New research centre aims to use computer games to reduce violence

A new £4.6m research centre that may be the first in the world to explore the potential of computer games as an educational tool to reduce levels of violence has been established at the University of Huddersfield.
It is working on a global scale, having forged close links with experts and campaigners in China, Jamaica, Pakistan and Uganda as well as the UK.
None in Thre (Ni3) has been awarded £4.3m from the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund. The University of Huddersfield’s own research fund has contributed an extra £287,720.
Specialists from a range of disciplines, from the social sciences to computer technology, will collaborate on the research and development of a “pro-social” computer game tailored to the priorities of the participating countries.
Our focus for the UK will be violence in adolescent relationships.
Professor Adele Jones, principal investigator for the Ni3 research centre at the University of Huddersfield, said: “Its core team is in place, but there are new posts for postgraduate researchers and games developers.”
The recent official launch event for Ni3 featured a keynote address by the EU’s former ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean, Mikael Barford, who has taken a close interest in the issue of gender-based violence and the work of Professor Jones. Dr Agata Debowska, a psychology lecturer at the University of Sheffield, also spoke. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, Professor Bob Cryan made closing remarks and declared the centre open.
“In each country we will be doing both qualitative and quantitative research. The purpose of will be to try to understand some of the social and cultural drivers of gender-based violence in the five countries because that is going to inform the development of a computer game for each country,” added Jones.

There will be a systematic review of studies into gender-based violence in each country and this will enable the development of a survey designed to assess the attitudes of children and young people to violence. It will also be used to measure the effectiveness of children’s exposure to computer game intervention.
Jones added: “We have to make sure that each computer game is culturally and socially appropriate and that it addresses the range of issues that have been identified in our research.
She anticipates that a trial version of the Ni3 pro-social game will be available within 18 months. The project has been funded for its first four years, but the intention is that it will be permanent research centre, and new overseas collaborations could be formed, said Professor Jones.