Although the effects of violent video games on aggression in users have been researched extensively and the resulting body of research shows that violent video games can increase aggressive behaviors, aggression-related feelings and thoughts, and physiological arousal, no empirical studies to date have examined whether there are similar and parallel effects of verbal aggression (e.g., profanity) in video game content. A 2 X 2 between-subjects factorial experiment (N = 321) tested the effects of profanity used by protagonists (protagonist profanity present versus absent) and antagonists (antagonist profanity present versus absent) on users' hostile expectations, accessibility of aggressive thoughts, aggressive feelings, perceived arousal, use of profanity, enjoyment, presence, and perceived performance while taking into account the potential moderating role of gender and controlling for several individual difference variables. The study's factors were manipulated via the creation of four versions of an original three-dimensional "first-person shooter" video game. Profanity used by both protagonist and antagonist characters was found to have significant effects on players' hostile expectations, an important higher-order aggressive outcome that is the most direct precursor to aggressive behaviors in the process described by the general aggression model. There was limited evidence for effects of profanity in game content on players' accessibility of aggressive thoughts, aggressive feelings, and perceived arousal. Additionally, profanity had little impact on how much players used profanity themselves, how much they enjoyed the game, feelings of presence, and how they rated their performance in the game. These trends were consistent across a range of demographic, personality, and video game experience dimensions that were measured, even though several of these individual difference variables were found to be related to some outcome variables and to each other. Therefore, while this study's findings did not necessarily indicate imitative modeling of profanity, they point to the possibility of more general effects regarding aggressive outcomes. This study's findings emphasize the need for future research investigating the effects of profanity in video games and other media. / Ph. D.

My studies consider the application of digital game theory to the instruction of writing in the first year composition classroom. I frame my argument through dialectic of representation and simulation and the cultural shift now in progress from the latter to the former. I first address the history of multimodal composition in the writing classroom, specifically noting the movement from analysis to design. In the third chapter, I examine several primary tenants of video game theory in relation to traditional academic writing, such as the concept of authorship and the importance of a rule system. My final chapter combines the multimodal and digital game theory to create what I term "digital game composition pedagogy." The last chapter offers new ways to discuss writing and composing through the theories of video games, and shows how video games extend the theories associated with writing to discussions that coincide with an interest that many of our students have outside of the classroom. / Master of Arts

No description available.

Introduction: Video game is an emerging technology with potential to overcome many of the current barriers to behavior change. Video game playing is now woven into the fabric of children’s life and has been developed to educate individuals in health-related areas. Story immersion refers to the experience of being fully absorbed within a story in the game and is a key factor that contributes to the mechanism of behavior change. “Escape from Diab (Diab)is a health videogame designed to lower the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes through behavior change components that were integrated into activities within the game storyline. This thesis was designed to investigate the effect of Diab for childhood obesity prevention among Hong Kong Chinese children. Methods: A literature review was conducted. Subsequently, study one conducted the validation of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) with 469 Hong Kong Chinese children. Study two was a cross-sectional study to explore the associations of self-efficacy, motivation, preference with both self-reported and objective physical activity (PA) in 301 children. Study three consisted of two phases. Phase one conducted individual interviews with 34 Hong Kong Chinese children to gather their perceptions of Diab and to assess Diab’s acceptability and applicability. Phase two examined the effect of playing nine episodes of Diab on children’s health outcomes (i.e., motivation, self-efficacy, preference for diet and PA, and PA behavior) through a non-randomized intervention. Results: The review demonstrated the effects of interventions by using health videogames on the psychological correlates. However, limited evidence is available to draw conclusions on the games’ behavioral modification efficacy. In study one, good internal consistency and test-retest reliability suggest that the PAQ-C is an adequately reliable instrument for use among Chinese children. The significant moderate correlation between the PAQ-C score and accelerometer measured moderate-to-vigorous PA support the PAQ-C’s acceptable validity. Study two revealed the important effects of self-efficacy and autonomous motivation in predicting PA. Differences were found between the prediction of self-reported PA and objective PA, which is likely due to self-reported error variance common to the PAQ-C and psychological correlates but not common to acclerometry. Study three indicated that Diab was perceived to be an immersive game by most of participating Hong Kong Chinese children. Four themes emerged from the interviews indicated that story immersion was a perceptible component and that Diab, developed for American children, was acceptable to the Hong Kong Chinese children. The pilot intervention study found short-term benefits after completing the game. However, the effects were not sustained at follow-up testing 8-10 weeks later. Conclusion: The current thesis demonstrated the validity of PAQ-C and the important effects of self-efficacy and autonomous motivation in predicting PA, which could inform the development of efficacious interventions. Diab, a Health videogames with appealing characters and immersive stories, partially motivated children to improve their motivation, self-efficacy, and preference for diet and PA behaviors immediately after completing nine episodes of the game, however, the lasting effectiveness and mechanisms of change require more thorough investigation.

