The Games People Play

The recent global diffusion of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) has dramatically raised expectations for technological change to support widespread global socio-economic progress and political reform. Against this backdrop, the chapter seeks to, through the use of a case study based in the Indian city of Bangalore, unravel the social, economic, and political dynamics shaping e-government projects used to reform public sector institutions, and to the further application of this knowledge as elements of game design used in the conception, development, and eventual implementation of associated software and hardware platforms. In particular, the work aims to determine whether the day-to-day use of the new digital technologies in the public sector leads eventually to radical transformations in administrative functioning, policymaking, and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political and bureaucratic reform and to the emergence of technology-based, obsessive-compulsive pathologies and maladjustive Internet-based behaviours amongst individuals in society.

The Association between Internet Addiction and Psychosocial Variables

The past decade has seen plenty of studies focusing on Internet use and Internet addiction. This is because the Internet provides information about variety of topics all over world and is easily accessed. Arguments concerning the association between excessive use and Internet addiction are ongoing. There is not yet a clear, consensus definition of Internet addiction. In this chapter, we discuss previous research and implications for future studies regarding Internet addiction and its most studied psychosocial variables: depression, loneliness, social anxiety, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and social support.

“I Can't Do It by Myself”

The addiction to Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) is a contemporary phenomenon which emerges against the background of the dissolution of traditional communities. The individuals who participate in these games seek sociability and find a variety of options to partake in social life online. For a number of players, their engagement may take on addictive qualities, as characterised by symptoms similar to substance-related addictions. These symptoms include craving, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms as well as significant impairments in different areas of the individuals' lives. The aim of this chapter is to provide a qualitative account of how the fascination with playing MMORPGs can turn into addiction as experienced by clients seeking help in a specialized outpatient treatment centre in Germany. Moreover, it addresses their therapy motivation as indicated by their contemplation about and preparation for action. Five clients are interviewed and the results are analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Implications are discussed.

Dangers of Playing with the Virtual Other in Mind

This chapter contributes to the discussion on worth and dangers of digital role-playing games. With a psychoanalytical approach it focuses on the psyche's abilities provided by entering a game space. Building on the basic axioms of psychoanalysis a set of hypotheses concerning a psychoanalytic view on the act of playing is developed, which is systematically processed in the following. The aim of these deliberations is to outline that playing always means to deal with certain chaos in the sense of an unknown and unfamiliar structure in which the player immerses. The narrow edge between facilitating personality development on the one side and overwhelming - the player's psyche endangering - chaos on the other is worked out. The chapter is a revised part of an upcoming transdisciplinary PhD-thesis in the field of educational science and game studies.

Internet Gaming Disorder

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) was introduced in the recent DSM-V as a condition needing more research. Therefore, this chapter contributes to this discussion by a summary of recent research findings and introduces an empirical study concerning differences between an engaged and a problematic use of games. We surveyed 577 participants (mean age 24.38 years; 77.1% male) from German speaking areas. We used a gaming addiction questionnaire and the Internet Addiction Scale (ISS-20). 93.7% are high-level player (level 85); 3.1% are addicted according to the ISS-20. We found 2 factors explaining “addiction” and “engagement”. Addicted players spend more time per week playing online with 31.31 hours/week compared to highly engaged players with 22.19 hours/week (p < .001), have higher scores in the Internet addiction scale (p < .001), and significantly lower scores in scales measuring the quality of life (p < .001). Therefore we conclude that items tapping euphoria and cognitive salience are of limited use when it comes to a classification of IGD.

The Impacts of Alcohol on E-Dating Activity

The impact of alcohol on Internet use is relatively unexplored. This chapter presents the results of a study conducted over a period of 1 year, which investigated whether persons who stated on their e-dating profile that they drank alcohol were more or less likely to contact another person. The study found that increased consumption of alcohol resulted in a person posting more flames (i.e. abusive posts) to their target. No such difference existed in terms of whether a person drank alcohol in relation to whether they had a low education, spoke more about themselves, their target, or whether they posted kudos to their targets. The chapter concludes that further research is needed to uncover the effects of alcohol on participation in social networking services, so that young people, like Liam Stacey and Isabella Sorley are not unfairly targeted for Internet trolling.

Using “On-the-Fly Corpus Linguistics” to Systematically Derive Word Definitions Using Inductive Abstraction and Reductionist Correlation Analysis

Computer jargon is something that can either unite people, or draw them apart. This chapter looks at definitions of the terms, ‘trolling,' ‘flame,' ‘flame-war' and ‘lurking,' as presented in specialist dictionaries, newspapers and through a survey of laypersons. The aim of the chapter was to see whether it was possible to objectively define terms using a quantitative analysis of qualitative data. The study finds that objectively determining a definition of a term requires a bigger dataset than is used for qualitative studies. It further notes that whilst there is a lot in common with expert definitions, the problem with drawing definitions from others is that whilst it might produce objective definitions they might not be accurate ones.

A Theoretical Model, Including User-Experience, Aesthetics, and Psychology, in the 3D Design Process

This paper presents a theoretical model based on a formula that combines three theoretical factors which – it is argued - significantly contribute to the process of designing 3D avatars. These factors are aesthetics, user experience and psychology. The purpose of the paper is to put forward new ideas on what informs the design process of 3D avatars. An additional reason of the formulation and the proposal of a visualization through a formula, is to simplify the procedure of 3D avatars design while at the same time comprehending the influence of aesthetics, user experience and psychology. The paper provides an overview of existing research on aesthetics, user experience and psychology and how these can inform 3D avatars design procedure. As all theoretical models, this one too needs to be tested further so we propose a set of future research questions based on the model.

Cyber-Stalking or Just Plain Talking?

In the United Kingdom there were a number of rape threats made to prominent public figures who identify feminists. It led to three people being jailed, namely Isabella Sorley, John Nimmo and Peter Nunn. This was at a time when the UK police had identified around 50,000 online sex offenders but said they could not all be prosecuted. This study investigates the use of rape threats and other threatening language based on those tweeted by these people to see the contexts in which they are used. The study finds that most rape and other threats made are done as a joke and not with any real malicious intent. The chapter recommends on the basis of the evidence necessary for the authorities to use the judgement in DPP v Chambers, which would mean the context of an alleged abusive message would be considered.

Consulting the British Public in the Digital Age

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in Government has declined visibly in several liberal democracies; giving way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices, and rendering obsolete or inappropriate much of traditional democratic politics. Simultaneously, digital technologies have opened up huge opportunities and raised new challenges for public institutions and agencies. Through an analysis of the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this chapter will engage with issues related to the innovative use of digital network technology by Government to involve citizens in policy processes within existing democratic frameworks. The work examines whether the application of new digital platforms to participatory democracy in the Government 2.0 era leads eventually to radical transformations in government functioning and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political reform and to the emergence of technology-based pathologies and addictive behaviours amongst individuals in society.