Richard Buday

Background: One of the barriers to interprofessional ethics education is a lack of resources that actively engage students in reflection on living an ethical professional life. This project implemented and evaluated an innovative resource for interprofessional ethics education. Objectives: The objective of this project was to create and evaluate an interprofessional learning activity on professionalism, clinical ethics, and research ethics. Design: The Brewsters is a choose-your-own-adventure novel that addresses professionalism, clinical ethics, and research ethics. For the pilot of the book, a pre-test/post-test design was used. Once implemented across campus, a post-test was used to evaluate student learning in addition to a student satisfaction survey. Participants and research context: A total of 755 students in six academic schools in a health science center completed the activity as part of orientation or in coursework. Ethical considerations: The project was approved as exem...

Background: Physical activity games developed for a mobile phone platform are becoming increasingly popular, yet little is known about their content or inclusion of health behavior theory (HBT). Objective: The objective of our study was to quantify elements of HBT in physical activity games developed for mobile phones and to assess the relationship between theoretical constructs and various app features. Methods: We conducted an analysis of exercise and physical activity game apps in the Apple App Store in the fall of 2014. A total of 52 apps were identified and rated for inclusion of health behavior theoretical constructs using an established theory-based rubric. Each app was coded for 100 theoretical items, containing 5 questions for 20 different constructs. Possible total theory scores ranged from 0 to 100. Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlations were used to describe the HBT score and association with selected app features, respectively. Results: The average HBT score i...

To evaluate the effect of playing a health video game embedded with story immersion, Escape from Diab (Diab), on children's diet and physical activity (PA) and to explore whether children immersed in Diab had greater positive outcomes. Two groups, nonrandomized; 3 outcome assessments: at baseline, immediately after the game (post 1), and 8-10 weeks after the game (post 2). A total of 179 Chinese children aged 8-12 years. The treatment group played Diab; the control group received no intervention. Motivation; self-efficacy; preference for fruit, vegetables, water, and PA; as well as PA behavior. Adjusted changes to post 1 and post 2 by ANCOVA controlling for demographic and baseline variables. Children who played Diab had increased intrinsic motivation for fruit and water, self-efficacy for PA, and self-reported PA scores at post 1 (all P < .05). Children with higher immersion scores (above the median) had increased intrinsic motivation for fruit and water, and autonomous and ...

Innovative intervention programs are needed to overcome the limitations in previous programs that promoted change in diabetes risk behaviors in children. Serious video games show promise of changing dietary and physical activity behaviors, but research is needed on the optimal design of behavior-change procedures in video games, the mechanisms that account for changes obtained, and the groups in which these interventions work best. Such research will permit the optimal design of serious video games for diabetes and obesity prevention in the future.

Player feedback is an important part of serious games, although there is no consensus regarding its delivery or optimal content. "Mommio" is a serious game designed to help mothers motivate their preschoolers to eat vegetables. The purpose of this study was to assess optimal format and content of player feedback for use in "Mommio." The current study posed 36 potential "Mommio" gameplay feedback statements to 20 mothers using a Web survey and interview. Mothers were asked about the meaning and helpfulness of each feedback statement. Several themes emerged upon thematic analysis, including identifying an effective alternative in the case of corrective feedback, avoiding vague wording, using succinct and correct grammar, avoiding provocation of guilt, and clearly identifying why players' game choice was correct or incorrect. Guidelines are proposed for future feedback statements.

Playing Escape from DIAB (DIAB) and Nanoswarm (NANO), epic video game adventures, increased fruit and vegetable consumption among a multi-ethnic sample of 10-12 year old children during pilot testing. Key elements of both games were educational mini-games embedded in the overall game that promoted knowledge acquisition regarding diet, physical activity and energy balance. 95-100% of participants demonstrated mastery of these mini-games suggesting knowledge acquisition. This article describes the process of designing and developing the educational mini-games. A secondary purpose was to explore the experience of children while playing the games. The educational games were based on Social Cognitive and Mastery Learning Theories. A multidisciplinary team of behavioral nutrition, PA, and video game experts designed, developed, and tested the mini-games. Alpha testing revealed children generally liked the mini-games and found them to be reasonably challenging. Process evaluation data from pilot testing revealed almost all participants completed nearly all educational mini-games in a reasonable amount of time suggesting feasibility of this approach. Future research should continue to explore the use of video games in educating children to achieve healthy behavior changes.

Vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet because they help prevent several chronic diseases. Mothers of preschoolers reported difficulty getting their young children to eat vegetables, and many did not know how to cook child-pleasing recipes. The cooking habits of mothers of preschoolers, their perceptions of recipes designed for their children, and the involvement of their children in food preparation were assessed to inform a food parenting video game called Mommio. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Eligibility criteria included mothers of 3- to 5-year-old children who reported difficulty getting their children to eat vegetables. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire with questions about their food preparation practices. They were asked to select up to 4 of the 10 provided recipes they wanted to try and to prepare and report back on their experiences. Most (46) of the 50 recipes included in Mommio's in-game recipe box were evaluated at least once...

Classicism Has Been Shaken Off Its Foundation. Modernism is crumbling beside it. Where does that leave architecture? I explore the relationship between architecture and metaphor in today's divisive political climate.

https://commonedge.org/classicism-has-been-shaken-off-its-foundation/

In neuroarchitecture, belief in architectural or environmental determinism, the idea that human actions result from the external stimuli of built environments or climate, is a necessary component. Another notion takes a behavioral science point of view, where human agency makes the greatest contribution.

