Persuasive Technology for Learning in Business Context

"Persuasive Design is a relatively new concept which employs general principles of persuasion that can be implemented in persuasive technology. This concept has been introduced by BJ Fogg in 1998, who since then has further extended it to use computers for changing attitudes and behaviour. Such principles can be applied very well in learning and teaching: in traditional human-led learning, teachers always have employed persuasion as one of the elements of teaching. Persuasive technology moves these principles into the digital domain, by focusing on technology that inherently stimulates learners to learn more quickly and effectively. This is very relevant for the area of Business Management in several aspects: Consumer Behavior, Communications, Human Resource, Marketing & Advertising, Organisational Behavior & Leadership. The persuasive principles identified by BJ Fogg are: reduction, tunnelling, tailoring, suggestion, self-monitoring, surveillance, conditioning, simulation, social signals. Also relevant is the concept of KAIROS, which means the just-in-time, at the right place provision of information/stimulus. In the EuroPLOT project (2010-2013) we have developed persuasive learning objects and tools (PLOTs) in which we have applied persuasive designs and principles. In this context, we have developed a pedagogical framework for active engagement, based on persuasive design in which the principles of persuasive learning have been formalised in a 6-step guide for persuasive learning. These principles have been embedded in two tools – PLOTmaker and PLOTLearner – which have been developed for creating persuasive learning objects. The tools provide specific capability for implementing persuasive principles at the very beginning of the design of learning objects. The feasibility of employing persuasive learning concepts with these tools has been investigated in four different case studies with groups of teachers and learners from realms with distinctly different teaching and learning practices: Business Computing, language learning, museum learning, and chemical substance handling. These case studies have involved the following learner target groups: school children, university students, tertiary students, vocational learners and adult learners. With regards to the learning context, they address archive-based learning, industrial training, and academic teaching. Alltogether, these case studies include participants from Sweden, Africa (Madagascar), Denmark, Czech Republic, and UK. One of the outcomes of this investigation was that one cannot apply a common set of persuasive designs that would be valid for general use in all situations: on the contrary, the persuasive principles are very specific to learning contexts and therefore must be specifically tailored for each situation. Two of these case studies have a direct relevance to education in the realm of Business Management: Business Computing and language learning (for International Business). In this paper we will present the first results from the evaluation of persuasive technology driven learning in these two relevant areas.

UX Sustainability: an overview on the sustainability dimension of AI-infused Objects forming product-service ecosystems

This research aims to suggest a new design perspective to analyse the sustainability of an AI-infused object in its entirety. Before we present what AI-infused Objects are and how they form product-service ecosystems, secondly, we analyse the state of the arts of its sustainable dimension. The analysis of AI-infused objects should include: (1) the entire life cycle of the object, its social and economic impact; (2) the impact of the "digital soul" of the object; (3) the ecosystem analysis should also include all indirect impacts of the service, considering how users' behaviour changes when they come in contact with the artificial intelligence ecosystem. The research contributes to the design literature in two ways: (1) by raising awareness in designers on the effective impact of AI-infused Objects forming the product-service ecosystems, (2) by inviting designers to make this awareness concrete through User Experience Sustainability analysis and behavioural change strategies applied to persuasive technology

Evaluating the impact of physical activity apps and wearables: interdisciplinary review

