2024
Kaski, Joanna
Oulun yliopisto, 2024, ISBN: 9789526240978.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Kaski2024,
title = {Shared Social-Emotional Difficulties of Children with Different Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Intervention Outcomes with the Emotion Detectives Game},
author = {Joanna Kaski},
url = {https://oulurepo.oulu.fi/handle/10024/49923},
isbn = {9789526240978},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-05-01},
urldate = {2024-08-30},
school = {Oulun yliopisto},
abstract = {Abstract Children with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Developmental Language Delay (DLD), are known to display multiple social-emotional difficulties and problems in both linguistic and non-verbal communication. The aims of this dissertation were to 1) find out to what extent children with ASD, ADHD, and DLD, compared to their typically developing (TD) age peers, were delayed in their emotion discrimination skills and if they shared any social-emotional difficulties, 2) to identify the role of underlying cognitive and linguistic factors in their emotion discrimination difficulties, 3) to find out the kinds of social-emotional and behavioural difficulties they experienced in their daily life, and 4) to investigate the effectiveness of the Emotion Detectives (ED) game in improving and maintaining their emotion discrimination skills. Additionally, 5) the study explored whether improvement of emotion discrimination skills predicted progress in daily life emotion recognition skills and behaviour. The participants were 6 to 10-year-old children who had ASD, ADHD, or DLD (n = 50), and 106 TD age peers as controls. Children completed cognitive, linguistic, and emotion discrimination tasks, and parents, teachers, and therapists provided information about the children's daily life social-emotional difficulties. After initial examinations, 30 children played the ED game for two months and the 20 other children served as controls. Compared to the TD children, children with ASD, ADHD, and DLD were statistically significantly delayed in emotion discrimination skills, and, as diagnostic groups, did not differ from each other in these skills. Some cognitive and linguistic factors predicted delays in emotion discrimination skills. Multiple social-emotional difficulties in the children's daily life were also detected. The effectiveness of the ED game was shown as improvements in some tested emotion discrimination skills and social-emotional skills observed in daily life. This dissertation provides information about the social-emotional difficulties and their consequences in daily life among children with ASD, ADHD, and DLD, and the possibilities of social-emotional training using a serious game, providing insights for clinicians and researchers alike.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Heljakka, Katriina
How Play Moves Us: Toys, Technologies, and Mobility in a Digital World Väitöskirja
University of Turku, 2024, ISBN: 9789512996117.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Heljakka2024a,
title = {How Play Moves Us: Toys, Technologies, and Mobility in a Digital World},
author = {Katriina Heljakka},
url = {https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/176418},
isbn = {9789512996117},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-03-01},
urldate = {2024-03-01},
school = {University of Turku},
abstract = {The 21st century has been described as the Century of Play. The change in current play is particularly noticeable when looking at technological developments. This thesis deals with the technologization, digitalization, and connectedness of play between 2010–2020. The research explores forms of contemporary play, playthings, and players in a time when digitalization and connectedness have extended to various tools and realms of play—devices, toys, games, apps, and mediated playful environments. At the heart of the research are playthings and technologies conceptualized here as play machines, players using these tools within their communities and contexts, and, due to technological change, play research that increasingly expands into digital and networked cultures. Interactive digital devices have made play ubiquitous, and this includes play activities related to toys, mobile technologies, digital cameras, smartphones, digital toys, social media, and social robotics. The purpose of the thesis is to increase the understanding of what the rapid technologization of play, or what is conceptualized in the thesis as the digital leap of play, means in terms of mobilizing the players physically, cognitively, and emotionally. The thesis opens up prospects for technology-enriched play by presenting a range of empirical studies interested in the mobilization tendencies of current digital devices, toys, and connected media cultures that inform and inspire contemporary play and players of different ages as a form of digital culture that unites players and generations. The assumption is that digital technology connected to modern play experiences can move players in physical, cognitive, and emotional terms. Through six qualitative case studies, the thesis proposes to answer the central question: ``How has play moved human players of the Western world in 2010–2020 in terms of physical, cognitive, and emotional mobility/movement?'' The sub-question inquires what kinds of digital play are encountered in interactions of people of different ages as part of technologically enhanced leisure, learning, and environments where play is increasingly happening with and through machines and social media platforms by asking: ``How are the acts of play realized in each instance of digital play through technology use, and what are the functions of the play for the players in each study?'' The thesis seeks to understand the nature and various aspects of the digital transformation of play and balance the prevailing negative assumptions with more positive and optimistic views on the effect of technology-oriented play on the lives of players of different ages. The scholarly contribution of the thesis is to generate new play knowledge: The publications included in the thesis highlight various play patterns and practices among children of preschool age, adults, and seniors who engage in digital play through the use of digital devices or digital toys, either solitarily or socially, as part of intergenerational play. The findings of the thesis illustrate how changes in the ecosystem of play (primarily made possible by developing mobile technology and social media) are linked to the opportunities for players to engage in creative play activities, their documentation, and their social sharing. The connections of evolving digital technology (for example, digital toys, social media networking, and social robotics) to play are diverse; mobile devices with and without screens are used as an extension of play to enrich the experiences and outcomes of play and to empower the players by allowing them to showcase their imagination, creativity, and ability to connect with peers and other player communities. The thesis concludes that contemporary technology embodied in digital devices and Internet-connected playthings as the play machines of 2010–2020 allows for the expansion of play into human and toy interactions that non-technological playthings would not support. Technological development thus expands the historical, digital-material, and narrative dimensions of play. Social, technology-supported play triggers cultural processes that also support intergenerational interaction in play. Consequently, this thesis suggests that 1) digital technology is a driver for societal changes that affect play, 2) digital technology is a mobilizer of players in a physical, cognitive, emotional, and social sense, and 3) digital technology is an enabling, empowering, and enriching resource for contemporary digital play.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Sun, Liping
Digital Game-Based Learning : Developing a Pedagogical Model for Primary Mathematics Education Väitöskirja
University of Lapland, 2024, ISBN: 9789523374133.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Sun2024,
title = {Digital Game-Based Learning : Developing a Pedagogical Model for Primary Mathematics Education},
author = {Liping Sun},
url = {https://lauda.ulapland.fi/handle/10024/65870},
isbn = {9789523374133},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-01-01},
school = {University of Lapland},
abstract = {Since they contribute to the learning environment and significantly influence all levels of education, digital games are used as educational tools in various learning activities. However, implementation barriers and other difficulties limit the effective use of such games in the classroom, affecting students' motivation and learning enhancement. The present study was conducted to address this pedagogical gap through the development of a novel learning environment involving digital games, with the overarching purpose of facilitating primary mathematics education via digital game-based learning. The specific aim of the study was to develop a pedagogical model that would highlight appropriate ways in which digital game-based learning can be applied. To this end, theoretical and pedagogical approaches that explicate game-based learning were determined, and a theoretical and empirical pedagogical model for digital game-based learning in primary mathematics education was designed. The research focused on the following themes: (a) teacher scaffolding strategies and effects and (b) collaborative digital gameplay for engagement. Various theoretical and methodological perspectives were considered. Design-based research, a case study, and a systematic literature review were used to answer the research questions. Three datasets were utilized from studies reported in three previous articles. In the first two studies, the participating students used a digital game called Wuzzit Trouble to solve integer arithmetic problems. The first study investigated the various approaches to teacher scaffolding in digital game-based learning classrooms and their influence on students' perceptions of mathematics learning through the digital game. The second examined the effects of collaborative digital gameplay on three dimensions of student engagement in mathematics. The data collection methods for these two studies included classroom observations, individual interviews, photo-elicitation interviews, and pre- and post-surveys. The third study involved a systematic literature review and analysis of relevant research papers on teacher scaffolding strategies for different stages of game-based learning and their correlative influence on students' learning. The main result of the present study was a pedagogical model for digital gamebased learning in mathematics. This represents a culmination of educational theories, previous studies related to game-based learning, and the results of the three studies mentioned above. The model provides a pedagogical foundation for mathematics teachers and educational practitioners to design innovative digital game-based learning environment in the classroom. It captures the phases of orientation, gameplay, and expectation in the digital game-based learning process — that is, teachers adopt various approaches to scaffold students in the orientation and gameplay phases, in turn supporting students' learning activities and outcomes in the expectation phase. The results of the study lay a theoretical foundation for learning and teaching with digital games in education. They also provide a design process for and meaningful perceptions of digital game-based learning in mathematics and can help identify areas for further empirical research and development in primary education. Future research directions and design principles are suggested in this paper.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Park, Solip
Understanding Game Work Migration: Game Expats in Finland Väitöskirja
Aalto University, 2024, ISSN: 1799-4942 (electronic).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Park2024,
title = {Understanding Game Work Migration: Game Expats in Finland},
author = {Solip Park},
url = {https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/132062},
issn = {1799-4942 (electronic)},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-12-12},
address = {Helsinki},
school = {Aalto University},
abstract = {This dissertation explores the experiences and creative work practices of migrant game developers ("game expats") in Finland, focusing on the factors that motivate them to move to or leave the country, as well as the cultural adaptations they encounter in their work practices. Additionally, the study includes methodological and pedagogical explorations aimed at enhancing multinational game development work. There has been a significant growth in the number of game expats in recent years. In Finland, game expats now occupy nearly one-third of the nation's entire game industry workforce. However, academic inquiries into game expats' work, life, and migration experiences have been overlooked. As of writing, this dissertation is the first scholarly attempt to study the microscopic landscape of game work migration, by asking: (i) What are the factors that affect game expats' migration and settlement intention?, (ii) How do those factors affect the game expats' practices of game development?, (iii) How could one improve the multicultural practices of game development? My research methodology focused on capturing the experiences of game expats, using qualitative longitudinal research combined with arts-based research methods while engaging with the participants for four years. Semi-structured interviews collected from the participants were analysed using thematic analysis and grounded theory, supplemented by inductive visual abstractions and research popularisation through comic art making (a web-comic series titled "Game Expats Story"). My research offers three key contributions. First, it highlights the multifaceted nature of game development and its influence on game work migration, including globally shared technical skills that motivate game expats to relocate, locally distinctive practices that encourage settlement, and the role of the occupational community in bridging global and local boundaries. Second, it exposes the worrying talent import tactic of "cultural fit" normalised in the Finnish game industry, and the precarious nature of the game industry that pressures game expats to achieve immediate productivity at work promptly upon relocation. By profiling expats based on "cultural fit", the industry forces rapid assimilation, hindering game expats' natural integration and requiring them to abandon their established development practices to quickly demonstrate adaptability in Finland. Third, to address these challenges, the dissertation introduces a pedagogical exploration designed to enhance the cultural competencies of future game developers and calls for industry-wide collaboration to rethink talent import strategies. Further interdisciplinary research is essential to deepen the scientific understanding of game development practices globally, fostering a game industry that is culturally diverse, inclusive, and equitable.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Nykyri, Mikko
Promoting Local Renewable Energy Production with Energy Communities and Serious Games Väitöskirja
Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, 2024.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Nykyri2024,
title = {Promoting Local Renewable Energy Production with Energy Communities and Serious Games},
author = {Mikko Nykyri},
url = {https://lutpub.lut.fi/handle/10024/166848},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-08-30},
school = {Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT},
abstract = {Local, small-scale energy production with renewable energy like solar energy is becoming more and more commonplace as people seek methods to reduce their reliance on grid energy. Besides individual households investing in a solar installation, co-owned installations are also raising interest. They can provide locally produced affordable energy for multiple households while allowing the initial investment to be shared, which reduces the financial burden. However, implementing shared installations imposes a unique set of problems to be solved in order to use them efficiently. The current energy distribution infrastructure may cause a situation where it is not economically viable to provide the produced energy directly for the installation owners but only to power any common property they own. Solutions for this exist, but they are not ideal as in many cases they require the implementation of an energy aggregator to govern this energy allocation, which may lead the installation owners to lose their place in the open retail electricity market. In some solutions, the allocation is based on active participation in, e.g., energy auctioning, which can be considered troublesome since many laypeople find concepts regarding energy and electricity difficult to grasp. This dissertation presents a solution for energy allocation that is based on formation of an energy community and utilization of a blockchain-based balance settlement ledger. The blockchain allows for a secure and immutable data storage system that can be used to store the energy consumption and production data of the energy community. A blockchain is also able to automatically perform the energy allocation by using smart contracts. This makes it possible to remove the energy aggregator altogether, resulting in the installation owners maintaining their position in the open retail electricity market. Although the blockchain-based balance settlement and energy allocation are effortless for residents to take part in, people need to understand how the electrical system works and what affects their energy consumption, allocated amount of energy, and the cost of the energy used. For this, serious gaming is proposed as a means to teach people how the system works. With a serious game, the players can experiment on how their actions change the outcome of the system, which can be a viable way to promote demand response. For this purpose, a prototype serious game is developed and its design process is discussed. To promote the rollout of local renewable production, the threshold of making the decision to invest in the system has to be minimized. This requires solutions that can be implemented without major infrastructural changes in the distribution system. The arrangements should be as easy to understand as possible to make them appealing to the people.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Kankainen, Veera
University of Helsinki, 2024.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Kankainen2024,
title = {A Finn Always Wins? : Justifications, Governance, and Contradictions of the Finnish Gambling-Profit-Based Public Good.},
author = {Veera Kankainen},
url = {https://helda.helsinki.fi/items/0fe2a39e-c743-466c-9c4a-c9dfb5bca6bd},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-01-01},
school = {University of Helsinki},
abstract = {In Finland, gambling has been heavily associated with the public good represented by the third sector. Revenue from monopolized gambling operations has been channelled to third-sector organizations working in the fields of sports, culture, science, health, and social welfare for over 80 years. However, this justification for gambling policies has received increasing criticism from both researchers, politicians, and the public. Moreover, from 2024 onwards, revenue from the state gambling monopoly is to be transferred to the state budget. Currently, the Finnish government is planning to move away from the monopoly system altogether. Before these major changes occur, this study sheds light on the recent constructions of the Finnish gambling-profit-based public good.
The idea that gambling serves the public or common good has been challenged by recent gambling policy research that has questioned whether a harmful and addictive activity can provide any good for society and, if so, at what cost. Moreover, civil society and non-profit studies have approached the relations between the (welfare) state and third sector in the production of the societal good. These studies have addressed contradictions in the current relationships between the ‘sectors' from a governmental perspective. Rarely, however, are the public good and its contradictions approached by combining perspectives from both gambling and third-sector studies. This dissertation, which adopts a sociological approach, combines discussions from both fields. The study asks: What kind of constructions of the public good are reproduced regarding the Finnish gambling-profit-based grants?
The study provides more knowledge on three aspects of the public good: First, it investigates the way contradictions such as the inherent moral dilemma of gambling serving the public good are handled by the beneficiaries of the system. The study deepens the understanding of this dilemma in the different political and cultural contexts with comparisons between the Finnish and French beneficiaries of gambling. Second, it opens how concepts such as public good, civil society, state, and welfare become understood in everyday reasonings on the Finnish gambling-profit-based grant system. This aspect is approached by comparing the views from the Finnish third sector, citizens, and media. Third, the study maps out the roles construed to the third and public sector within the hybrid governance of the gambling-profit-based grant system. The meanings reproduced in these governmental processes are grasped by comparing two gambling-profit-based funding models in Finland, one attached to the former Slot Machine Association or Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA), another to the Ministry of Education and Culture.
The overarching method used by the dissertation is triangulation: the application of various methods or data sources in qualitative research to provide extensive understanding of a certain phenomenon, in this case constructions of the Finnish gambling-profit-based public good. The analytical frameworks applied in this dissertation include thematic analysis, system theoretical applications, semiotic theory, and the theory of moral disengagement.
The primary data for the dissertation consists of 20 semi-structured thematic interviews conducted in 2015–2017 with the representatives of organizations receiving gambling-profit-based state grants and six interviews with officials from these ministries specialized in the grant application processes. In addition, the study utilizes data sets from the broader research projects with which it collaborated. This data includes 46 articles published in the largest Finnish daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat (HS), between the years 2010 and 2016, 19 focus group interviews conducted with a total of 88 participants in the Helsinki region in the winter of 2017–2018, and 13 interviews with French beneficiaries of gambling. In relation to the three aspects that this dissertation started from, its main findings are following: Regarding the first aspect, the thesis identified five justification strategies on how Finnish beneficiaries dealt with the moral dilemma of profiting from gambling. Regarding the second aspect, the everyday constructions of the gambling-profit-based public good were based on two norms: the nationalistic and protectionist ideals and the understanding of gambling proceeds as “added value” for the Finnish welfare society. The findings indicate the so-called "responsibility dilemma" regarding the role of the state and civil society as representatives of the public interest. In relation to the third aspect, the governance of public good appear to reproduce a paradox based on conflicting ideals and practices regarding the societal role of the third sector, especially within the funding model connected to the former Slot Machine Association, the current STEA.
The study concludes that the accountability of public funding and the autonomy of the civil society should be further studied both on the level of governmental ideals and practices in the state grant system. These issues continue to be topical even though the grants will come directly from the state budget. For the future gambling research, the study recommends observing the public debates regarding the Finnish gambling system in the late 2010s and the gambling political everyday reasonings during the 2020s.
},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
The idea that gambling serves the public or common good has been challenged by recent gambling policy research that has questioned whether a harmful and addictive activity can provide any good for society and, if so, at what cost. Moreover, civil society and non-profit studies have approached the relations between the (welfare) state and third sector in the production of the societal good. These studies have addressed contradictions in the current relationships between the ‘sectors' from a governmental perspective. Rarely, however, are the public good and its contradictions approached by combining perspectives from both gambling and third-sector studies. This dissertation, which adopts a sociological approach, combines discussions from both fields. The study asks: What kind of constructions of the public good are reproduced regarding the Finnish gambling-profit-based grants?
The study provides more knowledge on three aspects of the public good: First, it investigates the way contradictions such as the inherent moral dilemma of gambling serving the public good are handled by the beneficiaries of the system. The study deepens the understanding of this dilemma in the different political and cultural contexts with comparisons between the Finnish and French beneficiaries of gambling. Second, it opens how concepts such as public good, civil society, state, and welfare become understood in everyday reasonings on the Finnish gambling-profit-based grant system. This aspect is approached by comparing the views from the Finnish third sector, citizens, and media. Third, the study maps out the roles construed to the third and public sector within the hybrid governance of the gambling-profit-based grant system. The meanings reproduced in these governmental processes are grasped by comparing two gambling-profit-based funding models in Finland, one attached to the former Slot Machine Association or Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA), another to the Ministry of Education and Culture.
The overarching method used by the dissertation is triangulation: the application of various methods or data sources in qualitative research to provide extensive understanding of a certain phenomenon, in this case constructions of the Finnish gambling-profit-based public good. The analytical frameworks applied in this dissertation include thematic analysis, system theoretical applications, semiotic theory, and the theory of moral disengagement.
The primary data for the dissertation consists of 20 semi-structured thematic interviews conducted in 2015–2017 with the representatives of organizations receiving gambling-profit-based state grants and six interviews with officials from these ministries specialized in the grant application processes. In addition, the study utilizes data sets from the broader research projects with which it collaborated. This data includes 46 articles published in the largest Finnish daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat (HS), between the years 2010 and 2016, 19 focus group interviews conducted with a total of 88 participants in the Helsinki region in the winter of 2017–2018, and 13 interviews with French beneficiaries of gambling. In relation to the three aspects that this dissertation started from, its main findings are following: Regarding the first aspect, the thesis identified five justification strategies on how Finnish beneficiaries dealt with the moral dilemma of profiting from gambling. Regarding the second aspect, the everyday constructions of the gambling-profit-based public good were based on two norms: the nationalistic and protectionist ideals and the understanding of gambling proceeds as “added value” for the Finnish welfare society. The findings indicate the so-called "responsibility dilemma" regarding the role of the state and civil society as representatives of the public interest. In relation to the third aspect, the governance of public good appear to reproduce a paradox based on conflicting ideals and practices regarding the societal role of the third sector, especially within the funding model connected to the former Slot Machine Association, the current STEA.
The study concludes that the accountability of public funding and the autonomy of the civil society should be further studied both on the level of governmental ideals and practices in the state grant system. These issues continue to be topical even though the grants will come directly from the state budget. For the future gambling research, the study recommends observing the public debates regarding the Finnish gambling system in the late 2010s and the gambling political everyday reasonings during the 2020s.
