Problematic Use of Video Games in Schools in Northern Benin (2023)

Objective: To study the problematic use of video games among secondary school students in the city of Parakou in 2023. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the commune of Parakou from December 2022 to July 2023. The study population consisted of students regularly enrolled in public and private secondary schools in the city of Parakou for the 2022-2023 academic year. A two-stage non-proportional stratified sampling technique combined with simple random sampling was adopted. The Problem Video Game Playing (PVP) scale was used to assess problem gambling in the study population, while anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: A total of 1030 students were included. The mean age of the pupils surveyed was 15.06 ± 2.68 years, with extremes of 10 and 28 years. The [13 - 18] age group was the most represented, with a proportion of 59.6% (614) in the general population. Females predominated, at 52.8% (544), with a sex ratio of 0.89. The prevalence of problematic video game use was 24.9%, measured using the Video Game Playing scale. Associated factors were male gender (p = 0.005), pocket money under 10,000 cfa (p = 0.001) and between 20,000 - 90,000 cfa (p = 0.030), addictive family behavior (p < 0.001), monogamous family (p = 0.023), good relationship with father (p = 0.020), organization of video game competitions (p = 0.001) and definite anxiety (p Conclusion: Substance-free addiction is struggling to attract the attention it deserves, as it did in its infancy everywhere else. This study complements existing data and serves as a reminder of the need to focus on this group of addictions, whose problematic use of video games remains the most frequent due to its accessibility and social tolerance. Preventive action combined with curative measures remains the most effective means of combating the problem at national level.

Video Games and School Performances of Dakar High School Students

The triptych (Smartphones, Video games, adolescents) has imposed itself on the collective consciousness in the form of questioning to the point of becoming a social phenomenon. It thus raises concerns about the uses that adolescents make of it and the effects on their academic performance, which we proposed to study among middle school students from the Dakar academy inspection. Where appropriate, we used mixed methods with the collection techniques of questionnaire survey, semi-structured interviews respectively with middle school students, adults (parents, supervisors, teachers, etc.), participant observation and literature review. Concretely, before accessibility to video games, the middle school students were more idle and well-behaved, watched a lot of TV, played with their brothers and sisters or did household chores. The majority of young people had good, very good or excellent conduct and their averages were fair, fairly good or good. With access to a diverse digital environment, middle school students have passionately turned to video games. As a result, their learning time, concentration and submission to parental injunctions have declined significantly. This situation negatively affected their academic performance and encouraged bad behavior.

Synchronous measurements of prefrontal activity and pulse rate variability during online video game playing with functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Interactions between the central nervous system(CNS)and autonomic nervous system(ANS)play a crucial role in modulating perception,cognition,and emotion production.Previous studies on CNS–ANS interactions,or heart–brain coupling,have often used heart rate variability(HRV)metrics derived from electrocardiography(ECG)recordings as empirical measurements of sympathetic and parasympathetic activities.Functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS)is a functional brain imaging modality that is increasingly used in brain and cognition studies.The fNIRS signals contain frequency bands representing both neural activity oscillations and heartbeat rhythms.Therefore,fNIRS data acquired in neuroimaging studies can potentially provide a single-modality approach to measure task-induced responses in the brain and ANS synchronously,allowing analysis of CNS–ANS interactions.In this proof-of-concept study,fNIRS was used to record hemodynamic changes from the foreheads of 20 university students as they each played a round of multiplayer online battle arena(MOBA)game.From the fNIRS recordings,neural and heartbeat frequency bands were extracted to assess prefrontal activities and shortterm pulse rate variability(PRV),an approximation for short-term HRV,respectively.Under the experimental conditions used,fNIRS-derived PRV metrics showed good correlations with ECG-derived HRV golden standards,in terms of absolute measurements and video game playing(VGP)-related changes.It was also observed that,similar to previous studies on physical activity and exercise,the PRV metrics closely related to parasympathetic activities recovered slower than the PRV indicators of sympathetic activities after VGP.It is concluded that it is feasible to use fNIRS to monitor concurrent brain and ANS activations during online VGP,facilitating the understanding of VGP-related heart–brain coupling.

