P3 phase2 proposal

From VitalWiki

The Phase II proposals will due no later than 4pm (EST) on March 31th, 2008.

1 Summary of Previous (Phase I) Results
2 Work plan for Phase II
3 References

Summary of Previous (Phase I) Results

Background and problem definition

The economical and industrial development in the world is a development of chemistry. There are over 34 million chemicals indexed by the American Chemical Society Registry (CAS, 2008a) and nearly 25 million are commercially available today. Among these 25 million chemicals, only about 1.2% are regulated or inventoried by government bodies worldwide (CAS, 2008b); the rest of them are simply overlooked or left out by environmental monitoring for various reasons. This situation poses many currently unanswerable questions regarding the environmental impacts of these chemicals.

During the past several decades, people around the world are increasingly concerned about the impacts of environmental pollutants on human health. Theses pollutants include industrial chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and even personal care products. They are being detected increasingly in the environment, and at the same time, in tissues of humans, animals, and aquatic lives. Although the potential threats posed by these substances have not been fully understood and disclosed, more and more evidences are showing that numerous health problems have confirmed or strongly suspected association with environmental pollution.

Due to evolution, living systems, including human beings, have developed defensive mechanisms to protect themselves from exposure to foreign substances, including harmful but naturally occurring chemicals (Daughton, 2005). However, these defensive mechanisms sometimes can be inadequate while dealing with those manmade chemicals to which they have never been exposed. For most individuals, the damage of harmful chemicals may be difficult to recognize because they usually come in minute doses. But the combining and cumulative impact of them on human health could be destructive. Not to mention that the impact could be potentially devastating on the development of fetus, infants, and other vulnerable population. World Health Organization estimates that approximately 3 million children under the age of five die to environmental hazards every year (Briggs, 2003).

According to the report of Cancer Working Group of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (Clapp et al, 2005), cancer is now the leading cause of death for individuals under age 85 in the United States: nearly 50% men and more than 30% women will have cancer at some point in their lifetime. The scientific evidence presented in the report has shown that nearly 30 types of cancer have environmental and occupational causes. Examples of these causal links include: metals such as arsenic and skin, lung, and bladder cancers; pesticide exposure and brain cancer, leukemia, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; ionizing radiation and cancers of bladder, brain, breast, liver, and thyroid, as well as leukemia. In the 2007 update of the report, new findings, such as brain cancer from exposure to radiofrequency fields emitted by mobile telephones and prostate cancer from pesticide exposure, are also presented.

Relationship to people, prosperity and the planet

People are living in a sea of chemicals. They are in constant contact with industrial chemicals found in everyday products like furniture and electronics, with agrochemicals found in food like pesticides and herbicides, and with other chemicals found in pharmaceuticals and personal care products. As a result, they may have endocrine disrupters, carcinogens and mutagens harboring in their bodies involuntarily. When the amount of harmful chemicals pushes the body beyond its defensive ability, they simply become a “burden” that will cause a negative effect, or even an irreversible adverse impact. To help people become aware of possible chemical exposures they face in everyday life and protect themselves from potential health hazards is essential to improve public health.

On the other hand, as a species on the Earth, human beings are always connected to and their activities certainly have impacts on other species. Human beings are not just victims, but may also be creators and carriers of pollutants (Daughton, 2005). While human health is greatly threatened from chemical exposures, the health of wildlife is also at risk. Wildlife is experiencing a spasm of specie loss, which is called the Sixth Age of Extinctions by naturalist E. O. Wilson (1992). There are majorly four causes of this Age of Extinctions, stated by Eric Chivian of the Harvard Center for Health and the Global Environment: climate change, ozone depletion, toxic chemicals and habitat destruction (Chivian, 2001). All of the four causes directly link to the pervasive existence of manmade chemicals.

Environmental health, which implies the interweaving human and planetary health, is vital to the prosperity of the Earth. Our planet cannot achieve a common wealth without the health of all lives. Economic incentive cannot be the only driver any more. As the “dominant” species on the Earth, human beings must take more responsibilities in their actions, from individual lifestyle to government policy making. One of the fundamental challenges is to improve public awareness of chemical exposures and the potential chemical hazards on the health of all lives.