Huuhka, Marleena
Weird Encounters in Virtual Worlds : Towards a Theory of Performative, Anarchic Counterplay as Resistance Väitöskirja
Tampere University, 2024.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Huuhka2024a,
title = {Weird Encounters in Virtual Worlds : Towards a Theory of Performative, Anarchic Counterplay as Resistance},
author = {Marleena Huuhka},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/155351},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-08-30},
school = {Tampere University},
abstract = {Tässä väitöskirjassa ehdotan perustaa uudelle esityksellisen ja anarkistisen vastaanpelaamisen teoreettiselle viitekehykselle. Vastapelaamista on käytetty pelitutkimuksessa kuvaamaan pelaajien harjoittamia taktiikoita ja käytäntöjä, jotka eivät ole pelin suunnittelijoiden alun perin tarkoittamia. Videopelit ovat kulttuurisesti ja taiteellisesti tärkeä mutta samalla myös läpeensä kapitalistinen medium. Tässä tutkimuksessa tavoitteeni on ollut etsiä uusia käytäntöjä, joiden avulla on mahdollista haastaa niitä hegemonisia rakenteita, jotka monin tavoin muokkaavat ymmärrystämme nykyisestä yhteiskunnastamme. Pelaamisen tarkastelu esityksen kontekstissa luo uusia avauksia sekä pelitutkimuksen että esitystutkimuksen aloille. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys koostuu esitystutkimuksesta ja pelitutkimuksesta täydennettynä posthumanistisilla ja uusmaterialistisilla säikeillä. Tutkimusmateriaali on kerätty autoetnografisista pelikokeiluista sekä yliopistoopiskelijoille järjestetyistä peliesitystyöpajoista. Tulokset on julkaistu neljässä tutkimusartikkelissa, jotka kartoittavat tutkimusprojektin etenemisen yksilöllisistä kokemuksista kohti uusia ehdotuksia anarkistisesta, esityksellisestä vastaanpelaamisesta. Kolme artikkeleista käsittelee vastaanpelaamisen käsitteen erilaisia sovelluksia ja kokeiluja. Yhdessä artikkeleista ehdotetaan taksonomiaa, jolla analysoidaan videopelien käyttöä (teatteri)esityksissä, esityksiä videopeleissä, videopelejä esityksinä sekä pelaamista esityksenä. Yhdessä kolme ensimmäistä artikkelia muodostavat esityksellisen vastaanpelaamisen viitekehyksen. Neljännessä artikkelissa kehitetään tätä viitekehystä edelleen ja esitellään performatiivisen, anarkistisen vastaanpelaamisen käsite. Esityksellisellä vastaanpelaamisella tarkoitan käytäntöjä, jotka tulevat näkyviin, kun peli ja pelaamiseen kehystetään esitykseksi. Se siirtää painopisteen pelin sisällöstä pelin ulkopuolelle inhimillisen ja ei-inhimillisen sekä esityksen ja pelaamisen rihmastoihin. Anarkistinen vastaanpelaaminen menee vielä pidemmälle ja unohtaa kaikki pelaamisen käytännöt kokonaan: se tuottaa merkityksiä törmäämällä normeihin ja omaksumalla pelin/esityksen rihmastojen satunnaisuuden ja vastikkeettomuuden. Tämä väitöskirja luo uusia spekulatiivisia käytäntöjä, jotka voivat haastaa olemassa olevat rakenteet ja hierarkiat sekä pelin että esityksen konteksteissa.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Galeote, Daniel Fernández
Tampere University, 2024.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{FernandezGaleote2024a,
title = {Gamification and Climate Change Engagement : Building Knowledge, Developing Practice, and Studying Experiences and Effects},
author = {Daniel Fernández Galeote},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/153708},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-08-30},
school = {Tampere University},
abstract = {Kestävän ja ympäristöä säästävän elämäntavan rakentaminen ihmisille on ratkaisevan tärkeää maapallon tulevaisuuden kannalta, sillä ilmastonmuutos on tulevaisuuttamme määrittelevä, monimutkainen ja usein ylivoimaiselta tuntuva haaste. Tämänhetkiset ilmastotoimet ovat kuitenkin vielä riittämättömiä ja tehokkaan muutoksen aikaansaamiseksi tarvitaan kiireellistä kansalaisosallisuutta. Yhtenä kiinnostavana keinona sitouttaa ja osallistaa yksilöitä ilmastonmuutokseen sekä sen vastaisiin toimiin on pidetty pelejä ja pelillistämistä. Vaikka joitain tieteellisiä tutkimuksia on tehty pelien ja pelillistämisen roolista ilmastonmuutoksen ratkaisijana, julkisen keskustelun alustavan optimismin ja pelillistämisen todellisen potentiaalin ymmärtämisen välillä on edelleen useita tutkimuksellisia aukkoja. Tämän väitöskirjan tavoitteena on analysoida pelillisen ilmastonmuutossitoutumisen tämänhetkistä tasoa sekä uusimpia suuntauksia tieteellisessä kirjallisuudessa ja olemassa olevissa peleissä. Lisäksi tavoitteena on arvioida suunnittelemani emphClimate Connected: Outbreak -ilmastonmuutospelin kognitiivisia, affektiivisia ja käyttäytymisvaikutuksia yksilöihin. Väitöskirja sijoittuu pelillistämisen ja ilmastonmuutossitoutumisen poikkitieteelliseen leikkauspisteeseen. Työssäni pelillistäminen on kattotermi, joka sisältää myös hyötypelit ja pelipohjaisen oppimisen, keskittyen pelijärjestelmien ja ihmisen motivaation tutkimukseen. Ilmastonmuutokseen sitoutumisella tarkoitetaan ihmisen kognitiivista, affektiivista ja käyttäytymisen yhteyttä ilmastonmuutokseen ja sen vastaisiin toimiin. Termi sisältää käsitteitä esimerkiksi psykologian, viestintätieteiden ja pedagogiikan aloilta. Väitöskirjani pyrkii huomioimaan kaikki nämä näkökulmat edistäen niitä sekä laajentamaan ymmärrystämme pelillistämisen roolista myös muiden samansuuruisten ongelmien ja haasteiden ratkaisemisessa. Väitöskirjan tulokset koostuvat viidestä tutkimuksesta. Ensimmäisenä toteutettiin systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus empiiriseen tieteelliseen kirjallisuuteen (N=64), jonka jälkeen luotiin katsaus olemassa oleviin, ilmastonmuutosta käsitteleviin digitaalisiin peleihin (N=80). Perustuen näiden tutkimusten löydöksiin, emphClimate Connected: Outbreak -peli suunniteltiin, kehitettiin ja otettiin käyttöön tutkimusalustaksi. Peliä ja sen vaikutuksia tutkittiin sekä laadullisesti (N=12) että määrällisesti (N=105). Jälkimmäisessä tutkimusasetelmassa osallistujat jaettiin kontrolloidusti kolmeen ryhmään, jotka olivat joko pelin tekstipohjainen toteutus, tietokonepeli tai immersiivinen virtuaalitodellisuuspeli (VR). Valitut menetelmät lähestyvät pelillistä ilmastonmuutokseen sitoutumista useista eri näkökulmista ja keskittyvät eri tutkimuskohteisiin kirjallisuudesta peleihin ja pelaajiin. Väitöskirjan tulokset edistävät ymmärrystämme pelillisten interventioiden mahdollisuuksista sitouttaa yksilöitä ilmastonmuutokseen sekä sen vastaisiin toimiin. Artikkeli I tarkastelee systemaattisesti empiirisiä tutkimuksia pelillisestä ilmastonmuutossitoutumisesta, keskittyen konteksteihin, populaatioihin, muotoiluun, tuloksiin sekä tutkimusten laatuun. Katsaus tarjoaa agendan, joka korostaa muun muassa tarvetta huolellisemmin suunniteltuun ja raportoituun tutkimukseen. Lisäksi tulisi tarkastella mahdollisesti hyödyllisiä, mutta huomiotta jätettyjä viestinnänkeinoja sekä pelillistämisen potentiaalista vaikutusta tukea yksilöiden käyttäytymisenmuutosta. Katsaus havaitsi myös sen, että tutkimuksissa populaatiot on kuvattu usein varsin konventionaalisesti (esimerkiksi kuluttajina tai ammattilaisina), jättäen huomiotta muut mahdolliset kansalaisroolit. Artikkeli II analysoi ilmastotoimintaa ja ilmastonmuutosta käsitteleviä digitaalisia pelejä sekä niissä esiintyvien avatarien identiteettiä ja toimintaa. Tutkimus paljastaa kuusi avataridentiteetin tyyppiä, mukaan lukien kansalaisten niukan ja voimaantuneen roolin. Tulokset osoittavat, kuinka peleissä kansalaisten toiminta rajoittuu tyypillisesti elämäntapavalintoihin ja tavanomaiseen kansalaistoimintaan. Artikkeleiden I ja II tulosten pohjalta artikkeli III esittelee emphClimate Connected: Outbreak -pelin, joka on tarinapohjainen digitaalinen yksinpeli ilmastonmuutossitoutumiseen. Peli ottaa huomioon erilaiset puutteet ja suositukset, kuten terveyden- ja hyvinvoinninkehykset, kansalaisten identiteettien monimutkaisuuden ja avoimen ymmärryksen ilmastonmuutosta kohtaan sekä vähän tutkitun immersiivisen virtuaalitodellisuuden hyödyntämisen. Käyttäjätutkimuksen tulokset muodostavat neljä teemaa osallistujien pelikokemukselle: jatkuvuus, epäjatkuvuus, poikkeavuus sekä aiheeseen sitoutuminen. Artikkelit IV ja V tutkivat ja vertailevat pelin ja kontrolliasetelman vaikutuksia osallistujien oppimiseen, asenteisiin, minäpystyvyyteen sekä ympäristömyönteisiin aikeisiin ja käyttäytymiseen. Tulokset viittaavat siihen, että pelit voivat olla yhtä tehokkaita kuin perinteinen media sitouttamaan ihmisiä ilmastonmuutokseen ja tarjoamaan samalla mielekkäämmän kokemuksen, etenkin immersiivisen virtuaalitodellisuuden tapauksessa. Kaiken kaikkiaan, tämä väitöskirja antaa kokonaisvaltaisen katsauksen pelillisen ilmastonmuutossitoutumisen monitieteiseen alaan, tarjoten täsmällisiä tutkimuksia niin kirjallisuudesta, peleistä kuin pelaajien kokemuksista, muodostaen ponnahduslaudan alan tulevaan kehitykseen ja tutkimukseen.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Aurava, Riikka
Game Jamming in Schools : Affordances of Game Jam Events in General Formal Education Väitöskirja
Tampere University, 2024.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Aurava2024,
title = {Game Jamming in Schools : Affordances of Game Jam Events in General Formal Education},
author = {Riikka Aurava},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/161340},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-12-12},
school = {Tampere University},
abstract = {Koulutusjärjestelmät ympäri maailman tähtäävät uuden vuosituhannen tai tulevaisuuden valmiuden edistämiseen. Tämä valmius koostuu tiedoista ja taidoista, joita pidetään tarpeellisina jatkuvasti muuttuvassa maailmassa ja työelämässä, sekä kyvystä ja tahdosta käyttää tietoja ja taitoja. Useat uuden vuosituhannen valmiuden osa-alueet, kuten luovuus, mukautuvuus, ja oppimaan oppimisen taidot, jotka eivät suoraan kuulu mihinkään kouluaineeseen, on havaittu hankaliksi opettaa yleisessä formaalissa opetuksessa. Pelit ja pelikulttuuri ovat kaikkialla läsnä. Monille, ja alaikäisistä useimmille, pelit ovat arkinen ajankäyttötapa. Pelaamisen lisääntyessä myös pelien tekeminen harrastuksena on lisääntynyt. Pelijamitapahtumien, joihin ihmiset kokoontuvat luomaan pelejä yhdessä, suosio on kasvanut ensimmäisen, vuonna 2002 järjestetyn pelijamitapahtuman jälkeen. Pelijameista tehty tutkimus osoittaa, että oppiminen on tärkeä syy osallistua pelijameihin, ja monille pelijamiosallistujille se on myös tärkeä lopputulos. Tutkimuksen mukaan monet oppimistulokset ovat yhteydessä useisiin uuden vuosituhannen valmiuden osa-alueeseen, vaikkakin tulokset ovat enimmäkseen olleet alustavia, tutkitut pelijamitapahtumat on järjestetty formaalin opetuksen ulkopuolella, ja tutkittavat ovat enimmäkseen olleet aikuisia. Tämä väitöskirja tutkii pelijamitapahtumia, jotka on järjestetty osana yleistä formaalia opetusta. Väitöskirja esittää iteratiivisen, hermeneuttisen kasvatustieteellisen kehittämistutkimusprojektin, joka on tuottanut 1) teoreettista ymmärrystä pelijamitapahtumista koulukäytössä ja 2) käytännön tuotteen, ohjeita pelijamien järjestämiseen osana yleistä formaalia opetusta, kouluissa, ja oppimis- ja opetustarkoituksessa. Tutkimus on tehty Suomessa, ja sen kolme pääiteraatiota, osana kouluopetusta järjestettyä pelijamitapahtumaa, on järjestetty lukioissa 16–19- vuotiaille opiskelijoille. Tutkimuksessa on käytetty enimmäkseen laadullisia metodeja: avoimia kyselyitä, haastatteluita ja havainnointia. Tutkittavat ovat opettajia kaikilta kouluasteilta ja lukio-opiskelijoita. Tulokset osoittavat, että 1) pelijamioppiminen kuuluu pedagogisesti sosiaalisen konstruktivismin ja konstruktionismin jatkumoon, 2) pelijamitapahtumat sopivat kouluihin parhaiten, kun koulun käytänteet ovat joustavia ja mahdollistavat projektioppimisen ja ainerajat ylittävän oppimisen, 3) pelijamiosallistuminen todennäköisesti edistää uuden vuosituhannen valmiuksia, 4) osana kouluopetusta järjestettävät pelijamit eroavat muista pelijameista, pääasiassa koska osallistujat ja järjestäjät ovat samaan aikaan myös opiskelijoita ja opettajia, ja 5) pelijamitapahtumia tarvitaan kouluissa, paitsi uuden vuosituhannen valmiuksien edistämiseksi, myös koska ne edistävät tasa-arvoa ja demokratiaa, ja koska ne tarjoavat pedagogisesti mielekkään tavan oppia peleistä ja pelikulttuurista. Tulokset paljastavat perustavanlaatuisen ongelman suomalaisessa koulutusjärjestelmässä. Pelijamien järjestäminen kouluissa kohtaa samoja esteitä kuin muut projektioppimiseen, oppijakeskeisyyteen ja ainerajat ylittävään oppimiseen perustuvat oppimisen ja opettamisen tavat. Koulutusjärjestelmä perustuu kouluaineiden tarkkaan rajanvetoon, ja monet koulun käytännöistä, kuten lukujärjestykset ja aikataulut, ovat riippuvaisia tästä jaosta. Mitä jäykempiä nämä käytänteet ovat, sitä hankalampaa on järjestää muuta kuin yhteen oppiaineeseen liittyvää, opettajajohtoista opetusta. Tämä, sekä resurssien puute, arvosanojen tärkeyden korostaminen ja ylitäysi opetussuunnitelma selittävät osaltaan, miksi uuden vuosituhannen valmiuksia on niin hankalaa edistää kouluopetuksessa.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Aura, Isabella
Storification in Formal Education : Experiences, Behavior and 21st Century Skills Propensity Väitöskirja
Tampere University, 2024.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Aura2024,
title = {Storification in Formal Education : Experiences, Behavior and 21st Century Skills Propensity},
author = {Isabella Aura},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/153595},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-01-01},
urldate = {2024-11-22},
address = {Tampere},
school = {Tampere University},
abstract = {Koulutuksen ja kasvatuksen kenttä pyrkii jatkuvasti luomaan ja kehittämään paitsi myönteisiä oppimisympäristöjä, myös tukemaan oppilaiden akateemisia ja sosiaalisia tavoitteita, tarpeita ja toiveita. Opetussuunnitelmat, jotka määrittävät opetuksen sisältöä ja laatua, korostavat nykyisin aktiivista, kokemuksellista ja yhteisöllistä oppimista, jotta lapsilla olisi valmiuksia pärjätä modernissa yhteiskunnassa myös koulutien päätyttyä. Näitä yleisiä valmiuksia voidaan nimittää myös tulevaisuuden työelämätaidoiksi. Klassisista leikki- ja oppimisteorioista kumpuavan emphpelillistämisen on havaittu olevan monipuolinen ja lupaava työkalu välittämään tulevaisuuden työelämätaitoja sekä yleisesti muovaamaan opetustilanteita myönteisemmäksi erityisesti nuorille oppijoille. Pelillistämisen ohella sovelletaan usein myös emphtarinallistamista, jossa narratiivit, hahmot ja roolipelaaminen yhdistyvät työkaluksi, jonka käyttö voi vaihdella aina lyhytkestoisista tuokioista pitkäjänteiseen ja kokonaisvaltaiseen pedagogiseen malliin asti. Vaikka tarinallistaminen on varsin yleinen tapa elävöittää opetusta, tutkittua tietoa sen pedagogiikasta tai suhteesta oppilaiden kokemuksiin on vielä suhteellisen vähän, jonka vuoksi tämä väitöskirja pyrkii vastaamaan tutkimuskysymykseen: emphMiten formaalin opetuksen tarinallistaminen on yhteydessä oppilaiden koulukokemukseen, taitoihin ja asenteiseen sekä sosiaaliseen käyttäytymiseen? Tämä väitöskirja sisältää kaksi tapaustutkimusta, joissa molemmissa tarinallistamista hyödynnetään sekä osana pedagogiikkaa että oppimisympäristöä 12–14-vuotiaille oppilaille. Ensimmäinen tutkimus käsittelee tarinallistettua koulua, jossa erilaiset fiktiiviset (Harry Potter, Star Wars) ja ei-fiktiiviset (urheilustadion, luonto) teemat ja tarinat ovat pitkäkestoisesti osana oppilaiden päivittäistä koulunkäyntiä. Kahden artikkelijulkaisun tavoitteena on laadullisen grounded theory -menetelmän avulla luoda teoriatietoa tarinallistetusta pedagogiikasta ja tarkastella sen suhdetta erityisesti oppilaiden koulukokemukseen sekä sosiaaliseen käyttäytymiseen. Toinen tapaustutkimus tarkastelee lyhytkestoista roolipelipohjaista oppimisympäristöä, jossa tarinallistaminen pyrkii mahdollistamaan sekä pelillisen- että roolipelikokemuksen oppilaille. Näitä kokemuksia ja niiden yhteyttä oppilaiden tulevaisuuden työelämätaitoihin ja -asenteisiin mitataan määrällisellä kvasikokeella. Kokonaisuudessaan väitöskirjan monimenetelmällisen mallin tavoitteena on hahmottaa tarinallistamisen kokonaisvaltaista luonnetta ja selkeyttää sen mahdollisia hyötyjä ja haittoja oppilaiden koulukokemukselle, sosiaaliselle käyttäytymiselle sekä asenne- ja taitovalmiuksille. Väitöskirjan tulokset osoittavat, että tarinallistaminen voi positiivisesti tukea oppilaiden koulukokemusta, sosiaalista käyttäytymistä sekä asenteita ja kykyjä tulevaisuuden työelämätaitoja kohtaan. Tarinallistettu pedagogiikka voi vahvistaa yhteisöllisyyden ja voimaantumisen kokemuksia, jotka edelleen tukevat sekä oppilaiden että opettajien akateemista ja sosiaalista ilmapiiriä. Lisäksi roolipeli- ja pelillisyyskokemukset voivat edistää oppilaiden työelämävalmiuksia kuten joustavuutta, itseohjautuvuutta sekä tuotteliaisuutta. Tulosten mukaan myös myönteistä asennoitumista työelämätaitoja ja niiden opettelua kohtaan voidaan vahvistaa erilaisten kokemuksellisten, tarinallisten ja roolipelipohjaisten aktiviteettien avulla. Huomioitavaa kuitenkin on, että mahdolliset habituaation ja uutuudenviehätyksen vaikutukset sekä sekoittavat tekijät, joita ei mitattu, voivat vaikuttaa löydöksiin niin lyhyt- kuin pitkäkestoisessa tarinallistamisessa. Lisäksi pedagogiikan laatu yhdistettynä valikoituun tarinaan, teemaan tai miljööseen tulee arvioida huolellisesti, jottei tarinallistaminen tarkoituksellisesti välittäisi epätoivottuja arvoja, kuten syrjivää käytöstä. Jotta tutkimuksen ja käytännön pedagogisten kehityssuuntien välistä kuilua voitaisiin pienentää, tämä väitöskirja tarjoaa sekä teoreettisia että käytännön johtopäätöksiä tarinallistamisen integroimiseksi formaaliin opetukseen. Tapaustutkimusten autenttiset kohteet havainnollistavat tarinallistamisen laajuutta ja moniulotteisuutta, joka osoittaa sen potentiaalin muun muassa ei-digitaalisena opetusmetodina. Vaikka nykymuotoiset teknologiset innovaatiot mahdollistavat uudenlaisia immersion kokemuksia ja edesauttavat erilaisten sisältöjen tarjontaa, on sosiaalinen, kasvotusten tapahtuva vuorovaikutus konkreettisissa oppimisympäristöissä yhä säilyttänyt arvonsa. Kaiken kaikkiaan, perustuen neljän eri osajulkaisun grounded theory -malleihin sekä merkitseviin tuloksiin tarinallistetusta interventiosta, tämä väitöskirja edistää ymmärrystä ja tietoa formaalin opetuksen tarinallistamisesta ja pyrkii siten tarjoamaan lähtökohtia tuleviin tutkimuksiin ja toteutuksiin sekä tieteentekijöille että käytännön toimijoille, jotka tavoittelevat tarkoituksenmukaista, kiinnostavaa ja mielekästä opetusta erityisesti nuorille oppijoille.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
2023
Bui, Phuong
Promoting flexible mathematical thinking with growth mindset, deliberate practice, and serious games Väitöskirja
University of Turku, 2023, ISBN: 9789512994144.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Bui2023,
title = {Promoting flexible mathematical thinking with growth mindset, deliberate practice, and serious games},
author = {Phuong Bui},
url = {https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/175722},
isbn = {9789512994144},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-09-01},
urldate = {2023-09-01},
school = {University of Turku},
abstract = {Adaptive expertise is a greatly appreciated, yet rarely achieved, goal of mathematics curricula because it is considered to typify high-level mathematical thinking. Adaptive expertise demonstrates knowledge and skills that can be dynamically implemented in uncommon situations, not just within highly defined tasks or sufficiently prepared contexts. To achieve adaptive expertise, students must be given occasions to practice solving open-ended mathematical tasks in unfamiliar circumstances, allowing them to contemplate, analyze, and explore different connections and alternative solutions to develop their emerging skills and knowledge structures. Traditional math classrooms are often equipped with textbooks and instructional approaches that focus on isolated, routine exercises, or drill-andpractice, which encourage students to master isolated procedural techniques to find the most or only efficient solution. Math teachers, therefore, employ teaching methods that emphasize speed and accuracy using these materials. The idea of mathematics as a ``fixed'' subject, which is full of rigid and absolute rules, unintentionally continues to be reinforced. This doctoral dissertation aims to investigate design principles for learning environments that support flexible mathematical thinking in mathematics education. This thesis focuses on two objectives: first, it aspires to understand how adaptive expertise can be promoted with deliberate practice, and whether it can be done by using a mathematical game-based learning environment called the Number Navigation Game (NNG). The nature of deliberate practice is demanding and occurs just beyond one's abilities. It necessitates deep engagement, continuous efforts to enhance performance, and a positive attitude towards challenges—traits synonymous with a growth mindset. Given the association between a growth mindset and persistent learning behavior, the second objective explores ways to cultivate growth mindset in mathematics classrooms. This is vital for integrating game-based learning into conventional mathematics instruction and realizing the goal of adaptive expertise in mathematics. This dissertation is divided into two parts, encompassing three sub-studies. Part one, comprising Studies I and II, focuses on the Number Navigation Game (NNG). Study I explores game experiences during the NNG development process and examines how different design choices influence students' gaming experiences. The results provide insights into the iterative design process of a research-based serious game, shedding light on students' interactions with both learning and gaming components and their relation to novel mathematical learning objectives. Study II delves into various game performance profiles using gaming analytics and investigates the diverse ways students engage with the NNG. Utilizing log data from game performances in the energy mode, combined with measured mathematics learning outcomes, math interest, perceived challenge, and experienced flow during gameplay, Study II offers evidence on promoting adaptive expertise through deliberate practice, game-based learning environments, and learning outcomes. In essence, Studies I and II highlight how the NNG serves as a supportive platform for presenting students with novel contexts, challenging tasks, and immediate feedback, making it a viable tool for traditional classrooms. Part two (Study III) investigates the current state of growth mindset interventions in mathematics education through a systematic review. The results show that when implicit theories of intelligence interventions were conducted specifically in the math domain, positive results were reported, whereas general implicit theories of intelligence interventions yielded mixed results. This indicates that to make the necessary behavioral changes based on changed beliefs, participants need to engage with mathematical content at a deeper level than the surface level. Most importantly, the learning environment must be embedded with elements that support struggle and mistakes, encourage effortful practices, and make progress visible to students. In this way, students will be provided with evidence of the development of their own mathematical skills as a result of practice. KEYWORDS: adaptive expertise, game-based learning environment, growth mindset, deliberate practice, flexible mathematical thinking},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Paasovaara, Susanna
Research for Design of Playful Mobile Services for Social Experiences between Nearby Strangers Väitöskirja
Tampere University, 2023.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Paasovaara2023b,
title = {Research for Design of Playful Mobile Services for Social Experiences between Nearby Strangers},
author = {Susanna Paasovaara},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/152032},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2024-08-30},
school = {Tampere University},
abstract = {Having positive interpersonal interactions is a fundamental human need and source of well-being. While fulfilling this need is usually associated with strong ties, research has shown that meaningful social experiences are not limited to those. This research explores the largely untapped social potential of nearby strangers and ways that mobile services can be designed to take advantage of these social opportunities. Play and playfulness appear to be particularly worthwhile ways to achieve this end: play is meaningful in itself (i.e., does not require an external goal) and takes place outside the context of real life. In addition, playful design tends to make digital services more engaging. This research focuses on playfulness as a design quality and explores the social implications of playful mobile services for nearby strangers. This doctoral thesis asks two research questions: What kind of social experiences emerge between nearby strangers from the use of playful mobile services? How can playful mobile services be designed to encourage social experiences between nearby strangers? The research contributes to the field of human-computer interaction and provides insights into mobile service design through six research articles. Two of the studies charted expected experiences with early-stage mobile application concepts for playful interaction between nearby strangers. One of these concepts was further developed into a fully functional mobile application, and a large-scale, in-the-wild study was arranged to explore the actual social experiences it generated. Two of the studies investigated social experiences between nearby strangers in the context of commercial mobile games. The sixth study explored the design space of playful interactions between nearby strangers through co-design workshops. The playful mobile services investigated in this research were found to induce various behaviors that resulted in social experiences between nearby strangers. Examples of such behaviors are the active exploration of the outside world, community building, communicating and collaborating with strangers, and interacting in crowds. I found that playful and social experiences such as competition, surprise, curiosity, inspiration, and benevolence motivated individuals to use these services.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Lu, Chien
Shallow Representations, Profound Discoveries : A Methodological Study of Game Culture in Social Media Väitöskirja
Tampere University, 2023.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Lu2023a,
title = {Shallow Representations, Profound Discoveries : A Methodological Study of Game Culture in Social Media},
author = {Chien Lu},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/150586},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2024-08-30},
school = {Tampere University},
abstract = {This thesis explores the potential of representation learning techniques in game studies, highlighting their effectiveness and addressing challenges in data analysis. The primary focus of this thesis is shallow representation learning, which utilizes simpler model architectures but is able to yield effective modeling results. This thesis investigates the following research objectives: disentangling the dependencies of data, modeling temporal dynamics, learning multiple representations, and learning from heterogeneous data. The contributions of this thesis are made from two perspectives: empirical analysis and methodology development, to address these objectives. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a thorough introduction, motivation, and necessary background information for the thesis, framing the research and setting the stage for subsequent publications. Chapters 3 to 5 summarize the contribution of the 6 publications, each of which contributes to demonstrating the effectiveness of representation learning techniques in addressing various analytical challenges. In Chapter 1 and 2, the research objects and questions are also motivated and described. In particular, Introduction to the primary application field game studies is provided and the connections of data analysis and game culture is highlighted. Basic notion of representation learning, and canonical techniques such as probabilistic principal component analysis, topic modeling, and embedding models are described. Analytical challenges and data types are also described to motivate the research of this thesis. Chapter 3 presents two empirical analyses conducted in Publication I and II that present empirical data analysis on player typologies and temporal dynamics of player perceptions. The first empirical analysis takes the advantage of a factor model to offer a flexible player typology analysis. Results and analytical framework are particularly useful for personalized gamification. The Second empirical analysis uses topic modeling to analyze the temporal dynamic of player perceptions of the game No Man's Sky in relation to game changes. The results reflect a variety of player perceptions including general gaming activities, game mechanic. Moreover, a set of underlying topics that are directly related to game updates and changes are extracted and the temporal dynamics of them have reflected that players responds differently to different updates and changes. Chapter 4 presents two method developments that are related to factor models. The first method, DNBGFA, developed in Publication III, is a matrix factorization model for modeling the temporal dynamics of non-negative matrices from multiple sources. The second mothod, CFTM, developed in Publication IV introduces a factor model to a topic model to handle sophisticated document-level covariates. The develeopd methods in Chapter 4 are also demonstrated for analyzing text data. Chapter 5 summarizes Publication V and Publication VI that develop embedding models. Publication V introduces Bayesian non-parametric to a graph embedding model to learn multiple representations for nodes. Publication VI utilizes a Gaussian copula model to deal with heterogeneous data in representation learning. The develeopd methods in Chapter 5 are also demonstrated for data analysis tasks in the context of online communities. Lastly, Chapter 6 renders discussions and conclusions. Contributions of this thesis are highlighted, limitations, ongoing challenges, and potential future research directions are discussed.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Koskinen, Antti
Enhancing the Effectiveness of Digital Game-Based Learning with Adaptive Instructional Support Väitöskirja
Tampere University, 2023.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat:
@phdthesis{Koskinen2023,
title = {Enhancing the Effectiveness of Digital Game-Based Learning with Adaptive Instructional Support},
author = {Antti Koskinen},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/151393},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2024-08-30},
school = {Tampere University},
abstract = {In an ideal world, education would offer every student an equal opportunity to fulfill their aspirations. The influences of individual differences would be drastically reduced if the instruction could provide individualized learning experiences that meet the unique needs and preferences of each student. Nonetheless, incorporating such instructional practices can cause extensive resource demands and practical challenges in traditional classroom teaching. Consequently, scholars have proposed the implementation of adaptation in digital game-based learning as a potential solution to provide instruction tailored to individual needs. The overall aim of this dissertation was to investigate the impacts of adaptive instructional support on the effectiveness of digital game-based learning. Three interventions were conducted. Data were gathered from over 400 Finnish students in grades 4–7 who were studying rational numbers using the Number Trace learning game. Value-added study designs were utilized to examine the specific motivational and learning effects of emotionally designed scaffolding and the motivational effects of task difficulty adaptation. The collected quantitative data consisted of pre-and posttest, repeated single-item in-game self-reported measurements of motivational outcomes, in-game metrics, and motivational trait measurements. In-game measurements of situational interest, self-efficacy, and perceived difficulty were employed multiple times during the learning activity. The results revealed that the employed in-game measurements of situational interest and self-efficacy were positively related to learning outcomes. It was found that the substantial downward adaptation of task difficulty resulted in significant increases in situational interest, and substantial upward adaptation of task difficulty significantly decreased situational interest. Only significant changes in task difficulty affected situational interest and perceived difficulty, and these changes occurred within a relatively short time frame. Additionally, it was discovered that the effectiveness of adaptive instructional support can be enhanced with emotional design. That is, emotionally designed scaffolding elicited significantly higher levels of situational interest and self-efficacy compared to scaffolding presented with emotionally neutral mathematical hatch marks. Furthermore, it was found that, a game-based learning environment incorporating scaffolding yielded substantial learning effects. However, the visualization of scaffolding had no impact on learning outcomes. This dissertation demonstrated that the effectiveness of game-based learning can be enhanced with adaptive instructional support. Overall, these findings advance our understanding of the psychological and instructional mechanics affecting human learning. These advances contribute to motivational theory development and to the development of models of adaptive and game-based learning. In addition, the findings of this dissertation advance our methodological understanding by indicating that a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of adaptive instructional support requires an examination of the strength and direction of difficulty adaptation and the use of repeated measurements of motivational outcomes during the learning activity. This work demonstrated that single-item in-game self-reported measurements could be used to accomplish this.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Paasovaara, Susanna
Research for design of playful mobile services for social experiences between nearby strangers Väitöskirja
Tietotekniikka, Tampereen yliopisto, 2023, ISBN: 978-952-03-3150-4.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Paasovaara2023,
title = {Research for design of playful mobile services for social experiences between nearby strangers},
author = {Susanna Paasovaara},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-3150-4},
isbn = {978-952-03-3150-4},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
school = {Tietotekniikka, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {Having positive interpersonal interactions is a fundamental human need and source of well-being. While fulfilling this need is usually associated with strong ties, research has shown that meaningful social experiences are not limited to those. This research explores the largely untapped social potential of nearby strangers and ways that mobile services can be designed to take advantage of these social opportunities. Play and playfulness appear to be particularly worthwhile ways to achieve this end: play is meaningful in itself (i.e., does not require an external goal) and takes place outside the context of real life. In addition, playful design tends to make digital services more engaging. This research focuses on playfulness as a design quality and explores the social implications of playful mobile services for nearby strangers.
