Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2017 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
Background: A computer-based game, named Timoââ?¬â?¢s Adventure, was developed to assess specific cognitive functions (eg,\nattention, planning, and working memory), time perception, and reward mechanisms in young school-aged children. The game\nconsists of 6 mini-games embedded in a story line and includes fantasy elements to enhance motivation.\nObjective: The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of Timoââ?¬â?¢s Adventure in normally developing children and in\nchildren with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).\nMethods: A total of 96 normally developing children aged 4-8 years and 40 children with ADHD were assessed using the game.\nClinical validity was investigated by examining the effects of age on performances within the normally developing children, as\nwell as performance differences between the healthy controls and the ADHD group.\nResults: Our analyses in the normally developing children showed developmental effects; that is, older children made fewer\ninhibition mistakes (r=âË?â??.33, P=.001), had faster (and therefore better) reaction times (r=âË?â??.49, P<.001), and were able to produce\ntime intervals more accurately than younger children (ÃÂ=.35, P<.001). Discriminant analysis showed that Timoââ?¬â?¢s Adventure was\naccurate in most classifications whether a child belonged to the ADHD group or the normally developing group: 78% (76/97) of\nthe children were correctly classified as having ADHD or as being in the normally developing group. The classification results\nshowed that 72% (41/57) children in the control group were correctly classified, and 88% (35/40) of the children in the ADHD\ngroup were correctly classified as having ADHD. Sensitivity (0.89) and specificity (0.69) of Timoââ?¬â?¢s Adventure were satisfying.\nConclusions: Computer-based games seem to be a valid tool to assess specific strengths and weaknesses in young children with\nADHD....
Motor-training software on tablets or smartphones (Apps) offer a low-cost, widely-available\nsolution to supplement arm physiotherapy after stroke. We assessed the proportions of\nhemiplegic stroke patients who, with their plegic hand, could meaningfully engage with\nmobile-gaming devices using a range of standard control-methods, as well as by using a\nnovel wireless grip-controller, adapted for neurodisability. We screened all newly-diagnosed\nhemiplegic stroke patients presenting to a stroke centre over 6 months. Subjects\nwere compared on their ability to control a tablet or smartphone cursor using: finger-swipe,\ntap, joystick, screen-tilt, and an adapted handgrip. Cursor control was graded as: no movement\n(0); less than full-range movement (1); full-range movement (2); directed movement\n(3). In total, we screened 345 patients, of which 87 satisfied recruitment criteria and completed\ntesting. The commonest reason for exclusion was cognitive impairment. Using conventional\ncontrols, the proportion of patients able to direct cursor movement was 38ââ?¬â??48%;\nand to move it full-range was 55ââ?¬â??67% (controller comparison: p>0.1). By comparison,\nhandgrip enabled directed control in 75%, and full-range movement in 93% (controller comparison:\np<0.001). This difference between controllers was most apparent amongst\nseverely-disabled subjects, with 0% achieving directed or full-range control with conventional\ncontrols, compared to 58% and 83% achieving these two levels of movement,\nrespectively, with handgrip. In conclusion, hand, or arm, training Apps played on conventional\nmobile devices are likely to be accessible only to mildly-disabled stroke patients.\nTechnological adaptations such as grip-control can enable more severely affected subjects\nto engage with self-training software....
Background: Smoking is recognized as the largest, single, preventable cause of death and disease in the developed world. While\nthe majority of smokers report wanting to quit, and many try each year, smokers find it difficult to maintain long-term abstinence.\nBehavioral support, such as education, advice, goal-setting, and encouragement, is known to be beneficial in improving the\nlikelihood of succeeding in a quit attempt, but it remains difficult to effectively deliver this behavioral support and keep the patient\nengaged with the process for a sufficient duration. In an attempt to solve this, there have been numerous mobile apps developed,\nyet engagement and retention have remained key challenges that limit the potential effectiveness of these interventions. Video\ngames have been clearly linked with the effective delivery of health interventions, due to their capacity to increase motivation\nand engagement of players.\nObjective: The objective of this study is to describe the design and development of a smartphone app that is theory-driven, and\nwhich incorporates gaming characteristics in order to promote engagement with content, and thereby help smokers to quit.\nMethods: Game design and development was informed by a taxonomy of motivational affordances for meaningful gamified\nand persuasive technologies. This taxonomy describes a set of design components that is grounded in well-established psychological\ntheories on motivation.\nResults: This paper reports on the design and development process of Quittr, a mobile app, describing how game design\nprinciples, game mechanics, and game elements can be used to embed education and support content, such that the app actually\nrequires the user to access and engage with relevant educational content. The next stage of this research is to conduct a randomized\ncontrolled trial to determine whether the additional incentivization game features offer any value in terms of the key metrics of\nengagementââ?¬â??how much content users are consuming, how many days users are persisting with using the app, and what proportion\nof users successfully abstain from smoking for 28 days, based on user-reported data and verified against a biochemical baseline\nusing cotinine tests.\nConclusions: We describe a novel, and theoretically-informed mobile app design approach that has a broad range of potential\napplications. By using the virtual currency approach, we remove the need for the game to comprehensively integrate the healthy\nactivity as part of its actual play mechanics. This opens up the potential for a wide variety of health problems to be tackled through\ngames where no obvious play mechanic presents itself. The implications of this app are that similar approaches may be of benefit\nin areas such as managing chronic conditions (diabetes, heart disease, etc), treating substance abuse (alcohol, illicit drugs, etc),\ndiet and exercise, eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating), and various phobias....
Game theory may offer a useful mechanism to address many problems in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). One of the key\nconcepts in the research field of such networks with Optimized Link State Routing Protocol (OLSR) is the security problem.\nRelying on applying game theory to study this problem, we consider two strategies during this suggested model: cooperate and\nnot-cooperate. However, in such networks, it is not easy to identify different actions of players. In this paper, we have essentially\nbeen inspired from recent advances provided in game theory to propose a new model for security in MANETs. Our proposal\npresents a powerful tool with a large number of players where interactions are played multiple times. Moreover, each node keeps\na cooperation rate (CR) record of other nodes to cope with the behaviors and mitigate aggregate effect of other malicious devices.\nAdditionally, our suggested security mechanism does not only take into consideration security requirements, but also take into\naccount system resources and network performances. The simulation results using Network Simulator 3 are presented to illustrate\nthe effectiveness of the proposal....
In recent years, overseas set off a craze for learning Chinese. Chinese Idioms teaching is important but\ndifficult for foreigners in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL). The VR educational game should be a\ngood choice to solve the problem with education, entertainment, and high immerse. In this study , 'Yu Gong moves\nthe mountain' is designed as an example. Unity 3D is the main development tool, Leap Motion is interactive way, and\nalso doing an interview with some findings and conclusions. Comparison of textbooks or teachers explaining, VR\nChinese Idioms educational game can enhance most of the learners understanding with intense interest. However, the\neducational game should be integrated into more entertainment and it costs at least 10 minutes or more to adapt the\noperation of Leap Motion. In the further research, the VR Chinese Idioms educational games for the TCFL can be\nbetter gradually based on this research....
Loading....