Relevance and significance to developing or developed world

Chemical exposure is a global issue. All nations are facing the threats of toxic chemicals, no matter they are developed or developing countries. This is simply because chemicals travel, either being transported by natural forces like wind and water, or being carried by all kinds of living organisms. Another major reason of the pervasive chemical exposure issue is globalization, which results in the wide usage of chemicals once they are introduced into the market.

Environmental health is a common interest of developing and developed worlds. Neither developed nations nor developing nations can insulate themselves from any threats on environmental health. We ought to treat the Earth as a global garden and each of us should be a responsible gardener. All countries, developed or developing, should work together and commit to ensure the health of all. This again justifies the significance of increasing the awareness of chemical hazards among the public.

Implementation of the P3 project as an educational tool

There appears to be a strong association between learning and playing, and learning that is fun seems to be more effective (Lepper and Cordova, 1992). As a result, the technology of computer gaming has been widely used as an aid to various educational purposes: from iVISiCE Internal Force Master game for Civil Engineering students (Ebner & Holzinger, 2005), to Breast Cancer Detective game designed to teach breast cancer screening specially to Native American women (Roubidoux, 2005). Computer gaming has been applied in environmental education as well. For example, role-playing games have been designed for capacity building in water and land management (Camargo et al., 2007) and in industrial waste management (Hirose et al., 2004). It is believed that, in a computer game, manipulation of objects stimulates learning and training (Leutner, 1993) and goal information and competition are innately motivating components (Neal, 1990). Additionally, realistic graphics and sounds embedded in a computer game can enhance playability of the game and, therefore, the learning of its players (Amory et al, 1999).

The task of our project is to develop a computer game on chemical exposure issues. Different with many environmental education games that are used only by trainees from specific professional fields, such as those mentioned earlier, our game is designed for the public at large. The game itself is an educational tool, presenting a number of examples of chemical exposure in everyday life. It provides extensive information to its users, such as “What are the major environmental chemicals that affect human health?”, “Where do they come from?”, and “What harm do they do?” Yet it offers an entertaining and interactive experience due to its high playability. Therefore, it can not only attract people who are concerned about gaining environmental knowledge, but draw audience that are not so concerned about learning but more interested in playing, such as many teenagers. Because it has a similar configuration to the popular Monopoly, our game will be very attractive to the public and help them to learn information on chemical pollutants while playing.

Purpose, objectives, scope

The purpose of our project is to educate the public on chemical pollutants through an informative yet entertaining computer game. The target audience is the general public including teenagers. The game provides a learning experience that takes place in an immersive and engaging setting, which is significantly different from regular classroom setting for students or typical workshop or lecture style information sessions for adults. The objectives of Phase I of the project are:

a. To develop an initial computer game based on chemical exposure issues, which is educational yet fun to play;

b. To establish a framework for Phase II, and to examine the effectiveness of the game to convey the chemical exposure information;

c. To determine the tasks in Phase II based on the findings and outcomes from Phase I.

There are many chemical pollutants presented in the game, including not only pollutants that most public are familiar with, such as lead in old house painting, but also those that have been recently found associated with health impacts, such as perchlorate mainly used for rocket fuels. While the number of pollutants in the environment is enormous, the game focuses on chemicals that are closely related to our everyday life. The key chemicals addressed in Phase I of the game design are presented in Attachment A.

Data, outputs, outcomes, findings

Game review

The game we have developed is named Virtual P3 Game, where P3 is interpreted as play, participation, and protection. This name implies that the game is designed and played in a virtual world; it also indicates the ultimate goal of our project, which is to promote the participation of the public in environmental health movement and to protect the health of all lives on the planet through playing the game. The game developed in Phase I uses the form of Monopoly Game, the best-selling commercial board game in the world, and game rules are similar to the original. However, instead of the economic-profit-centered theme in the traditional game, our Virtual P3 Game advocates “environmental profits”, which represent the positive impacts on the environment.

