scholarly journals Civic crafting: the potential of minecraft for municipal civic engagement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Ward
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Visualization Tool ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Key Informant

Minecraft, the popular video game, shows promise as a planning engagement tool: it allows players to experience and manipulate a three-dimensional environment, it is easy to learn and understand, it is engaging and immersive, it is adaptable, and it has already begun to be used for geodesign and planning engagement. However, this game has not yet been studied to determine how it could best be used for this purpose. Using an analysis of key informant interviews, this study seeks to address this deficit and reflect on the ways in which this game could help planners achieve various engagement goals. Key findings in this study address Minecraft’s usefulness as a visualization tool, its role in building trust, the place of play in planning, and the challenges associated with conducting an accessible, interactive online engagement using Minecraft.

scholarly journals Civic crafting: the potential of minecraft for municipal civic engagement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Ward
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Visualization Tool ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Key Informant

Minecraft, the popular video game, shows promise as a planning engagement tool: it allows players to experience and manipulate a three-dimensional environment, it is easy to learn and understand, it is engaging and immersive, it is adaptable, and it has already begun to be used for geodesign and planning engagement. However, this game has not yet been studied to determine how it could best be used for this purpose. Using an analysis of key informant interviews, this study seeks to address this deficit and reflect on the ways in which this game could help planners achieve various engagement goals. Key findings in this study address Minecraft’s usefulness as a visualization tool, its role in building trust, the place of play in planning, and the challenges associated with conducting an accessible, interactive online engagement using Minecraft.

Civic Crafting in Urban Planning Public Consultation

2019 ◽  
pp. 1052-1070
Author(s):  
Lisa Ward Mather ◽  
Pamela Robinson
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Visualization Tool ◽  
Local Planning ◽  
3D Environment ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Planning Processes

Minecraft is a popular video game that allows players to interact with a 3D environment. Users report that it is easy to learn and understand, is engaging and immersive, and is adaptable. Outside North America it has been piloted for urban planning public consultation processes. However, this game has not yet been studied to determine how and whether it could be used for this purpose. Using key informant interviews, this study asked practicing urban planners to assess Minecraft's potential. Key findings address Minecraft's usefulness as a visualization tool, its role in building public trust in local planning processes, the place of play in planning, and the challenges associated with its use in public consultation. The paper concludes with reflections as to how this game could effectively be used for public consultation, and offers key lessons for urban planners whose practice intersects with our digitally-enabled world.

Durable Civic Technology

2020 ◽  
pp. 252-281
Author(s):  
Lisa Ward Mather ◽  
Pamela Robinson
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Video Game ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Visualization Tool ◽  
Local Planning ◽  
3D Environment ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Civic Technology

Minecraft is a video game that allows players to interact with a 3D environment. Launched in 2009, Minecraft has surprisingly durable popularity. Users report that Minecraft is easy to learn and understand, engaging and immersive, and adaptable. Outside North America it has been piloted for urban planning public consultation processes. Five years ago, authors conducted research using key informant interviews. This study asked practicing urban planners in Canada to assess Minecraft's potential. Key findings address Minecraft's usefulness as a visualization tool, its role in building public trust in local planning processes, the place of play in planning, and the challenges associated with its use in public consultation. This chapter explores Minecraft's ongoing use, offers reflections as to how this game could effectively be used for public consultation, and concludes with key lessons for urban planners whose practice intersects with our digitally-enabled world, with a particular focus on new application possibilities in smart city planning projects.

Durable Civic Technology

2022 ◽  
pp. 608-630
Author(s):  
Lisa Ward Mather ◽  
Pamela Robinson
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Video Game ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Visualization Tool ◽  
Local Planning ◽  
3D Environment ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Civic Technology

Minecraft is a video game that allows players to interact with a 3D environment. Launched in 2009, Minecraft has surprisingly durable popularity. Users report that Minecraft is easy to learn and understand, engaging and immersive, and adaptable. Outside North America it has been piloted for urban planning public consultation processes. Five years ago, authors conducted research using key informant interviews. This study asked practicing urban planners in Canada to assess Minecraft's potential. Key findings address Minecraft's usefulness as a visualization tool, its role in building public trust in local planning processes, the place of play in planning, and the challenges associated with its use in public consultation. This chapter explores Minecraft's ongoing use, offers reflections as to how this game could effectively be used for public consultation, and concludes with key lessons for urban planners whose practice intersects with our digitally-enabled world, with a particular focus on new application possibilities in smart city planning projects.

Civic Crafting in Urban Planning Public Consultation

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Ward Mather ◽  
Pamela Robinson
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Visualization Tool ◽  
Local Planning ◽  
3D Environment ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Planning Processes

Minecraft is a popular video game that allows players to interact with a 3D environment. Users report that it is easy to learn and understand, is engaging and immersive, and is adaptable. Outside North America it has been piloted for urban planning public consultation processes. However, this game has not yet been studied to determine how and whether it could be used for this purpose. Using key informant interviews, this study asked practicing urban planners to assess Minecraft's potential. Key findings address Minecraft's usefulness as a visualization tool, its role in building public trust in local planning processes, the place of play in planning, and the challenges associated with its use in public consultation. The paper concludes with reflections as to how this game could effectively be used for public consultation, and offers key lessons for urban planners whose practice intersects with our digitally-enabled world.

