Inclusion in Virtual Reality Technology: A Scoping Review

Despite the significant growth in virtual reality applications and research, the notion of inclusion in virtual reality is not well studied. Inclusion refers to the active involvement of different groups of people in the adoption, use, design, and development of VR technology and applications. In this review, we provide a scoping analysis of existing virtual reality research literature about inclusion. We categorize the literature based on target group into ability, gender, and age, followed by those that study community-based design of VR experiences. In the latter group, we focus mainly on Indigenous Peoples as a clearer and more important example. We also briefly review the approaches to model and consider the role of users in technology adoption and design as a background for inclusion studies. We identify a series of generic barriers and research gaps and some specific ones for each group, resulting in suggested directions for future research

The Global Care Ecosystems of 3D Printed Assistive Devices

The popularity of 3D printed assistive technology has led to the emergence of new ecosystems of care, where multiple stakeholders (makers, clinicians, and recipients with disabilities) work toward creating new upper limb prosthetic devices. However, despite the increasing growth, we currently know little about the differences between these care ecosystems. Medical regulations and the prevailing culture have greatly impacted how ecosystems are structured and stakeholders work together, including whether clinicians and makers collaborate. To better understand these care ecosystems, we interviewed a range of stakeholders from multiple countries, including Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, France, India, Mexico, and the U.S. Our broad analysis allowed us to uncover different working examples of how multiple stakeholders collaborate within these care ecosystems and the main challenges they face. Through our study, we were able to uncover that the ecosystems with multi-stakeholder collaborations exist (something prior work had not seen), and these ecosystems showed increased success and impact. We also identified some of the key follow-up practices to reduce device abandonment. Of particular importance are to have ecosystems put in place follow up practices that integrate formal agreements and compensations for participation (which do not need to be just monetary). We identified that these features helped to ensure multi-stakeholder involvement and ecosystem sustainability. We finished the paper with socio-technical recommendations to create vibrant care ecosystems that include multiple stakeholders in the production of 3D printed assistive devices

Perspectives on human-computer interaction and culture

Due to the global distribution of technology and its use in highly culturally diverse settings, an understanding of culture, in particular the connection between culture and technology use, is becoming more relevant for distributors and developers of such technology, in order to survive in a dynamic market environment and to be able to offer products that are tailored to the requirements of the specific end user. Therefore, the overarching topic of this thesis is the exploration of the role of culture in human-computer interaction (HCI) as a key factor to understanding the user. This thesis sheds light on the role of culture and socio-cultural systems and their multi-layered manifestations in human-computer interaction. The related research consists of two main strands: The first strand (manuscript 1 and 2) focuses primarily on examining the extent to which national culture is considered in HCI studies, and the extent to which subjects from different national settings are part of HCI studies. The key findings of the first strand are that HCI research tends to neglect culture, or, if it is considered, it is mostly treated narrowly, as a single variable that measures national cultures. The restricted cultural perspective becomes further evident when studying the participant samples from the most relevant HCI conference. There was a strong focus on participant samples from countries whose inhabitants tend to be Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic (WEIRD) and most of the other countries were clearly underrepresented. The second strand of this thesis (manuscript 3 to 6) centres on the examination of the relationship between HCI and cultural as well as socio-cultural systems, particularly in knowledge-intensive practices. It shows the rich practices of technology appropriation in study settings outside of the typical WEIRD contexts. Furthermore, it explores the manifold, rich and often complex ways in which the use of technology is impacted by structures and practices of cultural systems, and, in the same way, transforms these systems. The results from both strands of enquiry show that the HCI community should consider the diversity of potential technology users in its research and recommendations. Only in this way can technological developments be realised that are globally useful and usable on a broad scale. To support the HCI community on this path, alongside suggestions for further research projects, this thesis presents several detailed recommendations on how to increase diversity and the consideration of cultural aspects in HCI research and the HCI community

The Impact of Mindfulness on Communication With Health Care Providers for Older Adult Quilters

AbstractActive aging plays a pivotal role in countering the effects of multimorbidities and enhancing mental and physical well-being of individuals. Prior research supports the benefits of mindfulness, a key component of active aging, in enhancing older adults’ physical and mental health, but the effect of mindfulness on older adults’ communication with medical social workers and other health care providers has not been studied. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to gain a better understanding of how older quiltmakers experienced mindfulness and how this affected their communication with their health care providers. The study, which drew from empowerment theory, included eight women and one man in East Central Kansas who were 65 and older, lived independently, and quilted. The participants engaged in interviews that were transcribed and coded to identify key themes. One of the themes that emerged was connection to others. Although all of the participants reported that quilting enhances communication with others, only half of the respondents perceived that quilt making increased communication with their healthcare providers. The other themes that emerged were creating and mental health. Through this research, older adults can gain an understanding of the importance that hobbies or engaging in other interests can potentially provide a means to practice mindfulness and communicate with others. This can possibly improve mental and physical health. This study affirmed the importance of connection with others, productivity, and the feeling of well-being that can be generated through quiltmaking