A research report submitted to the faculty of Engineering and the built environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg, August 2016 / There has been much interest in using the Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect cameras for visual servo control applications. It is a relatively cheap device with expected shortcomings. This work contributes to the practical considerations of using the Kinect for visual servo control applications. A comprehensive characterisation of the Kinect is synthesised from existing literature and results from a nonlinear calibration procedure. The Kinect reduces computational overhead on image processing stages, such as pose estimation or depth estimation. It is limited by its 0.8m to 3.5m practical depth range and quadratic depth resolution of 1.8mm to 35mm, respectively. Since the Kinect uses an infra-red (IR) projector, a class one laser, it should not be used outdoors, due to IR saturation, and objects belonging to classes of non- IR-friendly surfaces should be avoided, due to IR refraction, absorption, or specular reflection. Problems of task stability due to invalid depth measurements in Kinect depth maps and practical depth range limitations can be reduced by using depth map preprocessing and activating classical visual servoing techniques when Kinect-based approaches are near task failure. / MT2017

Os jogos eletrônicos constituem uma ponte natural entre os usuários e a informação, e possibilitam um equilíbrio entre o desafio e o envolvimento do jogador durante a interação. Os serious games, por sua vez, representam uma categoria distinta de jogos eletrônicos que explora a expertise da indústria de jogos com objetivo de imprimir atratividade às simulações, sem deixar de lado a consolidação de conceitos e/ou desenvolvimento de habilidades psicomotoras. Na atualidade, a busca por aplicações instrucionais tem-se expandido em diversos setores, sobretudo na área de saúde. Além disso, o treinamento prévio dos profissionais de saúde é de grande importância à segurança dos pacientes. Os serious games, em razão de oferecerem a possibilidade de experimentação segura, permitem ao estudante de Graduação ou profissional da área, inserido no papel de jogador, testar ações e tomar decisões em situações que exporiam o paciente ao risco em um caso clínico real, sem implicações. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste estudo foi o desenvolvimento de um serious game educativo, para dispositivos móveis, com caráter de simulação e treinamento, voltado ao estudante de Odontologia (e a outros profissionais da área), com atenção às técnicas e particularidades do atendimento clínico odontopediátrico. A onipresença dos dispositivos móveis e a sua interface de usuário intuitiva também motivaram o desenvolvimento do aplicativo Dental Training e o seu direcionamento à simulação do atendimento e no treinamento clínico, uma vez tablets e smartphones adaptam-se facilmente a qualquer ambiente de aprendizado. Em decorrência deste estudo, pode-se constatar que as atividades de treinamento e simulação suportadas por novas tecnologias podem ser mais do que meros coadjuvantes no processo de formação, beneficiando, assim, tanto pacientes como profissionais. Os serious games podem ser aplicados, de fato, para aprimorar o desenvolvimento cognitivo, especialmente a capacidade de descobrir, explorar, aprimorar o raciocínio lógico, solucionar problemas, e de desenvolver habilidades como concentração, curiosidade, estimulando a autoconfiança no processo. Desta forma, com a inserção deste serious game em um modelo tradicional de ensino de Graduação, será possível flexibilizar o quociente da relação presencial-digital paulatinamente, por meio de maior ênfase na aprendizagem das tecnologias digitais, e robustecer a atuação dos estudantes nas atividades práticas do curso. / Electronic games represent a natural bridge between users and information, in a proper balance between challenge and player involvement during interaction. Serious games, in turn, represent a distinct category of electronic games that exploit the gaming industry\'s expertise in order to bring attractiveness to simulations, without neglecting the development of psychomotor skills. Nowadays, the research for instructional applications has expanded in several sectors, especially in the health area. In addition, previous training of health professionals is of great importance to patient safety. Serious games, by virtue of offering the possibility of safe experimentation, allow either undergraduate student or professionals, inserted in the role of player, to test actions and take the proper decisions in situations that would expose the patient to risk in real life, without any implications. Therefore, this study was aimed to create and develop an educational serious game, for mobile devices, with a simulation and training character, aimed at the student of Dentistry (and other professionals as well), with attention to the techniques and particularities of pediatric dentistry care. The omnipresence of mobile devices and the fluid user interface have also motivated the development of the application Dental Training by focusing in simulation and clinical training as tablets and smartphones adapt easily to any learning environment. As a result of this study, it should be noted that the training and simulation activities supported by new technologies could be more than mere adjuncts in the training process, thus benefiting both patients and professionals. Serious games can be used to enhance cognitive development, especially the ability to discover, explore, improve logical reasoning, solve problems, and develop skills such as concentration, curiosity and self-confidence. In this fashion, with the inclusion of this serious game in a traditional model of undergraduate education, it will be possible to increase the \"face-to-face relationship\" quotient gradually, by means of a greater emphasis on learning digital technologies, and to strengthen students\' performance in practical course activities.

