1,616 research outputs found
Slice and Dice: A Physicalization Workflow for Anatomical Edutainment
During the last decades, anatomy has become an interesting topic in
education---even for laymen or schoolchildren. As medical imaging techniques
become increasingly sophisticated, virtual anatomical education applications
have emerged. Still, anatomical models are often preferred, as they facilitate
3D localization of anatomical structures. Recently, data physicalizations
(i.e., physical visualizations) have proven to be effective and
engaging---sometimes, even more than their virtual counterparts. So far,
medical data physicalizations involve mainly 3D printing, which is still
expensive and cumbersome. We investigate alternative forms of physicalizations,
which use readily available technologies (home printers) and inexpensive
materials (paper or semi-transparent films) to generate crafts for anatomical
edutainment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first computer-generated
crafting approach within an anatomical edutainment context. Our approach
follows a cost-effective, simple, and easy-to-employ workflow, resulting in
assemblable data sculptures (i.e., semi-transparent sliceforms). It primarily
supports volumetric data (such as CT or MRI), but mesh data can also be
imported. An octree slices the imported volume and an optimization step
simplifies the slice configuration, proposing the optimal order for easy
assembly. A packing algorithm places the resulting slices with their labels,
annotations, and assembly instructions on a paper or transparent film of
user-selected size, to be printed, assembled into a sliceform, and explored. We
conducted two user studies to assess our approach, demonstrating that it is an
initial positive step towards the successful creation of interactive and
engaging anatomical physicalizations
An Advanced Conceptual Diagnostic Healthcare Framework for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disorders
The data mining along with emerging computing techniques have astonishingly
influenced the healthcare industry. Researchers have used different Data Mining
and Internet of Things (IoT) for enrooting a programmed solution for diabetes
and heart patients. However, still, more advanced and united solution is needed
that can offer a therapeutic opinion to individual diabetic and cardio
patients. Therefore, here, a smart data mining and IoT (SMDIoT) based advanced
healthcare system for proficient diabetes and cardiovascular diseases have been
proposed. The hybridization of data mining and IoT with other emerging
computing techniques is supposed to give an effective and economical solution
to diabetes and cardio patients. SMDIoT hybridized the ideas of data mining,
Internet of Things, chatbots, contextual entity search (CES), bio-sensors,
semantic analysis and granular computing (GC). The bio-sensors of the proposed
system assist in getting the current and precise status of the concerned
patients so that in case of an emergency, the needful medical assistance can be
provided. The novelty lies in the hybrid framework and the adequate support of
chatbots, granular computing, context entity search and semantic analysis. The
practical implementation of this system is very challenging and costly.
However, it appears to be more operative and economical solution for diabetes
and cardio patients.Comment: 11 PAGE
Assessment in and of serious games: an overview
There is a consensus that serious games have a significant potential as a tool for instruction. However, their effectiveness in terms of learning outcomes is still understudied mainly due to the complexity involved in assessing intangible measures. A systematic approach—based on established principles and guidelines—is necessary to enhance the design of serious games, and many studies lack a rigorous assessment. An important aspect in the evaluation of serious games, like other educational tools, is user performance assessment. This is an important area of exploration because serious games are intended to evaluate the learning progress as well as the outcomes. This also emphasizes the importance of providing appropriate feedback to the player. Moreover, performance assessment enables adaptivity and personalization to meet individual needs in various aspects, such as learning styles, information provision rates, feedback, and so forth. This paper first reviews related literature regarding the educational effectiveness of serious games. It then discusses how to assess the learning impact of serious games and methods for competence and skill assessment. Finally, it suggests two major directions for future research: characterization of the player's activity and better integration of assessment in games
A study on exploiting commercial digital games into school context
Digital game-based learning is a research field within the context of technology-enhanced learning that has attracted significant research interest. Commercial off-the-shelf digital games have the potential to provide concrete learning experiences and allow for drawing links between abstract concepts and real-world situations. The aim of this paper is to provide evidence for the effect of a general-purpose commercial digital game (namely, the “Sims 2-Open for Business”) on the achievement of standard curriculum Mathematics educational objectives as well as genera l educational objectives as defined by standard taxonomies. Furthermore, students’ opinions about their participation in the proposed game-supported educational scenario and potential changes in their attitudes toward math teaching and learning in junior high school are investigated. The results of the conducted research showed that: (i) students engaged in the game-supported educational activities achieved the same results with those who did not, with regard to the subject matter educational objectives, (ii) digital game- supported educational activities resulted in better achievement of the genera l educational objectives, and (iii) no significant differences were observed with regard to students’ attitudes towards math teaching and learning
A SHARED INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR TOURISM ENTERPRISES IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES
In a developing economy's business environment, introduction of new technology creates a large potential for more effective and streamlined production of tourism services. This study shows guidelines of design of an inter-organizational information system for small tourism enterprises. The entrepreneurial goal is to support strategic alliances in order to obtain better market-fit and sustainable competitive advance. This requires that the enterprises are capable of evaluating their existing processes, identify and outline improvements, and implement them. More than that, enterprises have to execute profound strategic changes in their business processes. For this change, study shows that adaption of supportive information system can be a key factor to satisfy these demands.
Firstly, using systematic literature review the study identifies global trends of e-tourism. Secondly the trends are compared with the reality of small tourism enterprises in Nicaraguan Caribbean coast. With interview and brain storming sessions with hotel managers and local tourism specialists, desired state of e-tourism enhanced business processes is defined. Performance gaps and solutions are identified and outlined in order to reach new customer segments and better customer satisfaction with use of inter-organizational information system. With help of shared information system, enterprises search for sustainable economic growth and more stable business environment for their activities.
The scientific domain of research is Information systems science. The method used for data collection and interpretation is systematic literature review and human and institutional capacity development -method. As result, the research identifies critical business processes when implementing e-Tourism services into tourism enterprises in developing economies. Strategic solutions for sustainable improvements in business processes supported by use of shared information system are outlined. As a practical result, the study lists required steps in order to reach desired changes in tourism enterprises with e-tourism initiative. Specification of requirements for information system is made. The implementation process and construction of information system is left out from this research and it requires later its own case study.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format
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