Providing Validity Evidence for Ignite by Hatch

The authors of this study seek to provide practitioners with evidence to support the instructional value of Ignite by Hatch, a digital learning game designed for preschool children. Analyses were conducted using the entire population of three- and four-year-old children who used Ignite during the 2020-2021 academic year (n = 29,417) and included the use of descriptive statistics to explore patterns of growth and the Rasch measurement model to explore item difficulty. This chapter also features a preliminary crosswalk establishing the alignment between the domains, subdomains, and games presented within the Ignite game environment and the learning goals provided by the North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development framework. Results suggest strong preliminary evidence in support of the instructional value of Ignite by Hatch. Further research is recommended to understand how knowledge and skill acquisition within the game environment translate to developmental growth outside of the gaming environment.

Gamification and its Applications

In the recent past, gamification is a new buzzing word and is used frequently by researchers in particular in the area of management. Gamification is applying gaming and using gaming components and procedures in a non-gaming environment. The three main components of gamification are game elements – a design prototype which can be integrated into the game; game design – A complete procedure building engaging games, based on business objectives, technical feasibility and management expectations; the last one is the non-game environment – The non-gaming environment is the components involved in real-world business and social impact objectives and goals. If gamification is applied correctly in a business or social environment, the results will be amazing and can inspire the business community decisions. Gamification can be the future of the business and can make the business environment the gaming components fun and those fun and appealing components can be applied in real-life business activities. To make gamification effective the game dynamics, game design, behavioural change, and motivation are the aspects that need to be combined applied in non-gaming environment. This brief note presents the main ideologies that can the gamification design in the business environment more successful. The author also narrates whene the gamification procedures can be useful in the business world.

Design of “industrial” textile ornament based on the ideas of russian avant-garde

The article presents the concept of industrial ornament, gives stylistic features. The main trends in the art of post-revolutionary Russia, which were the ideological and methodological basis for the formation of industrial ornament, are considered. The main features that should be reflected in the construction of an industrial ornament are identified: the motif of an ornament based on geometry, industrial objects, sports subjects, objects from a computer gaming environment; a three-dimensional spatial image of the motif of an ornament in three dimensions; a colouristic solution of an ornamental composition. The classification of compositional drawings for the construction of a rapport grid of avant-garde fabrics, as a basis for the con-struction of an industrial ornament, is given. In the course of the study, a method for constructing a textile industrial ornament was developed. Recommendations for the development of an ornament are presented Adobe Photoshop CC program with elements of 3D modelling. The author’s ornamental drawings have been developed according to the given recommendations.

My History is Not Mine

<p>Globalisation has helped spread Eurocentric modernist architectural principles across most cultures. In a very real sense, many Eastern cultures are having their own unique architectural histories rewritten, even erased, and in danger of becoming lost. Burmese poet Zeyar Lynn’s poem “My History is Not Mine” represents a powerful lament, decrying the loss of unique cultural identities. Global contemporary architecture rarely recognises the rich litany of ideas that may arise from contemporary responses to cultures, and this design research-led thesis investigation seeks possible solutions to this loss. This investigation is framed around Lynn’s poem “My History is Not Mine”. It seeks to reinterpret some of the most ‘traditional’ elements of modern architecture—room, wall, ceiling, floor, threshold, window, etc.—through fictional narrative theory, allegory and experiential constructs. Eastern superstitions are used as provocateurs, starting points that help the project explicitly move away from traditional Eurocentric formalist architectural precepts. The goal is to test an architectural design method that prioritises the experiential and challenges some of the expected ‘norms’ within which Eurocentric modern architecture has been traditionally situated. This investigation is grounded in speculative architectural design. The three principal design stages of the methodology progress iteratively from physical analogue model, to digital animation, and finally to virtual gaming environment. The intention is to challenge traditional notions of architecture and the way architectural design concepts are conceived, and this is carried forward using a methodology that shifts experimental outcomes from the visual to the experiential—a virtual, time-based approach that deviates from conventional architectural design processes—in order to privilege the investigation of shifts in spatial conditions and experiential perceptions over time. The first stage of the investigation was to explore the abstraction of Eastern superstitions into physical models—‘allegorical artefacts’. These initial experiments were set up as a starting point to help propel the project towards a provocative and evocative pathway of discovery. By examining how these superstitions might be interpreted in a virtual gaming environment in the final stages of the investigation, the investigation challenges how these design interpretations can actively enable important architectural elements, such as threshold, spatial enclosure, visual axes, etc., to be redefined—placing the viewer into an experiential realm that is removed from traditional architectural referencing—and engage them as changes in spatial conditions experienced over time, rather than as primarily object-based. The time-based design outcomes are framed, experienced and tested in relation to Jerome Bruner’s theory of “The Narrative Construction of Reality”. Bruner posited ten requisite steps for achieving a meaningful narrative experience for the reader of narrative fiction. Fictional narrative relies on enabling the participant to self-identify within a fictional context as a vital tool that allows the participant to navigate through the story. This design-led research investigation examines how Bruner’s literary theory might be applied to an architectural experience, to help enable the experiential to become a driver for architectural design, where the participant’s own self-positioning in a time-based scheme becomes a vital element in constructing a unique architectural experience. The framework synthesises the design outcomes within a narrative experience that looks to discover unique solutions to the research objectives. The investigation applies Bruner’s ten constructs of narrative fiction to the architectural experience: diachronicity (relationships over time), particularity (unique cultural attributes), intentional state entailment (agency), hermeneutic composability (synecdoche), canonicity and breach (disruption of the expected), referentially (creation of new realities), genericness (changing the way a story is told), normativeness (multiplicity), contextual negotiability (cultural sensitivity and culturally negotiated meanings), and narrative accrual (collective representation). This thesis asks: How can experiential cultural artefacts be engaged as a conceptual framework to generate an allegorical architectural project? How can the digital gaming interface be used to help architectural design methods better explore the experiential as a design generator?</p>

