Identifying game design factor for the development of educational digital games

Designing and developing educational digital games are complicated processes.In both cases, multidisciplinary teams are required. Moreover, designing a diverse range of educational digital games from start to end can be different in each case. This paper introduces a concise model for designing digital games with an aim to assist and support both educators and game designers. In addition, this model will bridge the gap between educators and game designers, so as to achieve the common goal of developing effective educational digital games.This study intends to investigate and conduct a comprehensive review of the main features and factors for developing educational digital games suitable for different educational contents and platforms.Furthermore, the proposed model is believed to bring benefits to both educators and game designers who are involved in the game design process for digital game-based learnin

Exploring the Touch and Motion Features in Game-Based Cognitive Assessments

Early detection of cognitive decline is important for timely intervention and treatment strategies to prevent further deterioration or development of more severe cognitive impairment, as well as identify at risk individuals for research. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of using data collected from built-in sensors of mobile phone and gameplay performance in mobile-game-based cognitive assessments. Twenty-two healthy participants took part in the two-session experiment where they were asked to take a series of standard cognitive assessments followed by playing three popular mobile games in which user-game interaction data were passively collected. The results from bivariate analysis reveal correlations between our proposed features and scores obtained from paper-based cognitive assessments. Our results show that touch gestural interaction and device motion patterns can be used as supplementary features on mobile game-based cognitive measurement. This study provides initial evidence that game related metrics on existing off-the-shelf games have potential to be used as proxies for conventional cognitive measures, specifically for visuospatial function, visual search capability, mental flexibility, memory and attention

Nipple Characteristics between Teenage and Adult in Postpartum Period and Success in Breastfeeding at day 3 Postpartum

Objectives: To compare nipple length and diameter between teenage and adult mothers during early postpartum period and their association with success in breastfeeding at day 3 postpartum.Materials and Methods: A total of 315 nulliparous women, who delivered at Siriraj Hospital between March and October 2016 were enrolled. Study group consisted of 105 teenage mothers and 210 adult mothers were served as a comparison group. Baseline characteristics, obstetric data, maternal and neonatal outcomes were extracted from medical records. Nipple length and diameter were measured. LATCH score was used to evaluate success in breastfeeding at day 3 postpartum, using score of ≥ 7 as a cut off. Comparisons of various characteristics were made between groups. Association between nipple characteristics and LATCH score were evaluated.Results: Teenage mothers were significantly more likely to be underweight, working as a housewife, and have lower income. While gestational age at delivery was comparable, teenage mothers were significantly more likely to deliver vaginally. Birth weight were significantly lower among teenage mother. Nipples of teenage mothers were significantly shorter and narrower than adult mothers (7.3 ± 2.8 mm vs. 9.6 ± 2.8 mm, p < 0.001 and 13.5 ± 1.4 mm vs. 14.2 ± 1.8 mm, p = 0.002, respectively). At day 3 postpartum LATCH scores ≥ 7 were comparable between groups (58.1% vs. 55.2%, p = 0.631). Nipple length of ≥ 7 mm was significantly associated with success in breastfeeding at day 3 postpartum (LATCH score of ≥ 7) in both teenage (71% vs. 39.5%, p = 0.002) and adult (60.4% vs. 13%, p < 0.001) mothers.Conclusion: Teenage nipples had significantly shorter and narrower than adult mothers. Pregnant women with nipple length of ≥ 7 mm on at least one side significantly increased the chance of success in breastfeeding at day 3 postpartum regardless of age group

An Automated Mobile Game-based Screening Tool for Patients with Alcohol Dependence

