Martha Givaudan, Marco Barriga, Jacquelyn Kercheval and Susan Pick
The purpose of this paper is to present a sustainable, community-based action model to improve the care and protection of children between the ages of zero and eight years who…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a sustainable, community-based action model to improve the care and protection of children between the ages of zero and eight years who have been left behind due to migration. One facet of the program is to train community leaders to teach an experiential program to facilitate and increase the likelihood of the development of life habits in children, caretakers, teachers, mothers, and fathers that will improve the caretaker-infant relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Community leaders were evaluated via a pre-training questionnaire and a post-training questionnaire.
Findings
The evaluation of the training of the community leaders revealed the following statistically significant results: an increase in the level of a number of life habits, which include self-awareness, management of emotions, empathy, assertive communication, decision-making, critical thinking, conflict negotiation and resolution, and teamwork; a reduction in the degree to which psychosocial barriers hinder personal development; an increase in the level of autonomy and self-efficacy; an increase in the level of knowledge that participants have about the topics of the workshops: child development, child-rearing and academic potential, as well as migration; and positive changes in the attitudes that they have regarding certain topics related to child development.
Originality/value
The program was conducted in Hidalgo, Mexico, a state whose high rates of migration put the children at greater risk for developmental delays if they lack adult support.
Details
Keywords
Marco Castrignanò and Gabriele Manella
In this chapter, we suggest a neighborhood perspective as a possible way to ‘react’ to some suburban trends that characterize the city today. We mention some of these trends and…
Abstract
In this chapter, we suggest a neighborhood perspective as a possible way to ‘react’ to some suburban trends that characterize the city today. We mention some of these trends and focus on their social and environmental impact. Our aim is to ecologically pose the centrality of sociospatial organization in the city; such organization, indeed, is fundamental to think to more sustainable forms as a countertrend to urban sprawl. On one side, we consider the works of Barry Wellman in order to show that community is more and more disconnected to a particular space or place. On the other side, we consider the contribution of Robert Sampson to stress the centrality of the concept of neighborhood, which has been made free from the ‘community rhetoric’ of strong ties in urban studies. Sampson gives a particular importance to collective efficacy, which he suggests as the tool through which a high quality of life can be pursued in urban neighborhoods. So, these studies stress the organizational and ecological aspects instead of the ones connected to strong local ties. In the final part, we suggest that our perspective is also very useful in order to give substance to the idea of a dense city as a mosaic/network of neighborhoods, a city where social mixitè is a binding element.
Details
Keywords
Edgar Muñiz-Avila, Geraldina Silveyra-Leon and Laura Alheli Segarra-Perez
It is well known that entrepreneurship is a complex phenomenon, which takes place under great uncertainty. Much of the existing research that explores the venture creation process…
Abstract
It is well known that entrepreneurship is a complex phenomenon, which takes place under great uncertainty. Much of the existing research that explores the venture creation process has assumed a linear, unitary process. The proposal presented in this chapter involves the venture creation process viewed as an iterative, non-linear, feedback-driven system called the Startup Path – a framework that brings together the entrepreneur as an individual, with its journey on the venture creation process.
Details
Keywords
Bruno Correia da Silva, José Gilvan Rodrigues Maia and Windson Viana de Carvalho
In ubiquitous games, sensor data and the player’s dynamic profile personalize the experience, adapting scenarios and difficulty to the player’s context. However, manually creating…
Abstract
Purpose
In ubiquitous games, sensor data and the player’s dynamic profile personalize the experience, adapting scenarios and difficulty to the player’s context. However, manually creating custom virtual environments becomes impractical due to the scalability required in the real world, where gameplay depends on the player’s environment and various points of interest. Procedural content generation (PCG) naturally emerges as an automated solution. This study aims to review the state of the art among pervasive games that use procedural generation techniques.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors performed a systematic review of the literature on PCG techniques in ubiquitous games. The research methodology included initial database searches, forward snowballing and backward snowballing.
Findings
The authors selected 40 articles published from 2008 to 2022 after analyzing 1,017 PCG articles. Many of these paper use dynamic difficulty generation methods that affect game customization, balance and playability. The majority of titles are in the area of education and require rigorous evaluation. Some articles mention the use of PCG but provide limited details of algorithms or processes.
Research limitations/implications
The low presence of recent articles stands out, which can lead to two conclusions: poor use of indexing of articles in the area or low amount of research over these years. One of the search bases did not enter due to the number of keywords used.
Practical implications
The paper is a guide for researchers in the area of pervasive games who are interested in using PCG techniques in their games.
Originality/value
This approach revealed articles combining PCG and ubiquitous games, with no previous systematic reviews at this intersection.
Details
Keywords
Hussein Haruna, Asad Abbas, Zamzami Zainuddin, Xiao Hu, Robin R. Mellecker and Samira Hosseini
This paper aims to evaluate the students’ perception of their learning experiences concerning serious gaming and gamification instructions and determines whether they were…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the students’ perception of their learning experiences concerning serious gaming and gamification instructions and determines whether they were motivated enough and engaged during the educative process in a resource-poor context. Moreover, the study evaluated the impact of interactive instructional environment outcomes in terms of students’ perceptions of the learning catalysed by gamified systems, particularly in enhancing attitude change coupled with knowledge acquisition.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a qualitative research design technique to collect the data. A total of 108 first year secondary school students participated in a sexual health literacy course that lasted for a five-week learning period. Using a cluster-sampling technique, three classes were randomly assigned to serious gaming, gamification and teacher-centred instructions. Individual face-to-face interviews were used to assess students’ perceives required satisfaction with three instructions. Data were audio-recorded, and coding analysis was used using NVivo software facilitated qualitative data analysis.
Findings
The results show that serious gaming and gamification instructions trumped the traditional teacher-centred instruction method. While intervention students were all positive about the serious gaming and gamification instructions, non-intervention students were negative about conservative teacher-centered learning whose limited interactivity also undermined learning relative to the two innovative interventions.
Research limitations/implications
As a justification to limit face-to-face classes, this study may be useful during an emergency phenomenon, including the current situation of amid COVID-19. The implementation of serious gaming and gamification as remotely instructional options could be among the measures to protect educational communities through reducing close-proximity, and eventually, control contamination and the spread of viruses.
Originality/value
The application of serious gaming and game elements should not be conceptualised as universal but context-specific. This study shows that particularism is essential to optimise the results in terms of coming up with a specific design based on the scope of evaluation for positive results and develop an intervention that will work, especially in the resource-poor context of the developing world.