International Journal of Esports

New paper published on the International Journal of Esports Website Titled: 🔴 Entering Cheat Codes or to Play True: Where is Anti-Doping Going  Within Esports? 🔴 ✅Open Access ✅ 📊 Original Review Article 📊 Authors: 🔵 by Andrew Richardson1* 1  Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Richardson Road, Newcastle, Upon Tyne NE1 7RU, United Kingdom *Correspondence to : Dr Andrew Richardson, Email: andrew.richardson@newcastle.ac.uk Link: https://lnkd.in/e5Neag7T 🔴 Abstract Esports have become a staple within the sporting and entertainment industries however, in parallel with the success of these games there is much confusion to where anti-doping resides in this virtual arena. With the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) statement in October 2023 to create an Esports Games, policymakers and governing bodies must pursue anti-doping programs to be proactive against doping, cheating, or corruption. Nevertheless, some issues currently inhibit fair competition and intelligence gathering. These include no unified database of recorded bans or sanctions delivered to players or coaches for digital-doping rule violations (DDRVs) at esport events. In conjunction, there is no governing body to unify all the esport games and the multiple esport federations have different levels of interest and resources dedicated to anti-doping and or cheating. Finally, there is no current mention of esports from the World Anti-Doping Agency in their 2020 – 2024 strategy. Overall, the current literature highlights a lack of anti-doping education to teams and athletes, few policies in place to dissuade would-be dopers, and an omission of evidence that drug testing occurs at a similar standard to traditional sports in current esports events. WADA and anti-doping organisations (ADO’s) must proactively support esports events since most gaming competitions at the elite level have lucrative sponsorship and cash prizes, which raises the risk of corruption. The review offers insights and recommendations into the current literature involving esports and anti-doping policies. 🔴 Keywords: Anti-Doping, PEDs, Esports, Cheating, Policy, Olympics 🔴 Highlights 🔵 Currently, there is no governing body to unite all esport federations to combat digital doping rule violations (DDRV’s). The current ESIC database on cheaters is a good start to recording infractions. However, more information is required to build detailed profiles on these cheaters, hackers and dopers. 🔵 Recommendations have been made to help esport teams and organisations to clean up their sport within the context of anti-doping and digital doping. 🔵Finally, the anti-doping landscape is mixed across the different esport federations with areas of significant investment to anti-doping and others with little credence paid to the topic. #doping #cheating #antidoping #research #federation #organisation #WADA #testing #Olympics #esports #policy #hacking

Dr Aaron Koshy Chief Editor of the International Journal of Esports is speaking tonight at 8pm GMT at the CDW monthly webinar. Tonight he is discussing Research in Esports and Gaming along with other industry experts. See post below to join via the link #esports #gaming #panel #discussion #research

New paper published on the International Journal of Esports Website Titled: 🔴 The Overrepresentation of Cisgender Men in Esports Research 🔴 ✅Open Access ✅ 📊 Original Review Article 📊 Authors: 🔵 by Sam Di Nicola1*, Carina de Assunção2, Dr Laura Swettenham3 1 College of Esports, London, United Kingdom 2 Falmouth University, Falmouth, United Kingdom 3 Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom *Correspondence to Sam Di Nicola, College of Esports Email: info@samdinicola.me Link: https://lnkd.in/edU-4-SV 🔴 Abstract Aim: This perspective article aimed to explore the balance in gender diversity of participants in empirical esports research. Methods and Results: Publications listed in the Esports Research Network academic research database were examined, and the number and characteristics of participants utilized within the research were recorded. 120 publications and 85,765 participants were included in the analysis. Analysis revealed that 65 studies (54.17%) included cisgender (i.e., a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth) men and cisgender women, 20 studies (16.67%) included cisgender men only, and 2 studies (1.67%) included cisgender women only. Fourteen studies (11.67%) included cisgender men, cisgender women and transgender (i.e., a person whose gender identity differs to their sex assigned at birth) participants, and 0 studies included only transgender people. The remaining 19 studies (15.83%) only provided the number of either cisgender men or cisgender women, with no other details regarding the sex or gender of other participants. Out of the 85,765 participants, 69,698 cisgender men (81.27%), 13,907 cisgender women (16.22%), 94 transgender participants (0.11%), and 2,066 participants of unknown gender or sex (2.41%) were included. Conclusions: Cisgender men inclusion in esports research appears to be notably higher than cisgender women and transgender folks, and future research should address this disparity 🔴 Keywords: Gender Bias, Gender Data Gap, Research Design, Transgender, Cisgender 🔴 Highlights 🔵 Cisgender men are overrepresented in esports empirical research. 🔵 Participants’ details about the sex assigned at birth and gender are often unclear within esports research studies. 🔵 Differences between cisgender and transgender persons must be acknowledged where relevant in esports research. 🔵 Results obtained from cisgender men within esports research might not be applicable to other populations. #esport #esports #gender #research #academia #cisgender #papers

