Edutainment Content Production Platform Based on Activity Control Using Skeleton Tracking

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the activities required for child physical development were reduced because classes were conducted remotely. Thus, an interactive edutainment content that can assist the physical and cognitive development of children in indoor environments is required. In this study, we designed an edutainment content production platform (ECPP) that allows teachers to design and produce an educational content using students' movements. Teachers can develop an educational content by analyzing and modifying the children's response to the designed edutainment content. The skeleton tracking of the human body using a depth sensor was used for the user interface and activity analysis. The proposed platform allows teachers to set images and movements for educational icons, as well as visual and sound effects that occur when a child touches the icons. The ECPP includes an activity control function that allows teachers to analyze the amounts of activity and movement, and then adjust the movement level in the edutainment content. In addition, a content management module allows teachers to store and share an interactive content.

Movies, stigma and choice: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry.

Do movies reduce stigma, increasing healthcare product choices offered by firms? We provide causal evidence on this question in the context of Indian pharmaceutical markets. For unpacking these effects, we use an exogenous shock to the market due to the release of a Bollywood blockbuster movie - My Name is Khan (MNIK) where the protagonist, superstar Shahrukh Khan, suffers from Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Using a difference-in-differences design, we find a positive and statistically significant effect of MNIK (between 14% and 22% increase in variety sold and prescribed) on product differentiation and choices in the market for antipsychotic medicines used to clinically treat AS. Results are consistent using alternative controls, a placebo treatment-based test and with a variety of other robustness checks. Our findings document likely for the first-time, supply side responses to edutainment and suggests potential associated welfare effects in healthcare markets characterized by sticky demand. Implications for global health and public policy given worldwide concerns around a mental wellness epidemic with Covid-19 are discussed.

'Fight the parasite': raising awareness of cystic echinococcosis in primary school children in endemic countries.

BACKGROUND: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a widespread zoonosis and a significant economic concern and cause of morbidity in humans. A scarcity of education on the sources of CE infection and containment measures is considered to be a key factor responsible for persistent transmission within communities. Recently, edutainment approaches have captured the attention of health education (HE) professionals due to the benefits of integrating cognitive and emotional learning processes. METHODS: A study was carried out in Sardinia, Italy, between 2020 and 2022, amid the SARS-Covid-19 pandemic. The project, designed to involve primary school children (via remote or face-to-face learning depending on the evolving Covid-19 containment measures) consisted of four distinct phases: (i) creation of material for school children and teachers focused on cystic echinococcosis; (ii) pre-intervention evaluation of CE knowledge (i.e. True False Don't Know [TFD] pre-intervention questionnaire based on CE-related knowledge and practices); (iii) edutainment activity (e.g. interactive lessons enhanced by the comic booklet and the "Fight the parasite" cartoon video, hands-on educational activities and drawing activities on CE); and (iv) post-intervention evaluation of CE knowledge (via TFD post-intervention questionnaire [same questionnaire as used for the pre-intervention assessment] on CE-related knowledge and practices) and on-site edutainment tour in primary schools taking part to the project. RESULTS: The percentage of correct answers increased from 65% for the questionnaire administered pre-intervention to 87.9% for the same questionnaire administered post-intervention (χ2 = 648.12, df = 1, P < 0.0001), while the percentage of uncertain answers (i.e. 'I don't know') decreased from 23% pre-intervention to 5% post-intervention (χ2 = 603.44, df = 1, P < 0.0001). These differences indicate a significantly enhanced understanding of CE among participating school children after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present survey indicate that the use of digital educational tools, the use of video animations as a model for science communication, as well as other participatory teaching methods, enabled children to retain key knowledge of the routes of CE transmission and ways to prevent it.

Effects of narrative-persuasive frames on Twitter regarding blood donation: pride versus empathy and people versus numbers

Blood donation in Spain is an altruistic, voluntary and unpaid process. Despite its social and health significance, this process has suffered a standstill in recent years that has been aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic. To promote the generation of new donors, it is necessary to carry out campaigns aimed at younger age groups to improve the information they have and reduce their fears. This research analyses the effectiveness of different frames of a persuasive narrative to increase blood donation. These frames have been constructed from two variables: an emotional appeal (empathy awakened by a recipient protagonist versus the pride experienced by a donor protagonist) and the identification of the beneficiary of the donation (identifiable victim versus generic beneficiary). The manipulated narratives incorporate fea-tures of edutainment and are adapted to the tone and language of the target population, young people, in the format of a Twitter thread. To test the effectiveness of these narratives, an experimental study was conducted among 600 partici-pants aged 18–30 years. The results show the effectiveness of the emotional appeal, specifically in the threads that are led by a recipient of the blood donation. This appeal induces greater identification among people who perceive them-selves as a little or somewhat similar to the protagonist. This outcome in turn positively affects information recall, the intention to share the message and the attitude towards donation, and reduces the perceived risk. All in all, it increases the donation intention. The data confirm a moderated mediation model with identification as a mediator and similarity as a moderator. On the contrary, no statistically significant effects were found regarding the second manipulated vari-able. No evidence was found that the use of an identifiable beneficiary in the donation appeal obtained better results than the call to donate supported by generic data. © 2022, El Profesional de la Informacion. All rights reserved.

