The Use of digital games to enhance the physical exercise activity of the elderly : a case of Finland

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), population ageing is a global phenomenon, which brings both challenges and opportunities for society. The current longer expected lifespan can create opportunities for the elderly to contribute in many ways to their families and communities. However, it greatly depends on their quality of life, which is affected by many factors, including physical and functional health, social well-being, and cognitive abilities. The WHO (2012) states that physical health is one of the indicators for the elderly’s quality of life, and it declines with increasing age. Participation in regular physical exercises can help the elderly improve their physical and mental health, and this has been aided by the use of modern technologies to promote the elderly’s physical and functional health. Of these latest technologies, digital games have shown promise to improve and enhance the elderly’s physical activities through fun and engaging gameplay. The literature highlights that some commercial games in the market (e.g. Microsoft Kinect- Sports and Nintendo Wii Sports games) have the potential to improve the elderly’s physical health such as gait, balance, and fall prevention. However, researchers argue that these commercial games are not designed specifically for the elderly and their physical exercise activities. They state that most commercial games are not user-friendly for the elderly whose functional and physical abilities are limited due to their advanced years. The literature points out that more studies need to be undertaken to understand the usability and usefulness of digital games for physical exercise activities so that game designers can create elderly-friendly digital games in the future. In Finland, the government has been focusing on promoting healthy ageing and increasing home care services for the elderly. In recent years, Finnish researchers have used digital games to promote older Finns’ healthy and active ageing. The existing literature, whilst showing the potential of digital games for elderly Finns’ physical health, also acknowledges further research is needed particularly in the context of Finland. Thus, in this study, we aimed at investigating digital games to specifically assess their applications for older Finns’ physical activities, focusing on the quality of users’ experiences, and their reported ease of use and perceived usefulness. We used the mixed methods approach, which applies both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The study design included four stages: requirements gathering, analysis and design, prototyping, and evaluation. Firstly, we conducted pre-studies to elicit users’ requirements. This was followed by the analysis of the resulting data to identify trends and patterns, which fuelled ideas in the brainstorming game design and development phases. The final product was a digital game-based physical exercise called the Skiing Game. We then evaluated the Skiing Game in Finland with 21 elderly Finns (M=7, F=14, Average Age =76). By using questionnaires, observation, and interviews, we investigated user experiences, focusing on the game’s usability, and usefulness for enhancing the physical activity and wellbeing of the elderly. We also conducted a comparative test of the Skiing Game in Japan with 24 elderly Japanese participants (M=12, F=12, Average Age = 72) to further understand non-Finnish elderly users’ experiences. The findings from the usability study of the Skiing Game in Finland demonstrated that elderly Finns had a positive experience in the gameplay, and their motivation was noticeably high. It also confirmed that elderly Finns have a genuine interest in digital game-based exercises and strong intentions to play digital games as a form of physical exercise in the future. Although prior to the study most of them had negative views and misconceptions about digital games, after the gameplay their attitudes were decidedly positive. They acknowledged that whilst playing digital games could be an alternative way of exercising for them their use would primarily be when they don’t have access to their usual non-digital physical exercise. The Japanese usability of the Skiing Game showed that the elderly Japanese people also had positive user experiences in playing digital games, and also intend to use them in the future. Similarly, after playing the game they reported that their attitudes towards digital games become positive, and indicated playing digital games could be an alternative way of exercising. Although the comparison of the two studies suggests that the elderly Finns had relatively more positive experiences whilst playing the Skiing Game, compared to their Japanese counterparts, in general, both groups had a positive experience in the gameplay and showed interest in digital games as an alternative exercise. Based on the usability lessons learned from these two studies, recommendations for practitioners and designers regarding improvements in game design and development are made in this report. Implementing these modifications into future designs and further development of digital games for the elderly will improve their commercial viability and user uptake. The findings from this study can provide valuable insights, particularly for Finnish policymakers and healthcare practitioners who are keen to introduce digital games into the aged-care sector in Finland. The studies have also provided valuable insights into the optimal methods for introducing Finnish digital games to international markets, in particular, digital games tailored specifically for the physical exercise needs and motivations of the elderly. By taking into consideration the limitations of the study, we provide our future studies and further improvements of the game to be conducted

The Artemisinin Resistance in Southeast Asia: An Imminent Global Threat to Malaria Elimination

Malaria remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in many low- and middle-income countries. Artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) have contributed to the substantial decline in the worldwide malaria burden, renewing the optimism that malaria elimination is achievable in some regions of the world. However, this prospect is threatened by the emergence of artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum leading to clinical failure of ACTs in Southeast Asia. Historically, drug resistance in P. falciparum has emerged in SEA and spread to Africa. Today, resistance to ACTs could reverse all the achievements of control and elimination efforts globally. With no new drug available, P. falciparum malaria must be eliminated from the Greater Mekong before it becomes untreatable

