This dissertation examines the affective qualities of non-player character motion in a Virtual Reality (VR) cognitive training game, their impact on players' core affective experiences, game performance, and cognitive training outcomes. How do the movements of game characters in a VR environment affect players' experienced emotions, gameplay…

Research into children's screen time has primarily focused on the quantity of screen exposure. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent, if any, there was an association between young children's media screen time and the quality of joint media engagement between parent, child, and media in the home. The problem addressed was that…

This study explored parental and teacher perceptions of excessive technology and screen time and elementary students' academic performance, attention, addictive behaviors, behavior problems, and social interactions. This study's purpose was to gather teacher and parental input to understand the perceptions of how excessive technology and screen…

Objective: The rapid advancement in screen-based technology enables teenagers today to devote significant amounts of time to occupational engagement in the virtual context. Societal concerns regarding adolescent screen time have been well-substantiated by numerous studies that have revealed an inverse relationship between adolescent screen time…

Educational digital games are often complex problem-solving experiences that can facilitate systematic comprehension. However, empirical studies of digital game based learning (DGBL) have found mixed results regarding DGBL's effect in improving comprehension. While learners generally enjoyed the DGBL learning experience, they often failed to…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how the computer is utilized in the daily lives of seven African American male youth in the southeastern region of the United States. Critical pedagogy was selected as the theoretical framework using Paulo Freire ideas of problem-posing education to promote awareness towards using the computer…

While research indicates that an increasing number of males are experiencing a sense of disaffiliation with traditional education (Kleinfeld, 2006; Steinkuehler & King, 2009), nearly all teenage boys and young adult men (approximately 99%) regularly engage in playing video games of some sort (Roberts, Foehr & Rideout (2008). This is an interesting…