Byron Reeves, Using Games to Change Behavior at Work. The engagement of people at work has taken on increased importance as we learn that engagement increases productivity and that engagement is often in short supply. New social media, and in general a consumer sensibility to information work, offer new ideas about how to design work that maximizes engagement. This presentation will review new engagement technologies and psychological research that is the basis for new solutions with emphasis on the most popular form of new media -- multiplayer games. How can we use this psychologically powerful genre to change the nature of work? The presentation will include recent case studies about serious uses of games to change behavior in consumer retail sales, financial services, home energy use, and health care.

Byron Reeves is the Paul C. Edwards Professor of Communication at Stanford University. He teaches courses in mass communication theory and research, with particular emphasis on psychological processing of interactive media. His research has been the basis for a number of new media products for companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard, in the areas of voice interfaces, automated dialogue systems and conversational agents. He is currently working on the applications of multi-player game technology to learning and the conduct of serious work.