Internet-Related Disorders and Their Effects on Personality Development in Adolescents from Germany—Results from a Prospective Study

Internet-related disorders (IRD) are increasingly becoming a major health issue. IRD are defined as the predominant use of online content, related to a loss of control and continued use despite negative consequences. Despite findings from cross-sectional studies, the causality of pathways accelerating the development of IRD are unclear. While etiological models emphasize the role of personality as risk factor, mutual influences between IRD and personality have not been examined. A prospective study with two assessments was conducted with n = 941 adolescents (mean age of 13.1 years; 10–17 years). Our aim was to validate etiological assumptions and to examine the effects of IRD-symptoms on the maturation of personality. IRD were measured with the Scale of the Assessment of Internet and Computer game Addiction (AICA-S). Personality traits were assessed using the Brief Five Factor Inventory (BFI). Conscientiousness and neuroticism were predictive for IRD symptoms one year later, and were likewise prone to changes depending on incidence or remission of IRD. Conscientiousness and openness moderated the course of IRD symptoms. Our findings point to complex trait–pathology associations. Personality influences the risk of development and maintenance of IRD symptoms and pre-existing IRD-symptoms affect the development of personality. Adaptations to etiological models are discussed and perspectives for novel intervention strategies are suggested.

“American Wise Men Discover the Secret of Religion”: Religious Content in the Civilization Computer Game Series

The Civilization series of computer games (1991–) is one of the most popular and influential series in the history of computer gaming. The game’s impact and exposure indicate that its treatment of religion is therefore significant. Throughout the Civilization series, religion has been a part of the game. However, the role that religion played and the underlying models of religion represented in the game have changed over time. This article considers how the treatment of religion in the Civilization series has developed, what this reveals about the game designers’ assumptions, and what implicit lessons about religion it teaches players.

Perceptions of Gender Stereotypes About Computer Game-Based Learning Among Pre-Service Teachers

The purpose of the present study is to develop a scale for measuring pre-service teacher perceptions of gender stereotypes about computer game-based learning, and conduct a preliminary study to explore the reliability and validity of the scale. Data was collected via survey from 119 pre-service teachers enrolled in a mathematics methods class at a mid-western university. Results of data analysis provided strong support for the reliability of the scale and partial support for its validity. Consistent with our hypotheses, perceptions of gender stereotypes were negatively related to computer gaming experience, gamer identity, and intention to use computer game-based learning in future teaching practice. At the same time, perceptions of gender stereotypes were positively related to perceived barriers to computer game-based learning. Factor analysis suggested a four-factor structure pertaining to four aspects of gender stereotypes with favorable perceptions towards male gamers: intrinsic motivation, competency, confidence, and game compatibility.

VR Education Support System—A Case Study of Digital Circuits Design

Areas of experience allow for the acquisition and consolidation of both existing knowledge and skills. These are significant factors in the training of staff members for companies in the Industry 4.0 area. One of the currently available modern tools used in the teaching process is virtual reality (VR) technology. This technology, due to its high level of immersion and involvement of the different senses, and the need to focus on the performed activities, allows one to develop skills in solving various tasks and problems. The extended VR environment enables the creation of diverse teaching scenarios adapted to the needs of industry. This paper presents the possibility of building training scenarios in the field of digital techniques. The software solution, developed and presented by the authors, uses elements of computer game mechanics and is designed to familiarize students with the idea of digital circuits, their construction, logical implementation and application. This paper also presents a comparison of the features of different forms of education used in teaching digital techniques, as well as a comparison of these forms, from the point of view of the student and his/her perceptions.

Interpreting Dante's code in art

The purpose of the article is to study the interpretational possibilities of Dante's code in artistic samples of various types of art. Methodology. Methods of observation, modeling, comparison, analysis, and synthesis were used in the methodology of the work. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the analysis of interpretations of Dante's code on the example of fine art, computer games, cartoons, musical arrangement in a ballet performance is carried out. Conclusions. Dante's code is a kind of cultural code that contains common information. The observation method was applied to fix the perception of works of art in order to study Dante's code. Modeling and comparison methods allowed us to determine the features of Dante's code in different genres and types of art. In the history of the visual arts, Dante's code is interpreted both in the works of artists and becomes a creative process with a generalized content of D. Alighieri's works, but with the exact use of the code name (S. Dali). Comparing the use of Dante's code in computer games, cartoons, we state that in the visual arts and modern video series, Dante's code is reproduced in accordance with the content of D. Alighieri's works. In the history of music, in the musical design of a ballet performance, Dante's code is reproduced in a generalized form, where the reference to the name and title of D. Alighieri's works dominates. In the libretto of the Kyiv ballet of the same name, Dante's code is embodied in two appeals: to a love story and fragmentarily and generally to the work "The Divine Comedy". The musical series of the ballet "Dante" is not directly related to Dante's code, but there are attempts by the authors to find allusions, reminiscences in the music of composers (A. Dvořák, R. Wagner, Ezio Bosso). Keywords: Dante's code, interpretation, ballet, fine arts, musical arrangement of a ballet performance, computer game, cartoon.

Comparison of capabilities of the Unity environment and LibGDX in terms of computer game development

As part of the work on the article, two 2D games were created – one based on the Unity environment and the other based on LibGDX. Main focus in the work was to compare the performance of both games. For this purpose, research was carried out to determine which game has a better impact on the usage of CPU and RAM resources. Attention was also paid to community support for both tools and the programmer’s comfort during the work in both of these tools. The results of the performance studies suggest that LibGDX may be a better choice for creating small projects where performance is a priority. However, the support of the community and the comfort of working with the environment and the lack of need to use external programs speak in favor of Unity.

