Acceptability of a custom-designed game,CityQuest, aimed at improving balance confidence and spatial cognition in fall-prone and healthy older adults

Virtual reality or video games show great potential as low-cost and effective interventions for improving balance and cognitive function in older adults. This research describes the design and acceptability of a serious game (CityQuest) aimed at improving balance confidence, spatial navigation, and perceptual function in older adults with the use of a virtual environment and a balance board. Community-dwelling healthy (N?=?28) and fall-prone (N?=?28) older adults were pseudo-randomly assigned to train with CityQuest or one of two control games developed to evaluate the specific effects of the CityQuest game. Following completion of 10 training sessions, participants completed questionnaires measuring their acceptability of the game as a falls-related intervention, game experience, and subjective cognitive or balance confidence changes associated with the game. The results revealed high acceptance scores of the game and positive game experiences for all three game conditions. Older adults prone to falls reported a greater reduction in fear of falling and greater improvement in vigilance following training, compared to healthy older adults. These findings suggest that a serious game based on VR technology that trains both motor and cognitive processes is perceived to be beneficial and acceptable to healthy and fall-prone older adults.     

Speed-of-processing and driving simulator training result in improved driving performance

Useful field of view, a measure of processing speed and spatial attention, can be improved with training. We evaluated the effects of this improvement on older adults' driving performance. Elderly adults participated in a speed-of-processing training program (N = 48), a traditional driver training program performed in a driving simulator (N = 22), or a low-risk reference group (N = 25). Before training, immediately after training or an equivalent time delay, and after an 18-month delay each participant was evaluated in a driving simulator and completed a 14-mile (22.5-km) open-road driving evaluation. Speed-of-processing training, but not simulator training, improved a specific measure of useful field of view (UFOV), transferred to some simulator measures, and resulted in fewer dangerous maneuvers during the driving evaluation. The simulator-trained group improved on two driving performance measures: turning into the correct lane and proper signal use. Similar effects were not observed in the speed-of-processing training or low-risk reference groups. The persistence of these effects over an 18-month test interval was also evaluated. Actual or potential applications of this research include driver assessment and/or training programs and cognitive intervention programs for older adults.     

Implicit and explicit training in the mitigation of cognitive bias through the use of a serious game

Heuristics can interfere with information processing and hinder decision-making when more systematic processes that might lead to better decisions are ignored. Based on the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) of information processing, a serious training game (called MACBETH) was designed to address and mitigate cognitive biases that interfere with the analysis of evidence and the generation of hypotheses. Two biases are the focus of this paper—fundamental attribution error and confirmation bias. The efficacy of the serious game on knowledge and mitigation of biases was examined using an experiment in which participants (N = 703) either played the MACBETH game or watched an instructional video about the biases. Results demonstrate the game to be more effective than the video at mitigating cognitive biases when explicit training methods are combined with repetitive play. Moreover, explicit instruction within the game provided greater familiarity and knowledge of the biases relative to implicit instruction. Suggestions for game development for purposes of enhancing cognitive processing and bias mitigation based on the MACBETH game design are discussed.     

Evaluation of an electronic video game for improvement of balance

Virtual environments have been investigated for fitness and medical rehabilitation. In this study, the Sony EyeToy ^? and PlayStation 2 ^? were used with the AntiGrav? game to evaluate their potential for improving postural balance. The game required lateral head, body, and arm movements. The performance on balance tests of subjects who trained for 3?weeks with this game was compared to the performance of controls who were not trained. Training subjects showed improvement for two of the three tests (each testing a different facet of balance), suggesting specificity of training, while control subjects did not show significant improvement on any test. Simulator sickness questionnaire results showed a variety of mild symptoms, which decreased over the training sessions. Motor learning analysis of the game scores showed that mastery had been achieved on the easier level in the game, but not on the second level of difficulty. This reflects the potential for continued learning and training through advanced levels within a game. A model parameter using the time constants of game score improvement was developed, which could be used to quantify the difficulty for any video game design. The results suggest that this video game could be used for some aspects of balance training.     