The approaches we employ to emphasize the environmental theme of the game are discussed below.

a. Property values are associated with environmental quality. In Phase I, we temporarily use the population of zebra mussels and the extent of chemical control application as the index of environmental quality.

Zebra mussel issue has been a great concern in the United States regarding its ecological and social impacts as an invasive species. Due to their high reproduction rate, zebra mussels have now spread to 26 states and made their way to many inland rivers since they were first discovered in Lake St. Clair in 1988. They colonize water supply pipes of water treatment plants, power plants, and other industrial facilities. They attach to boat hulls and increase drag and therefore fuel consumption, or get into engine cooling systems and cause overheating. They also have profound effects on native ecosystems because they consume large amounts of microscopic plants and animals, and they may contain high concentration of toxic materials that will harm or kill fish and wildlife that consume them.

Many methods have been applied to control zebra mussel population, from thermal treatment to ultraviolet light treatment, including a patented mechanical removal equipment designed by Professor Tiao J. Chang from Ohio University. Among these methods, chemical control has been the most common practice in North America because most chemicals can be engineered to protect almost the entire facility (Claudi & Mackie, 1994). The disadvantage of chemical control is that, chemicals that kill zebra mussels are also toxic to most aquatic species and harmful to the environment. As regulations on release of chemicals into the environment continue to restrict, chemical control method may have to be limited.

Inspired by the facts mentioned above, we have established the foundation of the game: property values. Properties in our game are designed to be at different locations on the shore of a 3-D simulated lake. Different properties have different values depending on local population of zebra mussels: locations with higher zebra mussel population have lower property values due to the ecological disruption caused by zebra mussels and the potential chemical pollution from their population control. It is assumed that the higher the zebra mussel population, the higher risk of chemical pollution.

b. Utilities in original Monopoly Game are replaced with facilities that have environmental impacts comprehensible to most public. Facilities offered in Virtual P3 include a coal-fired power plant, a wind power plant, two water treatment plants, and two zebra mussel (chemical) treatment facilities. The wind power plant is assigned higher values of purchase price and rent than the coal-fired power plant because of its low, almost zero impact. A zebra mussel treatment facility and a water treatment plant from same color group will raise their rents because, first, zebra mussel treatment is necessary at water intake of the water treatment facility, and second, water treatment is necessary to keep chemicals used in zebra mussel treatment from polluting the environment.

c. Players of Virtual P3 Game will be building two types of houses and shops on purchased properties: the regular type, and the eco-friendly type. An eco house in the game refers to a house constructed with non-toxic materials and consumes renewable energy; an eco shop refers to a store that provides organic produce, natural products, and other eco-friendly goods. Eco-friendly type of houses and shops cost more to build than those of regular type, but they also provide higher profits from rentals and sales.

d. Most chemical exposure information is presented through Community Chest and Chance Card. When a player lands on Community Chest, he will be prized or punished depending on the action described on his Community Chest card. For example, if the card says “You have bought baby bottles made of #7 plastic for your sister’s baby”, then the player will be paying $20 because #7 plastic releases toxic BPA. When a player lands on Chance Card, he will be asked a question that is related to a specific chemical pollutant and then be prized or punished depending on whether his answer is correct. At the same time of being prized or punished, players will be provided detailed information on the chemical pollutant they have just encountered in the game. In the case of the toxic baby bottle, the player will be provided with information such as why #7 plastic is not suitable for making baby bottles or food containers, what kind of health impact BPA has, and so on.

e. At the end of the game, players will be provided a detailed review of all the chemical pollutants they have just come across in the game. In order to broaden their knowledge on these chemicals, players will also be provided a list of associated references as well as useful resources, online or on prints. This approach helps to ensure that, besides entertaining themselves, players also gain knowledge that can be applied to their daily life, which is educational purpose of the game.

Game architecture

Technically, our educational game is a software system in client-server architecture. We set up the server of the game to store the data of the game and handle some basic logic of the game. Game players download and install the client software, which implements the interactive action with players and data transmission with server.

