Serious Game Development Model Based on the Game-Based Learning Foundation

Serious games or applied games are digital games applied in serious fields such as education, advertising, health, business, and the military. Currently, serious game development is mostly based on the Game Development Life Cycle (GDLC) approach. A serious game is a game product with unique characteristics that require a particular approach to its development. This paper proposes a serious game development model adapted from the Game-Based Learning Foundation. This paper’s main contribution is to enhance knowledge in the game development field and game-related application research. The proposed model was validated using the relativism approach and it was used to develop several game prototypes for universities, national companies, and the military.

Tailoring Digital Tools to Address the Radiation and Health Information Needs of Returnees after a Nuclear Accident

Digital tools are increasingly used for health promotion, but their utility during recovery from a nuclear disaster has yet to be established. This study analysed differences in knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward digital tools for radiation protection and health promotion, and preferences for specific application functions, among cohorts living within and outside areas affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station (FDNPS) accident. A needs assessment was conducted by internet survey, and responses from those affected (N = 86) and not affected (N = 253) were compared and quantified by an adjusted odds ratio (aOR), using logistic regression analyses. KAP toward the radiation-related application in the affected group had an aOR of 1.95 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.12–3.38) for knowledge, and 5.71 (CI = 2.55–12.8) for practice. Conversely, toward the health-related application, the aOR of the affected group was 0.50 (CI = 0.29–0.86). The preference in the affected group was significantly lower for two application functions related to radiation measurement and two health-related functions (one about the effects of radiation in general and another about personal health advice in general): aOR range 0.43–0.50. Development of specific applications incorporating the findings from this survey was intended to foster a locally appropriate eHealth environment during recovery from the FDNPS accident.

What about Using Photovoice for Health and Safety?

The positive reception of Wang and Burris’ photovoice method, published in 1997, has led to a proliferation of ways in which professionals deploy photovoice in a widening range of application fields, e.g., public health, social development and phenomenological research of human experiences. A scoping review method is used to obtain an overview of current photovoice designs and of application examples in the health and safety domain. The results show a variety of method designs. Our findings indicate that all of the photovoice designs are composed from different combinations of eleven process steps. Five generic objectives cover the range of application examples found in our literature study. We therefore condensed the variety into five generic photovoice designs for: (a) communication, (b) education, (c) exploration, (d) awareness, and (e) empowerment purposes. We propose this for use in a classification system. The potential for application of these photovoice designs in safety management is illustrated by the existence of various safety related application examples. We argue that the five generic designs will facilitate the implementation and usage of photovoice as a tool. We recommend that both a theoretical framework and guidance are further developed. We conclude that photovoice holds potential for application in health and safety management.

arhomme: An implementation of the Arellano and Bonhomme (2017) estimator for quantile regression with selection correction

Despite constituting a major theoretical breakthrough, the quantile selection model of Arellano and Bonhomme (2017, Econometrica 85: 1–28) based on copulas has not found its way into many empirical applications. We introduce the command arhomme, which implements different variants of the estimator along with standard errors based on bootstrapping and subsampling. We illustrate the command by replicating parts of the empirical application in the original article and a related application in Arellano and Bonhomme (2018, Handbook of Quantile Regression, chap. 13).

Structural Analysis and Optimization of Hybrid Unmanned Amphibian Aerial Vehicle

Hybrid Unmanned Amphibian Aerial Vehicle (HUAAV) is a hybrid unmanned system consisting of a multi-rotor and a hovercraft. Water quality management, hydrographic survey, bathymetric survey and related application areas still employs time consuming and erroneous traditional methods of using boats to access the test sites. The application of unmanned systems will significantly increase the efficiency of this process by getting access to remote locations of both air and water. This paper deals with the design optimization and finite element structural analysis to validate the structural capability of the hybrid amphibian aerial vehicle for operational conditions. The Reserve Factors (RF) for all the components in the amphibian aerial vehicle are calculated and then optimized.