Gamification in EFL/ESL instruction: A systematic review of empirical research

Motivation crowding effects on the intention for continued use of gamified fitness apps: a mixed-methods approach

It has become an emerging idea for fitness apps to be gamified to intrinsically and extrinsically motivate user's usage intention or behavior. For the long-term success of gamified fitness apps, understanding what and how various motivations affect continued use is critical. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies was used to explore two research questions concerning gamified fitness applications. Specifically, the research questions focused on understanding the impacts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on continued usage. Additionally, the study aimed to investigate whether extrinsic motivations enhance or diminish the influence of intrinsic motivations. Results from qualitative study identified three intrinsic motivations (self-development, self-control and hedonic motivation) and two extrinsic motivations (social recognition and financial reward) in gamified fitness apps. Results from quantitative study indicated that intrinsic motivations (formed by self-development, self-control and hedonic motivation), financial reward and social recognition could significantly improve intention for continued use; and further, both financial reward and social recognition could crowd-in intrinsic motivations. This research offers insights into the phenomenon of motivation crowding effects on the intention to continue using gamified fitness apps.

Envisioning gamification in anesthesia, pain management, and critical care: basic principles, integration of artificial intelligence, and simulation strategies

Unlike traditional video games developed solely for entertainment purposes, game-based learning employs intentionally crafted approaches that seamlessly merge entertainment and educational content, resulting in captivating and effective learning encounters. These pedagogical methods include serious video games and gamification. Serious games are video games utilized as tools for acquiring crucial (serious) knowledge and skills. On the other hand, gamification requires integrating gaming elements (game mechanics) such as points, leaderboards, missions, levels, rewards, and more, into a context that may not be associated with video gaming activities. They can be dynamically (game dynamics) combined developing various strategic approaches. Operatively, gamification adopts simulation elements and leverages the interactive nature of gaming to teach players specific skills, convey knowledge, or address real-world issues. External incentives stimulate internal motivation. Therefore, these techniques place the learners in the central role, allowing them to actively construct knowledge through firsthand experiences.Anesthesia, pain medicine, and critical care demand a delicate interplay of technical competence and non-technical proficiencies. Gamification techniques can offer advantages to both domains. Game-based modalities provide a dynamic, interactive, and highly effective opportunity to learn, practice, and improve both technical and non-technical skills, enriching the overall proficiency of anesthesia professionals. These properties are crucial in a discipline where personal skills, human factors, and the influence of stressors significantly impact daily work activities. Furthermore, gamification can also be embraced for patient education to enhance comfort and compliance, particularly within pediatric settings (game-based distraction), and in pain medicine through stress management techniques. On these bases, the creation of effective gamification tools for anesthesiologists can present a formidable opportunity for users and developers.This narrative review comprehensively examines the intricate aspects of gamification and its potentially transformative influence on the fields of anesthesiology. It delves into theoretical frameworks, potential advantages in education and training, integration with artificial intelligence systems and immersive techniques, and also addresses the challenges that could arise within these contexts.

What is the next structure? Guessing enhances L2 syntactic learning in a syntactic priming task

Previous psycholinguistic research has shown that Second Language (L2) speakers could learn from engaging in prediction. Few works have directly examined the relationship between prediction and L2 syntactic learning. Further, relatively limited attention has been paid to the effects of two linguistic factors in this area: structure type and L2 proficiency. Using a mixed experimental design, 147 L2 Arabic speakers with varying L2 proficiency levels completed two syntactic priming experiments, each targeting a different structure: (a) the dative and (b) Temporal Phrases (TP). The experimental conditions required participants to predict what the upcoming sentence's structure would be. The experimental conditions differed in the degree of engagement in prediction error. Results suggested that Arabic L2 speakers at different proficiency levels showed enhanced priming and short-term learning for two syntactic structures (PO, fronted TP) when (a) instructed to guess only (constrained condition) as well as when (b) instructed to guess and compute the prediction error (unconstrained condition), relative to the controls. These results imply a guessing benefit for priming and short-term learning. Participants also experienced different priming effects by structure type, but there was no significant effect for proficiency. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.