Gamifying water crisis management: A serious game for drinking water contamination emergency response.

This paper presents a serious game that simulates a water crisis triggered by the spill of an unregulated chemical. The game includes five stakeholder roles representing a chemical manufacturer, resident, water treatment plant, environmental agency, and health department, in addition to a facilitato...

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Main Authors: Jingyan Huang, Catherine M Ashcraft, Weiwei Mo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321210
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author Jingyan Huang
Catherine M Ashcraft
Weiwei Mo
author_facet Jingyan Huang
Catherine M Ashcraft
Weiwei Mo
author_sort Jingyan Huang
collection DOAJ
description This paper presents a serious game that simulates a water crisis triggered by the spill of an unregulated chemical. The game includes five stakeholder roles representing a chemical manufacturer, resident, water treatment plant, environmental agency, and health department, in addition to a facilitator role. The game seeks to provide players with practical experience of the communication and collaboration needed among different stakeholders to prepare for and respond to water contamination emergencies. Initial findings from game sessions with 41 participants suggest that frequent, proactive, and transparent communication can expedite the decision-making process and resolve the crisis more effectively. The game results also reveal challenges in inter-organizational coordination and communication, highlighting the need for training and standardized communication terminologies and protocols.
format Article
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institution OA Journals
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-68e357498d564e8b87e0a9b0ce41b3482025-08-20T02:26:03ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01204e032121010.1371/journal.pone.0321210Gamifying water crisis management: A serious game for drinking water contamination emergency response.Jingyan HuangCatherine M AshcraftWeiwei MoThis paper presents a serious game that simulates a water crisis triggered by the spill of an unregulated chemical. The game includes five stakeholder roles representing a chemical manufacturer, resident, water treatment plant, environmental agency, and health department, in addition to a facilitator role. The game seeks to provide players with practical experience of the communication and collaboration needed among different stakeholders to prepare for and respond to water contamination emergencies. Initial findings from game sessions with 41 participants suggest that frequent, proactive, and transparent communication can expedite the decision-making process and resolve the crisis more effectively. The game results also reveal challenges in inter-organizational coordination and communication, highlighting the need for training and standardized communication terminologies and protocols.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321210
spellingShingle Jingyan Huang
Catherine M Ashcraft
Weiwei Mo
Gamifying water crisis management: A serious game for drinking water contamination emergency response.
PLoS ONE
title Gamifying water crisis management: A serious game for drinking water contamination emergency response.
title_full Gamifying water crisis management: A serious game for drinking water contamination emergency response.
title_fullStr Gamifying water crisis management: A serious game for drinking water contamination emergency response.
title_full_unstemmed Gamifying water crisis management: A serious game for drinking water contamination emergency response.
title_short Gamifying water crisis management: A serious game for drinking water contamination emergency response.
title_sort gamifying water crisis management a serious game for drinking water contamination emergency response
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321210
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AT catherinemashcraft gamifyingwatercrisismanagementaseriousgamefordrinkingwatercontaminationemergencyresponse
AT weiweimo gamifyingwatercrisismanagementaseriousgamefordrinkingwatercontaminationemergencyresponse