Effectiveness of gamification in the engagement of students

This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of gamification platforms as a strategy for the engagement of students from the 8th year of elementary school in Brazil. We chose two badging platforms – ClassDojo and ClassBadges – to be evaluated based on 7 different criteria. The main objectives were to generate involvement among individual and particular situations, increasing the interest, engagement and efficiency while performing a specific task. We observed the behavior of 61 students from an elementary public school in Brazil as part of our field research. Data were collected using observation, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Quantitative data were statistically analyzed using a multivariate technique known as cluster analysis. The results allowed us to classify students in 4 distinct groups and showed that students who received more rewards from the teacher got significantly better average performances.     

认知无线电网络中基于需求的频谱资源分配算法研究

认知无线电网络中,已有的分配算法未考虑用户的需求,这样会导致需求小的用户分配到更多的资源。为解决上述问题,提出基于需求以及联合比例公平两种频谱分配算法,这两种算法均将用户需求作为频谱分配时需要考虑的因素。仿真结果表明,基于需求以及联合比例公平算法比原算法更能满足各用户的需求。     

Improving student engagement in a biometric classroom: the contribution of gamification

Universal Access in the Information Society - This paper presents the use of gamification for educating engineers in the field of biometrics. A learning platform with gamification elements was...     

认知超密集网络用户关联与资源分配联合优化遗传算法

针对下行的异构认知超密集异构网络（UDN）的多维资源配置问题,提出一种以毫微微小区用户最大吞吐量为目标的联合优化用户关联和资源分配的改进遗传算法。首先,在算法开始之前进行预处理,初始化用户可达基站和可用信道矩阵;其次,采用符号编码,将用户与基站以及用户与信道的匹配关系编码为一个二维的染色体;然后,将动态择优复制+轮盘赌作为选择算法,以加快种群的收敛;最后,为避免算法陷入局部最优,在变异阶段加入早熟判决的变异算子,从而在有限次迭代下求得基站、用户、信道的连接策略。实验结果表明,在基站与信道数量一定时,所提算法与三维匹配的遗传算法相比在用户总吞吐量方面提高了7.2%,在认知用户吞吐量方面提高了1.2%,且计算复杂度更低。所提算法缩小了可行解的搜索空间,能在较低复杂度下有效提高认知UDN的总吞吐量。     

The impact of engagement with social networking sites (SNSs) on cognitive skills

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of social networking sites (SNSs) engagement on cognitive and social skills. We investigated the use of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in a group of young adults and tested their working memory, attentional skills, and reported levels of social connectedness. Results showed that certain activities in Facebook (such as checking friends’ status updates) and YouTube (telling a friend to watch a video) predicted working memory test performance. The findings also indicated that Active and Passive SNS users had qualitatively different profiles of attentional control. The Active SNS users were more accurate and had fewer misses of the target stimuli in the first block of trials. They also did not discriminate their attentional resources exclusively to the target stimuli and were less likely to ignore distractor stimuli. Their engagement with SNS appeared to be exploratory and they assigned similar weight to incoming streams of information. With respect to social connectedness, participants’ self-reports were significantly related to Facebook use, but not Twitter or YouTube use, possibly as the result of greater opportunity to share personal content in the former SNS.     

Assessing the impact of quality determinants and user characteristics on successful enterprise resource planning project implementation

As barriers to transnational trade and investment have been lowered due to globalization, and information and communication technologies have improved, multinational firms can conduct operations with increased ease. Enterprises can also utilize cost-advantageous production resources and export products to expand their global market. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems serve the purpose and have become useful instruments for managing multinational operations. Notably, ERP systems integrate information platforms to reflect operations at each operation point in real time and generate information as a basis for decision-making and resource allocations. Thus, ERP systems are essential to global logistics management and collaboration. However, vertical and horizontal evaluations of information systems are necessary to determining the effectiveness and success of project implementation. This study examines the impact of quality determinants from literature in assessing benefits using an information systems success model. The cause-and-effect relationships between model constructs are tested using structural equation modeling. An empirical study of leading manufacturers adopting ERP systems is used to investigate corporate benefits related to information quality, system quality, service quality, system use, and user satisfaction. The analytical results can be a reference for practitioners and researchers evaluating the effectiveness of management information systems.     

Design thinking in social organizations: Understanding the role of user engagement

Design thinking has recently gained significant attention as a potential approach to address major global problems. Although its practice is proven to contribute to advance organizational efficiency and address user needs, lack of understanding about its practice in social organizations limits our understanding about its social context. With this background, we study how users persuade social organizations to adopt design thinking. We conducted a qualitative study in four social organizations in India during 2008–2013 and interviewed 38 respondents to answer our research question. Our results indicate that the designer roles are blurred when social organizations adopt design thinking, where users in the form of interconnecting agency reduce the gap between designers and communities.     

