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Title: A PROTOTYPE FOR NARRATIVE-BASED INTERACTIVITY IN THEME PARKS.
Creator: Kischuk, Kirsten, McDaniel, Rudy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this thesis is to look at the potential for interactive devices to enhance the story of future theme park attractions. The most common interactive theme park rides are about game-based interaction, competition, and scoring, rather than about story, character, and plot. Research into cognitive science, interactivity, narrative, immersion, user interface, theming and other fields of study illuminated some potentially useful guidelines for creating compelling experiences for park...
Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to look at the potential for interactive devices to enhance the story of future theme park attractions. The most common interactive theme park rides are about game-based interaction, competition, and scoring, rather than about story, character, and plot. Research into cognitive science, interactivity, narrative, immersion, user interface, theming and other fields of study illuminated some potentially useful guidelines for creating compelling experiences for park guests. In order to test some of these ideas, an interactive device was constructed and tested with study subjects. Each study subject watched a video recording of an existing theme park ride while using the device, and then filled out a survey concerning their experience. The results revealed how subjects view character-driven interactive devices, how a device should be blended into a ride sequence, how subjects think interactivity and responsiveness should be structured in regards to themselves and the ride, and begins to hint at their motivations for using interactive devices.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002493, ucf:47689
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002493

Title: INVESTIGATING FLOW, PRESENCE, AND ENGAGEMENT IN INDEPENDENT VIDEO GAME MECHANICS.
Creator: Dunaj, Jon, McDaniel, Rudy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Video games are being studied today more than ever before. The engagement that they generate with the user, if harnessed, is thought to have applications across numerous other fields. Educators especially wish to implement elements of gaming into supplemental activities to help further interest students in the learning process. Many claim that this is because classroom's today are in direct contradiction with the real home life of students. Student's today were born into the fast paced world...
Show moreVideo games are being studied today more than ever before. The engagement that they generate with the user, if harnessed, is thought to have applications across numerous other fields. Educators especially wish to implement elements of gaming into supplemental activities to help further interest students in the learning process. Many claim that this is because classroom's today are in direct contradiction with the real home life of students. Student's today were born into the fast paced world of the digital realm, frequently multi-tasking between watching television, playing games, doing homework, and socializing. As educators begin to create game like experiences to drive student engagement they will seek to create interactions that foster the psychological phenomena of flow, presence, and engagement. Each of these three processes helps play a key role in what makes video games the attention-grabbing medium that they are. When creating games it would be beneficial to know which type of game mechanics reinforce these phenomena the most. The goal of this study is to investigate, Super Meat Boy and Limbo, two very similar games with very different mechanical representations and see which game is more engaging in these three areas. Twenty- nine participants played one of the two games for forty-five minutes, completed three separate measurements, and were observed throughout the process. The results were analyzed and found one game to indeed be more engaging than the other.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFH0004625, ucf:45268
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004625

Title: CONTROLLING RANDOMNESS: USING PROCEDURAL GENERATION TO INFLUENCE PLAYER UNCERTAINTY IN VIDEO GAMES.
Creator: Fort, Travis, McDaniel, Rudy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: As video games increase in complexity and length, the use of automatic, or procedural, content generation has become a popular way to reduce the stress on game designers. However, the usage of procedural generation has certain consequences; in many instances, what the computer generates is uncertain to the designer. The intent of this thesis is to demonstrate how procedural generation can be used to intentionally affect the embedded randomness of a game system, enabling game designers to...
Show moreAs video games increase in complexity and length, the use of automatic, or procedural, content generation has become a popular way to reduce the stress on game designers. However, the usage of procedural generation has certain consequences; in many instances, what the computer generates is uncertain to the designer. The intent of this thesis is to demonstrate how procedural generation can be used to intentionally affect the embedded randomness of a game system, enabling game designers to influence the level of uncertainty a player experiences in a nuanced way. This control affords game designers direct control over complex problems like dynamic difficulty adjustment, pacing, or accessibility. Game design will be examined from the perspective of uncertainty and how procedural generation can be used to intentionally add or reduce uncertainty. Various procedural generation techniques will be discussed alongside the types of uncertainty, using case studies to demonstrate the principles in action.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFH0004772, ucf:45386
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004772

