[AISWorld] An invitation to contribute a chapter for an upcoming book on gamification

[Torsten Reiners]

Hi,

My colleague, Dr Lincoln C. Wood (Lincoln.Wood at aut.ac.nz) and I are working
with Springer on editing a book provisionally entitled ‘Gamification in
Education and Business’. We plan for this to become a core body of research
in this expanding area that people will turn to as a first reference in the
coming years. The volume will cover a range of theoretical foundations for
gamification in one volume, integrate these, and present several design and
implementation concepts, while also discussing the possible negatives of
using gamification and presenting some case studies.

Webpage for the book at: http://www.gamification-book.com/call-for-chapters/

Attached is a copy of the Call for Chapters with further details on the
planned content of the book. We are keen to discuss your ideas and possible
contribution with you and, if necessary, work with you to ensure that your
ideas are well-integrated with current planned contributions to the volume.

What is the book about?The concept of gamification – of injecting regular,
work-related, or other non-game tasks with a sense of fun, encouraging
users to experience more passion and a sense of play – is set to grow in
importance over the coming decade. However, research remains in a state of
infancy, possibly due to the strong multi-disciplinary approaches required
to extract the greatest value. Meanwhile, industry has surged ahead, with
many ‘turnkey’ solutions offered that can be easily attached or included in
existing social media applications; these ‘solutions’ are, however, basic
and tend to cover only three major gamification components and neglect
careful gamified design, seen by many to be crucial to achieving objectives.
Key theory comes from:


   - behavioural economics; e.g., incentivising executive behaviours
   - psychology; e.g., examining intrinsic and extrinsic motivations
   - game theory; e.g., influence of individual actions to get vaccinated
   - social network theory; e.g., changing the role of the Sales Manager
   - complex adaptive systems; e.g., improving outcomes through
   modification of system dynamics


Thus, we seek a range of contributions from researchers with different
theoretical backgrounds. Furthermore, we seek to detailed case studies that
demonstrate applied gamification; covering pitfalls and guidelines to
successful implement a project.
Gamification can, when poorly considered during implementation, cause
significant difficulty and heartache for users. Some firms have also
struggled to withdraw or remove gamified applications. The book will
highlight these issues and how they can be resolved.
At present there is a weak relationship between Gamification and other,
established disciplines. This is one of the most important sections of the
volume, where we seek a range of contributions from researchers with
diverse backgrounds. Assuming that the readers will have little grounding
in their discipline, the discipline experts are invited to contribute a
chapter based on the theory in their field and connect this to gamification
principles. We see this as one of the most crucial contributions of the
volume, seeking to establish strong theoretical principles for gamification
in practice. Specifically, we seek contributions from (but not limited to)
the following areas:


   - Behavioural Economics
   - Psychology
   - Game theory
   - Social Network Theory


Empirically validated and supported contributions will be strongly
welcomed, along with suitable syntheses of the relationship between other
disciplines and gamification.

 Recommended topicsWe are particularly keen on receiving proposals and
chapters concerning the following topics and welcome proposals on other
relevant topics:


   - *Design of (complex, adaptive) Systems/Methodology/Theory* – this
   broad category invites contributions relating to the design of such
   systems. Gamified systems are complex and challenging to design effectively
   due to the involvement of (perhaps many) humans with their own drivers,
   beliefs, and emotions. Current research notes that the design of the system
   is crucial to success and achievement of desired outcomes.
   - *Benefits from Gamification* – This has been discussed in general
   terms in relation to society and particular groups, but seems to have been
   rarely measured or discussed in relation to theory. We invite specific
   discussions on the benefits tied to theoretical foundations and empirical
   evidence demonstrating efficacy of gamification.
   - *Education *– while it is undoubtedly true that it is easier to
   motivate students when they are engaged in classes and what they are
   learning, not every subject or discipline seems to be amenable to
   gamification. Further challenges exist where institutional culture or
   policy places firm strictures on what can and cannot be undertaken,
   with little devolution of design power to front-line staff who may
   otherwise implement gamification principles.
   - *Drawbacks to Gamification and the ‘Dark Side’ of Gamification *– as
   with any technology, gamification is open to abuse. This category
   explores gamification with detailed, actual case studies, and frameworks to
   prevent such occurrences. Where it has occurred, the challenges of
   rectifying and remedying the situation will be explored and detailed.
   - *Critical perspectives – there are* a range of opinions on
   gamification, with one of the most colourful being Bogost’s carefully
   articulated, blog-based claim that “Gamification is bullshit”. While we
   clearly don’t share the entirety of Bogost’s opinion, he raises important
   issues.
   - *Framework for Gamification* – drawing on previous frameworks and
   materials presented elsewhere, a framework for the design and
   implementation of gamification technology is welcome, particularly one
   focusing on both education- and business-oriented outcomes.
   - *Measurement of benefits* – the measurement of benefits within
   gamified systems is tricky and must be carefully evaluated as there are
   many confounding factors that must be untangled. Methods and methodological
   contributions in this area are welcome.
   - *Relationship to existing concepts* – there are many overlapping
   concepts, such as game design (e.g., the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics
   (MDA) framework) and serious games. Examinations of these areas of overlap
   are welcome.
   - *Gamification recovery* – not every system is destined to be gamified
   for all time and some systems will need to be ungamified during a
   ‘recovery’ phase. There are two possible reasons for this. First, after the
   initial wave of gamification, we anticipate that many system designers will
   eventually attempt to revoke the gamified components and un-gamify their
   system. Second, system designers may poorly gamify a system and realise
   that they have created harmful dynamics that they wish to remove. However,
   indications are that this recovery or revocation of gamification process
   may be tricky to navigate and is not straight forward.
   - *Service operations* – many social media and social networks have been
   successfully gamified. Other business systems are less easily gamified, but
   service operations will likely be the next big area of interest in
   gamification. It is not clear, however, how gamification will impact on
   existing service-oriented concepts such as the servicescape model, the
   service-profit chain, or the service-dominant logic (SDL) model.


 Important Dates2013/05/15: Proposal submission Deadline
2013/16/01: Notification of acceptance of proposal
2013/08/31: Full chapter submission
2013/09/30: Review results returned
2013/10/31: Revised chapter submission

Submission Procedure Professionals and researchers are invited to submit a
proposal to submit a chapter proposal by May 15, 2013.
This should be a 2-3 page proposal that states and explains the mission and
focus of your chapter.
All authors of accepted proposals will be notified by June 1, 2013 the
status of their proposal and they will be provided with comprehensive
chapter guidelines.
We request that the completed chapters be submitted by August 31, 2013. All
chapters will be reviewed (double-blinded review).
Please note that as a contributor, you may be requested to review other
submissions to the book.


Best regards,

Dr Torsten Reiners  and Dr Lincoln C. Wood

Editors of Springer’s forthcoming *Gamification in Education and Business*.


*Dr Torsten Reiners*
PhD IS/Edu, Dipl IS, Ba CS,

Senior Lecturer | School of Information Systems
Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Curtin Business School
Curtin University
Kent St.
Bentley, WA
6102

Tel | +61 8 9266 7642
Mobile | 0410861172

Email | t.reiners at curtin.edu.au
Web |
http://business.curtin.edu.au/contact/staff_directory/index.cfm/T.Reiners



Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J (WA), 02637B (NSW)
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