My History is Not Mine

<p>Globalisation has helped spread Eurocentric modernist architectural principles across most cultures. In a very real sense, many Eastern cultures are having their own unique architectural histories rewritten, even erased, and in danger of becoming lost. Burmese poet Zeyar Lynn’s poem “My History is Not Mine” represents a powerful lament, decrying the loss of unique cultural identities. Global contemporary architecture rarely recognises the rich litany of ideas that may arise from contemporary responses to cultures, and this design research-led thesis investigation seeks possible solutions to this loss. This investigation is framed around Lynn’s poem “My History is Not Mine”. It seeks to reinterpret some of the most ‘traditional’ elements of modern architecture—room, wall, ceiling, floor, threshold, window, etc.—through fictional narrative theory, allegory and experiential constructs. Eastern superstitions are used as provocateurs, starting points that help the project explicitly move away from traditional Eurocentric formalist architectural precepts. The goal is to test an architectural design method that prioritises the experiential and challenges some of the expected ‘norms’ within which Eurocentric modern architecture has been traditionally situated. This investigation is grounded in speculative architectural design. The three principal design stages of the methodology progress iteratively from physical analogue model, to digital animation, and finally to virtual gaming environment. The intention is to challenge traditional notions of architecture and the way architectural design concepts are conceived, and this is carried forward using a methodology that shifts experimental outcomes from the visual to the experiential—a virtual, time-based approach that deviates from conventional architectural design processes—in order to privilege the investigation of shifts in spatial conditions and experiential perceptions over time. The first stage of the investigation was to explore the abstraction of Eastern superstitions into physical models—‘allegorical artefacts’. These initial experiments were set up as a starting point to help propel the project towards a provocative and evocative pathway of discovery. By examining how these superstitions might be interpreted in a virtual gaming environment in the final stages of the investigation, the investigation challenges how these design interpretations can actively enable important architectural elements, such as threshold, spatial enclosure, visual axes, etc., to be redefined—placing the viewer into an experiential realm that is removed from traditional architectural referencing—and engage them as changes in spatial conditions experienced over time, rather than as primarily object-based. The time-based design outcomes are framed, experienced and tested in relation to Jerome Bruner’s theory of “The Narrative Construction of Reality”. Bruner posited ten requisite steps for achieving a meaningful narrative experience for the reader of narrative fiction. Fictional narrative relies on enabling the participant to self-identify within a fictional context as a vital tool that allows the participant to navigate through the story. This design-led research investigation examines how Bruner’s literary theory might be applied to an architectural experience, to help enable the experiential to become a driver for architectural design, where the participant’s own self-positioning in a time-based scheme becomes a vital element in constructing a unique architectural experience. The framework synthesises the design outcomes within a narrative experience that looks to discover unique solutions to the research objectives. The investigation applies Bruner’s ten constructs of narrative fiction to the architectural experience: diachronicity (relationships over time), particularity (unique cultural attributes), intentional state entailment (agency), hermeneutic composability (synecdoche), canonicity and breach (disruption of the expected), referentially (creation of new realities), genericness (changing the way a story is told), normativeness (multiplicity), contextual negotiability (cultural sensitivity and culturally negotiated meanings), and narrative accrual (collective representation). This thesis asks: How can experiential cultural artefacts be engaged as a conceptual framework to generate an allegorical architectural project? How can the digital gaming interface be used to help architectural design methods better explore the experiential as a design generator?</p>