Fellow architects, can we talk? This is gonna hurt, but it needs saying. Were I a poet, I’d write, The end is nigh, and we are why. I’m no bard, though, so I’ll put it this way: Most of us suspect anthropogenic climate change will lead to civilization’s end. Some architects deny the science (“The climate is always changing!”), while others ignore the obvious (denial is a good coping mechanism), but buried within the folds of all angst-addled designer brains lies the fear that today’s toddlers could be the last of us.

Architecture lost itself in an identity crisis not long ago. The discipline wandered in self-reflection, reexamining how practitioners go about their work, how the built environment should appear, and why. Movements came and went. Promising paths dead-ended. Eventually, the profession gave up looking for ways out of its uncertainty, leaving us where we are today. In premodern eras, new construction techniques, evolving opinions on art, and shifting societal beliefs drove styles. Advances were slow, but once established, became long-lived norms. The Gothic period lasted four centuries, the Renaissance three. From the nineteenth century on, though, more than a hundred aesthetic and philosophical movements lived quickly and died. As historian Charles Jencks notes, there were "a plurality of live architectural traditions" even during the International Styleʼs forty-year

How the activist-actor inspired a life-altering change in course. The article is the backstory to a future essay on how a modest building became an iconic symbol of resistance.

https://commonedge.org/the-time-hanoi-jane-sent-me-to-architecture-school/

There is an axiom in behavior science called status quo bias, which observes, when confronted with change, people tend to keep doing what they're already doing, even when presented with objective evidence their actions are wrong or ineffective. Indeed, change is hard. It is simpler to leave things alone, more comfortable sleeping on new information than acting on it, easier staying the course than making a turn. Habit is baked into the human condition, an evolutionary adaptation for minimizing risk. We've learned not to fix what doesn't seem broken, so we put much out of mind, routinely driving on autopilot. -- Finding some new and different meanings from The Fountainhead:
http://commonedge.org/authors/richard-buday/

Architecture that improves life is a compelling vision, but a difficult proposition. Affordable housing, productive workspaces, engaging schools, healing hospitals, resilient buildings, smart growth, livable cities, and sustainable environments are proving elusive. In the words of Frank Gehry, “Ninety-eight per cent of what gets built and designed today is pure [expletive]. There’s no sense of design nor respect for humanity or anything. They’re bad buildings and that’s it.”

Indeed, bad architecture abounds. Unsuccessful design, however, isn’t always the result of errors in aesthetics, function, material, or technology. Building owner demands, user indifference, local politics, and cultural resistance are as likely to be responsible. Often, the cause of bad architecture is neither visual nor physical; it’s behavioral, the domain of psychology and sociology, and therefore seemingly beyond an architect’s reach.

“Bad architecture is in the end as much a failure of psychology as of design.”
— Alain de Botton, “The Architecture of Happiness”

Or is it? There was a time when architects had the ability to shape both space and minds. Architecture isn’t merely the art of building — it has also been a narrative art. Buildings were the world’s first broadcast communications platform. Once upon a time, architecture told stories. Adorned in tales of conquest, gods and kings, good and evil, love and death, right and wrong, war and peace, heroism and glory — buildings immersed populations in narratives about life and how to live. People came to buildings as much for the stories they told as for shelter and utility. For thousands of years, architects were the world’s storytellers, making architecture the great book of humanity, shaping society in ways today’s buildings do not. Humans are meaning-seeking animals, genetically primed to find answers to life’s mysteries through stories. Until the Late Middle Ages, architecture was a dominant storytelling medium, which gave architects the persuasive power to change what people thought and what they did.

Almost 60 percent of Americans play videogames, which is a significant opportunity for health professionals to reach mass audiences. But although legions of fans spend countless hours playing entertainment games, player interest in health videogames quickly wanes. A good question to ask is, "Why?" A game developer with 20 years of experience offers his perspective on what may be limiting health games' appeal and what can be done about it.

Buday R., Tapia R. & Maze G.R. (2012) Technology-driven dietary assessment: a software developer's perspective. J Hum Nutr Diet. ABSTRACT: Dietary researchers need new software to improve nutrition data collection and analysis, although the creation of information technology is difficult. Software development projects may be unsuccessful as a result of an inadequate understanding of needs, management problems, technology barriers or legal hurdles. Cost over-runs and schedule delays are common. Barriers facing scientific researchers developing software include workflow, cost, schedule and team issues. Different methods of software development and the role that intellectual property rights play are discussed. A dietary researcher must carefully consider multiple issues to maximise the likelihood of success when creating new software.

Architects strive to design functional and fashionable buildings, but they struggle with subjects beyond their expertise—such as anticipating and influencing how users respond to built environments. This knowledge gap is crucial because the world's most serious design problems are behavioral, not architectural, from climate change to crime to hunger to illiteracy to preventable death and disease. Architects' unfamiliarity with behavior science limits the profession's ability to create societally meaningful buildings. Even with the aid of psychologists and neuroscientists, though, the influence of buildings on users and communities is difficult to predict. It is prohibitive to construct a project, observe people's actions, conduct focus groups, analyze results, and then renovate or rebuild if the building doesn't perform as intended.
A combination of ancient and modern place-making technologies offers a solution. First are stories. Narratives have been shaping people's behavior since the dawn of humankind. Humans are hardwired for stories, which deliver hi-fidelity learning experiences without the danger of trial and error (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger—but it could kill you). So important is narrative to civilization that, up until the Modern Movement, architecture was saturated with cultural metanarratives, i.e., stories that provide structure for a society's beliefs. Pre-modern buildings were behavior change agents.