Reducing Visuospatial Pseudoneglect in Healthy Subjects by Active Video Gaming

Pseudoneglect phenomenon refers to a condition in which healthy subjects tend to perceive the left side of exactly bisected lines as being slightly longer than the right one. However, behavioural data showed that athletes practising an open-skill sport display less pseudoneglect than the general population. Given the fact that so-called exergames (also known as active video games) are platforms designed to fully mimic sport activity, this work intends to investigate whether and how a one-week training period of exergame open-skill sport can determine a similar decrease in pseudoneglect. Fifteen healthy participants (non-athletes) responded to a visuospatial attention task and a control memory task in basal conditions (t0: Pre-game) and after a short period (one week, one hour/day) of tennis exergaming (t1: Post-game). In the Post-game condition, subjects from this experimental group (ExerGame group: EG) reduced leftward space overestimation and made significantly fewer leftward errors compared to the Pre-game condition. Additionally, two other experimental groups were employed: one evaluated within the same conditions of the main experiment but using a non-exergame (Non-Exergame groups: NEG) and the other one without any video game stimulus (Sedentary group: SE). Our findings suggest that daily training of a tennis exergame seems to be able to improve visuospatial attention isotropy by reducing leftward space overestimation, whereas outcomes from non-exergaming and sedentary activity do not modify subjects’ performance

New Approaches to Exciting Exergame-Experiences for People with Motor Function Impairments

The work presented here suggests new ways to tackle exergames for physical rehabilitation and to improve the players’ immersion and involvement. The primary (but not exclusive) purpose is to increase the motivation of children and adolescents with severe physical impairments, for doing their required exercises while playing. The proposed gaming environment is based on the Kinect sensor and the Blender Game Engine. A middleware has been implemented that efficiently transmits the data from the sensor to the game. Inside the game, different newly proposed mechanisms have been developed to distinguish pure exercise-gestures from other movements used to control the game (e.g., opening a menu). The main contribution is the amplification of weak movements, which allows the physically impaired to have similar gaming experiences as the average population. To test the feasibility of the proposed methods, four mini-games were implemented and tested by a group of 11 volunteers with different disabilities, most of them bound to a wheelchair. Their performance has also been compared to that of a healthy control group. Results are generally positive and motivating, although there is much to do to improve the functionalities. There is a major demand for applications that help to include disabled people in society and to improve their life conditions. This work will contribute towards providing them with more fun during exercise

New Approaches to Exciting Exergame-Experiences for People with Motor Function Impairments

The work presented here suggests new ways to tackle exergames for physical rehabilitation and to improve the players’ immersion and involvement. The primary (but not exclusive) purpose is to increase the motivation of children and adolescents with severe physical impairments, for doing their required exercises while playing. The proposed gaming environment is based on the Kinect sensor and the Blender Game Engine. A middleware has been implemented that efficiently transmits the data from the sensor to the game. Inside the game, different newly proposed mechanisms have been developed to distinguish pure exercise-gestures from other movements used to control the game (e.g., opening a menu). The main contribution is the amplification of weak movements, which allows the physically impaired to have similar gaming experiences as the average population. To test the feasibility of the proposed methods, four mini-games were implemented and tested by a group of 11 volunteers with different disabilities, most of them bound to a wheelchair. Their performance has also been compared to that of a healthy control group. Results are generally positive and motivating, although there is much to do to improve the functionalities. There is a major demand for applications that help to include disabled people in society and to improve their life conditions. This work will contribute towards providing them with more fun during exercise

U2XECS : avaliação de usabilidade e experiência de usuário de sistemas conversacionais

