Towards memory supporting personal information management tools

In this article we discuss re-retrieving personal information objects and relate the task to recovering from lapse(s) in memory. We propose that fundamentally it is lapses in memory that impede users from successfully re-finding the information they need. Our hypothesis is that by learning more about memory lapses in non-computing contexts and how people cope and recover from these lapses, we can better inform the design of PIM tools and improve the user's ability to re-access and re-use objects. We describe a diary study that investigates the everyday memory problems of 25 people from a wide range of backgrounds. Based on the findings, we present a series of principles that we hypothesize will improve the design of personal information management tools. This hypothesis is validated by an evaluation of a tool for managing personal photographs, which was designed with respect to our findings. The evaluation suggests that users' performance when re-finding objects can be improved by building personal information management tools to support characteristics of human memory

Information scraps: how and why information eludes our personal information management tools

In this paper we describe information scraps -- a class of personal information whose content is scribbled on Post-it notes, scrawled on corners of random sheets of paper, buried inside the bodies of e-mail messages sent to ourselves, or typed haphazardly into text files. Information scraps hold our great ideas, sketches, notes, reminders, driving directions, and even our poetry. We define information scraps to be the body of personal information that is held outside of its natural or We have much still to learn about these loose forms of information capture. Why are they so often held outside of our traditional PIM locations and instead on Post-its or in text files? Why must we sometimes go around our traditional PIM applications to hold on to our scraps, such as by e-mailing ourselves? What are information scraps' role in the larger space of personal information management, and what do they uniquely offer that we find so appealing? If these unorganized bits truly indicate the failure of our PIM tools, how might we begin to build better tools? We have pursued these questions by undertaking a study of 27 knowledge workers. In our findings we describe information scraps from several angles: their content, their location, and the factors that lead to their use, which we identify as ease of capture, flexibility of content and organization, and avilability at the time of need. We also consider the personal emotive responses around scrap management. We present a set of design considerations that we have derived from the analysis of our study results. We present our work on an application platform, jourknow, to test some of these design and usability findings

Individual differences in working memory capacity predict benefits to memory from intention offloading

Research suggests that individuals with lower working memory have difficulty remembering to fulfil delayed intentions. The current study examined whether the ability to offload intentions onto the environment mitigated these deficits. Participants (N = 268) completed three versions of a delayed intention task with and without the use of reminders, along with three measures of working memory capacity. Results showed that individuals with higher working memory fulfilled more intentions when having to rely on their own memory, but this difference was eliminated when offloading was permitted. Individuals with lower working memory chose to offload more often, suggesting that they were less willing to engage in effortful maintenance of internal representations when given the option. Working memory was not associated with metacognitive confidence or optimal offloading choices based on point value. These findings suggest offloading may help circumvent capacity limitations associated with maintaining and remembering delayed intentions

Long-term prevalence and predictors of prolonged grief disorder amongst bereaved cancer caregivers: A cohort study

Context: The short-term impact of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) following bereavement is well documented. The longer term sequelae of PGD however are poorly understood, possibly unrecognized, and may be incorrectly attributed to other mental health disorders and hence undertreated. Objectives: The aims of this study were to prospectively evaluate the prevalence of PGD three years post bereavement and to examine the predictors of long-term PGD in a population-based cohort of bereaved cancer caregivers. Methods: A cohort of primary family caregivers of patients admitted to one of three palliative care services in Melbourne, Australia, participated in the study (n = 301). Sociodemographic, mental health, and bereavement-related data were collected from the caregiver upon the patient\u27s admission to palliative care (T1). Further data addressing circumstances around the death and psychological health were collected at six (T2, n = 167), 13 (T3, n = 143), and 37 months (T4, n = 85) after bereavement. Results: At T4, 5% and 14% of bereaved caregivers met criteria for PGD and subthreshold PGD, respectively. Applying the total PGD score at T4, linear regression analysis found preloss anticipatory grief measured at T1 and self-reported coping measured at T2 were highly statistically significant predictors (both p \u3c 0.0001) of PGD in the longer term. Conclusion: For almost 20% of caregivers, the symptoms of PGD appear to persist at least three years post bereavement. These findings support the importance of screening caregivers upon the patient\u27s admission to palliative care and at six months after bereavement to ascertain their current mental health. Ideally, caregivers at risk of developing PGD can be identified and treated before PGD becomes entrenched

