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Trends in virtual reality technologies for the learning patient
NextMed convened the Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 22 (MMVR 22) conference in 2016. Since 1992, the conference has brought together a diverse group of researchers to share creative solutions for the evolving challenge of integrating virtual reality tools into medical education. Virtual reality (VR) and its enabling technologies utilize hardware and software to simulate environments and encounters where users can interact and learn. The MMVR 22 symposium proceedings contain projects that support a variety of learners: medical students, practitioners, soldiers, and patients. This report will contemplate the trends in virtual reality technologies for patients navigating their medical and healthcare learning. The learning patient seeks more than intervention; they seek prevention. From virtual humans and environments to motion sensors and haptic devices, patients are surrounded by increasingly rich and transformative data-driven tools. Applied data enables VR applications to simulate experience, predict health outcomes, and motivate new behavior. The MMVR 22 presents investigations into the usability of wearable devices, the efficacy of avatar inclusion, and the viability of multi-player gaming. With increasing need for individualized and scalable programming, only committed open source efforts will align instructional designers, technology integrators, trainers, and clinicians. Curriculum and InstructionCurriculum and Instructio
A Virtual Conversational Agent for Teens with Autism: Experimental Results and Design Lessons
We present the design of an online social skills development interface for
teenagers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The interface is intended to
enable private conversation practice anywhere, anytime using a web-browser.
Users converse informally with a virtual agent, receiving feedback on nonverbal
cues in real-time, and summary feedback. The prototype was developed in
consultation with an expert UX designer, two psychologists, and a pediatrician.
Using the data from 47 individuals, feedback and dialogue generation were
automated using a hidden Markov model and a schema-driven dialogue manager
capable of handling multi-topic conversations. We conducted a study with nine
high-functioning ASD teenagers. Through a thematic analysis of post-experiment
interviews, identified several key design considerations, notably: 1) Users
should be fully briefed at the outset about the purpose and limitations of the
system, to avoid unrealistic expectations. 2) An interface should incorporate
positive acknowledgment of behavior change. 3) Realistic appearance of a
virtual agent and responsiveness are important in engaging users. 4)
Conversation personalization, for instance in prompting laconic users for more
input and reciprocal questions, would help the teenagers engage for longer
terms and increase the system's utility
Cyborgs as Frontline Service Employees: A Research Agenda
The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Purpose
This paper identifies and explores potential applications of cyborgian technologies within service contexts and how service providers may leverage the integration of cyborgian service actors into their service proposition. In doing so, the paper proposes a new category of ‘melded’ frontline service employees (FLEs), where advanced technologies become embodied within human actors. The paper presents potential opportunities and challenges that may arise through cyborg technological advancements and proposes a future research agenda related to these.
Design/methodology
This study draws on literature in the fields of services management, Artificial Intelligence [AI], robotics, Intelligence Augmentation [IA] and Human Intelligence [HIs] to conceptualise potential cyborgian applications.
Findings
The paper examines how cyborg bio- and psychophysical characteristics may significantly differentiate the nature of service interactions from traditional ‘unenhanced’ service interactions. In doing so, we propose ‘melding’ as a conceptual category of technological impact on FLEs. This category reflects the embodiment of emergent technologies not previously captured within existing literature on cyborgs. We examine how traditional roles of FLEs will be potentially impacted by the integration of emergent cyborg technologies, such as neural interfaces and implants, into service contexts before outlining future research directions related to these, specifically highlighting the range of ethical considerations.
Originality/Value
Service interactions with cyborg FLEs represent a new context for examining the potential impact of cyborgs. This paper explores how technological advancements will alter the individual capacities of humans to enable such employees to intuitively and empathetically create solutions to complex service challenges. In doing so, we augment the extant literature on cyborgs, such as the body hacking movement. The paper also outlines a research agenda to address the potential consequences of cyborgian integration
Assessing context-based learning: Not only rigorous but also relevant
Economic factors are driving significant change in higher education. There is increasing responsiveness to market demand for vocational courses and a growing appreciation of the importance of procedural (tacit) knowledge to service the needs of the Knowledge Economy; the skills in demand are information analysis, collaborative working and 'just-in-time learning'. New pedagogical methods go some way to accommodate these skills, situating learning in context and employing information and communications technology to present realistic simulations and facilitate collaborative exchange. However, what have so far proved resistant to change are the practices of assessment. This paper endorses the case for a scholarship of assessment and proposes the development of technology-supported tools and techniques to assess context-based learning. It also recommends a fundamental rethink of the norm-referenced and summative assessment of propositional knowledge as the principal criterion for student success in universities
The Importance of Conflict Resolution Techniques in Autonomous Agile Teams
Today, software companies usually organize their work in teams. Social
science research on team development has shown that for a team to reach a
productive and autonomous stage, it has to be able to manage internal conflicts
and disagreements efficiently. To better facilitate the team development
process, we argue that software engineers' needs additional training in
negotiation skills and conflict resolution. In this position paper, we outline
ideas for what aspects to consider in such training. As an example, we argue
that a majority of the conflicts originate from team-level factors and that
they, therefore, should be managed on the team-level instead of in relation to
dyads.Comment: Accepted at 1st International Workshop on Autonomous Teams (A-TEAMS),
201
Editorial: Positive Technology: Designing E-experiences for Positive Change
While there is little doubt that our lives are becoming increasingly digital, whether this change
is for the better or for the worse is far from being settled. Rather, over the past years concerns
about the personal and social impacts of technologies have been growing, fueled by dystopian
Orwellian scenarios that almost on daily basis are generously dispensed by major Western media
outlets. According to a recent poll involving some 1,150 experts, 47% of respondents predict that
individuals’ well-being will bemore helped than harmed by digital life in the next decade, while 32%
say people’s well-being will bemore harmed than helped. Only 21% of those surveyed indicated that
the impact of technologies on people well-being will be negligible compared to now (Pew Research
Center, 2018)
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