p2pnet.net news:- You’ve just turned up for your first day at university. You see other students openly kissing each other. And later, you’re invited for a beer in the local bar.

So?

That might come as a bit of culture shock to foreign students, believes Britain’s Nipan Maniar

A University of Portsmouth academic and games technology expert, he arrived in the UK from India five years ago as an international student, and experienced it first hand.

His solution? C-Shock, a mobile phone game which acts as an “e-mother” or “mobile mummy” for new students, says the UoP .

“I found some aspects of British culture very novel, and certainly things such as interacting socially with others, say, in a pub were very different to what I was used to in my own culture in India,” says Nipan.

“I thought it would be great to have a learning vehicle or device to help people overcome the culture shock because if you have not experienced such things before, it’s hard to know how to react or behave appropriately.”

C-Shock , which’ll probably be available for download from the university site later this year, tries to reduce the central character’s ‘culture shock’ rating from a default of 100 to zero.

“The game’s opening scenario is a student’s first day at university in the UK,” says the story. “The student is shown a map of the campus and is given tasks to find specific locations. Clicking on images along the way warns the student about what to expect in terms of culture shock - for example, it is acceptable for students to drink alcohol and it is okay for people to display affection in public. The game also includes important information such as police and emergency telephone numbers.”

Nipan and research assistant Dr Emily Bennett developed the prototype after consulting with the University’s International Office and the British Council.

They expect the idea to be adopted by other British universities in the UK.

Slashdot it!

_Also See:
University of Portsmouth - Mobile phone game developed to combat culture shock, April 27, 2007

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 29th, 2007 at 10:11 am and is filed under Mobiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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