Causes and consequences of cognitive offloading

The current thesis focuses on cognitive offloading. The first three chapters explore factors influencing cognitive offloading, namely metacognition and effort-minimisation while the last chapter focuses on the consequences of cognitive offloading on subsequently remembered information. The first chapter investigated whether metacognitive interventions designed to shift confidence also influence offloading behaviour. It was found that interventions designed to shift confidence also shifted participants’ offloading behaviour. It was also found that confidence cannot fully explain offloading behaviour. The second chapter explored whether other factors such as preference to avoid cognitive effort contribute to offloading behaviour. It was found that this factor influenced offloading such that the bias towards offloading was reduced (but not eliminated) in the group that received performance-based rewards, hypothesised to reduce effort-avoidance. The third chapter sought to examine whether offloading behaviour was also related to confidence in a task from an unrelated domain (in this case a pair of perceptual tasks). This chapter found that perceptual confidence was related with propensity to offload but not preference to offload, relative to the optimal strategy. The final chapter focused on the consequences of offloading where in the first experiment it was found that saving a list of words not only improved memory of that list but also improved memory for subsequently encoded information. However, this was dependent on the order in which the two lists were tested. The second experiment found that participants had a preference towards list-saving in a manner that matched the optimal strategy demonstrated by the first experiment. Collectively, the findings of this thesis will help our understanding of cognitive offloading so that we can guide individuals towards more effective offloading strategies to supplement memory

What influences the selection of contextual cues when starting a new routine behaviour? an exploratory study

Background Contextual cues play an important role in facilitating behaviour change. They not only support memory but may also help to make the new behaviour automatic through the formation of new routines. However, previous research shows that when people start a new behaviour, they tend to select cues that lack effectiveness for prompting behaviour. Therefore, it is important to understand what influences cue selection, as this can help to identify acceptable cues, which in turn could inform future behaviour change interventions to help people select cues that best fit their context and so ensure continued repetition. Methods We conducted a qualitative study to investigate what cues people select, how, and what influences their decisions. We recruited 39 participants and asked them to take vitamin C tablets daily for 3 weeks and later interviewed them about their experience. Quantitative habit strength and memory measures were taken for descriptive purposes. Results Cue selection was primarily influenced by a desire to minimise effort, e.g. keeping related objects at hand or in a visible place; prior experience with similar behaviours (regardless of whether the cues used in the past were reliable or not); and beliefs about effective approaches. In addition, we found that suboptimal remembering strategies involved reliance on a single cue and loosely defined plans that do not specify cues. Moreover, for many participants, identifying optimal cues required trial and error, as people were rarely able to anticipate in advance what approach would work best for them. Conclusions Future behaviour change interventions that rely on routine behaviours might fruitfully include the provision of educational information regarding what approaches are suboptimal (single factors, vaguely defined plans) and what is most likely to work (combining multiple clearly defined cues). They should also assess people’s existing beliefs about how to best remember specific behaviours as such beliefs can either enhance or inhibit the cues they select. Finally, interventions should account for the fact that early failures to remember are part of the process of developing a reliable remembering strategy and to be expected

Investigating the Potential of Artificial Intelligence Powered Interfaces to Support Different Types of Memory for People with Dementia

There has been a growing interest in HCI to understand the specific technological needs of people with dementia and supporting them in self-managing daily activities. One of the most difficult challenges to address is supporting the fluctuating accessibility needs of people with dementia, which vary with the specific type of dementia and the progression of the condition. Researchers have identified auto-personalized interfaces, and more recently, Artificial Intelligence or AI-driven personalization as a potential solution to making commercial technology accessible in a scalable manner for users with fluctuating ability. However, there is a lack of understanding on the perceptions of people with dementia around AI as an aid to their everyday technology use and its role in their overall self-management systems, which include other non-AI technology, and human assistance. In this paper, we present future directions for the design of AI-based systems to personalize an interface for dementia-related changes in different types of memory, along with expectations for AI interactions with the user with dementia.Comment: 7 page

Properties of intentions and their effects on prospective memory: behavioural and fNIRS studies

Intentions are things we want to do in the future (e.g. post a letter). The ability that allows us to form, maintain and execute delayed intentions is referred to as prospective memory. The first aim of my research was to explore whether the lateral increase and medial decrease in prefrontal cortex activity associated with prospective memory, as demonstrated in previous neuroimaging studies, can be replicated using functional-near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Study 1 only found neural difference between intentions related to objects (non-social cues) and intentions related to faces (social cues). Study 2 also failed to replicate the lateral-medial dissociation, and was thus adapted in Study 3 to include additional within-subject factor of posture (laying down versus sitting), to account for potential differences between fMRI and fNIRS findings. The findings from Study 3 provided the first demonstration of increased lateral and decreased medial prefrontal cortex activation pattern using fNIRS. The second aim was to explore the effects of value of intentions: our motivation to fulfill delayed intentions is presumably related to the value attached to those intentions. In Experiment 1 prospective memory performance was modulated as a function of monetary value attached to two concurrent intentions. Participants performed better for high-value intentions, when compared to low- value intentions. Experiment 2 examined two other properties of value: monetary (Gain/Loss) and social framing (Self/Other). Participants either received a reward for fulfilling intentions (Gain), or incurred deductions when they failed to execute intentions (Loss). Also, participants either earned rewards for themselves (Self), or for their partner (Other). In the GainSelf and GainOther conditions, performance was better for high- versus low-value intentions, while in the LossSelf and LossOther conditions there was no difference. In sum, this dissertation showed the feasibility of using fNIRS in prospective memory research, and explored how value underlies our intentions