Orientadora: Natasha Malveira Costa ValentimDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Exatas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Informática. Defesa : Curitiba, 26/11/2020Inclui referências: p. 111-121Área de concentração: Ciência da ComputaçãoResumo: Devido ao aumento do uso das tecnologias nos ultimos anos, novas formas de interacao estao presentes no cotidiano da sociedade. A interacao baseada em voz, caracteristica dos Sistemas Conversacionais (SC), e um exemplo dessas novas formas de interagir. Amazon Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Frame, dispostivos Amazon Echo e Google Home sao exemplos de SCs que utilizam a voz do usuario para desempenhar tarefas. Os SCs tem despertado interesse tanto da industria como da academia, recebendo investimentos e fazendo parte de pesquisa em Interacao Humano-Computador (IHC) e Engenharia de Software (ES). Como qualquer outro sistema, e necessario que os SCs fornecam uma boa experiencia e que atendam as necessidades de seus usuarios. Nesse sentido, a avaliacao de Usabilidade e de Experiencia do Usuario (User eXperience - UX) e vista como etapa importante que contribui com a verificacao da qualidade dos SCs. Na avaliacao da Usabilidade, geralmente sao verificados atributos referentes as metas comportamentais do sistema, como a eficacia, eficiencia e satisfacao do usuario. Ja na avaliacao da UX, geralmente sao considerados os atributos ligados ao sentimento do usuarios, como emocao e motivacao. No entanto, atraves de dois Mapeamentos Sistematicos da Literatura (MSL), foi identificado que as tecnologias de avaliacao utilizadas para avaliar a Usabilidade e/ou UX dos SCs eram genericas, e poderiam avaliar qualquer tipo software. Alem disso, foram identificados alguns questionarios de avaliacao de Usabilidade ou UX de interfaces conversacionais. Entretanto, estas tecnologias consideram apenas um aspecto de qualidade, Usabilidade, ou UX. Os MSLs tambem identificaram que alguns pesquisadores utilizam questionarios que desenvolveram para seus proprios estudos, sem passar por um processo de avaliacao empirica. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste trabalho e fornecer uma tecnologia de avaliacao conjunta de Usabilidade e UX especifica para SCs, a U2XECS (Usability and User eXperience Evaluation of Conversational Systems). A U2XECS e uma tecnologia de avaliacao baseada em questionario que fornece afirmacoes de Usabilidade e UX especificas para avaliar SCs. O objetivo do U2XECS e orientar pesquisadores e desenvolvedores para identificar melhorias e percepcoes dos usuarios nestes sistemas. Alem dos MSLs e da proposicao da tecnologia, sao apresentados tambem tres estudos que foram realizados no processo de elaboracao e refinamento da tecnologia: um estudo exploratorio, um survey e um estudo de viabilidade. Os resultados evidenciaram pontos positivos da U2XECS relacionados a facilidade de uso, utilidade e intencoes de uso. Alem disso, foram identificadas oportunidades de melhoria, tais como afirmacoes ambiguas, mudanca na estrutura e no tamanho do questionario. Palavras-chave: Avaliacao de Usabilidade. Avaliacao de Experiencia de Usuario. Interacao Baseada em Voz. Sistemas Conversacionais.Abstract: Due to the increased use of technologies in recent years, new forms of interaction are present in society. The voice-based interaction, characteristic of Conversational Systems (CSs), is an example of these new interaction forms. Amazon Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Frame, Amazon Echo devices, and Google Home are examples of CSs that use the voice to perform tasks. The CSs have aroused interest from both industry and academia, receiving investments and being part of research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Software Engineering (SE). Like any other system, CSs must provide a good experience and meet the needs of their users. In this sense, the evaluation of Usability and User eXperience (UX) is seen as an essential step that contributes to verifying the quality of the CSs. In the Usability evaluation, attributes regarding the system's behavioral goals, such as effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction, are usually verified. In the UX evaluation, attributes related to the user's feelings, such as emotion and motivation, are usually considered. However, through two Systematic Mapping Studies (SMS), it was identified that the evaluation technologies used to evaluate the Usability and/or UX of the CSs were generic and could evaluate any software. Besides, some Usability or UX evaluation questionnaires of conversational interfaces were identified. However, these technologies consider only one aspect of quality, Usability, or UX. SMSs also identified that some researchers use questionnaires that they developed for their studies without going through an empirical evaluation process. Therefore, this work aims to provide a CS-specific joint Usability and UX evaluation technology, the U2XECS (Usability and User eXperience Evaluation of Conversational Systems). U2XECS is a questionnaire-based evaluation technology that provides Usability and UX specific statements to evaluate CSs. The goal of U2XECS is to guide researchers and developers to identify improvements and user perceptions in these systems. Besides the SMSs and the technology proposition, three studies that were carried out in the process of elaboration and refinement of the technology are presented: an exploratory study, a survey, and a feasibility study. The results showed positive points of U2XECS related to ease of use, utility, and intentions of use. Besides, opportunities for improvement were identified, such as ambiguous statements, change in the structure and size of the questionnaire. Keywords: Usability Evaluation. User Experience Evaluation. Voice-Based Interaction. Conversational Systems

Sensorimotor training for children and young adolescents using wheelchairs - a pilot study

