Development, implementation and testing of a gamified e-learning platform for the improvement of (motor) cycling knowledge & skills of Vietnamese adolescents

Abstract

Traffic crashes are considered to be one of the most pressing issues in the world. Within this doctoral dissertation, there is a focus on Vietnam. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 14000 people lose their lives each year in Vietnam as a result of road traffic crashes. Motorcyclists account for a high proportion (approximately 59%) of the road traffic crashes. Furthermore, the WHO estimates that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for those aged 15-29 years in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), the largest city in southern Vietnam, had the highest number of traffic crash fatalities in the country in 2017. Adolescents between 14 and 17 years old are responsible for over 90% of traffic crashes involving children aged 0-17 in HCMC (Vu & Nguyen, 2017). The major underlying reason is that they start to participate in traffic activities independently through the popular use of two-wheeled vehicles. Several studies indicate that violation of traffic laws and a lack of situation awareness are core issues leading to traffic crashes (Chang & Yeh, 2006; McDonald et al., 2014; Radin Umar, 2005). On top of that, less experience and undeveloped riding skills are main reasons for the occurrence of traffic crashes (Dandona et al., 2006). Improvement of safety-related knowledge and training hazard avoidance-related skills are thus necessary for Vietnamese youth. Currently, to improve traffic safety among Vietnamese adolescents, policy measures such as the strengthening of communications on traffic safety, spreading traffic rules on the mass media, and even increasing fines for the violation of regulations, are already introduced (Khuat & Huyen, 2011). Even though successful in the past, currently running interventions fail to contribute to a further improvement of traffic safety because they are not targeting those variables that most urgently need to be addressed. This issue reflects, among others, in the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) and the Ministry of Transport who have launched the "Traffic Safety Year - 2018" Action Plan which emphasizes the strengthening and the application of innovative information technology for the improvement of safety-related knowledge and training hazard avoidance-related skills. Gamification, defined as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts (Deterding et al., 2011), is a rapidly growing trend. By employing design characteristics of traditional games (like performance scores, play levels, group challenges, leader boards, symbolic rewards such as badges & status attributes, etc.), gamification attempts to promote (a) step-by-step mastering of different competences (in this case, (motor)cycling-related knowledge and skills), and (b) intrinsic motivation to change undesirable (motor)cycling-related opinions, attitudes and behaviours (Hamari & Koivisto, 2015). The use of game features in non-game applications is more and more popular to increase engagement and motivation (Fitz-Walter et al., 2012), also in the field of traffic safety. The main objective of this doctoral research is to conduct a needs assessment among Vietnamese adolescent two-wheeled riders, and as a result, develop, implement and evaluate a gamified e-learning platform to promote their (motor)cycling-related knowledge, and skills (i.e., situation awareness, risk detection, & risk management). Within Chapter 1, there is a general introduction targeting the specific objectives of this dissertation: (i) identify requirements and needs of improvement in (motor)cycling-related knowledge and skills of Vietnamese adolescents; (ii) develop an innovative gamified e-learning platform adapted to the context of HCMC; and (iii) evaluate the use of this gamified elearning platform in HCMC. In order to achieve these objectives, the research process is divided into three main stages corresponding to each specific objective. The first stage focuses on needs assessment. Traffic-related problems and needs of adolescents in HCMC are inventoried through questionnaires and semistructured interviews. The target groups include high school students, stakeholders and experts in local transport sectors. The aim of this needs assessment is to understand in detail key risk adolescent rider behaviours and causes of these risk behaviours (Chapter 2 and Chapter 3). Based on this needs assessment, the to-be-targeted variables for integration in the gamified e-learning platform will be determined. The second stage tried to develop a gamified e-learning platform based on the results obtained in the first stage. This platform is aimed at the improvement of (motor)cycling-related knowledge and the training of hazard avoidance-related skills (i.e., situation awareness, risk detection, and risk management). To that end, a gamified e-learning platform with learning modules with increasing levels of difficulty is developed. More in detail, the module focused on (motor)cyclingrelated knowledge will allow users to practice and improve application of the traffic code and rules for (motor)cyclists. In the situation awareness module, users will learn to pay more attention to all elements of the environment. In the risk detection module, users will learn to spot and identify risks, while in the hazard management module, users learn how to deal with identified acute risks. The second stage includes the following tasks: to collect raw input data (images, videos, about high-risk traffic situations in HCMC); to transform raw data into learning materials for the gamified e-learning platform; to integrate gamification features into the gamified e-learning platform (the game application with virtual rewards like badges, which can be exchanged for real prizes such as movie tickets and ice cream vouchers will encourage participants to repeat the task until new habits are formed. In addition, the gamified application can help to promote social connections via peer encouragement); and to pilot-test the gamified e-learning platform to get feedback from target users (Chapter 4 and Chapter 5). In the last stage, an evaluation of the gamified e-learning platform has been conducted in the context of HCMC. High school students in HCMC were recruited to test the application. The samples were divided into two separate groups including a control group (i.e. a group exposed to conventional methods using short videos) and an intervention group (i.e. a group exposed to the gamified elearning platform). Both groups participated in a baseline-follow-up experimental design, evaluating to what extent (motor)cycling-related knowledge and hazard avoidance-related skills improved (Chapter 6 and Chapter 7). More specifically, this stage was subdivided into the following tasks: the first knowledge and skill test was conducted for both the intervention and control group; the intervention group was invited to use a gamified e-learning platform while the control group was educated with conventional methods using short videos; the second knowledge and skill test was conducted for both groups and results from all tests were analysed and evaluated to identify the impact of the application on improvement in (motor)cycling-related knowledge and skills of the intervention group in the comparison to that of the control group. The final parts of the doctoral dissertation discuss and summarize the conclusions from conducted studies (Chapter 8 and Chapter 9). By defining the needs for improvement in traffic safety among Vietnamese adolescents, designing and testing an original gamified e-learning platform in the local environment, all main and specific objectives of this doctoral dissertation are thoroughly met. Key findings of these studies are synthesized and transformed into practical recommendations for developers, practitioners, and policymakers in the aspect of traffic safety education. Moreover, the limitations of the studies and recommendations for further research are also covered in this part. Lastly, there are overall conclusions for the entire research. iv