FM radio: family interplay with sonic mementos

Digital mementos are increasingly problematic, as people acquire large amounts of digital belongings that are hard to access and often forgotten. Based on fieldwork with 10 families, we designed a new type of embodied digital memento, the FM Radio. It allows families to access and play sonic mementos of their previous holidays. We describe our underlying design motivation where recordings are presented as a series of channels on an old fashioned radio. User feedback suggests that the device met our design goals: being playful and intriguing, easy to use and social. It facilitated family interaction, and allowed ready access to mementos, thus sharing many of the properties of physical mementos that we intended to trigger

Supporting social innovation through visualisations of community interactions

Online communities that form through the introduction of sociotechnical platforms require significant effort to cultivate and sustain. Providing open, transparent information on community behaviour can motivate participation from community members themselves, while also providing platform administrators with detailed interaction dynamics. However, challenges arise in both understanding what information is conducive to engagement and sustainability, and then how best to represent this information to platform stakeholders. Towards a better understanding of these challenges, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a set of simple visualisations integrated into a Collective Awareness Platform for Social Innovation platform titled commonfare.net. We discuss the promise and challenge of bringing social innovation into the digital age, in terms of supporting sustained platform use and collective action, and how the introduction of community visualisations has been directed towards achieving this goal

A Narrative Approach to Human-Robot Interaction Prototyping for Companion Robots

© 2020 Kheng Lee Koay et al., published by De Gruyter This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This paper presents a proof of concept prototype study for domestic home robot companions, using a narrative-based methodology based on the principles of immersive engagement and fictional enquiry, creating scenarios which are inter-connected through a coherent narrative arc, to encourage participant immersion within a realistic setting. The aim was to ground human interactions with this technology in a coherent, meaningful experience. Nine participants interacted with a robotic agent in a smart home environment twice a week over a month, with each interaction framed within a greater narrative arc. Participant responses, both to the scenarios and the robotic agents used within them are discussed, suggesting that the prototyping methodology was successful in conveying a meaningful interaction experience.Peer reviewe

3D printing and immersive visualization for improved perception of ancient artifacts

This article investigates the use of 3D immersive virtual environments and 3D prints for interaction with past material culture over traditional observation without manipulation. Our work is motivated by studies in heritage, museum, and cognitive sciences indicating the importance of object manipulation for understanding present and ancient artifacts. While virtual immersive environments and 3D prints have started to be incorporated in heritage research and museum displays as a way to provide improved manipulation experiences, little is known about how these new technologies affect the perception of our past. This article provides first results obtained with three experiments designed to investigate the benefits and tradeoffs in using these technologies. Our results indicate that traditional museum displays limit the experience with past material culture, and reveal how our sample of participants favor tactile and immersive 3D virtual experiences with artifacts over visual non-manipulative experiences with authentic objects. This paper is part of a larger study on how people perceive ancient artifacts, which was partially funded by the University of California Humanities Network and the Center for the Humanities at the University of California, Merced.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from MIT Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/PRES_a_0022

Investigating design features of a computer-mediated communication system

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is increasingly used in higher education, but it is not without problems. The effectiveness of CMC depends on many factors, including the characteristics of CMC systems themselves. The research reported here therefore aimed to investigate how an educational CMC system might be improved, in order to support learning more effectively. The main context for the research was distance learning at the UK Open University (OU). A two-stage, mixed methods research approach was adopted. In the first stage, interviews and observations were carried out to explore the benefits and problems experienced by users. This revealed two major issues: information overload and lack of social presence. Information overload relates to users’ problems dealing with large numbers of messages. Social presence relates to the need for users to feel connected with each other. The second stage investigated system features aimed at addressing these issues, implemented in a prototype computer conferencing system. Features to address overload included branched message threading and user recommendations. Features to address social presence were ‘résumés’ and instant messaging. These features were evaluated using questionnaires, with several cohorts of students in an OU course. Students expressed approval of the features, although some features were not widely used. Students preferred branched threading to chronological threading because branching helped them to follow ‘conversations’. Students were uncomfortable recommending messages, feeling that the value of a message would vary between people. They were also uncomfortable using instant messaging to contact others whom they did not know. However, the awareness aspect of instant messaging provided a sense of solidarity. The research demonstrated that the problems of overload and lack of social presence are significant, and each has social aspects which must be addressed. Students’ relationships with each other affect whether and how they use the features of CMC systems. We can conclude that particular attention must be paid to the social aspects of online communication, both when designing educational CMC systems and when considering how they are used. To maximise the benefits for learning, students need to feel comfortable with each other online, and there are few short cuts to achieving this

Understanding Playground Behaviors And Injury Potential To Elementary Children

Injuries on school playgrounds have increased in recent times despite widespread adoption of playground equipment standards published by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The cost of increased insurance premiums and a moral obligation to protect children on a playground while at recess increase liability exposures for a school district. This study explored the behaviors exhibited by elementary school children and playground monitors and the subsequent occurrence of increased or decreased risk potential. The project utilized analytic induction and unobtrusive observations to observe critical incidents that occurred during recess. The behaviors of the children and the monitors were targeted to produce procedures for monitoring playground safety. The study concluded that a four prong playground safety initiative be implemented for proper management of playground behaviors. The recommended behavior based approach consists of pre-usage inspections for general maintenance and hazards, playground monitor training for hazard recognition, playground behavior evaluations, and assignment of monitor duties to include one play leader

