Author: Sophie Walker

COVID-19, Master’s Thesis & the Next Iteration

Global pandemic aside, what happened during the last weeks? I submitted my master’s thesis! The last months revolved around finishing the concluding research for the Uri elections despite the Corona crisis, and writing the master’s thesis for Project CH+. At the same time, I was able to find a motivated team which will start working on the next iteration of our electoral support in June. …

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2nd Round of Research: Uri Elections 2020

First field test

On March 8, Uri is electing its new cantonal parliament as well as the governing council.

This week, the second research round for Project CH+ started with the trainees of Uri’s department of personnel and four school classes of the cantonal secondary school of Uri.

Until the elections, half of the participants will use the beta version of the app, while the other half is using an alternative offer for electoral support. Both groups are tasked to create their own list for the elections. After the elections, there will be an concluding survey, which allows to compare the two approaches.  

Until the elections, the application will also be publicly available.

Off into the New Year!

Luzerner Zeitung, 24. December 2019 [to the article (German)]

Cooperation. Transparency. User Empowerment.
These values are at the core of Project CH +
2019 was filled with challenges, closing doors, unknown territory and – opportunities. I am thankful to be able to work on a project which is truly close to my heart. It was especially nice that I could end 2019 with an article in the Luzerner Zeitung.

For the last couple of weeks, it has been quiet on this blog. However, I was able to make good progress in important areas of the project. More information to come.

Saletti 2020, are you ready?

An Award for Democracy

Project CH+ earns the 2nd place at the Swiss Student Sustainability Challenge

For half a year, the FHNW gave me access to mentorings and coachings. Yesterday, the award ceremony took place in Basel. The prize money will be invested into further developing the app and into the realization of the requests which have been collected in the online surveys. …

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Third Online Survey

All good things come in threes…

In one week it will be over (almost)! After nearly 500 people participated in the first two surveys, this three-part online research is coming to an end.

Until November 3, you are most welcome to participate! This final survey is about your perception of the parliamentary elections 2019 and your wishes for digitally available information during future elections.

At this point already a big thank you to everyone who participated!
I will evaluate the collected answers and revise the design of the current app prototype accordingly.

Interview with a former member of the Council of States: Markus Stadler

This video is in Swiss German. I will work on captions as soon as possible.

The elections are around the corner and I am in den living room of the former member of the Council of States, Markus Stadler.

This interview revolves around politics, being without a party, elections, the young generation and Marcus’ evaluation of Project CH+’s entertainment approach.

The 10 minute video interview  is the result of a one hour conversation. Maybe I will find time in the future to elaborate on the interview and the thoughts behind it. Until then, enjoy!

Look who else is (Wahl)tindäring. The Republik? It’s a Match!

What happens when a “big fish” is swimming in the same direction? You work together!

Last Thursday I paid a visit to the Republik magazine. The reason: Someone has had the same idea as me. After the meeting we can say: Two “super-likes” & “it’s a Match”! Together with the Head of IT Thomas Preusse, Software Engineer Patrick Venetz and my Mentor René Bauer we talked about the process, the similarities and the differences of our concepts.

In any case, I am happy that the combination of games and political communication is well received by the public.

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«So… what about politics?»

Bringing up politics often leads to annoyed stares, sighs and a swift change of topic. Does it have to be that way?
(image: Federal Office of Statistics, 2015)

Why the voter participation in Switzerland is relatively low when compared to our international neighbours, has been researched by various institutions. The fact: in 1971, 56.9% of eligible voters participated, during our last elections this number was at 48.5%.

The research which is part of Project CH+ does not aim to explain these circumstances, but to find new approaches to address the issue. …

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First User Tests

Donika (GR), Stella (TI), Nina (UR), Jelle (Netherlands) and Glenn (BS) share their thoughts.

In various settings – from a park bench next to the Limmat, to a student kitchen in Lausanne – I collected first responses to our application. The five test sessions took 15-30 minutes each. …

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Politics at the Züri Fäscht

Finding the politician of your dreams is not an easy task. Luckily, we are here to help!

Over the course of this project, I have spoken to friends, roommates and fellow students about how they feel represented by our system and our politicians. Now it is high time to have voters represented on this blog. The Züri Fäscht takes place every three years. Equipped with a microphone and a camera, I joined the crowd to celebrate, and to ask a couple of questions about politics. …

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Interview with Christoph Stutz from the Parliamentary Services

An exchange on voter participation and games.

Yesterday, I was in the Federal Palace to meet Christoph Stutz from the Parliamentary Services. The Parliament Services assure that the parliament can operate trouble free, and they are in charge of the parliament’s public relations. Here too, they use games to make politics more tangible. Christoph gave feedback on our concept and a short interview on voter participation. …

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Centre for Democratic Studies: Stefan Walter & Manuel Hubacher

CH+ from a didactic point of view.

The Centre for Democratic Studies Aarau is researching democratic systems, both nationally and internationally, while also doing a lot of work on political education. Stefan Walter and Manuel Hubacher concern themselves with political education in schools, and both use games to create innovative learning experiences. On Friday, June 6 I met them at the ZDA’s Villa Blumenhalde in Aarau. …

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Communication Advice from Game Designer Philomena Schwab

Philomena shares her experiences on online communication.

Thanks to a refined game concept and a skill for community building, Philomena Schwab made Forbes’ “30 under 30” in the category ‘technology in Europe’. As co-founder of the successful game studio Stray Fawn, she continues to influence the industry with sophisticated concepts. Furthermore, she is dedicated to growing and supporting the Swiss game’s industry. …

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Project Analysis during a Research Workshop

During a five day Workshop, we prototyped our masters project from research question to final prototype. From the 11th until the 15th of March, we analysed our projects from various angles in order to specify our vision.

Among other things, one of our tasks was to illustrate our idea with the aid of a physical model.

A perfect slogan. Unfortunately not very informative…

Oh, this is what it’s all about!

All beginnings are… a blog post

Welcome to the project blog of CH+.

For five years I have been involved with “Serious Games”; games that are entertaining and educational at the same time. The fields of application are nearly unlimited!

More about me and my portfolio can be found here, but let’s stay on topic for now:

 

Why this project?

While conducting graduation research for my bachelor’s thesis, I was intrigued by the fact that there are thousands of articles on how to use behavioural models or psychological cues to motivate users – to consume. Look at this, buy that, you need this, treat yourself with that. Every day, we encounter these well-designed “manipulations”. And we love it, because successful design often guarantees good user experience.

In this context, entertainment media is getting more sophisticated too. As a designer, it concerns me to see how willingly people accept new technologies without questioning them. I fear that the divide between designers and consumers will continue to grow, not least thanks to algorithms and artificial intelligence. It keeps on getting easier for us designers to create custom experiences, to prepare and to filter content. The more money we have, the easier it becomes.

This is why it is necessary that we use these techniques of influence to encourage people to act on their own behalf. Because the methods are being used.

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