Evaluation of existing opening performance on TWA 200S - a qualitative research on children's opening performance

Tetra Pak Carton Ambient has developed a package called Tetra Wedge Aseptic (TWA) for their emerging segment. The package is a V-shaped package that has a straw attached to one of its front panels, which makes it ideal for the on-the-go consumption. It immediately attracted young people but unfortunately has the package not motivated their parents in the same way. Lately, several market companies have given feedback that the opening performance of the package needs to be improved since many complaints from consumers has been received. The purpose of this master thesis has therefore been to understand and define the three most common problems that children are having when they are opening and consuming a TWA 200S package. Furthermore, should these demands be translated into technical terms. To define the most common problems a qualitative observation method called usability testing will be used and it will take place in a usability lab at LTH. Usability testing is a method for establishing the ease with which products are learned and used. The underlying model for all usability tests is that real users carry out real work with a product. There were 14 children in the age of 5-10 years old who participated in the research. The children opened several packages both when they were sitting at the table and when they were standing on the floor. For making the analysis easier, each child was videotaped and asked what they thought about the opening performance. When analysing the video material the concentration lay in three areas: ? Where on the package were the children holding their hand? ? Where on the straw were the children holding their hand? ? Where did the leakage come from? These areas were chosen since they strongly affect the opening performance. When the analysis was made, it clearly showed that the three most common problems that children were having with the opening performance were: ? It was hard to perforate through the pre-punched hole. ? It was leaking from the straw hole when they tried to penetrate the straw into the package. ? It was leaking from the straw. It either poured or dripped from the straw. To prevent these problems that the children were having, investigations regarding a new straw solution and the under filling volume needs to be done

Assessment System for Assessing Knowledge Sharing Among Subject Experts in Secondary School

During the epoch of knowledge-based economy and knowledge management, teachers must learn in order to improve professional development. The success of knowledge management initiatives depends on knowledge sharing. The sharing of teaching-related knowledge may help teachers solve a variety of problems that they face, and the appropriate use of online knowledge-sharing activities is expected to assist teachers' knowledge sharing. Since studies related to educational knowledge sharing are rare, knowledge sharing behavior may be different between organization types. In order to promote knowledge sharing among subject experts within educational groups in secondary school; this study was implemented electronic assessment system to evaluate a knowledge sharing among teachers, which is helpful school organization's to develop knowledge and cultures

Improving awareness of health hazards associated with air pollution in primary school children: Design and test of didactic tools

One of the objectives of the MAPEC-Life project is raising children’s awareness on air quality and its health effects. To achieve this goal, we designed didactic tools for primary school students, including leaflets with more information for teachers, a cartoon, and three educational videogames. The tools were then tested with 266 children who attended six primary schools in four Italian cities. A control group of 51 children received only explanations from teachers. An improvement in knowledge after using the audiovisual package was demonstrated, with higher efficacy compared with the control group. In addition, the use of videogames was greatly appreciated

Does Age Matter in Mobile User Experience? Impact of Age on Relative Importance of Antecedents of Mobile User Experience

Interest in user experience (UX) has grown as both academics and practitioners perceive that focusing on functional usability provides only a limited understanding of human computer interaction. UX is a comprehensive concept that goes beyond usability and utilitarian aspects of technology use, to include the non-utilitarian, aesthetic, emotional and experiential aspects. A growing body of research based on Hassenzahl’s basic UX model has examined the impact of hedonic and pragmatic product attributes on user perceptions of beauty and goodness of the technology, and their subsequent impact on satisfaction. However, the influence of age on these relationships has largely been ignored. We conducted a survey of children, young adults and the elderly’s mobile phone UX, and conducted a multi-group analysis of the UX model. We found that age really matters in mobile phone user experience. While prior research has focused on young adults, the important determinants of UX for children and the elderly differed significantly. In accordance with the UX model, young adults’ UX evaluation was influenced by both pragmatic and hedonic qualities. Children and the elderly on the other hand focused on hedonic qualities. Our study has implications for the study and practice of UX design

Testing literacy educational software to develop design guidelines for children with Autism