Rehabilitation in advanced dementia through computer-assisted exergaming with Able-X: A collective case study

<p>Psychosocial interventions have been found to have similar outcomes as pharmacological interventions for people with dementia (PWD). Cognitive stimulation has been found to benefit cognition and there is evidence of self-reported quality of life (QOL) and wellbeing improvement in this population. However, little research has been carried out in exploring the association between QOL and computer-assisted exergaming in PWD. This study explored if a programme of computer-assisted exergaming interventions, utilising exergaming technology (Able-X), as an adjunct to existing activities and treatments, could deliver improvements in QOL, including cognitive and physical function for 10 people diagnosed with dementia. An ontological approach of social pragmatism, combined with interpretive epistemology, within a collective convergent parallel case study (CS) methodological design was used. The study was carried out in three aged care residential units in New Zealand (NZ) that catered for people with dementia. As far as possible the principle of errorless learning (EL) (Terrace, 1963) was applied to the gaming environment when utilising the Able-X gaming interface, which was not entirely errorless. EL is based on the principle that it is difficult for people with impaired memory to remember and correct errors made while trying to learn or relearn something. Pre-and post-gaming qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with lead care staff and the next of kin for each participant, health record review, observation of video footage of the gaming experiences and computer-generated exergaming scores. In addition, several quantitative measures were used: Mini-Mental State Examination-2-BV, Global Deterioration Scale, Functional Assessment Staging Test, Quality of Life–AD, Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia and the Rating Scale for Anxiety in Dementia. Data were generated over a 10-month period (excluding postscript comments). Data triangulation included application of the theoretical framework of ‘embodied selfhood’ (Kontos, 2003, 2004) to demonstrate participants’ agency through intentionality of individualistic bodily movements, gestures and a sentient affinity with the social environment, and through habitus of the social relational body that implicitly understands the socio-cultural ways of being-in-the-world. The analysis revealed five emergent themes and six novel concepts that lend themselves to further inquiry. The first three themes: ‘Sentient interaction with the social gaming environment’, ‘Initiation and gaming advancement in partnership’, and ‘Levels of gaming intentionality’, focused on the gaming environment, including gaming initiation, engagement and progress. The other two themes: ‘Hand-eye coordination’ and ‘Aspects of QOL’, evidenced the similarities and differences across each case in terms of the main findings. The key findings were significant improvements in hand-eye coordination, global QOL, and anxiety levels. Furthermore, cognitive scores improved for five participants and depression scores for seven participants, however, these improvements were not significant. In addition, there was qualitative evidence of enhanced motivation to re-engage in psychosocial social activities for all participants, improved behavioural symptoms of dementia for nine participants, enhanced communication for nine participants and enhanced functioning of skills relating to activities of daily living tasks for seven participants. This study demonstrated that improved hand-eye coordination and overall QOL were the results of computer-assisted exergaming with Able-X and EL strategies. Irrespective of the stage of dementia, significant benefits can be achieved through either solo or small group facilitated exergaming sessions.</p>

Rehabilitation in advanced dementia through computer-assisted exergaming with Able-X: A collective case study