Title: A SOFTWARE-BASED KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM USING NARRATIVE TEXTS.
Creator: McDaniel, Thomas Rudy, Dombrowski, Paul, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Technical and professional communicators have in recent research been challenged to make significant contributions to the field of knowledge management, and to learn or create the new technologies allowing them to do so. The purpose of this dissertation is to make such a combined theoretical and applied contribution from the context of the emerging discipline of Texts and Technology. This dissertation explores the field of knowledge management (KM), particularly its relationship to the...
Show moreTechnical and professional communicators have in recent research been challenged to make significant contributions to the field of knowledge management, and to learn or create the new technologies allowing them to do so. The purpose of this dissertation is to make such a combined theoretical and applied contribution from the context of the emerging discipline of Texts and Technology. This dissertation explores the field of knowledge management (KM), particularly its relationship to the related study of artificial intelligence (AI), and then recommends a KM software application based on the principles of narratology and narrative information exchange. The focus of knowledge is shifted from the reductive approach of data and information to a holistic approach of meaning and the way people make sense of complex events as experiences expressed in stories. Such an analysis requires a discussion of the evolution of intelligent systems and narrative theory as well as an examination of existing computerized and non-computerized storytelling systems. After a thorough discussion of these issues, an original software program that is used to collect, analyze, and distribute thematic stories within any hierarchical organization is modeled, exemplified, and explained in detail.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000012, ucf:46117
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000012

Title: Evaluating Teaching Grammar in Specific Constraints of Context: A Pilot Study in the Developmental Writing Program at Seminole State College.
Creator: Roney, Joshua, Marinara, Martha, Scott, John, McDaniel, Rudy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This pilot study investigated the efficacy of a supplemental Active Learning intervention that was administered with grammar workbook software in remedial-level composition classrooms at Seminole State College. The study analyzed student response data in a pre-test and post-test instrument in four classrooms; two followed standard methods while two incorporated the additional experimental intervention. The groups are identified in this study as either (")Standard(") or (")Experimental,(")...
Show moreThis pilot study investigated the efficacy of a supplemental Active Learning intervention that was administered with grammar workbook software in remedial-level composition classrooms at Seminole State College. The study analyzed student response data in a pre-test and post-test instrument in four classrooms; two followed standard methods while two incorporated the additional experimental intervention. The groups are identified in this study as either (")Standard(") or (")Experimental,(") according to the method administered in the classroom.The intervention was designed based on five grammar topic areas which correspond with content assessed in the pre-test and post-test. The Active Learning method required students to prepare a short, guided presentation on selected grammar topics. Findings showed that there was no significant change in improvement between the pre-test and post-test among the Standard or the Experimental groups, due in part to a relatively small sample size. A positive change approaching significant level occurred in the Experimental group in topic areas related to critical thinking. No significant or near-significant change was observed in the topic areas related to memorization in either group. Recommendations were made for further sampling, modification, and future applications of the intervention used in the study and for continued testing of grammar software used for instruction in Developmental Writing classes at Seminole State College.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004590, ucf:49218
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004590

Title: The User Experience of Disney Infinity: Do Smart Toys Matter?.
Creator: Welch, Shelly, Smith, Peter, McDaniel, Rudy, Vie, Stephanie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: ?This study investigated what factors come into play when looking at the user experience involved with the commercial video game Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition), and sought to determine if the unique combination between sandbox and smart toy based gameplay present in gameplay offers an additional level of immersion.This study analyzed the effect of Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition) on immersion utilizing a Game Immersion Questionnaire modified to analyze play preference as well as video game...
Show more?This study investigated what factors come into play when looking at the user experience involved with the commercial video game Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition), and sought to determine if the unique combination between sandbox and smart toy based gameplay present in gameplay offers an additional level of immersion.This study analyzed the effect of Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition) on immersion utilizing a Game Immersion Questionnaire modified to analyze play preference as well as video game experience. The study methodology analyzed 48 users while playing in (")Toy Box(") mode both with and without the associated smart toys, or Disney characters.Results show that while there was no significant difference in immersion for either group, nor were there any significant correlations between variables, there was a preference for playing the game with the associated smart toys in both groups. Recommendations were made for continued research building on modifications to this study as well as future research exploring the potential for smart toys in other areas.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005904, ucf:50890
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005904