This doctoral thesis asks two research questions: What kind of social experiences emerge between nearby strangers from the use of playful mobile services? How can playful mobile services be designed to encourage social experiences between nearby strangers? The research contributes to the field of human-computer interaction and provides insights into mobile service design through six research articles. Two of the studies charted expected experiences with early-stage mobile application concepts for playful interaction between nearby strangers. One of these concepts was further developed into a fully functional mobile application, and a large-scale, in-the-wild study was arranged to explore the actual social experiences it generated. Two of the studies investigated social experiences between nearby strangers in the context of commercial mobile games. The sixth study explored the design space of playful interactions between nearby strangers through co-design workshops.
The playful mobile services investigated in this research were found to induce various behaviors that resulted in social experiences between nearby strangers. Examples of such behaviors are the active exploration of the outside world, community building, communicating and collaborating with strangers, and interacting in crowds. I found that playful and social experiences such as competition, surprise, curiosity, inspiration, and benevolence motivated individuals to use these services.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
This doctoral thesis asks two research questions: What kind of social experiences emerge between nearby strangers from the use of playful mobile services? How can playful mobile services be designed to encourage social experiences between nearby strangers? The research contributes to the field of human-computer interaction and provides insights into mobile service design through six research articles. Two of the studies charted expected experiences with early-stage mobile application concepts for playful interaction between nearby strangers. One of these concepts was further developed into a fully functional mobile application, and a large-scale, in-the-wild study was arranged to explore the actual social experiences it generated. Two of the studies investigated social experiences between nearby strangers in the context of commercial mobile games. The sixth study explored the design space of playful interactions between nearby strangers through co-design workshops.
The playful mobile services investigated in this research were found to induce various behaviors that resulted in social experiences between nearby strangers. Examples of such behaviors are the active exploration of the outside world, community building, communicating and collaborating with strangers, and interacting in crowds. I found that playful and social experiences such as competition, surprise, curiosity, inspiration, and benevolence motivated individuals to use these services.
Luoto, Tim
Kulttuuriantropologia, Oulun yliopisto, 2023, ISBN: 978-952-62-3876-0.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: augmented reality games (ARG), englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, exergames, gamification, health, persuasion, physical activity, wellbeing
@phdthesis{Luoto2023,
title = {Digital magic circle: Physically activating properties of the augmented reality games in the Northern context},
author = {Tim Luoto},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:9789526238760},
isbn = {978-952-62-3876-0},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
school = {Kulttuuriantropologia, Oulun yliopisto},
abstract = {With respect to physical fitness, activity and wellbeing, digital games are often considered as “screen-time”, which reduces healthy physical activities, often causing the player to sit down and eat unhealthily while playing. However, when recognising and identifying the persuasive properties in games, their “magic circle” can be used to activate and move the players instead of passivating them. Many Augmented Reality Games (ARGs), such as Ingress Prime and Pokémon GO, can increase the physical activity of the players. This multidisciplinary dissertation examines, identifies and categorises persuasive properties of several ARGs, studied in the arctic context.
The findings of this study are based on qualitative material, such as participant observation, interviews, discussions and comments of the players as well as quantitative data. This study is an applied digital ethnography, comprising of both offline and online interactions, material and methods. The qualitative material was analysed applying content analysis and the statistical material was analysed using statistical software analysis. The findings were reflected in the light of several cultural and motivational theories, such as the flow and self-determination theories, as well as theories considering digital persuasion.
Digital, as well as traditional, games are inherently persuasive; they lure the player to continue playing. Based on this study, the “digital magic circle” comprises multiple cultural and psychological factors, as well as several factors related specifically to digital media. Essentially, games offer the players purposeful activity with clear and achievable goals: the more successful the game design, the stronger the persuasive power. Playing such games may cause the optimal experience (flow) in player, often resulting in the player to play even more. Such persuasiveness could be implemented in “moving games” like ARGs, increasing the player’s physical activity, affecting health and wellbeing.},
keywords = {augmented reality games (ARG), englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, exergames, gamification, health, persuasion, physical activity, wellbeing},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
The findings of this study are based on qualitative material, such as participant observation, interviews, discussions and comments of the players as well as quantitative data. This study is an applied digital ethnography, comprising of both offline and online interactions, material and methods. The qualitative material was analysed applying content analysis and the statistical material was analysed using statistical software analysis. The findings were reflected in the light of several cultural and motivational theories, such as the flow and self-determination theories, as well as theories considering digital persuasion.
Digital, as well as traditional, games are inherently persuasive; they lure the player to continue playing. Based on this study, the “digital magic circle” comprises multiple cultural and psychological factors, as well as several factors related specifically to digital media. Essentially, games offer the players purposeful activity with clear and achievable goals: the more successful the game design, the stronger the persuasive power. Playing such games may cause the optimal experience (flow) in player, often resulting in the player to play even more. Such persuasiveness could be implemented in “moving games” like ARGs, increasing the player’s physical activity, affecting health and wellbeing.
Välisalo, Tanja
Who is your favourite character? Audience engagement with fictional characters Väitöskirja
Nykykulttuurin tutkimus, Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2023, ISBN: 978-951-39-9275-0.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: audience, audience studies, character engagement, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, fans, fictional characters, film characters, game characters, players (non-music), transmedia
@phdthesis{Välisalo2023,
title = {Who is your favourite character? Audience engagement with fictional characters},
author = {Tanja Välisalo},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9275-0},
isbn = {978-951-39-9275-0},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
school = {Nykykulttuurin tutkimus, Jyväskylän yliopisto},
abstract = {Transmediality, where narratives and fictional worlds are dispersed on multiple media platforms, has become a dominant feature of media production. As fictional characters are central to our relationship with stories and storyworlds, the transition into transmediality poses the question of how audiences engage with fictional characters in transmedia. This dissertation addresses this question empirically by focusing on how audiences articulate and construct character engagement, how character engagement is positioned in relation to transmedia engagement in general, and how character engagement is intertwined with broader meaning-making processes. This empirical study was conducted within two contexts, the audiences of The Hobbit film trilogy and the players of the multiplayer online game, Overwatch. Both media products are part of a larger transmedia universe. The main research data consisted of surveys and online discussions. Textual data from survey responses and online discussions were analysed using open coding and thematic analysis, and discourse analysis methodology was applied to parts of the online discussions. These methods were supplemented by descriptive statistics and analysis of transmedia content. The results offer empirical evidence to the notion that character engagement is connected to how audiences engage with the transmedia universe. Audiences articulate character engagement based on character traits, such as appearance, personality, gender, sexuality, as well as elements of character creation, such as character design or actor’s performance. Analysis of these articulations revealed different interpretative contexts for character engagement: (1) individual text/work, (2) transmedia universe, (3), genre(s), (4) medium(s), and (5) socio-cultural context(s). Different audiences prioritize different contexts, which can lead to negotiations and struggles over meanings. These articulations and negotiations reveal and construct hierarchies among audiences and creators. Characters are also used in in creating places of belonging outside of these structures. Fictional characters are indeed central to our relationship with fiction; however, they are also important in negotiating, defining and constructing broader structures of belonging, identity, and power through fiction.},
keywords = {audience, audience studies, character engagement, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, fans, fictional characters, film characters, game characters, players (non-music), transmedia},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Tikka, Reko
Antiikin arpapelit Väitöskirja
Latinalainen filologia, Turun yliopisto, 2023, ISBN: 978-951-29-9218-8.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: suomenkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Tikka2023,
title = {Antiikin arpapelit},
author = {Reko Tikka},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-9218-8},
isbn = {978-951-29-9218-8},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
school = {Latinalainen filologia, Turun yliopisto},
abstract = {Arpapeliä voidaan teoriassa pitää myös eräänä arvonnan tyyppinä, ja kun sen alkuperän oletetaan olevan arpaoraakkeleissa, on sen nähty olevan yhteydessä ennustamiseen. Antiikin todistusaineiston valossa arpapelejä pidettiin kuitenkin vain ja ainoastaan peleinä.
Arpapeli on helppoa määritellä tietynlaiseksi peliksi, mutta pelistä taas ei voida esittää mitään universaalia määritelmää – se tarkoittaa eri kielissä hieman eri asioita, joten kyse on kielirelativismista. Sanaston tasolla klassillisissa kielissä ei ole mitään eroa käsitteiden ’peli’ ja ’leikki’ välillä, kuten ei monissa nykykielissäkään. Antiikin kirjailijoita ei myöskään näyttäisi häirinneen, ettei monesti ole mitenkään selvää, olisiko jollain termillä tarkoitus viitata arpapeliin, uhkapeliin, noppapeliin vai lautapeliin. Käytännössä näillä toiminnoilla on tietenkin aina ollut jonkinlainen ero eikä arpapeli ollut antiikissa, sen enempää kuin myöhemminkään, mitenkään automaattisesti uhkapeliä.
Antiikin arpapeleistä kertova kirjallinen todistusaineisto koostuu toisaalta lähinnä myöhäisestä aineistosta, joka tarjoaa kaikessa niukkuudessaan melko sekavia tietoja sekä toisaalta aineistosta, jossa vain sattumalta mainitaan jotain aiheeseen liittyvää – nämä ovat useimmiten joko aktuaalisia fragmentteja tai niihin verrattavissa olevia tekstikatkelmia ilman mitään selittävää kontekstia. Tämän aineiston perusteella peleihin liittyvästä sanastosta saadaan kyllä tietoa, mutta itse pelit jäävät suurelta osin selittämättömiksi. Ainoastaan kaikkein yksinkertaisimpien arpapelien säännöt tunnetaan mitenkään varmasti.
Arkeologinen aineisto tarjoaa joiltain osin lisävalaistusta, ja jotkut ilmeisesti arpapeleissä käytetyt välineet tunnetaan ainoastaan arkeologisen aineiston perusteella. Lähdeaineistoa on syytä tarkastella kriittisesti tekemättä aiheettomia yleistyksiä tämän rajallisen ja katkelmallisen aineiston pohjalta. Antiikin pelien tutkimuksessa arvailut ja spekulaatiot ovat rehottaneet valtoimenaan, mutta tieteelliseen tutkimukseen ne eivät kuulu – pelejä tulisi tutkia yhtä tieteellisesti kuin mitä hyvänsä muutakin aihetta. Joitain arvauksia, spekulaatioita ja sääntörekonstruointeja voidaan pitää toisia uskottavampina ja todennäköisempinä, mutta ainoastaan suoraan antiikin todistusaineistoon perustuvat selitykset kertovat, mitä antiikin arpapeleistä oikeasti tiedetään.},
keywords = {suomenkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Arpapeli on helppoa määritellä tietynlaiseksi peliksi, mutta pelistä taas ei voida esittää mitään universaalia määritelmää – se tarkoittaa eri kielissä hieman eri asioita, joten kyse on kielirelativismista. Sanaston tasolla klassillisissa kielissä ei ole mitään eroa käsitteiden ’peli’ ja ’leikki’ välillä, kuten ei monissa nykykielissäkään. Antiikin kirjailijoita ei myöskään näyttäisi häirinneen, ettei monesti ole mitenkään selvää, olisiko jollain termillä tarkoitus viitata arpapeliin, uhkapeliin, noppapeliin vai lautapeliin. Käytännössä näillä toiminnoilla on tietenkin aina ollut jonkinlainen ero eikä arpapeli ollut antiikissa, sen enempää kuin myöhemminkään, mitenkään automaattisesti uhkapeliä.
Antiikin arpapeleistä kertova kirjallinen todistusaineisto koostuu toisaalta lähinnä myöhäisestä aineistosta, joka tarjoaa kaikessa niukkuudessaan melko sekavia tietoja sekä toisaalta aineistosta, jossa vain sattumalta mainitaan jotain aiheeseen liittyvää – nämä ovat useimmiten joko aktuaalisia fragmentteja tai niihin verrattavissa olevia tekstikatkelmia ilman mitään selittävää kontekstia. Tämän aineiston perusteella peleihin liittyvästä sanastosta saadaan kyllä tietoa, mutta itse pelit jäävät suurelta osin selittämättömiksi. Ainoastaan kaikkein yksinkertaisimpien arpapelien säännöt tunnetaan mitenkään varmasti.
Arkeologinen aineisto tarjoaa joiltain osin lisävalaistusta, ja jotkut ilmeisesti arpapeleissä käytetyt välineet tunnetaan ainoastaan arkeologisen aineiston perusteella. Lähdeaineistoa on syytä tarkastella kriittisesti tekemättä aiheettomia yleistyksiä tämän rajallisen ja katkelmallisen aineiston pohjalta. Antiikin pelien tutkimuksessa arvailut ja spekulaatiot ovat rehottaneet valtoimenaan, mutta tieteelliseen tutkimukseen ne eivät kuulu – pelejä tulisi tutkia yhtä tieteellisesti kuin mitä hyvänsä muutakin aihetta. Joitain arvauksia, spekulaatioita ja sääntörekonstruointeja voidaan pitää toisia uskottavampina ja todennäköisempinä, mutta ainoastaan suoraan antiikin todistusaineistoon perustuvat selitykset kertovat, mitä antiikin arpapeleistä oikeasti tiedetään.
Lu, Chien
Shallow representations, profound discoveries : A methodological study of game culture in social media Väitöskirja
Koneoppiminen, Tampereen yliopisto, 2023.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Lu2023,
title = {Shallow representations, profound discoveries : A methodological study of game culture in social media},
author = {Chien Lu},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-3031-6},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
school = {Koneoppiminen, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {This thesis explores the potential of representation learning techniques in game studies, highlighting their effectiveness and addressing challenges in data analysis. The primary focus of this thesis is shallow representation learning, which utilizes simpler model architectures but is able to yield effective modeling results. This thesis investigates the following research objectives: disentangling the dependencies of data, modeling temporal dynamics, learning multiple representations, and learning from heterogeneous data. The contributions of this thesis are made from two perspectives: empirical analysis and methodology development, to address these objectives. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a thorough introduction, motivation, and necessary background information for the thesis, framing the research and setting the stage for subsequent publications. Chapters 3 to 5 summarize the contribution of the 6 publications, each of which contributes to demonstrating the effectiveness of representation learning techniques in addressing various analytical challenges.
In Chapter 1 and 2, the research objects and questions are also motivated and described. In particular, Introduction to the primary application field game studies is provided and the connections of data analysis and game culture is highlighted. Basic notion of representation learning, and canonical techniques such as probabilistic principal component analysis, topic modeling, and embedding models are described. Analytical challenges and data types are also described to motivate the research of this thesis.
Chapter 3 presents two empirical analyses conducted in Publication I and II that present empirical data analysis on player typologies and temporal dynamics of player perceptions. The first empirical analysis takes the advantage of a factor model to offer a flexible player typology analysis. Results and analytical framework are particularly useful for personalized gamification. The Second empirical analysis uses topic modeling to analyze the temporal dynamic of player perceptions of the game No Man’s Sky in relation to game changes. The results reflect a variety of player perceptions including general gaming activities, game mechanic. Moreover, a set of underlying topics that are directly related to game updates and changes are extracted and the temporal dynamics of them have reflected that players responds differently to different updates and changes.
Chapter 4 presents two method developments that are related to factor models. The first method, DNBGFA, developed in Publication III, is a matrix factorization model for modeling the temporal dynamics of non-negative matrices from multiple sources. The second mothod, CFTM, developed in Publication IV introduces a factor model to a topic model to handle sophisticated document-level covariates. The develeopd methods in Chapter 4 are also demonstrated for analyzing text data.
Chapter 5 summarizes Publication V and Publication VI that develop embedding models. Publication V introduces Bayesian non-parametric to a graph embedding model to learn multiple representations for nodes. Publication VI utilizes a Gaussian copula model to deal with heterogeneous data in representation learning. The develeopd methods in Chapter 5 are also demonstrated for data analysis tasks in the context of online communities.
Lastly, Chapter 6 renders discussions and conclusions. Contributions of this thesis are highlighted, limitations, ongoing challenges, and potential future research directions are discussed.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
In Chapter 1 and 2, the research objects and questions are also motivated and described. In particular, Introduction to the primary application field game studies is provided and the connections of data analysis and game culture is highlighted. Basic notion of representation learning, and canonical techniques such as probabilistic principal component analysis, topic modeling, and embedding models are described. Analytical challenges and data types are also described to motivate the research of this thesis.
Chapter 3 presents two empirical analyses conducted in Publication I and II that present empirical data analysis on player typologies and temporal dynamics of player perceptions. The first empirical analysis takes the advantage of a factor model to offer a flexible player typology analysis. Results and analytical framework are particularly useful for personalized gamification. The Second empirical analysis uses topic modeling to analyze the temporal dynamic of player perceptions of the game No Man’s Sky in relation to game changes. The results reflect a variety of player perceptions including general gaming activities, game mechanic. Moreover, a set of underlying topics that are directly related to game updates and changes are extracted and the temporal dynamics of them have reflected that players responds differently to different updates and changes.
Chapter 4 presents two method developments that are related to factor models. The first method, DNBGFA, developed in Publication III, is a matrix factorization model for modeling the temporal dynamics of non-negative matrices from multiple sources. The second mothod, CFTM, developed in Publication IV introduces a factor model to a topic model to handle sophisticated document-level covariates. The develeopd methods in Chapter 4 are also demonstrated for analyzing text data.
Chapter 5 summarizes Publication V and Publication VI that develop embedding models. Publication V introduces Bayesian non-parametric to a graph embedding model to learn multiple representations for nodes. Publication VI utilizes a Gaussian copula model to deal with heterogeneous data in representation learning. The develeopd methods in Chapter 5 are also demonstrated for data analysis tasks in the context of online communities.
Lastly, Chapter 6 renders discussions and conclusions. Contributions of this thesis are highlighted, limitations, ongoing challenges, and potential future research directions are discussed.
Koski, Johannes
Producing affection: Affect and mediated intimacy in Pokémon Väitöskirja
Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Turun yliopisto, 2023, ISBN: 978-951-29-9366-6.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Koski2023,
title = {Producing affection: Affect and mediated intimacy in Pokémon},
author = {Johannes Koski},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-9366-6},
isbn = {978-951-29-9366-6},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
school = {Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Turun yliopisto},
abstract = {Pokémon is a global multimedia franchise formed around a core series of videogames and a variety of characters to collect, learn about, and play with. Throughout its decades of development, Pokémon has grown into a media mix comprising of digital and analog games, animations, comics, toys, and a plethora of branded merchandize, all centering on the Pokémon characters and the audience’s relationship with them.
In this thesis, I explore how affection is formed and distributed in Pokémon. I view the relationship with Pokémon characters as a form of mediated intimacy, theorizing it as feelings of affection and closeness expressed through and aimed at technology. Through this, I discuss how technological and fantastical bodies wield agency and actively participate in the formation of everyday affects. By drawing primarily on game studies and affect studies, I develop an interdisciplinary method for playing and reading media texts for their affects and use it to analyze the media mix of Pokémon and the affective relations therein.
I focus primarily on the Pokémon videogames that serve as the core product of the entire media mix. I examine what it means to construct an entire media mix based on videogames and play and suggest this as a key interpretive arrangement for understanding the mediated intimacy of Pokémon.
This study presents the mediated intimacy of Pokémon as the result of the ludic and technological foundations of the Pokémon media mix, at the heart of which is the role-playing form of the original videogames and the way they have positioned audiences as participants and characters in the world of Pokémon. In this playful environment that overlaps fiction and everyday reality, the media mix guides its players to conduct a form of affective labor to access and traverse the textual whole of Pokémon and furthermore aligns this effort with the diegetic theme of caretaking as captured on the transmedia bodies of Pokémon.
Additionally, this work contributes to the theorization and rethinking of intimacies by exploring affection in human and non-human networks as an entanglement of biological and technological actors.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
In this thesis, I explore how affection is formed and distributed in Pokémon. I view the relationship with Pokémon characters as a form of mediated intimacy, theorizing it as feelings of affection and closeness expressed through and aimed at technology. Through this, I discuss how technological and fantastical bodies wield agency and actively participate in the formation of everyday affects. By drawing primarily on game studies and affect studies, I develop an interdisciplinary method for playing and reading media texts for their affects and use it to analyze the media mix of Pokémon and the affective relations therein.
I focus primarily on the Pokémon videogames that serve as the core product of the entire media mix. I examine what it means to construct an entire media mix based on videogames and play and suggest this as a key interpretive arrangement for understanding the mediated intimacy of Pokémon.
This study presents the mediated intimacy of Pokémon as the result of the ludic and technological foundations of the Pokémon media mix, at the heart of which is the role-playing form of the original videogames and the way they have positioned audiences as participants and characters in the world of Pokémon. In this playful environment that overlaps fiction and everyday reality, the media mix guides its players to conduct a form of affective labor to access and traverse the textual whole of Pokémon and furthermore aligns this effort with the diegetic theme of caretaking as captured on the transmedia bodies of Pokémon.
Additionally, this work contributes to the theorization and rethinking of intimacies by exploring affection in human and non-human networks as an entanglement of biological and technological actors.
Korkeila, Henry
Resources, capital, and players inside the game worlds: Bourdieusian approach to game cultures Väitöskirja
Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Turun yliopisto, 2023, ISBN: 978-951-29-9270-6.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Korkeila2023,
title = { Resources, capital, and players inside the game worlds: Bourdieusian approach to game cultures},
author = {Henry Korkeila},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-9270-6},
isbn = {978-951-29-9270-6},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
school = {Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Turun yliopisto},
abstract = {Online gaming is all the time more ubiquitous. With the World becoming increasingly digitized and inter-connected, it is no wonder that the most popular pastime, gaming, is reachable quite literally anywhere. With this popularity comes the multitude of choices to fulfil any gamer’s needs and satisfaction for interactive media as companies are trying to tap into the ever-growing market. Some play to spend time with family and friends, some play to dominate others, some play to become rich, and everything in-between. The online game worlds, especially the games in the genre of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, can house inhabitants of all backgrounds, with all types of motivations, and offer more than enough activities for the inhabitants to enjoy.
Despite the immense success of certain games that have defined the future of their respective genre, the research into the immersive and complex virtual worlds has been heavily focusing on aspects and effects external to the game and the act of gaming itself. There is a stern lack of focus on the happenings and lives of the inhabitants of the virtual worlds, apart from very few autoethnographies that attempt to go beneath the surface to explain the affordances that exists. Studies still largely focus on the players before and after they play the games where the in-game actions are rather nuance than the focus.
This dissertation shifts the focus upside-down and explores, and explains, deeply through the resources circulating in and around the online multiplayer game worlds with the players themselves being rather side-lined. Used methods include quantitative survey, scoping review, qualitative, and frequency count. This dissertation shows that there just as many ways to live inside the game worlds as there are players. Thus, the main arguments of the work are related to: 1) socializing, the numerous ways to do so, and the importance of it inside the game worlds; 2) the ways avatars and players are able to, or willing to, accumulate resources; 3) using Bourdieusian approach to resources as types of capital is feasible and offers unique insight into the happenings of game worlds; 4) the types of capital as they have more nuance to them in the domain of video games than their broad definitions might let one expect.
