Gamification, which incorporates game design principles within non-gaming environments, has garnered widespread interest in bolstering motivation and engagement across various industries and sectors. While gamification has seen extensive adoption and is projected to grow, further research is needed to explore gamification in education. This paper aims to investigate gamification use in educational contexts using the Systematic Review approach, finding practical game elements and factors contributing to students’ motivation and engagement and offering educators and researchers to develop impactful educational gamification strategies. Finally, the review identifies gaps and outlines directions for future research in this field, as it ultimately identifies various challenges and prospective research avenues within this domain.

Background: Incorporating serious games and advancements in information and communication technologies into physical rehabilitation can substantially enhance the process, provide unique benefits, and improve its effectiveness and efficiency. While recent literature highlights various game-based interventions for physical rehabilitation, there is a lack of comprehensive guidance on how to design and develop systems that effectively address the actual needs of therapists, practitioners, and individuals with physical disabilities. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the intentions, needs, and desires of therapists and other practitioners, as well as to examine the factors and determinants influencing the effectiveness and efficacy of game-based physical rehabilitation, since therapists and other health care practitioners play crucial roles in both patient recovery and the establishment of an effective game-based therapy. Methods: A design science approach was adopted to achieve this research objective. A focus group of 27 participants was conducted to gather feedback, identify user needs, and understand the requirements for game-based physical rehabilitation. The participants first tested commercially available games and then evaluated mock-ups of the proposed game prototypes. Results: This study provides essential design insights and guidelines for designers and researchers, focusing on the practical needs and requirements of game-based physical rehabilitation systems. Conclusions: As proof of concept, these guidelines will be used in the next phase of our research, which involves designing and developing a game-based physical rehabilitation system.

In the era of information explosion in e-commerce, users face an overload problem. Recommender systems alleviate this by filtering target products based on user preferences. Collaborative Filtering (CF) is a popular method but struggles with high-quality recommendations due to data sparsity. Utilizing review texts to capture user preferences has improved CF recommendations. This paper proposes a deep learning-based recommendation framework leveraging bidirectional gated recurrent units (Bi-GRUs) and an attention-based Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) structure. This framework addresses insufficient user rating data by utilizing user reviews to infer preferences. Experimental results on three datasets show that the proposed Bi-GRUCF model outperforms other state-of-the-art methods, achieving a 55.4% improvement in Mean Absolute Error (MAE) over traditional methods and a 77.8% improvement over other deep learning approaches. This demonstrates the framework's superior recommendation quality, particularly in sparse data scenarios.

This study presents the innovative design and fabrication of a 3D-printed prosthesis arm aimed at enhancing automated hand rehabilitation for targeting hemiplegic patients who cannot open and close their hands. By leveraging surface electromyography (EMG) signals, the prosthesis arm translates muscle contractions in the forearm into precise hand movements, facilitating more effective rehabilitation. A comprehensive analysis of existing prosthesis designs guided the creation of a new, improved prototype. Using a concept scoring evaluation matrix, the best concept design was selected, designed, and fabricated through additive manufacturing. The finished prosthesis improves grip stability by imitating natural finger movements with flexible materials and a tendon system made of elastic ropes and fishing lines. Experimental comparisons between the designed prosthesis arm and a human hand showed significant similarities in flexion angles, though further refinement is needed for measurement accuracy and tactile feedback. The result presents the designed prosthesis arm validity and can be used in automated control rehabilitation in the future. This research also highlights the potential of 3D printing and EMG technology in creating customizable, efficient prosthesis arms for automated rehabilitation, suggesting pathways for future improvements and broader applications.

Background: Gamification, defined as the application of game design principles in nongame contexts, has garnered increasing attention for its potential to enhance motivation and engagement across various fields, including medical education and training. However, there is a lack of virtual reality (VR)–based simulations on pneumatic reduction of intussusception (PRI) in children in Brunei, thereby limiting practical training opportunities for medical students and surgical trainees. Objective: This study aims to obtain experts’ reviews of proposed gamification guidelines by conceptualizing a gamified training prototype for pneumatic reduction of intussusception. Methods: The design science research methodology (DSRM) was adopted using an iterative development approach. Guidelines for designing gamified training interventions were first identified through a prior systematic literature review. These guidelines were then implemented in the development of a low-fidelity VR prototype as a proof of concept. A qualitative formative evaluation was conducted through a semistructured focus group discussion with 6 healthcare professional participants involved in the pediatric intussusception process. Results: Participants’ formative evaluation indicated that the embedded guidelines could assist in providing effective VR simulation for PRI. The low-fidelity prototype was clear, consistent, and well-aligned with PRI procedures and processes by the participants. The prototype showed promise as an intervention to ensure and enhance trainee motivation and engagement. The overall layout was seen as appealing. Results are presented and discussed with detailed feedback and recommendations for further improvement. Conclusions: This study can be viewed as a contribution to the developing literature on the gamification of medical training by exploring the possibility of applying the guidelines to the conceptual design of a gamified training prototype. The findings indicate that the prototype and its design approach are initially accepted by experts. Subsequent research will consist of creating a high-fidelity prototype and testing it with a larger, more varied sample of participants, including surgeons and medical students, to verify its effectiveness and generalizability.