scholarly journals Multi-Stakeholder Development of a Serious Game to Explore the Water-Energy-Food-Land-Climate Nexus: The SIM4NEXUS Approach

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janez Sušnik ◽  
Chengzi Chew ◽  
Xavier Domingo ◽  
Simone Mereu ◽  
Antonio Trabucco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Serious Games ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
Quantitative Model ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Water, energy, food, land and climate form a tightly-connected nexus in which actions on one sector impact other sectors, creating feedbacks and unanticipated consequences. This is especially because at present, much scientific research and many policies are constrained to single discipline/sector silos that are often not interacting (e.g., water-related research/policy). However, experimenting with the interaction and determining how a change in one sector could impact another may require unreasonable time frames, be very difficult in practice and may be potentially dangerous, triggering any one of a number of unanticipated side-effects. Current modelling often neglects knowledge from practice. Therefore, a safe environment is required to test the potential cross-sectoral implications of policy decisions in one sector on other sectors. Serious games offer such an environment by creating realistic ‘simulations’, where long-term impacts of policies may be tested and rated. This paper describes how the ongoing (2016–2020) Horizon2020 project SIM4NEXUS will develop serious games investigating potential plausible cross-nexus implications and synergies due to policy interventions for 12 multi-scale case studies ranging from regional to global. What sets these games apart is that stakeholders and partners are involved in all aspects of the modelling definition and process, from case study conceptualisation, quantitative model development including the implementation and validation of each serious game. Learning from playing a serious game is justified by adopting a proof-of-concept for a specific regional case study in Sardinia (Italy). The value of multi-stakeholder involvement is demonstrated, and critical lessons learned for serious game development in general are presented.

scholarly journals A Method to Develop Accessible Online Serious Games for People with Disabilities: A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9584
Author(s):  
Angel Jaramillo-Alcázar ◽  
Paz Cortez-Silva ◽  
Marco Galarza-Castillo ◽  
Sergio Luján-Mora
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
The Other ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Teaching Tools

Video games that are used as teaching tools are called serious games. However, there is an important factor that is not usually considered in the design of serious games— the inclusion of people with disabilities. Inclusion can be reached only if accessibility takes on an important role for all. On the other hand, new trends have resulted in different smart devices being used in classrooms. These devices also allow for applications, such as serious games, to be used to support people’s learning process. Despite this, these applications are generally not multi-platform and do not usually consider accessibility features for people with disabilities. This paper proposes a method to develop accessible online serious games that consider people with disabilities as potential users. The method is applied in the case study of an online serious game that teaches about the architecture of a computer in a fun and entertaining way. The method also presents and describes several guidelines to improve online serious game accessibility for people with disabilities. Finally, tests are conducted with some users to gather information about the online serious game and the accessibility features included. This study has important implications for the development of learning tools that consider people with disabilities.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Usability of Authoring Environments for Serious Games

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aad Slootmaker ◽  
Hans Hummel ◽  
Rob Koper
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Authoring Environment ◽  
Game Developers ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Practical Implications

Background. The EMERGO method and online platform enable the development and delivery of scenario-based serious games that foster students to acquire professional competence. One of the main goals of the platform is to provide a user-friendly authoring environment for creating virtual environments where students can perform authentic tasks. Aim. We present the findings of an in-depth qualitative case study of the platform’s authoring environment and compare our findings on usability with those found for comparable environments in literature. Method. We carried out semi-structured interviews, with two experienced game developers who have authored a game for higher education, and a literature review of comparable environments. Findings. The analysis shows that the usability of the authoring environment is problematic, especially regarding understandability and learnability, which is in line with findings of comparable environments. Other findings are that authoring is well integrated with the EMERGO method and that functionality and reliability of the authoring environment are valued. Practical implications. The lessons learned are presented in the form of general guidelines to improve the understandability and learnability of authoring environments for serious games.

A Serious Game for On-the-Ward Infection Control Awareness Training

2012 ◽  
pp. 233-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Dunwell ◽  
Steve Jarvis
Keyword(s):  
Infection Control ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Training Professionals ◽  
Potential Link ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Healthcare Associated

Healthcare associated infections represent a major ongoing cost to health services. This chapter reviews the development and deployment of Ward Off Infection, a serious game targeted at improving infection control practices of nurses in on-the-ward training. The game was deployed in 2009 across 13 hospital wards within the UK. As limited usage of the game precluded attempts to consider its efficacy though pre and post-survey, this chapter focuses upon the key issues surrounding this low uptake. Relating these more generally to the deployment of serious games in healthcare, a potential link is observed between the presence of training professionals and usage of the game, as well as strong overriding perceptions of the medium and training objectives by users. The findings demonstrate the challenges associated with enacting effective behavioural and attitudinal change through a serious game deployed in an on the ward context, particularly with respect to stimulating high levels of perceived usefulness. Hence, the authors reflect on key lessons learned in the development and deployment of Ward Off Infection, and relate their findings to other studies of serious games in healthcare, identifying the context in which a game is deployed to be a critical development consideration.