Facets and Correlates of Sexuality in Late Adulthood

Die Altersforschung beleuchtete in den letzten Dekaden diverse Aspekte von sozialen Beziehungen im Alter, dabei blieb Sexualität allerdings häufig unberücksichtigt. Gleichzeitig zeigte die Sexualforschung, dass viele ältere Erwachsene davon berichten, sexuell aktiv zu sein, und dass sexuelle Aktivität im Alter mit Indikatoren erfolgreichen Alterns zusammenhängt. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation wurden drei empirische Studien durchgeführt, um neue Erkenntnisse über die Sexualität im Alter und ihre Korrelate zu gewinnen. Sexualität wurde dabei als ein facettenreiches Konstrukt verstanden, was zu dem Ansatz führte, verschiedene Aspekte von Sexualität zu unterscheiden: sexuelle Aktivität, sexuelle Gedanken, Intimität, Bedeutsamkeit der Sexualität, sexuelles Vergnügen, erlebte körperliche Nähe und gewünschte körperliche Nähe. Um neue Erkenntnisse über die Natur der Sexualität im Alter zu gewinnen, wurden Zusammenhänge von Sexualität mit dem Alter und der Zugehörigkeit zu einer bestimmten Geburtskohorte untersucht, sowie berichtete Alltagsschwankungen in erlebter und gewünschter körperlicher Nähe. Für ein breiteres Verständnis der Korrelate der Sexualität im Alter wurden Zusammenhänge mit mehreren psychosozialen Faktoren unter gleichzeitiger Berücksichtigung soziodemographischer Merkmale und physischer Gesundheit analysiert. Das Ergebnismuster in Bezug auf die Zusammenhänge mit psychosozialen Faktoren ergab relevante Unterschiede. Zum Beispiel hing eine bestehende Partnerschaft mit häufigerer sexueller Aktivität, häufigeren sexuellen Gedanken und mehr erlebten Intimitätsgefühlen zusammen. Dafür sagte eine längere Beziehungsdauer weniger sexuelle Aktivität und weniger sexuelle Gedanken, aber nicht weniger Intimitätsgefühle voraus. Die Nützlichkeit der Unterscheidung verschiedener Facetten von Sexualität wird diskutiert und der notwendige Einbezug von Sexualität als ein Aspekt enger sozialer Beziehungen im Alter betont.Over the past decades, aging research has provided valuable insights into close social relationships in late adulthood, however, sexuality has often been left out of focus. At the same time, there is accumulating evidence for considerable proportions of older adults engaging in sexual activity. Correspondingly, initial evidence exists for an active sex life being related to indicators of successful aging. Thus, there is a need for theoretical and empirical integration. Within the scope of this cumulative doctoral thesis, we investigated sexuality in late adulthood to provide new insights into its nature and correlates. Within three empirical studies, we applied a multifaceted approach to sexuality and altogether distinguished seven facets of sexuality: sexual activity, sexual thoughts, intimacy, importance of sexuality, enjoyment of sexuality, physical intimacy experienced, and physical intimacy wished. To provide new insights into the nature of sexuality in late adulthood, we examined age differences, cohort differences and daily fluctuations within its several facets. To investigate the correlates of sexuality in late adulthood, we examined the associations between the facets of sexuality and a number of psychosocial factors, while accounting for sociodemographic and physical health factors. As expected, the pattern of results differed by facet of sexuality, and we found both common and facet-specific associations between the facets of sexuality and the psychosocial factors examined. For example, having a partner was associated with more frequent sexual activity, more frequent sexual thoughts and more feelings of intimacy. In turn, longer relationship duration was related to less frequent sexual activity and sexual thoughts, but not less intimacy. We discuss the utility of distinguishing different facets of sexuality and argue for the need of considering sexuality as linked with close social relationships in late adulthood

Player agency in interactive narrative: audience, actor & author

The question motivating this review paper is, how can computer-based interactive narrative be used as a constructivist learn- ing activity? The paper proposes that player agency can be used to link interactive narrative to learner agency in constructivist theory, and to classify approaches to interactive narrative. The traditional question driving research in interactive narrative is, ‘how can an in- teractive narrative deal with a high degree of player agency, while maintaining a coherent and well-formed narrative?’ This question derives from an Aristotelian approach to interactive narrative that, as the question shows, is inherently antagonistic to player agency. Within this approach, player agency must be restricted and manip- ulated to maintain the narrative. Two alternative approaches based on Brecht’s Epic Theatre and Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed are reviewed. If a Boalian approach to interactive narrative is taken the conflict between narrative and player agency dissolves. The question that emerges from this approach is quite different from the traditional question above, and presents a more useful approach to applying in- teractive narrative as a constructivist learning activity