A community edutainment intervention for gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, and maternal and child health in rural Senegal: a process evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Edutainment aims to spread educational messages in an entertaining way, and often reaches large audiences. While studies increasingly report the impacts of edutainment interventions, there is limited context-specific evidence on the underlying processes and barriers to effective delivery, especially in rural areas. This article presents results from a process evaluation of a community-based edutainment intervention designed to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices on gender-based violence (GBV), sexual and reproductive health (SRH), and maternal and child health. The intervention focused on the television series, C'est la Vie!, screened through biweekly film clubs in rural Senegal and included post-screening discussions and thematic workshops, meant to reinforce messages, increase knowledge, and change social norms. The objectives of this study were to assess intervention adaptation, implementation fidelity, participants' responsiveness or engagement, and series appropriateness. METHODS: The intervention was implemented from December 2019 to March 2020 in 120 villages in Kaolack and Kolda regions of Senegal, and targeted adolescent girls and young women aged 14 to 34. The process evaluation was carried out in March 2020 in 14 villages using: i) individual semi-structured interviews with implementers (n = 3), village chiefs (n = 8), married women (n = 9), adolescent girls (n = 8), and men (n = 8); ii) focus groups with men (n = 7, 29 participants) and women (n = 10, 100 participants); and iii) observations of screening sessions (n = 4) and post-screening discussions (n = 2). Data were analyzed using thematic and content analysis. RESULTS: The results highlight that adaptation of the intervention helped reach the target population and improved participant attendance, but might have compromised fidelity to original design, as intervention components were shortened and modified for rural delivery and some facilitators made ad hoc modifications. The screenings coverage and frequency were adequate; however, their duration was shortened due to COVID-19 restrictions in Senegal. Participant responsiveness was excellent, as was the series appropriateness for most topics, including GBV. SRH remains a sensitive topic for youth, especially when the film clubs included non-peers, such as slightly older women. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that using film clubs to deliver sensitive edutainment content in rural areas is feasible and has potential for scale-up.

An Augmented Reality Update of a Classic Game: “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”, Case Study

37 years after its original launch, it is proposed a study comparing the Augmented Reality (AR) prototype of the game “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” with this classic edutainment game. The main goal of the experiment is to determine if there is a significant difference between the 13th mission (last level) of the game, and it was done with a sample of 20 individuals aged between 5 and 7 years. The results could be a promising future for both, gaming and education areas. The author used 3 investigation tools to reach the answer: Perceived Understanding, Perceived Usability and a version of the PSSUQ (Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire). A big constraint for this study was the COVID-19 pandemic that the world is living at the time it was completed, however, the use of technology played a big role to make it possible. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Project-Based Learning (PjBL) to Enhance student's Competencies via 'Stay Safe and Stay Healthy' Project

Since 2016, when I first attended a nouveau knowledge management project for the 21st century by Chiang Mai University, classes under my responsibility have been conducted with active learning methods. In academic year 2019 and 2020, two elective subjects in an undergraduate program in animation and visual effects, College of Arts, Media and Technology, Chiang Mai University: 951366 Digital Movie for Edutainment and 951354 Mascot Design, were introduced respectively. Some fund was also granted to support an active learning activity which integrated the two subjects with project-based learning (PjBL), with the aim to produce potential creative media. The report is to share the experience specifically the management, the role of the facilitator in the project, in which the students were integrated and learnt to protect themselves from COVID-19 pandemics with support from Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University with the information for the modules. The outcomes of the learning and activities were 6 mascots for departments in the college which show features of the campaign to prevent COVID-19, as well as 14 groups, create three-minute footages, which became resources to create fourteen-minute media for publicity according to the main purpose of the project. © 2022 IEEE.

Use of Senegalese music to raise coronavirus awareness on social media

Senegal is a country with a long history of oral tradition, where the griot is the leading figure responsible for the transmission of messages from generation to generation over centuries. They are highly regarded and considered in society as a mediator and advisor through their music or spoken word. As Senegal witnessed the arrival of the first cases of coronavirus, a large number of musicians used social media to disseminate songs raising coronavirus awareness. Following these first initiatives, President Macky Sall met with several acclaimed musicians in the country. This led to the production of a polyphonic song released by the social media platforms of the Ministry of Health and Social Action. This article looks at music as an 'edutaining' and phenomenologically proximate communication strategy to raise awareness about coronavirus and the measures that can be taken to prevent its spread.