scholarly journals Internet users’ utopian/dystopian imaginaries of society in the digital age: Theorizing critical digital literacy and civic engagement

2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110186
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Polizzi
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Utopian Studies ◽  
Utopian Thinking ◽  
Literacy Research

This article proposes a theoretical framework for how critical digital literacy, conceptualized as incorporating Internet users’ utopian/dystopian imaginaries of society in the digital age, facilitates civic engagement. To do so, after reviewing media literacy research, it draws on utopian studies and political theory to frame utopian thinking as relying dialectically on utopianism and dystopianism. Conceptualizing critical digital literacy as incorporating utopianism/dystopianism prescribes that constructing and deploying an understanding of the Internet’s civic potentials and limitations is crucial to pursuing civic opportunities. The framework proposed, which has implications for media literacy research and practice, allows us to (1) disentangle users’ imaginaries of civic life from their imaginaries of the Internet, (2) resist the collapse of critical digital literacy into civic engagement that is understood as inherently progressive, and (3) problematize polarizing conclusions about users’ interpretations of the Internet as either crucial or detrimental to their online engagement.

Does Social Media Engagement Translate to Civic Engagement Offline?

2021 ◽  
pp. 089976402199944
Author(s):  
Jaclyn Piatak ◽  
Ian Mikkelsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Informal Volunteering ◽  
Using Data

People increasingly engage in politics on social media, but does online engagement translate to offline engagement? Research is mixed with some suggesting how one uses the internet maters. We examine how political engagement on social media corresponds to offline engagement. Using data following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, we find the more politically engaged people are on social media, the more likely they are to engage offline across measures of engagement—formal and informal volunteering, attending local meetings, donating to and working for political campaigns, and voting. Findings offer important nuances across types of civic engagement and generations. Although online engagement corresponds to greater engagement offline in the community and may help narrow generational gaps, this should not be the only means to promote civic participation to ensure all have a voice and an opportunity to help, mobilize, and engage.

scholarly journals Modelling three-dimensional space to design prey refuges using video game software

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
O Lennon ◽  
Heiko Wittmer ◽  
Nicola Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Ct Scanning ◽  
Optimal Size ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Habitat Enhancement ◽  
Prey Refuges ◽  
Three Dimensional Space

© 2021 The Authors. Refuges can be ecologically important, allowing access only to some species or individuals and providing prey protection from predators. Creation of refuges can be used to protect threatened species from introduced predators, which can have large negative impacts that are difficult to attenuate via other means. To design refuges for conservation purposes, refuge accessibility to different species must be understood. Traditional techniques are not adequate to measure or describe complex three-dimensional spaces which are often important refuges. We designed a novel predictive method for modeling three-dimensional refuge space using video game software that simulates real-world physics (Unity, PhysX). We use the study system of endemic New Zealand skinks (Oligosoma spp.), their introduced predators, house mice (Mus musculus), and the habitat of interstitial spaces within rock piles to demonstrate how this modeling technique can be used to inform design of habitat enhancement for conservation. We used video game software to model realistic rock piles and measure their interstitial spaces, and found that the spaces we predicted matched those we measured in real rock piles using computed tomography (CT) scanning. We used information about the sizes of gaps accessible to skinks and mice and the results of our modeling to determine the optimal size of rocks to create refuges which would protect skinks from mice. We determined the ideal rock size to be those with graded diameters of 20–40 mm. The approach we developed could be used to describe interstitial spaces in habitats as they naturally occur, or it could be applied to design habitats to benefit particular species.

Initial Development and Validation of the Global Citizenship Scale

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 445-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duarte B. Morais ◽  
Anthony C. Ogden
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Global Citizenship ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Nominal Group Technique ◽  
Face Validity ◽  
Nominal Group ◽  
Global Competence ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Initial Development

The purpose of this article is to report on the initial development of a theoretically grounded and empirically validated scale to measure global citizenship. The methodology employed is multi-faceted, including two expert face validity trials, extensive exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with multiple datasets, and a series of three small-group interviews utilizing nominal group technique to verify the scope of the global citizenship construct. The findings provide support for a three-dimensional Global Citizenship Scale that encompasses social responsibility, global competence, and global civic engagement. Global competence and global civic engagement are both strong dimensions of global citizenship, and each has three reliable subdimensions that add further refinement to the construct. Social responsibility proves to be a dimension of global citizenship with a less clearly defined structure. The Global Citizenship Scale and its conceptual framework have important implications for education abroad outcomes research and practice.

scholarly journals Crafting minds and communities with Minecraft

F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 2339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin C. Riordan ◽  
Damian Scarf
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Autistic Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Educational Tool ◽  
Human Settlement ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
First Person Perspective

Minecraft is a first-person perspective video game in which players roam freely in a large three-dimensional environment. Players mine the landscape for minerals and use these minerals to create structures (e.g., houses) and mould the landscape. But can Minecraft be used to craft communities and minds? In this opinion piece, we highlight the enormous potential of Minecraft for fostering social connectedness, collaboration, and its potential as an educational tool. We highlight the recent use of Minecraft to aid socialization in individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and promote civic engagement via the United Nations Human Settlement Program. We further provide novel links between Minecraft and recent on work on the role of social cures and community empowerment in enhancing mental health, wellbeing, and resilience.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document