The implementation of computer games in physical therapy is motivated by characteristics such as attractiveness, motivation, and engagement, but these do not guarantee the intended therapeutic effect of the interventions. Yet, these characteristics are important variables in physical therapy interventions because they involve reward-related dopaminergic systems in the brain that are known to facilitate learning through long-term potentiation of neural connections. In this perspective we propose a way to apply game design approaches to therapy development by “designing” therapy sessions in such a way as to trigger physical and cognitive behavioral patterns required for treatment and neurological recovery. We also advocate that improving game knowledge among therapists and improving communication between therapists and game designers may lead to a novel avenue in designing applied games with specific therapeutic input, thereby making gamification in therapy a realistic and promising future that may optimize clinical practice.
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This article presents a review of the current body of academic literature concerning gamification of production and logistics to understand the status quo and provide suggestions for future research. The findings indicate that the execution and control of production and logistic processes has been addressed most often in the current body of literature, which mostly consists of design research. Objectives and goals, points, achievements, multimedial feedback, metaphorical or fictional representations, and levels and progress are currently the most often employed affordances within this field. Research has focused in the given context on examining or considering motivation, enjoyment and flow, as the main psychological outcomes of gamification, while individual performance and efficiency are the most commonly examined or suggested behavioral and organizational impacts. Future studies should employ more rigorous designs within new subdomains of production and logistics and should firmly ground research designs and discussions in management theory and critical studies.
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Energy transition is key to achieving a sustainable future. In this transition, an often neglected pillar is raising awareness and educating youth on the benefits, complexities, and urgency of renewable energy supply and energy efficiency. The Master Energy for Society, and particularly the course “Society in Transition”, aims at providing a first overview on the urgency and complexities of the energy transition. However, educating on the energy transition brings challenges: it is a complex topic to understand for students, especially when they have diverse backgrounds. In the last years we have seen a growing interest in the use of gamification approaches in higher institutions. While most practices have been related to digital gaming approaches, there is a new trend: escape rooms. The intended output and proposed innovation is therefore the development and application of an escape room on energy transition to increase knowledge and raise motivation among our students by addressing both hard and soft skills in an innovative and original way. This project is interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary due to the complexity of the topic; it consists of three different stages, including evaluation, and requires the involvement of students and colleagues from the master program. We are confident that this proposed innovation can lead to an improvement, based on relevant literature and previous experiences in other institutions, and has the potential to be successfully implemented in other higher education institutions in The Netherlands.
The project’s aim is to foster resilient learning environments, lessen early school leaving, and give European children (ages 4 -6) a good start in their education while providing and advancing technical skills in working with technology that will serve them well in life. For this purpose, the partnership has developed age appropriate ICT animation tools and games - as well as pedagogical framework specific to the transition phase from kindergarten to school.
Veel kinderen in de leeftijdsgroep van 8 tot 12 jaar haken af op de sportclub door slechte ervaringen met goedbedoelende, maar vaak onvoldoende deskundige jeugdtrainers en door de soms negatieve sfeer op en rond sportvelden. Dat geldt vooral voor kinderen die moeilijk-te-verstaan (‘lastig’) gedrag vertonen ten gevolge van milde psychosociale problemen. Het project beoogt een gedragsverandering bij jeugdtrainers te stimuleren en daarmee bij te dragen aan een veilig en inclusief klimaat voor kinderen op de sportclub. Getracht wordt om professionals zoals buurtsportcoaches en clubkadercoaches, te voorzien van een gebruiksvriendelijke digitale tool voor het begeleiden van jeugdtrainers. Daartoe wordt via een social design-benadering gefaseerd gewerkt aan de verdere ontwikkeling van de digitale tool App4Support, waarvan we recent in een eerder project een Proof of Concept (PoC)-versie tot stand hebben gebracht. De verdere ontwikkeling van App4Support vindt plaats binnen drie werkpakketten: 1. Participatie en co-creatie – Sportprofessionals, jeugdtrainers en ouders ontwerpen gezamenlijk gedragsinterventies voor jeugdtrainers die aansluiten bij de realiteit op de sportclub; 2. Gedrag en empowerment – Via interactieve workshops beoordelen sportprofessionals, jeugdtrainers en ouders gezamenlijk op basis van praktijkervaringen in hoeverre de ontworpen gedragsinterventies daadwerkelijk positief gedrag stimuleren en negatieve interacties ombuigen; 3. Waardecreatie en opschaling – Gunstig beoordeelde gedragsinterventies worden geïntegreerd in de digitale tool App4Support, met bijzondere aandacht voor de gebruiksvriendelijkheid van de app, de prioritering van adviezen en de toevoeging van gamification-elementen. Dit éénjarige project wordt uitgevoerd door Hogeschool Windesheim in samenwerking met Feeton als bedrijf uit de creatieve industrie, met In Opbouw, Intraverte en Sportservice Zwolle als organisaties uit de sector sport en gezondheid, en met enkele sportverenigingen. Vanuit een social design-benadering worden pedagogische inzichten, innovatieve methodes, gebruikerswensen en digitale technologie gecombineerd ter stimulering van positieve sportervaringen voor kinderen met milde psychosociale problemen.
