"This book discusses the concept of gamification in a comprehensive and in-depth manner through an emphasis on its perspectives and practices in the field of education. Much effort has been expended to present the reader with comprehensive discussions about gamification from the kindergarten level to the tertiary level of education. As a result, this book serves as a comprehensive resource for anyone interested in learning more about the concept of gamification. This book's chapters are separated into two categories, namely: (i) concept article and (ii) research article. The authors of each chapter made every attempt to be accessible and appropriate to the majority of interested parties, such as prospective teachers and researchers. Readers will be able to delve into the theories that underpin the concept of gamification in each concept article, including Game Theory, definitions, and gamification features. The basic concepts mentioned show that this book is appropriate for all levels of readers, whether they are new to gamification or have been active in gamification-related studies for a long time. Furthermore, several chapters discuss gamification-related review studies, allowing the reader to see the most recent research trends as well as research gaps that can be explored for further study. The discussion in the research articles is primarily focused on the development of a product, such as games and modules, and their implementation. At the start of each of these research articles, the author focused on current issues that prompted the development of the product. Following that, the reader will be introduced to theories and models pertinent to the product's development. Discussions on data analysis and conclusions for each chapter were detailed and in-depth, based on evidence and credible reference sources. We wish the readers a pleasant reading experience while reading this book. We hope that the book will assist readers in solidifying their understanding of gamification and putting it into practice. Furthermore, we hope that this book will serve as a catalyst for readers to explore other areas of gamification"--

Over the past decade, the healthcare industry has adopted games as a powerful tool for promoting personal health and wellness. Utilizing principles of gamification to engage patients with positive reinforcement, these games promote stronger attention to clinical and self-care guidelines, and offer exciting possibilities for primary prevention. Targeting an audience of academics, researchers, practitioners, healthcare professionals, and even patients, the Handbook of Research on Holistic Perspectives in Gamification for Clinical Practices reviews current studies and empirical evidence, highlights critical principles of gamification, and fosters the increasing application of games at the practical, clinical level.

Serious games provide a unique opportunity to fully engage students more than traditional teaching approaches. Understanding the best way to utilize these games and the concept of play in an educational setting is imperative for effectual learning in the 21st century. Gamification in Education: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is an innovative reference source for the latest academic material on the different approaches and issues faced in integrating games within curriculums. Highlighting a range of topics, such as learning through play, virtual worlds, and educational computer games, this publication is ideally designed for educators, administrators, software designers, and stakeholders in all levels of education.

While there are a number of clinical practices for treating a variety of diseases, there is an urgent need to integrate bio-psychosocial perspectives and practices in order to promote comprehensive healthcare. Current research reports that diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and heart diseases are a growing threat to the heath and quality of life of individuals across the globe. Considering that nearly all these diseases are directly related to the lifestyle of an individual, prevention and intervention should be devised to address psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual factors. Biopsychosocial Perspectives and Practices for Addressing Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases is a collection of theoretical research that promotes good health and quality of life through psychosocial interventions to address psychosocial problems facing individuals such as discrimination and stigma, stress, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, lack of physical activity, and many other socio-economic factors. While highlighting topics including mental health, traditional healthcare, and global health, this book is ideally designed for therapists, counselors, psychologists, medical professionals, hospital administrators, researchers, academicians, and students in fields that include public health, nursing, community-based healthcare, health psychology, HIV/AIDS education, human movement education, and sport psychology.

Serious games provide a unique opportunity to engage students more fully than traditional teaching approaches. Understanding the best way to utilize games and play in an educational setting is imperative for effectual learning in the twenty-first century. Gamification: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications investigates the use of games in education, both inside and outside of the classroom, and how this field once thought to be detrimental to student learning can be used to augment more formal models. This four-volume reference work is a premier source for educators, administrators, software designers, and all stakeholders in all levels of education.

Technology has increasingly become utilized in classroom settings in order to allow students to enhance their experiences and understanding. Among such technologies that are being implemented into course work are game-based learning programs. Introducing game-based learning into the classroom can help to improve students’ communication and teamwork skills and build more meaningful connections to the subject matter. While this growing field has numerous benefits for education at all levels, it is important to understand and acknowledge the current best practices of gamification and game-based learning and better learn how they are correctly implemented in all areas of education. The Research Anthology on Developments in Gamification and Game-Based Learning is a comprehensive reference source that considers all aspects of gamification and game-based learning in an educational context including the benefits, difficulties, opportunities, and future directions. Covering a wide range of topics including game concepts, mobile learning, educational games, and learning processes, it is an ideal resource for academicians, researchers, curricula developers, instructional designers, technologists, IT specialists, education professionals, administrators, software designers, students, and stakeholders in all levels of education.