scholarly journals Facilitating Collaborative Partnerships in Education Policy Research: A Case of Multi-Stakeholder, Co-Investigation for Monitoring and Evaluation of Education for Sustainable Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2787
Author(s):  
Robert J. Didham ◽  
Paul Ofei-Manu
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Strengthening the research-policy interface is dependent on conducting good research, as well as the appropriateness and applicability of identified policy options. The involvement of relevant stakeholders in collaborative research efforts to co-produce knowledge and recommendations to advance policies is one approach that can arguably improve this interface. This paper provides a practical instance of a research process on education for sustainable development (ESD) to develop a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework, which was conducted in the Asia region with participants from seven countries. This research process is presented as a pragmatic case study of how a collaborative research partnership was facilitated, and it examines how the interaction between researchers, policymakers and practitioners can be structured to support mutual learning in the field of sustainability education. The paper examines the wider debates regarding the research-policy interface, and it identifies the learning features that were achieved in this collaborative partnership, as well as the benefits this had for the research and knowledge co-generation. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges and issues M&E raises about the relationship between research and policy in ESD and suggests ways to address them.

scholarly journals An Approach to Accessible Serious Games for People with Dyslexia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2507
Author(s):  
Angel Jaramillo-Alcázar ◽  
Eduardo Venegas ◽  
Santiago Criollo-C ◽  
Sergio Luján-Mora
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Cognitive Disorder ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Development Method ◽  
Accessibility Guidelines ◽  
The One ◽  
Game Developers

Dyslexia is a cognitive disorder that affects the evolutionary ability to read, write, and speak in people, affecting the correct learning of a large percentage of the population worldwide. In fact, incorrect learning is caused because the educational system does not take into consideration the accessibility parameters that people with dyslexia need to maintain a sustainable educational level equal to others. Moreover, the use of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, has been deployed in education programs, offering many benefits; however, the lack of accessibility of those devices creates new barriers to students with dyslexia that hinder their education. With the aim of reducing these barriers, this paper presents an approach to the development of accessible serious games games for children with dyslexia. As a case study, a serious game based on a previously proposed serious game development method and a new set of accessibility guidelines for people with dyslexia is presented. The main purpose of the serious video game is to improve the treatment of dyslexia, through the collection of data obtained from two puzzles designed to train certain cognitive areas that affect this disability. This article has a double contribution: on the one hand, the guidelines and the method that can help video game developers and therapists to develop accessible serious games for people with dyslexia and, on the other hand, the two specific serious games that can be used by therapists, family members and people with dyslexia themselves.

scholarly journals An Agent Based approach to design Serious Game

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Gentile ◽  
Dario La Guardia ◽  
Valentina Dal Grande ◽  
Simona Ottaviano ◽  
Mario Allegra
Keyword(s):  
Serious Games ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Educational Effectiveness ◽  
Exploratory Learning ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
New Learning ◽  
The Right ◽  
Opening Up

Serious games are designed to train and educate learners, opening up new learning approaches like exploratory learning and situated cognition.  Despite growing interest in these games, their design is still an artisan process.On the basis of experiences in designing computer simulation, this paper proposes an agent-based approach to guide the design process of a serious game. The proposed methodology allows the designer to strike the right equilibrium between educational effectiveness and entertainment, realism and complexity.The design of the PNPVillage game is used as a case study. The PNPVillage game aims to introduce and foster an entrepreneurial mindset among young students. It was implemented within the framework of the European project “I  can… I cannot… I go!” Rev.2

Safety and Security in Nightlife Areas in the Netherlands

2021 ◽  
pp. 211-227
Author(s):  
Mirjam Galetzka ◽  
Randy Bloeme ◽  
Peter W. de Vries ◽  
Manja Abraham ◽  
Joris Van Hoof ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Small Component ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Public Behavior ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Large Groups

Nightlife areas aim to offer a hospitable environment for a public that is looking for entertainment but also produces nuisance. A recent paradigm shift focuses on changing public behavior rather than policing. This chapter describes two case studies from the Netherlands. The observations showed that at night the nightlife areas become an unofficial ‘festival zone' with large groups of tobacco smokers on the streets. Noise from these smokers (and friends) was identified as a major problem. Based on the lessons learned, a behavioral intervention approach is proposed that relies on multi-stakeholder participation and combines technology and choice architecture. The use of technology is relevant in several steps of the approach, and can be useful in facilitating behavior, reducing the impact of disruptive behavior, and monitoring the effectiveness of interventions. However, the Amsterdam case study also suggests that technology should rather be a small component of a broader positive behavioral and multi-stakeholder approach.

scholarly journals Usability Testing for Serious Games: Making Informed Design Decisions with User Data

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Moreno-Ger ◽  
Javier Torrente ◽  
Yichuan Grace Hsieh ◽  
William T. Lester
Keyword(s):  
Serious Games ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Usability Testing ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Educational Game ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Medication Knowledge ◽  
User Data ◽  
Successful Design

Usability testing is a key step in the successful design of new technologies and tools, ensuring that heterogeneous populations will be able to interact easily with innovative applications. While usability testing methods of productivity tools (e.g., text editors, spreadsheets, or management tools) are varied, widely available, and valuable, analyzing the usability of games, especially educational “serious” games, presents unique usability challenges. Because games are fundamentally different than general productivity tools, “traditional” usability instruments valid for productivity applications may fall short when used for serious games. In this work we present a methodology especially designed to facilitate usability testing for serious games, taking into account the specific needs of such applications and resulting in a systematically produced list of suggested improvements from large amounts of recorded gameplay data. This methodology was applied to a case study for a medical educational game, MasterMed, intended to improve patients’ medication knowledge. We present the results from this methodology applied to MasterMed and a summary of the central lessons learned that are likely useful for researchers who aim to tune and improve their own serious games before releasing them for the general public.

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