A framework for designing a gamified system that promotes knowledge of water sustainability

Kunjuzwa, Dumani Tau

Title: A framework for designing a gamified system that promotes knowledge of water sustainability
Creator: Kunjuzwa, Dumani Tau
Subject: Computer science
Subject: User interfaces (Computer systems)
Subject: Water-supply -- Management
Date Issued: 2024-12
Date: 2024-12
Type: Doctoral theses
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69349
Identifier: vital:77216
Description: Water shortages are becoming increasingly common and raising awareness thereof has been proposed as a key strategy for empowering citizens with knowledge relevant to promoting water sustainability. This knowledge should incorporate indigenous knowledge, which is unique and confined to a particular culture. Indigenous knowledge has been recognised as the key to sustainable social and economic development. Knowledge incorporated within appropriate technologies can be a transformative solution to promote sustainable consumption of natural resources. This study aimed to develop a framework with strong theoretical connections that can be used as a guide for designing and developing technological solutions for promoting knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of water sustainability. Gamification, serious games, and community social networks were identified as appropriate technologies for implementing these solutions. Design Science Research (DSR) was an appropriate research methodology for this research. As the requirement of the DSR methodology, a framework was designed that considered relevant theories. The two theories (Self-Determination Theory and Social Capital Theory) were incorporated into the framework. The framework can guide other researchers in developing gamified systems that promote the KAPs of water sustainability. This framework was the theoretical artefact of the study. The research context was the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa where the data was collected from two municipalities namely, the Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City Metro, which have both experienced water shortages in recent years. Quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used. Qualitative data was collected from brainstorming sessions and expert reviews that were conducted with various stakeholders that assisted with designing and evaluating the prototype designs of the gamified solution. For the design of the study’s artefacts, a participatory research approach was adopted. Participants were recruited to complete an online survey, which ran for three months. The findings revealed that citizens’ knowledge is closely correlated to the attitudes and practices of citizens regarding water sustainability. In addition, the findings showed that the knowledge of the citizens in the Eastern Cape Province was relatively low on water practices such as conservation and filtering methods. These results were considered in the design of the practical artefact and the instantiation findings. One limitation of this study was the limited number of indigenous participants in the survey. Other limitations were the lack of experts with indigenous knowledge and the lack of indigenous knowledge documentation. The promotion of water sustainability knowledge in communities would be more effective with the use of gamification and social community networks. In principle, the enhancement in water sustainability knowledge would promote the citizens’ good practices and attitudes (behavioural) related to water sustainability. Since 2015, a significant portion of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province has been suffering from a severe drought. This province is one of the regions of the country where weather patterns have changed dramatically, and as a result, most households were left vulnerable to the water shortage problem. While the broad topic of water sustainability is widely discussed in the literature, the role of appropriate technologies in promoting knowledge of water sustainability is still under-researched. This gap provided a significant potential for investigation by sustainability to design a technological and theoretical solution for promoting knowledge of water sustainability. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by delivering three DSR artefacts namely, a Framework for Designing a Gamified System that Promotes Knowledge of Water Sustainability; the design guidelines that supplement the framework, and a practical instantiation of the framework.
Description: Thesis (DPhil) -- Faculty of Science, School of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, 2024
Format: computer
Format: online resource
Format: application/pdf
Format: 1 online resource (246 pages)
Format: pdf
Publisher: Nelson Mandela University
Publisher: Faculty of Science
Language: English
Rights: Nelson Mandela University
Rights: All Rights Reserved
Rights: Open Access

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