Effects of video game-based therapy in an adolescent with cerebral palsy: A case report

BACKGROUND Herein,we report the case of a 13-year-old boy with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy(CP)at Gross Motor Function Classification System(GMFCS)level II,en-gaging in a 6-wk video game-based therapy(VBT)program.This study aimed to offer essential insights regarding VBT’s impact on enhancing the physical function and improving the quality of life(QoL)of adolescents diagnosed with CP.This report provides a distinctive viewpoint that can inform and direct future clinical practices and research endeavors.CASE SUMMARY The boy presented with moderate mobility,balance,and overall well-being.He faced challenges with diminished lower limb strength,which affected his daily living and physical fitness capabilities.Our participant was diagnosed with spas-tic quadriplegic CP at GMFCS level II.He participated in a 6-wk program of VBT using a play station.This innovative approach incorporates warm-up exercises,interactive activities,and cool-down routines,targeting various movements,in-cluding single-leg stance,weight shifting,kicking,jumping,marching,and squatting.After VBT,the strength of the left hip extensor significantly increased from 199.3 N to 541.3 N.Distance covered as part of a 6-min walk test increased by 82 m.His Paediatric QoL Inventory score increased dramatically by 25.9%.CONCLUSION VBT is an innovative,individualized therapy that enhances physical function and QoL in CP,emphasizing its role in ambulatory patients.

The Confidentiality of Coding Video Games with Cheat Code and Bots for Cheating in a Virtual World

Video games have been around for several decades and have had many advancements from the original start of video games. Video games started as virtual games that were advertised towards children, and these virtual games created a virtual reality of a variety of genres. These genres included sports games, such as tennis, football, baseball, war games, fantasy, puzzles, etc. The start of these games was derived from a sports genre and now has a popularity in multiplayer-online-shooting games. The purpose of this paper is to investigate different types of tools available for cheating in virtual world making players have undue advantage over other players in a competition. With the advancement in technology, these video games have become more expanded in the development aspects of gaming. Video game developers have created long lines of codes to create a new look of video games. As video games have progressed, the coding, bugs, bots, and errors of video games have changed throughout the years. The coding of video games has branched out from the original video games, which have given many benefits to this virtual world, while simultaneously creating more problems such as bots. Analysis of tools available for cheating in a game has disadvantaged normal gamer in a fair contest.

Impact of an active educational video game on children's motivation,science knowledge, and physical activity

Background： Active educational video games （AVGs） appear to have a positive effect on elementary school students＇ motivation leading to enhanced learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of an AVG on elementary school students＇ science knowledge learning, physical activity （PA） level, and interest-based motivation. Methods： In this randomized controlled study, 53 elementary school students were assigned to an experimental condition or a comparison condition. The experimental condition provided an AVG learning environment, whereas the comparison condition was based on sedentary educational video games. Results： The results of repeated measures analysis of variance （ANOVA） on the knowledge test showed that students in both groups performed better on the post-test than they did on the pre-test （p 〈 0.001, η2 = 0.486）, and their post-test scores did not differ significantly. The experimental condition provided a more active environment since the students＇ average heart rates （HRs） were in the Target-Heart-Rate-Zone （HR = 134 bpm）, which was significantly higher than the average HR （103 bpm） from the comparison condition （t = 7.212, p 〈 0.001）. Students in the experimental condition perceived a higher level of situational interest than their counterparts in the comparison group （p 〈 0.01, and η2 = 0.301）. Conclusion： These results suggest that AVGs benefit children more in terms of PA and motivation than traditional video games by providing an enjoyable learning experience and sufficient PA.

Video Game Title Translation Functional Translation Theory Perspective

The video game plays an important role in inter-cultural communication studies. However, few have ventured the field of E-C translation of video game titles. Within the frame of Skopostheorie, this paper focuses on the three translation strategies brought up by the functions and features of video game titles. When preserving the structure and meaning of the original title is possible, literal translation should be used. However, the fact that some translators ignore the context of the title causes rigid translation. Transliteration is recommended when the title is the name of a person or place because the meaning of the title is hard to be preserved by the other two strategies. Since there are cultural differences between China and western world, when literal translation and transliteration cannot present the meaning of the title, free translation should be used. Translators should bear the content and game play of the game in mind in order to free themselves from the formal equivalence for a properly translated title. Free translation does not mean translators can do the translation as whatever they want in the name of Skopos, they should avoid arbitrary translation. The aim of this paper is to help people to understand more about the E-C translation of video game title as well as the practical translation strategies and Sino-western inter-cultural communication.