Title: Building a Foundation for Goal-Attainment and Problem-Solving in Interdisciplinary Studies: Reimagining Web-Based Core Curriculum through a Classical Lens.
Creator: Jardaneh, Said, Fiore, Stephen, Sims, Valerie, McDaniel, Rudy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The core curriculum of interdisciplinary studies undergraduate programs represents interdisciplinarity as a consciously applied process, whether individually or collaboratively, of drawing and integrating insights from various disciplinary perspectives toward complex problem-solving and innovation. At the front-end of these programs students are often introduced to interdisciplinarity through terminology, metaphors, concepts, and context that are intended to familiarize them with the process....
Show moreThe core curriculum of interdisciplinary studies undergraduate programs represents interdisciplinarity as a consciously applied process, whether individually or collaboratively, of drawing and integrating insights from various disciplinary perspectives toward complex problem-solving and innovation. At the front-end of these programs students are often introduced to interdisciplinarity through terminology, metaphors, concepts, and context that are intended to familiarize them with the process. This initiation usually precedes what will ultimately entail a limited number of upper-division courses within the several disciplines or areas that will encompass a unique plan of study characterized by its breadth. The philosophy underlying current pedagogy in interdisciplinary studies appears in many ways to mirror the cognitive habitudes and socio-cultural zeitgeist that have emerged with our increasing connectedness with and reliance on digital technology.This dissertation proposes that through a revised front-end core curriculum revisiting both classical and Ramist pedagogy, and perhaps reframing how we think about interdisciplinarity itself, we need not sacrifice depth for breadth. Rather, we may be able to encourage a broadly applicable self-directed goal-centered mindset in our students that places equal emphasis on both breadth and depth in terms of deliberate knowledge acquisition. Through adapting the initial phases of a cognitivist instructional design model provisional week-by-week, curricular content is presented to illustrate how this endeavor might be realized within the context of interdisciplinary studies or like programs. This core curricular model is intended as an alternative well-suited to both the fully online and mixed mode format as well as the diversity of students within the typical undergraduate interdisciplinary studies program.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006120, ucf:51180
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006120

Title: Emergent Narrative: Stories of Play, Playing with Stories.
Creator: Murnane, Eric, Salter, Anastasia, McDaniel, Rudy, Fanfarelli, Joseph, Costello, Rita, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Emergent narrative, a phenomenon of unexpected contextual stories arising through play, has been researched in the field of game studies since 1999. However, that discussion largely lies in the realm of theoretical stories which are generated by either the system or the player. The purpose of this dissertation is to deepen our understanding of emergent narrative by examining real-world examples of the phenomenon. Four hundred player posts were gathered from forums relating to the video game...
Show moreEmergent narrative, a phenomenon of unexpected contextual stories arising through play, has been researched in the field of game studies since 1999. However, that discussion largely lies in the realm of theoretical stories which are generated by either the system or the player. The purpose of this dissertation is to deepen our understanding of emergent narrative by examining real-world examples of the phenomenon. Four hundred player posts were gathered from forums relating to the video game Skyrim (a large, open world fantasy roleplaying game) and analyzed using a mixed-method framework which is informed by digital ethnography, fan studies, and game studies. Using a cluster sampling method, the posts were divided into categories based on theme. This work outlines the historical trajectory of the term emergent narrative and proposes that player created emergent narratives are novel as they capitalize on random events during play in order to create stories which are both contextual and surprising. Each chapter explores a different kind of storytelling in one hundred of the posts, showcasing the diverse subjects that players explore. This work demonstrates that upon reflection, players are not passive recipients of information from games. By participating in these online activities, players become cocreators of their own stories. This work expands our understanding of players, interactive systems, and narrative by arguing that the act of play is collaborative rather than receptive.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007061, ucf:52011
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007061

Title: Narrative Transportation and Virtual Reality: Exploring the Immersive Qualities of Social Justice in the Digital World.
Creator: Raffel, Sara, McDaniel, Rudy, Jones, Natasha, Salter, Anastasia, Rettberg, Jill, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation explores the potential applications for virtual reality (VR) stories in support of social justice causes, examining whether digital games historically been successfully leveraged for social justice purposes, and determining which components of VR technology can most encourage narrative transportation of participants in VR stories.The first chapter examines theories of simulation, virtual reality, narrative, and interactivity, as well as concepts of immersion from various...
Show moreThis dissertation explores the potential applications for virtual reality (VR) stories in support of social justice causes, examining whether digital games historically been successfully leveraged for social justice purposes, and determining which components of VR technology can most encourage narrative transportation of participants in VR stories.The first chapter examines theories of simulation, virtual reality, narrative, and interactivity, as well as concepts of immersion from various disciplines and settles on narrative transportation, a theory from cognitive psychology, as the most useful in measuring the effect of VR stories on participants.The second chapter examines ethnographic practices, activist games, and modes of reclaiming digital spaces as a way to encourage digital social justice and ensure traditionally marginalized communities have meaningful access to technology(-)or, the tools to use it, create with it, and critique it.The third chapter presents the result of a play study conducted to measure participants' transportation in a recent VR narrative and finds VR interactive narratives to be more transportive and engaging than their two-dimensional counterparts.The fourth chapter interrogates some of the fears of VR technology, namely that it will be used to further current societal injustices and as a potentially powerful propaganda tool.The final chapter presents five recommendations for designers seeking to experiment in virtual reality narratives. The ultimate aim of this work is to encourage scholars, designers, and participants to make ethical decisions in the creation and use of virtual societies.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007080, ucf:52015
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007080

