Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Kinesiology and Health Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-81). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR51534

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Communication and Culture. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-103). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11755

Researchers have found that digital gaming is beneficial for the cognitive,psychological, and physical health of the elderly people [1][6]. The percentage of theelderly people playing digital games is growing increasingly (and so do thedemographics) and thus the elderly generation form a potential base for a yetinexperienced game market. Nevertheless, the game industry seems to have ignoredthis important layer of the population as a special category of users [3]. Neither thehardware nor the software are designed with the elderlies’ age-related cognitive andphysical impairments.While there is a lot of research on the positive effects of digital games on the elderlies’well-being, the characteristics of the elderly gamers have rarely been explored [1]. Thepurpose of this study is to find out the elderly people’s perceptions and experiences ofplaying games and map the difficulties they experience. Based on the collected dataand facts, a number of important factors to be considered by the designers of gamesfor the elderly people are recommended.Almost 50 individuals between 65 and 90 years of age, living in their homes andenjoying a for their age normal health, have been interviewed by the author. The resultsreveal that a considerably high majority of the respondents show interest in playinggames. Meanwhile, they complain about the complexity of both hardware andsoftware in relation to their age-related cognitive and physical limitations. Most of theelderly individuals say that they need help with both playing games and using thedevices. An important conclusion from the findings of this research is that gamestargeting the elderly users should be designed beyond the general usability issues,considering the possibility of customizing the technologies to individual needs andrequirements, as the health and physical conditions of the elderly people vary greatly.The study concludes that for the elderly population to be motivated and benefit fromdigital games, developers producing the software and hardware, and designersengaged in the design of user interface, need to consider this population as a separatecategory of gamers and offer games meeting age-related needs and requirements.

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This study explores possible contributing factors to why some people don’t engage in playing digital games. The purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of why they don’t participate in this activity. The objective was to examine the social aspect, the time facet and the technical requirement of mastery as hindering barriers. A strategic selection of eight participants was made in Stockholm between October 2015 and November 2015. Focus group discussion was chosen for its potential to get a rich data set and to get answers to questions that the respondents had no way to prepare answers to. Three follow-up individual interviews were carried out a few weeks later to get access to a more personal and insightful material. The focus group discussion lasted two hours and the individual interviews for approximately 30–60 minutes; and painstaking transcriptions began the day after the focus group conversation had taken place, and after each and every interview had been conducted. The empirical thematic analysis resulted in four themes that show that many different factors may interact and result in peoples disinterest in playing digital games. Communications limitations in various forms have an impact, as well as the social sphere, and that many games provide an insufficient feeling that reflects the physical reality. Gaming is also perceived as unhealthy, and a waste of time if it does not occur within a limited frame. The meaning of performance in this context, as well as negative feelings about failures and the time that must be devoted to be able to master gaming is also hampering the motivational efforts to play. And when the respondents state that they do not have time to play digital games, this can be considered synonymous with the view that a different activity, they could devote themselves to instead, is more meaningful in their life-world. / Denna studie utforskar vilka tänkbara faktorer som bidrar till att en del människor inte spelar digitala spel. Syftet med uppsatsen är att få en djupare förståelse för varför icke-spelare väljer bort denna aktivitet. Målet var att undersöka den sociala aspekten, tidsaspekten och tekniken som hindrande barriärer. Ett strategiskt urval av åtta deltagare gjordes i Stockholm mellan oktober 2015 och november 2015. Intervjuer baserades på semistrukturerade frågor. Fokusgruppssamtal valdes som metod för fem av respondenterna i samband med pilotstudien som ligger till grund för denna studie. Fokusgruppssamtalet valdes för att få ett rikt datamaterial och få svar på frågor som respondenterna inte på förhand getts möjlighet att tänka ut svaren på. Tre uppföljande enskilda intervjuer genomfördes några veckor senare för att få tillgång till ett mer personligt och djupgående material. Fokusgruppssamtalet varade i två timmar och de enskilda intervjuerna i cirka 30–60 minuter; och omsorgsfulla transkriberingar påbörjades dagen efter fokusgruppssamtalet samt varje intervju hade genomförts. Den empiriska tematiska analysen resulterade i fyra teman som visar att många olika faktorer kan samspela och resultera i att vissa individer inte intresserar sig för att spela digitala spel. Kommunikationsbegränsningar i olika former påverkar, liksom den sociala umgängeskretsen och att många spel ger en otillräcklig känsla av att avspegla den fysiska verkligheten. Spelandet uppfattas också som osunt och som slöseri med tid om det inte sker inom begränsade ramar. Prestationens betydelse i sammanhanget, liksom negativa känslor inför misslyckanden och den tid som måste ägnas åt att lära sig behärska spelandet fungerade också hämmande för motivationen att spela. Och när respondenterna uppger att de inte har tid att spela digitala spel så kan detta anses vara synonymt med att de anser att en annan aktivitet, som de skulle kunna ägna sig åt istället, är mer meningsfull i deras livsvärld. / <p>Den här studien placeras inom ramen för spelstudier.</p>

