Research

Introduction and aims The increasing availability of smartphones and internet access in Somalia has contributed to the growing use of mobile games among children. Mobile gaming may influence cognitive development positively or negatively depending on gaming habits and supervision. This study aimed to assess the influence of mobile games on cognitive development among Somali children aged 6-15 years. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 200 Somali children, with their accompanying parents or guardians, recruited from selected primary and secondary schools in Mogadishu by multistage sampling. A structured questionnaire recorded gaming habits, parental supervision, and perceived positive and negative cognitive effects on a 5-point Likert scale. Data were summarised as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations (SD). Results More than half of the children (55.0%) played daily, and 70.0% played for 1-2 h per day. Action (45.0%) and sports (35.0%) games predominated, educational games were played by 5.0%, and only 25.0% of children were always supervised. Positive-effect items had an overall mean of 3.71; agreement was highest for “games make learning more interesting” (4.00 ± 0.95). Negative-effect items had an overall mean of 3.56. Among perceived cognitive and academic difficulties (domain mean 3.54), reduced study time scored highest (3.80 ± 1.13). Indicators of problematic gaming had a domain mean of 3.66, and 60.0% of children found it difficult to stop playing. Fatigue and reduced school engagement had a domain mean of 3.55. Discussion Somali children in this sample perceived mobile gaming as having both beneficial and harmful effects on cognitive development. The evidence is descriptive and self-reported and does not establish causation. Balanced gaming, closer parental supervision, and greater use of educational games are recommended, and longitudinal studies with objective cognitive measures are needed.

Introduction This article examines AI-generated images as symbolic products, and explores how these images visually represent social identities. This study takes the case of gamer identity as the research subject. Methods The research analyzed 1,200 encoded images from text-to-image generative AI tools in China and the United States. Based on the theory of visual social semiotics, the study examined how image arrangements such as physical features and spatial layout jointly shape the image of “gamers”. Results The research found that the AI-generated images of gamers mainly present in a narrow way, focusing on young groups, masculine traits, private space, screen immersion, and technological devices. Three recurring visual templates are particularly prominent: socially withdrawn gamers, professional e-sports champions, and casual gamers. Female gamers were more often represented through softer aesthetic styles, decorative environments, and social forms of gaming, and were less frequently depicted in technically intensive or competitive roles. Comparative analysis further reveals different representational tendencies: China-based tools more often associate games with fatigue and chaos, while U.S.-based tools emphasize skills, style, and competitive value. Discussion In this study, these patterns are conceptualized as “algorithmic stigma”, illustrating how text-to-image AI can organize the visual representation and recognisability of social identities through recurring stereotypical configurations.

Concepts of narrative immersion tend to be associated with concepts of media transparency, or immediacy, as termed in Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin’s foundational media theory. However, accounting for phenomena of narrative immersion that persist amidst today’s pervasive self-reflexive and conspicuous forms of mediation, or hypermediacy, requires new conceptual frameworks. This article proposes meta/narrative immersion to theorize the aesthetic experience of entering a storyworld under conditions of hypermediacy: specifically, a narrative recipient’s simultaneous immersion in a fictional story and the actual story of its telling. The tabletop role-playing game (TRPG) campaign, as represented in the emerging entertainment genre of actual play, exemplifies this experience. Actual play depicts TRPG campaigns as games of collaborative role-play storytelling requiring players to embody fictional characters while consciously negotiating non-fictional gameplay. Taking Dropout’s actual play series Dimension 20: Neverafter (2022-2023) as a case study, the article shows how TRPG campaigns afford meta/narrative immersion by producing narratives while concomitantly becoming narratives themselves. Theorizing narrative immersion in terms of hypermediacy ultimately speaks to questions of subjective agency during the reception of contemporary entertainment media.

Video games are often viewed as resources for coping, emotional regulation, and resilience during adversity. However, little is known about gamers’ experiences when both everyday life and gaming-related resources are disrupted. This interpretive phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 15 Iranian gamers during the Iran-Israel missile attacks through semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using Diekelmann et al.’s hermeneutic phenomenological method, with Conservation of Resources (COR) theory as an interpretive framework. Four themes emerged: collapse of the gaming lifeworld, digital solidarity and relational reconnection, reclaiming agency through gamer identity, and reconstructing everyday life and future horizons. The findings indicate that the coping value of gameplay was uneven rather than uniformly absent, while the social and symbolic dimensions of gaming continued to provide connection and support for several participants. These findings add nuance to existing research by suggesting that the significance of gaming during severe crises may extend beyond gameplay itself to the relationships, identities, and communities that form around it.

A basic understanding of soil science is essential for addressing global challenges. However, opportunities for introductory soil science education remain limited. In this study, we developed Carbon Farm, a single-player board game that simulates climate-smart farming practices to promote fundamental knowledge and awareness of soil science. The game only requires a scoresheet, a pen, and dice, and was specifically designed for implementation in both classroom activities and public outreach events involving participants from primary school students to adults. The game was implemented at multiple public outreach events in Japan, including N-EXPO, Osaka-Kansai EXPO, and MIEXPO, where facilitators guided gameplay. Carbon Farm was also implemented in an undergraduate lecture at Mie University. Student feedback indicated that participants enjoyed the game experience and were motivated to further explored the soil science processes and climate-smart agricultural management. These results demonstrated that facilitated boardgame experience can support science communication by promoting discussion and increasing public awareness of soil science in both educational and outreach settings.

Playing competitive matches in cooperative teams is a key feature of some of the most successful online games. Though both the within and between team experience of presence (copresence and compresence respectively) are likely to influence the overall experience of the game, research typically considers neither both types of presence together nor their relationship with other player experience measures. In a survey study with 137 League of Legends players, compresence and copresence were found to correlate, and this relationship held regardless of other factors, with meaning and challenge acting as covariates in this relationship. No player experience factors were found to moderate the relationship. These results paint a rich picture of social dynamics and individual player experience influencing each other and highlight it is necessary to consider both compresence and copresence in understanding how team-vs-team games build up the wider player experiences.