Learning Interdisciplinarity and Systems Approaches in Agroecology: Experience with the Serious Game SEGAE

Agroecology represents a pertinent option to improve the sustainability of agriculture. To promote its application, agroecological concepts should be taught to students and professionals in the agricultural sector. However, most agricultural courses are not adapted to teach these concepts due to little interactivity or interdisciplinarity, and a lack of a systems approach to farm management. Serious games help to fill these gaps by simulating complex models in which players can learn by doing. We thus developed a serious computer game, called SEGAE (SErious Game for AgroEcology learning), which represents a mixed crop-livestock farm and assesses impacts of farming practices on indicators related to environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Its pedagogical interest was evaluated through two types of surveys given to university students who played the game during a one-week workshop: A knowledge survey on agroecology, and a feedback survey based on flow theory. Results showed that students increased their knowledge of agroecology significantly, particularly those who had had little knowledge of crop production. More than 86% of the students enjoyed the game, appreciating its interaction and feedback. Thus, SEGAE is an interesting tool to help students acquire knowledge of agroecology in a fun way by facilitating interdisciplinary and collaborative learning.

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Using Serious Games for Antismoking Health Campaigns: Experimental Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.18528 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jihyun Kim ◽

Hayeon Song ◽

Kelly Merrill Jr ◽

Younbo Jung ◽

Remi Junghuem Kwon

Keyword(s):

Serious Games ◽

Computer Game ◽

The United States ◽

Serious Game ◽

Fear Appeals ◽

Intention To Quit ◽

Fear Appeal ◽

Health Campaign ◽

Quit Smoking ◽

Significant Difference

BACKGROUND Serious games for health have been gaining in popularity among scholars and practitioners. However, there remain a few questions to be addressed. OBJECTIVE This study tests the effects of a serious game and fear appeals on smoking-related outcomes. More specifically, this research aims to understand how serious games function as a more effective vehicle for a health campaign than a traditional medium, such as a print-based pamphlet. Further, while serious games utilize a variety of persuasive strategies in the game’s content, it is not clear whether fear appeals, which are widely used persuasive-message strategies for health, can be an effective strategy in serious games. Thus, we are testing the effect of fear appeals in a serious game. METHODS We created a computer game and a print brochure to educate participants about the risks of smoking. More specifically, a flash-based single-player game was developed in which players were asked to avoid cigarettes in the gameplay context. We also developed an online brochure based on existing smoking-related brochures at a university health center; antismoking messages on the computer game and in the brochure were comparable. Then, an experiment using a 2 (media type: game vs. print) x 2 (fearful image: fear vs. no-fear) between-subjects design was conducted. The study recruitment was announced to undergraduate students enrolled in a large, public Midwestern university in the United States. After a screening test, a total of 72 smokers, who reported smoking in the past 30 days, participated in the experiment. RESULTS Overall, gameplay, when compared to print-based pamphlets, had greater impacts on attitudes toward smoking and the intention to quit smoking. Further, the game’s persuasive effects were especially pronounced when messages contained fear appeals. When fearful images were presented, participants in the game condition reported significantly more negative attitudes toward social smoking than those in the print condition [F(1,67)=7.28; P=.009; ηp2=0.10]. However, in the no-fear condition, there was no significant difference between the conditions [F(1,67)=0.25; P=.620]. Similarly, the intention to quit smoking [F(1,67)=4.64; P=.035; ηp2=0.07] and susceptibility [F(1,67)=6.92; P=.011; ηp2=0.09] were also significantly different between the conditions, but only when fear appeals were used. CONCLUSIONS This study extends fear appeal research by investigating the effects of different media types. It offers empirical evidence that a serious game can be an effective vehicle for fear appeals.

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The Path between Pedagogy and Technology

Gaming and Simulations ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-195-9.ch117 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 273-295

Author(s):

Colin Price

Keyword(s):

Collaborative Learning ◽

Serious Games ◽

Computer Game ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Serious Game ◽

Learning Theories ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Temporal Dimension ◽