The results promote the view, that despite the sheer power of statistical analysis to categorize players, there can be found unique approaches to the games varying from the motivations and demographical attributes to focusing on the betterment of the game’s community through discussion forums. Every instance and every approach to gaming is just as valid as any other, which might seem like an obvious statement, but it is clear that the player-bases and sometimes even scholars forget about those playstyles that are in the margin. Further, the results increase the knowledge of how resourceful avatars can be, and what are possibly some intra-game and extra-game limiting factors on how well an entity can utilize the possible affordances. The academia has studies about the social life inside the game worlds, and studies about capital as resource around the game worlds, but they are rarely combined. Even more rare are the comprehensive studies taking a wider look on the life of the citizen of the game worlds with specific research aims or questions in mind. This dissertation gives multi-layered insight into this phenomenon with tangible examples to deliver a very precise message.
For one to understand the avatars of games, one must think and approach them as conscious entities rather than only as tools for enjoyment. There is so much more going in the virtual worlds than one mere dissertation can ever include within its pages.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Despite the immense success of certain games that have defined the future of their respective genre, the research into the immersive and complex virtual worlds has been heavily focusing on aspects and effects external to the game and the act of gaming itself. There is a stern lack of focus on the happenings and lives of the inhabitants of the virtual worlds, apart from very few autoethnographies that attempt to go beneath the surface to explain the affordances that exists. Studies still largely focus on the players before and after they play the games where the in-game actions are rather nuance than the focus.
This dissertation shifts the focus upside-down and explores, and explains, deeply through the resources circulating in and around the online multiplayer game worlds with the players themselves being rather side-lined. Used methods include quantitative survey, scoping review, qualitative, and frequency count. This dissertation shows that there just as many ways to live inside the game worlds as there are players. Thus, the main arguments of the work are related to: 1) socializing, the numerous ways to do so, and the importance of it inside the game worlds; 2) the ways avatars and players are able to, or willing to, accumulate resources; 3) using Bourdieusian approach to resources as types of capital is feasible and offers unique insight into the happenings of game worlds; 4) the types of capital as they have more nuance to them in the domain of video games than their broad definitions might let one expect.
The results promote the view, that despite the sheer power of statistical analysis to categorize players, there can be found unique approaches to the games varying from the motivations and demographical attributes to focusing on the betterment of the game’s community through discussion forums. Every instance and every approach to gaming is just as valid as any other, which might seem like an obvious statement, but it is clear that the player-bases and sometimes even scholars forget about those playstyles that are in the margin. Further, the results increase the knowledge of how resourceful avatars can be, and what are possibly some intra-game and extra-game limiting factors on how well an entity can utilize the possible affordances. The academia has studies about the social life inside the game worlds, and studies about capital as resource around the game worlds, but they are rarely combined. Even more rare are the comprehensive studies taking a wider look on the life of the citizen of the game worlds with specific research aims or questions in mind. This dissertation gives multi-layered insight into this phenomenon with tangible examples to deliver a very precise message.
For one to understand the avatars of games, one must think and approach them as conscious entities rather than only as tools for enjoyment. There is so much more going in the virtual worlds than one mere dissertation can ever include within its pages.
Jääskä, Elina
Game-based learning methods in project management higher education Väitöskirja
Tuotantotalous, Oulun yliopisto, 2023, ISBN: 978-952-62-3683-4.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: digital game-based learning, earned value management, educational games, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game design, game-based learning, gamification of education, motivation, project management higher education, project sustainability management
@phdthesis{Jääskä2023,
title = {Game-based learning methods in project management higher education},
author = {Elina Jääskä},
url = {http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526236834},
isbn = {978-952-62-3683-4},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
school = {Tuotantotalous, Oulun yliopisto},
abstract = {The projectification of society means that an increasing amount of work is being organized and managed through projects in organizations and companies. In order to succeed, companies are in constant need of competent personnel with strong project management skills. Therefore, project management educators are faced with the challenge of training highly skilled personnel with the use of motivational and practice-oriented methods. Game-based learning (GBL) methods, which utilize digital educational games, promote students’ motivation and learning by experience. They provide a simulated environment for learning project management skills through repetition and trial and error in a risk-free environment, which is not possible in real-life organizations.
The objective of this study is to increase understanding and develop new knowledge of how GBL methods can be used in project management higher education. Qualitative methods were used to study GBL experiences from both teachers’ and students’ points of view. This dissertation identifies and analyses benefits and challenges of the method for students and teachers. It complements the previous understanding of the role of GBL methods in enhancing students’ motivation and learning and yields new understanding of factors that may have a negative impact on students’ motivation and learning. Therefore, the study identifies challenges and disadvantages, which are not as widely discussed as benefits of GBL methods.
Integrating GBL into the curriculum may be challenging both pedagogically and technically and, therefore, requires effort and time from teachers and resources from educational institutions. This study gives examples of how games can be utilized and integrated into the learning of complex project management phenomena and practices. This expands the extant knowledge of educational game design and GBL solution design, which include contextualized gameplay activities for project management education.
The results of this dissertation include observations, considerations, and advice that may help incorporate educational games into teaching processes. The results also introduce practices that assist in the areas of GBL methods planning, teaching and learning, and assessment. The observations and practical advice of this dissertation may help with decision-making about the use of GBL methods and their successful implementation in project management higher education.},
keywords = {digital game-based learning, earned value management, educational games, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game design, game-based learning, gamification of education, motivation, project management higher education, project sustainability management},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
The objective of this study is to increase understanding and develop new knowledge of how GBL methods can be used in project management higher education. Qualitative methods were used to study GBL experiences from both teachers’ and students’ points of view. This dissertation identifies and analyses benefits and challenges of the method for students and teachers. It complements the previous understanding of the role of GBL methods in enhancing students’ motivation and learning and yields new understanding of factors that may have a negative impact on students’ motivation and learning. Therefore, the study identifies challenges and disadvantages, which are not as widely discussed as benefits of GBL methods.
Integrating GBL into the curriculum may be challenging both pedagogically and technically and, therefore, requires effort and time from teachers and resources from educational institutions. This study gives examples of how games can be utilized and integrated into the learning of complex project management phenomena and practices. This expands the extant knowledge of educational game design and GBL solution design, which include contextualized gameplay activities for project management education.
The results of this dissertation include observations, considerations, and advice that may help incorporate educational games into teaching processes. The results also introduce practices that assist in the areas of GBL methods planning, teaching and learning, and assessment. The observations and practical advice of this dissertation may help with decision-making about the use of GBL methods and their successful implementation in project management higher education.
Janhunen, Maarit
Exergame-based rehabilitation in older adults specifically after total knee replacement Väitöskirja
Fysioterapia, Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2023, ISBN: 978-951-39-9547-8.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Janhunen2023,
title = {Exergame-based rehabilitation in older adults specifically after total knee replacement},
author = {Maarit Janhunen},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9547-8},
isbn = {978-951-39-9547-8},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
school = {Fysioterapia, Jyväskylän yliopisto},
abstract = {This thesis aimed to study the feasibility and effects of exergame-based rehabilitation on enhancing the physical function and pain in older adults, specifically after total knee replacement (TKR). The feasibility of exergames customized for the post-TKR rehabilitation was studied as movement characteristics, perceived exertion, and knee pain during exergaming in individuals who have undergone TKR (n=7, mean age, 65 years). The effects of exergame-based rehabilitation on walking were assessed in a systematic review and meta-analysis in older adults without neurologic conditions (n=3797, mean age, 74 years), and on mobility and other physical function in a home-based 4-month randomized controlled trial (RCT) in individuals undergoing TKR (n=52, mean age, 66 years). In the meta-analysis, the groups that underwent exergame-based rehabilitation were compared with reference groups that performed other types of exercise or did not undergo any exercise. In the RCT, exergame-based rehabilitation was compared with standard post-TKR home exercise. The results of the feasibility study showed that although the volume and intensity of movement was mostly higher during exergaming, the range of movement was similarly achieved during exergaming and standard exercising, all with low levels of perceived exertion and pain. The meta-analysis showed that the exergame-based interventions implemented in a supervised or unsupervised manner were more effective on improvements in walking than other types of exercise or no exercise. The results of the RCT study showed that the unsupervised, exergame-based intervention was more effective on improvements in mobility and as effective as standard home exercise on enhancing other physical functions and pain. In conclusion, in older adults, exergaming resulted in positive effects on physical function, especially on walking and mobility, in both supervised and unsupervised rehabilitation using customized or commercially available exercise games. Moreover, the exergames may be customized to achieve the movement characteristics appropriate for post-TKR rehabilitation. Exergames may be considered as a promising form of exercise in the management of the physical function and pain in the older adults as an alternative to standard exercise, specifically for rehabilitation after TKR.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Holm, Suvi
Preferences, emotions, and visual attention in the first-person shooter game experience Väitöskirja
Psykologia, Turun yliopisto, 2023, ISBN: 978-951-29-9290-4.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Holm2023,
title = {Preferences, emotions, and visual attention in the first-person shooter game experience},
author = {Suvi Holm},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-9290-4},
isbn = {978-951-29-9290-4},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
school = {Psykologia, Turun yliopisto},
abstract = {First-person shooter (FPS) games are one of the most popular yet notorious genres of digital games. They contain visceral emotional content and require intense visual attention from players, leading some people to appreciate and others to resent these types of games. This thesis investigated individual differences in the game experience of FPS games by exploring how preferences for violent game dynamics (e.g., preferences for shooting, killing, and exploding) affect players’ emotions and perceptions of curiosity, vitality, and self-efficacy. In addition, the thesis explored how visual attention skills affect the viewing of FPS games as indexed by viewers’ eye movements.
In Study I, the role of visual attention skills in viewing FPS gameplay videos was explored. The results showed that viewers’ eye movements tended to progress from a diffuse scanning mode towards a more focal and central viewing mode as time passed. Visual qualities and saliency of events also guided eye movements. Individual differences in visual attention skills (namely, the ability to track multiple objects, perform a visual search for targets, and to see rapidly appearing serial targets) were related to what was attended to in the screen. The role of visual attention skills on eye movements was more prominent during visually distinct events. In sum, the results showed that specific visual attention skills predicted eye movement patterns during FPS gameplay video viewing.
Study II explored whether game dynamics preferences and emotion-related responses to an FPS game are connected. Participants’ heart rate, electrodermal activity, and electric activity of facial muscles were recorded as indexes of emotion-related responses both during playing (active participation) and gameplay video viewing (passive watching). The participants also rated their level of experienced arousal and valence. The results showed that there were individual differences in physiological emotion-related responses as a function of dynamics preferences, especially in measures of physiological arousal. Those who liked violent dynamics showed a rather stable level of physiological arousal state both when playing and when viewing the game. In contrast, participants who disliked violent dynamics showed an overall higher level of physiological arousal during playing than when viewing, and the level of arousal increased across time in both conditions. The results on facial muscle activity likewise showed that activity differed between people who liked versus disliked violent dynamics. However, the results were somewhat conflicting: those who liked violent game dynamics showed a steep increase in the activity of the corrugator supercilii muscle, an index of negative valence. Instead, those who disliked the dynamics showed less increase in corrugator supercilii activity. The dynamics preferences did not affect self-reported emotional valence or arousal. Thus, the results highlight that game dynamics preferences were associated with physiological signals, although they may not be a straightforward index of emotions in a gaming context.
In Study III, associations between game dynamics preferences and self-reported experiences of vitality, self-efficacy, and curiosity were explored both in association with life in general and with playing an FPS video game. The results showed that players who were neutral or mildly positive towards violent content experienced stable levels of vitality, curiosity, and emotional valence both in life in general and when playing. They also experienced a slight decline in self-efficacy in the playing context. Conversely, those who disliked violent dynamics experienced a clear decline in all of these measures in the playing context. Thus, game dynamics preferences were connected with wider experiential reflections related to playing.
Overall, the results of all three studies showed why there is individual variation in the playing experience: players and viewers have differing skills and preferences. These skills and preferences affect how players and viewers pay attention to the game, and what kind of emotional reactions and experiences they have. This is valuable for understanding the psychological outcomes of FPS games, as well as why people hold differing opinions about these types of games. Likewise, the results have importance for game design, as they show that players respond in different ways to game contents. Thus, it may be fruitful to personalize and tailor game contents based on players’ preferences and visual attention skills.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
In Study I, the role of visual attention skills in viewing FPS gameplay videos was explored. The results showed that viewers’ eye movements tended to progress from a diffuse scanning mode towards a more focal and central viewing mode as time passed. Visual qualities and saliency of events also guided eye movements. Individual differences in visual attention skills (namely, the ability to track multiple objects, perform a visual search for targets, and to see rapidly appearing serial targets) were related to what was attended to in the screen. The role of visual attention skills on eye movements was more prominent during visually distinct events. In sum, the results showed that specific visual attention skills predicted eye movement patterns during FPS gameplay video viewing.
Study II explored whether game dynamics preferences and emotion-related responses to an FPS game are connected. Participants’ heart rate, electrodermal activity, and electric activity of facial muscles were recorded as indexes of emotion-related responses both during playing (active participation) and gameplay video viewing (passive watching). The participants also rated their level of experienced arousal and valence. The results showed that there were individual differences in physiological emotion-related responses as a function of dynamics preferences, especially in measures of physiological arousal. Those who liked violent dynamics showed a rather stable level of physiological arousal state both when playing and when viewing the game. In contrast, participants who disliked violent dynamics showed an overall higher level of physiological arousal during playing than when viewing, and the level of arousal increased across time in both conditions. The results on facial muscle activity likewise showed that activity differed between people who liked versus disliked violent dynamics. However, the results were somewhat conflicting: those who liked violent game dynamics showed a steep increase in the activity of the corrugator supercilii muscle, an index of negative valence. Instead, those who disliked the dynamics showed less increase in corrugator supercilii activity. The dynamics preferences did not affect self-reported emotional valence or arousal. Thus, the results highlight that game dynamics preferences were associated with physiological signals, although they may not be a straightforward index of emotions in a gaming context.
In Study III, associations between game dynamics preferences and self-reported experiences of vitality, self-efficacy, and curiosity were explored both in association with life in general and with playing an FPS video game. The results showed that players who were neutral or mildly positive towards violent content experienced stable levels of vitality, curiosity, and emotional valence both in life in general and when playing. They also experienced a slight decline in self-efficacy in the playing context. Conversely, those who disliked violent dynamics experienced a clear decline in all of these measures in the playing context. Thus, game dynamics preferences were connected with wider experiential reflections related to playing.
Overall, the results of all three studies showed why there is individual variation in the playing experience: players and viewers have differing skills and preferences. These skills and preferences affect how players and viewers pay attention to the game, and what kind of emotional reactions and experiences they have. This is valuable for understanding the psychological outcomes of FPS games, as well as why people hold differing opinions about these types of games. Likewise, the results have importance for game design, as they show that players respond in different ways to game contents. Thus, it may be fruitful to personalize and tailor game contents based on players’ preferences and visual attention skills.
2022
Suovuo, Tomi
Reality guides for life before death Väitöskirja
Vuorovaikutusmuotoilu, Turun yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-951-29-8910-2.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Suovuo2022,
title = {Reality guides for life before death},
author = {Tomi Suovuo},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-8910-2},
isbn = {978-951-29-8910-2},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Vuorovaikutusmuotoilu, Turun yliopisto},
abstract = {The rise of the digital game industry has brought along a plethora of game design tools and frameworks. They are likely to be named specifically as design frameworks for games because their creators have been positioned themselves on the field of game research due to their personal interest in games or due to the fast rising game business. There appears often not to be a reason why these tools and frameworks could not be used in any other kind of interaction design too.
Furthermore, even the definition of a game is elusive. In effort to be able to consider what is a game and what is not, the concept of Reality Guides was developed. A Reality Guide guides the user in their surrounding reality. By its definition it is not necessarily a game, and a game by its definition is not necessarily a Reality Guide, but it is possible for something to be both. Reality Guides can come in the form of paper booklets, human guides, digital applications, or something else. The focus in this thesis is in guides that are mixed reality digital applications.
Looking at Reality Guides through several game design frameworks, a new theoretical model was constructed: The GEM Game Experience Model is a result of Grounded Theory based work to find a single underlaying model behind all the existing ones.
Two non-game initiatives have been worked on with the guidance of Reality Guide thinking and GEM thinking: Life Before Death aims at producing services that will help people with premature end of life circumstances to make the best possible out of their remaining life. Reality Guides for the end-of-life. Also, in the initiative of creating a community around Digital Theology a project course was organized using gamer community originated Discord as a central Reality Guide for the course participated by students from four continents.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Furthermore, even the definition of a game is elusive. In effort to be able to consider what is a game and what is not, the concept of Reality Guides was developed. A Reality Guide guides the user in their surrounding reality. By its definition it is not necessarily a game, and a game by its definition is not necessarily a Reality Guide, but it is possible for something to be both. Reality Guides can come in the form of paper booklets, human guides, digital applications, or something else. The focus in this thesis is in guides that are mixed reality digital applications.
Looking at Reality Guides through several game design frameworks, a new theoretical model was constructed: The GEM Game Experience Model is a result of Grounded Theory based work to find a single underlaying model behind all the existing ones.
Two non-game initiatives have been worked on with the guidance of Reality Guide thinking and GEM thinking: Life Before Death aims at producing services that will help people with premature end of life circumstances to make the best possible out of their remaining life. Reality Guides for the end-of-life. Also, in the initiative of creating a community around Digital Theology a project course was organized using gamer community originated Discord as a central Reality Guide for the course participated by students from four continents.
Sihvonen, Lilli
Kimble-lautapelin kestävä tuotesuhde: Kulttuurituotteiden uustuotantoprosessit Väitöskirja
Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Turun yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-951-29-8863-1.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: suomenkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Sihvonen2022,
title = {Kimble-lautapelin kestävä tuotesuhde: Kulttuurituotteiden uustuotantoprosessit},
author = {Lilli Sihvonen},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-8863-1},
isbn = {978-951-29-8863-1},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Turun yliopisto},
abstract = {Monimutkaisiin esine- ja tuotesuhteisiimme kuuluu esineiden jatkuva hankinta ja poisheittäminen. Joihinkin esineisiin ja tuotteisiin kyllästymme nopeasti, toisiin taas syntyy syvempi suhde. Oman kiehtovuutensa näihin suhteisiin tuo uustuotanto, jossa jokin vanha, tuotannosta aikoinaan poistettu tuote palautetaan takaisin tuotantoon. Uustuotannossa tuotteen valmistustavat ja -materiaalit sekä visuaalinen ilme saattavat muuttua teknologian ja muodin kehityksen yhteydessä, mutta alkuperäinen tuote säilyy tunnistettavana. Uustuotannosta tulee prosessi, kun toiminta muuttuu systemaattiseksi, jolloin tuote vuoroin poistuu, vuoroin palaa takaisin tuotantoon ja markkinoille.
Uustuotantoprosessi muodostuu suunnitellun vanhentamisen ja henkiinherättämisen eli revivifikaation välisestä vuorovaikutuksesta ja vuorottelusta tuotteen elinkaaressa. Suunnitellun vanhentamisen tarkoitus on rajoittaa tuotteen käyttöä ja toimivuutta, ja prosessissa sen tehtävänä on poistaa tuote markkinoilta. Henkiinherättäminen puolestaan perustuu nostalgiapohjaiseen menneiden tuotteiden elvyttämiseen ja palauttamiseen markkinoille. Aiempi tutkimus on korostanut nostalgian roolia tuotteiden kierrättämisessä ja elvyttämisessä. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoitus on osoittaa, ettei selitys nostalgiasta riitä vaan ilmiö on paljon laajempi ja moniulotteisempi.
Tutkimus lähestyy aihetta tapaustutkimuksen kautta. Tutkimuksen esimerkkituotteena on vuonna 1967 ilmestynyt suomalainen Kimble-lautapeli, jonka perusversion uudistukset, lisenssiversiot, materiaalinen muuntautuvaisuus sekä toisaalta muuttumattomuus, historiallinen tausta, kestävyys ja mediahuomio puoltavat pelin valitsemista tutkimuskohteeksi. Peli vastustaa suunnitellun vanhentamisen tavanomaisimpia käytänteitä, ja tuo siten päivänvaloon erityyppisiä uustuotantoprosesseja. Tämän väitöskirjan päätutkimuskysymys on: Millainen on kulttuurituotteiden uustuotantoprosessi Kimble-lautapelin esimerkin valossa? Pääkysymystä täydentävät kolme alakysymystä: 1) mitä osa-alueita prosessiin kuuluu, 2) millaisia prosessin rakenne ja vaiheet ovat ja 3) millaisen teoreettisen mallin voi esimerkkituotteen perusteella muodostaa?
Tutkimuksen aineisto muodostuu Kimblen valmistajayhtiö Tactic Games Oy:n työntekijöiden haastatteluista, Kimble-verkkokyselyn vastauksista, opiskelijakulttuurin dokumentoinnista ja opiskelijahaastattelusta, dokumentoiduista Kimble-versioista sekä esineen lähiluvusta. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys rakentuu pelitutkimuksen, kulutuksen tutkimuksen sekä materiaalisen kulttuurin ympärille.
Väitöskirja muodostuu tästä yhteenveto-osiosta sekä neljästä vertaisarvioidusta artikkelista, jotka käsittelevät uustuotantoprosessin keskeisimpiä osa-alueita Kimblen näkökulmasta: historiaa, pysyviä ominaisuuksia ja muutoksia sekä elämäkertoja ja käyttökulttuuria. Tämän lisäksi Kimble peilautuu vasten uustuotantoprosessin alustavaa käsitteistöä muodostaen prosessin rakenteen, vaiheet ja reunaehdot; mitä vähintään tarvitaan prosessin muodostumiseen.
Uustuotantoprosessi näyttäytyy erityisenä ja kestävänä tuotesuhteena, joka ei perustu pelkkään nostalgiaan ja jossa ei tarvita suunniteltua vanhentamista ja tuotteen poistamista markkinoilta. Uustuotantoprosessi on useiden tekijöiden vuorovaikutussuhde, jossa sama tuote valitaan aina uudelleen. Eri tuotteiden prosesseissa on vaihtelevuutta, mutta logiikka on sama, jolloin prosessi on mallinnettavissa. Lopputuloksena on uustuotantoprosessin malli, jota voi hyödyntää sekä tuotekehityksessä että tieteellisessä tutkimuksessa.},
keywords = {suomenkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Uustuotantoprosessi muodostuu suunnitellun vanhentamisen ja henkiinherättämisen eli revivifikaation välisestä vuorovaikutuksesta ja vuorottelusta tuotteen elinkaaressa. Suunnitellun vanhentamisen tarkoitus on rajoittaa tuotteen käyttöä ja toimivuutta, ja prosessissa sen tehtävänä on poistaa tuote markkinoilta. Henkiinherättäminen puolestaan perustuu nostalgiapohjaiseen menneiden tuotteiden elvyttämiseen ja palauttamiseen markkinoille. Aiempi tutkimus on korostanut nostalgian roolia tuotteiden kierrättämisessä ja elvyttämisessä. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoitus on osoittaa, ettei selitys nostalgiasta riitä vaan ilmiö on paljon laajempi ja moniulotteisempi.
Tutkimus lähestyy aihetta tapaustutkimuksen kautta. Tutkimuksen esimerkkituotteena on vuonna 1967 ilmestynyt suomalainen Kimble-lautapeli, jonka perusversion uudistukset, lisenssiversiot, materiaalinen muuntautuvaisuus sekä toisaalta muuttumattomuus, historiallinen tausta, kestävyys ja mediahuomio puoltavat pelin valitsemista tutkimuskohteeksi. Peli vastustaa suunnitellun vanhentamisen tavanomaisimpia käytänteitä, ja tuo siten päivänvaloon erityyppisiä uustuotantoprosesseja. Tämän väitöskirjan päätutkimuskysymys on: Millainen on kulttuurituotteiden uustuotantoprosessi Kimble-lautapelin esimerkin valossa? Pääkysymystä täydentävät kolme alakysymystä: 1) mitä osa-alueita prosessiin kuuluu, 2) millaisia prosessin rakenne ja vaiheet ovat ja 3) millaisen teoreettisen mallin voi esimerkkituotteen perusteella muodostaa?
Tutkimuksen aineisto muodostuu Kimblen valmistajayhtiö Tactic Games Oy:n työntekijöiden haastatteluista, Kimble-verkkokyselyn vastauksista, opiskelijakulttuurin dokumentoinnista ja opiskelijahaastattelusta, dokumentoiduista Kimble-versioista sekä esineen lähiluvusta. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys rakentuu pelitutkimuksen, kulutuksen tutkimuksen sekä materiaalisen kulttuurin ympärille.
Väitöskirja muodostuu tästä yhteenveto-osiosta sekä neljästä vertaisarvioidusta artikkelista, jotka käsittelevät uustuotantoprosessin keskeisimpiä osa-alueita Kimblen näkökulmasta: historiaa, pysyviä ominaisuuksia ja muutoksia sekä elämäkertoja ja käyttökulttuuria. Tämän lisäksi Kimble peilautuu vasten uustuotantoprosessin alustavaa käsitteistöä muodostaen prosessin rakenteen, vaiheet ja reunaehdot; mitä vähintään tarvitaan prosessin muodostumiseen.
Uustuotantoprosessi näyttäytyy erityisenä ja kestävänä tuotesuhteena, joka ei perustu pelkkään nostalgiaan ja jossa ei tarvita suunniteltua vanhentamista ja tuotteen poistamista markkinoilta. Uustuotantoprosessi on useiden tekijöiden vuorovaikutussuhde, jossa sama tuote valitaan aina uudelleen. Eri tuotteiden prosesseissa on vaihtelevuutta, mutta logiikka on sama, jolloin prosessi on mallinnettavissa. Lopputuloksena on uustuotantoprosessin malli, jota voi hyödyntää sekä tuotekehityksessä että tieteellisessä tutkimuksessa.