Traditional methods for screening and diagnosis of alcohol dependence are typically administered by trained clinicians in medical settings and often rely on interview responses. These self-reports can be unintentionally or deliberately false, and misleading answers can, in turn, lead to inaccurate assessment and diagnosis. In this study, we examine the use of user-game interaction patterns on mobile games to develop an automated diagnostic and screening tool for alcohol-dependent patients. Our approach relies on the capture of interaction patterns during gameplay, while potential patients engage with popular mobile games on smartphones. The captured signals include gameplay performance, touch gestures, and device motion, with the intention of identifying patients with alcohol dependence. We evaluate the classification performance of various supervised learning algorithms on data collected from 40 patients and 40 age-matched healthy adults. The results show that patients with alcohol dependence can be automatically identified accurately using the ensemble of touch, device motion, and gameplay performance features on 3-minute samples (accuracy=0.95, sensitivity=0.95, and specificity=0.95). The present findings provide strong evidence suggesting the potential use of user-game interaction metrics on existing mobile games as discriminant features for developing an implicit measure to identify alcohol dependence conditions. In addition to supporting healthcare professionals in clinical decision-making, the game-based self-screening method could be used as a novel strategy to promote alcohol dependence screening, especially outside of clinical settings

Is Your Virtual Self as Sensational as Your Real? Virtual Reality: The Effect of Body Consciousness on the Experience of Exercise Sensations

Objectives: Past research has shown that Virtual Reality (VR) is an effective method for reducing the perception of pain and effort associated with exercise. As pain and effort are subjective feelings, they are influenced by a variety of psychological factors, including one’s awareness of internal body sensations, known as Private Body Consciousness (PBC). The goal of the present study was to investigate whether the effectiveness of VR in reducing the feeling of exercise pain and effort is moderated by PBC. Design and Methods: Eighty participants were recruited to this study and were randomly assigned to a VR or a non-VR control group. All participants were required to maintain a 20% 1RM isometric bicep curl, whilst reporting ratings of pain intensity and perception of effort. Participants in the VR group completed the isometric bicep curl task whilst wearing a VR device which simulated an exercising environment. Participants in the non-VR group completed a conventional isometric bicep curl exercise without VR. Participants’ heart rate was continuously monitored along with time to exhaustion. A questionnaire was used to assess PBC. Results: Participants in the VR group reported significantly lower pain and effort and exhibited longer time to exhaustion compared to the non-VR group. Notably, PBC had no effect on these measures and did not interact with the VR manipulation. Conclusions: Results verified that VR during exercise could reduce negative sensations associated with exercise regardless of the levels of PBC

Exploring the Touch and Motion Features in Game-Based Cognitive Assessments

Early detection of cognitive decline is important for timely intervention and treatment strategies to prevent further dete- rioration or development of more severe cognitive impairment, as well as identify at risk individuals for research. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of using data collected from built-in sensors of mobile phone and gameplay performance in mobile-game-based cognitive assessments. Twenty-two healthy participants took part in the two-session experiment where they were asked to take a series of standard cognitive assessments followed by playing three popular mobile games in which user-game interaction data were passively collected. The results from bivariate analysis reveal correlations between our proposed features and scores obtained from paper-based cognitive assessments. Our results show that touch gestural interaction and device motion patterns can be used as supplementary features on mobile game-based cognitive measurement. This study provides initial evidence that game related metrics on existing off-the-shelf games have potential to be used as proxies for conventional cognitive measures, specifically for visuospatial function, visual search capability, mental flexibility, memory and attention

Soft, wireless periocular wearable electronics for real-time detection of eye vergence in a virtual reality toward mobile eye therapies

Ocular disorders are currently affecting the developed world, causing loss of productivity in adults and children. While the cause of such disorders is not clear, neurological issues are often considered as the biggest possibility. Treatment of strabismus and vergence requires an invasive surgery or clinic-based vision therapy that has been used for decades due to the lack of alternatives such as portable therapeutic tools. Recent advancement in electronic packaging and image processing techniques have opened the possibility for optics-based portable eye tracking approaches, but several technical and safety hurdles limit the implementation of the technology in wearable applications. Here, we introduce a fully wearable, wireless soft electronic system that offers a portable, highly sensitive tracking of eye movements (vergence) via the combination of skin-conformal sensors and a virtual reality system. Advancement of material processing and printing technologies based on aerosol jet printing enables reliable manufacturing of skin-like sensors, while a flexible electronic circuit is prepared by the integration of chip components onto a soft elastomeric membrane. Analytical and computational study of a data classification algorithm provides a highly accurate tool for real-time detection and classification of ocular motions. In vivo demonstration with 14 human subjects captures the potential of the wearable electronics as a portable therapy system, which can be easily synchronized with a virtual reality headset