We choose open source Second Life (SL) platform to develop the game. SL (Rymaszewski et al., 2007) is arguably the most popular 3-D online Virtual World (VW) with more than ten million registered accounts. A Virtual World, also known as Synthetic World (Castronova, 2005), is a computer-simulated persistent environment similar to the real world. It is usually created for its users (also known as residents) to inhabit and interact through avatars. An avatar is the user’s representation in the virtual world. SL provides powerful creation tools including a 3-D modeling tool, and a script language called Linden Script Language (LSL). LSL is an event-oriented language, and its syntax is similar to C. The 3-D modeling tool is used to create objects in SL, while LSL is used to add logic to the objects and control the objects’ behaviors. Most of the contents in SL are actually created by its users using these creation tools. And the users own the intellectual property of their creations.

SL opens the source code of its client to the public so users can customize their own client according to the requirement. Therefore, our game is developed by utilizing and customizing the open source client. Considering the flexibility of game design, OpenSim (http://opensimulator.org) is selected instead of the SL official server. OpenSim is also an open source software, which is a virtual world server used for developing 3D virtual world. Similarly, OpenSim server’s source code can be modified according to the requirement. At the same time, we also need a database server to store the game data, for which we choose MySQL, the world’s most popular open source database, as our database. Two screen shots depicting the OpenSim environment are presented in Figure 1 and 2.

Figure 1. Screen Shot 1 - Welcome to Virtual P3 Game

Figure 2. Screen Shot 2 – Virtual P3 Game Island Overview

Project Outcomes

The implementation of Phase I of the project has been very successful. A set of questionnaires, as shown in Attachment B, was developed for testing the effectiveness of the game and evaluating the overall outcome of Phase I. After the demonstration of Virtual P3 Game in Athens High School and Meigs High School, students were invited to play the game and answer those questions. Most students stated that they would be more concerned about environmental exposure issues after playing the game. A high percentage of surveyed students commented that Virtual P3 Game was instructive and yet fun to interact with. The highly positive response from the students proved the success of Virtual P3 as an educational tool for chemical exposure issues.

Virtual P3 Game has been made possible by the collaboration between Computer Science and Environmental Engineering. Each team member has dedicated generously to the project: En and Ying are mainly responsible for establishing the game framework on OpenSim, while Yanhui and Jourdan have done extensive research and provided substantial information on chemical pollutants used for the game. At the same time, the project is also a mutual learning experience for all team members, through which they have gained new knowledge: Environmental Engineering students have been experienced with Second Life, and Computer Science students have become more aware of chemical pollutants in their daily life. Thus, while its own objective is to design an educational tool, the project itself has reached the goal of being a learning experience for all of its members.

By increasing the public awareness of the chemical pollutants that are closely associated with their daily life, our Virtual P3 Game has potential to improve the health of human beings. By promoting a healthy lifestyle that minimizes the exposure to and the creation of chemical pollutants, the project also has potential to improve environmental quality, which may in turn slow down the extinction of species on the Earth that is currently taking place. Therefore, our project will potentially pose positive impacts in making progress toward a sustainable future. Furthermore, since the project is initiated from a global perspective, these potential impacts will be broadly applicable in both developed and developing world.

Although the project’s impacts cannot be quantified, the benefits it will bring about to people, prosperity, and the planet are potentially significant and can be qualitatively determined. First, it increases global consciousness on the pervasive chemical pollutants, especially those are associated with everyday life, and thus has potential to protect human health. Second, it advocates conscientious behaviors among the public that minimize impacts not only to themselves, but to other human beings and other species on the planet. Third, it promotes a healthy way of living that will eventually lead to a prosperous and sustainable future. Summarily, Virtual P3 Game will ultimately benefit people, prosperity, and the planet as a whole.

