Reading between the Lines. An ethnographic field study on personalization in providing e-therapy

E-therapy is an important and increasing care practice in mental healthcare. This article explores possibilities and shortcomings of personalization in providing e-therapy for patients suffering from Cancer-Related Fatigue (CRF). The main question of this study is as follows: How do online therapists personalize their care to individual patients in providing e-therapy? To answer this question, an ethnographic field study was carried out on an online Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for CRF. In doing so, the work practices of online therapists were observed, online correspondence was studied, interviews were conducted, and a meeting of online therapists was recorded and studied. This study resulted in a better understanding of the structure, as well as the possibilities and the limitations of personalization in text-based e-therapy. The results show that the online MBCT potentially provides attuned, and also bodily attentive, care. However, in dealing with difficulties like asynchrony and invisibility, therapists also face limitations of personalization in their practices. Especially when patients fail to provide self-disclosure, the therapist may have insufficient information to act adequately and to prevent patients from dropping out

Personalizing Interactions with Information Systems

Personalization constitutes the mechanisms and technologies necessary to customize information access to the end-user. It can be defined as the automatic adjustment of information content, structure, and presentation tailored to the individual. In this chapter, we study personalization from the viewpoint of personalizing interaction. The survey covers mechanisms for information-finding on the web, advanced information retrieval systems, dialog-based applications, and mobile access paradigms. Specific emphasis is placed on studying how users interact with an information system and how the system can encourage and foster interaction. This helps bring out the role of the personalization system as a facilitator which reconciles the user’s mental model with the underlying information system’s organization. Three tiers of personalization systems are presented, paying careful attention to interaction considerations. These tiers show how progressive levels of sophistication in interaction can be achieved. The chapter also surveys systems support technologies and niche application domains

Temporal issues in e-learning research: A literature review

Time is a critical factor in learning, but time is also a very complicated factor that has many facets. Time can be as follows: time needed to prepare a course or lesson (ie, for the instructor to gather materials and design/develop a course or lesson), time needed to follow a course or lesson (ie, the planned, nominal study time that the institution allots for the learner in minutes and/or hours per day or the number of weeks per semester/year that the course encompasses), lifetime of a course (ie, how long a course can be used before it needs to be revised and/or is out of date), time that a student needs for study (ie, both in and out of class), time that an instructor needs and/or uses to teach a course (ie, the number of hours per day both during and beyond the “school” day for preparation, correction, feedback and marking of products and exams), “transaction” time costs (eg, the amount of travel time needed to attend a course or to log into an online course) and even time that a learner can make effective use of the knowledge gained (ie, half-life of the information in a course). Time can also be seen as an effectiveness factor (ie, the amount learned in a specific time period; learning more in the same time period is more effective learning) and/or efficiency factor (ie, the amount of time needed to learn something; learning the same amount in less time is more efficient learning). Time can, finally, be seen as a solitary factor or as part of a temporal pattern inwhich other factors play a role such aswork time, family time, down time, etc

Analyzing Mobile Services in Alternative Agrifood Networks

Recently, Alternative Agrifood Networks (AAFNs) represent a form of collaborative agrifood networks characterized by a re-connection and close communication among producers and consumers in order to overcome the limits of dominant capital-intensive agribusiness system. In this paper, we propose a framework to analyze and explore the value of the use of mobile information services in an AAFN. The applicability of the framework is shown by presenting some results obtained from an analysis of different types of case studies referring to the use of mobile services in real-world AAFNs

