Boccia game simulator: Serious game adapted for people with disabilities

Integration in the world of sport is one way for individuals with disabilities or motor disorders to feel more socially integrated, independent, and confident. Boccia is a Paralympic sport, which is increasingly getting more attention around the world. These facts have contributed to the objectives of this work. Including it in the serious games category enables to develop and rehabilitate the cognitive capabilities. The main focus was BC3 classification athletes (users with limited motor characteristics that require the use of an assistive device—a ramp, in this case). This paper describes a realistic Boccia game simulator adapted for people with disabilities that integrates a set of features that includes real physics and social features. These features can be used to enhance the interest of nonpractitioners of the sport and to improve the training conditions. The official Boccia regulation was added to the design of the simulator. The usability and approximation to the reality of the simulator were tested and validated based on the tests performed and data collected via a survey of users with no motor or psychological disorders. Realism and usability rating was almost excellent, and good results were achieved at the assessment of the game experience.     

Uses and Gratifications of Pokémon Go: Why do People Play Mobile Location-Based Augmented Reality Games?

In recent years, augmented reality games (ARGs) such as Pokémon Go have become increasingly popular. These games not only afford a novel gaming experience but also have the potential to alter how players view their physical realities. In addition to the common experiences and gratifications people derive from games, (location-based) ARGs can afford, for example outdoor adventures, communal activities, and health benefits, but also create problems stemming from, for example privacy concerns and poor usability. This raises some important research questions as to what drives people to use these new applications, and why they may be willing to spend money on the content sold within them. In this study, we investigate the various gratifications people derive from ARGs (Pokémon Go) and the relationship of these gratifications with the players’ intentions to continue playing and spending money on them. We employ data drawn from players of Pokémon Go (N = 1190) gathered through an online survey. The results indicate that game enjoyment, outdoor activity, ease of use, challenge, and nostalgia are positively associated with intentions to reuse (ITR), meanwhile outdoor activity, challenge, competition, socializing, nostalgia and ITR are associated with in-app purchase intentions (IPI). In contrast with our expectations, privacy concerns or trendiness were not associated with reuse intentions or IPI.     

Making friends in online games: gender differences and designing for greater social connectedness

ABSTRACT

While online multiplayer games provide an opportunity for players to both maintain and establish new connections, male and female players have been found to experience these environments differently. Interviews (n?=?22) and focus groups (n?=?14) were used to explore these differences as they impact on creating new social connections, as well as to provide recommendations for the development of new social tools and features that account for these differences. While all participants experienced toxicity and performance pressure as barriers to forming new connections, female players uniquely reported the impacts of misogynistic targeting and stereotype threat. In turn, female players wishing to avoid these stresses would often mask their gender. The common practice of gender misrepresentation by both male and female players impacted female players’ ability to create social connections through voice technology, as well as building their distrust of unknown others. Recommendations are made to build social connectedness between players taking into account the specific constraints faced by female players. These include establishing mentoring opportunities as well as profiling players beyond their immediate skill or rank. Additionally, the desire for control of one’s online identity presents practical challenges that may be overcome through thoughtful design.     

Supporting primary students' learning of fraction conceptual knowledge through digital games

With the advent of mobile technologies, well-designed fraction apps can be used to help children gain fraction knowledge, a challenging topic for both teachers and students. The present pilot study adopted a quasi-experimental design to investigate whether children can learn fraction concepts equally well if half of the lesson time (20 min) is replaced with game-based learning. Keeping the total lesson time (40 min) identical, the control group (N = 33) received traditional instruction, and the experimental group (N = 32) was presented with a blended learning approach spending half of the class time (20 min) playing tablet-based fraction games, where each of the learners had their own tablet. The results suggested that in the posttest, the experimental group achieved similar learning gains to the control group and appear to have achieved better performance in the transfer test than the control group. This paper also discusses the efficiency of game-based learning, the mechanism of how fraction games might enhance learning, and the potential of integrating game-based learning in educational settings.     