Effects of sign characteristics and training methods on safety sign training effectiveness

This study investigated whether or not training methods affected the effectiveness of symbol training and if there were any relationships between sign symbol characteristics and training effectiveness. Altogether, 26 Mainland China industrial safety signs were used and 60 participants were randomly assigned into four equal-sized groups of control, paired-associate learning, recall training and recognition training. The result was that participants from all the training groups showed significantly greater improvement in comprehension performance than those in the control group, indicating that the training methods improved comprehension of the meaning of safety signs. Participants from the recall training group performed better in the post-training test than those from other training groups. It seems that the recall task elicited a deeper level of learning than the recognition task and that questioning and feedback had a positive effect on training effectiveness. The results also showed that sign characteristics had no significant influence on training effectiveness. It was concluded that recall training is more effective in enhancing comprehension of industrial safety signs than paired-associate learning or recognition training. The findings of this study provide a basis for useful guidelines for designing symbol-training programmes and for designing more user-friendly safety signs.

Statement of Relevance: The present study shows that recall training was more effective in improving comprehension of industrial safety signs than paired-associate learning or recognition training and cognitive sign features did not influence training effectiveness. They provide a basis for useful guidelines for designing symbol-training programmes and for designing more user-friendly safety signs.     

Cognitive consequences of making computer-based learning activities more game-like

Some students (base group) played the Circuit Game, a 10-level computer-based learning activity intended to help students learn how electrical circuits work. Other students (competition group) played the same game but with competition features added - including a score bar showing performance on each level, the opportunity to earn one ticket per level if a performance criterion is met, and the opportunity to win a prize based on the number of tickets earned. On a retention test given after the game, the competition group remembered significantly more than the base group (d = 0.47). On an embedded transfer test constituting the final level of the game, the groups did not differ significantly. However, on the transfer test there was a significant gender by group interaction in which men performed worse in the competition group than the base group (d = −0.54) and women performed better in the competition group than the base group (d = 0.24). Overall, adding game-like features to a computer-based learning activity caused students to pay attention to game details but did not motivate students - particularly men - to learn more deeply.     

Cross-modal warnings for orienting attention in older drivers with and without attention impairments

Older adults are overrepresented in fatal crashes on a per-mile basis. Those with useful field of view (UFOV) reductions show a particularly elevated crash risk that might be mitigated with vehicle-based warnings. To evaluate cross-modal cues that could be used in these warnings, we applied a variation of Posner's orienting of attention paradigm. Twenty-nine older drivers with UFOV impairments and 32 older drivers without impairments participated. Cues were presented in either a single modality or a combination of modalities (visual, auditory, haptic). Drivers experienced three cue types (valid spatial information, invalid spatial information, neutral) and an uncued baseline. Following each cue, drivers discriminated the direction of a target (a Landolt square with a gap facing up or down) in the visual panorama. Drivers with and without UFOV impairments showed comparable response times (RTs) across the different cue modalities and cue types. Both groups benefited most from auditory and auditory/haptic cues. Redundant visual cues, when paired with auditory cues, undermined performance rather than enhanced it. Overall, drivers responded faster to targets with valid spatial information followed by neutral, invalid, and uncued targets. Cues provide the greatest benefit in alerting rather than orienting the driver. The cue expected to be most effective at orienting attention - the extra-vehicular cue - performs most poorly when the spatial information is either invalid or neutral. Even when the spatial information is valid the extra-vehicular cue underperforms the auditory cues. The results suggest that temporal information dominates spatial information in the ability of cues to speed responses to targets. This study represents a first step in assessing whether combining a cognitive science paradigm and a driving simulator environment can quickly assess how different warning signals alert and orient drivers.     

Sensory realism and mediated aggression in video games

This study investigated whether sensory realism cues in violent games – blood color (red vs. blue), screams of pain (on vs. off), and player perspective (first-person vs. third-person) – affect players’ physiological arousal (i.e., skin conductance levels), spatial presence (i.e., sense of being physically “there”), and state aggression in a popular violent game (Half-Life 2), controlling for users’ prior game experiences. A path model (N = 160) was examined to see the mediation effects of arousal and presence between realism cues and state aggression. In line with the general aggression model, results showed that realistic blood color and screams increased arousal, but no effect was found for first-person perspective. Presence significantly affected users’ state aggression. However, contrary to our expectation based on the excitation transfer theory, arousal did not show any significant effect on aggression. In addition, presence mediated the influence of realistic blood color on state aggression. In the effects of graphic realism of violence on user aggression, presence did a crucial role. Implications and future studies were discussed.     