Digital World ◽

Use Of Technology

The power of computer game technology is currently being harnessed to produce “serious games”. These “games” are targeted at the education and training marketplace, and employ various key game-engine components such as the graphics and physics engines to produce realistic “digital-world” simulations of the real “physical world”. Many approaches are driven by the technology and often lack a consideration of a firm pedagogical underpinning. The authors believe that an analysis and deployment of both the technological and pedagogical dimensions should occur together, with the pedagogical dimension providing the lead. This chapter explores the relationship between these two dimensions, and explores how “pedagogy may inform the use of technology”, how various learning theories may be mapped onto the use of the affordances of computer game engines. Autonomous and collaborative learning approaches are discussed. The design of a serious game is broken down into spatial and temporal elements. The spatial dimension is related to the theories of knowledge structures, especially “concept maps”. The temporal dimension is related to “experiential learning”, especially the approach of Kolb. The multi-player aspect of serious games is related to theories of “collaborative learning” which is broken down into a discussion of “discourse” versus “dialogue”. Several general guiding principles are explored, such as the use of “metaphor” (including metaphors of space, embodiment, systems thinking, the internet and emergence). The topological design of a serious game is also highlighted. The discussion of pedagogy is related to various serious games we have recently produced and researched, and is presented in the hope of informing the “serious game community”.

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The Path between Pedagogy and Technology

Games-Based Learning Advancements for Multi-Sensory Human Computer Interfaces ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-360-9.ch012 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 191-213 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Colin Price

Keyword(s):

Collaborative Learning ◽

Serious Games ◽

Computer Game ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Serious Game ◽

Learning Theories ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Temporal Dimension ◽

Digital World ◽

Use Of Technology

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Using Serious Games for Antismoking Health Campaigns: Experimental Study

JMIR Serious Games ◽

10.2196/18528 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. e18528

Author(s):

Jihyun Kim ◽

Hayeon Song ◽

Kelly Merrill Jr ◽

Younbo Jung ◽

Remi Junghuem Kwon

Keyword(s):

Serious Games ◽

Computer Game ◽

The United States ◽

Serious Game ◽

Fear Appeals ◽

Intention To Quit ◽

Fear Appeal ◽

Health Campaign ◽

Quit Smoking ◽

Significant Difference

Background Serious games for health have been gaining in popularity among scholars and practitioners. However, there remain a few questions to be addressed. Objective This study tests the effects of a serious game and fear appeals on smoking-related outcomes. More specifically, this research aims to understand how serious games function as a more effective vehicle for a health campaign than a traditional medium, such as a print-based pamphlet. Further, while serious games utilize a variety of persuasive strategies in the game’s content, it is not clear whether fear appeals, which are widely used persuasive-message strategies for health, can be an effective strategy in serious games. Thus, we are testing the effect of fear appeals in a serious game. Methods We created a computer game and a print brochure to educate participants about the risks of smoking. More specifically, a flash-based single-player game was developed in which players were asked to avoid cigarettes in the gameplay context. We also developed an online brochure based on existing smoking-related brochures at a university health center; antismoking messages on the computer game and in the brochure were comparable. Then, an experiment using a 2 (media type: game vs. print) x 2 (fearful image: fear vs. no-fear) between-subjects design was conducted. The study recruitment was announced to undergraduate students enrolled in a large, public Midwestern university in the United States. After a screening test, a total of 72 smokers, who reported smoking in the past 30 days, participated in the experiment. Results Overall, gameplay, when compared to print-based pamphlets, had greater impacts on attitudes toward smoking and the intention to quit smoking. Further, the game’s persuasive effects were especially pronounced when messages contained fear appeals. When fearful images were presented, participants in the game condition reported significantly more negative attitudes toward social smoking than those in the print condition [F(1,67)=7.28; P=.009; ηp2=0.10]. However, in the no-fear condition, there was no significant difference between the conditions [F(1,67)=0.25; P=.620]. Similarly, the intention to quit smoking [F(1,67)=4.64; P=.035; ηp2=0.07] and susceptibility [F(1,67)=6.92; P=.011; ηp2=0.09] were also significantly different between the conditions, but only when fear appeals were used. Conclusions This study extends fear appeal research by investigating the effects of different media types. It offers empirical evidence that a serious game can be an effective vehicle for fear appeals.

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A Macroeconomic Analysis of Agricultural Sector in Nigeria

Advanced Journal of Social Science ◽

10.21467/ajss.5.1.18-25 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 18-25

Author(s):

Isah Funtua Abubakar ◽

Umar Bambale Ibrahim

Keyword(s):

Value Chain ◽

Crop Production ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Time Series Data ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