The Next Generation of Edutainment Applications for Young Children—A Proposal

Edutainment applications are a type of software that is designed to be entertaining while also being educational. In the current COVID-19 pandemic context, when children have to stay home due to the social distancing rules, edutainment applications for young children are more and more used each day. However, are these applications ready to take the place of an in-person teacher? In this paper, we propose a new generation of edutainment applications that are more suitable for preschoolers (aged 3–6 years old in our country) and closer to the in-person student–teacher interaction: emotions aware edutainment applications. We discuss the most important challenges that must be overcome in developing this kind of applications (i.e., recognizing children’s emotions, enhancing the edutainment application with emotion awareness, and adapting the interaction flow) and the first steps that we have taken for developing them.

Young Adults' Responses to an African and US-Based COVID-19 Edutainment Miniseries: Real-Time Qualitative Analysis of Online Social Media Engagement.

BACKGROUND: In April 2020, as cases of the novel COVID-19 spread across the globe, MTV Staying Alive Foundation created the educational entertainment miniseries MTV Shuga: Alone Together. In 70 short episodes released daily on YouTube, Alone Together aimed to disseminate timely and accurate information to increase young people's knowledge, motivation, and actions to prevent COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify Alone Together viewer's perspectives on the global COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdowns by examining the words, conversations, experiences, and emotions expressed on social media in response to the Alone Together episodes. We also assessed how viewers used the series and its online community as a source of support during the global pandemic. METHODS: A total of 3982 comments and 70 live chat conversations were extracted from YouTube between April and October 2020 and analyzed through a data-led inductive thematic approach. Aggregated demographic and geographical data were collected using YouTube Analytics. RESULTS: The miniseries had a global reach across 5 continents, with a total of 7.7 million views across MTV Shuga platforms. The series had over 1 million views over 70 episodes on YouTube and an average of 5683 unique viewers per episode on YouTube. The dominant audience was adults under the age of 35 years and women. Across diverse countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, the United States, and the UK, viewers believed that COVID-19 was serious and expressed that it was socially responsible to follow public health measures. Storylines of the series about the impact of self-isolation on mental health, exposure to violence in lockdowns, and restricted employment opportunities due to the pandemic resonated with young viewers. Tuning in to the miniseries provided viewers with reliable information, entertainment, and an online community during an isolating, confusing, and worrying time. CONCLUSIONS: During the first wave of COVID-19, viewers from at least 53 countries connected on social media via the MTV miniseries. The analysis showed how digitally connected people under the age of 35 years, predominantly women, felt compelled to follow COVID-19 safety measures despite the pandemic's impact on their social, educational, and financial needs. Viewers used social media to reach out to fellow viewers for advice, solace, support, and resources. Organizations, governments, and individuals have been forced to innovate during the pandemic to ensure people can access services safely and remotely. This analysis showed that women under 35 years of age were especially receptive to receiving support from online communities and media services. Peer influence and support online can be a powerful public health tool as people have a great capacity to influence each other and shape norms around public health. However, online services are not accessible to everyone, and COVID-19 has increased disparities between digitally connected and unconnected younger adults.

Communicating Awareness About COVID-19 Through Songs: An Example From Ghana.

Research has shown that music can be used to educate or disseminate information about public health crises. Grounded in the edutainment approach, we explored how songs are being used to create awareness about COVID-19 in Ghana, a sub-Saharan African country. YouTube was searched, and 28 songs met the study inclusion criteria. We conducted a thematic analysis of the song lyrics. Most lyrics were in English, Ghanaian Pidgin English, Akan, Ga, or Dagbani. Reflecting the multilingual population of Ghana, half of the songs contained three languages to convey their message, and only five songs were in one language. Eight themes emerged from the analysis: public health guidelines, COVID-19 is real and not a hoax, COVID-19 is infectious, prayer as method to stop the virus, emotional reaction and disruption of "everyday" activities; verbally expelling the virus, call for unity and collective efforts, and inspiring hope. We show that songs have the potential as a method for rapidly sharing information about emerging public health crises. Even though, it is beyond the scope of this study to draw conclusions about the reception and impact of songs on awareness and knowledge, the study shows that examining song lyrics can still be useful in understanding local attitudes toward COVID-19, as well as strategies for promoting preventive behaviors. We note that additional multidimensional efforts are needed to increase awareness among the general public about the COVID-19 pandemic.