Fight fire with fire?Promoting physical activity and health through active video games

Physical inactivity has been identified as one of the leading causes of many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease,type 2 diabetes,and obesity.Technology such as video games plays a complicated role in physical inactivity—much like a double-edged sword.Traditionally,video games have contributed to the epidemic of physical inactivity and have

Potential of video games for the promotion of neuroadaptation to multifocal intraocular lenses: a narrative review

Multifocal intraocular lenses(IOLs) are currently usually implanted for the treatment of cataracts because they have been proved to be superior to monofocal IOLs with respect to spectacle independence. In turn, they are associated with a higher prevalence of dysphotopsia symptoms that is one of the most common causes of patient dissatisfaction. Neuroadaptation seems to play a major role in the optimal adaptation to multifocal IOLs. In this context, the development of strategies that facilitate the neuroadaptation process to multifocality might be an effective strategy to reduce patients' dissatisfaction. Video games have been proved to be effective for the improvement of visual acuity and for the promotion of neuroplasticity in elderly subjects and other populations with cortical-related visual impairment. This narrative review highlights the physiological potential of video games as a perceptual strategy to improve visual acuity and promote neuroplasticity in patients using multifocalIOLs, although research is still needed to confirm these benefits in this specific population, with only one comparative study to this date providing evidence of them.

Active video games in fully immersive virtual reality elicit moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and improve cognitive performance in sedentary college students

Background:Active video games are a new method for increasing physical activity(PA).Fully immersive virtual reality(VR)is a hardware device on which an active video game can run.Active(video games in)VR(AVR),might increase immersion,game engagement,and moderate-to-vigorous PA(MVPA),thereby yielding greater exercise-related benefits,e.g.,cognitive performance.Methods:We examined the induction of MVPA via an AVR and a sedentary VR(SVR)as well as the effects of VR play on cognitive performance,which was monitored using 2 different methods.Each of 29 sedentary college students attended three 20-min laboratory sessions(AVR,SVR,or control)in a randomized order;during the control session,they sat quietly doing nothing.A fully immersive headset was used for the 2 video game sessions.We monitored and computed participants’PA using hip-wom accelerometers(wGT3 x-bt;ActiGraph,Pensacola,FL,USA)and a heart rate band(Polar H7;Polar,Kempele,Finland).After each session,the participants completed a mnemonic similarity test(MST)to measure recognition memory.They also filled out a motion sickness questionnaire and an abbreviated game experience questionnaire.Results:The AVR session induced a significantly greater heart rate and more time spent in MVPA than did either of the other 2 sessions regardless of the PA monitoring method.AVR elicited greater game experience questionnaire-assessed sensory and imaginative immersion,challenge,and positive affect than did SVR.The mnemonic similarity test recognition score was marginally higher post-AVR session than it was post-SVR session.Conclusion:AVR elicited MVPA without a significant increase in motion sickness and induced a better game experience and better borderline cognitive performance than did SVR.

Examining the Role of Personality Factors in Problematic Video Game Play Associated with Facebook Games

The current study used the structural components of Facebook games to select predictors of Problematic Video Game Play (PVGP) in relation to Facebook games. Based upon how game design and structure may interact with personality characteristics, the current study examined the effects of hypercompetitiveness, narcissism, reward responsiveness and psychological absorption on PVGP for a group of Facebook gamers. Moreover, the present study also observed how results may differ between Facebook gamers (n = 102), and a group of other (non-Facebook) gamers (n = 132). The Facebook group comprised 84% of females with an average age of 40.39 (SD = 14.00), whereas the other group of gamers consisted of 61% of males with an average age of 24.70 (SD = 7.86). Participants completed an online survey. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) revealed that an interaction between hypercompetitiveness and narcissism was the only significant predictor of PVGP for Facebook gamers. In contrast, a second structural model revealed that both hypercompetitiveness and psychological absorption were significant predictors of PVGP for other types of gamers. The findings from this study had important implications regarding the structure of video games and demographic differences between Facebook Gamers and other types of gamers.