Background: Although many smartphone apps and wearables have been designed to improve physical activity, their rapidly evolving nature and complexity present challenges for evaluating their impact. Traditional methodologies, such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs), can be slow. To keep pace with rapid technological development, evaluations of mobile health technologies must be efficient. Rapid alternative research designs have been proposed, and efficient in-app data collection methods, including in-device sensors and device-generated logs, are available. Along with effectiveness, it is important to measure engagement (ie, users’ interaction and usage behavior) and acceptability (ie, users’ subjective perceptions and experiences) to help explain how and why apps and wearables work. Objectives: This study aimed to (1) explore the extent to which evaluations of physical activity apps and wearables: employ rapid research designs; assess engagement, acceptability, as well as effectiveness; use efficient data collection methods; and (2) describe which dimensions of engagement and acceptability are assessed. Method: An interdisciplinary scoping review using 8 databases from health and computing sciences. Included studies measured physical activity, and evaluated physical activity apps or wearables that provided sensor-based feedback. Results were analyzed using descriptive numerical summaries, chi-square testing, and qualitative thematic analysis. Results: A total of 1829 abstracts were screened, and 858 articles read in full. Of 111 included studies, 61 (55.0%) were published between 2015 and 2017. Most (55.0%, 61/111) were RCTs, and only 2 studies (1.8%) used rapid research designs: 1 single-case design and 1 multiphase optimization strategy. Other research designs included 23 (22.5%) repeated measures designs, 11 (9.9%) nonrandomized group designs, 10 (9.0%) case studies, and 4 (3.6%) observational studies. Less than one-third of the studies (32.0%, 35/111) investigated effectiveness, engagement, and acceptability together. To measure physical activity, most studies (90.1%, 101/111) employed sensors (either in-device [67.6%, 75/111] or external [23.4%, 26/111]). RCTs were more likely to employ external sensors (accelerometers: P=.005). Studies that assessed engagement (52.3%, 58/111) mostly used device-generated logs (91%, 53/58) to measure the frequency, depth, and length of engagement. Studies that assessed acceptability (57.7%, 64/111) most often used questionnaires (64%, 42/64) and/or qualitative methods (53%, 34/64) to explore appreciation, perceived effectiveness and usefulness, satisfaction, intention to continue use, and social acceptability. Some studies (14.4%, 16/111) assessed dimensions more closely related to usability (ie, burden of sensor wear and use, interface complexity, and perceived technical performance). Conclusions: The rapid increase of research into the impact of physical activity apps and wearables means that evaluation guidelines are urgently needed to promote efficiency through the use of rapid research designs, in-device sensors and user-logs to assess effectiveness, engagement, and acceptability. Screening articles was time-consuming because reporting across health and computing sciences lacked standardization. Reporting guidelines are therefore needed to facilitate the synthesis of evidence across disciplines

Wearables at work:preferences from an employee’s perspective

This exploratory study aims to obtain a first impression of the wishes and needs of employees on the use of wearables at work for health promotion. 76 employ-ees with a mean age of 40 years old (SD ±11.7) filled in a survey after trying out a wearable. Most employees see the potential of using wearable devices for workplace health promotion. However, according to employees, some negative aspects should be overcome before wearables can effectively contribute to health promotion. The most mentioned negative aspects were poor visualization and un-pleasantness of wearing. Specifically for the workplace, employees were con-cerned about the privacy of data collection

Shifting from living labs to experiential design landscapes (EDL)

Innovative interventions are often needed to disrupt current situations, creating new opportunities for sustainable growth. The size and amount of computing power we carry with us is increasing everyday and thus provides new opportunities for designing disruptive and radical innovative intelligent products, systems and related services that enable people to change their lives, to change (transform) society and move towards substantial and sustainable solutions. Designing for these types of transformation however is not easy. Firstly, in the new technological opportunities lie also the dangers of fully aiming at ‘the how’ (technological means) and totally overlooking ‘the why’ (human values, meaning etc.). Secondly, creating these type of transformations on a societal level often needs a long process with a high degree of structural uncertainty. It is difficult to predict whether new concepts will lead to sustainable behavioral change and for instance an active and healthy lifestyle. For industry it is therefore very unappealing and difficult to try to create and introduce these radical and disruptive innovations without a solid basis of evidence. Over the last years Living Labs have been promoted to involve customers directly in product development to validate products in a near-everyday-living environment. In spite of its successes, for the class of intelligent products and systems this method has failed. In response to this we proposed the Experiential Design Landscape (EDL) for developing and testing new radical innovative concepts in everyday life with citizens towards sustainable transformation. Since ambient assisted living is moving more and more towards intelligent systems, products and services, we are developing the EDL method to be used e.g. for ambient assisted living. This paper describes the EDL method in comparison with living labs and shows example projects using the EDL metho

The Effects of Automation Transparency and Ethical Outcomes on User Trust and Blame Towards Fully Autonomous Vehicles

The current study examined the effect of automation transparency on user trust and blame during forced moral outcomes. Participants read through moral scenarios in which an autonomous vehicle did or did not convey information about its decision prior to making a utilitarian or non-utilitarian decision. Participants also provided moral acceptance ratings for autonomous vehicles and humans when making identical moral decisions. It was expected that trust would be highest for utilitarian outcomes and blame would be highest for non-utilitarian outcomes. When the vehicle provided information about its decision, trust and blame were expected to increase. Results showed that moral outcome and transparency did not influence trust independently. Specifically, trust was highest for non-transparent non- utilitarian outcomes and lowest for non-transparent utilitarian outcomes. Blame was not found to be influenced by either transparency, moral outcome, or their combined effects. Interestingly, acceptance was determined to be higher for autonomous vehicles that made the same utilitarian decision as humans, though no differences were found for non-utilitarian outcomes. This research draws on the importance of active and passive harm and suggests that the type of automation transparency conveyed to an operator may be inappropriate in the presence of actively harmful moral outcomes. Theoretical insights into how ethical decisions are evaluated when different agents (human or autonomous) are responsible for active or passive moral decisions are discussed