Multimedia computer programs have been found to facilitate learning in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the effectiveness of these resources is limited due to poor design or a lack of consideration of the ASD cognitive profile, particularly at the lower-functioning end of the spectrum. This paper attempts to tackle the problem of the lack of design guidelines, with the aim of facilitating the development of effective educational programs for children with severe ASD. The case study reported here evaluated two literacy educational computer programs, by observing five low-functioning children with ASD, compared to five neurotypical children (control cases). The two types of reading-support software contrasted in the study presented different characteristics. The children’s data analysed here concern observations of child-software interactive sessions based on video recordings and coded for attention deployment to each program, including motivation and engagement indicators. The results identify different patterns in the responses of the children with ASD when using the two types of software. On the basis of this case study and work by other authors, a set of guidelines is proposed, that are intended to help in designing effective educational programs for children with severe ASD. The guidelines emphasize a multi-disciplinary framework using methodologies from various research areas including software engineering, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Child Computer Interaction (CCI), mental health, education and neuropsychology

Evaluating the Usability of a Positive Behavior Reward App for Faculty and Students at a Local Elementary and Intermediate School

This usability study was designed to improve upon a local elementary and intermediate school's positive behavior intervention system. The paper details the design, methodology, results, and discussion of the study itself. The project was presented at an e-conference on April 18th of 2017.A public Hawaii elementary and intermediate school has recently introduced a positive behavior support system to try and combat high rates of both absent students and behavioral occurrences. This system centers around teaching focused school-appropriate behaviors and explicitly rewarding those behaviors with a paper dollar. However, students have been using these paper dollars inappropriately by stealing, bullying, and buying black market items from each other. To address this problem, the purpose of this usability study was to develop and evaluate the ease of use and preference of a smartphone application that rewards the student's points in which they can then use on physical items and school-wide events. The app was developed using the platform Bubble.is, and mobile interface design principals drove the development process. Three rounds of usability testing, for both students and teachers, were conducted. Testing sessions included pre-surveys that aided in determining participant eligibility. During testing, a usability protocol script was used to assist in the measurement of time on task and number of clicks per task. At the end of each session, participants completed post attitudinal surveys and revisions were made between each iteration of testing and relied on participant feedback. Feedback from participants indicated that they preferred the smartphone application to the physical dollar system due to its ease of awarding points, safety, and organization. All participants, students and teachers, strongly agreed that this app should replace the current physical dollar system

A designers' perspective on additive manufactured smart wearables for paediatric habilitation

The aim of the paper is to identify from the perspective of designers, what is required to optimally design smart habilitation devices for additive manufacturing, whilst ensuring a high quality multi-user experience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with designers to identify the key requirements to develop such devices. The outcome of this study will provide a preliminary framework for designers to take advantage of the state-of-the-art of design for additive manufacturing in order to meet the expectations of multiple users of smart devices for pediatric occupational therapy.peer-reviewe

Evaluating methods for engaging children in healthcare technology design

Examples of user involvement can be found throughout healthcare literature. This extends to the design and development of healthcare technology where the involvement of users has been found to positively impact the quality and safety of products. However, there is currently little known about which methods are the most appropriate for involving children in technology development. The research applied and developed a framework to guide the use of methods in the design and development of healthcare technology for upper limb rehabilitation in children with cerebral palsy. Utilising an assessment framework to explore the suitability of four interview methods for involving children in the design and development of healthcare technology, research was carried out in primary schools in the United Kingdom. The research team i) used the assessment framework to guide the collection of information for comparing methods for involving children; ii) considered additional criteria for inclusion in the framework; and iii) gathered observations and data to comment on the criteria in relation to the four interview methods. Children were able to participate in all four interview methods, although further consideration is needed to identify how children with disabilities can be involved in design activities forming part of interview methods. Differences were found between the methods relating to their robustness, reliability, validity, efficiency, enjoyment and cost. The involvement of participants with a disability highlighted the need to develop new methods that support their inclusion in healthcare technology design work. The assessment framework applied in this research was useful to inform the comparison of methods and represents a step towards a more unified approach to understanding how best to capture the perspectives of children to develop technology that meets their needs