MattersEarthly

Gamification grew from a mix of interacting trends and traditions in interaction design and games. Gamification describes those features of an interactive system that aim to motivate and engage end-users through the use of game elements and mechanics. The two common definitions of gamification in academic research are by Deterding et al.¹ and Huotari and Hamari². The former defines gamification as “use of game design elements in non-game contexts”, whereas the latter defines gamification as a “process of enhancing a service with affordances for gameful experiences in order to support user’s overall value creation.” The key differences …

A study to explore how to encourage active mobility and to test participants’ experience and perceptions of a web-based AR application.

Most of the world population living in urban areas continues to grow¹. As the global population shifts to urban areas, there is an increased need for practical solutions to address the physical and mental wellbeing of citizens and to enhance the standard of living in urban environments. Among the problems in urban areas are premature mortality rates caused by physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles, which lead to chronic diseases. According to World Health Organization (WHO)², physical inactivity …

Exercise and have fun right outside your home! Well, some might require travelling a short distance, but it beats driving or commuting farther away for hobbies or sports activities.

Welcome, Lähirähinä! Fun and sports with your next-door neighbour (or almost).

Lähirähinä is a voluntary program started by JS Hercules football club four years ago. The aim is to equip anyone in neighbourhoods around the city of Oulu with the tools to organise easy and open for all (sporting) activities. Guidance and equipment are available for the organisers of the events if needed. Occasionally, members of professional sports clubs hold demo …

Spend 40% of the time researching, 20% actually writing and 40% editing and rewriting.

Sometime back, I took part in a webinar about academic writing and the issues that lead to challenges when reporting or documenting research. The webinar was hosted by Daphney Grant. The points raised in the webinar are those I have often struggled with in my research and in projects, especially in the initial stages when there is a lack of clarity. A summary of the issues discussed in the webinar.

1. Failure to budget time effectively. Tell me about it!

2. Editing while writing, which is destructive because …

From mid-October to mid-November 2019, I was in the UK for a research visit. The opportunity to collaborate closely, exchange ideas, learn from another perspective while in a different work environment is always welcome. KAUTE, The Finnish Science Foundation for Technology and Economics, funded the research visit. While in the UK, I worked with Dr Rachel Burrows.

Digital Interventions for the Marginalised in Society

The aim of the visit was to investigate the use of digital interventions to address the needs of the marginalised in society, to understand the challenges in designing these interventions and the opportunities they avail.  The …