Introduction to the thematic issue on selected topics from Intelligent Environments 2017

[Excerpt] Introduction: Intelligent Environments (IEs) refer to physical spaces into which IT and other pervasive computing technologies are woven and are used to achieve specific goals for the user, the environment, or both. IEs have the ultimate objective of enriching user experience, better manage and increase user awareness of that environment. The 13th International Conference on Intelligent Environments (IE 17) was held at Seoul, Republic of Korea, and it was a great chance to share the state of the art data analytics methods and technologies. Based on the recommendations from conference committee members, four papers have been invited for this thematic issue. [...

A Virtual Conversational Agent for Teens with Autism: Experimental Results and Design Lessons

We present the design of an online social skills development interface for teenagers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The interface is intended to enable private conversation practice anywhere, anytime using a web-browser. Users converse informally with a virtual agent, receiving feedback on nonverbal cues in real-time, and summary feedback. The prototype was developed in consultation with an expert UX designer, two psychologists, and a pediatrician. Using the data from 47 individuals, feedback and dialogue generation were automated using a hidden Markov model and a schema-driven dialogue manager capable of handling multi-topic conversations. We conducted a study with nine high-functioning ASD teenagers. Through a thematic analysis of post-experiment interviews, identified several key design considerations, notably: 1) Users should be fully briefed at the outset about the purpose and limitations of the system, to avoid unrealistic expectations. 2) An interface should incorporate positive acknowledgment of behavior change. 3) Realistic appearance of a virtual agent and responsiveness are important in engaging users. 4) Conversation personalization, for instance in prompting laconic users for more input and reciprocal questions, would help the teenagers engage for longer terms and increase the system's utility

Game-inspired Pedagogical Conversational Agents: A Systematic Literature Review

Pedagogical conversational agents (PCAs) are an innovative way to help learners improve their academic performance via intelligent dialog systems. However, PCAs have not yet reached their full potential. They often fail because users perceive conversations with them as not engaging. Enriching them with game-based approaches could contribute to mitigating this issue. One could enrich a PCA with game-based approaches by gamifying it to foster positive effects, such as fun and motivation, or by integrating it into a game-based learning (GBL) environment to promote effects such as social presence and enable individual learning support. We summarize PCAs that are combined with game-based approaches under the novel term “game-inspired PCAs”. We conducted a systematic literature review on this topic, as previous literature reviews on PCAs either have not combined the topics of PCAs and GBL or have done so to a limited extent only. We analyzed the literature regarding the existing design knowledge base, the game elements used, the thematic areas and target groups, the PCA roles and types, the extent of artificial intelligence (AI) usage, and opportunities for adaptation. We reduced the initial 3,034 records to 50 fully coded papers, from which we derived a morphological box and revealed current research streams and future research recommendations. Overall, our results show that the topic offers promising application potential but that scholars and practitioners have not yet considered it holistically. For instance, we found that researchers have rarely provided prescriptive design knowledge, have not sufficiently combined game elements, and have seldom used AI algorithms as well as intelligent possibilities of user adaptation in PCA development. Furthermore, researchers have scarcely considered certain target groups, thematic areas, and PCA roles. Consequently, our paper contributes to research and practice by addressing research gaps and structuring the existing knowledge base

Bibliographic and Text Analysis of Research on Implementation of the Internet of Things to Support Education

The Internet of Things (IoT) has pervaded practically all aspects of our lives. In this exploratory study, we survey its applications in the field of education. It is evident that technology in general, and, in particular IoT, has been increasingly altering the educational landscape. The goal of this paper is to review the academic literature on IoT applications in education to provide an understanding of the transformation that is underway. Using topic modeling and keyword co-occurrence analysis techniques, we identified five dominant clusters of research. Our findings demonstrate that IoT research in education has mainly focused on the technical aspects; however, the social aspects remain largely unexplored. In addition to providing an overview of IoT research on education, this paper offers suggestions for future research

Evolution of smart grid assessment methods: science mapping and performance analysis

ABSTRACT The field of research related to smart grid (SG) assessment methods is broad and fragmented owing to the contribution of the various disciplines and approaches involved. This presents difficulties in obtaining useful and unbiased information for future studies. Hence, a full review of the contributions could provide a comprehensive critical perspective. In this article, SciMAT software is used to determine the evolution of this research field through a systematic review of the literature based on 331 original research articles. In addition, hidden issues and their development in this field have been identified for the period 2009–2020 to produce strategic diagrams of the thematic evolution and performance indicators of the research field. The results show that SG assessment methods are important topics, and the research field demonstrates an evolutionary trend that has not yet reached a maturity stage in each of the SG-related research topics. The most important topics, such as electric power transmission networks and environmental impact, are highlighted, with a particular interest in the transmission of electric power, application of photovoltaic systems, and life cycle analysis

HUMAN-AI COLLABORATION IN ORGANISATIONS: A LITERATURE REVIEW ON ENABLING VALUE CREATION

The augmentation of human intellect and capability with artificial intelligence is integral to the advancement of next generation human-machine collaboration technologies designed to drive performance improvement and innovation. Yet we have limited understanding of how organisations can translate this potential into creating sustainable business value. We conduct an in-depth literature review of interdisciplinary research on the challenges and opportunities in organisational adoption of human-AI collaboration for value creation. We identify five positions central to how organisations can integrate and align the socio-technical challenges of augmented collaboration, namely strategic positioning, human engagement, organisational evolution, technology development and intelligence building. We synthesise the findings by means of an integrated model that focuses organisations on building the requisite internal microfoundations for the systematic management of augmented systems

Information practices for sustainability: role of iSchools in achieving the UN sustainable development goals(SDGs)

In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) GeneralAssembly passed a resolution identifying 17 Sustain-able Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated tar-gets, and countries around the world agreed to achievethese by 2030. By conducting a thematic analysis offour key UN policy documents related to sustainabledevelopment, this paper argues that alongside financialand other resources, access to, and use of, appropriateinformation are essential for achieving SDGs. The paperalso reviews research on information and sustainabilityundertaken at the iSchools and the computer andhuman–computer interaction HCI communities. Giventhat the mission of iSchools is to connect people andsociety with the required information through the use ofappropriate technologies and tools, this paper arguesthat iSchools can play a key role in helping people, insti-tutions, and businesses, and thus countries around theworld achieve SDGs. The paper identifies 4 broad areasof teaching and research that can help iSchools aroundthe world prepare a trained workforce who can manage,and facilitate access to, information in specific domainsand contexts. It is also argued that cooperation and col-laborations among iSchools can promote a culture ofsustainable information practices among universitygraduates and researchers in different disciplines thatwill pave the way for achieving SDGs in every sector