Mental workload evaluation model of receiver aircraft pilots based on multiple resource theory

Aerial refueling is an extender of air combat capability that has received widespread attention with the development of the military field, particularly the mental workload of the pilot performing the aerial refueling task, as it is the key to the aerial refueling success rate. Therefore, this study analyzes the behavior of receiver aircraft pilots from rendezvous to the separation phase and constructs a mental workload model to improve the aerial refueling success rate. First, the time-channel-action unit network was constructed based on Petri net and multiple resource theory (MRT). Second, the mental workload evaluation model was constructed from three dimensions: conventional resource occupation, additional resource occupation, and time occupation. Finally, a simulated experiment was conducted, and the results showed that the mental workload obtained by the model constructed in this study exhibits a high positive correlation with subjective mental workload, pupil diameter, and blink rate, surpassing the accuracy of the traditional MRT model.     

The impact of experience on the design of user interface

This study reports an empirical investigation of the effects of domain-relevant experience on the choice of presentation mode. An expert system with a variety of presentation modes was developed and then tested using 47 nurses to measure the usefulness of alternative modes of presentations. The major findings show that experienced as well as novice nurses were equally satisfied with presentation modes that required surface knowledge to decode information content. However, when the presentation mode required deep knowledge for interpreting information content, novice nurses tended to prefer pictorial interfaces. The implication of these findings on the design and development of expert systems is discussed.     

The application of fuzzy set theory to cognitive workload evaluation of electronic circuit board inspectors

This article presents an approach to workload modeling of manufacturing workers using fuzzy set theory. Inspectors of integrated circuit boards in an electronic manufacturing system were observed for 9 months. Two types of inspectors were observed: novice inspectors with an average of 1.8 years and experts with an average of 26.5 years of experience. Data were collected on judgment, perception, and attention tasks. The inspectors were given subjective self-evaluation tests to capture the level of workload experienced in each of the task categories. The data were transformed into fuzzy membership functions and were used to quantify workload metrics and inspectors' performance. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Myoelectric arm using artificial neural networks to reduce cognitive load of the user

Today’s multiple degree-of-freedom myoelectric prosthesis relies only on direct control by the processed electromyographic signal. However, it is difficult for the wearer to learn unnatural muscle contractions in order to wield more than three DoFs of the arm. This makes it almost impossible to use more complex prostheses with a larger number of actuators. Methods based on sensor–actuator loop and artificial intelligence may reduce cognitive load of the user by removing low level control, and an intelligent control system would make it needless to micromanage every action. For this purpose, sensor system for body segments motion capture was developed, as well as sensor system for prosthetic limb’s environment motion capture. Neural networks were designed to process data from the sensor systems. For the identification of the knee angle, orientation trackers were used. Neural network predictor of arm positions predicts the shoulder angle using the information about movement of the lower limb. In the case of the periodic/cyclic movements of the legs, such as walking, the control unit uses typical movement patterns of the healthy upper limb. Ultrasonic range sensors are used to create 3D map of objects in the environment around the arm. Neural network predictor of object positions predicts collisions. If the potential collisions are identified, the control unit stops arm movement. The new methods were verified by MATLAB and are designed as a part of assistive technology for disabled people and are to be understood as an original contribution to the investigation of new prosthesis control units and international debate on the design of new myoelectric prostheses.

     

Exploring the effect of user engagement in online brand communities: Evidence from Twitter

Social media such as forums, blogs and microblogs has been increasingly used for public information sharing and opinions exchange nowadays. It has changed the way how online community interacts and somehow has led to a new trend of engagement for online retailers especially on microblogging websites such as Twitter. In this study, we investigated the impact of online retailers' engagement with the online brand communities on users' perception of brand image and service. Firstly, we analysed the overall sentiment trends of different brands and the patterns of engagement between companies and customers using the collected tweets posted on a popular social media platform, Twitter. Then, we studied how different types of engagements affect customer sentiments. Our analysis shows that engagement has an effect on sentiments that associate with brand image, perception and customer service of the online retailers. Our findings indicate that the level, length, type and attitude of retailers' engagement with social media users have a significant impact on their sentiments. Based on our results, we derived several important managerial and practical implications.     

Applying Gentner's theory of analogy to the teaching of computer programming

This research empirically tests the postulations of Gentner concerning the properties of explanatory analogy. It does so in the context of teaching programming. The factor analogy was operationalized by varying the clarity and systematicity/abstractness of the analogies used. The dependent variables were score obtained on program comprehension and program composition tasks and the time taken to perform the tasks. Research subjects were 15- to 17-year-olds without prior exposure to computer programming. Differences in age were controlled. The results provide empirical support for Gentner's postulations on the relative goodness of competing analogies. In particular, good explanatory analogies are characterized by clarity and high systematicity/abstractness.     