Title: Psychomotor Skill Measurement of Video Game Players.
Creator: Carbone, Thomas, Hughes, Charles, McDaniel, Rudy, Smith, Peter, Smith, Roger, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Psychomotor skills are a combination of innate abilities as well as skills developed because of repeated actions. Researchers have dedicated many studies to understand the extent to which past videogame play contributes to psychomotor skills and fine motor control dexterity. However, not all gamers are created equal. With today's proliferation of platforms, many people are gamers who never pick up a controller. Grouping all gamers together forms dangerous confounds when trying to generalize...
Show morePsychomotor skills are a combination of innate abilities as well as skills developed because of repeated actions. Researchers have dedicated many studies to understand the extent to which past videogame play contributes to psychomotor skills and fine motor control dexterity. However, not all gamers are created equal. With today's proliferation of platforms, many people are gamers who never pick up a controller. Grouping all gamers together forms dangerous confounds when trying to generalize across a population as diverse as today's gamers.The current study aims to study a population comprised only of gamers to see if there are significant differences in their psychomotor skills. A psychomotor skills test has been developed, which is designed to simulate proven physical tests, with the express purpose of exposing differences between gamers. After filling out an extensive survey of gaming habits, participants completed the psychomotor skills test.Participants were then grouped by measured psychomotor ability and a selection of high and low performing gamers completed four tutorial exercises on the dV-Trainer by Mimic Technologies, a validated robotic laparoscopic training device.The study shows that the number of hours reported per week using analog controllers is correlated with the psychomotor score as measured by the newly developed simulation. In particular, the Purdue Pegboard and Finger Tapping simulation software is the best discriminator among members of the gamer population.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007316, ucf:52131
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007316

Title: Beyond Panels Interactive Storytelling: Developing a Framework for Highly Emotive Narrative Experiences on Mobile Devices.
Creator: Eakins, Michael, McDaniel, Rudy, Fanfarelli, Joseph, Underberg-Goode, Natalie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Balancing passive and interactive experiences within a narrative experience is an area of research that has broad applicability to the video game, cinematic, and comic book industries. Each of these media formats has attempted various experiments in interactive experience. The goal of this research was to better understand how to construct an interactive narrative experience that preserves the integrity of the author's story, but allows for inspired interaction by a willing audience. A study...
Show moreBalancing passive and interactive experiences within a narrative experience is an area of research that has broad applicability to the video game, cinematic, and comic book industries. Each of these media formats has attempted various experiments in interactive experience. The goal of this research was to better understand how to construct an interactive narrative experience that preserves the integrity of the author's story, but allows for inspired interaction by a willing audience. A study was designed to test three different conditions. The two control conditions were examples of passive narrative storytelling: the Comic Book Condition and the Cinematic Condition. The experimental condition was a hybrid format of interactive and passive storytelling, wherein the participant had the opportunity to interact with the story to further engage with the narrative world. Participants used a mobile tablet to experience each format, geared toward minimizing the separation of the participant from the story. Touch / swipe interactions were used for the hybrid format to create as intuitive of an experience as possible. Narrative Transportation, engagement, and flow were the primary evaluators of the narrative's effectiveness for each participant. An analysis of the data showed that, in general, the current Beyond Panels framework was not effective in producing higher levels of reported Narrative Transportation, engagement, or flow. However, of those participants in the Beyond Panels condition, those that interacted more consistently throughout the experience did report higher Narrative Transportation compared to those that had minimal interaction. Data was collected to better understand the relationship that optional interactivity has with these factors. The results of this study will help to further research in the areas of interactive storytelling for mobile platforms. The results will be used to continue to evolve a framework for this hybrid storytelling format called Beyond Panels.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0007281, ucf:52154
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007281

