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Within the EU, energy transition at the local level is embedded in a complex stakeholder network with highly interdependent actors; if these actors have to collaborate to contribute to an efficient transition, they have to initiate a dialogue about their roles and interests. A good way to achieve this goal could be via serious gaming. Scholars sugg...
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... can be seen in Table 3, the cognitive dimension receives the highest percentage, followed by behavioural and then emotional. That means that the game has greater potential to making people think more and possibly learn more about energy transition. ...Context 2
... is different according to the original framework (11 in cognitive and 10 in emotional and behavioural). As can be seen in Table 3, the cognitive dimension receives the highest percentage, followed by behavioural and then emotional. That means that the game has greater potential to making people think more and possibly learn more about energy transition. ...Similar publications
The current Covid-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented global challenge in the field of education and training. As we have seen, the lack of proper information about the virus and its transmission has forced the general population and healthcare workers to rapidly acquire knowledge and learn new practices. Clearly, a well-informed population is more...
Early adolescence is a time of major social change; a strong sense of belonging (SB) and peer connectedness is an essential protective factor in mental health (MH) during that period. In this paper we introduce LINA, an augmented reality (AR) smartphone-based serious game played in school by an entire class (age 10+) together with their teacher, wh...
In the last few years, serious games have become popular, with a consensus of the benefits for teaching cyber security awareness and education. However, there is still a lack of pedagogical driven methodologies and tools to support serious games design to ensure they achieve the learning objectives. This paper proposes MOTENS, a pedagogical model,...
How corporates are exploiting serious games for training.
Citations
... In other words, the kind of knowledge that is gained is largely dependent on those who take part in the game: their interests, competencies and capacity to make own choices [6]. Although studies propose that serious games in the energy context should be designed in an inclusive way [18,19], little is known about the criteria that make a good player and a well-balanced discussion when dealing with the different 'voices' concerning energy and climate futures. ...
... Even if serious gaming is supposed to be entertaining-such as any other gamethe deeper purpose and goal is to foster knowledge generation among particular sets of actors and linked to particular problems or places. In the energy transition context, games are means to understand more about complex matters [18]. ...
... "Partly because large-scale technological examples command so much attention, commentators take it for granted that policy and corporate actors are key players, even if the necessary involvement of other groups and interests, including those of 'users' is repeatedly acknowledged" [31]. The energy transition process is embedded in a complex stakeholder network [18], yet there is an overall tendency to play serious games in 'expert' settings (elitist perspective) [25]. ...
... On the design level, a great number of the games reviewed implemented self-organization mechanisms. This was often achieved by empowering players to negotiate and decide on new game actions within existing constraints (Kocher et al. 2019;Ouariachi 2021;Wessels 2016) or even to shape the game's ruleset themselves (Gugerell et al. 2018;Onencan et al. 2016). Players were enabled to set their own priorities and pursue individual game strategies (Truscheit and Otte 2004;Yiannakoulias et al. 2020). ...
Sustainability transformations are characterized by complex system dynamics, including abstraction, non-linearity and uncertainty, which are often challenging to comprehend due to psychological barriers and misconceptions. Serious games offer a promising tool to both explore and communicate such dynamics, as they simplify complex mechanisms and enable more tangible understanding through simulations of real-world problems. This study examines how existing serious games related to sustainability transformations translate politico-economic structures and ecological patterns into game design. Furthermore, we explore how leverage points can be integrated into serious games, drawing on Donella Meadows' systems thinking approach. The review follows the PRISMA framework and encompasses 170 selected papers from Scopus and EBSCO databases. Findings of qualitative analysis reveal how existing serious games related to sustainability transformations mirror ecological, economic and political structures and show possible ways to address leverage points via game design. Subsequently, we discuss how serious games can be used as educational and research tool to both explore and teach the root causes of unsustainability as well as possible interventions. Further research is needed to evaluate how serious games can contribute to enhance understanding of system dynamics and analyze human–system interactions. We outline approaches for future research efforts and discuss questions of validity when using serious games for research purposes.
... Multiple approaches with varying degrees and techniques of involving people exist [52][53][54][55] , yet serious games provide an engaging and fun platform to foster the negotiation of perspectives between different types of stakeholders 51,53,[56][57][58][59][60] . More importantly, they have been used in the simulation of transitions and transformation processes 61-64 because they allow for the co-creation and co-evaluation of knowledge 56,65,66 , learning about the systems' complexity 53,56,[67][68][69][70] , and help to identify place-based challenges 71,72 . ...
