Applicability of the user engagement scale to mobile health : a survey-based quantitative study

Background: There has recently been exponential growth in the development and use of health apps on mobile phones. As with most mobile apps, however, the majority of users abandon them quickly and after minimal use. One of the most critical factors for the success of a health app is how to support users’ commitment to their health. Despite increased interest from researchers in mobile health, few studies have examined the measurement of user engagement with health apps. Objective: User engagement is a multidimensional, complex phenomenon. The aim of this study was to understand the concept of user engagement and, in particular, to demonstrate the applicability of a user engagement scale (UES) to mobile health apps. Methods: To determine the measurability of user engagement in a mobile health context, a UES was employed, which is a psychometric tool to measure user engagement with a digital system. This was adapted to Ada, developed by Ada Health, an artificial intelligence–powered personalized health guide that helps people understand their health. A principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation was conducted on 30 items. In addition, sum scores as means of each subscale were calculated. Results: Survey data from 73 Ada users were analyzed. PCA was determined to be suitable, as verified by the sampling adequacy of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin=0.858, a significant Bartlett test of sphericity (χ2300=1127.1; P<.001), and communalities mostly within the 0.7 range. Although 5 items had to be removed because of low factor loadings, the results of the remaining 25 items revealed 4 attributes: perceived usability, aesthetic appeal, reward, and focused attention. Ada users showed the highest engagement level with perceived usability, with a value of 294, followed by aesthetic appeal, reward, and focused attention. Conclusions: Although the UES was deployed in German and adapted to another digital domain, PCA yielded consistent subscales and a 4-factor structure. This indicates that user engagement with health apps can be assessed with the German version of the UES. These results can benefit related mobile health app engagement research and may be of importance to marketers and app developers

Suurten kuvakokoelmien saatavuuden parantaminen - esimerkkikokoelmana SA-kuva-arkisto

SA-kuva-arkisto on ainutlaatuinen valokuvakokoelma vuosilta 1939-1945. Artikkeli esittelee Tampereen yliopiston IPALIA-tutkimusprojektia, jonka esimerkkikokoelmana oli SA-kuva-arkisto. Tutkimusprojektissa selvitettiin, miten suurten kuvakokoelmien saatavuutta olisi mahdollista parantaa. Suosituin hakutapa käyttäjien keskuudessa oli sanahaku. Käyttäjät olivat suhteellisen tyytyväisiä SA-kuvan hakutoimintoihin, vaikka eivät aina löytäneet etsimäänsä. SA-kuvan käyttäjistä löydettiin aiemmin vähän tutkittu käyttäjäryhmä, ns. serious leisure -käyttäjät.The Finnish Wartime Photograph Archive is a unique collection of photographs from 1939-1945. The article presents the results of Tampere University’s IPALIA research project, whose sample collection The Finnish Wartime Photograph Archive was. The research project investigated how it would be possible to improve the accessibility of large image archives. The users were relatively satisfied with the collections search functions, although they did not always succeed in their queries. Among the users of The Finnish Wartime Photograph Archive, a previously understudied user group was found: the so-called serious leisure users

Suurten kuvakokoelmien saatavuuden parantaminen - esimerkkikokoelmana SA-kuva-arkisto

SA-kuva-arkisto on ainutlaatuinen valokuvakokoelma vuosilta 1939-1945. Artikkeli esittelee Tampereen yliopiston IPALIA-tutkimusprojektia, jonka esimerkkikokoelmana oli SA-kuva-arkisto. Tutkimusprojektissa selvitettiin, miten suurten kuvakokoelmien saatavuutta olisi mahdollista parantaa. Suosituin hakutapa käyttäjien keskuudessa oli sanahaku. Käyttäjät olivat suhteellisen tyytyväisiä SA-kuvan hakutoimintoihin, vaikka eivät aina löytäneet etsimäänsä. SA-kuvan käyttäjistä löydettiin aiemmin vähän tutkittu käyttäjäryhmä, ns. serious leisure -käyttäjät

A practical approach to measuring user engagement with the refined user engagement scale (UES) and new UES short form

User engagement (UE) and its measurement have been of increasing interest in human-computer interaction (HCI). The User Engagement Scale (UES) is one tool developed to measure UE, and has been used in a variety of digital domains. The original UES consisted of 31-items and purported to measure six dimensions of engagement: aesthetic appeal, focused attention, novelty, perceived usability, felt involvement, and endurability. A recent synthesis of the literature questioned the original six-factors. Further, the ways in which the UES has been implemented in studies suggests there may be a need for a briefer version of the questionnaire and more effective documentation to guide its use and analysis. This research investigated and verified a four-factor structure of the UES and proposed a Short Form (SF). We employed contemporary statistical tools that were unavailable during the UES ’development to re-analyze the original data, consisting of 427 and 779 valid responses across two studies, and examined new data (N = 344) gathered as part of a three-year digital library project. In this paper we detail our analyses, present a revised long and short form (SF) version of the UES, and offer guidance for researchers interested in adopting the UES and UES-SF in their own studies.Arts, Faculty ofNon UBCLibrary, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School ofReviewedFacult