Title: Curating culture through social media in the 21st century: Orlando as a case study for arts participation and engagement among millennials.
Creator: Givoglu, Wendy, Applen, JD, McDaniel, Rudy, Vie, Stephanie, Krick, Stephanie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The American non-profit arts sector is faced with challenges including shifting audience demographics, competition for patrons due to evolving new media and entertainment technologies, changes in donors, and the discontinuation of federal and state funding sources. Savvy arts organizations are rebooting for long-term sustainability and relevancy to their communities, while some organizations adhere to unchanged practices and modes of operation. Amidst the 21st century digital landscape, arts...
Show moreThe American non-profit arts sector is faced with challenges including shifting audience demographics, competition for patrons due to evolving new media and entertainment technologies, changes in donors, and the discontinuation of federal and state funding sources. Savvy arts organizations are rebooting for long-term sustainability and relevancy to their communities, while some organizations adhere to unchanged practices and modes of operation. Amidst the 21st century digital landscape, arts engagement that yields personal and community impact and sustainability for the future is indeed attainable. Characteristics of participatory culture and democratization rooted in emerging digital entertainment and social media communications technology, coupled with the power of the millennial generation, the first generation with access to digital technologies since birth, are two forces that can be non-profit arts organizations' biggest resources and are inherently a part of the arts. Using a mixed method approach, this project examines discourse surrounding arts engagement, focusing on the millennial generation, social media as a catalyst for potent arts participation, and Central Florida as a region demonstrating significant innovations and opportunities for growth in the arts. A survey was completed by Central Florida millennials, and with permission from Americans for the Arts, select questions replicated their 2016 National Arts Engagement survey, situating Central Florida alongside National data. Qualitatively, interviews were conducted with six executive directors of Central Florida non-profit arts organizations. Grounded theory practices yielded a synthesis of perspectives and strategic action plan for arts organizations to consider. Resulting recommendations for organizations seeking to further arts engagement with millennials via social media include: incorporating transmedia storytelling elements, considering how the arts convene and create around causes, programming with consideration of the life cycles and interests of millennials, considering diversity and cultural equity in the arts, and creating experiences that define engagement in the digital and physical worlds.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007460, ucf:52675
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007460

Title: The Effects of Presentation Mode and Pace on Learning Immunology with Computer Simulation: A Cognitive Evaluation of a Multimedia Learning Resource.
Creator: Bradley-Radakovich, Kristy, Kincaid, John, Khaled, Annette, McDaniel, Rudy, Greenwood-Ericksen, Adams, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Multimedia learning tools have the potential to benefit instructors and learners as supplemental learning materials. However, when such tools are designed inappropriately, this can increase cognitive taxation and impede learning, rendering the tools ineffective. Guided by the theoretical underpinnings provided by cognitive load theory and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, this study sought to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of a multimedia simulation tool aimed at teaching...
Show moreMultimedia learning tools have the potential to benefit instructors and learners as supplemental learning materials. However, when such tools are designed inappropriately, this can increase cognitive taxation and impede learning, rendering the tools ineffective. Guided by the theoretical underpinnings provided by cognitive load theory and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, this study sought to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of a multimedia simulation tool aimed at teaching immunology to novices in an instructional setting. The instructional mode and pace of the tool were manipulated, the three levels of each variable yielding nine experimental groups. The effects of mode and pace on workload and learning scores were observed. The results of this study did not support the theory-driven hypotheses. No significant learning gains were found between the configuration groups, however overall significant learning gains were subsequently found when disregarding mode and pace configuration. Pace was found to influence workload such that fast pace presentations significantly increased workload ratings and a significant interaction of mode and pace was found for workload ratings. The findings suggest that the learning material was too high in intrinsic load and the working memory of the learners too highly taxed for the benefits of applying the design principles to be observed. Results also illustrate a potential exception to the conditions of the design principles when complex terminology is to be presented. Workload findings interpreted in the context of stress adaptation potentially indicate points at which learners at maximum capacity begin to exhibit performance decrements.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004090, ucf:49150
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004090

Title: The use of video game achievements to enhance player performance, self-efficacy, and motivation.
Creator: Blair, Lucas, Bowers, Clint, Cannon-Bowers, Janis, McDaniel, Rudy, Kincaid, John, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: A taxonomy of achievement design features that exist currently in video game systems was created in order to evaluate the current the state of the art in achievement design. From the taxonomy of design features multiple mechanisms of action that influence player behavior were identified. These mechanisms lead to a predictive model that can guide the designs of achievements in order to improve performance, self-efficacy and motivation in players.Expected, unexpected, and incremental...
Show moreA taxonomy of achievement design features that exist currently in video game systems was created in order to evaluate the current the state of the art in achievement design. From the taxonomy of design features multiple mechanisms of action that influence player behavior were identified. These mechanisms lead to a predictive model that can guide the designs of achievements in order to improve performance, self-efficacy and motivation in players.Expected, unexpected, and incremental achievements were tested. Notifications occurring before and after earning an achievement were also tested. In addition to testing individual mechanisms of action a (")combined achievement(") was created with multiple mechanisms added that were hand-picked. For testing purposes the model was applied to achievements that were inserted into an instructional game. The results of the study revealed that individual mechanisms of action had little effect on players while multiple mechanisms in a combined achievement caused significant improvements in several categories. The limitations of the current study, as well as, plans for future study are also discussed.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004471, ucf:49297
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004471