Series Data ◽

Size Analysis ◽

The Real ◽

Real Gdp ◽

The Impact

This paper attempts to study the Nigerian agriculture industry as a panacea to growth as well as an anchor to the diversification agenda of the present government. To do this, the time series data of the four agriculture subsectors of crop production, livestock, forestry and fishery were analysed as stimulus to the Real GDP from 1981-2016 in order to explicate the individual contributions of the subsectors to the RGDP in order to guide the policy thrust on diversification. Using the Johansen approach to cointegration, all the variables were found to be cointegrated. With the exception of the forestry subsector, all the three subsectors were seen to have impacted on the real GDP at varying degrees during the time under review. The crop production subsector has the highest impact, however, taking size-by-size analysis, the livestock subsector could be of much importance due to its ability to retain its value chain and high investment returns particularly in poultry. Therefore, it is recommended that, the government should intensify efforts to retain the value chain in the crop production subsector, in order to harness its potentials optimally through the encouragement of the establishment of agriculture cottage industries. Secondly, the livestock subsector is found to be the most rapidly growing and commercialized subsector. Therefore, it should be the prime subsector to hinge the diversification agenda naturally. Lastly, the tourism industry which is a source through which the impact of the subsector is channeled to the GDP should be developed, in order to improve the impact of such channel to GDP with the sole objective to resuscitate the forestry subsector.

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Expansão Tecnológica de um Serious Game Voltado ao Ensino de Geometria Plana Baseado no Geoplano

Comunicações em Informática ◽

10.22478/ufpb.2595-0622.2018v2n1.38023 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 6

Author(s):

Ingrid Luana Almeida Da Silva ◽

Deynne A Silva ◽

Ronei M. Moraes ◽

Liliane S. Machado

Keyword(s):

Serious Games ◽

Naive Bayes ◽

Naïve Bayes ◽

Serious Game

Serious Games são uma categoria especial de jogos que possuem um propósito que vai além da diversão, e por isso podem ser utilizados para promover propaganda, conscientização, ensino e treinamento. O GeoplanoPEC e o GeoplanoMob são serious games educacionais, baseados nas atividades realizadas em um tabuleiro chamado Geoplano, desenvolvidos pelo Laboratório de Tecnologias para o Ensino Virtual e Estatística (LabTEVE) da UFPB. Esses serious games buscam apoiar o aprendizado de geometria plana e o GeoplanoPEC foi desenvolvido considerando as configurações dos computadores das escolas públicas da Paraíba, enquanto que o GeoplanoMob foi desenvolvido considerando os telefones celulares com capacidade de executar aplicativos gráficos. Na época em que os serious games foram implementados, essas plataformas não possuíam muita capacidade computacional e, devido a essa limitação, os jogos tiveram que direcionar sua jogabilidade para o trabalho com perímetros de quadrados. No GeoplanoPEC, a disputa acontece através do desenho de quadrados com perímetro obtido através da multiplicação da face de dois dados e pode ocorrer entre dois jogadores ou entre um jogador e o computador, no qual as jogadas do computador são realizadas por uma inteligência baseada em redes Bayesianas do tipo Naive Bayes. O GeoplanoMob foi desenvolvido para uma plataforma ainda mais limitada quando comparada aos computadores pessoais. Dessa forma não foi possível implantar o sistema inteligente naquela versão do jogo, ocasionando numa alteração no desafio que passou a consistir na realização individual de desenhos a partir de instruções fornecidas por um personagem do jogo. O avanço tecnológico das plataformas móveis e a proliferação destas no ambiente escolar tornou possível a elaboração de uma nova versão dos jogos para a plataforma Android, que expande as funcionalidades das versões anteriores. Com o objetivo de ampliar o escopo de sua utilização nas escolas, a nova versão explora o perímetro e a área de formas geométricas como quadrados, losangos, retângulos, paralelogramos, trapézios e triângulos.

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Serious Games as a Complementary Tool for Social Skill Development in Young People: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Simulation & Gaming ◽

10.1177/10468781211031283 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 104687812110312

Author(s):

Lucy R. Zheng ◽

Catherine M. Oberle ◽

W. A. Hawkes-Robinson ◽

Stéphane Daniau

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Social Skills ◽

Young People ◽

Social Skill ◽

Serious Games ◽

Skill Development ◽

The United States ◽

Serious Game ◽

Social Skill Development

Background The use of games for social skill development in the classroom is accelerating at a tremendous rate. At the same time, the research surrounding games designed for teaching social skills remains fragmented. This systematic review summarizes the current existing literature on social skill serious games for young people ages 5 to 19 and is the first review of serious games to note the demographic and geographic component of these studies. Method This review included papers that: evaluated a game designed to teach social skills; included measurable, quantitative outcomes; have a translation or be published in English; were peer-reviewed; date from January 2010 to May 2020; and have a nonclinical study population between ages of 5 to 19. Keywords were obtained from the CASEL 5 framework. Results Our findings are mixed but suggest that serious games may improve social skills when used alongside in-person discussion. We also found potential effects of the length of time of gameplay, intervention, and follow-up on social skill serious game effectiveness. Although this review found promising research conducted in East Asian countries and with minority samples in the United States, the majority of social skill serious game research takes place in the United States and Australia, with unreported demographic information and white-majority samples. Conclusions Due to the limited number of published studies in this area and studies lacking methodological rigor, the effectiveness of using games to teach social skills and the impact of background on social skill learning require further discussion.