Creating awareness on bullying and cyberbullying among young people: Validating the effectiveness and design of the serious game Conectado

Serious games have proven to be educational tools with numerous positive effects, capable of promoting learning, changing behavior, or improving training and skills development, among other effects. Serious games can also be applied to address and prevent social problems. This study describes the experiments and analyses we have carried out to test the effectiveness of Conectado, a serious game created to prevent bullying and cyberbullying in schools by increasing awareness of the problem in players. We have used the results from these experiments to answer different research questions regarding the game’s acceptance and effectiveness, validating several characteristics of the game design. We have also studied the influence of players’ characteristics on the effect of the game, as well as the relationship between the in-game behaviors of players and their degree of awareness. We have verified a positive effect of the game in terms of an increase of awareness regarding bullying and cyberbullying for all target users, and have provided further insight into how this increase is related to different players’ characteristics and behaviors.     

中国城乡建设用地市场的统一趋势研究

集体非农建设用地进入市场流转已经成为建设社会主义市场经济的必然选择,但是,中国目前的大部分地区建设用地市场还处于分割状态,这种状态的土地资源配置无疑是低效的,本文在分析低效及其存在原因的基础上,通过引入模型和对参与人主观认知的分析得出建立城乡一体化的建设用地市场是土地市场建设的必然趋势。     

中国城乡建设用地市场的统一趋势研究

集体非农建设用地进入市场流转已经成为建设社会主义市场经济的必然选择，但是，中国目前的大部分地区建设用地市场还处于分割状态，这种状态的土地资源配置无疑是低效的，本文在分析低效及其存在原因的基础上，通过引入模型和对参与人主观认知的分析得出建立城乡一体化的建设用地市场是土地市场建设的必然趋势。     

亚运会背景下广州城市空间发展模式思考——供需关系的视角

重大体育赛事主办城市的空间发展模式可以抽象地分为"1×1"模式和"1 1"模式.在亚运会背景下,为了尽快提升广州的城市服务水平和效率,提高城市空间质量,促进服务业快速发展,城市空间发展的"1×1"模式应尽快起动.但也应看到"1×1"模式虽迎合现阶段发展问题解决的需要,能较快地提高城市竞争力,却不能从根本上解决广州城市人口密集、交通拥挤、历史文化风貌保护等问题,"1 1"的模式更有利于广州未来长远的发展.     

基于耦合的系统方法在防火安全评估中的应用

以奥运场馆改造项目为背景,利用计算机技术,基于性能化防火分析的思想,采用自行开发的火灾安全模拟系统BFIRESAS,对奥运场馆的火灾安全性能进行了综合分析。该系统采用数值模拟的方法,将火灾场景模拟分析与结构分析综合为一体,模拟了北京工人体育馆在设定火灾下的火灾场景和结构温度场的分布,分析了其屋面钢结构体系在火灾作用下的结构反应和力学性能。分析结果显示:火灾影响下原有结构体系的平衡被打破,火灾下的结构破坏表现为整体性的破坏,因而需要进行全面的整体分析,而不能仅仅考虑局部的影响。对该场馆的火灾安全提出了进一步分析的建议。     

基于纳什谈判的区域综合能源系统运行优化

基于能量路由器(energy router,ER)和公共母线的区域综合能源系统（integrated community energy system,ICES）,既实现了电、热、冷等多种能源互补,也实现了区域内多个综合能源系统之间的电能互济。为提高调度的灵活性,综合能源系统同时考虑了2种热能存储方式：储热系统以及热电联供型光热电站内部储热环节。针对该系统,建立基于电能互济的区域综合能源系统运行优化模型,目标函数为最小化系统的运行成本。与非合作模式相比,综合能源系统之间的电能互济能够降低系统运行成本和CO2排放量。为保证区域综合能源系统联盟的利益在联盟参与者之间公平分配,提出纳什谈判方法。最后针对在初始联盟建立后,新系统在运行期间加入初始联盟构成新联盟的情况,提出新联盟的运行优化模型。算例仿真验证了所提运行优化模型的可行性和有效性。