UCSD to study impact of video games on teenage health: research effort part of nationwide program.Ready. Set. Launch Nintendo. Video game researchers eager to discover what holds the interest of garners young and old have donned their (virtual) thinking caps and equipped themselves with all the equipment of an avid gamer as part of a nationwide study involving 11 universities and the Maine Medical Center Maine Medical Center (MMC), located in Portland, Maine in the United States, is the largest hospital in northern New England. It is a 606-bed facility which also serves as a teaching hospital. . More than $2 million in grants provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, charitable organization devoted exclusively to health care issues. It was established in 1936 by Robert Wood Johnson (1893–1968), board chairman of the Johnson & Johnson medical products company. will allow researchers to explore everything from how cyber-cycling games encourage physical and neurological activity in seniors to how virtual role-playing games See:
UC San Diego researchers in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine preventive medicine, branch of medicine dealing with the prevention of disease and the maintenance of good health practices. Until recently preventive medicine was largely the domain of the U.S. will use $198,000 to discover how interactive digital games can be designed to improve health in teenagers. They will study so-called "exergames," popularized by musical video game Dance Dance Revolution Dance Dance Revolution, a.k.a. DDR and Dancing Stage in Europe, is a music video game series produced by Konami. It was first introduced to Japanese video arcades in 1998, after being shown at the Tokyo Game Show earlier that year. and Nintendo Wii's baseball, boxing, bowling, golf and tennis games, which encourage players to mimic dance moves and other physical activities while monitoring a screen and using game controllers. Studies have shown that Dance Dance Revolution can raise a player's heart rate to the level of an aerobic workout. 'Exciting Next Step' "I think it's a very exciting next step in our understanding of what motivates people to get physical activity and how technology and games can play a role," said Debra Lieberman, a leading expert in the research and design of interactive media for learning and health behavior change at UC Santa Barbara. Health Games Research, an $8.25 million Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national program designed to support innovative research in video games, is headquartered at the university. Lieberman directs the Health Games Research Program and helped select grant recipients. "Our aim was between 10 and 15 (recipients) that would add up to about $2 million that would really help us understand some aspect of health games," she said. "(UC San Diego) happened to be a good proposal and addressed an important question." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Researchers will ask what motivates play among social settings and whether the level of physical activity leads to increased health benefits, according to Dr. Gregory Norman, who is leading a team of four researchers to study adolescent behavior. The information could prove valuable to the computer and video game industry, which took in about $9.5 billion last year. Japanese technology company SSD/ XaviX, which has a branch in San Diego, will provide researchers with game equipment. The research team will begin by mapping the games to determine what psychological principals motivate play. Then, they will invite a dozen children, ages 11 to 15, into the lab to play the games to judge various verbal, facial and other reactions. The final phase involves a three-month, home-based study of 120 adolescents. Researchers will investigate how the social interactions that take place during game play influence health behavior change. "Based on these findings, we would continue our research and apply for a federal grant," Norman said. Other study participants include Cornell University, Indiana University, Maine Medical Center; Union College, University of Central Florida “UCF” redirects here. For other uses, see UCF (disambiguation). UCF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida. UCF was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University with the goal of providing highly trained personnel to support the Kennedy , University of Florida University of Florida is the third-largest university in the United States, with 50,912 students (as of Fall 2006) and has the eighth-largest budget (nearly $1.9 billion per year). UF is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Also known as The University of North Carolina, Carolina, North Carolina, or simply UNC , University of South Carolina
• • Research Foundation; University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission , University of Vermont and the University of Washington. |
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