Conclusions, Discussion, and Recommendations

As addressed in previous section, the purpose of our project is to promote the global awareness on chemical exposure issues. Our ultimate goal is to improve the relationship between human beings and the Earth by taking serious responsibilities in our daily actions. It is our belief that the harmony relationship between people and the planet is the premise of common wealth and the health of all lives. Through developing an educational game based on this theme, our project has balanced the elements of people, prosperity and the planet.

The direct benefits of Virtual P3 Game forseeable include:

a. The increase of the ability of the public to recognize major chemical pollutants in their food, water, indoor and outdoor environment;

b. The increase of public awareness on the potential health risks and other impacts posed by these pollutants;

c. The increase of the capability of the public to – if possible – avoid or prevent chemical exposures;

d. The achievement of common understanding among the public that, the ultimate approach to minimize exposure is to improve lifestyle and develop a holistic view of environmental health.

Phase I is the initiative and explorative stage of our project, in which the framework of Virtual P3 Game has been successfully established. Phase II will be the development and improvement of the game. The major tasks we recommend for Phase II based on the outcome of Phase I are:

a. A further test of the initial Virtual P3 Game is needed. Again local high school students may be invited to play the game. They should be asked to rate the game according to the fun aspect including sounds, 3-D simulations, and animations, and the education aspect including the effectiveness of conveying chemical exposure knowledge. Students should be encouraged to criticize the game design and provide whatever suggestions they have in terms of improving its quality. The game may also be tested among college students and local communities.

b. Virtual P3 Game should be developed based on the feedback from the testers. There should be more interactive elements in the game and its visualization should be enhanced. The game design should go beyond the box of Monopoly and more creativity is required to improve the playability of the game.

c. Virtual P3 Game should be enhanced with our own research data. Most information we have used in Phase I is directly from existing literatures. We recommend adding more research efforts in Phase II. On the one hand, more research has to be done in order to improve the accuracy of the information provided in the game; on the other hand, analyzing existing data and thus disclosing a hidden tendency will add extra value of the game as an educational tool.

Based on the success of Phase I, we are confident that Virtual P3 Game is an effective educational tool on chemical exposures and it will continue to increase its value if our Phase II is granted.

Work plan for Phase II

Applications should be focused on a limited number of research objectives that adequately and clearly meet the RFA requirements. Explicitly state how Phase II will build on the successes achieved in the Phase I project. Detail the methods and approaches that will be used to further the design in terms of development or demonstration.

P3 Phase II Project Description

Challenge Definition and Relationship to Phase I

Ever since the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, the concern about the relationship between human health and the environment has grown steadily in the United States. This is true among the people around the world as well. While we are in constant contact with a variety of chemicals every day, many of them have not been tested for their impacts on human health. At the same time, an increasing number of evidences have linked environmental exposures with health problems such as cancer. Protecting the public from these exposures is essential to improve public health, and educating them on chemical pollutants and responsible behaviors to minimize pollution is also important to protect all lives on the Earth. When researchers and environmental advocacy groups are conducting numerous numbers of tests to bring attention to everyday chemical exposures, we are using a new approach to improve public awareness of this issue.

In Phase I of our project, the framework of a computer game has been successfully established using an analogous form to Monopoly. The purpose of the game, Virtual P3, is to educate the public on chemical exposure issues through an entertaining experience. The benefits of the game include the increase of the ability of the public to recognize major chemical pollutants in everyday life and their potential health impacts, and to minimize exposures to these chemicals.

Phase II of the project will be an extension and an improvement of Phase I. It is an extension of Phase I in that the game will include more information on chemical exposures: not only more types of chemical pollutants will be involved in the game, but more research and analysis will be conducted and the corresponding result be presented through the game. For instance, the relationship between population density and the level of chemical exposure will be studied, using GIS (Geographic Information System) technology and the latest demographic data from ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute).

Phase II will be an improvement of Phase I in that the game will be modified based on two criteria. First, the game will be substantiated by extensive research and analysis. For example, supported by the GIS analysis mentioned above, property values in the game will be determined by human population instead of zebra mussel population, which will be more realistic and acceptable to general public. Second, the game itself will be improved so that it will provide a more interactive experience and will be more fun to play. For instance, chance cards may be replaced by mini games so that players will not be bored from just answering questions on cards. The game will be polished based on the feedback from testers. We propose to invite students from local high schools to test the game in early stage of Phase II. We will conduct survey among the students and ask them to rate the game according to criteria such as animation effects, playability, use of technology, and instructiveness.

