carvalho ◽  
Daniel Bueno Domingueti ◽  
Sandro Martins De Almeida Santos ◽  
Diego Roberto Colombo Dias
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Alcohol Abuse ◽  
Premature Death ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Adventure Games ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Historical Heritage ◽  
The University ◽  
Relationship Of

Background Alcohol abuse is the primary cause of (public) health problems in most parts of the world. However, it is undeniable that alcohol consumption is a practice that is widely accepted socially in many places, even being protected by law as a cultural and historical heritage. The issue of alcohol abuse is complex and urgent, and consequently, it is necessary to create innovative approaches such as the proposal explored in this study. Objective This study aimed to explore the development and evaluation of a serious game for smartphones to present a novel approach to address the issue of alcohol abuse. Methods A serious game was developed to instill the consequences of alcohol abuse into the player through experimentation in the game. In the game, the consequences of alcohol use are demonstrated by increasing the game speed that gives an illusion of fun but also leads to a premature death. The evaluation employed an assessment based on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ). The participants belonged to the university student’s house. Results The game development process has been presented, including its mechanics and gameplay. The game has the style of action and adventure games in which the player controls an indigenous avatar that can deflect or attack opponents coming his or her way. The game evaluation comprised an assessment based on 23 participants, aged 20 to 29 years. According to the AUDIT assessment, 18 participants reported having a low or nonexistent degree of alcohol dependence and 5 declared average dependence. Regarding their habit of playing games on smartphones, 9 participants declared they have this habit of playing (habitual players), and among the 14 that did not have this habit of playing (nonhabitual players), 3 participants declared not having a smartphone at all. The GEQ core assessment showed a higher positive affect among the participants with a habit of playing games, scoring 2.80 (habitual players) on a scale of 4.0 versus 1.61 (nonhabitual players), and higher tension as an opposite relationship of 0.81 (nonhabitual players) versus 0.37 (habitual players). The overall GEQ evaluation showed that the game presents a more positive than negative affect on all users, besides showing the other desirable characteristics of serious games. Conclusions We present a new way of dealing with the issue of alcohol abuse through a game designed for smartphones. It promotes an overall positive user experience, having a greater impact on users accustomed to games. The proposed approach has its niche, though it is still a minority in the evaluated population. Further research should explore new game features, such as new styles, to make the game more attractive to a wider audience, in addition to performing an in-depth study on the effects of playing it.

Game Mastering in Collaborative Serious Games

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Wendel ◽  
Stefan Krepp ◽  
Michael Oliver Gutjahr ◽  
Stefan Göbel ◽  
Ralf Steinmetz
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Learning Scenarios ◽  
User Centric ◽  
Learning Together

In collaborative learning scenarios, the role of the instructor is vital. This aspect directly carries over to the concept of collaborative multiplayer Serious Games, where a group of players is learning together using a Serious Game. In this paper, the authors propose a novel approach for integration and support of instructors in collaborative multiplayer Serious Game scenarios. Their approach considers instructor tasks and responsibilities. It defines an interface for 3D action adventure-like games, defining relevant game information and adaptation access. It further includes a Game Mastering framework for orchestrating and adapting such games at runtime via an instructor. The concept was implemented on top of an existing Serious Game (Escape from Wilson Island) and evaluated in a user-centric study with N=40 participants (age m=23.39; SD=3.05). Results show that an instructor using our framework in a collaborative learning scenario can positively influence players' game experience (p<.05) and success towards the intended goals, as well as recognize and counteract problems at runtime.

scholarly journals Serious Sensor Placement—Optimal Sensor Placement as a Serious Game

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Arbesser-Rastburg ◽  
Daniela Fuchs-Hanusch
Keyword(s):  
Distribution System ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Sensor Placement ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Optimal Placement ◽  
Placement Problem ◽  
Optimal Sensor Placement ◽  
Novel Approach

In this paper, we present a novel approach in water loss research combining two different topics: The optimal placement of pressure sensors to localize leaks in water distribution systems and Serious Gaming—games that are not only entertaining but that are also serving another purpose. The goal was to create a web interface, through which gamers could place sensors in a water distribution system model, in order to improve these sensor positions after they had been evaluated by a suitable algorithm. Two game objectives are to be pursued by the players: reaching a specified net coverage while not using more than a maximum number of sensors. For this purpose, an existing optimal sensor placement algorithm was extended and implemented, together with two hydraulic models taken from literature. The resulting Serious Game was then tested and rated in a case study. The results showed that human players are able to reach solutions that are similar regarding net coverage to those obtained by optimization, within in a short amount of time. Furthermore, it was shown that the implementation of the ideal sensor placement problem as a Serious Game motivates the players to get better and better results, while also providing them with an enjoyable gaming experience.

