To prevent the social worker being jammed between the economic and rationalized logic of managers and politicians on the one hand, and the life world of the people on the other, he needs to develop a healthy identity. The social constructive view can help to overcome the identity crisis the social professional is in. It offers a model to analyze the conflict a social professional has to deal with, and forces the social worker to make a clear and moral choice for the life world of his clients. This view seems also suitable to develop an indigenous body of practice theory for social work. The presence theory, the family group work and constructive social work demonstrates the possibilities. To regain confidence from both the people and the politicians, the rationalized system of planning and control has to be replaced by the trust model. To develop this model we have to find ways to justify the money used in this sector.
The concept of immersion has been widely used for the design and evaluation of user experiences. Augmented, virtual and mixed-reality environments have further sparked the discussion of immersive user experiences and underlying requirements. However, a clear definition and agreement on design criteria of immersive experiences remains debated, creating challenges to advancing our understanding of immersive experiences and how these can be designed. Based on a multidisciplinary Delphi approach, this study provides a uniform definition of immersive experiences and identifies key criteria for the design and staging thereof. Thematic analysis revealed five key themes – transition into/out of the environment, in-experience user control, environment design, user context relatedness, and user openness and motivation, that emphasise the coherency in the user-environment interaction in the immersive experience. The study proposes an immersive experience framework as a guideline for industry practitioners, outlining key design criteria for four distinct facilitators of immersive experiences–systems, spatial, empathic/social, and narrative/sequential immersion. Further research is proposed using the immersive experience framework to investigate the hierarchy of user senses to optimise experiences that blend physical and digital environments and to study triggered, desired and undesired effects on user attitude and behaviour.
De COVID-19-pandemie heeft het belang duidelijk gemaakt van continuïteit van zorgverlening binnen de GGZ. Online behandeling is een veelbelovende oplossing daarvoor. Vaktherapie is een vaak ingezette behandeling voor psychiatrische aandoeningen. Vaktherapie is ervaringsgericht en bestaat uit beeldende, dans-, drama-, muziek-, psychomotorische en/of speltherapie. Vaktherapie wordt tot dusverre nog niet online aangeboden. Virtual Reality (VR) is een innovatieve manier om vaktherapie online aan te bieden. Eerder is een innovatieve online vaktherapieruimte ontwikkeld, de VR Health Experience (VRhExp). Hierdoor konden cliënten online vanuit huis aan vaktherapie deelnemen. De VRhExp werd door vaktherapeuten als veelbelovend beschouwd. Tegelijkertijd gaven vaktherapeuten aan specifieke interventies te missen. Het ´ARts and psychomotoR Interventions for Virtual rEality (ARRIVE)´ project stelt zich ten doel om vaktherapeutische VR-interventies te ontwikkelen en te bouwen voor de VRhExp. Vervolgens worden de VR-interventies in pilots onderzocht. Dit wordt gedaan door IT-technici, vaktherapeuten en onderzoekers met behulp van de Design Thinking methode. De VR-interventies worden Open Access beschikbaar gesteld. Door het opnemen van VR-interventies in de VRhExp wordt deze daadwerkelijk bruikbaar voor het aanbieden van online vaktherapie. Dit praktijkonderzoek wordt uitgevoerd door de lectoraten ‘Vaktherapie bij Persoonlijkheidsstoornissen’ en ‘Innovatie in de Care’ van de Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen in samenwerking met twee vaktherapeutische praktijken (MKB) en GGNet (Centrum voor Geestelijke Gezondheid). De onderzoeksresultaten worden geïmplementeerd in het onderwijs en het werkveld.
Evaluating player game experiences through biometric measurementsThe BD4CG (Biometric Design for Casual Games project) worked in a highly interdisciplinary context with several international partners. The aim of our project was to popularize the biometric method, which is a neuro-scientific approach to evaluating the player experience. We specifically aimed at the casual games sector, where casual games can be defined as video or web-based games with simple and accessible game mechanics, non threatening themes and generally short play sessions. Popular examples of casual games are Angry Birds and FarmVille. We focussed on this sector because it is growing fast, but its methodologies have not grown with it yet. Especially the biometrics method has so far been almost exclusively used domain by the very large game developers (such as Valve and EA). The insights and scientific output of this project have been enthusiastically embraced by the international academic arena. The aim of the grant was to focus on game producers in the casual sector, and we have done so but we also established further contacts with the game sector in general. Thirty-one outputs were generated, in the form of presentations, workshops, and accepted papers in prominent academic and industry journals in the field of game studies and game user research. Partners: University of Antwerpen, RANJ, Forward Games, Double Jungle, Realgames, Dreams of Danu, Codemasters, Dezzel, Truimph Studios, Golabi Studios
The projectThe overarching goal of DIGNITY, DIGital traNsport In and for socieTY, is to foster a sustainable, integrated and user-friendly digital travel eco-system that improves accessibility and social inclusion, along with the travel experience and daily life of all citizens. The project delves into the digital transport eco-system to grasp the full range of factors that might lead to disparities in the uptake of digitalised mobility solutions by different user groups in Europe. Analysing the digital transition from both a user and provider’s perspective, DIGNITY looks at the challenges brought about by digitalisation, to then design, test and validate the DIGNITY approach, a novel concept that seeks to become the ‘ABCs for a digital inclusive travel system’. The approach combines proven inclusive design methodologies with the principles of foresight analysis to examine how a structured involvement of all actors – local institutions, market players, interest groups and end users – can help bridge the digital gap by co-creating more inclusive mobility solutions and by formulating user-centred policy frameworks.The objectivesThe idea is to support public and private mobility providers in conceiving mainstream digital products or services that are accessible to and usable by as many people as possible, regardless of their income, social situation or age; and to help policy makers formulate long-term strategies that promote innovation in transport while responding to global social, demographic and economic changes, including the challenges of poverty and migration.The missionBy focusing on and involving end-users throughout the process of designing policies, products, or services, it is possible to reduce social exclusion while boosting new business models and social innovation. The end result that DIGNITY is aiming for is an innovative decision support tool that can help local and regional decision-makers formulate digitally inclusive policies and strategies, and digital providers design more inclusive products and services.The approachThe DIGNITY approach combines analysis with concrete actions to make digital mobility services inclusive over the long term. The approach connects users’ needs and requirements with the provision of mobility services, and at the same time connects those services to the institutional framework. It is a multi-phase process that first seeks to understand and bridge the digital gap, and then to test, evaluate and fine-tune the approach, so that it can be applied in other contexts even after the project’s end.Partners: ISINNOVA (Italy), Mobiel 21 (Belgium), Universitat Politechnica deCatalunya Spain), IZT (Germany), University of Cambridge (UK), Factualconsulting (Spain), Barcelona Regional Agencia (Spain), City of Tilburg(Netherlands), Nextbike (Germany), City of Ancona (Italy), MyCicero (Italy),Conerobus (Italy), Vlaams Gewest (Belgium)