Mankind has developed a lot in the field of Information Technology (IT), Computer Science and Media entertainment. Video games are also the most popular form of media entertainment and gaming environment. It has been popular long before the new generation video games idea was ever thought by the video game designers. Through our research we tried to investigate the positive and negative effects of video games on youth and children. This form of entertainment is more designed attracted among the people, due to the high sophisticated music and environment, which catches every eye. We not only analyzed the previous attempts in this area, but also tried to add some contribution to it. The excessive use of video games makes it more damaging effects on a young mind. Parents and teachers should keep a check on youngsters, and also the companies who design such violent games should keep in account that, what they show through these video games must have some logical or educational value. Many children and youngsters we found through our survey like to play video games because they do not have any other entertaining options. Violent video games are the most appreciated one among children and young people because of the detailed high quality graphics, more realistic images, use of artificial intelligence, complex game strategies, intelligent game inference engines and human-machine interaction. Parents should keep check on their children and select such video games for them which teach their children some useful things and beneficial for them in studies and near future. The teachers in school should also talk more about the advantages of educative games or physical games to develop the young minds more professional and realistic, rather than creating fantasy and fake imaginations. Our survey and research showed us that due to the high attraction of the video games, positive and negative effects are going side by side. Many youth and children do not take the video games seriously and just play them as any another game, while some video game players have disturbed their studies and health by playing the video games for many hours. Many children and young generation denied calling it as an addiction or bad habit. If violence and killing a life is entertainment then human beings will consider it, as a fun and modern society cannot be defined as civilized. This is what we found from our research and survey. / Program: Magisterutbildning i informatik