Copper-dependent ATP7B up-regulation drives the resistance of TMEM16A-overexpressing head-and-neck cancer models to platinum toxicity

2019 ◽  
Vol 476 (24) ◽  
pp. 3705-3719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avani Vyas ◽  
Umamaheswar Duvvuri ◽  
Kirill Kiselyov
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Platinum Resistance ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Platinum Compounds ◽  
Copper Chelation ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Cancer Models

Platinum-containing drugs such as cisplatin and carboplatin are routinely used for the treatment of many solid tumors including squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). However, SCCHN resistance to platinum compounds is well documented. The resistance to platinum has been linked to the activity of divalent transporter ATP7B, which pumps platinum from the cytoplasm into lysosomes, decreasing its concentration in the cytoplasm. Several cancer models show increased expression of ATP7B; however, the reason for such an increase is not known. Here we show a strong positive correlation between mRNA levels of TMEM16A and ATP7B in human SCCHN tumors. TMEM16A overexpression and depletion in SCCHN cell lines caused parallel changes in the ATP7B mRNA levels. The ATP7B increase in TMEM16A-overexpressing cells was reversed by suppression of NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2), by the antioxidant N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) and by copper chelation using cuprizone and bathocuproine sulphonate (BCS). Pretreatment with either chelator significantly increased cisplatin's sensitivity, particularly in the context of TMEM16A overexpression. We propose that increased oxidative stress in TMEM16A-overexpressing cells liberates the chelated copper in the cytoplasm, leading to the transcriptional activation of ATP7B expression. This, in turn, decreases the efficacy of platinum compounds by promoting their vesicular sequestration. We think that such a new explanation of the mechanism of SCCHN tumors’ platinum resistance identifies novel approach to treating these tumors.

Collecting Words: A Clinical Example of a Morphology-Focused Orthographic Intervention

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 544-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Murphy ◽  
Emily A. Diehm
Keyword(s):  
Written Language ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
English Orthography ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
The One ◽  
Critical Intervention ◽  
Reading And Spelling ◽  
Reading And Spelling Difficulties

Purpose Morphological interventions promote gains in morphological knowledge and in other oral and written language skills (e.g., phonological awareness, vocabulary, reading, and spelling), yet we have a limited understanding of critical intervention features. In this clinical focus article, we describe a relatively novel approach to teaching morphology that considers its role as the key organizing principle of English orthography. We also present a clinical example of such an intervention delivered during a summer camp at a university speech and hearing clinic. Method Graduate speech-language pathology students provided a 6-week morphology-focused orthographic intervention to children in first through fourth grade ( n = 10) who demonstrated word-level reading and spelling difficulties. The intervention focused children's attention on morphological families, teaching how morphology is interrelated with phonology and etymology in English orthography. Results Comparing pre- and posttest scores, children demonstrated improvement in reading and/or spelling abilities, with the largest gains observed in spelling affixes within polymorphemic words. Children and their caregivers reacted positively to the intervention. Therefore, data from the camp offer preliminary support for teaching morphology within the context of written words, and the intervention appears to be a feasible approach for simultaneously increasing morphological knowledge, reading, and spelling. Conclusion Children with word-level reading and spelling difficulties may benefit from a morphology-focused orthographic intervention, such as the one described here. Research on the approach is warranted, and clinicians are encouraged to explore its possible effectiveness in their practice. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12290687

Abstract #709: E-Consults: A Novel Approach to Increase Access to Subspecialty Care in Endocrinology

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Kaniksha Desai ◽  
Halis Akturk ◽  
Ana Maria Chindris ◽  
Shon Meek ◽  
Robert Smallridge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Novel Approach
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