Suchada Vichitvanichphong

Assessing Video Games to Improve Driving Skills: A Literature Review and Observational Study

Background For individuals, especially older adults, playing video games is a promising tool for improving their driving skills. The ease of use, wide availability, and interactivity of gaming consoles make them an attractive simulation tool. Objective The objective of this study was to look at the feasibility and effects of installing video game consoles in the homes of individuals looking to improve their driving skills. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the effect of playing video games on improving driving skills. An observatory study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of using an Xbox 360 Kinect console for improving driving skills. Results Twenty–nine articles, which discuss the implementation of video games in improving driving skills were found in literature. On our study, it was found the Xbox 360 with Kinect is capable of improving physical and mental activities. Xbox Video games were introduced to engage players in physical, visual and cognitive activities including endurance, postural sway, reaction time, eyesight, eye movement, attention and concentration, difficulties with orientation, and semantic fluency. However, manual dexterity, visuo-spatial perception and binocular vision could not be addressed by these games. It was observed that Xbox Kinect (by incorporating Kinect sensor facilities) combines physical, visual and cognitive engagement of players. These results were consistent with those from the literature review. Conclusions From the research that has been carried out, we can conclude that video game consoles are a viable solution for improving user’s physical and mental state. In future we propose to carry a thorough evaluation of the effects of video games on driving skills in elderly people.

Elderly’s Perception about The Value of Assistive Technologies for their Daily Living: Impacting Factors and Theoretical Support

This paper presents a review of relevant studies found in a systematic search for research on the elderly’s perception about the value of assistive technologies. We found that the majority of papers did not use any theory to frame the research question or explain their results. We suggest that invariably occurs in benefits realization through the use of empowering technologies designed to provide training to help older people maintain their functional capabilities. Maintaining these functional capabilities is important for people to live independently for longer and in order to assess the benefits more quickly; we suggest researchers use the capability approach. The existing theories of adoption appear to be much more suited to supportive technologies that aid elderly in their functional disabilities. This is mainly due to the fact that the immediate benefits i.e. usefulness of these technologies can be seen more easily compared to empowering technologies.; ;

Assistive technologies for aged care: comparative literature survey on the effectiveness of theories for supportive and empowering technologies

Purpose One may categorize assistive technologies for aged care into two types, namely supportive (helping the elderly with their everyday activities) and empowering (obtaining physical or educational training to help seniors to maintain their capabilities). This paper looks at the impact of this perspective in the adoption of technologies that are used to aid already declined functions in comparison with technologies that are used to empower an elderly person’s capabilities. The article aims to extract the factors that influence adoption of assistive technologies among seniors and the theories used in this context. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was conducted on relevant peer reviewed papers. A preliminary exploratory search was conducted to identify keywords and online databases for the search. A total 104 papers published since 2000 were analysed after title, abstract and full text filtering. Findings The study summarizes and categorizes the factors impacting the adoption of...

Students' engagement on Facebook in undergraduate business courses: an experimental study

There has been extensive research on the use of social networking sites, particularly Facebook, for enhancing student engagement. However, a detailed discussion on contexts has been largely ignored. The main objective of this paper is to examine the role of learning context in the success of student engagement by the use of social networking sites. The study has conducted three experiments and deployed Facebook as a communication channel and a discussion board in a first-year undergraduate business course, in a third-year information and communication technology (ICT) subject and in an executive MBA course. This research has compared the student engagement in mentioned contexts based on five principles of engagement. The paper presents lessons learned from these experiments that can be used by faculty and administrators in universities and educational institutes to design contexts in which social networking sites can achieve their potentials in improving student engagement and their overall academic experience.