A Video Game Based on Optimal Control and Elementary Statistics

The video game presented in this paper is a prey-predator game where two preys (human players) must avoid three predators (automated players) and must reach a location in the game field (the computer screen) called preys’ home. The game is a sequence of matches and the human players (preys) must cooperate in order to achieve the best perform- ance against their opponents (predators). The goal of the predators is to capture the preys, which are the predators try to have a “rendez vous” with the preys, using a small amount of the “resources” available to them. The score of the game is assigned following a set of rules to the prey team, not to the individual prey. In some situations the rules imply that to achieve the best score it is convenient for the prey team to sacrifice one of his components. The video game pursues two main purposes. The first one is to show how the closed loop solution of an optimal control problem and elementary sta- tistics can be used to generate (game) actors whose movements satisfy the laws of classical mechanics and whose be- haviour simulates a simple form of intelligence. The second one is “educational”, in fact the human players in order to be successful in the game must understand the restrictions to their movements posed by the laws of classical mechanics and must cooperate between themselves. The video game has been developed having in mind as players for children aged between five and thirteen years. These children playing the video game acquire an intuitive understanding of the basic laws of classical mechanics (Newton’s dynamical principle) and enjoy cooperating with their teammate. The video game has been experimented on a sample of a few dozen children. The children aged between five and eight years find the game amusing and after playing a few matches develop an intuitive understanding of the laws of classical me- chanics. They are able to cooperate in making fruitful decisions based on the positions of the preys (themselves), of the predators (their opponents) and on the physical limitations to the movements of the game actors. The interest in the game decreases when the age of the players increases. The game is too simple to interest a teenager. The game engine consists in the solution of an assignment problem, in the closed loop solution of an optimal control problem and in the adaptive choice of some parameters. At the beginning of each match, and when necessary during a match, an assign- ment problem is solved, that is the game engine chooses how to assign to the predators the preys to chase. The resulting assignment implies some cooperation among the predators and defines the optimal control problem used to compute the strategies of the predators during the match that follows. These strategies are determined as the closed loop solution of the optimal control problem considered and can be thought as a (first) form of artificial intelligence (AI) of the preda- tors. In the optimal control problem the preys and the predators are represented as point masses moving according to Newton’s dynamical principle under the action of friction forces and of active forces. The equations of motion of these point masses are the constraints of the control problem and are expressed through differential equations. The formula- tion of the decision process through optimal control and Newton’s dynamical principle allows us to develop a game where the effectiveness and the goals of the automated players can be changed during the game in an intuitive way sim- ply modifying the values of some parameters (i.e. mass, friction coefficient, ...). In a sequence of game matches the predators (automated players) have “personalities” that try to simulate human behaviour. The predator personalities are determined making an elementary statistical analysis of the points scored by the preys in the game matches played and consist in the adaptive choice of the value of a parameter (the mass) that appears in the differential equations that define the movements of the predators. The values taken by this parameter determine the behaviour of the predators and their effectiveness in chasing the preys. The predators personalities are a (second) form of AI based on elementary statistics that goes beyond the intelligence used to chase the preys in a match. In a sequence of matches the predators using this second form of AI adapt their behaviour to the preys’ behaviour. The video game can be downloaded from the website: http://www.ceri.uniroma1.it/ceri/zirilli/w10/.

A Video Game Based on Elementary Differential Equations

In this paper a prey-predator video game is presented. In the video game two predators chase a prey that tries to avoid the capture by the predators and to reach a location in space (i.e. its “home”). The prey is animated by a human player (using a joypad), the predators are automated players whose behaviour is decided by the video game engine. The purpose of the video game is to show how to use mathematical models to build a simple prey-predator dynamics representing a physical system where the movements of the game actors satisfy Newton’s dynamical principle and the behaviour of the automated players simulates a simple form of intelligence. The game is based on a simple set of ordinary differential equations. These differential equations are used in classical mechanics to describe the dynamics of a set of point masses subject to a force chosen by the human player, elastic forces and friction forces (i.e. viscous damping). The software that implements the video game is written in C++ and Delphi. The video game can be downloaded from: http://www.ceri.uniroma1.

From Sex Objects to Heroines A Tough Road for Female Characters in Video Games

Female character in video games is the one of the most controversial topic in game studies and nowadays women＇s anthropology. From the beginning of role in games＇ plot to sexualized graphical representation, woman in virtual world were （and sometimes still are） a point of discussion about characters sexualisation and role of female sex in virtual industry. The main aim of this paper is to present analysis of female representation in video games and how in last 30 years it has changed. In other words, how female characters were ennobled from sex object to main protagonist status. In presented research, there were used mostly the examples of popular video games with extended plot and world which can be explored by protagonists. Video game historiography, textual analysis （which helped to treat video game character as a protagonist）, and thematic analysis of video games were used as a main research method. The main conclusion of this paper is that female characters can overcome all gender or sexual stereotypes and even eventually became an icon of popular culture

Regulations, Nations, and Freedom of Speech： A Cultural and Legal Analysis of Video Game Regulation

As the video game industry has firmly established itself as an art form as well as entertainment, certain games and content have led to legal issues in several countries. These court cases usually fall under freedom of speech and expression. The author has studied three of the five top video game producing and purchasing markets in the world--the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea--to explore how each country regulates this industry These three countries explicitly guarantee their citizens the freedoms of speech and expression, but, due to cultural differences and historical interpretations of those rights, the policies concerned with gaming have been handled differently by each country. The argument of the author is that historic interpretations of freedom of speech in legal cases can inform how video games and content controversy will be decided by the constitutional courts in these three countries. Japan and the Republic of Korea, for example, have historically interpreted freedom of speech rights in a way that benefits the citizenry as a whole, marking them as more collective. The United States has historically interpreted freedom of speech and expression in a way that benefits individual citizens, marking it as individualistic. These cultural aspects of how legal decisions are reached has affected the relatively new technology of video games