Workplace flexibility and job satisfaction of employees: case study of Singapore SMEs

Workplace flexibility has become a popular topic in human resource management research and practice. This organisational practice often referred to in the literature as flexible work arrangements (FWAs), is purported to be a holy grail in achieving work-life balance and work satisfaction in employees Workplace flexibility refers to work arrangements that allow flexibility on “where” (telecommuting or flexplace) and “when” (schedule flexibility or flexitime) work is completed. Workplace flexibility is being implemented to attract competent and efficient talent in various ways. In Singapore, the main issue is that not many employers understand the rights and applications when it comes to FWA and therefore, do not perceive its impact on employees’ performance. Given this, the purpose of this qualitative research is to discuss the perceptions and understanding of how workplace flexibility might impact job satisfaction of employees in Singapore SMEs, challenges and experiences of implementing FWAs in their workplace and recommendation on how organizations can facilitate job satisfaction through flexible work arrangements with strategic HR practices. Theoretical guidance for this proposed research on the impact of workplace flexibility on job satisfaction is derived on spillover and crossover theory, border theory, and social exchange theory which will be discussed in detail in Literature review. The research was approached with case study qualitative research methodology. Data was collected through interviews and data collection methods will use textual descriptions instead of numerical data. The key findings of generally positive relationship between FWA and Job Satisfaction, lack of systematical implementation on FWAs and the feelings of employees' on FWAs will be discussed in this research paper. The findings and additional insights will be discussed with above mentioned theory and will provide fruitful recommendations for more efficient HR strategy on implementing FWAs in their organizations. This research discusses about Limitation of the study, suggestion for future research and concludes with capitalising on HR FWA Strategies that can benefit effective work arrangement of the organizations to advance their global competitiveness

Experimental verification of parameters in automobile crankshaft modelling for vibration analysis

In the interest of utilized more stable automobile components at high speed for reduction the vibration of mechanical system, dynamic characteristics analysis plays a vital role in complex mechanical parts. This paper introduces a clarified approach on statistical investigation and modal analysis methodology to study, predict and accurate crankshaft natural frequencies by using design of experiment (DOE). In this research, first, simulation had been done with MSC Nastran/ Patran to find out the natural frequencies in each mode shape of crankshaft as well as the verification with experiment was carried out. In order to less inaccuracy, numerous simplified crankshaft models were created by using these as input and DOE was established to acquire precise parameters of optimized crankshaft design as the second phase. This method can be further used for the optimizing the structural parameters and would provide some value basis to qualitative measure of parameters and determination of optimized structure. In Conclusion, modal verification accuracy between experimental and simulation has improved

Investigating the Finnish Elderly People’s Attitudes and Motivation towards Digital Game-Based Physical Exercises

Attitudes and motivation towards physical exercises play a vital role for elderly people’s adherence to exercise. In recent years, digital games have been used to enhance elderly people’s experiences in physical exercises. However, there is a limited number of studies regarding elderly people’s attitudes and motivation towards digital game-based exercises. In this study, we aim at investigating the Finnish elderly people’s attitudes towards physical and digital game-based exercises, as well as their motivation in the gameplay. Furthermore, we intend to investigate if digital games can be an alternative way of exercising for elderly people. We conducted a user experience test of the “Skiing Game” with 21 elderly participants in Finland. We applied both qualitative (e.g. interview) and quantitative (e.g. questionnaires) methods to collect data from the participants. Then, we analyzed the data by using SPSS and Nvivo. The findings show that the Finnish elderly people’s attitudes towards physical exercises are more positive than digital game-based exercises. However, their attitudes towards digital games have become more positive after the gameplay. Their in-game and post-game user experiences were moderately positive. Their motivation to play digital game-based exercises was moderately high after the gameplay. Their feedback towards the Skiing game was positive. They recommend that digital game-based exercises can be an effective way of exercising. Based on these findings, we recommend that digital games are promising to be used as an alternative way of exercising for the Finnish elderly people. The discussion in this study can help researchers gain insights about using digital games for promoting elderly people’s participation in physical exercises

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Eye Problems among Older People in Central Tropical Region, Naypyitaw Union Territory, Myanmar