Disruptive innovation in the healthcare sector : the advent of AI chatbots

Over the last several decades, the healthcare sector has faced many challenges. These include a shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas, high clinical costs, and an increasing number of diseases needing to be treated. This thesis focuses on the potential and the limitations of an innovative way to solve problems in healthcare – use of AI chatbots. We highlight the user’s perspective concerning AI healthcare chatbot technology. Based on qualitative and quantitative research, we conclude that this novel technology offers new opportunities for diagnostics, enables work to be carried out more efficiently, and gives the patient the power to “self-diagnose”. AI chatbots have not yet reached their full potential due to legal restrictions, insufficient data, and the lack of capacity to integrate them into different systems. Even though the number of AI chatbot users is increasing, people trust chatbots less than doctors. To enhance user engagement and create a higher level of trust, credible entities such as doctors and the government could recommend the use of AI chatbots. The general acceptance of chatbots has to be analyzed per country since it is explained by socio-economic factors (education, age, income), personality-related factors (attitude to new things, curiosity) and communication behavior factors.Nas últimas décadas, o setor da saúde enfrentou muitos desafios. Nestes podem destacar-se a escassez de médicos, especialmente nas zonas rurais, custos de tratamento elevados e um número crescente de doenças a precisarem de ser tratadas. Esta tese foca-se no potencial e nas limitações de uma forma revolucionária de resolver problemas na área da saúde – o uso de chatbots de IA. Destacamos a perspetiva do utilizador em relação à assistência médica através da tecnologia de chatbot de IA. Com base em pesquisas qualitativas e quantitativas, concluímos que esta tecnologia inovadora oferece novas oportunidades para diagnósticos, permite que o trabalho seja realizado com mais eficiência e oferece ao paciente a capacidade de se autodiagnosticar. Os chatbots de IA ainda não atingiram todo o seu potencial devido a restrições legais, dados insuficientes e à falta de capacidade de integrá-los em diferentes sistemas. Ainda que o número de utilizadores de chatbot de IA esteja a aumentar, as pessoas confiam menos nos chatbots do que nos médicos. Para encorajar um maior envolvimento do utilizador e criar um nível mais alto de confiança, entidades credíveis como médicos e o governo podem recomendar o uso de chatbots de IA. A aceitação generalizada dos chatbots deve ser analisada por país, uma vez que é explicada por fatores socioeconómicos (educação, idade, rendimento), fatores relacionados com a personalidade (atitude perante coisas novas, curiosidade) e fatores de comportamento na comunicação

The transnationalisation of online sexual violation:The case of 'revenge pornography' as a theoretical and political problematic

Online sexual abuse and violation concern matters of sexuality and violence, through the medium of new information and communication technologies. Online abuse and violation are produced in two main ways: by those posting and via online platforms and technologies, in some cases those purpose-built for ‘revenge porn’. Transnationalisation of violence and abuse is facilitated by the Dark Web, an encrypted network of secret websites, making it much more difficult to control, police, or even know the extent to the problem. Online sexual violation involves practices of moving data, messages, and visuals across national boundaries creating transnational divergences between the web hosting base, the posting, and the viewing/consumption of that posted and creating a need for transnational legal, regulatory controls and interventions. The theoretical and political problematic of online sexual violation assists rethinking transnational processes more generally and in multiple ways – in production, consumption, and interventions; between and beyond nations; and in the creation of new configurations and phenomena online-offline

Zur ästhetischen Umsetzung von Musikvideos im Kontext von Handhelds [MuVikon 11, Workshop Oktober 2011 am Institut für Kunstgeschichte der Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken]

