MISSION POSSIBLE: USING UBIQUITOUS SOCIAL GOAL SHARING TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN CHILDREN

The present study investigated the acceptability of a novel ubiquitous socialgoal-sharing intervention aimed at promoting physical activity (PA) in schoolchildren. Methods: Thirty children (18 boys; 10.1±0.3 years; 1.39±0.06 m; 19.85±4.03 kg·m-2) were randomly assigned to ten groups and provided with Fitbit monitors. Video-clips describing mission-based activities were shown on iPads each week, for four consecutive weeks. An LED lighting-strip provided visual feedback on daily group PA levels. Three semistructured group interviews were conducted with 10 children (4 boys, 6 girls; n=2) and two teachers (n=1). Additionally, at baseline and post-intervention, seven-day accelerometry, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF; 20m shuttle run test), anthropometrics and physical selfperceptions were assessed. Data were analysed using a mixed “between-within" analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Children stated that peers were positive role models and provided encouragement to accomplish the missions. Teachers felt that children’s fitness, teamwork and problem-solving skills considerably improved. Statistical analyses revealed no significant intervention effect (p>0.05), though BMI and waist circumference, and CRF, decreased and increased, respectively. Conclusion: The integration of ubiquitous social goal-sharing technology in schools was well received by teachers and pupils. However, further studies integrating a larger sample size encompassing numerous schools, comparison groups and a longer intervention period with associated follow-up measurements, are warranted to ascertain the feasibility as a low-cost intervention to promote children’s PA levels

Harnessing Different Motivational Frames via Mobile Phones to Promote Daily Physical Activity and Reduce Sedentary Behavior in Aging Adults

abstract: Mobile devices are a promising channel for delivering just-in-time guidance and support for improving key daily health behaviors. Despite an explosion of mobile phone applications aimed at physical activity and other health behaviors, few have been based on theoretically derived constructs and empirical evidence. Eighty adults ages 45 years and older who were insufficiently physically active, engaged in prolonged daily sitting, and were new to smartphone technology, participated in iterative design development and feasibility testing of three daily activity smartphone applications based on motivational frames drawn from behavioral science theory and evidence. An “analytically” framed custom application focused on personalized goal setting, self-monitoring, and active problem solving around barriers to behavior change. A “socially” framed custom application focused on social comparisons, norms, and support. An “affectively” framed custom application focused on operant conditioning principles of reinforcement scheduling and emotional transference to an avatar, whose movements and behaviors reflected the physical activity and sedentary levels of the user. To explore the applications' initial efficacy in changing regular physical activity and leisure-time sitting, behavioral changes were assessed across eight weeks in 68 participants using the CHAMPS physical activity questionnaire and the Australian sedentary behavior questionnaire. User acceptability of and satisfaction with the applications was explored via a post-intervention user survey. The results indicated that the three applications were sufficiently robust to significantly improve regular moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity and decrease leisure-time sitting during the 8-week behavioral adoption period. Acceptability of the applications was confirmed in the post-intervention surveys for this sample of midlife and older adults new to smartphone technology. Preliminary data exploring sustained use of the applications across a longer time period yielded promising results. The results support further systematic investigation of the efficacy of the applications for changing these key health-promoting behaviors.The article is published at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.006261

Merry Miser

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2009.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-71).This thesis describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of Merry Miser, a persuasive mobile phone application intended to help people to spend less and save more. The application uses the context provided by users' location (obtained using the phone's GPS) and financial histories to provide personalized interventions when the user is near an opportunity to spend. The interventions, which are motivated by prior research in positive psychology, persuasive technology and shopping psychology, consist of informational displays about context-relevant spending history, subjective assessments of purchases, personal spending limit contracts, and a glanceable display of the user's current financial status and savings goals. The application was tested with four users over a period of four weeks. The test results are described, and additional steps to improve the application are suggested.by Charles DeTar.S.M

Alcogait Gamification

Alcohol abuse causes 1 in 10 deaths among adults in the United States aged 20-64 years [11]. An effort to motivate health-related behavioral changes in e-health industry could be seen before, but it was never done in mobile (m-health) context. Technologically, current applications in smartphone domain, emphasize on a manual way of measuring intoxication levels for users such as logging BAC values, taking cognitive tests; but none of them passively infer user’s intoxication level [1]. ‘Alcogait’ is a smartphone app that infers a smartphone user’s intoxication level from their gait by classifying motion data gathered from the smartphone’s accelerometer and gyroscope by Aiello et al [1]. This study is part of a Master’s thesis to build an intervention system around Alcogait’s functionality and explore the effects of gamification and avatar (for feedback) using Alcogait’s inferred intoxication level. Creation of user engagement is examined, in order to continue future study using gamification along with Alcogait’s functionality. The Alcogait system is not intended to either encourage or discourage abstinence. Its goal is to incentivize responsible transportation choices made by a person or their peers after that person is detected to be intoxicated in order to potentially mitigate DUI situations