Purpose:Vision is essential one and it is proximately linked with their quality of life. In the meantime, older populations are increasing rapidly in the whole world and thus, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract and diabetic retinopathy are becoming common. Hot and dusty environment, inadequate access to water and poor facial hygiene are risk factors for blindness. Design: Lewe Township was purposively selected due to its high prevalent on eye problems. This cross-sectional study was conducted and simple random sampling was applied to achieve desired sample size. The structured questionnaires were used to collect data including screening of eye problems from 414 older population. Frequency, percentage, mean, SD and other descriptive analysis were determined and chi-square test for associations was constructed. Findings: Cataract was the highest prevalence rate with 40.8% followed by refractive error (27.3%) and pterygium (12.8%) among older people population in research area. While knowledge level indicated good level (88.4%), good attitude level (21.3%) and good practice level (27.1%) were noticeably low among older people. In the meantime, there were significantly associations between age (p=0.003) and education level (p=0.001) with knowledge level of older people while age (p=0.001), education level (p=<0.001), occupation (p=0.038) showed statistically association with attitude level. Originality:The study noticed that higher prevalence of eye problems while relatively poor level of eye care seeking practice and unawareness on risk factors in targeted community. Knowledge and awareness for changing attitude about eye problems, eye care seeking behavior and preventive practices should be accomplished more

An Efficient Federated Learning Framework for Training Semantic Communication System

Semantic communication has emerged as a pillar forthe next generation of communication systems due to its capabilities in alleviating data redundancy. Most semantic communication systems are built upon advanced deep learning models whosetraining performance heavily relies on data availability. Existingstudies often make unrealistic assumptions of a readily accessibledata source, where in practice, data is mainly created on the clientside. Due to privacy and security concerns, the transmission ofdata is restricted, which is necessary for conventional centralizedtraining schemes. To address this challenge, we explore semanticcommunication in a federated learning (FL) setting that utilizesclient data without leaking privacy. Additionally, we designour system to tackle the communication overhead by reducingthe quantity of information delivered in each global round.In this way, we can save significant bandwidth for resourcelimited devices and reduce overall network traffic. Finally, weintroduce a mechanism to aggregate the global model fromclients, called FedLol. Extensive simulation results demonstratethe effectiveness of our proposed technique compared to baselinemethods

Effective and cheap removal of leukocytes and platelets from Plasmodium vivax infected blood

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Investigations of <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>are restricted to samples collected from infected persons or primates, because this parasite cannot be maintained in <it>in vitro </it>cultures. Contamination of <it>P. vivax </it>isolates with host leukocytes and platelets is detrimental to a range of <it>ex vivo </it>and molecular investigations. Easy-to-produce CF11 cellulose filters have recently provided us with an inexpensive method for the removal of leukocytes and platelets. This contrasted with previous reports of unacceptably high levels of infected red blood cell (IRBC) retention by CF11. The aims of this study were to compare the ability of CF11 cellulose filters and the commercial filter Plasmodipur at removing leukocyte and platelet, and to investigate the retention of <it>P. vivax </it>IRBCs by CF11 cellulose filtration.</p> <p>Methods and Results</p> <p>Side-by-side comparison of six leukocyte removal methods using blood samples from five healthy donor showed that CF11 filtration reduced the mean initial leukocyte counts from 9.4 × 10³per μl [95%CI 5.2–13.5] to 0.01 × 10³[95%CI 0.01–0.03]. The CF11 was particularly effective at removing neutrophils. CF11 treatment also reduced initial platelet counts from 211.6 × 10³per μl [95%CI 107.5–315.7] to 0.8 × 10³per μl [95%CI -0.7–2.2]. Analysis of 30 <it>P. vivax </it>blood samples before and after CF11 filtration showed only a minor loss in parasitaemia (≤ 7.1% of initial counts). Stage specific retention of <it>P. vivax </it>IRBCs was not observed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CF11 filtration is the most cost and time efficient method for the production of leukocyte- and platelet-free <it>P. vivax</it>-infected erythrocytes from field isolates.</p

Lessons Learned from Two Usability Studies of Digital Skiing Game with Elderly People in Finland and Japan

Physical decline is associated with old age. Engagement in regular physical exercises can help elderly people improve their physical functionalities, as well as cognitive abilities. Among modern technologies, digital games have the potential to promote elderly people’s engagement in physical exercises through fun and enjoyable gameplay. Although commercial digital games show promise, most of them are not designed for elderly people. The literature also suggests that more studies need to be undertaken to understand the usability and usefulness of digital games for elderly people. Hence, in this study, we designed and developed a digital game-based Skiing activity for elderly people. Then, we evaluated it with the Finnish and Japanese elderly participants in Finland and Japan to investigate their feedback towards the usability and usefulness of the game. The findings from both studies show that digital games are useful for promoting elderly people’s engagement in physical activities. While digital games are promising to be used as an alternative solution for promoting the Japanese elderly participant’s physical activities, the Finnish elderly participants recommend to use it when they don’t have access to non-digital physical exercises. The lessons learned from this study can help researchers and practitioners gain insights into game design and development for elderly people and their physical activities.</p