Ruotsalainen, Maria
Overwatch esports and the (re)configurations of gender and nationality Väitöskirja
Nykykulttuurin tutkimus, Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-951-39-9184-5.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: competitive gaming, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, esports, gender, nationalism, nationality, qualitative research
@phdthesis{Ruotsalainen2022,
title = {Overwatch esports and the (re)configurations of gender and nationality},
author = {Maria Ruotsalainen},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9184-5},
isbn = {978-951-39-9184-5},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Nykykulttuurin tutkimus, Jyväskylän yliopisto},
abstract = {The dissertation comprises five research articles and a compilation portion, focusing on gender and nationality in competitive Overwatch. Overwatch is a team-based first-person shooter that Blizzard Entertainment published in 2014. From the beginning onwards, it has had an active esports scene. In 2018, the game’s publisher took hold of the whole esports scene and organised it in a league format—strikingly similar to how traditional sports leagues in North America are organised—and to a yearly (2016–2019) organised Overwatch World Cup. Against this backdrop, I examine how gender and nationality are portrayed within the production of competitive Overwatch Esports and how they are performed and negotiated within the reception of competitive Overwatch. Drawing from the concept of banal nationalism, I suggest the production choices of Overwatch esports are meant to evoke nationalist sentiments from the viewers and fans, intimately tying in with the ongoing sportification of Overwatch esports and esports in general. The ongoing sportification of Overwatch esports also affects how gender, particularly masculinity, is portrayed and positioned within this particular esports. The influence of traditional sports strengthens the position of hegemonic masculinity, often leading to portrayals of athletic masculinity as the desirable masculinity within the Overwatch esports ecosystem. However, examining the reception of Overwatch esports reveals a richer and more varied picture of how masculinity and gender are negotiated within Overwatch esports. The players, fans, and viewers both affirm and resist the nationalist ethos and the sportified aesthetics and the configurations of the masculinity they suggest, drawing also from alternative ways to frame competitive gaming. Particularly relevant for this is anime aesthetics which are used by fans to frame Overwatch esports. This also affects what kind of desirable masculinity is negotiated amongst fans: The hegemonic masculinity is reconfigured to a form of hybrid masculinity, with elements of athletic masculinity, geek masculinity, and Kawaii masculinity, allowing (white and Asian) men to have more varied gender expression. Unfortunately, this allowance has little to no bearing on the positions of the others and women continue being marginalised in Overwatch esports.},
keywords = {competitive gaming, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, esports, gender, nationalism, nationality, qualitative research},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Roohi, Shaghayegh
Advances in AI-assisted game testing Väitöskirja
Tietotekniikka, Aalto-yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-952-64-0825-5.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: AI agents, emotion recognition, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game testing, player experience, reinforcement learning
@phdthesis{Roohi2022,
title = {Advances in AI-assisted game testing},
author = {Shaghayegh Roohi},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-64-0825-5},
isbn = {978-952-64-0825-5},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Tietotekniikka, Aalto-yliopisto},
abstract = {Game testing is an essential part of game development, in which developers try to select a game design that delivers a desirable experience for the players and engages them. However, the interactive nature of games makes the player experience and behavior unpredictable. Therefore, game testing requires collecting a large amount of playtest data in iterative sessions, which makes game testing time and money consuming.
Game testing includes a wide range of aspects from finding bugs and balancing game parameters to modeling player behavior and experience. This dissertation mostly concentrates on the player experience aspect. It proposes methods for (partially) automating and facilitating the game testing process. The first part of the dissertation focuses on player emotion analysis and proposes tools and methods for automatically processing and summarizing human playtesters' data. The second part of the dissertation concentrates on simulation-based approaches for modeling player experience and behavior to reduce the need for human playtesters.
In the first publication, we use deep neural networks for analyzing player facial expression data and provide a visualization tool for inspecting affect changes at game events, which replicates earlier results of physiological emotion analysis. Next, we extend this work by introducing a new dataset of game streamers' emotions in different granularities and considering other input signals like audio and speech for automatic emotion recognition. In the second part of the dissertation, simulation-based methods and reinforcement learning agents are used to predict game difficulty and engagement and capture the relation between these two game metrics.
In summary, this dissertation proposes and evaluates methods that advance automatic game testing by proposing approaches for automatic analysis of player emotions, which can be used for selecting specific segments of playtest videos for further inspection. In addition, we have provided accurate models of player experience and behavior using simulation-based methods that can be used to detect problematic game levels before releasing them to the actual players.},
keywords = {AI agents, emotion recognition, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game testing, player experience, reinforcement learning},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Game testing includes a wide range of aspects from finding bugs and balancing game parameters to modeling player behavior and experience. This dissertation mostly concentrates on the player experience aspect. It proposes methods for (partially) automating and facilitating the game testing process. The first part of the dissertation focuses on player emotion analysis and proposes tools and methods for automatically processing and summarizing human playtesters' data. The second part of the dissertation concentrates on simulation-based approaches for modeling player experience and behavior to reduce the need for human playtesters.
In the first publication, we use deep neural networks for analyzing player facial expression data and provide a visualization tool for inspecting affect changes at game events, which replicates earlier results of physiological emotion analysis. Next, we extend this work by introducing a new dataset of game streamers' emotions in different granularities and considering other input signals like audio and speech for automatic emotion recognition. In the second part of the dissertation, simulation-based methods and reinforcement learning agents are used to predict game difficulty and engagement and capture the relation between these two game metrics.
In summary, this dissertation proposes and evaluates methods that advance automatic game testing by proposing approaches for automatic analysis of player emotions, which can be used for selecting specific segments of playtest videos for further inspection. In addition, we have provided accurate models of player experience and behavior using simulation-based methods that can be used to detect problematic game levels before releasing them to the actual players.
Rautalahti, Heidi
Uskontotiede, Helsingin yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-951-51-8547-1.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Rautalahti2022,
title = {“I would rather contemplate big questions”: Imagining contemporary religion in digital games and among gamers from actor-centred and game-immanent perspectives},
author = {Heidi Rautalahti},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-51-8547-1},
isbn = {978-951-51-8547-1},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Uskontotiede, Helsingin yliopisto},
abstract = {In this thesis, I investigate the representations and encounters of religion, or the religion-like aspects that digital games and culture afford today. The thesis asks how contemporary intersections with video games and gamer narratives enter into a confluence with religion and non-religion, using two distinct approaches.
The key research questions studied in the framework of digital game studies, popular culture studies, and the study of religion are: How is religion constructed and represented in recent mainstream digital games from a game-immanent frame, and how do players encounter religion or religion-like aspects in recent mainstream digital games from an actor-centred frame?
The research questions are applied through mapping new cultural occurrences and employing a theoretical sociological approach towards contemporary popular culture and religion. What notions do these approaches bring forth when discussing how meaningfulness or meaning-making occurs in popular culture today?
The empirical part of the thesis consists of four sub-studies published in separate articles.
1 Video Games Facilitating Discussions of Good and Bad Religion 2 Disenchanting Faith—Religion and Authority in the Dishonored Universe 3 “How video games changed my life”: Life-Changing Testimonies and The Last of Us 4 Non-religious Players Asking Big Questions: Video game worlds affording affinities of meaningful encounters
Each sub-study utilizes different datasets and methodology. However, they adhere to a shared epistemology and twofold approach of enquiry, focusing on content and reception. A game-immanent and actor-centred approach divides the two distinct viewpoints of focusing on study data, which consists of video games and player narratives.
Based on these approaches, it is found that religion and religion-like aspects are encountered in digital games as conversational cues for potential religion criticism, however games that are considered meaningful by players provide an immense amount of support in difficult life events, bring together emerging communities, and aid in contemplations on life’s big questions. The thesis presents novel findings in reading and examining video games, critically commenting on a Western scheme of representations of imagined organized religions.
I interpret the observed critical views that digital games represent as contemporary cultural discussions and re-negotiations of the societal place of religion. The data brings forth discourses on categorical discussions on research on religion, and non-religion in contemporary meaningful communities. In addition, the thesis reveals new observations on contemporary religious landscapes that speak of a post-religious environment relating to research on non-religion, existential cultures, and meaningmaking, which has also been supported by previous research on meaningful video game player encounters.
Games challenge institutional religion, but simultaneously do not shy away using and imagining religion as one way to contemplate life’s deep and big questions. Games themselves, whether their stories have religion representations or not, afford reflective thought in players on big questions.
In addition, the aim of the thesis is to increase awareness of experienced meaningful encounters with popular culture as an important and paramount part of constructing life worlds and post-secular thought. One result of contemporary meaning-making is what the thesis headline suggests: “I would rather contemplate big questions”, than religions.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
The key research questions studied in the framework of digital game studies, popular culture studies, and the study of religion are: How is religion constructed and represented in recent mainstream digital games from a game-immanent frame, and how do players encounter religion or religion-like aspects in recent mainstream digital games from an actor-centred frame?
The research questions are applied through mapping new cultural occurrences and employing a theoretical sociological approach towards contemporary popular culture and religion. What notions do these approaches bring forth when discussing how meaningfulness or meaning-making occurs in popular culture today?
The empirical part of the thesis consists of four sub-studies published in separate articles.
1 Video Games Facilitating Discussions of Good and Bad Religion 2 Disenchanting Faith—Religion and Authority in the Dishonored Universe 3 “How video games changed my life”: Life-Changing Testimonies and The Last of Us 4 Non-religious Players Asking Big Questions: Video game worlds affording affinities of meaningful encounters
Each sub-study utilizes different datasets and methodology. However, they adhere to a shared epistemology and twofold approach of enquiry, focusing on content and reception. A game-immanent and actor-centred approach divides the two distinct viewpoints of focusing on study data, which consists of video games and player narratives.
Based on these approaches, it is found that religion and religion-like aspects are encountered in digital games as conversational cues for potential religion criticism, however games that are considered meaningful by players provide an immense amount of support in difficult life events, bring together emerging communities, and aid in contemplations on life’s big questions. The thesis presents novel findings in reading and examining video games, critically commenting on a Western scheme of representations of imagined organized religions.
I interpret the observed critical views that digital games represent as contemporary cultural discussions and re-negotiations of the societal place of religion. The data brings forth discourses on categorical discussions on research on religion, and non-religion in contemporary meaningful communities. In addition, the thesis reveals new observations on contemporary religious landscapes that speak of a post-religious environment relating to research on non-religion, existential cultures, and meaningmaking, which has also been supported by previous research on meaningful video game player encounters.
Games challenge institutional religion, but simultaneously do not shy away using and imagining religion as one way to contemplate life’s deep and big questions. Games themselves, whether their stories have religion representations or not, afford reflective thought in players on big questions.
In addition, the aim of the thesis is to increase awareness of experienced meaningful encounters with popular culture as an important and paramount part of constructing life worlds and post-secular thought. One result of contemporary meaning-making is what the thesis headline suggests: “I would rather contemplate big questions”, than religions.
Pelser-Casrstens, Veruschka
Developing a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components Väitöskirja
Tietojenkäsittelytiede, Itä-Suomen yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-952-61-4553-2.
Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Pelser-Casrstens2022,
title = {Developing a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components},
author = {Veruschka Pelser-Casrstens},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-61-4553-2},
isbn = {978-952-61-4553-2},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Tietojenkäsittelytiede, Itä-Suomen yliopisto},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Lind, Kalle
Problem gambling and criminal behavior: Perspectives on comorbidities and social Disadvantage Väitöskirja
Sosiologia, Tampereen yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-952-03-2559-6.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: criminal behavior, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, gambling, problem gambling, social disadvantage
@phdthesis{Lind2022,
title = {Problem gambling and criminal behavior: Perspectives on comorbidities and social Disadvantage},
author = {Kalle Lind},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2559-6},
isbn = {978-952-03-2559-6},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Sosiologia, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {While gambling is a harmless and popular pastime for most people, as a habitual activity it also has the potential to cause harm to the gamblers themselves and their affected others. These gambling harms are not static but vary in terms of intensity and duration. Such negative consequences can affect several different life-domains, and they may include financial problems, emotional distress, disrupted relationships, cultural harms, intergenerational harms, decrements in health, reduced performance at work or studies, or criminal behavior. Comorbidity between problem gambling, mental health problems, and other addictions as well as the connection between problem gambling and social disadvantage on various measures have been confirmed by previous studies. Problem gambling has been recognized as a criminogenic factor, and it is highly prevalent among incarcerated populations. Criminogenic problem gambling refers to a situation where problem gambling and the related financial distress escalate to criminal behavior, typically to income-generating crime such as fraud and embezzlement. Criminal harm has been suggested to be a late-stage gambling harm, which occurs together with long-standing and untreated problem gambling as gamblers run out of legal financial options. Furthermore, previous studies indicate that a more general association also exists between problem gambling and non-gambling related crime in a population level.
Not only is the gambling participation rate very high in Finland, but gambling has also had an exceptional position in Finland’s culture, society, and everyday life for decades. At the same time, 2.5% of gamblers are estimated to account for 50% of the total gambling expenditure. The latest population survey indicates that the prevalence of problem gambling is about 3% of the population. The core regulative framework, the recently reformed Lotteries Act, underscores minimization and prevention of gambling-related economic, health-related, and social harms, including criminal activity. In this context, this dissertation addresses the connection between problem gambling and criminal behavior through 1) data derived from documents produced by the police on 55 problem gambling-related cases, 2) screening data (N = 1,573) from a national problem gambling support program, 3) pilot survey data (n = 96) collected at two Finnish prisons, and 4) gambling-related population survey data (n = 7,186) combined with register-based variables on convictions and social disadvantage. Through qualitative document analysis this study explores patterns and mechanisms of problem gambling-related crime reported to the police. Logistic regression is utilized to find predictors of problem gambling-related stealing and cheating among help-seeking problem gamblers. Furthermore, this study explores the prevalence of probable problem gambling (measured using the Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen), the need for support, and support preferences in prison environment. Finally, logistic regression models were run to explore the general association between problem gambling severity, socioeconomic disadvantage, and having a conviction.
Most of the problem gambling-related cases found from the police information system were nonviolent property crimes that were committed at home or at the workplace. In most cases the events were preceded by severe financial problems, the emergence of suitable opportunities to commit a crime and coexisting issues of life-control, such as depression, relationship problems, and substance use. The criminal incidents were classified in three categories: identity theft, unauthorized access, and violent outburst. The crime aftermath consisted of the psychologically distressing process of hiding the trails and revival through getting caught. Reportedly, the main motivation for the crimes was to continue gambling, chase losses, or hide the extent of the individual’s problem gambling from their affected others.
Consistent with previous literature, the results reveal that among help-seeking problem gamblers, being young and having low income and low education predicted gambling-related stealing and cheating. Furthermore, as expected, a long duration of gambling problems also predicted cheating and stealing. Depressive symptoms and having a negative perception on one’s financial situation were also associated to problem gambling-related stealing or cheating. Gender, starting age of gambling, and comorbid substance use were not found to be statistically significant predictors of criminogenic problem gambling. Overall, 37.6% of the screened attendees reported having cheated or stolen to fund their gambling.
According to this study, the prevalence of probable problem gambling is relatively high among prisoners. Past-year pre-conviction prevalence of probable problem gambling was about 16% and past-year prevalence was 15%. One-third of the survey respondents who were sentenced for a property crime, financial crime, or robbery were probable problem gamblers. A majority of the participants who reported that their main crime was gambling-related scored as probable problem gamblers. Of all the respondents, one in four reported an interest in receiving problem gambling-related support. Group support was the most preferred type of support, followed by a personal conversation with a prison staff.
Of the Gambling Harms Survey respondents, 2.1% had been convicted of at least one crime during the past five years and had received a prison sentence, community service, or probation order. Criminal convictions were more common among respondents with problem or pathological gambling (8.8%) compared to at-risk gambling respondents (3.5%), to recreational gamblers (2.0%), and to non-gamblers (1.2%). However, in the models with gender, receiving basic social assistance and education included the gambling variables did not remain statistically significant. The findings suggest that especially receiving basic social assistance is strongly associated with both gambling severity and having a conviction.
The results of the study are further discussed with the pathways model by Blaszczynski and Nower, as well as with mainstream theories of criminology, especially with the general strain theory by Agnew and the routine activities theory by Felson. This study concludes that crime prevention requires early interventions for the financial chaos produced or worsened by problem gambling. A comprehensive selection of support for a variety of problems other than personal financial difficulties is needed to minimize the risk of problem gambling-related criminal activity. In addition, the study implies that social policy, ethically sustainable gambling policy, and criminal policy should be closely intertwined in the spirit of welfare state’s mission to reduce and to prevent social exclusion and social disadvantage.},
keywords = {criminal behavior, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, gambling, problem gambling, social disadvantage},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Not only is the gambling participation rate very high in Finland, but gambling has also had an exceptional position in Finland’s culture, society, and everyday life for decades. At the same time, 2.5% of gamblers are estimated to account for 50% of the total gambling expenditure. The latest population survey indicates that the prevalence of problem gambling is about 3% of the population. The core regulative framework, the recently reformed Lotteries Act, underscores minimization and prevention of gambling-related economic, health-related, and social harms, including criminal activity. In this context, this dissertation addresses the connection between problem gambling and criminal behavior through 1) data derived from documents produced by the police on 55 problem gambling-related cases, 2) screening data (N = 1,573) from a national problem gambling support program, 3) pilot survey data (n = 96) collected at two Finnish prisons, and 4) gambling-related population survey data (n = 7,186) combined with register-based variables on convictions and social disadvantage. Through qualitative document analysis this study explores patterns and mechanisms of problem gambling-related crime reported to the police. Logistic regression is utilized to find predictors of problem gambling-related stealing and cheating among help-seeking problem gamblers. Furthermore, this study explores the prevalence of probable problem gambling (measured using the Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen), the need for support, and support preferences in prison environment. Finally, logistic regression models were run to explore the general association between problem gambling severity, socioeconomic disadvantage, and having a conviction.
Most of the problem gambling-related cases found from the police information system were nonviolent property crimes that were committed at home or at the workplace. In most cases the events were preceded by severe financial problems, the emergence of suitable opportunities to commit a crime and coexisting issues of life-control, such as depression, relationship problems, and substance use. The criminal incidents were classified in three categories: identity theft, unauthorized access, and violent outburst. The crime aftermath consisted of the psychologically distressing process of hiding the trails and revival through getting caught. Reportedly, the main motivation for the crimes was to continue gambling, chase losses, or hide the extent of the individual’s problem gambling from their affected others.
Consistent with previous literature, the results reveal that among help-seeking problem gamblers, being young and having low income and low education predicted gambling-related stealing and cheating. Furthermore, as expected, a long duration of gambling problems also predicted cheating and stealing. Depressive symptoms and having a negative perception on one’s financial situation were also associated to problem gambling-related stealing or cheating. Gender, starting age of gambling, and comorbid substance use were not found to be statistically significant predictors of criminogenic problem gambling. Overall, 37.6% of the screened attendees reported having cheated or stolen to fund their gambling.
According to this study, the prevalence of probable problem gambling is relatively high among prisoners. Past-year pre-conviction prevalence of probable problem gambling was about 16% and past-year prevalence was 15%. One-third of the survey respondents who were sentenced for a property crime, financial crime, or robbery were probable problem gamblers. A majority of the participants who reported that their main crime was gambling-related scored as probable problem gamblers. Of all the respondents, one in four reported an interest in receiving problem gambling-related support. Group support was the most preferred type of support, followed by a personal conversation with a prison staff.
Of the Gambling Harms Survey respondents, 2.1% had been convicted of at least one crime during the past five years and had received a prison sentence, community service, or probation order. Criminal convictions were more common among respondents with problem or pathological gambling (8.8%) compared to at-risk gambling respondents (3.5%), to recreational gamblers (2.0%), and to non-gamblers (1.2%). However, in the models with gender, receiving basic social assistance and education included the gambling variables did not remain statistically significant. The findings suggest that especially receiving basic social assistance is strongly associated with both gambling severity and having a conviction.
The results of the study are further discussed with the pathways model by Blaszczynski and Nower, as well as with mainstream theories of criminology, especially with the general strain theory by Agnew and the routine activities theory by Felson. This study concludes that crime prevention requires early interventions for the financial chaos produced or worsened by problem gambling. A comprehensive selection of support for a variety of problems other than personal financial difficulties is needed to minimize the risk of problem gambling-related criminal activity. In addition, the study implies that social policy, ethically sustainable gambling policy, and criminal policy should be closely intertwined in the spirit of welfare state’s mission to reduce and to prevent social exclusion and social disadvantage.
Kerttula, Tero
Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-951-39-8968-2.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Kerttula2022,
title = {(Broad)casting the game: The spectacle of real in representing and narrating video game play in live-action media},
author = {Tero Kerttula},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8968-2},
isbn = {978-951-39-8968-2},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Jyväskylän yliopisto},
abstract = {Video games have been a notable part of our lives for a long time now, and also in non-playable ways. The games and the action of gaming have been possible to consume through reading magazines and web pages, watching television and in these days, through online videos. In this compilation dissertation I look at the ways the media has used and presented video games and video gaming in the past 40 years. My aim is to prove, that through different means of presentation the role of the player in these presentations rises to equal the role of the games and even surpasses that. At the same time, I attempt to put these presentations in a media-historical timeline and point out the similarities between modern self-made videos and the television productions and games journalism of the past. I research the subject in the preface through the concept of the media spectacle and I’ll also look at the articles the dissertation consists of through the same concept. The concept of the spectacle makes it possible to look at the different media productions from commercialist and nationalistic angle and also to see, which kind of elements of power in present in these productions. The articles approach the subject through narrativization, oral history and triangulation. One notable part of the research is the data compiled of different television shows about video games from the 1980s to present day. With the help of different articles and methods, the research as a whole draws numerous similarities between the media spectacles about video games of the past and modern media productions. The results of the research are many. From the angle of the spectacle, the modern Let’s Play -videos have connections to early television shows and other audiovisual productions. One specific similarity is the emphasis in the presentation of the player instead of the game. Because the early television shows tried to market the games to the audience by using visual methods also seen in sports spectacles, they also marketed the experience of playing video games. The role of the player is also a role of a narrator. Let’s Play -videos can be seen as a specific kind of stories about how the game in the video was like to play. At the same time the videos show the relationship between the player and the game, for example by oral history. This makes the Let’s Play -videos a part of the research of the history of video games and video game culture. These stories have also their roots in the media history. The stories were told especially in video game magazines and their role were quite the same as in the Let’s Plays, to tell a story about a video game experience in a review or a walkthrough. The research also makes a note about competitive gaming – or eSports – and the evolution of it through these media spectacles. From the results it is seen that the modern eSports broadcasts are in many ways alike to early television shows, which incorporated competitive gaming as a part of the show. Those shows in their own turn took influence from sports broadcasts. At the same time the findings suggest, that in the eSports broadcasts the games are comparable to sport disciplines, where the attention in on the athlete, but also on the other factors influencing the spectacle, like the sponsors.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Kanervisto, Anssi
Advances in deep learning for playing video games Väitöskirja
Tietojenkäsittelytiede, Itä-Suomen yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-952-61-4444-3.
Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Kanervisto2022,
title = {Advances in deep learning for playing video games},
author = {Anssi Kanervisto},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-61-4444-3},
isbn = {978-952-61-4444-3},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Tietojenkäsittelytiede, Itä-Suomen yliopisto},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Kahila, Juho
Digital gaming and metagame activities: Opportunities for children’s informal learning Väitöskirja
Kasvatustiede, Itä-Suomen yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-952-61-4730-7.
Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Kahila2022,
title = {Digital gaming and metagame activities: Opportunities for children’s informal learning},
author = {Juho Kahila},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-61-4730-7},
isbn = {978-952-61-4730-7},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
school = {Kasvatustiede, Itä-Suomen yliopisto},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Friman, Usva
Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Turun yliopisto, 2022, ISBN: 978-951-29-8876-1.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game cultural agency, gender, women gamers
@phdthesis{Friman2022,
title = {Gender and game cultural agency in the post-gamer era: Finnish women players’ gaming practices, game cultural participation, and rejected gamer identity},
author = {Usva Friman},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024031210910},
isbn = {978-951-29-8876-1},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
school = {Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Turun yliopisto},
abstract = {This doctoral dissertation study, positioned in the field of game culture studies, seeks to understand women’s game cultural agency by examining the various aspects of gaming practices, game cultural participation, and gamer identity, as well as effects of gender in Finnish women’s digital gaming. Its main research question is: How can women’s game cultural agency be understood beyond the gamer identity? This main research question is divided into three sub research questions:
1. What are women players’ gaming practices like?
2. How does gender affect women players’ game cultural participation?
3. How do women players construct the idea and identity of a gamer?
The theoretical framework of the study is built upon the concepts of game culture, game cultural participation, gamer identity, and gender. In the study, game culture is understood as a Bourdieusian field of culture, hierarchical in its nature. Within this cultural field, an individual’s position is defined by her game cultural capital, based on consumption of game cultural products, participation in game cultural activities, gaming skill, and game cultural expertise. Game cultural participation refers to both participating in game cultural activities and the feeling of belonging in game culture. Gamer identity is seen as a cultural identity – experienced and performed within a specific game cultural context – that requires both identification (from the person seeing herself as a gamer) and validation (from other members of game culture). A person’s gamer identity is performed through the gamer habitus: embodied dispositions and displays of game cultural capital. Gender is understood as embodied performance, set in specific game cultural contexts and against the expectations of hegemonic gamer masculinity.