Einleitung: Der Schulterkomplex und die oberen Extremitäten (OEX) spielen im Alltag und für die Leistungsfähigkeit bei sportlich aktiven Rollstuhlfahrer*innen eine zentrale Rolle. Gerade für junge Rollstuhlfahrer*innen müssen effektive und sichere Maßnahmen identifiziert werden, um sportliche und gesundheitliche Trainingsziele in spezifischen Interventionen miteinander verbinden zu können. Sensomotorische Trainingsmaßnahmen (SMT) kommen für die unteren Extremitäten bereits für gesundheitliche und sportliche Ziele zum Einsatz. Allerdings ist SMT für die OEX von jungen Sportler*innen im Rollstuhl noch nicht untersucht. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Durchführbarkeit und die Effekte eines kombinierten SMT der OEX für sportlich aktive Kinder und Jugendliche im Rollstuhl in einer retrospektiven Studie zu untersuchen. Methodik: Die Datensätze von 14 Rollstuhlfahrer*innen im Alter von acht bis 17 Jahren (Ø 12,45 y/o) wurden untersucht. Dort wurde über zehn Wochen ein kombiniertes SMT der OEX mit Schwingstäben durchgeführt. Die sportliche und gesundheitliche Fitness wurde durch die submaximale, aerobe Ausdauer mit dem 6-Minute-Propulsion-Test (6MPT) und durch die maximale, isometrische Handkraft (MHK) beider Hände erhoben. Die körperliche Aktivität im Alltag (PA) wurde durch Aktivitätstracker mit der zurückgelegten Strecke (D) und mit Aktivitätsminuten (A_min) untersucht. Die Bewegungsmotivation wurde durch die Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) und die gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität (QoL) mit dem KIDSCREEN-10 (KS10) evaluiert. Das Signifikanzlevel wurde mit p < 0,05 festgelegt. Ergebnisse: Die Daten der Trainingsgruppe (I) zeigte für alle Untersuchungsparameter (UP) signifikante Verbesserungen in messwiederholten Varianzanalysen (ANOVA). Die paarweisen Vergleiche zum Prätest (Prä) zeigten für alle UP mit Ausnahme der A_min signifikante Verbesserungen für I. Diese Effekte waren drei Monate nach der Intervention noch für die MHK links, D und KS10 darstellbar. Sechs Monate nach der Intervention waren die Ergebnisse für den 6MPT, D, PACES und KS10 signifikant besser im Vergleich zum Prätest. Zum letzten UZP zeigten sich noch signifikante Verbesserungen in der MHK rechts, PACES und im KS10. Diskussion: Ein SMT der OEX für sportliche Kinder und Jugendliche im Rollstuhl führte zu Verbesserungen der sportlichen und gesundheitlichen Fitness. Für die PA, die Bewegungsmotivation und die QoL konnte eine anhaltende Tendenz zu den UZP ausgemacht werden. Die konditionellen Verbesserungen könnten dabei u.a. durch Verbesserung der neuromuskulären Kontrolle der OEX durch das SMT erzielt worden sein. Es bestehen Zusammenhänge zwischen 6MPT, MHK und PA. Weitere Studien zur Bestätigung der Ergebnisse mit größerer Fallzahl sind sinnvoll.Shoulder function represents one main factor for health and performance in physical active wheelchair users. Therefore, sports and training should not only improve health related but also performance related fitness und functional properties for young wheelchair athletes. Sensorimotor Training (SMT) may be beneficial for both purposes and represents a less investigated field for the weight bearing shoulder of young wheelchair athletes. Purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the effects of a reactive SMT for the upper extremities with regard to fitness, physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL). Methods: Data sets of 14 children and young adolescents (8 – 17; Ø 12.45 y/o) who underwent a ten-week SMT with Flexibars for upper extremities were available. To investigate submaximal, aerobic capacity a 6-Minute-Propulsion-Test (6MPT) was used. Maximum isometric grip strength (IGS) was determined for both hands. PA was measured using an activity tracker with regard to distance (D) and activity minutes (A_min) spent. Motivation towards PA was investigated with the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). The health related quality of life (QoL) was measured with the KIDSCREEN-10 (KS10). Significance level was set at p < 0.05. Results: Data analysis showed significant improvements for all examined parameters (EP) in the repeated measured analysis of variance. The paired t-tests showed significant improvements for all EP except A_min for the intervention group (I). Those improvements remained stable after three month for IGS left, D and KS10. Six month after intervention 6MPT, D, PACES and KS10 showed significant improvements and so did MHK right, PACES, KS10 in comparison to baseline. Effects sizes in the analysis of variance were determined strong (²: 0.28 to 0.54). Significant correlations in Pearson’s r were revealed between IGS, 6MPT and PA. Discussion: The results imply SMT has positive effects for young wheelchair athletes regarding fitness, PA and QoL. The training improved the aspects for motivation and QoL persistently. The reasons for physical improvements of strength and PA may lay in a better neuromuscular control of the upper extremities. Further investigation for SMT with respect to larger numbers is necessary to confirm such results