Innovation and Technical Merit

Our project is innovative in that, although there are a number of computer games used for environmental education, Virtual P3 is the first one developed particularly for chemical exposures that are closely related to everybody. Inspired by Parker Brothers’ Monopoly board game, Virtual P3 uses a similar configuration and applies similar rules. However, it has two significant merits compared to the original Monopoly: it is built and played in a 3-D virtual world and hence is equipped with objects and avatars that appear to be more realistic; it is centered on environmental impacts of chemical pollutants instead of the economic concept of monopoly.

Just as in the traditional Monopoly game, players of Virtual P3 also compete to maximize their wealth by doing investment on properties such as lands, utilities, houses, and restaurants. In this way, it will be easier for players to understand our game. Also the players who are Monopoly fans may be attracted to our game. However, different from Monopoly, the goal of our game is to promote environmental consciousness by adding chemical exposure knowledge to the game. In Virtual P3, players will earn or lose money depending on whether their actions are beneficent or harmful to their health or the environment. Furthermore, the game is developed in 3-D virtual world, where, instead of a 2-D game board, a 3-D game island with 3-D objects will be constructed, and players can interact with these objects by using their avatars. Different environmental issues related chemical pollution will be simulated at different locations on the game island. For example, zebra mussel control and associated chemical pollution issue have been presented in Phase I; in Phase II, we plan to simulate other environmental factors like human population in the game based on our research.

The game will be developed based on open source Second Life (SL) platform. This platform consists of the open-source SL official client provided by Linden Lab and OpenSim (http://opensimulator.org), which is an open-source Virtual World (VW) server that can be used for creating a SL like virtual world. Since both client and server software are open-source, we are able to modify them according to our needs for game development. Also by using OpenSim, we can set up our own server, which would be more secure than using SL official server due to our full control on the server. This technical merit is crucial because the main players of our game would be teenagers. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first team to use Open-source SL platform to develop and host educational games.

Besides the previously-mentioned technical merits that have been adopted in Phase I, more advanced techniques will be employed in Phase II. GIS, a tool that allows users to attain, store, analyze, and display geographically referenced information, will be applied. Based on the phenomena that population growth often appears to have negative impact on environmental quality, GIS will be used in Phase II to explore the possible relationship between population density and the level of health risk posed by certain chemical pollutants. For example, the contaminant level of PPCPs (Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products) in drinking water and thus the associated health risk may vary with population density. The research on this subject will be conducted in the scope of the United States because its GIS demographic data are currently existing and available from ESRI.

Relationship of Challenge to Sustainability

We live in a sea of manmade chemicals. Many of them were not adequately tested for their effects on human health before they were introduced into commerce. People around the world are awakening to this reality and asking questions like “Is the introduction of chemicals outrunning our ability to fully assess their significance in the environment or to human health (Daughton, 2005)?” An increasing number of evidences have proved that environmental and occupational exposures to chemical contaminants have causal relations with numerous health problems from cancers to infertility. How to prevent or minimize these exposures has become critical in protecting public health.

It is the chemical exposure issue and its potentially negative impact on the health of all lives that has initiated our project. Instead of experimenting, testing, analyzing like what other professionals are doing and thus bringing attention to chemical exposures, we will mainly apply computer gaming technology to increase the awareness of this issue. Players of our game will be learning knowledge on everyday chemical exposures through a fun and engaging experience. After we have successfully set up the framework of the game in Phase I, in Phase II we will be improving the game and supporting it with realistic and convincing research data. Since chemical exposure is a global issue, the final product of our project will benefit the people around the entire world. By consciously minimizing chemical exposure and reducing chemical pollution as a direct result from playing the game, players will contribute to improving the health of not only current generation, but the generations of the future; they will not only protect the health of human beings, but protect the diversity of other species on the Earth. The game will be also constructed in a way that it can be easily adapted to future situations in which new contaminants are discovered.