29th OLYMPIC GAMES PROMOTION VIDEO

奥运会会徽宣传片客户:第29届奥林匹克运动委员会导演:张艺谋摄影:赵小丁前期制作:杨子工作室后期制作:北京视点英派数码制作有限公司奥运会会徽宣传片,是2008年北京奥运会会徽揭幕仪式上通过 cctv-1,cctv-4,cctv-5,cctv-9向全球播放的一部宣传片,意义非常重大。片长5分45秒,分为四大部分:印童、书法与京、红、运动,要将这四部分阐述清楚,从某种意义上说它是一篇说明文,导演希望它感人、艺术、能让人兴奋。

Economic Model of Microtransactions in Video Games

Microtransactions denote a payment made for purchase of mobile phone application or additional content in video games.The basic revenue principle for publisher was to sell the entire content at once,with the buyer having to pay the game as a whole.Trends from mobile applications and mobile games market have slowly transferred to PC games and console video games.About one half of total revenue of big video games publishers comes from microtransactions.The topics of this paper are the economic effects of microtransactions on video game industry business model.The scope of microtransactions and different implementing procedures will be discused in paper.The goal is to determine the change of the position of all stakeholders involved in the process of creating and publishing video games.

Paidia的消逝:从电子游戏商品透视当代消费-劳动的诱惑修辞

凯洛瓦将游戏置于Paidia-Ludus这一连续光谱中,并强调其中Paidia蕴含的自由与愉悦玩耍本能。而在电子游戏商品日趋普遍的现实里,凯洛瓦意义上的Paidia向度日趋消逝直至蜕化为诸如游戏化的修辞,并同时成为消费-劳动过程中的驱动话语:其一,电子游戏作为数字资本主义的理想商品,虽然声称以玩家的愉悦玩耍体验为目的,但是其消费设计却并非意在形成一个玩耍本能的释放空间,而是构成一个与玩耍本能有些许交错但本质在于使欲望增殖并将其变现的控制场域;其二,电子游戏商品因其具备双重“确定的可能性”,即其作为商品在被购买前所具备的确定的可能性与其作为电子游戏本身所具备的确定的可能性,成为无摩擦资本主义视域下的消费润滑剂,Paidia蕴含的自由与愉悦玩耍内涵在此蜕化为鲍德里亚意义上泛化的“娱乐道德”;其三,游戏化概念基于电子游戏商品普遍化的现实被抽象出来,并流行于营销、教育、培训等领域,不仅反过来重塑了一般消费品的营销逻辑,更为一种精巧的管理与组织技术作了掩护,无批判地接受这种游戏化修辞,反而削弱了Paidia向度下自由与愉悦的游戏所蕴含的创造性力量。

叙事地图的要素及组织:基于电子游戏“要素-结构-场景”架构的视角

信息通信技术背景下,地图的对象空间从二元空间拓展到三元空间,信息空间的出现给地图学带来的一系列挑战,由地图投影、制图综合、符号系统构成的传统制图学经典理论框架已难以满足元宇宙、虚实融合和人机物融合等带来的空间刻画需求。针对目前叙事地图的理论框架大多面向传统的地图媒介和形式,本文以“要素-结构-场景”为架构探讨了叙事地图在新时代背景和数字载体下的组织形式。明确叙事要素是叙事地图构建的基础,叙事结构为叙事要素提供组织形式,叙事场景为叙事地图的叙事要素和叙事结构的呈现提供载体。鉴于地理环境类电子游戏具有天然的叙事性,本文通过该类游戏对“要素-结构-场景”这一框架进行了例证,旨在为信息通信时代下叙事地图的应用和实践提供理论基础。

电子游戏长期保存研究:全球实践态势与挑战应对

文章采用网络调查法、案例研究法和内容分析法解析代表性案例,梳理电子游戏长期保存的全球实践现状,分析挑战与策略。电子游戏长期保存行动包括:制定保存范围、选择保存对象、采取保存手段和提供利用服务等;面临的挑战包括:保存需求和保存现状的差距、保存目标和保存手段的矛盾、保存权利和保存意愿的冲突;应对策略包括:将电子游戏纳入数字文化遗产框架,推进协同治理共建电子游戏元宇宙,实施电子游戏长期保存国家行动。