New paper published on the International Journal of Esports Website Titled: 🔴Neurocognitive Capabilities, Physiological Responses to Cognitive Stress, and General Health and Fitness Measurements in Competitive Gamers versus Non-Gamers🔴 ✅Open Access ✅ 📊 Original Research Article 📊 Authors: 🔵 by Nicole Hetrick, Anne Crecelius* Link: https://lnkd.in/ePwaUtEG Important Note  In memoriam: Anne Crecelius, Professor of Health and Sport Science Anne Crecelius, Professor in University of Dayton’s (UD) Department of Health and Sport Science in the School of Education and Health Sciences, died February 26th 2023, after a long and courageous journey with breast cancer. UD held a Celebration of Life for Anne at on March 10, 2023, in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. Anne was a beloved mentor to many students and an active participant in numerous University initiatives and committees, including the Academic Senate. Her influence was not limited to UD, as she was also active in nationwide efforts towards advancing physiology education. We at IJESPORTS pass on our respects to Professor Crecelius for her hard work and being an inspiration to her students and fellow members of her faculty at UD. We also pass on our commiserations to her family and loved ones for their loss of a family member and friend. For those wishing to find out more information about Anne please refer to the UD blog links below regarding her life’s work https://lnkd.in/e8Qrdvth Abstract and article details in the comments. #esports #esport #research #publication #cognitive #fitness #game #gamers #physiological #testing #health

I want to thank the Swiss School of Business and Management for the opportunity to lecture on an introduction to esports. It was fantastic to be able to provide an economic perspective in industry with information from the Media Exchange Group Limited, exploring the business models which have worked and those which have been found wanting. For those wanting to understand a bit more about this industry please feel free to reach out. Also, some reading material worth considering: - long form content by Esports Insider and Esports News UK gives a good understanding of day to day goings on within the industry. - there are several articles in the International Journal of Esports which are great entry points to those looking at the structure of the industry, including "Current issues of sustainability in esports" (Authors: Anna-Greta Nystrom, Brian McCauley, Joseph Macey, and Tobias Scholz); and "The dark side of esports - an analysis of cheating, doping, match-fixing, and their countermeasures" (Authors: Dr. Timo Schöber, Georg Stadtmann). #esports #advertising #gaming

