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Computer
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Background: Although considerable research suggests that health-risk factors vary as a function of video-game playing among young people, direct evidence of such linkages among adults is lacking.Purpose: The goal of this Study was to distinguish adult video-game players from nonplayers on the basis of personal and environmental factors. It was hypothesized that adults who play video games, compared to nonplayers, would evidence poorer perceptions of their health, greater reliance on Internet-facilitated social support, more extensive media use, and higher BMI. It was further hypothesized that different patterns of linkages between video-game playing and health-risk factors would emerge by gender.Methods: A cross-sectional, Internet-based survey was conducted in 2006 with a sample of adults from the Seattle-Tacoma area (n=562), examining health risks; media use behaviors and perceptions, including those related to video-game playing; and demographics. Statistical analyses conducted in 2008 to compare video-game players and nonplayers included bivariate descriptive statistics, stepwise discriminant analysis, and ANOVA.Results: A total of 45.1% of respondents reported playing video games. Female video-game players reported greater depression (M=1.57) and poorer health status (M=3.90) than female nonplayers (depression, M=1.13; health status, M=3.57). Male video-game players reported higher BMI (M=5.31) and more Internet use time (M=2.55) than male nonplayers (BMI, M=5.19; Internet use, M=2.36). The only determinant common to female and male video-game players was greater reliance on the Internet for social support.Conclusions: A number of determinants distinguished video-game players from nonplayers, and these factors differed substantially between men and women. The data illustrate the need for further research among adults to clarify how to use digital opportunities more effectively to promote health and prevent disease. (Am J Prev Med 2009;37(4):299-305)
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Increasing exposure of children and adolescents to electronic media is a worldwide phenomenon, including in Thailand. To date, few studies examine electronic game play in Thai adolescents. Our research describes the prevalence of electronic game play and examines associations between the time spent engaged in electronic game play and school performance of adolescents in Hat-Yai municipality. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,492 adolescents from four secondary schools and one commercial college from January through March 2007, using questionnaires for collecting information about demographic data, school grades, and electronic game play behaviors. The prevalence of electronic game play was 75% in boys and 59% in girls. Twenty-two percent of boys and 8.7% of girls played electronic games every day with more than 2 hours per session. The two most common places of game play were at game shops (71%), followed by at their own home (70%). Using linear regression analysis, the "low user or less than 2 hours per session" game players and females were less likely to have school grades below 3.00 with adjusted odds ratios of 0.44 (95% CI 0.25-0.80, p = 0.004) and 0.49 (95% CI 0.30-0.76, p = 0.005) respectively. This study finds that excessive playing of electronic games is associated with school grades below 3.00.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
The elders feel better and healthier when participating in activities and recognizing their ability to move and creating something. Implementing technology can benefit their lives and improve social interaction. This study develops the embodied interactive video games (EIVG) relying on embodied interactions, which are free from the fine motor skills like pointing, grasping etc. Four research objectives include (1) To evaluate the usability of the EIVG; (2) To evaluate the dependability of the EIVG; (3) To understand the flow experiences of the elders during game play; (4) To explore the relations between the usability, dependability, and the elders' flow experiences. The results were discussed in three aspects. In terms of the usability and dependability of the game system, the elders were satisfied with the EIVG games due to the familiarity of the content and the ease of interaction. In terms of the flow experiences, the challenge of the games played an important role to the elders with high SES. In terms of the relations between usability, dependability, and flow experience, the usability and dependability were identified as critical factors for the elders to use computer technology due to the cognitive ageing.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
The purpose of this study was to examine students' learning of simple machines, a fifth-grade (ages 10-11) forces and motion unit, and student engagement using a teacher-created Multiplayer Educational Gaming Application. This mixed-method study collected pre-test/post-test results to determine student knowledge about simple machines. A survey ascertained the time spent using the computer for general purposes, and the time spent playing computer games as a function of gender. The pre-test and post-test design involved 74 students, 31 males and 43 females, who played the Dr. Friction Multiplayer Educational Gaming Application for several days in the middle of the unit. Results showed the females averaged using the computer more than their male counterparts and males played video games more than females. Analysis of covariance suggested no significant difference between the factor gender (p .05) but statistically significant differences in gain scores (p = .001). Observations and qualitative focus groups suggested high student engagement and how video game technology can scaffold learning of simple machines.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
The present study focuses on the ways in which response cries (Goffman, 1981) are deployed as interactional resources in computer gaming in everyday life. It draws on a large-scale data set of video recordings of the everyday lives of middleclass families. The recordings of gaining between children and between children and parents show that response cries were not arbitrarily located within different phases of gaining (planning, gaming or commenting on gaining). Response cries were primarily used as interactional resources for securing and sustaining joint attention (cf. Goodwin, 1996) during the gaming as such, that is, during periods when the gaming activity was characterized by a relatively high tempo. In gaining between children, response cries co-occurred with their animations of game characters and with sound making, singing along, and code switching in ways that formed something of an action aesthetic, a type of aesthetic that was most clearly seen in gaining between game equals (here: between children). In contrast, response cries were rare during the planning phases and during phases in which the participants primarily engaged in setting up or adjusting the game.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