<p>Psychosocial interventions have been found to have similar outcomes as pharmacological interventions for people with dementia (PWD). Cognitive stimulation has been found to benefit cognition and there is evidence of self-reported quality of life (QOL) and wellbeing improvement in this population. However, little research has been carried out in exploring the association between QOL and computer-assisted exergaming in PWD. This study explored if a programme of computer-assisted exergaming interventions, utilising exergaming technology (Able-X), as an adjunct to existing activities and treatments, could deliver improvements in QOL, including cognitive and physical function for 10 people diagnosed with dementia. An ontological approach of social pragmatism, combined with interpretive epistemology, within a collective convergent parallel case study (CS) methodological design was used. The study was carried out in three aged care residential units in New Zealand (NZ) that catered for people with dementia. As far as possible the principle of errorless learning (EL) (Terrace, 1963) was applied to the gaming environment when utilising the Able-X gaming interface, which was not entirely errorless. EL is based on the principle that it is difficult for people with impaired memory to remember and correct errors made while trying to learn or relearn something. Pre-and post-gaming qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with lead care staff and the next of kin for each participant, health record review, observation of video footage of the gaming experiences and computer-generated exergaming scores. In addition, several quantitative measures were used: Mini-Mental State Examination-2-BV, Global Deterioration Scale, Functional Assessment Staging Test, Quality of Life–AD, Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia and the Rating Scale for Anxiety in Dementia. Data were generated over a 10-month period (excluding postscript comments). Data triangulation included application of the theoretical framework of ‘embodied selfhood’ (Kontos, 2003, 2004) to demonstrate participants’ agency through intentionality of individualistic bodily movements, gestures and a sentient affinity with the social environment, and through habitus of the social relational body that implicitly understands the socio-cultural ways of being-in-the-world. The analysis revealed five emergent themes and six novel concepts that lend themselves to further inquiry. The first three themes: ‘Sentient interaction with the social gaming environment’, ‘Initiation and gaming advancement in partnership’, and ‘Levels of gaming intentionality’, focused on the gaming environment, including gaming initiation, engagement and progress. The other two themes: ‘Hand-eye coordination’ and ‘Aspects of QOL’, evidenced the similarities and differences across each case in terms of the main findings. The key findings were significant improvements in hand-eye coordination, global QOL, and anxiety levels. Furthermore, cognitive scores improved for five participants and depression scores for seven participants, however, these improvements were not significant. In addition, there was qualitative evidence of enhanced motivation to re-engage in psychosocial social activities for all participants, improved behavioural symptoms of dementia for nine participants, enhanced communication for nine participants and enhanced functioning of skills relating to activities of daily living tasks for seven participants. This study demonstrated that improved hand-eye coordination and overall QOL were the results of computer-assisted exergaming with Able-X and EL strategies. Irrespective of the stage of dementia, significant benefits can be achieved through either solo or small group facilitated exergaming sessions.</p>

Target Maintenance in Gaming via Saliency Augmentation: An Early-Stage Scotoma Simulation Study Using Virtual Reality (VR)

This study addresses the importance of salience placement before or after scotoma development for an efficient target allocation in the visual field. Pre-allocation of attention is a mechanism known to induce a better gaze positioning towards the target. Three different conditions were tested: a simulated central scotoma, a salience augmentation surrounding the scotoma and a baseline condition without any simulation. All conditions were investigated within a virtual reality VR gaming environment. Participants were tested in two different orders, either the salient cue was applied together with the scotoma before being presented with the scotoma alone or the scotoma in the wild was presented before and, then, with the augmentation around it. Both groups showed a change in gaze behaviour when saliency was applied. However, in the second group, salient augmentation also induced changes in gaze behaviour for the scotoma condition without augmentation, gazing above and outside the scotoma following previous literature. These preliminary results indicate salience placement before developing an advanced stage of scotoma can induce effective and rapid training for efficient target maintenance during VR gaming. The study shows the potential of salience and VR gaming as therapy for early AMD patients.

Design and Development of Gesture Based Gaming Console

Game controllers have been planned and improved throughout the years to be as easy to understand as could reasonably be expected. A game controller is a gadget utilized with games or theatre setups to give contribution to a computer game, commonly to control an item or character in the game. Information gadgets that have been named game controllers incorporate consoles, mice, gamepads, joysticks, and so on. A few controllers are intended to be purposely best for one sort of game, for example, guiding wheels for driving games, move cushions for moving games, and light firearms for firing games. The aim here is to create a virtual environment, where the user is appealed by various gesture controls in a gaming application. A Gesture is an action that has to be seen or felt by someone else (here a PC) and has to convey some piece of information. Now obviously, to create a virtual gaming environment, we need to create a real-time gaming application first. We’ll be designing our 2D and 3D gaming applications through Unity 3D video game engine. The data used in this project is primarily from the Ego Hands dataset. After an input has been taken, and the consequent action has been performed, we’ll use this activity for future development of the model by using Tensor-Flow. The input will be taken through the webcam of the PC which will be accessed and combined to the gaming application and hands dataset by WebGL. WebGL is a JavaScript API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within any compatible web browser without the use of plug-ins.