The primary research material of this study consists of semi-structured theme interviews with 20 interviewees and an online questionnaire with 737 respondents, both collected from Finnish adult women who play digital games. Both the interviews and the online questionnaire report women’s current gaming practices and gaming histories, participation in gaming events, production and consumption of game media, following of and participation in electronic sports, gamer definitions and gamer identity, how gender affects their gaming, and the meanings of gaming in the women’s lives. The material is analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Additionally, narrative literature reviews are conducted to provide theoretical context for the analysis.
The analysis shows that women are active players and game cultural participants (albeit more as consumers than as producers) who display significant game cultural expertise. Importantly, women define their game cultural agency on their own terms, affected by but standing against the gendered norms and expectations of the hegemonic game culture. However, women also encounter significant gender-based barriers to their game cultural participation and agency, leading them to suffer from misogynistic discrimination and harassment, limit their participation for their safety, or even opt out entirely from certain game cultural activities. Most women participating in the study reported their gender having affected their gaming, mostly in negative ways. Supportive social environments appear central to women’s gaming.
The main contribution of this study is providing understanding of how game cultural agency is constructed beyond the idea and identity of a gamer and the gender-specific issues affecting women’s game cultural agency. The results offer valuable insight into gaming practices, game cultural participation, and (rejection of) gamer identities of women players, as well as into women players’ game cultural position as a group that is simultaneously actively participating in and being rejected from game culture. The study increases our understanding of the structures of marginalisation within game culture, which do not only affect women but many other player groups as well.
The results of the study can be applied in efforts to increase the cultural accessibility, inclusivity, and equity of game culture by a variety of game cultural agents, including gaming event and esports tournament organisers, gaming community managers, gaming education and youth workers, and game journalists. Even though the material is focused on Finnish women players, these results can also be applied to other player groups as well as international contexts.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game cultural agency, gender, women gamers},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
1. What are women players’ gaming practices like?
2. How does gender affect women players’ game cultural participation?
3. How do women players construct the idea and identity of a gamer?
The theoretical framework of the study is built upon the concepts of game culture, game cultural participation, gamer identity, and gender. In the study, game culture is understood as a Bourdieusian field of culture, hierarchical in its nature. Within this cultural field, an individual’s position is defined by her game cultural capital, based on consumption of game cultural products, participation in game cultural activities, gaming skill, and game cultural expertise. Game cultural participation refers to both participating in game cultural activities and the feeling of belonging in game culture. Gamer identity is seen as a cultural identity – experienced and performed within a specific game cultural context – that requires both identification (from the person seeing herself as a gamer) and validation (from other members of game culture). A person’s gamer identity is performed through the gamer habitus: embodied dispositions and displays of game cultural capital. Gender is understood as embodied performance, set in specific game cultural contexts and against the expectations of hegemonic gamer masculinity.
The primary research material of this study consists of semi-structured theme interviews with 20 interviewees and an online questionnaire with 737 respondents, both collected from Finnish adult women who play digital games. Both the interviews and the online questionnaire report women’s current gaming practices and gaming histories, participation in gaming events, production and consumption of game media, following of and participation in electronic sports, gamer definitions and gamer identity, how gender affects their gaming, and the meanings of gaming in the women’s lives. The material is analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Additionally, narrative literature reviews are conducted to provide theoretical context for the analysis.
The analysis shows that women are active players and game cultural participants (albeit more as consumers than as producers) who display significant game cultural expertise. Importantly, women define their game cultural agency on their own terms, affected by but standing against the gendered norms and expectations of the hegemonic game culture. However, women also encounter significant gender-based barriers to their game cultural participation and agency, leading them to suffer from misogynistic discrimination and harassment, limit their participation for their safety, or even opt out entirely from certain game cultural activities. Most women participating in the study reported their gender having affected their gaming, mostly in negative ways. Supportive social environments appear central to women’s gaming.
The main contribution of this study is providing understanding of how game cultural agency is constructed beyond the idea and identity of a gamer and the gender-specific issues affecting women’s game cultural agency. The results offer valuable insight into gaming practices, game cultural participation, and (rejection of) gamer identities of women players, as well as into women players’ game cultural position as a group that is simultaneously actively participating in and being rejected from game culture. The study increases our understanding of the structures of marginalisation within game culture, which do not only affect women but many other player groups as well.
The results of the study can be applied in efforts to increase the cultural accessibility, inclusivity, and equity of game culture by a variety of game cultural agents, including gaming event and esports tournament organisers, gaming community managers, gaming education and youth workers, and game journalists. Even though the material is focused on Finnish women players, these results can also be applied to other player groups as well as international contexts.
2021
Törhönen, Maria
Tietotekniikka, Tampereen yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-03-2036-2.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Törhönen2021,
title = {The professionalization of play: Examining the convergence of play and labour in online video content creation},
author = {Maria Törhönen},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2036-2},
isbn = {978-952-03-2036-2},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Tietotekniikka, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {The way in which we approach work and our free time has changed rapidly during the last few decades. The increasing digitalization of our everyday lives and routines, and the development of innovative digital platforms and solutions, has made it possible for us to merge our work and leisure and even turn our leisure into work. This merger of leisure and work can be seen in the emergence of concepts and ideas such as online peer-to-peer trading and resource sharing on digital platforms, but it can also be examined in the way we immerse ourselves into social media formats and casually turn our social media consumption into media production through simple interactions such as posting, sharing media content, and commenting. The modern consumer of digital and social media has rapidly turned into a prosumer of content, a consumer who also produces, and through sophisticated, platform developed incentive programs and changes in our digital economy, these activities are also taking more professionalised forms.
This dissertation will examine the increasing convergence of our labour and leisure lives through the activities of video content creators, in whom this new marriage of work and, playful leisure is representatively present. The dissertation will specifically focus on the behaviours, motivations, and practices of private individuals as video content creators and their effect on the professionalization of these activities, through five studies. The dissertation will utilize theoretical and conceptual understanding from media studies, social psychology, and game research and is primarily based on quantitative data and both on inductive and deductive research approaches. The first study of the dissertation examines the existing literature on the topic of professionalised and commercialized video content creation, which provides an insight into the topic. The second and third studies of the dissertation aim to elucidate the behaviours and perceptions of the content creators by examining the ways in which the perceptions of the activity as either leisure or labour affects the activity and its outcomes, and the actor’s motivations to generate video content online. The fourth and fifth studies examine the practices of video content creators by examining the formulation of popularity in video content creation and the practices of the most popular video content creators on the video sharing platform, Twitch.
The findings of the dissertation reveal various professionalised aspects through the examination of the behaviours, motivations, and practices of video content creators, and also underline the significance of the recreational nature of the activity. The findings of study two discovered that work-oriented video content creators had the highest activity levels and outcomes (e.g., income) from the activity, of the examined groups (work-oriented, play-oriented and playbour-oriented), while the play-oriented content creators were also found to gain good outcomes from their activities with the least amount of effort and the longest tenure from the activity. Similarly to study two, the findings of study three indicated that extrinsic motivations to create video content, such as income and career development, were associated with weekly activity levels of a content creator, while continued engagement with the activity was seen to be related to intrinsic motivations such as enjoyment, and social interaction.
The findings of studies four and five also discovered strategic practices and tools that can be associated with the more professionalised aspects of video content creation, including a new category of tools used purely for revenue generating purposes (such as donation and subscription links and pop-ups). The findings also emphasized more intrinsically significant aspects of the activity, such as the importance of social interaction and the relatability of the online persona. Based on these findings, it could be argued that specific behaviours, motivations and practices of video content creators are associated with the professionalised aspects of the activity, but the intrinsic nature of the activity seems to remain as a significant contributor in the continued engagement in the activity as well as an instrument for increased authenticity and relatedness for video content creators.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
This dissertation will examine the increasing convergence of our labour and leisure lives through the activities of video content creators, in whom this new marriage of work and, playful leisure is representatively present. The dissertation will specifically focus on the behaviours, motivations, and practices of private individuals as video content creators and their effect on the professionalization of these activities, through five studies. The dissertation will utilize theoretical and conceptual understanding from media studies, social psychology, and game research and is primarily based on quantitative data and both on inductive and deductive research approaches. The first study of the dissertation examines the existing literature on the topic of professionalised and commercialized video content creation, which provides an insight into the topic. The second and third studies of the dissertation aim to elucidate the behaviours and perceptions of the content creators by examining the ways in which the perceptions of the activity as either leisure or labour affects the activity and its outcomes, and the actor’s motivations to generate video content online. The fourth and fifth studies examine the practices of video content creators by examining the formulation of popularity in video content creation and the practices of the most popular video content creators on the video sharing platform, Twitch.
The findings of the dissertation reveal various professionalised aspects through the examination of the behaviours, motivations, and practices of video content creators, and also underline the significance of the recreational nature of the activity. The findings of study two discovered that work-oriented video content creators had the highest activity levels and outcomes (e.g., income) from the activity, of the examined groups (work-oriented, play-oriented and playbour-oriented), while the play-oriented content creators were also found to gain good outcomes from their activities with the least amount of effort and the longest tenure from the activity. Similarly to study two, the findings of study three indicated that extrinsic motivations to create video content, such as income and career development, were associated with weekly activity levels of a content creator, while continued engagement with the activity was seen to be related to intrinsic motivations such as enjoyment, and social interaction.
The findings of studies four and five also discovered strategic practices and tools that can be associated with the more professionalised aspects of video content creation, including a new category of tools used purely for revenue generating purposes (such as donation and subscription links and pop-ups). The findings also emphasized more intrinsically significant aspects of the activity, such as the importance of social interaction and the relatability of the online persona. Based on these findings, it could be argued that specific behaviours, motivations and practices of video content creators are associated with the professionalised aspects of the activity, but the intrinsic nature of the activity seems to remain as a significant contributor in the continued engagement in the activity as well as an instrument for increased authenticity and relatedness for video content creators.
Ståhl, Matilda
Kasvatustiede, Åbo Akademi, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-12-4127-7.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: community, diversity, education, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, identities, identity (co)construction, identity construction, online, social media, video games, visuality
@phdthesis{Ståhl2021,
title = {Community, diversity and visuality: An ethno-case study on constructing identities and becoming legitimate participants in online/offline communities},
author = {Matilda Ståhl},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-12-4127-7},
isbn = {978-952-12-4127-7},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Kasvatustiede, Åbo Akademi},
abstract = {Since the launch of the first web browser, the early-nineties was dominated by a view of the Internet as a utopian space for identity play and community building. However online platforms are currently not utopian environments where people can be a anyone or anything they want. This thesis discusses how these online platforms continue to be shaped by the identity categories we inhabit in offline contexts. Here, I view identities as multiple yet parallel, somewhat stable but simultaneously renegotiated and changing with social context. Additionally, the focus is on what characterized the identities that the participants construct rather than the identity categories they inhabit. The overarching aim of the thesis is twofold: a)to explore what frames identity construction online and how the youth participants (co)construct identities on online platforms as well as b) to discuss methodological implications for employing screen recordings in an ethno-case study within educational research. The aim is approached through the following research questions:
RQ1. What frames the possibilities for identity construction online?
RQ2. How is the participant identity (co)construction shaped by these frames?
RQ3. What are the practical ethical challenges with employing ethnographic methods when conducting research on identity (co)construction online?
This thesis is a qualitative case study informed by ethnography, or an ethno-case study. Case study as a methodology focuses on an immersed understanding of a phenomenon trough a specific case and can offer insight into how previous research and empirical data are connected. Both case study and ethnography focus on a participant’s perspective of a phenomenon and use varied forms of data collection. However, in ethnography, more emphasis is put on extended periods of time in the field and gaining insight into this phenomenon from multiple contexts, whereas a case study can be more limited in terms of time and researcher immersion into the field.
Here, the research questions are answered through insight into two cases. The first is ethnographic and thereby spanning a longer time period, with multiple sources of data and where research immersion spans both online and offline contexts. The second is framed as an ethno-case study and thereby employs ethnographic methods on a specific case yet is shorter in timespan than the first and where the data collection primarily focuses on the online context.
The first case, Textmöten, was an ethnographic research collaboration focusing on exploring how students in upper secondary schools in Finland used mobile phones in school. The data consisted of video recordings of students during their school day, during lessons as well as breaks, and at the same time as there was a recording of their mobile phones. The application that allowed the mobile phones to be recorded was student controlled, and the students were thereby in control of the material being recorded. During a total of 18 days, the data was collected between the spring of 2015 to the autumn of 2016 at two different Swedish language upper secondary schools with a total of seven students (of age 16-18 at the time). In addition to the video recordings as well as the recordings of the mobile phones, five of the seven students were interviewed.
The second case, esports in education, was conducted in collaboration with a Swedish language vocational school with an esports programme in Finland in 2017-2018. The aim of the project was to explore online gaming through players that took their play seriously. Seven students (of age 17-18 at the time, all identifying as male) playing CS:GO took part in the study by sharing screen recordings of their in-game matches (ten matches and almost six hours in total) and by taking part in interviews (seven in total). The focus students volunteered to participate in the study through a teacher. The design of the study was dependent on the students’ engagement due to the physical distance between the researchers and participants. Regular meetings, held at their school, functioned as interviews and were recorded.
The thesis focuses on three of the platforms the participants engaged with; Instagram, Tumblr (case 1) and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (case 2). The results show that the participants identity (co)construction online was framed by both the platforms technical affordances as well as the online and offline communities they were part of. Additionally, their identity (co)construction was characterized by visuality, community and diversity. The practical ethical challenges revolved around maintaining participant integrity in terms of; a) gaining informed consent from players that became co-observed, b) defining privacy online during the analysis as well as in the published results and c) portraying participants accurately despite stakeholder interests.},
keywords = {community, diversity, education, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, identities, identity (co)construction, identity construction, online, social media, video games, visuality},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
RQ1. What frames the possibilities for identity construction online?
RQ2. How is the participant identity (co)construction shaped by these frames?
RQ3. What are the practical ethical challenges with employing ethnographic methods when conducting research on identity (co)construction online?
This thesis is a qualitative case study informed by ethnography, or an ethno-case study. Case study as a methodology focuses on an immersed understanding of a phenomenon trough a specific case and can offer insight into how previous research and empirical data are connected. Both case study and ethnography focus on a participant’s perspective of a phenomenon and use varied forms of data collection. However, in ethnography, more emphasis is put on extended periods of time in the field and gaining insight into this phenomenon from multiple contexts, whereas a case study can be more limited in terms of time and researcher immersion into the field.
Here, the research questions are answered through insight into two cases. The first is ethnographic and thereby spanning a longer time period, with multiple sources of data and where research immersion spans both online and offline contexts. The second is framed as an ethno-case study and thereby employs ethnographic methods on a specific case yet is shorter in timespan than the first and where the data collection primarily focuses on the online context.
The first case, Textmöten, was an ethnographic research collaboration focusing on exploring how students in upper secondary schools in Finland used mobile phones in school. The data consisted of video recordings of students during their school day, during lessons as well as breaks, and at the same time as there was a recording of their mobile phones. The application that allowed the mobile phones to be recorded was student controlled, and the students were thereby in control of the material being recorded. During a total of 18 days, the data was collected between the spring of 2015 to the autumn of 2016 at two different Swedish language upper secondary schools with a total of seven students (of age 16-18 at the time). In addition to the video recordings as well as the recordings of the mobile phones, five of the seven students were interviewed.
The second case, esports in education, was conducted in collaboration with a Swedish language vocational school with an esports programme in Finland in 2017-2018. The aim of the project was to explore online gaming through players that took their play seriously. Seven students (of age 17-18 at the time, all identifying as male) playing CS:GO took part in the study by sharing screen recordings of their in-game matches (ten matches and almost six hours in total) and by taking part in interviews (seven in total). The focus students volunteered to participate in the study through a teacher. The design of the study was dependent on the students’ engagement due to the physical distance between the researchers and participants. Regular meetings, held at their school, functioned as interviews and were recorded.
The thesis focuses on three of the platforms the participants engaged with; Instagram, Tumblr (case 1) and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (case 2). The results show that the participants identity (co)construction online was framed by both the platforms technical affordances as well as the online and offline communities they were part of. Additionally, their identity (co)construction was characterized by visuality, community and diversity. The practical ethical challenges revolved around maintaining participant integrity in terms of; a) gaining informed consent from players that became co-observed, b) defining privacy online during the analysis as well as in the published results and c) portraying participants accurately despite stakeholder interests.
Selin, Jukka
Tietomallin pelillistäminen ja toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmä rakennusten suunnittelun apuna Väitöskirja
Vuorovaikutteinen teknologia, Tampereen yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-03-1888-8.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: suomenkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Selin2021,
title = {Tietomallin pelillistäminen ja toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmä rakennusten suunnittelun apuna},
author = {Jukka Selin},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-1888-8},
isbn = {978-952-03-1888-8},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Vuorovaikutteinen teknologia, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {Rakennuksen suunnittelussa ja elinkaaren eri vaiheissa tarvitaan useamman eri alan ja toimijan asiantuntemuksen yhdistämistä. Tarvitaan mm. rakennussuunnittelua, rakennesuunnittelua, sähkösuunnittelua ja LVI-suunnittelua. Nykyisin rakennussuunnittelussa on laajalti siirrytty kolmiulotteiseen suunnitteluun ja tietomallinnukseen. Tietomallinnusta kutsutaan yleisesti nimellä BIM (Building Information Modeling). BIM on kehitetty parantamaan ja tehostamaan yhteistyötä eri toimijoiden välillä. Perusajatuksena on pitää kaikki rakentamista koskevat tiedot loogisesti yhdessä paikassa. Fyysisesti tietomalli voi olla keskitetty tai hajautettu. Tietomalli voi palvella kohteen suunnittelua ja rakentamista, mutta sitä voidaan ylläpitää ja hyödyntää myös koko kohteen elinkaaren ajan. Tällöin se voisi toimia käyttöliittymänä esimerkiksi rakennuksen valvontaan ja ylläpitoon.
Tutkimukset ovat myös osoittaneet, että kohteiden kolmiulotteinen mallintaminen kannattaa. Kohteiden esittely kolmiulotteisesti helpottaa huomattavasti ymmärrystä kohteesta ja parantaa tätä kautta eri toimijoiden välistä yhteistyötä rakennuksen elinkaaren kaikissa vaiheissa aina suunnittelusta ylläpitoon. (Hilfert & König, 2016.) Nykyisin rakennussuunnittelu toteutetaan yleensä kolmiulotteisena ja osana kohteen tietomallia luodaan rakennuksen erilaiset 3D-mallit. Eräs tällainen osamalli on arkkitehtimalli, joka kuvaa kohdetta arkkitehtisuunnittelun näkökulmasta. Luonnollinen jatke tietomallinnukselle onkin tietomallin pelillistäminen. Pelillistämisellä tarkoitetaan pelinkehitysmenetelmien ja -välineiden hyödyntämistä muussa kuin pelikontekstissa. Tässä tapauksessa konteksti on ensisijaisesti rakennusten suunnittelu ja rakentaminen, sekä tätä kautta suunnitelmien havainnollistaminen. (Seaborn & Felsh, 2015.)
Tietomallin pelillistäminen sisältää yleensä ainakin vapaan liikkumisen rakennuksessa, mutta siihen voi liittyä myös monia muita ominaisuuksia, jotka tukevat kohteen suunnittelua, visualisointia ja ylläpitoa. Monet CAD-ohjelmistot sisältävät jo nykyisin yksinkertaiset pelillistämisen työkalut. Jos pelillistäminen toteutetaan pelimoottoreiden avulla, saadaan pelillistettyyn tietomalliin toteutettua juuri halutun kaltaiset ominaisuudet.
Väitöskirjassa esitetään ideoita ja menetelmiä, sekä niiden testaamiseksi toteutettuja pilotointeja tietomallin pelillistämiseksi ja pelillistetyn tietomallin hyödyntämiseksi rakennuksen elinkaaren eri vaiheissa suunnittelusta aina rakennuksen ylläpitoon asti. Merkittävimmät aihealueet ovat tilantarpeiden mitoitus, esteettömyys, turvallisuus ja suunnittelun joukkoistaminen. Väitöskirjassa esitettävät ideat ja menetelmät, sekä niihin liittyvät pilotoinnit hyödyntävät keksimääni patentoitua toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmää (FDM = Functional Design Method). FDM tarjoaa idean ja menetelmän kohteessa tapahtuvan todellisen toiminnan vaatiman tilantarpeen nykyistä parempaan huomioimiseen kohteen elinkaaren eri vaiheissa. Menetelmälle on myönnetty patentti Suomessa sekä USA:ssa.
Olemme tutkineet kehittämiemme ideoiden ja menetelmien toimivuutta käytännössä toteuttamalla erilaisia pilotointeja. Toteutimme pilotointien yhteydessä joukon artefakteja, joiden avulla pilotoinnit suoritettiin. Suoritimme jokaisen pilotoinnin aikana osallistuvaa havainnointia, sekä toteutimme avoimen haastattelututkimuksen pilotointiin osallistuneille toimijoille. Lisäksi suoritimme muutamia teemahaastatteluja. Pilotointien avulla tutkittiin ensisijaisesti keksimäni toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmän hyödyntämistä yhdessä rakennuksen pelillistetyn tietomallin kanssa erilaisissa kohteissa. Ensimmäisen pilotoinnin aihe on rakennuksen esteettömyyden suunnittelu. Toinen pilotointi liittyy rakennuksen hätäpoistumisen suunnitteluun ja mitoitukseen, sekä tekoälyn ja dataanalytiikan hyödyntämiseen suunnittelussa. Kolmannen ja neljännen pilotoinnin aiheena on suunnittelun joukkoistaminen monipelitekniikoita ja epälineaarisen tarinankerronnan menetelmiä ja työkaluja hyödyntäen.
Väitöskirjan edustama tieteenfilosofinen suuntaus on konstruktivismi ja siinä hyödynnetään konstruktiivista tutkimusotetta suunnittelutieteen ja suunnittelututkimuksen menetelmien avulla. Tutkimusten empiirinen aineisto on kerätty pääosin laadullisin menetelmin osallistuvaa havainnointia, avoimia haastatteluja ja teemahaastatteluja hyödyntäen. Lisäksi väitöskirja sisältää kirjallisuuskatsauksen, jonka avulla esitetään alan aikaisempaa tutkimusta ja jonka avulla perustellaan myös tämän väitöstutkimuksen tarvetta.
Väitöskirjan sisältämä kirjallisuuskatsaus osoittaa, että tutkijat ovat havainneet tarpeen saada toiminnallisuus ja käyttäjien aktiviteetit nykyistä suurempaan rooliin rakennussuunnittelussa heti suunnittelun alusta alkaen. Lisäksi suunnitelmien parempi havainnollisuus ja tätä kautta käyttäjien nykyistä voimakkaampi mukaan ottaminen
suunnitteluun ovat tutkijoiden mielestä rakennussuunnittelun keskeisiä vaatimuksia nyt ja tulevaisuudessa. Myös erilaiset simulaatiot ja suunnittelun avoimuus esimerkiksi joukkoistamisen avulla ovat toivottuja kehityssuuntia. Samansuuntaisia tuloksia saimme myös pilotointien yhteydessä tekemistämme haastatteluista. Haastattelut kohdistuivat pääosin TKI-hankkeidemme yhteistyökumppaneina toimiviin rakennusalan yrityksiin. Heidän keskeisin vaatimuksensa oli rakennuksessa tapahtuvan toiminnallisuuden parempi huomioiminen heti suunnittelun alusta lähtien, sekä rakennussuunnitelmien havainnollisuuden parantaminen yleisesti. Lisäksi he olivat erittäin kiinnostuneita löytämään tietomallille uusia käyttökohteita esimerkiksi pelillistämisen kautta. Väitöskirjan esittämät menetelmät ja niihin liittyvät pilotoinnit pyrkivät osaltaan vastaamaan näihin edellä esitettyihin haasteisiin. Keksimäni toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmä auttaa suunnittelijoita mitoittamaan tiloja tiloissa tapahtuvan toiminnan ja aktiviteettien ehdoilla. Kehittämämme menetelmä ja menetelmää tukeva prosessi Open BIM -standardin mukaisen tietomallin pelillistämiseksi puolestaan auttaa havainnollistamaan rakennussuunnitelmia ja tätä kautta ottamaan myös muut kuin rakennusalan ammattilaiset suunnitteluun paremmin mukaan jo heti suunnittelun alussa. Tätä tavoitetta tukee myös pilotoimamme monen samanaikaisen käyttäjän suunnitteluympäristöt, jotka mahdollistavat mm. suunnittelun joukkoistamisen.
Yhteistyöyrityksemme ovat testanneet kehittämiämme menetelmiä omissa kaupallisissa projekteissaan. Osa näistä testeistä liittyy myös suoraan heidän kanssaan tekemiimme pilotointeihin. Esimerkiksi tietomallin pelillistämisen menetelmää ja menetelmää tukevaa prosessia on testattu Mikkelin keskussairaalan uusien rakennusten pelillistämisessä, Pieksämäen keskustaan rakennetun kauppakeskuksen pelillistämisessä, Pieksämäen uuden Hiekanpään koulukeskuksen pelillistämisessä ja erään uuden paloaseman pelillistämisessä. Lisäksi he ovat testanneet toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmää Pieksämäen keskustan kauppakeskuksen hätäpoistumisen simuloinnin asiakasprofiilien määrityksessä, sekä esteettömyyden simuloinnissa ja mitoituksessa. Myös suunnittelun joukkoistamista on testattu jo kahdessa käytännön yritysprojektissa. Nämä projektit ovat Hiekanpään koulukeskuksen kalustesuunnittelu ja paloaseman yhteissuunnittelu.
