Motivation and Emotions in a Health Literacy Game: Insights from Co-occurrence Network Analysis

Accumulating evidence indicates that game-based learning is emotionally charged. However, little is known about the nature of emotions in game-based learning. We extended previous game-based learning research by examining epistemic emotions and their relations to flow experience and situational interest. Sixty-eight 15–18-year-old students played the Antidote COVID-19 game for 25 min. Epistemic emotions, flow, and situational interest were measured after the playing session. These measures indicated that the game engaged students. Students reported significantly higher intensity levels of positive epistemic emotions (excitement, surprise, and curiosity) than negative epistemic emotions (boredom, anxiety, frustration, and confusion). The co-occurrence network analyses provided insights into the relationship between flow and situational interest. We found an asymmetrical pattern of the "situational interest-flow” co-occurrence. When situational interest occurred, the flow was always co-occurring. This co-occurrence suggests that situational interest could be a prerequisite or a potential trigger for flow experience but not an adequate state ensuring a high flow experience. Further, flow and situational interest co-occurred mainly with positive epistemic emotions. The findings imply that flow and situational interest are similar constructs and share several characteristics. The study also demonstrated that epistemic emotions, flow, and situational interest can be used as proxies of engagement. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 2022, The Authors.

#NotHolidayButDistance Education: a study on social media use for K-12 education during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: This study aims to explore Twitter posts of Turkish government agencies and the public under a specific hashtag, #NotHolidayButDistanceEducation, specifically related to online distance education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a thematic analysis on 22,547 original tweets posted by 6,970 users during the first month of online distance education in Turkish K-12 schools. Based on like and retweet counts, the study further explored the extent of stakeholders’ engagement with the observed themes. Findings: The findings showed that government agencies and citizens used Twitter to provide technical and psychological support, appreciate and motivate stakeholders, demonstrate sample distance education activities, share information and offer suggestions about the ongoing online distance education. It was also observed that the hashtag has been used for expressing negative views about online distance education and for political purposes. A positive relationship was found between social media engagement and providing technical support or sharing information for online distance education. Practical implications: This study highlights the role of social media in providing practical and emotional support to education stakeholders in times of crisis. Thus, governments can use social media to provide evidence-based psychological and physical health support to their citizens during a pandemic. Social media can serve to improve education practices in schools through the interactions between the public and policymakers. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study can be considered unique because it demonstrates the civic use of social media for educational crisis management. This study highlights the influence of social media in educational policy and practice development in the contemporary era. © 2022, Ismail Celik, Muhterem Dindar and Hanni Muukkonen.

HEALTH ANXIETY LEVELS AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT STATUS OF HANDBALL PLAYERS TO THEIR TEAMS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The purpose of this study was to investigate health anxiety levels and organizational commitment status of handball players to their teams during COVID-19 pandemic. 84 elite handball players (male=40, female=44) participated in this research. An information form was used to determine occasions and behaviors of handball players during COVID-19 pandemic. Health Anxiety Scale and Organizational Commitment Scale were performed. Data obtained were analyzed through SPSS package. In research results;there were no significant difference in health anxiety scores of handball players with regard to gender, sports type, training and wage. While male players were determined to have higher normative organizational commitment and continuation scores than female players, National players were determined to have significantly lower scores in continuation, normative and total organizational commitment scores. However, it was determined that there was a significant correlation between COVID-19, total anxiety scores and organizational commitment subdimension scores of handball players.