Outcome Measures

Activities

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this project, the project team will exhibit the completed simulation to students in Athens High School and Meigs High School. The results from high school students will be published and the simulation will be demonstrated to consultant groups, Ohio University’s 2008 Student Research and Creative Activity Expo, and Second Life members. After exhibiting the simulations to these various groups the project team will be able to determine if the game is able to meet its intended objectives.

Evaluation Method

The project team will design surveys for high school students. The surveys will be used to measure the engagement of the simulation. According to Oxford English Dictionary, engagement means “to occupy the attention or efforts of a person; to attract or involve someone’s interest or attention”. In chapter 5 of Digital Game-Based Learning (2001), Marc Prensky proposed that games are engaging since they can benefit players from many aspects. Two of them are enjoyment, and learning. Therefore, the engagement measurement will prove whether the game is fun enough that unintended target would enjoy it as well.

Surveys will be developed to evaluate the engagement of the simulation for high school students. These surveys will include not only questions on basic knowledge of toxins, but also inquiries regarding satisfactoriness of the game. The evaluation criteria will be explicitly specified before any of the surveys are performed. For instance, we will define 7 correct answers to 10 questions or an average of 7 points out of 10 points for satisfactoriness is acceptable.

We will invite one or more experts on environmental issues as external evaluators for the project. The project team will collect and analyze all responses to the surveys. Both raw data and the satisfactory criteria will be sent to the external evaluators, who will provide an independent evaluation.

To measure the effectiveness of this project in meeting the stated objectives, we will measure the outcomes as listed in Table 1.

Table 1. The plan for outcome measurement in Phase II

Outcome	Metrics	Methodology	Baseline data
At least 80% of the students in the participating classes are aware of chemical exposure issues.	Number of students who used the environmental education game in class and the percentage of students who are aware of major chemical exposure issues.	Surveys will be developed and administered to measure student awareness.	Participating students will be given a pretest at the beginning of quarter to measure their awareness before the project. In addition, the same survey will be administered to a non-participating class to provide a basis for comparison.

Demonstration

After completing the evaluation process with the Athens High School students the project team will demonstrate the simulation to consultation groups, Ohio University’s 2008 Student Research and Creative Activity Expo, and Second Life members.

The consultation groups will consist of Ohio University students. The students will be invited by the project team to take part of the simulation. The project team will also invite the Second Life community to take part in the simulation. The student groups and the world-wide community will have the ability to provide the project team with comments and suggestions on the effectiveness of the simulation.

The simulation will be exhibited to the Ohio University’s 2009 Student Research and Creative Activity Expo. The Student Expo will provide the project team with the opportunity to expose the simulation to attendees who may have limited or no knowledge of Second Life. The Student Research and Creative Activity Expo will allow the team to measure the public’s reaction to the simulation.

Integration of P3 Concepts as an Educational Tool

As Phase I summary has pointed out, the task of our project itself is to develop an educational tool on chemical exposure. While the implementation of Phase I has been a process of learning mainly for the team members, the implementation and the final product of Phase II will extend this learning experience to the public at large and hence the educational benefits are maximized. We are thrilled to realize how much impact our project will bring about on the health of people and the planet, which has been, and will continue to be, our major motivation for this project.

Project Schedule

The two year phase II project is planned and specific tasks are listed below.