Im Oktober 2011 fand in Saarbrücken im Institut für Kunstgeschichte (Universität des Saarlandes) die Musikvideokonferenz 2011 (MuViKon 11) statt. Nachdem sich 2008 an der Frankfurter Goethe-Universität die MuViKon 08 (http://muvikon08.net) noch primär mit der Vergangenheit und Gegenwart des Musikvideos beschäftigt hatte und nur vereinzelt Fragen zur zukünftigen Entwicklung in dem Bereich angeschnitten wurden, standen die Beiträge von 2011 nun gänzlich unter einer in dieser Richtung orientierten Fragestellung. Ausschlaggebend für diese Fokussierung war der Start eines neuen DFG-Projekts in Saarbrücken mit dem Titel "Zur ästhetischen Umsetzung von Musikvideos im Kontext von Handhelds" (http://portablemvs.net). In diesem – vorerst auf drei Jahre angelegten – interdisziplinären Vorhaben sollen Unterschiede auf ästhetisch-formaler Ebene herausgearbeitet werden, die in der Produktion von Musikclips für das Fernsehen resp. für das Handheld (Smartphone, Tablet-PC) eine Rolle spielen. In den ersten Arbeitsabschnitt dieses Projekts fiel die gleichnamige MuViKon 11. Ziel dieser – als Rundgespräch bzw. Workshop angelegten – "Kick-off-Veranstaltung" war es dann auch, eine Art Standortbestimmung zur Frage der mobilen Rezeption von Musikclips vorzunehmen und dazu ExpertInnen aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen (Kunstgeschichte, Medien-, Musik-, Film-, Informationswissenschaften, Technikgeschichte, Softwareentwicklung) zu Wort kommen zu lassen. Neben der Aufarbeitung des Forschungsstandes zum Thema aus unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln, ergab sich so eine Verknüpfung von zuvor eventuell als nicht miteinander verbunden angesehenen Fragestellungen und eine Grundlage für die weitere Durchdringung der forschungsrelevanten Perspektiven. Nach einem einführenden Vorwort der Tagungsveranstalter (zugleich Durchführende des DFG-Projekts "Zur ästhetischen Umsetzung von Musikvideos im Kontext von Handhelds") Henry Keazor, Hans Giessen und Thorsten Wübbena finden sich in dem hier vorliegenden Sammelband die folgenden Beiträge (Reihenfolge entsprechen der in der Publikation): Jeffrey Wimmer gibt mit seinem Aufsatz "Musikvideos und mobile Medien im Kontext der Wandlungs- und Prägprozesse aktueller Medienkultur(en)" einen Überblick und zugleich definitorischen Rahmen vor. Mara Mills beleuchtet dann in ihrem Text "The Audiovisual Telephone. A brief history" die historische Komponente der "Fernseh-Telefonie", während Georg Hübner dieses mit "Wer soll das bezahlen? Wer hat soviel Geld?" für den Bereich des Musikclips aus der Warte der Finanzierungs- und Distributionsfragen vornimmt. Letzteres wird auch im Beitrag "Mobile Music: App(2)Date" von Gundula Wilscher wieder angeschnitten, sie resümiert hier die mobile Rezeption von Musik, die seit 2008 jährlich auf der Tagung Austrian Mobile Music Day thematisiert wird. Aus der Praxis berichtet Ivo Wessel unter dem Titel "Smartphones – Devices for the next Web". In seinem Gedankenstreifzug thematisiert er neben mobilen Applikationen (Apps) auch Augmented Reality und andere "Next-Big-Things", die zum Teil bereits im Alltag angekommen sind. In seinem Überblick zur aktuellen Literatur „'Mobile Clip' – Ein Anfang mit Highspeed-Ende. Literatursichtung zum Thema Mobile TV, Handy TV und Micromovies" bietet Kai Wißmann einen Panorama der aktuellen Diskussionen vor dem Hintergrund der Nutzung des Mediums und dem dort angebotenen Content. Hans Giessen beschreibt in seinem Beitrag "Erste empirische Ergebnisse im Hinblick auf die Erarbeitung einer Systematik zur Bewegtbild-Produktion für Handhelds" einen Prätest zur Nutzung von Bewegtbild auf und mit Handhelds und beleuchtet damit zugleich die Vorüberlegungen, die zu dem o.g. DFG-Projekt geführt haben. Abschließend äußert sich Angela Kern mit ihrem Aufsatz "Wie wirkt ein kleines Bild – Betrachtung aus der Sicht der Medienproduktion" zur Situation der Medienschaffenden, die angesichts der rasanten Entwicklung der Technologien und Rezeptionsanforderungen einen permanenten Selbstreflexionsprozess hinsichtlich ihrer Produktionsparameter anstreben müssen

Social, Casual and Mobile Games

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Social, casual and mobile games, played on devices such as smartphones, tablets, or PCs and accessed through online social networks, have become extremely popular, and are changing the ways in which games are designed, understood, and played. These games have sparked a revolution as more people from a broader demographic than ever play games, shifting the stereotype of gaming away from that of hardcore, dedicated play to that of activities that fit into everyday life. Social, Casual and Mobile Games explores the rapidly changing gaming landscape and discusses the ludic, methodological, theoretical, economic, social and cultural challenges that these changes invoke. With chapters discussing locative games, the new freemium economic model, and gamer demographics, as well as close studies of specific games (including Candy Crush Saga, Angry Birds, and Ingress), this collection offers an insight into the changing nature of games and the impact that mobile media is having upon individuals and societies around the world

Rethinking Digital Nudging: A Taxonomical Approach to Defining and Identifying Characteristics of Digital Nudging Interventions

Digital nudging interventions have emerged as soft-paternalistic mechanisms for reducing heuristic limitations and biases in decision-making environments. Prior research has conceptualized digital nudging interventions as subtle modifications in the decision-making environment that nudge a decision maker towards better choices without limiting other alternatives. The approach has received criticism as researchers have achieved limited consensus on its definition, categorized diverse behavior-modulation methodologies as digital nudging, and raised multiple ethical concerns about it. Such ambiguity reduces fidelity while challenging synthesis, application, and replication. In this paper, we posit the need to broaden the definition of digital nudging interventions, reconcile the inconsistencies, and present a coherent frame. Based on a systematic review of the extant literature, we propose an extended definition that is coherent with the libertarian-paternalistic principle, clarifying the intent of digital nudging interventions, and delineating the nature of the digital artifacts involved. We further present a taxonomy with standard vernacular and label its complex underlying principles and the components that can guide practitioners and researchers