Title: Gamification: Badges and Feedback.
Creator: Macon, Brian, Fanfarelli, Joseph, Smith, Peter, McDaniel, Rudy, Boustique, Hatim, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Gamification, the implementation of game elements in a non-game context, is a rapidly growing field of research. One element of gamification that has experienced a rapid growth in popularity is the use of digital badges. Despite widespread adoption in educational settings, there are still gaps in the understanding of their effects on motivation, engagement, learning, and other factors. Furthermore, feedback delivered through badges can include a symbolic reward for successful completion of a...
Show moreGamification, the implementation of game elements in a non-game context, is a rapidly growing field of research. One element of gamification that has experienced a rapid growth in popularity is the use of digital badges. Despite widespread adoption in educational settings, there are still gaps in the understanding of their effects on motivation, engagement, learning, and other factors. Furthermore, feedback delivered through badges can include a symbolic reward for successful completion of a task, providing a credential for gaining a skill, or acknowledging mastery of a particular piece of knowledge. This study implemented digital badges in online courses at a large urban two-year college. Badges were used to deliver embedded feedback and analyze the results on motivation, engagement, and learning. An experimental group received badges over the course of a three week module composed of various learning activities targeting course learning outcomes. A control group experienced the same learning activities without receiving the digital badges. Results indicated insignificant differences in perceived motivation, learning gains, and perceived engagement between the two groups. Positive results were observed regarding increased peer-to-peer engagement evidenced by a significant increase in discussion board activity. The increased engagement of peers leads to the subsequent building of a strong learning community. This positive group association can provide a feeling of support which leads to increased effort, persistence, and goal achievement. Potential causes are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007491, ucf:52641
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007491

Title: Critical Programming: Toward a Philosophy of Computing.
Creator: Bork, John, Janz, Bruce, Grajeda, Anthony, McDaniel, Rudy, Hughes, Charles, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Beliefs about the relationship between human beings and computing machines and their destinies have alternated from heroic counterparts to conspirators of automated genocide, from apocalyptic extinction events to evolutionary cyborg convergences. Many fear that people are losing key intellectual and social abilities as tasks are offloaded to the everywhere of the built environment, which is developing a mind of its own. If digital technologies have contributed to forming a dumbest generation...
Show moreBeliefs about the relationship between human beings and computing machines and their destinies have alternated from heroic counterparts to conspirators of automated genocide, from apocalyptic extinction events to evolutionary cyborg convergences. Many fear that people are losing key intellectual and social abilities as tasks are offloaded to the everywhere of the built environment, which is developing a mind of its own. If digital technologies have contributed to forming a dumbest generation and ushering in a robotic moment, we all have a stake in addressing this collective intelligence problem. While digital humanities continue to flourish and introduce new uses for computer technologies, the basic modes of philosophical inquiry remain in the grip of print media, and default philosophies of computing prevail, or experimental ones propagate false hopes. I cast this as-is situation as the post-postmodern network dividual cyborg, recognizing that the rational enlightenment of modernism and regressive subjectivity of postmodernism now operate in an empire of extended mind cybernetics combined with techno-capitalist networks forming societies of control.Recent critical theorists identify a justificatory scheme foregrounding participation in projects, valorizing social network linkages over heroic individualism, and commending flexibility and adaptability through life long learning over stable career paths. It seems to reify one possible, contingent configuration of global capitalism as if it was the reflection of a deterministic evolution of commingled technogenesis and synaptogenesis. To counter this trend I offer a theoretical framework to focus on the phenomenology of software and code, joining social critiques with textuality and media studies, the former proposing that theory be done through practice, and the latter seeking to understand their schematism of perceptibility by taking into account engineering techniques like time axis manipulation. The social construction of technology makes additional theoretical contributions dispelling closed world, deterministic historical narratives and requiring voices be given to the engineers and technologists that best know their subject area. This theoretical slate has been recently deployed to produce rich histories of computing, networking, and software, inform the nascent disciplines of software studies and code studies, as well as guide ethnographers of software development communities.I call my syncretism of these approaches the procedural rhetoric of diachrony in synchrony, recognizing that multiple explanatory layers operating in their individual temporal and physical orders of magnitude simultaneously undergird post-postmodern network phenomena. Its touchstone is that the human-machine situation is best contemplated by doing, which as a methodology for digital humanities research I call critical programming. Philosophers of computing explore working code places by designing, coding, and executing complex software projects as an integral part of their intellectual activity, reflecting on how developing theoretical understanding necessitates iterative development of code as it does other texts, and how resolving coding dilemmas may clarify or modify provisional theories as our minds struggle to intuit the alien temporalities of machine processes.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005928, ucf:50843
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005928