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Перспективи розвитку зерновиробництва в Кіровоградській області

Ekonomika APK ◽

10.32317/2221-1055.202105030 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 319 (5) ◽

pp. 30-37

Author(s):

Emma Symonian ◽

Nataliia Nerubaiska ◽

Maryna Pukhliakova ◽

Maksym Yandola

Keyword(s):

Crop Production ◽

Systematic Approach ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Security Analysis ◽

Practical Significance ◽

Grain Production ◽

Production Development ◽

Analysis And Synthesis ◽

National Production ◽

Yield Monitoring

The purpose of the article is to explore the prospects for the development of grain production in the Kirovograd region. Research methods. The study used dialectical methods of cognition, a systematic approach to the study of economic phenomena, monographic (generalizing domestic and foreign experience in determining the economic essence of food security), analysis and synthesis (in studying the levels of production of cereals and legumes and the level of grain supply), statistical groups (in identifying the place of regions in the national production of cereals), economic and statistical (in the processing of mass statistics), abstract and logical (in substantiating theoretical generalizations and drawing conclusions). Research results. The potential of grain production development in Kirovohrad region is considered. The analysis is based on statistical data of the crop industry. Problems of industry development are revealed and ways of solutions are offered. Scientific novelty. Analysis of the level of crop production in the Kirovohrad region in terms of using the latest technologies and yield monitoring. Practical significance. Along with some positive changes in the region's grain production, obstacles to their development have been identified. Proposals have been made to eliminate them with active investments and state support programs for the agricultural sector of the region. Tabl.: 4. Figs.: 1. Refs.: 18.

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Growing climatic sensitivity of U.S. agriculture linked to technological change and regional specialization

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aat4343 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (12) ◽

pp. eaat4343 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Ariel Ortiz-Bobea ◽

Erwin Knippenberg ◽

Robert G. Chambers

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Crop Production ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

State Level ◽

The United States ◽

Climate Data ◽

Specialty Crops ◽

Regional Specialization ◽

Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽

Climatic Sensitivity

A pressing question for climate change adaptation is whether ongoing transformations of the agricultural sector affect its ability to cope with climatic variations. We examine this question in the United States, where major increases in productivity have fueled most of agricultural production growth over the past half-century. To quantify the evolving climate sensitivity of the sector and identify its sources, we combine state-level measures of agricultural productivity with detailed climate data for 1960–2004. We find that agriculture is growing more sensitive to climate in Midwestern states for two distinct but compounding reasons: a rising climatic sensitivity of nonirrigated cereal and oilseed crops and a growing specialization in crop production. In contrast, other regions specialize in less climate-sensitive production such as irrigated specialty crops or livestock. Results suggest that reducing vulnerability to climate change should consider the role of policies in inducing regional specialization.

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FINANCIAL CONTROL FOR THE FUNCTIONING OF THE SYSTEM AND MECHANISM OF THE STATE FINANCIAL POLICY

Economic Analysis ◽

10.35774/econa2020.01.01.038 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 38-41

Author(s):

Natalia Botvina

Keyword(s):

Control System ◽

Internal Control ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Systems Approach ◽

Financial Control ◽

Financial Policy ◽

Financial Flows ◽

Financial Decisions ◽

Control Procedures

The functioning of the financial control system should be aimed at achieving the goals set by the financial policy. The role of the financial control system is to monitor the efficiency of financial resources, the optimality of financial flows, the creation of an information base for financial decisions to address deficiencies or regulate the objectives of financial policy. Based on the application of the systems approach in the study, it should also be noted that the system of financial control does not operate in isolation, but is a subsystem of a more complex system. It is also possible that it should be distinguished between smaller subsystems. The purpose of the article is to reveal the main problems of financial control over the functioning of the system and the mechanism of financial policy. The article substantiates the functions of financial control, which should contribute to the formation and strengthening of entrepreneurship, further developed the principles of the financial control system, by substantiating the principle of limitation of the application of control procedures. Determining the place of the system of financial control in the implementation of financial policy to ensure sustainable development of the agricultural sector, we concluded that the system of internal control is a subsystem of financial policy.

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