"Karl has written the definitive guide to gamification, which itself is accessible and engaging. He brings trends to life and illustrates the principles of gamification through numerous examples from real-world games.... There is no doubt that 'gamification' is an important and powerful weapon in the arsenal for learning, marketing, and behavior change of any kind. This book is a valuable guide for all who are trying to understand or adopt these important design principles." —FROM THE FOREWORD BY KEVIN KRUSE Games create engagement—the corner-stone of any positive learning experience. With the growing popularity of digital games and game-based interfaces, it is essential that gamification be part of every learning professional's tool box. In this comprehensive resource, international learning expert Karl M. Kapp reveals the value of game-based mechanics to create meaningful learning experiences. Drawing together the most current information and relevant research in one resource, The Gamification of Learning and Instruction shows how to create and design games that are effective and meaningful for learners. Kapp introduces, defines, and describes the concept of gamification and then dissects several examples of games to determine the elements that provide the most positive results for the players. He explains why these elements are critical to the success of learning. The Gamification of Learning and Instruction is based on solid research and the author includes peer-reviewed results from dozens of studies that offer insights into why game-based thinking and mechanics makes for vigorous learning tools. Not all games or gamification efforts are the same, the gamification of learning and instruction requires matching instructional content with the right game mechanics and game thinking. Moving beyond the theoretical considerations, the author explores how to design and develop gamification efforts. Kapp discusses how to create a successful game design document and includes a model for managing the entire game and gamification design process. The Gamification of Learning and Instruction provides learning professional with the help they need to put the power of game design to work. Follow Karl on his widely-read "Kapp Notes" blog at www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/

Gaming is increasingly prevalent in our society and everyday lives as a form of leisure or competition. The typical aim of gaming is to gain a pleasant experience from the game. Because of the saturation of gaming in global society, the gamification concept and its operationalization in non-gaming contexts has become a growing practice. This technological novelty is the basis for an innovative change in many types of environments such as education, commerce, marketing, work, health, governance, and sustainability, among others. The service sector especially has shown widespread adoption of the method as it seeks to increase and motivate audiences and promote brands. However, little research is available on the adoption of gamification in organizations, leading to a need for literature that investigates best practices for utilization and implementation. The Handbook of Research on Cross-Disciplinary Uses of Gamification in Organizations is a comprehensive and timely reference book that explores the field of gamification for economic and social development. This book provides dynamic research from this emerging field. Covering topics such as distance learning, health behaviors, and workplace training, this book is a valuable reference for researchers, marketing managers, students, managers, executives, software developers, IT specialists, technology developers, faculty of P-12 and higher education, teachers, professors, government officials, and academicians.

Organizations are facing an engagement crisis. Regardless if they are customers, employees, patients, students, citizens, stakeholders, organizations struggle to meaningfully engage their key constituent groups who have a precious and limited resource: their time. Not surprisingly, these stakeholders have developed deflector shields to protect themselves. Only a privileged few organizations are allowed to penetrate the shield, and even less will meaningfully engage. To penetrate the shield, and engage the audience, organizations need an edge. Gamification has emerged as a way to gain that edge and organizations are beginning to see it as a key tool in their digital engagement strategy. While gamification has tremendous potential to break through, most companies will get it wrong. Gartner predicts that by 2014, 80% of current gamified applications will fail to meet business objectives primarily due to poor design. As a trend, gamification is at the peak of the hype cycle; it has been oversold and it is broadly misunderstood. We are heading for the inevitable fall. Too many organizations have been led to believe that gamification is a magic elixir for indoctrinating the masses and manipulating them to do their bidding. These organizations are mistaking people for puppets, and these transparently cynical efforts are doomed to fail. This book goes beyond the hype and focuses on the 20% that are getting it right. We have spoken to hundreds of leaders in organizations around the world about their gamification strategies and we have seen some spectacular successes. The book examines some of these successes and identifies the common characteristics of these initiatives to define the solution space for success. It is a guide written for leaders of gamification initiatives to help them avoid the pitfalls and employ the best practices, to ensure they join the 20% that gets it right. Gamify shows gamification in action: as a powerful approach to engaging and motivating people to achieving their goals, while at the same time achieving organizational objectives. It can be used to motivate people to change behaviors, develop skills, and drive innovation. The sweet spot for gamification objectives is the space where the business objectives and player objectives are aligned. Like two sides of the same coin, player and business goals may outwardly appear different, but they are often the same thing, expressed different ways. The key to gamification success is to engage people on an emotional level and motivating them to achieve their goals.

At the turn of the century the term "gamification" was introduced as a concept to understand the process of using game mechanics in "non-game" contexts. The impact of gamification was soon evident to business practices where it had impact both on marketing and, more broadly, on the organizations themselves. As the number of individuals playing video games grows, there seem to be an acceptance of game mechanics elsewhere. Its effectiveness is highly dependent on both technical possibilities and cultural acceptance, two factors present today. The aim of The Business of Gamification is to critically analyze the practical and theoretical consequences of gamification. Practically, how has gamification been applied in businesses to this point, and what are the future scenarios? Theoretically, what are the contributions of gamification to existing academic knowledge? How does this change our understanding of how business are performing and its consequences, for organizations, consumers, and society in general? This edited volume contains new, and stringent, perspectives on how gamification is contextualized in business settings, both in theory as well as in practice. This book will provide a wealth of research for individuals seriously interested in the industry at the academic level. As a result, this book will serve as a reference in curricula associated with video game development for years to come.