The use of contextual cues to improve warning symbol comprehension: making the connection for older adults

This study teased apart the effects of comprehensibility and complexity on older adults' comprehension of warning symbols by manipulating the relevance of additional information in further refining the meaning of the symbol. Symbols were systematically altered such that increased visual complexity (in the form of contextual cues) resulted in increased comprehensibility. One hundred older adults, aged 50–71 years, were tested on their comprehension of these symbols before and after training. High comprehensibility–complexity symbols were found to be better understood than low- or medium-comprehensibility–complexity symbols and the effectiveness of the contextual cues varied as a function of training. Therefore, the nature of additional detail determines whether increased complexity is detrimental or beneficial to older adults' comprehension – if the additional details provide ‘cues to knowledge’, older adults' comprehension improves as a result of the increased complexity. However, some cues may require training in order to be effective.

Practitioner Summary: Research suggests that older adults have greater difficulty in understanding more complex symbols. However, we found that when the complexity of symbols was increased through the addition of contextual cues, older adults' comprehension actually improved. Contextual cues aid older adults in making the connection between the symbol and its referent.     

When not losing is better than winning: Abstraction and refinement for the full μ-calculus

This work presents a novel game-based approach to abstraction-refinement for the full μ-calculus, interpreted over 3-valued semantics.A novel notion of non-losing strategy is introduced and exploited for refinement. Previous works on refinement in the context of 3-valued semantics require a direct algorithm for solving a 3-valued model checking game. This was necessary in order to have the information needed for refinement available on one game board. In contrast, while still considering a 3-valued model checking game, here we reduce the problem of solving the game to solving two 2-valued model checking (parity) games. In case the result is indefinite (don’t know), the corresponding non-losing strategies, when combined, hold all the information needed for refinement. This approach is beneficial since it can use any solver for 2-valued parity games. Thus, it can take advantage of newly developed such algorithms with improved complexity.     

Altruistic behavior in a nonantagonistic positional differential game

We consider a two-person nonantagonistic positional differential game (NPDG) whose dynamics is described by an ordinary nonlinear vector differential equation. Constraints on values of players’ controls are geometric. Final time of the game is fixed. Payoff functionals of both players are terminal. The formalization of positional strategies in an NPDG is based on the formalization and results of the general theory of antagonistic positional differential games (APDGs) (see monographs by N.N. Krasovskii and A.I. Subbotin [3, 4]). Additionally, in the present paper we assume that each player, together with the usual, normal (nor), type of behavior aimed at maximizing his own functional, can use other behavior types introduced in [2, 5]. In particular, these may be altruistic (alt), aggressive (agg), and paradoxical (par) types. It is assumed that in the course of the game players can switch their behavior from one type to another. Using the possibility of such switches in a repeated bimatrix 2 × 2 game in [5, 6] allowed to obtain new solutions of this game. In the present paper, extension of this approach to NPDGs leads to a new formulation of the problem. In particular, of interest is the question of how players’ outcomes at Nash solutions are transformed. An urgent problem is minimizing the time of “abnormal” behavior while achieving a good result. The paper proposes a formalization of an NPDG with behavior types (NPDGwBT). It is assumed that in an NPDGwBT each player, simultaneously with choosing a positional strategy, chooses also his own indicator function defined on the whole game horizon and taking values in the set {normal, altruistic, aggressive, paradoxical}. The indicator function of a player shows the dynamics of changes in the behavior type demonstrated by the player. Thus, in this NPDGwBT each player controls the choice of a pair {positional strategy, indicator function}. We define the notion of a BT-solution of such a game. It is expected that using behavior types in the NPDGwBT which differ from the normal one (so-called abnormal types) in some cases may lead to more favorable outcomes for the players than in the NPDG. We consider two examples of an NPDGwBT with simple dynamics in the plane in each of which one player keeps to altruistic behavior type over some time period. It is shown that in the first example payoffs of both players increase on a BT-solution as compared to the game with the normal behavior type, and in the second example, the sum of players’ payoffs is increased.     