The problem that this study addressed is the rise of internet gaming disorder (IGD) globally, including within the United States and countries such as China—and, the resultant need for more data on the prevalence of adult men and women meeting criteria for a diagnosis of IGD, as well as data on related comorbidities and psychosocial issues. A global sample (N=231) met the study inclusion criteria (i.e., play video games at least once a week at a minimum, consider themselves involved in Internet gaming, and have been gaming for the past six months—while of interest were findings with an English Speaking (ES) sample, and a Chinese Mandarin Speaking (CMS) sample. The study sample of convenience recruited via a social media campaign was 62.4% (n=63) male in the ES sample, and 55.4% (n=72) male in the CMS sample. The ES sample had a mean age of 29.34 (SD=8.396, Min=18, Max=52), and the CMS sample had mean age of 25.65 (SD=7.514, Min=18, Max=57). While the CMS sample indicated they were Asian (99.2%, n=129), the ES sample was diverse: 58% White (n=59), 17.8% (n=59) Asian, and 11.9% (n=12) Black. The main study findings reveal a prevalence of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD of 0% (n=101) for the ES sample, and .8% (n=1) for the CMS sample. As another main study finding, for the CMS sample, participants met more DSM-5 criteria for IGD (out of the 9 total criteria), when they were male, experienced anxiety in the past year, and were engaged in more violence due to gaming. For the ES sample, study participants met more DSM-5 criteria for IGD (out of the 9 total criteria), when they did not have a partner, had a higher income, were engaged in more violence due to gaming, engaged in a higher level of help seeking for personal/emotional support, and had a lower level of perceived social support. In essence, this constitutes the provision of risk profiles and descriptions of those most vulnerable to IGD. This study contributes to those efforts to conduct research on the DSM-5 criteria for IGD (APA, 2013).

Girl gamers, while a substantial part of the gaming population, are often largely ignored in both the gaming industry and academic literature. In particular, there have been few investigations to date on what comprises the identity of a girl gamer, particularly outside the context of gameplay. To that end, the current study aims to investigate how girl gamers enact their identities as girl gamers on Twitter, a social network site. Eight Twitter accounts whose users self-identified as either Gamer Girls or Girl Gamers on a Twitter user directory where identified and the profiles and tweets of each collected for a two week period. This data was then analyzed according to Hecht’s communication theory of identity in order to determine how girl gamers enact their identity in an online context.

In a time of 'Big Data,' 'Personal Informatics' and 'Infographics' the definitions of data visualization and data analytics are splintering rapidly. When one compares how Fortune 500 companies are using analytics to optimize their supply chains and lone individuals are visualizing their Twitter messages, we can see how multipurpose these areas are becoming. Visualization and analytics are frequently exhibited as tools for increasing efficiency and informing future decisions. At the same time, they are used to produce artworks that alter our perspectives of how data is represented and analyzed. During this time of turbulent reflection within the fields of data visualization and analytics, digital games have been going through a similar period of data metamorphosis as players are increasingly being connected and tracked through various platform systems and social networks. The amount of game-related data collected and shared today greatly exceeds that of previous gaming eras and, by utilizing the domains of data visualization and analytics, this increased access to data is poised to reshape, and continue to reshape, how players experience games. This dissertation examines how visualization, analytics and games intersect into a domain with a fluctuating identity but has the overall goal to analyze game-related data. At this intersection exists play analytics, a blend of digital systems and data analysis methods connecting players, games and their data. Play analytic systems surround the experience of playing a game, visualizing data collected from players and act as external online hubs where players congregate. As part of this dissertation's examination of play analytics, over eighty systems are analyzed and discussed. Additionally, a user study was conducted to test the effects play analytic systems have on a player's gameplay behavior. Both studies are used to highlight how play analytic systems function and are experienced by players. With millions of players already using play analytics systems, this dissertation provides a chronicle of the current state of play analytics, how the design of play analytics systems may shift in the future and what it means to play with data.

Girl gamers, while a substantial part of the gaming population, are often largely ignored in both the gaming industry and academic literature. In particular, there have been few investigations to date on what comprises the identity of a girl gamer, particularly outside the context of gameplay. To that end, the current study aims to investigate how girl gamers enact their identities as girl gamers on Twitter, a social network site. Eight Twitter accounts whose users self-identified as either Gamer Girls or Girl Gamers on a Twitter user directory where identified and the profiles and tweets of each collected for a two week period. This data was then analyzed according to Hecht’s communication theory of identity in order to determine how girl gamers enact their identity in an online context.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2009. / Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 90 p. Includes bibliographical references.