Applying category theory to improve the performance of a neural architecture

A recently developed mathematical semantic theory explains the relationship between knowledge and its representation in connectionist systems. The semantic theory is based upon category theory, the mathematical theory of structure. A product of its explanatory capability is a set of principles to guide the design of future neural architectures and enhancements to existing designs. We claim that this mathematical semantic approach to network design is an effective basis for advancing the state of the art. We offer two experiments to support this claim. One of these involves multispectral imaging using data from a satellite camera.     

Fundamental theory of the semi-radial singularity mapping with applications to fracture mechanics

Fundamental theory of the semi-radial singularity mapping is presented, which yields the necessary singularities in the stress and strain with bounded strain energy. In particular the quadrilateral semi-radial singularity mapping as well as the triangular one with collapse are described explicitly. With some verification example in linear fracture mechanics, the trial function spaces due to the conventional polynomial interpolations with these peculiar mappings are examined in detail.     

To use or not to use: Modelling end user grumbling as user resistance in pre-implementation stage of enterprise resource planning system

The success rate of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation is less than 49% around the world owing to its complex nature. The key focus of information system (IS) researchers has been to explore the ways to reduce threats to ERP implementation posed especially by user resistance. Although the reasons for user resistance have already been dealt with in previous studies, our understanding of how users assess a new ERP system in the pre-implementation phase and what prompts their decision to resist it is far from complete. In particular, an explanation for user resistance or end-user grumbling from the perspectives of status quo bias and technostress was found to be missing. In order to fill this gap in research, the model proposed in the present study integrates status quo and technostress, thus throwing light on the end-user grumbling behaviour that precedes the implementation of a new ERP system. Data was collected via a survey questionnaire distributed to 221 respondents from five different manufacturing industries in Bangladesh which are currently in the process of installing the popular SAP ERP system. Results of this tested model indicate a significant impact of the constructs of status quo bias and technostress on end-user grumbling. Additionally, end user grumbling has positive significant impact on symbolic adoption. Moreover, the paper discusses common method bias and the limitations of the study, while providing an outlook for future research.     

Using sketches and storyboards to assess impact of age difference in user experience

We compared two versions of a touch-screen digital thermostat using a framework encompassing several user experience (UX) characteristics, and here describe how the implementation of certain design factors (specialists, praises, tooltips and increased interactivity) was done on mixed-fidelity prototypes of the user interface. We illustrate how the experimental comparison, involving 20 university students and 20 older adults, revealed important differences in UX, including perceived ease of use, behavioral intentions, enjoyment, quality, satisfaction, trust and usability, measured mainly through established questionnaires.Analysis revealed that using that kind of artifacts is a very cost effective way to elicit interesting and useful results; many UX variables are significantly affected by design factors and by age differences, as expected; effects of design factors go well beyond usability and therefore could not be caught by running an investigation focused only on usability.Age difference matters: older adults do not respond to addition of specialists, praises and tooltips as younger users do. We argue that potential benefits of these design choices are outweigh by the increase in complexity of the user interface.From a methodological viewpoint we suggest using a particular array of UX characteristics and metrics when testing mixed-fidelity prototypes. Not all the metrics that we adopted were equally useful, and in particular perceived usability, subjective mental effort, and emotions did not help us highlighting differences.     

Emerging factors in user evaluation of the World Wide Web

This study develops an integrative model and conceptually-based scales for evaluating the extent to which Web services satisfy information needs that arise outside the traditional organizational/work domain. Three streams of literature are considered: usage of the Web, user satisfaction with the Web, and individual performance and the impact of information technology. Based on this literature, as well as focus groups and pilot surveys, questionnaire items were developed and analyzed across three surveys. Predictors of performance included greater weekly usage, finding information on hobbies and interests, ability to find information on the Web that is current, reduced shopping cost and travel, finding otherwise difficult-to-locate information, and fun/entertainment.     

Building theory in ICT4D evaluation: a comprehensive approach to assessing outcome and impact*

ABSTRACT

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) act as tools for social change and development; however, there is still limited empirical evidence that demonstrates this. An outcome and impact assessment based on a comprehensive (holistic) evaluation is deemed appropriate at a time when many ICT4D programs fail to effectively demonstrate their impact toward rural development and how that impact came about. The purpose of this research is to identify the components for an outcome and impact assessment framework that is based on a comprehensive approach to evaluation. The authors applied a theoretical approach using Weicks theorizing process to develop the framework. The theoretical approach analyzed existing outcome and impact assessment frameworks from different fields beyond ICT4D. The output of this research proposed five key outcome and impact themes, which are informed by preceding domains of evaluation, essential for the assessment of ICT4D programs. These themes include Strategic Value, Most Significant Change, Empowerment, Livelihoods and Sustainability.