Functional Fiction to Collective Action: Speculative Participatory Serious Urban Design Gaming to Enhance Slum-upgrading Processes

<p>People who are marginalised in slum-upgrading processes can benefit from participatory design strategies. When marginalised slum communities confront and explore conflicting perspectives, values, assumptions and goals through negotiation within participatory design processes, the ability to harness the collective intelligence of people to work towards collective action can be enhanced. However, a tension exists in the participatory design literature between those participatory processes that seek to facilitate social outcomes such as social capital building, and those that seek only to implement an urban development or upgrading project (slum upgrading) as the outcome. Exploring new methods of design participation that integrate both social outcomes and design processes can help alleviate this tension by recognising a diversity of stakeholder perspectives on urban-related issues and help them work towards implementing lasting communal change that explicitly takes into account cooperative development action. The dissertation explores an innovative approach to participatory slum upgrading, which proposes bringing together speculative architecture, participatory design, and serious gaming approaches to help stakeholders to explore conflicting perspectives, assumptions and corresponding future visions surrounding architectural and urban issues. The research focusses on how these three areas can be brought together to help develop a new approach for designing participatory design tools for marginalised communities. The research explores how a “speculative, participatory, serious urban gaming” (SPS-UG) approach might be used to help marginalised communities consider past, future and present community experiences, reconcile dissimilar assumptions, and generate social outcomes and in-game design responses, while priming participants for further long-term, slum-upgrading design engagement processes. Empirical material for this research was gathered from a range of case study workshops prepared with three landfill-based communities and external partners throughout 2017, which utilised a new SPS-UG computer game I designed called Maslow’s Palace to evaluate the approach. The research shows that the SPS-UG approach was successful in guiding the design of a serious game to help reveal, develop and ground stakeholder knowledge, goals and values surrounding slum-upgrading issues. Through an exploration of social complexities involved in the participatory design process, participants were stimulated to share diverse opinions and aspirations and thus deepen their understanding of self, others, norms and institutions. The SPS-UG approach contributed to slum-upgrading outcomes for communities by aiding slum-upgrading ideation, framing the consideration of alternate views and possible futures, and scaffolding discussions about what the future might look like through visual representation of possible design alternatives. Finally, the research discusses key methodological insights, and the challenges faced when working with marginalised communities while pursuing social and slum-upgrading outcomes through a gaming approach. This is significant when considering how the approach might interface with other slum-upgrading processes outside of the scope of this research or function as a catalyst for the transformation of other physical urban environments and socio-cultural contexts.</p>

Functional Fiction to Collective Action: Speculative Participatory Serious Urban Design Gaming to Enhance Slum-upgrading Processes

<p>People who are marginalised in slum-upgrading processes can benefit from participatory design strategies. When marginalised slum communities confront and explore conflicting perspectives, values, assumptions and goals through negotiation within participatory design processes, the ability to harness the collective intelligence of people to work towards collective action can be enhanced. However, a tension exists in the participatory design literature between those participatory processes that seek to facilitate social outcomes such as social capital building, and those that seek only to implement an urban development or upgrading project (slum upgrading) as the outcome. Exploring new methods of design participation that integrate both social outcomes and design processes can help alleviate this tension by recognising a diversity of stakeholder perspectives on urban-related issues and help them work towards implementing lasting communal change that explicitly takes into account cooperative development action. The dissertation explores an innovative approach to participatory slum upgrading, which proposes bringing together speculative architecture, participatory design, and serious gaming approaches to help stakeholders to explore conflicting perspectives, assumptions and corresponding future visions surrounding architectural and urban issues. The research focusses on how these three areas can be brought together to help develop a new approach for designing participatory design tools for marginalised communities. The research explores how a “speculative, participatory, serious urban gaming” (SPS-UG) approach might be used to help marginalised communities consider past, future and present community experiences, reconcile dissimilar assumptions, and generate social outcomes and in-game design responses, while priming participants for further long-term, slum-upgrading design engagement processes. Empirical material for this research was gathered from a range of case study workshops prepared with three landfill-based communities and external partners throughout 2017, which utilised a new SPS-UG computer game I designed called Maslow’s Palace to evaluate the approach. The research shows that the SPS-UG approach was successful in guiding the design of a serious game to help reveal, develop and ground stakeholder knowledge, goals and values surrounding slum-upgrading issues. Through an exploration of social complexities involved in the participatory design process, participants were stimulated to share diverse opinions and aspirations and thus deepen their understanding of self, others, norms and institutions. The SPS-UG approach contributed to slum-upgrading outcomes for communities by aiding slum-upgrading ideation, framing the consideration of alternate views and possible futures, and scaffolding discussions about what the future might look like through visual representation of possible design alternatives. Finally, the research discusses key methodological insights, and the challenges faced when working with marginalised communities while pursuing social and slum-upgrading outcomes through a gaming approach. This is significant when considering how the approach might interface with other slum-upgrading processes outside of the scope of this research or function as a catalyst for the transformation of other physical urban environments and socio-cultural contexts.</p>

Balancing Ethics, Art and Economics: A Qualitative Analysis of Game Designer Perspectives on Monetisation

This article explores the relationship between monetisation models, game design and ethical considerations from the perspective of three different small-scale Norwegian game companies: an indie company, a freemium company and a premium company. The aim is to explore critically how small-scale game companies reason and act in the current economy. Interviews with game designers and CEOs form the empirical basis of the analysis. The motives and practices of the informants are categorised according to three ethical schools, namely, deontology, virtue ethics, and utilitarianism. The informants believe that freemium models and free games have made the computer game industry markedly more challenging to monetise. Their views on what is considered ethical monetisation varies between companies, most distinctly between the freemium company and the two others. Informants from the freemium company downplay ethical responsibilities, with reference to the huge number of existing free games and costumers unwilling to pay for games.