New paper published on the International Journal of Esports Website Titled: 🔴 Experiences of Choke Among Professional and Amateur Esports Players: A Qualitative Investigation 🔴 ✅Open Access ✅ 📊 Original Research Article 📊 Authors: 🔵 by Madison Klarkowski* and Nicole Beres *Correspondence to Madison Klarkowski, U, CA Email: madison@cs.usask.ca Link: https://lnkd.in/eXws_BUs 🔴 Abstract Esports frequently invoke high-pressure circumstances in which player performance is crucial; in these contexts, moments of critical underperformance (‘choke’) can have deleterious consequences for the underperforming player or team. In this research, we employ comprehensive qualitative methodologies (interview and survey) to investigate the antecedents to, and underpinnings of, choke experienced by both amateur and professional esports players. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identify both commonalities and differences in the experience of choke across both groups. Both amateur and professional esports players report Nervous Activation and Overconfidence mental states prior to a choke episode, and cite pressures such as Stakes and Spectator Pressure. In contrast, professional players alone report pressures such as Team, Stage, Reputation, Rival, and Sexism pressures, whereas amateurs alone cite Lack of Focus, Frustration and Underconfidence mental states. Finally, when recalling an episode of choke, amateur players experience more mechanically-driven performance failures, whereas professional players report strategic failures. We propose that these findings contribute to a more complete understanding of performance amongst both professional and amateur players of esports titles, and can be employed to scaffold and support performance in high-pressure gaming contexts. This work extends initial work in the empirical investigation of choke in esports spaces. 🔴 Keywords: esports, professionals, amateurs, choke, performance, qualitative 🔴 Highlights 🔵 The antecedents and underpinnings of choke differ among amateur and professional esports players. 🔵 Amateur and professional esports players share mental states (i.e., Nervous Activation and Overconfidence) and pressures (i.e., Stakes Pressure and Spectator Pressure) in relation to a choke event. 🔵 Both amateur and professional esports players report unique mental states and pressures immediately prior to or following a choke event; amateurs cite Lack of Focus, Frustration, and Underconfidence (mental states) and Social Pressure and Distractions and Detractors, whereas professionals describe pressures related to Team Pressure, Stage Pressure, Reputation Pressure, Rival Pressure, and Sexism. 🔵 Amateur players experience more Mechanical Choke performance failures, while professional players describe more instances of Strategic Choke. #esport #esports #psychology #choking #performance #pressure #amateur #research #researchpaper #published #professional

Doing research is vital to progress in any field. ✍ But are we communicating the results appropriately to our target audience? 👀 ❓ The world of esports regarding evidence-based literature is in its infancy, although the volume of research papers has exploded in the last few years. Many great studies have surfaced investigating the esports population, with topics like health, performance, nutrition, sleep, physical activity, organization of esports, education, transferable skills, and much more. My journey during the last five years working with esports in research, organization, and education is appropriately delivering information to the target audience. Are you using the same platform targeting a 15-year-old esports athlete and a 45-year-old grassroots esports coach? The results will differ by a mile. Going back to the research, in 2021/2022, we published our health- and performance study on esports students in Norway. Today, based on our findings and existing literature, I want to resurrect our recommendations for improving health and esports performance with another way of communicating our results. This way of breaking down the scientific results in our study can reach a wider audience and feel more applicable to esports athletes. 🤞 If you are interested in esports research, check out Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports and International Journal of Esports , two international peer-reviewed journals dedicated to esports research. 🚀 We look forward to publishing our following research, which hopefully will come out soon! #SPILLFORSK University of Bergen

New paper published on the International Journal of Esports Website Titled: 🔴Associations Between Gaming and Physical Activity Among Finnish Adolescents During and After the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown 🔴 ✅Open Access ✅ 📊 Original Research Article 📊 Authors: 🔵 by Kwok Ng, Miika Sokka, Veli-Matti Karhulahti, Koskimaa Raine, Sami Kokko, Pasi Koski *Correspondence to Kwok Ng, University of Turku, FI Email: kwok.ng@utu.fi Link: https://lnkd.in/e_caXQR7 This is the 4th and final article of 4 from the Nordic Esports Special Issue 🔴 Abstract Aims: To examine the evolving trends of video game play, such as esports, between spring (COVID-19 lockdown) and autumn 2020 among Finnish high-school students. Moreover, to examine the associations between video gaming and physical activity (PA) behaviours. Methods and Results: Data from online self-report surveys; a Finnish late-adolescent physical activity (LAPA) study during spring (n = 2459) and autumn (n = 4781) 2020 were used to address the aims of the study. Descriptive statistics to compare the change between spring and autumn 2020 were used. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were stratified by data collection, with PA as the outcome after controlling for gender, age, disability, and place of residence. There were increases between spring and autumn 2020 in video gaming behaviours among all genres covered in the LAPA study. Esports play during the autumn was negatively associated with daily PA (OR = 0.65, CI = 0.44 – 0.95) but not during the spring. On the other hand, playing sports video games was positively associated with PA at least five days a week in both the spring (OR = 1.86, CI = 1.26 – 2.74) and autumn (OR = 2.14, CI = 1.65 – 2.77) time periods. Conclusions: There were increases in gaming behaviour between spring (the COVID-19 lockdown) and autumn 2020 among Finnish high school students, especially among esports players. There were negative associations between playing esports and daily PA. Since daily PA is the Finnish national recommendation, esports players could be a target group for promoting PA behaviours. 🔴 Keywords: Behaviour Change; Cross-sectional, Finland, Sport Video Games, Esports 🔴 Highlights 🔵 There was an increase in all forms of video gaming behaviour between spring (the COVID-19 lockdown) and autumn 2020, with large increases in esports playing. 🔵 Esports playing was not associated with levels of physical activity during the spring data collection, although playing sports video games was positively associated with physical activity levels at both time points. 🔵 Despite physical activity levels hardly changing between spring and autumn, playing a lot of esports was negatively associated with daily physical activity during the autumn data collection. #esport #esports  #research #paper #publication #physicalactivity #Finland #academia #academic #gaming #game #covid19pandemic #covid #covid19 #covid19research #pandemic

