Persuasive technology: A systematic review on the role of computers in awareness study

This paper reviews an empirical research of persuasive technology (PT) with the aim are to: (i) examine the result of the 25 persuasive technology studies related to awareness as the intended outcome, (ii) investigate the effects of persuasive technology usage to target users (iii) to examine computer roles in creating awareness to users and the effects of persuasive technology to the domain of studies.The main aim of this review is to assist researchers developing a reference in setting a future research in a persuasive technology particularly in awareness domain. Result from the review indicates that persuasive technology has the ability to increase user awareness toward certain context or issues.Most of the studies shows that the computer as a media and social actor gives more impact to increase the awareness compared to the computer as a tool.It can be concluded that understanding the appropriate persuasive strategy is important in helping researchers developing effective applications towards the intended outcome. This paper also has an implications towards designing persuasive system and as a references for future research

Critical analysis in proposing persuasive multimedia model of truancy awareness (PMTA)

This article reports on the ongoing research to propose a persuasive multimedia model of truancy awareness (PMTA) for secondary school students. Accordingly, 9 related models were compared and systematically analyzed with the main objectives to: i). Review and analyses the previous applications and models that are related to the development PMTA Model. ii).Identify and select the generic component in designing the PMTA model.Accordingly, by investigating the selected model, this study suggest the common components applied by the researchers in developing a persuasive application to create awareness.The result of the reviews, shows there are four general components and seven sub-component were outlined.In addition, future work need to be conducted to extract and gathering the detail of subcomponent that contains in each common component

Family’s health: Opportunities for non-collocated intergenerational families collaboration on healthy living

When a family is engaged in healthy living practices together, it enhances the quality of life for all individuals. However, when members in families are separated over distance, the everyday encouragement and support may shift and obstacles arise within the family. In this study, we investigate non-collocated family members’ practices of healthy living, their perspectives on their family’s healthy living activities, and what obstacles exist regarding collaboration on their family health. We conducted an interview study with 26 independently living participants representing “elderly parents” and “adult children” in a family dynamic. We present members’ practices and strategies for sustainable healthy living activities. We also explore members’ creative use of technology for health promotion and describe existing obstacles that prevent families to effectively collaborate in healthy living. Based on our findings, we suggest design implications to support family members living apart on their efforts to cultivate health within their families

The NESTORE e-Coach: Designing a Multi-Domain Pathway to Well-Being in Older Age

This article describes the coaching strategies of the NESTORE e-coach, a virtual coach for promoting healthier lifestyles in older age. The novelty of the NESTORE project is the definition of a multi-domain personalized pathway where the e-coach accompanies the user throughout different structured and non-structured coaching activities and recommendations. The article also presents the design process of the coaching strategies, carried out including older adults from four European countries and experts from the different health domains, and the results of the tests carried out with 60 older adults in Italy, Spain and The Netherlands

Staying active despite pain: Investigating feedback mechanisms to support physical activity in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain

Chronic (persistent) pain (CP) affects 1 in 10 adults; clinical resources are insufficient, and anxiety about activity restricts lives. Physical activity is important for improving function and quality of life in people with chronic pain, but psychological factors such as fear of increased pain and damage due to activity, lack of confidence or support, make it difficult to build and maintain physical activity towards long-term goals. There is insufficient research to guide the design of interactive technology to support people with CP in self-managing physical activity. This thesis aims to bridge this gap through five contributions: first, a detailed analysis from a plethora of qualitative studies with people with CP and physiotherapists was done to identify factors to be incorporated into technology to promote physical activity despite pain. Second, we rethink the role of technology in improving uptake of physical activity in people with CP by proposing a novel sonification framework (Go-with-the-flow) that addresses psychological and physical needs raised by our studies; through an iterative approach, we designed a wearable device to implement and evaluate the framework. In control studies conducted to evaluate the sonification strategies, people with CP reported increased performance, motivation, awareness of movement, and relaxation with sound feedback. A focus group, and a survey of CP patients conducted at the end of a hospital pain management session provided an in-depth understanding of how different aspects of the framework and device facilitate self-directed rehabilitation. Third, we understand the role of sensing technology and real-time feedback in supporting functional activity, using the Go-with-the-flow framework and wearable device; we conducted evaluations including contextual interviews, diary studies and a 7-14 days study of self-directed home-based use of the device by people with CP. Fourth, building on the understanding from all our studies and literature from other conditions where physical rehabilitation is critical, we propose a framework for designing technology for physical rehabilitation (RaFT). Fifth, we reflect on our studies with people with CP and physiotherapists and provide practical insights for HCI research in sensitive settings

Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action

Outlines a community education movement to implement Knight's 2009 recommendation to enhance digital and media literacy. Suggests local, regional, state, and national initiatives such as teacher education and parent outreach and discusses challenges

Mobile Applications to Support Physical Exercise - Motivational Factors and Design Strategies

The growing incidence of health problems attributed to contemporary lifestyles, and the limited resources of healthcare, has led several stakeholders to look for alternative preventive healthcare methods. Physical exercise has many good effects for health, but people often lack motivation towards it. Smartphone applications can act as motivational tools, as they are accessible, mobile, and have suitable technological abilities. During past 10 years, a large number of mobile exercise applications have been launched and, increasingly, wellness technologies have been researched in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). However, the field lacks a comprehensive overview of the design strategies related to motivational exercise applications. Additionally, research in the field has mostly been conducted in western cultures, and perspectives from the developing world are missing.This thesis explores the design space of mobile applications that aim to motivate the users to engage in physical exercise. The main foci of the research were to identify the motivational factors towards the use of mobile exercise applications and to formulate a comprehensive overview of design strategies for motivational, mobile exercise applications. The results were gained from a constructive design research process that included user studies, concepting and evaluation of motivational exercise applications, a cross study analysis of motivational factors, and formulating design strategies. The user studies were conducted in Finland and India with working-age participants.Based on a rich set of empirical studies, this research produces insights for a wide set of motivational factors towards the use of mobile exercise applications. It points out differences in motivational factors between Finnish and Indian participants. For example, the use of surprising elements and certain playful elements as sources of motivation appealed to Indian participants more than Finns, who, in general, had a more pragmatic perspective towards the exercise applications. Finns were motivated by viewing their goals and progress by numbers and graphs, while Indians did not adopt the numerical approaches. The second outcome of the research is a comprehensive, structured and focused model of design strategies for motivational, mobile exercise applications. The model includes 34 design strategies divided into six dimensions. Nine of the strategies are India specific. The design strategies can be utilised in the design work of future exercise applications