Title: Making Waves, Mixing Colors, and Using Mirrors: The Self-Regulated Learning Support Features and Procedural Rhetoric of Three Whole-Body Educational Games.
Creator: Johnson, Emily, McDaniel, Rudy, Vie, Stephanie, Applen, John, Pigg, Stacey, Lindgren, Robb, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation investigates the question, (")How can the procedural rhetoric of three whole-body educational games improve the understanding of self-regulated learning with digital technology?(") It explores three whole-body educational games (WBEGs) using a quantitative study, a case study, and analyses of their procedural rhetoric to better understand the roles these types of games can have in teaching digital literacy and self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. The three WBEGs, Waves,...
Show moreThis dissertation investigates the question, (")How can the procedural rhetoric of three whole-body educational games improve the understanding of self-regulated learning with digital technology?(") It explores three whole-body educational games (WBEGs) using a quantitative study, a case study, and analyses of their procedural rhetoric to better understand the roles these types of games can have in teaching digital literacy and self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. The three WBEGs, Waves, Color Mixer, and Light and Mirrors, are each intended to teach science concepts to players. These games are similarly structured in that they all invite players to immerse themselves in the game by standing on the (")screen(") (the games project images on the floor). The WBEGs differ from traditional console video games because they receive input from players via motion-sensing technology, requiring players to make large movements with their bodies to influence elements within the game. This study explains SRL as a complex combination of internal (mental) behavior, external (observable) behavior, and interpersonal (social) behavior, identifying within three WBEGs the presence of elements supporting the SRL behaviors of goal setting, strategy planning, collaboration, progress monitoring, feedback, and reflection. These findings inform the understanding of SRL by revealing that each game includes a different combination of SRL-supporting elements that encourage the use of SRL skills in different ways. SRL scaffolding features are those elements within a WBEG that guide players to use certain SRL strategies, helping and supporting their efforts much like construction scaffolding supports a building as it is being erected. This dissertation also utilizes analyses of procedural rhetoric to investigate the techniques reinforced by the underlying structure of these three WBEGs in an effort to further the understanding of digital literacy in education and sociocultural contexts. All three WBEGs appear to emphasize player agency and collaboration. Waves and Light and Mirrors encourage player strategy, while Color Mixer rewards speed and rote knowledge. These reinforced techniques perpetuate the underlying cultural values of accuracy, collaboration, problem-solving, autonomy, and scaffolding. This study discusses these values in the contexts of education and society.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005959, ucf:50799
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005959

Title: The Practice and Benefit of Applying Digital Markup in Preserving Texts and Creating Digital Editions: A Poetical Analysis of a Blank-Verse Translation of Virgil's Aeneid.
Creator: Dorner, William, Kamrath, Mark, McDaniel, Rudy, Applen, John, Bauman, Sydney, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Numerous examples of the (")digital scholarly edition(") exist online, and the genre is thriving in terms of interdisciplinary interest as well as support granted by funding agencies. Some editions are dedicated to the collection and representation of the life's work of a single author, others to mass digitization and preservation of centuries' worth of texts. Very few of these examples, however, approach the task of in-text interpretation through visualization.This project describes an...
Show moreNumerous examples of the (")digital scholarly edition(") exist online, and the genre is thriving in terms of interdisciplinary interest as well as support granted by funding agencies. Some editions are dedicated to the collection and representation of the life's work of a single author, others to mass digitization and preservation of centuries' worth of texts. Very few of these examples, however, approach the task of in-text interpretation through visualization.This project describes an approach to digital representation and investigates its potential benefit to scholars of various disciplines. It presents both a digital edition as well as a framework of justification surrounding said edition. In addition to composing this document as an XML file, I have digitized a 1794 English translation of Virgil's Aeneid and used a customized digital markup schema based on the guidelines set forth by the Text Encoding Initiative to indicate a set of poetic figures(-)such as simile and alliteration(-)within that text for analysis. While neither a translation project nor strictly a poetical analysis, this project and its unique approach to interpretive representation could prove of interest to scholars in several disciplines, including classics, digital scholarship, information management, and literary theory. The practice serves both as a case-in-point as well as an example method to replicate with future texts and projects.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0006032, ucf:51019
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006032