Growing urban population and contemporary urban systems lock-in unsustainable urban development pathways, deteriorating the living quality of urban dwellers. The systemic complexity of these challenges renders it difficult to find solutions using existing planning processes. Alternatively, transformative planning processes are radical, take place on multiple scales, and are often irreversible; therefore, require the integration of local stakeholders’ perspectives, which are often contradictory. We identify perceived levers of urban transformative change using a serious game to facilitate the integration of these perspectives through simulating neighbourhood transformation processes in two European case studies. Building on existing transformation frameworks, we organize, conceptualize, and compare the effectiveness of these levers through demonstrating their interactions with different scales of transformation. Specifically, drawing from close commonalities between large-scale (Three Spheres of Transformation) and place-based (Place-making) transformation frameworks, we show how these interactions can help to develop recommendations to unlock urban transformative change. Results show that access to participation is a key lever enabling urban transformative change. It appears to be mid-level effective to unlock urban transformative change through interactions with the political sphere of transformation and procedural element of Place-making. Ultimately, however, most effective are those levers that interact with all scales of transformation. For example, by engaging a combination of levers including access to participation , public spaces , parking , place-characteristics and place-identity. These findings could be operationalized by self-organized transformation processes focused on repurposing hard infrastructure into public spaces, whilst ensuring continuity of place-based social- and physical features. Local stakeholders could further use such processes to better understand and engage with their individual roles in the transformative process, because interactions with the personal scale, i.e., personal sphere of transformation appear paramount to unlock urban transformative change.
... The essence of place-based management lies in the active involvement of a diverse array of stakeholders, such as legislators, business delegates, community entities, and ecological organizations [12]. The early engagement of stakeholders in the decision-making processes serves to bolster local ownership, cultivate trust, and foster collaboration in pursuit of the objectives of transitioning towards sustainable energy sources [13,14]. The efficacy of an energy transition greatly hinges on the practice of place-based management, which takes into account the varied regional circumstances and customizes policies to cater to local requirements. ...
The interplay between just transition and stakeholder involvement appears to be central to discussions on climate
change, sustainability, the green economy, and achieving climate neutrality. Given that this transition involves
long-term and profound changes across many socio-economic and environmental areas, the role of stakeholders
in addressing this complex challenge is crucial. This paper examines the degree of stakeholder engagement in
three coal-intensive regions within the EU: Western Macedonia in Greece, Silesia in Poland, and Stara Zagora in
Bulgaria. Utilizing empirical research methods, including fieldwork, interviews, and questionnaires, this study
provides a granular understanding of local governance mechanisms and their impact on the just transition
process. The integration of place-based governance, deliberative democracy, and stakeholder engagement
frameworks offers a comprehensive and innovative approach to addressing the complex challenges of transitioning
from coal-dependent economies. The empirical findings underscore the importance of inclusive
governance structures and highlight the significant risks associated with inadequate stakeholder involvement,
offering a novel perspective on the pathways to a successful just transition.
... Ouariachi's [6] contribution focused on energy transition at the local level. It was built on the premise that energy transition process is embedded in a complex stakeholder network with highly interdependent actors, and that if these actors have to collaborate to enable efficient transition, they must initiate a dialogue about their roles and interests. ...
In recent years, collective action initiatives in the energy field, such as energy communities and cooperatives, have been gaining relevance both in the policy and in the social research domains as primary actors of energy transition. [...]
... Models like Global Sustainability Crossroads based on MEDEAS-World energy-economy-environment simulation model developed by GEEDS-UVa, motivated participants to design strategies and make long-term decisions concerning climate change mitigation in the framework of economy, energy and technology policies and then introduce them into a mathematical model of dynamic simulation (Capellán-Pérez et al., 2019). The model showed great pedagogical potential in educating and improving citizens' comprehension of the sustainability problem like waste accumulation, waste disposal opportunities, wastewater, human pollution, energy consumption, etc., as well as anthropogenic effects on the environment (Aguiar-Castillo et al., 2019;Bifulco et al., 2011;Capellán-Pérez et al., 2019;Destyanto et al., 2019;Devisch, 2008;Fernández Galeote and Hamari, 2021;Fleming et al., 2020;Hellweger, 2007;Laksmi and Ardi, 2020;Lidia et al., 2018;Massoud et al., 2021;Mondejar et al., 2021;Mylonas et al., 2021;Ouariachi, 2021;Poplin, 2014;Roy et al., 2021;Theethum et al., 2021;Undorf et al., 2020;Vasuthanasub et al., 2019). In such serious games, participants are tasked with designing and responding to virtual waste management scenarios (i.e., through defining recycling routes, editing mobility, air quality, wastewater management, selecting a different circular economy strategy, etc.) (D'Adamo, 2019;D'Adamo and Lupi, 2021;Helmefalk and Rosenlund, 2020;Likotiko et al., 2017;Loizia et al., 2019;Morganti et al., 2017;Nitti et al., 2017;Salim et al., 2021;Titiu, 2019;Wu and Huang, 2015) to mitigate climate change through strategic planning, resulting in better understanding of the complexity and challenge of waste management. ...