New paper published on the International Journal of Esports Titled: 🔴Individuals, Representatives, and Racers – Instagram Images of F1 and F1 Esports Series Drivers 🔴 ✅Open Access ✅ 📊 Original Research Article 📊 Author: 🔵 Ville Malinen* *Correspondence to Ville Malinen, University of Jyväskylä, Department of Music, Art, and Culture Studies, Finland Email: villemj.malinen@gmail.com Link: https://lnkd.in/ewBxVnD4 This is the 3rd of 4 articles under the Nordic Esports Research Special Issue 🔴 Abstract The aims of this article are to deepen the understanding of how traditional motorsports and esports stars’ images are represented and maintained in the form of individual social media content and how they compare with one another. This is to better understand the images of and variation between stars in Formula One (F1) and the F1 Esports Series as the synergy between these series continues to grow. The methods used were critical discourse analysis and close reading. The theorical frameworks featured Kellner’s critical cultural theory and Richard Dyer and Christine Geraghty’s star theories regarding Western societies. The results showed a clear difference in the volume, quality, and variety of content and discourses between F1 drivers and F1 esports drivers. Furthermore, the lack of team presence was apparent within esports stars’ posts, underlining the fewer production forces and stakeholders behind the industry, signifying that esports stars have less socio-cultural echo than F1’s. Sim racers also had less stardom variation, but their fans likely congregate on other media platforms. It appears that much of F1 esports stars’ power derives from the real-life racing teams that provide the resources to create and maintain stardom regardless of that individual star’s characteristics. Stakeholders seem to regard esports as less worthy to invest in, viewing the industry as more of a superfluity for brand image and visibility than a necessity. This subject requires further examination in the near future by including other media and continued scrutiny to determine if these series driver’s images grow more equivalent. 🔴 Keywords: Formula One, stardom, Instagram 🔴 Highlights 🔵 Formula One and Formula One Esports stars’ Instagram profiles vary regarding in their amount, quality, and breadth of content 🔵 The significance of individual character and team bonding are explicit in F1 drivers’ content 🔵 The lack of team resources (and presence) is evident in F1 esports drivers’ content 🔵 Instagram seems to be a secondary medium to reach (new) fans for sim racers #esport #esports  #research #paper #publication #sport #sports #academia #academic #gaming #F1 #formulaone #Formula1 #Instagram

🔵 Top 10 Countries viewing the International Journal of Esports for 2023🔵 As the journal grows we want to be able to share with our readers where most of our viewers come from. 10 - Indonesia 🇮🇩 431 views 9 - Australia 🇦🇺 489 views 8 - Canada 🇨🇦 529 views 7 - Malaysia 🇲🇾 557 views 6 - India 🇮🇳 628 views 5 - Germany 🇩🇪 719 views 4 - Philippines 🇵🇭 861 views 3 - Netherlands 🇳🇱 2,193 views 2 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 2,359 views 1 - United States of America 🇺🇸 4,307 views It will be interesting to see these results 1 year on to see how and if they have changed with any new countries making the top ten. Thank you everyone who reads and downloads our authors work and is subscribed to the journal Here is to an exciting and successful 2024! #esport #esports #research #journal