Designing Personally Relevant Avatars for Digital Health Interventions: The Biocultural Perspective of Presence

Digital health interventions (DHIs) show great promise in empowering patients to take positive action toward their self-care by helping them with chronic disease self-management efforts. However, problematic user engagement with DHIs is a key issue preventing the full realization of DHI benefits. DHI design issues, such as lack of personal relevance, can negatively impact user engagement and consequently prevent patients from entering the empowerment process. The literature recognizes that avatars can be used to assimilate a self-concept during human-computer interaction and enhance personal relevance through self-presence. Yet, little is known about designing avatars to achieve self-presence in the context of digital health. This paper reports the results of a design science research study that explores key design elements that can facilitate a personal connection between users and technology by inducing self-presence through avatars. This study has implications for the theory-driven design of DHI to engage users with chronic conditions

Defining a game-based learning proposal to work with teachers\u27 professional wellbeing. The Teaching to Be video game

This chapter investigates the intersection of professional wellbeing among teaching staff and the potential of educational video games as a tool for improvement as part of the European Project “Teaching to Be”. A novel design model is proposed, rooted in interactive digital storytelling principles. The model is applied in the development of Teaching to Be: A Path to Wellbeing, a video game crafted specifically to enhance the professional wellbeing of educators. The study critically assesses the model’s strengths and weaknesses, offering insights into its applicability in educational game design. By examining the impact of Teaching to Be: A Path to Wellbeing, this research contributes to the growing discourse on the role of interactive digital storytelling in fostering positive outcomes for teaching professionals. The nuanced evaluation provides a foundation for refining future iterations of the model and offers practical considerations for those venturing into the realm of educational game design for teacher wellbeing. (DIPF/Orig.

Logibot:Investigating Engagement and Development of Computational Thinking Through Virtual Reality

In this study we assess the effects of teaching fundamental programming concepts through a virtual reality (VR) block-based programming application and its impact on engagement. As a comparison study, participants played an existing desktop-based game (LightBot) and the developed VR game (LogiBot) covering similar gameplay mechanics and blockbased programming. Initial results indicate that traditional desktop applications are currently more engaging than VR for teaching programming. We thus identify the need for careful design of interaction methods to support ease of use and reward factors to promote engagement in VR-based learning applications beyond the initial wow-factor

Avatar design types and user engagement in digital educational games during evaluation phase

Avatar design types can range from human representations to abstract representations. In digital educational games (DEGs), avatars are frequently used to encourage users to play the game. However, the role of avatar design types and their engagement in digital games are still unclear and empirically under research. Therefore, a bespoke digital educational game in geography was developed and validated by six expert users. Then forty-five users participated in the evaluation phase to investigate engagement and avatar types on digital educational games using the user engagement scale (UES). The results reported aesthetics and satisfaction factors somehow influenced the avatar design types, but none of the UES subscales was influenced by preferred avatar design types. Moreover, the human-cartoon avatar, which was not entirely human and cartoonish, was the most popular avatar design type among young adults. Other issues discussed for future developers and research included incorporating more avatar design selections into the study, integrating social interaction features into the game, using the same drawing style for avatars and provide easy access to the bespoke game during data collection

IWARN: A people-centered approach for early warning

Early warning is the activity of the mitigation phase concerned with monitoring precursors of a potential hazard to decide whether it is evolving to real risk and eventually initiate an early response. The first step consists of collecting updated and reliable data to support situational awareness from emergency operators. Data-centered Early Warning Systems (EWS) are focused on gathering data and run simulations to support decision-makers. A more sustainable approach consists of a people-centered EWS that takes profit from citizens who act as intelligent sensors collecting and sharing purposeful information. This people-centered approach can contribute to raising community awareness of the local environment and its vulnerabilities. In this paper, we introduce iWarn, a system relying upon mobile to integrate citizens in this process. The system has been developed following an action research approach to involve different stakeholders, including professionals, volunteers and citizens.This work is partly funded by “Comunidad de Madrid en el marco del convenio plurianual con la Universidad Carlos III Madrid en su línea de actuación Excelencia para el Profesorado Universitario-V Plan Regional de Investigación Científica e Innovación Tecnológica 2016-2020” the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Project TIN2016-77690-R “PACE