A gamification approach for tackling waste management planning and urban development provide a more engaging and interactive experience with high pedagogical potential. Existing serious games involving waste management are complex in their data ingestion, use, and presentation, limiting individuals' opportunities to gain knowledge and decision-making skills transferrable to the real world. Simulations, by comparison, provide either an oversimplified and unrealistic user interface or explore in depth individual rather than aggregate key performance indicators for waste management, limiting potential knowledge retention. There is a clear opportunity in creating an informative, easy-to-use simulation-based game to help stakeholders build understanding of waste management policies, performance, and causal relationships. This gamified tool provides clear feedback through quick-visibility performance indicators (i.e., waste accumulation index, waste compositional analysis, prevention activities etc.) and offers the opportunity, through multi-criteria decision making, of simulating real-life scenarios and previewing the possible outcomes of certain in-game actions. The research question is how the process of gamification might serve as powerful tool for educating decision makers. The results are considered as a reference point to any policy maker intending to assess environmental performance, proposed activities to reach Circular Economy targets, and European Green Deal and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Water-related conflicts in river catchments occur due to both internal and external pressures that affect catchment water availability. Lack of common understanding of human–water perspectives by catchment stakeholders increases the complexity of human–water issues at the river catchment scale. Among a range of participatory approaches, the development and use of serious games gained prominence as a tool to stimulate discussion and reflection among stakeholders about sustainable resource use and collective action. This study designed and implemented the ENGAGE (Exploring New Gaming Approach to Guide and Enlighten) game that mimics the dynamics observed during the dry season in the upper Ewaso Ngiro catchment, northwest of Mount Kenya. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential role of serious gaming in subsequent steps of strengthening stakeholder engagement (agenda setting, shared understanding, commitment to collective action, and means of implementation) toward addressing complex human–water challenges at the catchment scale. We assessed the type of decisions made during gameplay, the communication dynamics, the active participation, and the implication of decisions made on water availability. The results of three game sessions show that the ENGAGE game raised awareness and provided a recognizable hydrologic background to conflicts while guiding community discussions toward implementable decisions. The results revealed increasing active participation, knowledge gain, and use of plural pronouns and decreasing individual interests and conflicts among game participants. This study presents important implications for creating a collective basis for water management and can inform human–water policies and modification of the process behind water allocation rules in a river catchment.
Water-related conflicts in river catchments occur due to both internal and external pressures that affect catchment water availability. Lack of shared understanding by catchment stakeholders increase the complexity of human-water issues at the river catchment scale. Among a range of participatory approaches, the development and use of serious games gained prominence as a tool to stimulate discussion and reflection among stakeholders about sustainable resource use and collective action. This study designed and implemented the ENGAGE game (Exploring New Gaming Approach to Guide and Enlighten), that mimics the dynamics observed during the dry season in the upper Ewaso Ng’iro catchment, North West of Mount Kenya. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential role of serious gaming in subsequent steps of strengthening stakeholder engagement (agenda setting, shared understanding, commitment to collective action, and means of implementation) toward addressing complex human-water-related challenges at the catchment scale. We assessed the type of decisions made during gameplay, the communication dynamics, active participation, and the implication of decisions made on water availability. The results of three game sessions show that the ENGAGE game raised awareness and provided a recognizable hydro-logic background to conflicts while guiding community discussions toward implementable decisions. The results revealed increasing active participation, knowledge gain, and use of plural pronouns, and decreasing individual interests and conflicts among game participants. This study presents important implications for creating a collective basis for water management and can inform human-water policies and modification of the process behind water allocation rules in a river catchment.