Integrating self-explanation functionality into a complex game environment: Keeping gaming in motion

Previous research has shown that either asking students to explain their answers or providing explanatory feedback can be effective ways to increase learning from an educational game. This study focused on an educational physics game about Newton's 3 Laws of Motion called SURGE: The Fuzzy Chronicles. Eighty-six middle school students played one of three versions of the game: (1) the base version with no tips or questions, (2) the self-explanation version with self-explanation questions prompts, and (3) the explanatory feedback version with gameplay tips. There were no significant overall learning differences between the three groups, but students in the base version successfully answered more questions about Newton's second law than students in the self-explanation group. This may have been due to students in the base condition progressing significantly further through the game than students in the self-explanation group. The results suggest that the cognitive load for gameplay as well as game flow must be managed in order for students to take advantage of explanation functionality in educational tools designed to increase deeper, germane processing.     

Use of adaptive network fuzzy inference system to predict plasma charging damage on electrical MOSFET properties

A prediction model of plasma-induced charging damage is presented. The model was constructed using adaptive network fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). The prediction performance of ANFIS model was optimized as a function of training factors, including a step-size, a normalization factor, and type of membership function. Charging damage data were obtained from antenna-structured MOSFET with the variations in process parameters. For a systematic modeling, the experiment was characterized by means of a face-centered Box Wilson experiment. Electrical properties modeled include a threshold voltage (V), a subthreshold swing (S), and a transconductance (G). Both S and G were found to be considerably affected by the normalization factor. For the variations in the type of membership function, either V or S was the most significantly influenced. The optimized root mean square errors are about 0.041 (V), 5.040 (mV/decade), and 12.311 (×10^?6/Ω), respectively. Better predictions were demonstrated against statistical regression models and the improvements were even more than 15% for V and S models.     

Play games or study? Computer games in eBooks to learn English vocabulary

This study investigated how Chinese undergraduate college students studying English as a foreign language learned new vocabulary with inference-based computer games embedded in eBooks. The investigators specifically examined (a) the effectiveness of computer games (using inferencing) in eBooks, compared with hardcopy booklets for vocabulary retention, and (b) the relationship between students' performance on computer games and performance on a vocabulary test. A database recorded students' game playing behaviors in the log file. Students were pre- and post-tested on new vocabulary words with the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale. Participants learned significantly more vocabulary (p < .0005) in the computer game condition (web-based text and computer games) than in the control condition (their usual study method, hardcopy text, lists of words and multiple-choice questions). Students' scores in the games correlated significantly with their vocabulary post-test scores (r = .515, p < .01).     

Child–robot interaction across cultures: How does playing a game with a social robot compare to playing a game alone or with a friend?

The present study investigates how children from two different cultural backgrounds (Pakistani, Dutch) and two different age groups (8 and 12 year olds) experience interacting with a social robot (iCat) during collaborative game play. We propose a new method to evaluate children’s interaction with such a robot, by asking whether playing a game with a state-of-the-art social robot like the iCat is more similar to playing this game alone or with a friend. A combination of self-report scores, perception test results and behavioral analyses indicate that child–robot interaction in game playing situations is highly appreciated by children, although more by Pakistani and younger children than by Dutch and older children. Results also suggest that children enjoyed playing with the robot more than playing alone, but enjoyed playing with a friend even more. In a similar vein, we found that children were more expressive in their non-verbal behavior when playing with the robot than when they were playing alone, but less expressive than when playing with a friend. Our results not only stress the importance of using new benchmarks for evaluating child–robot interaction but also highlight the significance of cultural differences for the design of social robots.     