Title: Digital Dissonance: Horror Cultures in the Age of Convergent Technologies.
Creator: Powell, Daniel, McDaniel, Rudy, Campbell, James, Brenckle, Martha, Arnzen, Michael, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The first two decades of the new millennium have witnessed an abundance of change in the areas of textual production, digital communication, and our collective engagement with the Internet. This study explores these changes, which have yielded both positive and negative cultural and developmental outcomes, as products of digital dissonance. Dissonance is characterized by the disruptive consequences inherent in technology's incursion into the print publication cultures of the twentieth century...
Show moreThe first two decades of the new millennium have witnessed an abundance of change in the areas of textual production, digital communication, and our collective engagement with the Internet. This study explores these changes, which have yielded both positive and negative cultural and developmental outcomes, as products of digital dissonance. Dissonance is characterized by the disruptive consequences inherent in technology's incursion into the print publication cultures of the twentieth century, the explosion in social-media interaction that is changing the complexion of human contact, and our expanding reliance on the World Wide Web for negotiating commerce, culture, and communication.This study explores digital dissonance through the prism of an emerging literary subgenre called technohorror. Artists working in the area of technohorror are creating works that leverage the qualities of plausibility, mundanity, and surprise to tell important stories about how technology is altering the human experience in the twenty-first century. This study explores such subjects as paradigmatic changes in textual production methods, dynamic authorial hybridity, digital materiality in folklore studies, posthumanism, transhumanism, cognitive diminution, and physical degeneration as explored in works of technohorror.The work's rhetorical architecture includes elements of both theoretical and qualitative research. This project expands on City University of New York philosophy professor No(&)#235;l Carroll's definition of art-horror in developing a formal explanation of technohorror and then exploring that literary subgenre through the analysis of a series of contemporary texts and industry-related trends. The study also contains original interviews with active scholars, artists, editors, and librarians in the horror field to gain a variety of perspectives on these complicated subjects.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006642, ucf:51231
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006642

Title: The Impact of User-Generated Interfaces on the Participation of Users with a Disability in Virtual Environments: Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft Model.
Creator: Merritt, Donald, McDaniel, Rudy, Zemliansky, Pavel, Mauer, Barry, Kim, Si Jung, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: When discussing games and the experience of gamers those with disabilities are often overlooked. This has left a gap in our understanding of the experience of players with disabilities in virtual game worlds. However there are examples of players with disabilities being very successful in the virtual world video game World of Warcraft, suggesting that there is an opportunity to study the game for usability insight in creating other virtual world environments. This study surveyed World of...
Show moreWhen discussing games and the experience of gamers those with disabilities are often overlooked. This has left a gap in our understanding of the experience of players with disabilities in virtual game worlds. However there are examples of players with disabilities being very successful in the virtual world video game World of Warcraft, suggesting that there is an opportunity to study the game for usability insight in creating other virtual world environments. This study surveyed World of Warcraft players with disabilities online for insight into how they used interface addons to manage their experience and identity performance in the game. A rubric was also created to study a selection of addons for evidence of the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The study found that World of Warcraft players with disabilities do not use addons more than able-bodied players, but some of the most popular addons do exhibit many or most of the principles of UDL. UDL principles appear to have emerged organically from addon iterations over time. The study concludes by suggesting that the same approach to user-generated content for the game interface taken by the creators of World of Warcraft, as well as high user investment in the environment, can lead to more accessible virtual world learning environments in the future.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005667, ucf:50175
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005667

immersion (3)	+ -
learning (3)	+ -
narrative (3)	+ -
Engagement (2)	+ -
Flow (2)	+ -

Video Games (2)	+ -
design (2)	+ -
digital humanities (2)	+ -
games (2)	+ -
motivation (2)	+ -
texts and technology (2)	+ -
Accessibility (1)	+ -
Active Learning (1)	+ -
Aeneid (1)	+ -
Arduino (1)	+ -
Badges (1)	+ -
Basic Writing (1)	+ -
Beyond Panels (1)	+ -
Cornerstone (1)	+ -
Death (1)	+ -
Device (1)	+ -
Digital Ethnography (1)	+ -
Digital Media (1)	+ -
Disability (1)	+ -
Disciplinarity (1)	+ -
Disney Infinity (1)	+ -
Education (1)	+ -
Emergent Narrative (1)	+ -
Emotion (1)	+ -
Experimental Intervention (1)	+ -

ETD Collection (21)	+ -
Honors Collection (2)	+ -

University of Central Florida (23)	+ -
McDaniel, Rudy (22)	+ -
Fanfarelli, Joseph (4)	+ -
Smith, Peter (4)	+ -
Vie, Stephanie (4)	+ -

Bowers, Clint (3)	+ -
Salter, Anastasia (3)	+ -
Applen, John (2)	+ -
Hughes, Charles (2)	+ -
Kincaid, John (2)	+ -
Sims, Valerie (2)	+ -
Underberg-Goode, Natalie (2)	+ -
Applen, JD (1)	+ -
Arnzen, Michael (1)	+ -
Baker, Carissa (1)	+ -
Bauman, Sydney (1)	+ -
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Bork, John (1)	+ -
Boustique, Hatim (1)	+ -
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Dickson, Duncan (1)	+ -
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