SAM Fitness: An Android Wellness-Application

The emerging popularity of so-called “Wellness Apps” (mobile applications designed to assist users in pursuing a healthy lifestyle by encouraging them to make positive lifestyle decisions) has presented an interesting challenge to mobile application developers. Our application incorporates step and sleep tracking algorithms. In addition, the application tracks the user’s mood throughout the day, and, using this data, the user can monitor the correlation between his or her exercise, sleep habits, and overall mood. In this project a Wellness App for the Android platform, SAM Fitness, is developed and tested to track these factors

SAM Fitness: An Android Wellness-Application

The emerging popularity of so-called “Wellness Apps” (mobile applications designed to assist users in pursuing a healthy lifestyle by encouraging them to make positive lifestyle decisions) has presented an interesting challenge to mobile application developers. Our application incorporates step and sleep tracking algorithms. In addition, the application tracks the user’s mood throughout the day, and, using this data, the user can monitor the correlation between his or her exercise, sleep habits, and overall mood. In this project a Wellness App for the Android platform, SAM Fitness, is developed and tested to track these factors

Integrating cumulative context into computer games

In this paper, we describe a cumulative context computer game, where accumulated contextual information of the players ‟ activity levels, obtained through mobile sensors, is used to modify game state. Our implementation used a statistic-based, real-time version of the classic game of chess, where the statistics of the pieces depended on the activity of the users and the environment in which they performed the activity. Users found the game engaging and fun, and almost all of the participants altered their behaviors to enhance their performance in the game. This work provides a platform for further research into meaningful integration of cumulative context in games

Supporting Diabetes Self-Management with Ubiquitous Computing Technologies: A User-Centered Inquiry

Ubiquitous computing technologies offer opportunities to improve treatments for chronic health conditions. Type 1 diabetes is a compelling use-case for such approaches, given its severity, and need for individuals to make frequent care decisions, informed by complex data. However, current apps, typically based on effortful reflection on collected data, generally show poor adoption, lack vital cognitive and emotional support, and are poorly tailored to users’ actual diabetes decision making processes. This thesis investigates how diabetes apps can be improved from a user-centered perspective. An initial questionnaire-based study investigated how well existing diabetes apps meet user needs. Perceived benefits, limitations, and reasons for low adoption rates were identified. A talk-aloud study of detailed user interactions with diabetes logging apps was conducted to characterize the benefits and limitations of diverse UI elements for T1 diabetes management, and to more precisely identify wider problems with current interaction designs. This led to positing a refined version of Mamykina et al.’s model for diabetes self-management, to account for observed practices, whereby the previously accepted habitual and sensemaking cognitive states are augmented by a posited ‘fluid contextual reasoning’ (FCR) mode, which allows multiple contextual factors to be balanced for dynamic course correction when navigating complex situations, using previously learned knowledge. To investigate user perceptions of the levels and kinds of monitoring anticipated in next generation diabetes decision support systems, a 4-week technology probe, in which participants used multiple networked devices and external data aggregation, was used to frame requirements for user-centered development of such future systems. Integrating all of the above work, an iterative design process was undertaken to create DUETS, a card-based system to facilitate reflection by designers, users, and other stakeholders on diabetes support management systems. The resulting tool and method were then implemented and evaluated through structured sessions with stakeholder focus groups

Sprout: Using a Garden Metaphor to Visualize and Support Customizable and Collaborative Health Tracking

Self-tracking tools have become increasingly popular, especially with the advent of wearable technology and smartphone applications. However, traditional tracking tools often display data in a quantitative format that can be overwhelming and cause users to abandon their tracking efforts. Additionally, these tools typically provide a generic user experience and are designed from a single-user perspective, lacking external support. To overcome these limitations, we develop Sprout, a mobile data-tracking application that offers a more qualitative, customizable, and collaborative experience for health monitoring and management. Sprout uses a garden metaphor to visually represent health information and allows users to tailor their data experience by customizing data capture types and corresponding visual representation for each element. Furthermore, users in Sprout can collaborate to achieve community goals, unlocking new features for their gardens. We conduct a user study with 22 participants to investigate the impact of qualitative data visualization, customizability, and social support on users\u27 activity levels, goal attainment, engagement, and satisfaction with the self-tracking system. Our results suggest that qualitative visualization of data can help some users maintain their motivation to meet health-related goals, but a mix of quantitative and qualitative data is desired by some users. Customizability requires tailored features to help users develop a sense of ownership over time, and social features are a crucial motivator for users to achieve their health goals. However, tracking with strangers instead of friends can hinder user engagement due to the lack of connection