This thesis establishes a theoretical framework for understanding virtual spaces and roleplaying in relation to Ian Bogost's theory of "procedural rhetoric," the art of persuading through rule systems alone. Bogost characterizes the persuasive power of games as setting up an Aristotelian enthymeme--an incomplete argument--that one completes through play; however, I argue that the dominant rhetoric intended by a team of game designers is subject to manipulation through player choice. Discrete structures within the play experience cause the meaning-making possibilities of a game object to pullulate in a number of directions. Procedural rhetoric is not comprehended or created when reflected back upon after play: we interrogate it, piece it together, and change it through play. If rules are how the designers express themselves through videogames, then the player expresses herself by forming a personal ruleset--a modus operandi or ethical system--in response to the dominant rhetoric. Furthermore, game space is not merely the place where this dialectic occurs; it also embodies a ruleset in the way it organizes objects and directs the flow of play. The thesis proposes a model by which games, which are "half-real" according to theorist Jesper Juul, can be judged intersubjectively--that is, in a way that accounts for the objectivity of their rulesets and the subjectivity of player experience. By fully understanding the dynamic between the three procedural influences of rules, space, and identity, we can learn more about designing persuasive game systems and enhance the possibilities of subversive play.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed May 27, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-34)

Orientador: Ana Maria Pellegrini / Banca: Sergio Tosi Rodrigues / Banca: Luiz Eduardo Pinto Basto Tourinho Dantas / Resumo: Ao longo do desenvolvimento motor, algumas crianças apresentam dificuldades no desempenho de tarefas motoras da vida diária e podem ser identificadas com o Transtorno de Coordenação (TDC). Como consequência dessas dificuldades, estas crianças evitam a prática de atividade física com seus colegas de escola o que traz impacto negativo em muitos aspectos de suas vidas. Tendo em vista tais dificuldades, profissionais da saúde realizam intervenção para melhoria do comportamento motor. No presente estudo, as crianças realizaram atividades em ambiente de realidade virtual. Nesses ambientes, affordances com suas propriedades levam a criança a criar novas perspectivas e possibilidades de ação motora, emergentes do processo de auto-organização. A última geração de videogames como Nintendo Wii e Xbox/Kinect permite a interação sujeito com o ambiente virtual. Nessa condição, a ação do sujeito é projetada em ambientes virtuais. O objetivo do presente estudo foi verificar a eficácia da prática de atividade física em ambiente virtual sobre a coordenação motora e equilíbrio dinâmico de crianças com TDC. Do total de 130 crianças avaliadas pela bateria de testes "Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2" (MABC-2) (HENDERSON, SUGDEN e BARNETT, 2007), 28 delas foram selecionadas para o estudo, sendo 14 delas com TDC pareadas em idade e gênero com 14 crianças com desenvolvimento típico (DT). Todos os participantes foram submetidos a um programa diário de intervenção desenvolvido em ambiente virtual com os videogames Wii e Xbox/Kinect. As crianças foram distribuídas em quatro grupos de forma aleatória. O programa de intervenção foi realizado durante dez sessões com duração de 20 minutos cada, de segunda a sexta-feira. Nas 5 sessões da primeira semana metade do grupo de crianças com TDC e metade do grupo DT fizeram... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Some children throughout development show difficulties in the performance of motor tasks of daily life and they can be identified as shown Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). As a consequence of such difficulties, these children get away from physical activity avoiding playing with their school mates and consequently with negative impact in many aspects of their lives. In the present study, children with Developmental Coordination and normal children performed activities in a virtual reality environment. Affordances in this context and its properties stimulate children to create new perspectives in theirs possibilities for motor action that emerges from self-organization processes. The last generation of videogames like Nintendo Wii and Xbox/Kinect allow for the subject interaction with the environment. In this condition, subject's action is used to project the future state of the environment. The aim of this study was to measure the efficacy of the practice of physical activity by children with DCD in two different virtual environments that require dynamic balance and motor coordination. From a total of 130 children assessed by the "Movement Assessment Battery for children 2" (MABC-2), 28 children were selected to participate in the study from which 14 of them were with coordination problems and they were matched by age and gender with typically developing (TD) children. Four groups were formed All participants were submitted to a daily intervention program developed in two virtual environments, the Wii and the Xbox/Kinect. The intervention program was conducted throughout 5 sessions per week from Monday to Friday in each one of the environments. The order of the environments was counterbalanced between groups so that one group had in the first week 5 sessions in the Wii and in the second week... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre