Exploring mobile news reading interactions for news app personalisation

As news is increasingly accessed on smartphones and tablets, the need for personalising news app interactions is apparent. We report a series of three studies addressing key issues in the development of adaptive news app interfaces. We first surveyed users' news reading preferences and behaviours; analysis revealed three primary types of reader. We then implemented and deployed an Android news app that logs users' interactions with the app. We used the logs to train a classifier and showed that it is able to reliably recognise a user according to their reader type. Finally we evaluated alternative, adaptive user interfaces for each reader type. The evaluation demonstrates the differential benefit of the adaptation for different users of the news app and the feasibility of adaptive interfaces for news apps

User interface personalization in news apps

News is increasingly being accessed on smartphones and tablets, establishing mobile news reading as one of the most popular activities on mobile devices. News reading is also a very individual activity with marked differences in the way people read and access the news, however, news apps have limited personalization. In this paper, we approach news personalization as a two-dimensional problem. We discuss news personalization in terms of 'what' content is delivered to the user and 'how' that content is consumed. We present our approach towards user interface personalization in news apps and we conclude that news content recommendation and user interface personalization should co-exist in news apps

User Interface Personalization in News Apps

ABSTRACT News is increasingly being accessed on smartphones and tablets, establishing mobile news reading as one of the most popular activities on mobile devices. News reading is also a very individual activity with marked differences in the way people read and access the news, however, news apps have limited personalization. In this paper, we approach news personalization as a two-dimensional problem. We discuss news personalization in terms of 'what' content is delivered to the user and 'how' that content is consumed. We present our approach towards user interface personalization in news apps and we conclude that news content recommendation and user interface personalization should co-exist in news apps

Influences of News and Social Media on Food Insecurity and Hoarding Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine how sociodemographic variables and frequency of media consumption affect hoarding behavior and food insecurity concerns during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A quantitative, nonexperimental, correlational online survey was administered using a convenience sample of 203 participants from the United Kingdom with no medical issues that affected buying behavior during the pandemic to examine perceptions related to food insecurity, and self-reported food hoarding behavior. Results: Younger adults and lower income groups reported higher food insecurity perceptions and hoarding behaviors. Consuming COVID-19 information from websites was significantly associated with food insecurity perceptions, while information from social media was significantly associated with more food hoarding behaviors. Conclusions: Younger adults and lower income groups are vulnerable populations from the perspective of food insecurity and hoarding behavior in times of health disasters like pandemics. While social media can play a positively catalytic role during crises, excessive online information and misinformation can contribute negatively to public panic and feelings of insecurity. Implications for disaster preparedness and future research are discussed. The findings suggest that age is the main predictor of food insecurity and hoarding behavior, with younger adults more likely to be affected. They also suggest that people are turning to National Health Service (NHS) websites, which were deemed more trustworthy than social media, to avoid “news fatigue” and avoiding speculation. Suggestions for future research were made, specifically to examine people’s social support during the pandemic to understand its potential link to stockpiling behavior or food insecurity concerns

Studie über die Nutzung von Newsfeed-Reader-Apps als Grundlage für Verhaltensdesign

Das Lesen von Newsfeeds wird immer populärer, obwohl digitale Medien zunehmend für Nutzer_innen verborgene Risiken, wie z.B. die Anwendung von verhaltensbeeinflussenden Designelementen, beinhalten. Um den Einfluss solcher Designelemente zu erforschen, widmet sich diese Studie, als Vorstudie für eine weitere Fallstudie mit einer Newsfeed-Reader-App, der Untersuchung des Leseverhaltens. Dabei wird den Fragen nachgegangen, wie sich das Leseverhalten von potenziellen Nutzer_innen einer Newsfeed-Reader-App gestaltet und welche Bedarfe Nutzer_innen haben. Zudem wurden die Teilnehmenden zur Untersuchung des Risikobewusstseins in Bezug auf digitale Medien zu ihrer Einschätzung der YouTube- und Facebook-App befragt. Die insgesamt 77 Teilnehmenden der Studie wurden an der Ruhr-Universität Bochum befragt. Zur Erhebung der Daten wurde ein Online-Fragebogen genutzt. Die Analyse der deskriptiven Daten erfolgte anhand von Abbildungen und Tabellen. Die Teilnehmenden bilden eine anspruchsvolle und bewusste Leserschaft, die zumeist mehrmals am Tag und oft zwischendurch liest und sich der Risiken der digitalen und sozialen Medien bewusst ist. Ein App-Design, welches darauf abzielt, Leser_innen dazu zu bewegen, häufiger zu lesen, z.B. mit nicht mehr als ein oder zwei Push-Nachrichten täglich, hat gute Chancen, die Lesehäufigkeit und dadurch auch die gesamte Lesezeit zu erhöhen. Der Einbau von sozialen Aspekten, wie z.B. der Vergleich der Leseleistung mit anderen Leser_innen sowie eine Diskussionsmöglichkeit oder Bewertung von Artikeln durch Mitleser_innen wird ebenfalls empfohlen. Möglichst vielseitige, aber transparente Filteroptionen, die Möglichkeit zur selbstbestimmten Auswahl an Nachrichteninhalten, Schnelllese- und Vorlesefunktionen bzw. eine Lesehilfe sind auch erwünscht. Ablenkende Elemente wie Gamification, Werbung, Boulevardjournalismus und Meinungs-Bubbles sollten vermieden werden. Reading newsfeeds gets more and more popular, although digital media contain an increasing number of hidden risks for users, such as the application of design elements that influence behaviour. In order to study the influence of such design elements, we investigate reading behaviour in the present study, which is a scoping study for a follow-up case study implementing a newsfeed reader app. Using a survey, we ask potential users of a newsfeed reader app about their reading habits and needs. Moreover, we ask participants to assess their risk perception of digital media with regard to the YouTube and Facebook apps. The overall 77 participants of the study were recruited at the Ruhr-University Bochum. We used an online survey to collect data. For the analysis of the descriptive data, we used figures and tables. The participants make up a demanding and conscious readership. Most of them read several times a day and often in between. They are conscious about the risks of digital and social media. An app design that aims to make readers reading more often has good chances to succeed in increasing reading frequency and thus also total reading time unless it contains more than one or two push notifications a day. We also recommend to build in social aspects, such as comparison of reading performance, and possibilities to discuss or rate articles. All-round but still transparent filtering options, a possibility to self-select news content, speed reading, text-to-speech, and reading aid functionalities are desirable. Distracting elements, such as gamification, ads, tabloid press and opinion bubbles should be avoided

Exploring mobile news reading interactions for news app personalisation

International audienceAs news is increasingly accessed on smartphones and tablets, the need for personalising news app interactions is apparent. We report a series of three studies addressing key issues in the development of adaptive news app interfaces. We first surveyed users' news reading preferences and behaviours; analysis revealed three primary types of reader. We then implemented and deployed an Android news app that logs users' interactions with the app. We used the logs to train a classifier and showed that it is able to reliably recognise a user according to their reader type. Finally we evaluated alternative, adaptive user interfaces for each reader type. The evaluation demonstrates the differential benefit of the adaptation for different users of the news app and the feasibility of adaptive interfaces for news apps

Interaction-driven User Interface Personalisation for Mobile News Systems

User interfaces of mobile apps offer personalised experience primarily through manual customisation rather than spontaneous adaptation. This thesis investigates methods for adaptive user interfaces in the context of future mobile news apps that are expected to systematically monitor users' news access patterns and adapt their interface and interaction in response. Although mobile news services are now able to recommend news that a user would be likely to read, there has not been equivalent progress in personalising the way that news content is accessed and read. This thesis addresses key issues for the development of adaptive user interfaces in the mobile environment and contributes to the existing literature of adaptive user interfaces, user modelling, and personalisation in the domain of news in four ways. First, using survey methods it explores differences in how people consume and read news content on mobile news apps and it defines a News Reader Typology that characterises the individual news consumer. Second, it develops a method for monitoring news reading patterns through a deployed news app, namely Habito News, and it proposes a framework for modelling users by analysing those patterns; machine learning algorithms are exploited selectively in the analysis. Third, it explores the design space of personalised user interfaces and interactions that would be tailored to the needs and preferences of individual news readers. Finally, it demonstrates the effectiveness of automatic adaptation through Habito News, the prototype mobile news app that was developed, which systematically monitors users' news reading interaction behaviour and automatically adjusts its interface in response to their news reading characteristics. The results indicate the feasibility of user interface personalisation and help shape the future of automatically changing user interfaces by systematic monitoring, profiling and adapting the interface and interaction

Intelligence artificielle: Les défis actuels et l'action d'Inria - Livre blanc Inria

Livre blanc Inria N°01International audienceInria white papers look at major current challenges in informatics and mathematics and show actions conducted by our project-teams to address these challenges. This document is the first produced by the Strategic Technology Monitoring & Prospective Studies Unit. Thanks to a reactive observation system, this unit plays a lead role in supporting Inria to develop its strategic and scientific orientations. It also enables the institute to anticipate the impact of digital sciences on all social and economic domains. It has been coordinated by Bertrand Braunschweig with contributions from 45 researchers from Inria and from our partners. Special thanks to Peter Sturm for his precise and complete review.Les livres blancs d’Inria examinent les grands défis actuels du numérique et présentent les actions menées par noséquipes-projets pour résoudre ces défis. Ce document est le premier produit par la cellule veille et prospective d’Inria. Cette unité, par l’attention qu’elle porte aux évolutions scientifiques et technologiques, doit jouer un rôle majeur dans la détermination des orientations stratégiques et scientifiques d’Inria. Elle doit également permettre à l’Institut d’anticiper l’impact des sciences du numérique dans tous les domaines sociaux et économiques. Ce livre blanc a été coordonné par Bertrand Braunschweig avec des contributions de 45 chercheurs d’Inria et de ses partenaires. Un grand merci à Peter Sturm pour sa relecture précise et complète. Merci également au service STIP du centre de Saclay – Île-de-France pour la correction finale de la version française