1. Continue developing the 3-D environmental monopoly game using SL open-source client and OpenSim Server.

2. Test the game in classes in Athens High School and Meigs High School and improve the game.

3. Further test the game in other classes in two high schools and improve the game.

4. Demonstrate the game at OU student Research and Creativity Expo and Athens County Library.

5. Release the game to the public, including making it available for classroom use.

The phase II project will start in June 2008, and end in May 2010. First of all, graduate students in our team will continue developing the 3-D environmental monopoly game to simulate the chemical exposure problems, based on the work in phase I. The game will be first tested in one class at each high school during the third quarter (1/1/2009 - 3/31/2009). In the same period, graduate students will improve the game based on the feedbacks from teachers and students. During the fourth quarter (4/1/2009 – 6/30/2009), the improved game will be tested again in a different class of each high school. After that, the game will be demonstrated at 2009 Ohio University Student Research and Creativity Fair (May 15, 2009) and at Athens County Library in summer 2009. Finally we will release the game to the public, including making it available for classroom use. The detailed timetable is shown in the following table.

Task	Period
Continuation of developing the 3-D Virtual P3 Game	6/1/2008 – 12/31/2008
First test in high schools and improvement of the game	1/1/2009 – 3/30/2009
Second test in high schools and improvement of the game	4/1/2009 - 6/30/2009
Demonstration of the game at OU Research & Creativity Fair and Athens County Library	5/15/2009, 7/1/2009 – 8/30/2009
Release of the game	9/1/2009 – 5/30/2010

Partnerships

Athens High School

Athens High School will be a partner in this project to help evaluate the effectiveness of our game for chemical exposure education. The game will be tested in classes in Athens High School and finally made available for formal classroom use.

Meigs High School

Meigs High School will be a partner in this project to help evaluate the effectiveness of our game for chemical exposure education. The game will be tested in classes in Meigs High School and finally made available for formal classroom use.

Important Attachments

Attachment A

Key Chemical Pollutants Addressed in Virtual P3 Game (Phase I)

Common Name	Chemical Name	Source of Pollution (as presented in the game)	Health Impacts (as presented in the game)
Lead	Lead	storage batteries in vehicles; lead-based point in old houses	toxicity to developing nervous system, hematological and cardiovascular system
Mercury	Mercury	coal-fired power plants; certain seafood; fluorescent light bulbs	neurotoxicity; delayed development in children; decreased sensory capability
Radon	Radon	certain rocks; contaminated soil and water	lung cancer
PCBs	Polychlorinated Biphenyls	leaks form transformers, capacitors; contaminated food or well water	dermal effects; liver damage; neurological effects
Dioxins	chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins	by-product of pesticide manufacture, bleaching paper pulp, waste incineration	carcinogenicity; skin disorder; peripheral nerve damage
Phthalates	Phthalates	plastics, vinyl, personal care products	reproductive toxicity in animal studies; potential impacts on human health
PBDEs	Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers	flame retardants in electronics, furniture, carpets etc.	thyroid hormone disruption, neurodevelopmental deficits, and cancer
Perchlorate	Perchlorate	rocket fuel; production of pharmaceuticals; leather tanning; contaminated water	reduction of thyroid hormone production; disruption of metabolism
PFOA (C8)	Perfluorooctanoic Acid	non-stick cookware (Teflon); breathable, all-weather clothing	developmental and other adverse effects in animals; persistence and potential harm in human body
CCA	Chromated Copper Arsenate	wood preservative used in outdoor settings such as decks, fences, playgrounnd equipment	Arsenic is a known carcinogen and is acutely toxic
BPA	Bisphenol A	products made of #7 plastic (polycarbonates), specially when heated	birth defects in animal studies; potential risk in humans, specially infants

Attachment B

Survey Questionnaires for Virtual P3 Game

Circle an answer that you think is the best for each question.

1. What do you think about this 3-D computer-simulated Virtual P3 Game?

a. Very interesting

b. Somewhat interesting

c. Not very interesting

d. Not interesting at all

2. Were you aware of chemical exposure issues before you play this game?

a. Yes, very aware and concerned.

b. Somewhat, but not very concerned.

c. No, not aware at all.

3. Will you be more concerned about chemical exposures after you play the game?

a. Certainly.

b. Maybe.

c. Not really.

4. How do you evaluate Virtual P3 Game as an educational tool for chemical exposure issues?

a. Very informative

b. Somewhat informative

c. Not very informative

d. Not informative at all

5. Would you be willing to recommend Virtual P3 Game to your family or friends?