In contrast to the many technological developments of the last ten years that have shaped also the researchers’ key tasks, the literature reviews have not diversified much from their traditional forms. This is somewhat surprising given that the manual scan of journals and copying of selected articles in the university library have transformed into an online discovery in various full-text and bibliographic databases. What is more, there are several insightful text mining and information visualization tools that have been developed to help the researcher in profiling, mapping and visualizing knowledge domains. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate by way of an example the potential of a new approach called research profiling, and to raise discussion about the method’s applicability in enriching traditional literature reviews. The specific topic of interest in this paper is digital games research as indexed in the ISI Web of Science. Altogether 2.136 articles were profiled. Almost half of the digital games research were classified either under computer science or psychology, or their subcategories. Only a small subset of the research was conducted from a business or management school perspective, which points to an obvious gap in the literature.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
The use of electronic media is playing an ever greater role in adolescents' recreational behaviour. From the point of view of the health sciences, one question which arises is the extent to which intensive media use is detrimental to physical activity and adolescents' health development. The data from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS), which were evaluated with a focus on 11-17-year-olds, confirm this heavy use of electronic media. However, there are distinct group-specific differences. For example, boys spend more time than girls on computers, the internet and games consoles, whereas girls more often listen to music and use their mobile phones. Watching television and videos is equally popular among girls and boys. Adolescents of low social status or a low level of school education use electronic media far more frequently and for longer times, especially television and video, games consoles and mobile phones. The same is true of boys and girls from the former states of the GDR and for boys (but not girls) with a background of migration. A connection to physical activity has been established for adolescents who spend more than five hours a day using electronic media. Moreover, this group of heavy users is more often affected by adiposity. The results of the KiGGS study, which are in line with earlier research findings, thus demonstrate that the use of electronic media is also of relevance from the point of view of public health and should be included in investigations into the health of children and adolescents.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
As growing numbers of youth in the United States play video games, potential effects of game playing are being considered. We focused on gender-related aspects of gaming in a study of 206 college students. Men were significantly more likely than women to play video games two or more hours a week and to indicate that video game playing interfered with sleeping and with class preparation. A greater proportion of women than men complained about the amount of time their significant other played video games. Participants rated female video game characters as significantly more helpless and sexually provocative than male characters and as less likely to be strong and aggressive. Gender differences in participation and character portrayals potentially impact the lives of youth in a variety of ways.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the presence of pain and musculoskeletal pain syndromes in adolescents and associate them to computer and video game use. A cross-sectional study was performed on the entire adolescent population (n=833) of a private situated in the city of Sao Paulo. The research included a questionnaire and physical examination of the musculoskeletal system. Statistical analysis was carried out with Fisher, chi-square, Mann Whitney tests and logistic regression. A total of 791 adolescent was evaluated. A computer was used by 99% and video games by 58%. Pain was reported by 312 (39.4%) students: 23% complained of back pain, 9% of upper limb pain, 4% of diffuse pain and 4% of pain in the trapezium muscle. A clinical examination was carried out in 359 students, and one or more musculoskeletal pain syndromes were present in 56 students (15.6%): benign joint hypermobility syndrome in 10%, myofascial syndrome in 5%, tendonitis in 2% and fibromyalgia in 1%. In the multivariate analysis, the logistical regression showed that the independent variables in the prediction of pain were sex [odds ratio (OR): 2.19, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.33-3.61] and age (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.07-1.28) and that the prediction of musculoskeletal pain syndromes were sex (OR: 3.17, 95% CI: 1.69-6.22) and number of days a week using the computer (OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.05-1.42). However, the variations in the dependent variables by the mathematical regression models were low. Despite the frequent use of computer and video games among adolescents, this was not associated with the presence of pain and musculoskeletal pain syndromes.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Researchers interested in the associations of gender with spatial experience and spatial ability have not yet focused on several activities that have become common in the modern digital age. In this study, using a new questionnaire called the Survey of Spatial Representation and Activities (SSRA), we examined spatial experiences with computers and videogames in a sample of nearly 1,300 undergraduate students. Large gender differences, which favored men, were found in computer experience. Although men and women also differed on SAT scores, gender differences in computer experience were still apparent with SAT factored out. Furthermore, men and women with high and low levels of computer experience, who were selected for more intensive study, were found to differ significantly on the Mental Rotations Test (MRT). Path analyses showed that computer experience substantially mediates the gender difference in spatial ability observed on the MRT. These results collectively suggest that the "Digital Divide" is an important phenomenon and that encouraging women and girls to gain spatial experiences, such as computer usage, might help to bridge the gap in spatial ability between the sexes.
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