WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on SYSTEMS archive

This study was carried out to create a management model for health recreational centers for older adults in Thailand; the country now has a super-aged society, with the elderly having reached 20% of the population in 2024. The researchers tested the model using three methods: interviews with 7 experts, a survey of 400 people, and a focus group discussion with 15 specialists. Exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze the data, with Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) values in the range of 0.80–0.90 and statistically significant Bartlett’s Test results (p < 0.05), which showed that the data were suitable for analysis. The result has two main parts: Business Management, with 4 parts, and Organizational Management, with 3 parts; these 7 main components, have 18 sub-components, and 48 minor components. The model is based on two ideas well-known in business, the 7Ps marketing mix and the McKinsey 7-S framework. The 15 specialists rated the model as highly appropriate, giving it a mean appropriateness score of 4.95 using a five-point Likert scale, which is well above the minimum pass score of 3.50. The model will serve as a working guide for center operators looking to improve digital services for older adults.

این پژوهش با هدف ایجاد یک مدل مدیریت برای مراکز تفریحی سلامت‌محور ویژه سالمندان در تایلند انجام شده‌است؛ کشوری که اکنون به یک جامعه فوق سالمند تبدیل شده و جمعیت سالمندان در سال ۲۰۲۴ به ۲۰٪ رسیده‌است. پژوهشگران مدل مذکور را با استفاده از سه روش مورد آزمون قرار دادند: مصاحبه با ۷ نفر از خبرگان، پیمایش ۴۰۰ نفر و بحث گروهی متمرکز با ۱۵ متخصص. برای تحلیل داده‌ها از تحلیل عاملی اکتشافی استفاده شد و مقادیر شاخص KMO در بازه ۰٫۸۰ تا ۰٫۹۰ و نتایج آزمون Bartlett (p < 0.05) که از لحاظ آماری معنادار بود، نشان داد که داده‌ها برای تحلیل مناسب هستند. نتیجه پژوهش دارای دو بخش اصلی است: مدیریت کسب‌وکار (شامل ۴ بخش) و مدیریت سازمانی (شامل ۳ بخش)؛ این ۷ مؤلفه اصلی، دارای ۱۸ زیرمؤلفه و ۴۸ مؤلفه فرعی هستند. مدل ارائه‌شده مبتنی بر دو ایده شناخته‌شده در حوزه کسب‌وکار، یعنی آمیخته بازاریابی 7Ps و چارچوب McKinsey 7-S است. ۱۵ متخصص، مدل را از نظر میزان تناسب بسیار بالا ارزیابی کردند و میانگین امتیاز تناسب آن را ۴٫۹۵ در مقیاس لیکرت پنج‌درجه‌ای اعلام کردند که به‌مراتب بالاتر از حداقل نمره قبولی ۳٫۵۰ است. این مدل به‌عنوان راهنمای عملیاتی برای مدیران مراکز جهت ارتقاء خدمات دیجیتال به سالمندان مورد استفاده قرار خواهد گرفت.

Synchronous video conferencing (VC) has become an established mode of higher education, but sustaining student engagement remains challenging, particularly in practice-oriented disciplines such as graphic design. This study examined the effects of three gamification mechanisms, including animated badges, experience points, and level upgrades, on behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement in synchronous VC learning. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design was implemented with 124 first-year graphic design students from three public universities in China. Participants were distributed equally across a non-gamified control condition and three gamified conditions (n = 31 per group). Engagement was assessed before and after a four-week instructional intervention. Significant improvements were observed within the engagement components across all three gamified conditions, with no statistically significant change observed within the control condition. Participant-level total scores for each dimension of engagement were then used to estimate baseline-adjusted regression models. The models accounted for 97.4% of the variance in post-intervention behavioural engagement, 96.6% in emotional engagement, and 98.8% in cognitive engagement. Relative to the control condition and after controlling for baseline engagement, animated badges, experience points, and level upgrades were associated with increases of 40.35, 46.90, and 49.36 points in behavioural engagement; 48.82, 51.76, and 52.48 points in emotional engagement; and 95.86, 105.46, and 107.36 points in cognitive engagement, respectively. The results suggest that gamification mechanisms vary in the strength and direction of their relationship with engagement, with the strongest adjusted relationships being found between progression-based gamification and the cognitive dimension of engagement. The study extends the analysis beyond significance testing by introducing a quantitative, baseline-adjusted model to estimate post-intervention engagement given gamification condition and baseline engagement and offers a more precise basis for the design of gamified VC interfaces.