As a practitioner of gamification, it is easy to lose sight of those critics that believe it is the manifestation of a broader conspiracy to trick consumers into buying goods they do not need, is an affront to freedom by compelling individuals to behave in …
excessive alcohol consumption is the social norm on campuses At the University of New Hampshire (UNH), almost all conduct problems are related to alcohol consumption.The prevalence of alcohol is not, however, something unique to UNH. In a 2009 UCLA survey of freshman, 34.2 percent of …
Reality is not as compelling as virtual gaming environments Castranova (2007) writes of a massive exodus from reality as virtual gaming environments entice larger numbers of people to abandon the boredom of the real world for the more engaging life found in synthetic worlds. Concerned …
To understand the power of gamification, it is important to understand why people play games. Games are an important vehicle for generating self-esteem. While playing is certainly about amusement, it is also about feeling good about one’s self. Most people enjoy a healthy competition where …
The age of industrial capital has given way to one centered on human capital. Success in today’s economy is becoming more dependent on the ideas and innovations that reside in intellectual rather than physical property. Hence human beings rather than machines are once again at …
What is the difference between work and play? For many, work is something done to gain the means to pay bills and hopefully have a little left over for fun. Play on the other hand is done for sheer pleasure. Gamification is about blurring the …
Many young people today think nothing about spending hours killing trolls in a role playing game, freeing Angry Birds or competing with those in their social circles on Words with Friends. When it comes to studying for classes, though–an arena in which costs and future …