Exploring the influence of game design on learning and voluntary use in an online vascular anatomy study aid

This research explores the educational impact of an online study aid-game for studying human vascular anatomy (n = 24) versus a similar non-game study aid (n = 22) and how it relates to medical students' demographic traits and voluntary use over a 35-day period. Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that study aid success rate (a metric for assessing performance through the study aids) was a significant predictor of anatomy test improvement with the game (β = 0.41, p = 0.05), but not for the non-game (β = 0.14, p = 0.56). Our analyses suggest that game mechanics encouraged more specific problem-solving strategies than did the control study aid, leading to greater predictability of learning outcomes. There was a non-significant trend among game treatment participants, who were more likely to complete study tasks than those assigned to the control treatment (p = 0.11). It would appear that students' studying habits had the greatest influence (though opposite in both tools) on level of engagement in study aid use. However, contrary to expectations, self-reported gaming habits did not impact participation. Overall, these findings support the integration of game design into undergraduate study aids as a means of increasing use of supplementary educational tools and assessing knowledge.     

Design and implementation of a new teleoperation control mode for differential drive UGVs

In this paper, we propose and implement a new control mode for teleoperated unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), that exploits the similarities between computer games and teleoperation robotics. Today, all teleoperated differential drive UGVs use a control mode called Tank Control, in which the UGV chassis and the pan tilt camera are controlled separately. This control mode was also the dominating choice when the computer game genre First Person Shooter (FPS) first appeared. However, the hugely successful FPS genre, including titles such as Doom, Half Life and Call of Duty, now uses a much more intuitive control mode, Free Look Control (FLC), in which rotation and translation of the character are decoupled, and controlled separately. The main contribution of this paper is that we replace Tank Control with FLC in a real UGV. Using feedback linearization, the orientation of the UGV chassis is abstracted away, and the orientation and translation of the camera are decoupled, enabling the operator to use FLC when controlling the UGV. This decoupling is then experimentally verified. The developments in the gaming community indicates that FLC is more intuitive than Tank Control and reduces the well known situational awareness problem. It furthermore reduces the need for operator training, since literary millions of future operators have already spent hundreds of hours using the interface.     

The effects of an office ergonomics training and chair intervention on worker knowledge, behavior and musculoskeletal risk

A large-scale field intervention study was undertaken to examine the effects of office ergonomics training coupled with a highly adjustable chair on office workers’ knowledge and musculoskeletal risks. Office workers were assigned to one of three study groups: a group receiving the training and adjustable chair (n=96), a training-only group (n=63), and a control group (n=57). The office ergonomics training program was created using an instructional systems design model. A pre/post-training knowledge test was administered to all those who attended the training. Body postures and workstation set-ups were observed before and after the intervention. Perceived control over the physical work environment was higher for both intervention groups as compared to workers in the control group. A significant increase in overall ergonomic knowledge was observed for the intervention groups. Both intervention groups exhibited higher level behavioral translation and had lower musculoskeletal risk than the control group.     

A mobile game as a support tool for children with severe difficulties in reading and spelling

We used a randomized controlled trial to investigate if a mobile game, GraphoLearn (GL), could effectively support the learning of first graders (N = 70), who have severe difficulties in reading and spelling. We studied the effects of two versions of the game: GL Reading, which focused on training letter-sound correspondence and word reading; and GL Spelling, which included additional training in phonological skills and spelling. During the spring of first grade, the children trained with tablet computers which they could carry with them during the six-week intervention. The average exposure time to training was 5 hr 44 min. The results revealed no differences in the development of reading or spelling skills between GL players and the control group. However, pre-training self-efficacy moderated the effect among GL Reading players: children with high self-efficacy developed more than the control group in word reading fluency, whereas children with low self-efficacy developed less than the control group in spelling.     

It is best to point for young children: a comparison of children's pointing and dragging

A mouse is the input device children principally use to control a computer in schools. However, somewhat surprisingly, there has been very little research investigating the appropriate mouse control strategies for children. In this paper we report two studies which compared children's performance with two basic mouse operations; pointing and dragging. In Study 1 we investigated 7-year-old children (n=24) who were inexperienced with a computer mouse and found that they were quicker and more accurate with pointing compared to dragging. In Study 2 we examined the performance of children (n=90) from three different age groups: young (5–6 years), medium (8–9 years), and older (11–12 years). These children were more experienced with using a mouse. We found that older children were quicker and made fewer errors than younger children regardless of the mouse operation. We also found that younger children were slower and made more errors with dragging than with pointing. There were no differences in performance between pointing and dragging for the other two age groups. The implications of these findings for the design of interfaces for children are discussed.