Articles
Multimedia Tools and Applications (13807501)84(11)pp. 9713-9747
Today, raising security awareness among users is one of the most effective preventive cybersecurity strategies. Generally, the current level of security awareness in the organization is measured through standard questionnaires. However, this method suffers from poor participant engagement and low precision due to the explicit evaluation and misunderstandings of the questions. To address these issues, we present a serious video game called “myREACH” to measure the player’s security awareness about ransomware. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to develop a serious game for measuring security awareness. myREACH has been compared to the standard questionnaire for measuring security awareness about ransomware, known as RSAM. The results obtained from a sample of 172 participants indicate that, in 3 out of 9 categories, the game and questionnaire measurements yield similar results. However, in 5 out of 9 categories, the game measurement is superior. For the remaining category, it is inconclusive whether the game or questionnaire assessment is better. Furthermore, self-report measurements indicate that the temporal and mental demands of playing myREACH and completing the RSAM are the same. The overall performance during playing myREACH is 9% better than completing the RSAM, and participants are 15% more satisfied with the game compared to the questionnaire. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.
This study aimed to explore the connections between digital disorder, socio-demographics, physical health outcomes, and artificial intelligence (AI) on decision-making loss. The study relied on data from 550 people in Isfahan, Iran. The results showed that while decision-making loss was slightly more prevalent in females than males, this difference was not statistically significant. However, individuals aged between 26-35 showed a significant correlation with decision-making loss, while other age groups did not. Neither education level nor employment status demonstrated significant associations with decision-making loss, nor did the frequency of device use affect it either. Participants who experienced decision-making loss scored significantly higher on digital disorder overall score and specific indicators, such as addiction to social media and the internet, compared to those who did not. They also reported higher scores on various physical health outcomes related to device usage. © 2024, IGI Global. All rights reserved.
Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (24144088)8(11)
Addressing human trafficking is crucial due to its severe impact on human rights, dignity, and well-being. Serious games refer to digital games that are designed to entertain while also accomplishing at least one additional objective, such as learning or health promotion. Serious games play a significant role in raising awareness, training professionals, fostering empathy, and advocating for policy improvements related to human trafficking. In this study, we systematically examine and assess the current landscape of serious games addressing human trafficking to unveil the existing state, pinpoint gaps, and propose future research avenues. Our investigation encompassed academic publications, gray literature, and commercial games related to human trafficking. Furthermore, we conducted a thorough review of evaluation criteria and heuristics for the comprehensive assessment of serious games. Subsequently, incorporating these evaluation metrics and heuristics, the games were subjected to evaluation by both players and experts. Following a combined qualitative and quantitative analysis, the results were deliberated upon, and their implications were expounded. Five serious games related to human trafficking were identified and evaluated using the SGES and EGameFlow scales, along with both game-specific and serious game heuristics. Player and expert evaluations ranked “(Un)TRAFFICKED” and “Missing” as the best-performing games, while “SAFE Travel” received the lowest ratings. Players generally rated the games higher than experts, particularly in usability, feedback, and goal clarity, although the games scored poorly in audiovisual quality and relevance. Experts highlighted deficiencies in motivation, challenge, and learning outcomes. The lack of personalization and the absence of social gaming elements point to the need for more targeted human trafficking games adapted to different demographics, cultures, and player types. © 2024 by the authors.