Kirjallisuuskatsauksen lisäksi pilotointien yhteydessä yhteistyöyrityksiin ja muihin hankkeen toimijoihin kohdistamamme haastattelut osoittavat, että toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmä yhdessä rakennuksen pelillistetyn tietomallin kanssa tarjoaa merkittävää lisäarvoa rakennuksen suunnittelulle ja ylläpidolle koko rakennuksen elinkaaren ajan. Erilaisia käyttökohteita on paljon. Pilotoimamme ideat esteettömyyden suunnittelusta, tilojen mitoituksesta, turvallisuuden simuloinnista ja suunnittelun joukkoistamisesta tukevat näkemyksiämme toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmän ja rakennuksen pelillistetyn tietomallin soveltuvuudesta ja niiden tuomasta lisäarvosta tietomallipohjaiselle rakennussuunnittelulle. Tätä näkemystä vahvistaa vielä yhteistyöyritystemme omissa kaupallisissa projekteissaan tekemät havainnot, jotka ovat myös tulleet esille hankkeiden aikana ja pilotointien yhteydessä tekemissämme haastatteluissa. Tähän väitöskirjaan liittyvät julkaisut käsittelevät pääosin näitä aihealueita eri näkökulmista.},
keywords = {suomenkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Tutkimukset ovat myös osoittaneet, että kohteiden kolmiulotteinen mallintaminen kannattaa. Kohteiden esittely kolmiulotteisesti helpottaa huomattavasti ymmärrystä kohteesta ja parantaa tätä kautta eri toimijoiden välistä yhteistyötä rakennuksen elinkaaren kaikissa vaiheissa aina suunnittelusta ylläpitoon. (Hilfert & König, 2016.) Nykyisin rakennussuunnittelu toteutetaan yleensä kolmiulotteisena ja osana kohteen tietomallia luodaan rakennuksen erilaiset 3D-mallit. Eräs tällainen osamalli on arkkitehtimalli, joka kuvaa kohdetta arkkitehtisuunnittelun näkökulmasta. Luonnollinen jatke tietomallinnukselle onkin tietomallin pelillistäminen. Pelillistämisellä tarkoitetaan pelinkehitysmenetelmien ja -välineiden hyödyntämistä muussa kuin pelikontekstissa. Tässä tapauksessa konteksti on ensisijaisesti rakennusten suunnittelu ja rakentaminen, sekä tätä kautta suunnitelmien havainnollistaminen. (Seaborn & Felsh, 2015.)
Tietomallin pelillistäminen sisältää yleensä ainakin vapaan liikkumisen rakennuksessa, mutta siihen voi liittyä myös monia muita ominaisuuksia, jotka tukevat kohteen suunnittelua, visualisointia ja ylläpitoa. Monet CAD-ohjelmistot sisältävät jo nykyisin yksinkertaiset pelillistämisen työkalut. Jos pelillistäminen toteutetaan pelimoottoreiden avulla, saadaan pelillistettyyn tietomalliin toteutettua juuri halutun kaltaiset ominaisuudet.
Väitöskirjassa esitetään ideoita ja menetelmiä, sekä niiden testaamiseksi toteutettuja pilotointeja tietomallin pelillistämiseksi ja pelillistetyn tietomallin hyödyntämiseksi rakennuksen elinkaaren eri vaiheissa suunnittelusta aina rakennuksen ylläpitoon asti. Merkittävimmät aihealueet ovat tilantarpeiden mitoitus, esteettömyys, turvallisuus ja suunnittelun joukkoistaminen. Väitöskirjassa esitettävät ideat ja menetelmät, sekä niihin liittyvät pilotoinnit hyödyntävät keksimääni patentoitua toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmää (FDM = Functional Design Method). FDM tarjoaa idean ja menetelmän kohteessa tapahtuvan todellisen toiminnan vaatiman tilantarpeen nykyistä parempaan huomioimiseen kohteen elinkaaren eri vaiheissa. Menetelmälle on myönnetty patentti Suomessa sekä USA:ssa.
Olemme tutkineet kehittämiemme ideoiden ja menetelmien toimivuutta käytännössä toteuttamalla erilaisia pilotointeja. Toteutimme pilotointien yhteydessä joukon artefakteja, joiden avulla pilotoinnit suoritettiin. Suoritimme jokaisen pilotoinnin aikana osallistuvaa havainnointia, sekä toteutimme avoimen haastattelututkimuksen pilotointiin osallistuneille toimijoille. Lisäksi suoritimme muutamia teemahaastatteluja. Pilotointien avulla tutkittiin ensisijaisesti keksimäni toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmän hyödyntämistä yhdessä rakennuksen pelillistetyn tietomallin kanssa erilaisissa kohteissa. Ensimmäisen pilotoinnin aihe on rakennuksen esteettömyyden suunnittelu. Toinen pilotointi liittyy rakennuksen hätäpoistumisen suunnitteluun ja mitoitukseen, sekä tekoälyn ja dataanalytiikan hyödyntämiseen suunnittelussa. Kolmannen ja neljännen pilotoinnin aiheena on suunnittelun joukkoistaminen monipelitekniikoita ja epälineaarisen tarinankerronnan menetelmiä ja työkaluja hyödyntäen.
Väitöskirjan edustama tieteenfilosofinen suuntaus on konstruktivismi ja siinä hyödynnetään konstruktiivista tutkimusotetta suunnittelutieteen ja suunnittelututkimuksen menetelmien avulla. Tutkimusten empiirinen aineisto on kerätty pääosin laadullisin menetelmin osallistuvaa havainnointia, avoimia haastatteluja ja teemahaastatteluja hyödyntäen. Lisäksi väitöskirja sisältää kirjallisuuskatsauksen, jonka avulla esitetään alan aikaisempaa tutkimusta ja jonka avulla perustellaan myös tämän väitöstutkimuksen tarvetta.
Väitöskirjan sisältämä kirjallisuuskatsaus osoittaa, että tutkijat ovat havainneet tarpeen saada toiminnallisuus ja käyttäjien aktiviteetit nykyistä suurempaan rooliin rakennussuunnittelussa heti suunnittelun alusta alkaen. Lisäksi suunnitelmien parempi havainnollisuus ja tätä kautta käyttäjien nykyistä voimakkaampi mukaan ottaminen
suunnitteluun ovat tutkijoiden mielestä rakennussuunnittelun keskeisiä vaatimuksia nyt ja tulevaisuudessa. Myös erilaiset simulaatiot ja suunnittelun avoimuus esimerkiksi joukkoistamisen avulla ovat toivottuja kehityssuuntia. Samansuuntaisia tuloksia saimme myös pilotointien yhteydessä tekemistämme haastatteluista. Haastattelut kohdistuivat pääosin TKI-hankkeidemme yhteistyökumppaneina toimiviin rakennusalan yrityksiin. Heidän keskeisin vaatimuksensa oli rakennuksessa tapahtuvan toiminnallisuuden parempi huomioiminen heti suunnittelun alusta lähtien, sekä rakennussuunnitelmien havainnollisuuden parantaminen yleisesti. Lisäksi he olivat erittäin kiinnostuneita löytämään tietomallille uusia käyttökohteita esimerkiksi pelillistämisen kautta. Väitöskirjan esittämät menetelmät ja niihin liittyvät pilotoinnit pyrkivät osaltaan vastaamaan näihin edellä esitettyihin haasteisiin. Keksimäni toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmä auttaa suunnittelijoita mitoittamaan tiloja tiloissa tapahtuvan toiminnan ja aktiviteettien ehdoilla. Kehittämämme menetelmä ja menetelmää tukeva prosessi Open BIM -standardin mukaisen tietomallin pelillistämiseksi puolestaan auttaa havainnollistamaan rakennussuunnitelmia ja tätä kautta ottamaan myös muut kuin rakennusalan ammattilaiset suunnitteluun paremmin mukaan jo heti suunnittelun alussa. Tätä tavoitetta tukee myös pilotoimamme monen samanaikaisen käyttäjän suunnitteluympäristöt, jotka mahdollistavat mm. suunnittelun joukkoistamisen.
Yhteistyöyrityksemme ovat testanneet kehittämiämme menetelmiä omissa kaupallisissa projekteissaan. Osa näistä testeistä liittyy myös suoraan heidän kanssaan tekemiimme pilotointeihin. Esimerkiksi tietomallin pelillistämisen menetelmää ja menetelmää tukevaa prosessia on testattu Mikkelin keskussairaalan uusien rakennusten pelillistämisessä, Pieksämäen keskustaan rakennetun kauppakeskuksen pelillistämisessä, Pieksämäen uuden Hiekanpään koulukeskuksen pelillistämisessä ja erään uuden paloaseman pelillistämisessä. Lisäksi he ovat testanneet toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmää Pieksämäen keskustan kauppakeskuksen hätäpoistumisen simuloinnin asiakasprofiilien määrityksessä, sekä esteettömyyden simuloinnissa ja mitoituksessa. Myös suunnittelun joukkoistamista on testattu jo kahdessa käytännön yritysprojektissa. Nämä projektit ovat Hiekanpään koulukeskuksen kalustesuunnittelu ja paloaseman yhteissuunnittelu.
Kirjallisuuskatsauksen lisäksi pilotointien yhteydessä yhteistyöyrityksiin ja muihin hankkeen toimijoihin kohdistamamme haastattelut osoittavat, että toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmä yhdessä rakennuksen pelillistetyn tietomallin kanssa tarjoaa merkittävää lisäarvoa rakennuksen suunnittelulle ja ylläpidolle koko rakennuksen elinkaaren ajan. Erilaisia käyttökohteita on paljon. Pilotoimamme ideat esteettömyyden suunnittelusta, tilojen mitoituksesta, turvallisuuden simuloinnista ja suunnittelun joukkoistamisesta tukevat näkemyksiämme toiminnallisen suunnittelun menetelmän ja rakennuksen pelillistetyn tietomallin soveltuvuudesta ja niiden tuomasta lisäarvosta tietomallipohjaiselle rakennussuunnittelulle. Tätä näkemystä vahvistaa vielä yhteistyöyritystemme omissa kaupallisissa projekteissaan tekemät havainnot, jotka ovat myös tulleet esille hankkeiden aikana ja pilotointien yhteydessä tekemissämme haastatteluissa. Tähän väitöskirjaan liittyvät julkaisut käsittelevät pääosin näitä aihealueita eri näkökulmista.
Sirola, Anu
Web of gamble: A social psychological perspective on youth gambling and virtual communities Väitöskirja
Sosiaalipsykologia, Tampereen yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-03-1812-3.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Sirola2021,
title = {Web of gamble: A social psychological perspective on youth gambling and virtual communities},
author = {Anu Sirola},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-1812-3},
isbn = {978-952-03-1812-3},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Sosiaalipsykologia, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {The Internet and social media have facilitated gambling opportunities, and gambling content has become highly visible in an online context. Gambling has gained popularity worldwide, and youth problem gambling in particular is an increasing concern. Digital games increasingly include monetary gambling-like features such as microtransactions and loot boxes, blurring the line between gambling and gaming and exposing young players to mechanisms of gambling. The Internet also provides social platforms for gamblers and gamers to interact and connect, both inside and outside a game. As active online users, youth actively engage in different online games and utilize virtual communities to interact around shared interests. Virtual communities may shape gambling attitudes and behavior through social norms and peer influence. In this doctoral dissertation of social psychology, it was examined what is the role of virtual communities and social media behavior in gambling and gambling-like intentions and behaviors. Gambling-like mechanisms in digital games are scrutinized, as well as differences and similarities in the social aspects of gambling and monetary gaming. This dissertation provides a social psychological perspective on youth gambling and gaming by examining the role of virtual communities and the underlying social factors in such behaviors.
This dissertation consists of four separate studies. Cross-national survey data of 15- to 25-year-old respondents from four countries were used: Finland (N = 1,200), the United States (N = 1,212), South Korea (N = 1,192) and Spain (N = 1,212). Survey data were used to examine factors associated with online gambling community participation and interest toward online gambling content among youth. Systematic literature data were used to widen the scope of gambling in the dissertation by exploring and comparing the role of virtual communities in gambling and monetary gaming behaviors.
According to the results, participation in virtual gambling communities such as discussion forums is associated with gambling problems, posing a potential risk for excessive gambling. Some country differences were found in underlying factors, such as sense of loneliness, in active online gambling community participation. Gambling communities differ in their stance on gambling. Some communities are related to gambling strategies and tips, while others focus on problem gambling recovery and harms caused by gambling. Thus, depending on the community norms, gambling communities may normalize excessive or moderate forms of gambling. In digital games, a community aspect is often inherently embedded inside the game. Further, there is strong evidence that the social aspect of game communities can motivate ingame purchase intentions and gaming continuation, posing a potential risk for excessive money consumption. The results suggest that strong attachment to a virtual community, together with perceived group norms and mechanisms of social influence, are risk factors to excessive gambling behavior, attitudes and purchase intentions. Moreover, gambling content that is approved by peers in social media is likely to make the content appear more interesting and increase the likelihood to act on such content. The results emphasize the risky nature of social media and emerging group processes in online gambling exposure and normalization of gambling. The findings provide topical knowledge and practical implications for players, parents and health care professionals to help reduce excessive gambling and game-related purchase behaviors.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
This dissertation consists of four separate studies. Cross-national survey data of 15- to 25-year-old respondents from four countries were used: Finland (N = 1,200), the United States (N = 1,212), South Korea (N = 1,192) and Spain (N = 1,212). Survey data were used to examine factors associated with online gambling community participation and interest toward online gambling content among youth. Systematic literature data were used to widen the scope of gambling in the dissertation by exploring and comparing the role of virtual communities in gambling and monetary gaming behaviors.
According to the results, participation in virtual gambling communities such as discussion forums is associated with gambling problems, posing a potential risk for excessive gambling. Some country differences were found in underlying factors, such as sense of loneliness, in active online gambling community participation. Gambling communities differ in their stance on gambling. Some communities are related to gambling strategies and tips, while others focus on problem gambling recovery and harms caused by gambling. Thus, depending on the community norms, gambling communities may normalize excessive or moderate forms of gambling. In digital games, a community aspect is often inherently embedded inside the game. Further, there is strong evidence that the social aspect of game communities can motivate ingame purchase intentions and gaming continuation, posing a potential risk for excessive money consumption. The results suggest that strong attachment to a virtual community, together with perceived group norms and mechanisms of social influence, are risk factors to excessive gambling behavior, attitudes and purchase intentions. Moreover, gambling content that is approved by peers in social media is likely to make the content appear more interesting and increase the likelihood to act on such content. The results emphasize the risky nature of social media and emerging group processes in online gambling exposure and normalization of gambling. The findings provide topical knowledge and practical implications for players, parents and health care professionals to help reduce excessive gambling and game-related purchase behaviors.
Macey, Joseph
A whole new ball game: The growing prevalence of video game-related gambling Väitöskirja
Ihmiset ja teknologiat, Tampereen yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-03-2191-8.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Macey2021,
title = {A whole new ball game: The growing prevalence of video game-related gambling},
author = {Joseph Macey},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2191-8},
isbn = {978-952-03-2191-8},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Ihmiset ja teknologiat, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {Recent decades have seen the parallel trends of the growing liberalisation of gambling practices and the increasing significance of games as both entertainment media and cultural reference points. It is, therefore, unsurprising that there has been a rapid convergence between video game play and gambling; it is a process in which traditional distinctions are becoming increasingly blurred, creating not only new activities and driving the development of new social relationships and consumption practices.
The convergence of gaming and gambling facilitated by digital technologies has become the subject of growing academic attention in in recent years, spurred by the rapidly growing social and economic impact of these digital media products. Much attention has been focused on the in-game items known as loot boxes, however, there are many more examples of gambling, and gambling-like mechanics, being used to drive player engagement and, consequently, monetisation. Concerns have been raised about such developments, with commentators arguing that they are inherently exploitative, that they normalise gambling and gambling-like interactions, and that they encourage problematic consumption.
At the time this research was conducted, there existed a significant and notable dearth of empirical work addressing video games and gambling, with what published works there were predominantly focusing on legal and regulatory issues. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to investigate the emerging phenomenon of video game-related gambling (such as esports betting, virtual item lotteries, loot boxes, and other emergent practices) and its connection to video gaming habits, maladaptive cognitions, and motivations for consumption of online services. The work is divided into a series of complementary perspectives that, in unison, provide both depth and breadth to the investigation.
This dissertation constitutes the first empirical work dedicated to the study of video game-related gambling as a distinct topic; previously, work in this area had addressed individual activities, for example SCG or esports betting. In particular, the articles included as part of this work were among the first to address the role of loot boxes and other virtual items in facilitating gambling related to video games, an issue which has since gathered significant attention from within academia and beyond. Furthermore, this work provides a record of video game-related gambling at a key period of its development, a time of significant change and increased attention from those both inside and outside of the video game ecosystem.
Whereas prior works had examined populations of video game players, esports fans, or gamblers, this work is the first to identify those who reside at the intersection of these groups: those who participate in video game-related gambling specifically. A particular contribution of this work has been to highlight the presence of under-age individuals in the video game-gambling ecosystem. This is a group who are often absent from such studies, despite the increased risks known to be associated with early exposure to gambling.
Building upon these areas, this dissertation includes one of the first studies of gambling-related cognitions among video gamers who gamble; as a result of this work it developed the first measure for identifying such cognitions in this population. At the same time providing knowledge which can improve established measures used to identify gambling-related cognitions in traditional gambling populations, for example in reference to the ways in which luck and skill are conceptualised.
The knowledge generated by this body of work, both practical and theoretical, has contributed greatly to understanding the relationships between video game play and gambling behaviour. It has added to the growing body of evidence which questions the perspective that playing video games contributes directly to the development of problematic gambling. Instead, it highlights the influence of contextual factors, such as the surrounding consumption cultures associated with particular games or media formats, which are of greater significance to the development of gambling behaviours, rather than simply playing games.
All four articles included in this work employ quantitative methodologies in order to gain high-level insights into the phenomenon; they are among the first empirical investigations of video game-related gambling and its varied manifestations and, as such, provide a foundation upon which further research into specific phenomena can be built, while also serving as a record of activities and behaviours during a period of notable change in the field.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
The convergence of gaming and gambling facilitated by digital technologies has become the subject of growing academic attention in in recent years, spurred by the rapidly growing social and economic impact of these digital media products. Much attention has been focused on the in-game items known as loot boxes, however, there are many more examples of gambling, and gambling-like mechanics, being used to drive player engagement and, consequently, monetisation. Concerns have been raised about such developments, with commentators arguing that they are inherently exploitative, that they normalise gambling and gambling-like interactions, and that they encourage problematic consumption.
At the time this research was conducted, there existed a significant and notable dearth of empirical work addressing video games and gambling, with what published works there were predominantly focusing on legal and regulatory issues. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to investigate the emerging phenomenon of video game-related gambling (such as esports betting, virtual item lotteries, loot boxes, and other emergent practices) and its connection to video gaming habits, maladaptive cognitions, and motivations for consumption of online services. The work is divided into a series of complementary perspectives that, in unison, provide both depth and breadth to the investigation.
This dissertation constitutes the first empirical work dedicated to the study of video game-related gambling as a distinct topic; previously, work in this area had addressed individual activities, for example SCG or esports betting. In particular, the articles included as part of this work were among the first to address the role of loot boxes and other virtual items in facilitating gambling related to video games, an issue which has since gathered significant attention from within academia and beyond. Furthermore, this work provides a record of video game-related gambling at a key period of its development, a time of significant change and increased attention from those both inside and outside of the video game ecosystem.
Whereas prior works had examined populations of video game players, esports fans, or gamblers, this work is the first to identify those who reside at the intersection of these groups: those who participate in video game-related gambling specifically. A particular contribution of this work has been to highlight the presence of under-age individuals in the video game-gambling ecosystem. This is a group who are often absent from such studies, despite the increased risks known to be associated with early exposure to gambling.
Building upon these areas, this dissertation includes one of the first studies of gambling-related cognitions among video gamers who gamble; as a result of this work it developed the first measure for identifying such cognitions in this population. At the same time providing knowledge which can improve established measures used to identify gambling-related cognitions in traditional gambling populations, for example in reference to the ways in which luck and skill are conceptualised.
The knowledge generated by this body of work, both practical and theoretical, has contributed greatly to understanding the relationships between video game play and gambling behaviour. It has added to the growing body of evidence which questions the perspective that playing video games contributes directly to the development of problematic gambling. Instead, it highlights the influence of contextual factors, such as the surrounding consumption cultures associated with particular games or media formats, which are of greater significance to the development of gambling behaviours, rather than simply playing games.
All four articles included in this work employ quantitative methodologies in order to gain high-level insights into the phenomenon; they are among the first empirical investigations of video game-related gambling and its varied manifestations and, as such, provide a foundation upon which further research into specific phenomena can be built, while also serving as a record of activities and behaviours during a period of notable change in the field.
Leinonen, Anna-Maiju
Technology for promoting physical activity in young men Väitöskirja
Lääketieteen tekniikka, Oulun yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-62-2887-7.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: activity monitor, adolescent, behavior change, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, gamification, health, sedentary behavior, self-monitoring
@phdthesis{Leinonen2021,
title = {Technology for promoting physical activity in young men},
author = {Anna-Maiju Leinonen},
url = {http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526228877},
isbn = {978-952-62-2887-7},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = { Lääketieteen tekniikka, Oulun yliopisto},
abstract = {Although the health benefits of physical activity (PA) are well known, the majority of adolescents are not sufficiently physically active. New innovative ways to promote active lifestyles are needed. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a wrist-worn activity monitor (Polar Active) and a gamified web-based mobile service in promoting PA in young men. The study also examined the convergent validity between three different accelerometer-based PA measurement methods.
In this study, two randomized controlled trials (RCT) were conducted in Oulu, Finland among 18-year-old men. The three-month RCT (n=276) was conducted in fall 2012 and the six-month population-based RCT (n=496) between September 2013 and March 2014. In both trials, participants were randomized to an intervention and a control group. The intervention group was given the wrist-worn Polar Active monitor with PA feedback. In the six-month trial, the intervention group also got access to a mobile service developed in this study. During both trials, PA was continuously measured in both study groups. In the control group, PA was measured with an otherwise similar monitor but which provided only the time of day and no feedback. The convergent validity was examined between the agreement in time spent at different PA levels using Polar Active, mean amplitude deviation (MAD) of raw acceleration, and Actigraph with the Freedson thresholds. In the validation study, all three activity monitors were continuously used for two weeks by 41 volunteers.
The three-month trial had a short-term positive effect on daily moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and sedentary time in the intervention group. The positive change in sedentary time was sustained for longer. During the six-month trial, a positive trend in favor of the intervention group was observed in daily MVPA. Low amount of daily vigorous PA at baseline was associated with the increase in MVPA. The functionalities of the mobile service related to PA were perceived as important and motivating, but the overall compliance with using the service and activity monitor remained low. In free-living conditions, the agreement between Polar Active, MAD, and Actigraph was dependent on the activity thresholds used and PA intensity. The information provided by this study can be utilized in future development of technology-based health services for activating young people.},
keywords = {activity monitor, adolescent, behavior change, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, gamification, health, sedentary behavior, self-monitoring},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
In this study, two randomized controlled trials (RCT) were conducted in Oulu, Finland among 18-year-old men. The three-month RCT (n=276) was conducted in fall 2012 and the six-month population-based RCT (n=496) between September 2013 and March 2014. In both trials, participants were randomized to an intervention and a control group. The intervention group was given the wrist-worn Polar Active monitor with PA feedback. In the six-month trial, the intervention group also got access to a mobile service developed in this study. During both trials, PA was continuously measured in both study groups. In the control group, PA was measured with an otherwise similar monitor but which provided only the time of day and no feedback. The convergent validity was examined between the agreement in time spent at different PA levels using Polar Active, mean amplitude deviation (MAD) of raw acceleration, and Actigraph with the Freedson thresholds. In the validation study, all three activity monitors were continuously used for two weeks by 41 volunteers.
The three-month trial had a short-term positive effect on daily moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and sedentary time in the intervention group. The positive change in sedentary time was sustained for longer. During the six-month trial, a positive trend in favor of the intervention group was observed in daily MVPA. Low amount of daily vigorous PA at baseline was associated with the increase in MVPA. The functionalities of the mobile service related to PA were perceived as important and motivating, but the overall compliance with using the service and activity monitor remained low. In free-living conditions, the agreement between Polar Active, MAD, and Actigraph was dependent on the activity thresholds used and PA intensity. The information provided by this study can be utilized in future development of technology-based health services for activating young people.
Laiti, Outi
Kasvatustiede, Lapin yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-337-249-8.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Laiti2021,
title = {Old ways of knowing, new ways of playing: The potential of collaborative game design to empower Indigenous Sámi},
author = {Outi Laiti},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-337-249-8},
isbn = {978-952-337-249-8},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Kasvatustiede, Lapin yliopisto},
abstract = {Throughout history, Indigenous peoples have played and made games. In Sámi culture, playing is one of the many elements of education, as well as a platform for transmitting their intangible heritage. Yet research into games originating in the communities of Indigenous peoples, especially Sámi people, is quite sparse, and this is even more true concerning digital games. This lack of research can be explained to some extent by the modest number of digital Sámi games in existence. While the need for media content in the native languages of Sámi communities has been recognised for several years now, there is only a handful of games available in Sámi languages. Several questions arise, then, concerning the resources and especially the creating: who creates games, and how are those games created?
This thesis is written from the Indigenous Sámi perspective, especially pertaining to the local context of Sámi people in Utsjoki. The thesis takes a qualitative approach to exploring the potential of game development events to empower the cultural selfexpression of Sámi people. Its starting points are the Sámi game and play tradition, Sámi educational values, game studies on Indigenous peoples, and indirect learning as a feature of game jams. These aspects form the basis for the general research question: in what ways can game development events enhance the cultural self-expression of Sámi people? The study relies on the method of Indigenous ethnography and its data is collected via observation (two game development events, involving a total of 57 participants), online questionnaires (N=5), video interviews (N=7), games (N=16), and researcher field journals. The analysis was data-oriented and conducted using qualitative content analysis.
This study consists of three publications (I–III). Publication I examines the social aspects of learning in a game programming course for adolescents, which was organised in Utsjoki in 2017. The results of this first study show that knowledge is formed in social interaction, collectively, and as equals, following the principles of the Sámi educational tradition. The study also suggest that social learning could be successfully employed as a part of game development in the Sámi cultural context.
Publications II and III explore the phenomenon of social game development more closely, by employing aspects from Sámi education as a framework for studying indirect learning in game jams. Publication II set out to examine how Sami Game Jam was organised, what kind of games were created, and in what ways the game jam format was beneficial to the participants. Publication III examines the ways in which the new digital collaboration format of game jams can serve as a tool for the revitalisation of Indigenous Sámi cultures. The results show that the social aspects of the game creating events work well with the Sámi worldview and methods of knowledge production, thus supporting cultural self-expression. Games created in the event reflect contemporary aspects of the game and play tradition of the Sámi. It can be argued, then, that for the Sámi, game creation is a cultural trait which flourishes when granted proper opportunities.
Based on these results, the study introduces the Indigenous game design model, a model that describes the Indigenous empowerment concerning digital games and that guides the process of game development. With the help of this model, empowerment can be explored from five aspects: storytelling, contemporary experiences, teachings, language, and sharing and developing. The model enables the examination of Indigenous game development as a process and reveals the cultural importance of game designing in the Indigenous context.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
This thesis is written from the Indigenous Sámi perspective, especially pertaining to the local context of Sámi people in Utsjoki. The thesis takes a qualitative approach to exploring the potential of game development events to empower the cultural selfexpression of Sámi people. Its starting points are the Sámi game and play tradition, Sámi educational values, game studies on Indigenous peoples, and indirect learning as a feature of game jams. These aspects form the basis for the general research question: in what ways can game development events enhance the cultural self-expression of Sámi people? The study relies on the method of Indigenous ethnography and its data is collected via observation (two game development events, involving a total of 57 participants), online questionnaires (N=5), video interviews (N=7), games (N=16), and researcher field journals. The analysis was data-oriented and conducted using qualitative content analysis.
This study consists of three publications (I–III). Publication I examines the social aspects of learning in a game programming course for adolescents, which was organised in Utsjoki in 2017. The results of this first study show that knowledge is formed in social interaction, collectively, and as equals, following the principles of the Sámi educational tradition. The study also suggest that social learning could be successfully employed as a part of game development in the Sámi cultural context.
Publications II and III explore the phenomenon of social game development more closely, by employing aspects from Sámi education as a framework for studying indirect learning in game jams. Publication II set out to examine how Sami Game Jam was organised, what kind of games were created, and in what ways the game jam format was beneficial to the participants. Publication III examines the ways in which the new digital collaboration format of game jams can serve as a tool for the revitalisation of Indigenous Sámi cultures. The results show that the social aspects of the game creating events work well with the Sámi worldview and methods of knowledge production, thus supporting cultural self-expression. Games created in the event reflect contemporary aspects of the game and play tradition of the Sámi. It can be argued, then, that for the Sámi, game creation is a cultural trait which flourishes when granted proper opportunities.
Based on these results, the study introduces the Indigenous game design model, a model that describes the Indigenous empowerment concerning digital games and that guides the process of game development. With the help of this model, empowerment can be explored from five aspects: storytelling, contemporary experiences, teachings, language, and sharing and developing. The model enables the examination of Indigenous game development as a process and reveals the cultural importance of game designing in the Indigenous context.
Laato, Samuli
Vuorovaikutusmuotoilu, Turun yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-951-29-8565-4.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Laato2021,
title = {Designing location-based games: How to support players' social interaction, physical activity and learning about their local environment},
author = {Samuli Laato},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-8565-4},
isbn = {978-951-29-8565-4},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Vuorovaikutusmuotoilu, Turun yliopisto},
abstract = {The earliest academic studies on location-based games (LBGs) were conducted in the early 2000’s, but the recent upsurge in the popularity and success of commercial LBGs has created a need to re-examine the genre in light of new empirical evidence. In 2016, Pokemon GO brought the LBG genre into a spotlight by being downloaded hundreds of millions of times and generating over 4 billion USD in lifetime revenue to date. Since then, new games such as Jurassic World: Alive, The Walking Dead: Our World and The Witcher: Monster Slayer have emerged. Understanding phenomena related to LBGs is important for various stakeholders from game designers to urban designers and educators.
In this dissertation we take an inductive approach to LBG design by gathering evidence from popular commercial LBGs with six original research articles (Studies I-VI). The studies focus on game mechanics that are unique to the LBG genre, and how reported positive outcomes of playing LBGs can be tied to these mechanics. Through the six studies we derive a game mechanics -focused design framework for LBGs, which we name the Triune PoI System, where PoI stands for point of interest. The system consists of three central components: exploration, discovery and navigation, and at the heart of these lies moving to trigger gameplay. The Triune PoI System highlights the importance of LBGs to provide multimodal motivation for players to move and play, and the crucial importance of the playing locations, the PoIs for scaffolding positive outcomes.
We demonstrate how the following benefits of playing LBGs (1) physical activity; (2) social interaction; and (3) learning and discovery; are ultimately tied to the Triune PoI System (Studies I-IV). We also investigate the effects of aggressive marketing and LBG game mechanics on players’ well-being (Study V). Here we identify that aggressive marketing can exhaust players, but that the overall LBG playing intensity had a strong significant association with psychological well-being in our sample. We also demonstrate that nostalgia and imagination play crucial roles in scaffolding perceived meaningfulness of playing LBGs (Study VI). Finally, we propose that the popularity of LBGs may be explained by them embodying aspects of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that are missing in the urban way of living.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
In this dissertation we take an inductive approach to LBG design by gathering evidence from popular commercial LBGs with six original research articles (Studies I-VI). The studies focus on game mechanics that are unique to the LBG genre, and how reported positive outcomes of playing LBGs can be tied to these mechanics. Through the six studies we derive a game mechanics -focused design framework for LBGs, which we name the Triune PoI System, where PoI stands for point of interest. The system consists of three central components: exploration, discovery and navigation, and at the heart of these lies moving to trigger gameplay. The Triune PoI System highlights the importance of LBGs to provide multimodal motivation for players to move and play, and the crucial importance of the playing locations, the PoIs for scaffolding positive outcomes.
We demonstrate how the following benefits of playing LBGs (1) physical activity; (2) social interaction; and (3) learning and discovery; are ultimately tied to the Triune PoI System (Studies I-IV). We also investigate the effects of aggressive marketing and LBG game mechanics on players’ well-being (Study V). Here we identify that aggressive marketing can exhaust players, but that the overall LBG playing intensity had a strong significant association with psychological well-being in our sample. We also demonstrate that nostalgia and imagination play crucial roles in scaffolding perceived meaningfulness of playing LBGs (Study VI). Finally, we propose that the popularity of LBGs may be explained by them embodying aspects of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that are missing in the urban way of living.
Kristiansson, Jesper
Yleinen historia, Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-951-39-8680-3.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: demokratiakasvatus, historian opetus, perusopetus, Rancière, suomenkieliset väitöskirjat, valtaistuminen
@phdthesis{Kristiansson2021,
title = {”Aika paljon sai tehdä, kunhan se liittyi siihen historiaan ja opetussuunnitelmaan”: Oppilaiden valtaistuminen yläkoulun historian tunneilla},
author = {Jesper Kristiansson},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8680-3},
isbn = {978-951-39-8680-3},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Yleinen historia, Jyväskylän yliopisto},
abstract = {Tutkimustehtäväni oli selvittää, mitä seurauksia vallan radikaalilla uudelleen jakamisella on yläkoulun historian tunneilla. Sovelsin Jacques Rancièren ja kriitti-sen pedagogiikan ajatuksia käytäntöön luomalla demokratiakasvatukselle ja valtaistumiselle otollisen tilan. Opettajana annoin oppilaille asteittain enemmän vaikutusvaltaa vaikuttaa opiskeluunsa. Lopulta he saivat toteuttaa opetussuunnitelmaa haluamallaan tavalla. Tutkimuksen käytännön osuus toteutettiin toimintatutkimuksena, ja se kesti kolme lukuvuotta. Keräsin neljältä tutkimusryhmältäni paljon aineistoa, muun muassa tuntipäiväkirjoja, haastatteluja ja kaikki tehdyt työt. Aineiston analyysin kautta pyrin selvittämään, miten oppilaat opiskelivat historiaa kokeilun aikana, mitä he oppivat ja seurasiko opiskelusta valtaistuminen. Oppilaat tutustuivat historiaan omaehtoisesti muun muassa YouTube-videoiden kautta. Kun oppilaat saivat päättää historian opiskelusta, he tuottivat yleensä tutkielmatyyppisiä töitä. Oppilaita kiinnosti opiskelun pelillistäminen. Opetussuunnitelmatekstin kapulakielisyys rajoitti hieman oppilaiden kykyä lukea ja soveltaa opetussuunnitelmaa omatoimisesti. Vaikka oppilaat itse kokivat oppivansa oppiainekohtaiset haastavat tavoitteet hyvin, lähdekritiikkiä ei yleensä pohdittu töissä eikä niissä tehty juuri omia tulkintoja. Oppilaat oppivat omatoimisuutta ja luovuutta korostavia opetussuunnitelman laaja-alaisia oppimiskokonaisuuksia sekä tietoteknisiä taitoja. Oppilaista kasvoi itseohjautuvia toimijoita, jotka ottivat vastuun ja vapauden oppimisestaan. Oppimisen omistajuus siirtyi opettajalta oppilaille. Totesin oppilaiden saavuttaneen valtaistumisen tilan. Opetuksessa tuettiin oppilaiden kasvua demokraattisiksi kansalaisiksi. Opettajan valta istuu tiukassa koulun rakenteissa, eikä kaikesta vallasta voi tai kannatakaan luopua. Oppilaat pystyvät kuitenkin oppimaan ilman, että opettaja aktiivisesti ohjaa oppimisprosessia.},
keywords = {demokratiakasvatus, historian opetus, perusopetus, Rancière, suomenkieliset väitöskirjat, valtaistuminen},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Kinnunen, Jani
Rahat, peli ja rahapelaamisen sosiaaliset palkkiot Väitöskirja
Pelitutkimus, Tampereen yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-03-2172-7.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: suomenkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Kinnunen2021,
title = { Rahat, peli ja rahapelaamisen sosiaaliset palkkiot},
author = {Jani Kinnunen},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2172-7},
isbn = {978-952-03-2172-7},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Pelitutkimus, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {Rahapelien ja digitaalisten viihdepelien raja on hämärtynyt erityisesti internetissä. Rahapeleihin integroidaan digipeleistä tuttuja ominaisuuksia ja digipeleihin on lisätty rahapeleille ominaisia arpajaiselementtejä. Lisaksi digitaaliseen pelaamiseen on muodostunut uudenlaisia rahastamisen muotoja, jotka edelleen hämärtävät rajaa aiemmin erillään olleiden pelityyppien välillä. Digitaalisten ilmaispelien eli free-to-play- tai F2P-pelien aloittaminen on ilmaista, mutta pelaamisen aikaiseen rahankäyttöön kannustetaan monin eri tavoin. Rahapelejä ja F2P-ilmaispelejä yhdistää se, että niihin voi kuluttaa rahaa ilman ylärajaa pelaamisen aikana.
Tässä väitöskirjassa rahan, pelien ja pelaamiseen liittyvien palkkioiden suhdetta lähestytään useasta näkökulmasta hyödyntäen ensisijaisesti laadullisia menetelmiä. Väitöskirjassa analysoitava aineisto koostuu pelaajilta kerätyistä kysely- ja haastatteluaineistoista sekä pelinkehittäjiltä kerätystä haastatteluaineistosta. Päätutkimuskysymys on, millä tavoin pelaaminen ja siihen liittyvät palkkiot ovat sosiaalisesti määrittyneitä? Tarkentavina tutkimuskysymyksinä on 1) millaista raha on pelin kehyksessä, 2) mikä merkitys sosiaalisella vuorovaikutuksella on pelikokemukselle, 3a) kuinka pelaajat hallinnoivat pelirahaa ja 3b) millaista pelaamisen ja pelirahan hallintaa pelinkehittäjät odottavat pelaajilta?
Tulosten perusteella raha ei ole laadultaan muuttumatonta, vaan sen merkitykset vaihtelevat tilanteesta ja kontekstista toiseen. Raha voi olla sekä identiteetin että pelin sisäisten ja ulkoisten palkkioiden symboli. Rahapeleihin ja F2P-peleihin käytetty raha ei ole laadultaan samaa rahaa, vaikka pelirahojen muodostamisessa käytetään saman- kaltaisia sosiaalisia käytänteitä. Pelin kehyksen sisällä rahasta muodostuu leikkirahaa, jonka arvo kytkeytyy ensisijaisesti sen kykyyn pitää peli käynnissä. Tämä koskee sekä raha- että F2P-peleja. Pelaamisen aikaisella rahan hallinnoinnilla pelaajat pyrkivät saavuttamaan mahdollisimman laadukkaita pelikokemuksia niin rahapeleissä kuin ilmaispeleissäkin.
Pelinkehittäjät näkevät, että vastuu pelaamisen ja siihen liittyvän rahan käytön hallinnasta on pelaajilla itsellään. Pelinkehittäjien vastuu on valmistaa mahdollisimman hyvä peli, joka on samanaikaisesti reilu ja addiktiivinen. Addiktiivisuus tarkoittaa tässä tapauksessa pelikulttuurissa jaettua puhetapaa, jossa hyvät pelit ovat usein sillä tavoin koukuttavia, että niiden pelaamista halutaan jatkaa pitkään.
Raha- ja F2P-peleissa pitkään pelaaminen tarkoittaa usein suurempaa rahankulua. Hallinnoimalla rahaa arjessaan sosiaalisesti hyväksytyillä tavoilla pelaajat pyrkivät pitämään pelaamisensa sekä yksilöllisesti kestävien taloudellisten rajojen sisällä että sosiaalisesti hyväksyttävänä toimintana. Tällä tavoin toimimalla he pyrkivät integroimaan pelaamisensa osaksi arkielämää ja löytämään tunnustetun paikkansa pelaamiseen liittyvistä sosiaalisista verkostoista.},
keywords = {suomenkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Tässä väitöskirjassa rahan, pelien ja pelaamiseen liittyvien palkkioiden suhdetta lähestytään useasta näkökulmasta hyödyntäen ensisijaisesti laadullisia menetelmiä. Väitöskirjassa analysoitava aineisto koostuu pelaajilta kerätyistä kysely- ja haastatteluaineistoista sekä pelinkehittäjiltä kerätystä haastatteluaineistosta. Päätutkimuskysymys on, millä tavoin pelaaminen ja siihen liittyvät palkkiot ovat sosiaalisesti määrittyneitä? Tarkentavina tutkimuskysymyksinä on 1) millaista raha on pelin kehyksessä, 2) mikä merkitys sosiaalisella vuorovaikutuksella on pelikokemukselle, 3a) kuinka pelaajat hallinnoivat pelirahaa ja 3b) millaista pelaamisen ja pelirahan hallintaa pelinkehittäjät odottavat pelaajilta?
Tulosten perusteella raha ei ole laadultaan muuttumatonta, vaan sen merkitykset vaihtelevat tilanteesta ja kontekstista toiseen. Raha voi olla sekä identiteetin että pelin sisäisten ja ulkoisten palkkioiden symboli. Rahapeleihin ja F2P-peleihin käytetty raha ei ole laadultaan samaa rahaa, vaikka pelirahojen muodostamisessa käytetään saman- kaltaisia sosiaalisia käytänteitä. Pelin kehyksen sisällä rahasta muodostuu leikkirahaa, jonka arvo kytkeytyy ensisijaisesti sen kykyyn pitää peli käynnissä. Tämä koskee sekä raha- että F2P-peleja. Pelaamisen aikaisella rahan hallinnoinnilla pelaajat pyrkivät saavuttamaan mahdollisimman laadukkaita pelikokemuksia niin rahapeleissä kuin ilmaispeleissäkin.
Pelinkehittäjät näkevät, että vastuu pelaamisen ja siihen liittyvän rahan käytön hallinnasta on pelaajilla itsellään. Pelinkehittäjien vastuu on valmistaa mahdollisimman hyvä peli, joka on samanaikaisesti reilu ja addiktiivinen. Addiktiivisuus tarkoittaa tässä tapauksessa pelikulttuurissa jaettua puhetapaa, jossa hyvät pelit ovat usein sillä tavoin koukuttavia, että niiden pelaamista halutaan jatkaa pitkään.
Raha- ja F2P-peleissa pitkään pelaaminen tarkoittaa usein suurempaa rahankulua. Hallinnoimalla rahaa arjessaan sosiaalisesti hyväksytyillä tavoilla pelaajat pyrkivät pitämään pelaamisensa sekä yksilöllisesti kestävien taloudellisten rajojen sisällä että sosiaalisesti hyväksyttävänä toimintana. Tällä tavoin toimimalla he pyrkivät integroimaan pelaamisensa osaksi arkielämää ja löytämään tunnustetun paikkansa pelaamiseen liittyvistä sosiaalisista verkostoista.
Kainulainen, Tuomo
Studies on online horse race betting using individual-level betting data Väitöskirja
Kauppatieteiden laitos, Itä-Suomen yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-61-4267-8.
Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat
@phdthesis{Kainulainen2021,
title = {Studies on online horse race betting using individual-level betting data},
author = {Tuomo Kainulainen},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-61-4267-8},
isbn = {978-952-61-4267-8},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
school = {Kauppatieteiden laitos, Itä-Suomen yliopisto},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
2020
Nylund, Niklas
Game heritage: Digital games in museum collections and exhibitions Väitöskirja
Informaatiotutkimus ja interaktiivinen media, Tampereen yliopisto, 2020, ISBN: 978-952-03-1697-6.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: cultural heritage, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game heritage, games, heritagization, museums, play, playing, preservation, reflexiveness
@phdthesis{Nylund2020,
title = {Game heritage: Digital games in museum collections and exhibitions},
author = {Niklas Nylund},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-1697-6},
isbn = {978-952-03-1697-6},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-02-01},
school = {Informaatiotutkimus ja interaktiivinen media, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {Digital games are undergoing a process of heritagization, as demonstrated by how they are increasingly displayed in exhibitions and preserved in heritage institution collections, not to mention engaged with by numerous heritage communities both online and offline. What is lacking, however, is a critical understanding of what constitutes game heritage and how it is produced by the stakeholders involved. In order to provide a critical framework for thinking and working with games as heritage, this dissertation engages in theory building and conceptualizations around key heritagization issues.
The study utilizes a versatile methodology consisting of interpretive analysis and extensive use of insider knowledge and participant observation, as well as theoretical triangulation between heritage studies, games studies, and game preservation research. With the help of these approaches, the dissertation conducts pragmatic theory building around issues related to the heritagization of games, as well as provides critical frameworks for engaging with it.
In the results, the study shows how social actors beyond retrogamers and hobbyists act as stakeholders in the heritagization of games. Further, the dissertation provides a high-level theoretical ontology for dealing with the complex assemblage of games and play, which looks beyond playable games. After that, the research shows how games are changed and modified when becoming heritagized. Finally, the study sheds light on tensions that exist between various stakeholders and their heritagization strategies.
As such, the dissertation demonstrates how the complex issues and processes that arise when games become heritage are in need of more reflexive practices. In the discussion, the study points towards possible strategies that can be used in order to mitigate stakeholder tensions around the ownership of game heritage. However, further empirical research is needed in order to validate the theoretical constructs and guidelines provided in this study.},
keywords = {cultural heritage, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game heritage, games, heritagization, museums, play, playing, preservation, reflexiveness},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
The study utilizes a versatile methodology consisting of interpretive analysis and extensive use of insider knowledge and participant observation, as well as theoretical triangulation between heritage studies, games studies, and game preservation research. With the help of these approaches, the dissertation conducts pragmatic theory building around issues related to the heritagization of games, as well as provides critical frameworks for engaging with it.
In the results, the study shows how social actors beyond retrogamers and hobbyists act as stakeholders in the heritagization of games. Further, the dissertation provides a high-level theoretical ontology for dealing with the complex assemblage of games and play, which looks beyond playable games. After that, the research shows how games are changed and modified when becoming heritagized. Finally, the study sheds light on tensions that exist between various stakeholders and their heritagization strategies.
As such, the dissertation demonstrates how the complex issues and processes that arise when games become heritage are in need of more reflexive practices. In the discussion, the study points towards possible strategies that can be used in order to mitigate stakeholder tensions around the ownership of game heritage. However, further empirical research is needed in order to validate the theoretical constructs and guidelines provided in this study.
Grufstedt, Ylva
Counterfactual History and Game Design Practice in Digital Strategy Games Väitöskirja
2020.
@phdthesis{Grufstedt2020a,
title = {Counterfactual History and Game Design Practice in Digital Strategy Games},
author = {Ylva Grufstedt},
url = {https://helda.helsinki.fi/items/2638112e-d203-4e10-a898-f990b3641f09},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2024-08-30},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Tyni, Heikki
Informaatiotutkimus ja interaktiivinen media, Tampereen yliopisto, 2020, ISBN: 978-952-03-1757-7.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game production studies, platformisation, production logics
@phdthesis{Tyni2020,
title = {Games crowdfunding as a form of platformised cultural production: Effects on production, reception and circulation},
author = {Heikki Tyni},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-1757-7},
isbn = {978-952-03-1757-7},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
school = {Informaatiotutkimus ja interaktiivinen media, Tampereen yliopisto},
abstract = {The recent decade has seen an increasing number of ‘game production studies’, with critical examinations on industry structures, production models and labour issues. This study critically examines an emerging area of independent production of digital games, games crowdfunding. Asking funding directly from ‘backer’ audiences, game developers have been able to sidestep the publishers of the traditional game industry. However, crowdfunding has had a myriad of repercussions for everyday game work, production networks, and how games are received and sold, amongst other things.
Through a mixed-methods approach combining elements from game studies, critical political economy and cultural studies, this dissertation conceptualises games crowdfunding as a production logic that affects every area of game production. In getting rid of the traditional publisher, developers need to acquire a lot of new competencies and shoulder a lot of work previously handled by the publishers. Backers are found to possess several other roles beyond just funding and hold a wide variety of participation motivations beyond just acquiring the crowdfunded game. As projects have become more professional, many backers treat crowdfunding as a form of pre-ordering.
In the discussion, games crowdfunding is contextualised as a form ’platformisation of cultural production’, with game development and economics revolving around a central platform and intermediaries connected to it. The production model is revealed as a site of tension between alternative production opportunities, precarious game work, commercialisation and emerging user opportunities. Further studies are needed to understand the full gamut of games crowdfunding, including small campaigns.},
keywords = {englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, game production studies, platformisation, production logics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Through a mixed-methods approach combining elements from game studies, critical political economy and cultural studies, this dissertation conceptualises games crowdfunding as a production logic that affects every area of game production. In getting rid of the traditional publisher, developers need to acquire a lot of new competencies and shoulder a lot of work previously handled by the publishers. Backers are found to possess several other roles beyond just funding and hold a wide variety of participation motivations beyond just acquiring the crowdfunded game. As projects have become more professional, many backers treat crowdfunding as a form of pre-ordering.
In the discussion, games crowdfunding is contextualised as a form ’platformisation of cultural production’, with game development and economics revolving around a central platform and intermediaries connected to it. The production model is revealed as a site of tension between alternative production opportunities, precarious game work, commercialisation and emerging user opportunities. Further studies are needed to understand the full gamut of games crowdfunding, including small campaigns.
Behbahani, Amin Rasti
Kielentutkimus, Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2020, ISBN: 978-951-39-8130-3.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: digital games, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, levels of involvement load, task, think-aloud, vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary learning strategies
@phdthesis{RastiBehbahani2020,
title = {Investigating the effect of digital game tasks, inducing different levels of involvement load, on the acquisition of vocabulary items},
author = {Amin Rasti Behbahani},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8130-3},
isbn = {978-951-39-8130-3},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
school = {Kielentutkimus, Jyväskylän yliopisto},
abstract = {In this empirical study, the effectiveness of digital game tasks, inducing different levels of involvement load, on the acquisition of vocabulary items were studied both quantitatively and qualitatively. Participants were 30 randomly recruited Persian speakers (14 males, and 16 females, aged 13 – 15 years). The research design included pre-tests, treatments, and post-tests. After the pre-tests, participants were randomly assigned to three involvement load groups, A, B, and C, containing 10 participants each. Concurrent think-aloud data were collected from two randomly selected pairs in each group. The digital game tasks designed for group A induced the lowest, the group B, a moderate, and the group C, the highest levels of involvement load. All participants played a commercial adventure digital game, Haunted Hotel: Death Sentence, in pairs by reading and following a game guide. From the game guide, 20 target words comprising inanimate object names or lexical nouns, were selected. At 3 weeks after task completion, the participants performed delayed post-tests. The quantitative data analysis showed that although digital game tasks can be effective in the acquisition of the scopes, and dimensions of a word, productive knowledge of the target words was superior to receptive knowledge. Moreover, the group B participants, counter to theoretical expectations, showed the poorest performance. The qualitative data analysis showed that, in performing digital game-based tasks, task structure, context, and strategy selection can all affect vocabulary acquisition. Moreover, participants employed distinct learning approaches that demanded the use of both universal moves (information search, negotiation, turn taking, and trial-and-error) and exclusive strategies (group A used input enhancement strategies, group B, inferencing and hypothesis testing strategies, and group C, memory search, feedback request, word association strategies, and planning). Hence, prospective teachers should be made aware of the predictive power of involvement load hypothesis.},
keywords = {digital games, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, levels of involvement load, task, think-aloud, vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary learning strategies},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}