91 research outputs found
Groups and frequent visitors shaping the space dynamics
Our research is about a dynamic symbolic space model that
is fed with data from the environment by a set of processing modules that
receive raw data from sensor networks. For the conducted experiments
we have been using data from a WiFi network as it is a widely available
infrastructure in our campus. Here we propose two processing modules
which will provide more information about the spaces described in the
model. The first one tries to implement our human perception of the
usual visitors of a place using two measures, the long term and the short
term tenant level. The second one detects where groups of users emerge,
how many there are and what are their dimensions. Based on this new
perspective of the campus we intend to realize how the presence of people
shapes the dynamics of a space.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Multidisciplinary medical team meetings: A field study of collaboration in health care
We present an observational study that was conducted to guide the design of an enhanced collaboration platform to support distributed multidisciplinary team meetings between two hospitals. Our goal was to find out how the breast cancer multidisciplinary team collaborates in their face-to-face meetings and in their discussions using an existing videoconferencing system and to identify obstacles and issues to their primary tasks. We identified a set of concerns around the way visibility and audibility affect the social cohesion of the group and impede communication and situation awareness between the distributed team. We also identified a parallel set of concerns around the difficulty of preparing and interacting around the medical images used in the meetings. These issues exposed a complex matrix of technical, social, procedural and organisational factors that affect the collaboration. We suggest potential directions for technical interventions in this setting
Just-In-Place Information for Mobile Device Interfaces
Abstract. This paper addresses the potentials of context sensitivity for making mobile device interfaces less complex and easier to interact with. Based on a semiotic approach to information representation, it is argued that the design of mobile device interfaces can benefit from spatial and temporal indexicality, reducing information complexity and interaction space of the device while focusing on information and functionality relevant here and now. Illustrating this approach, a series of design sketches show the possible redesign of an existing web and wap-based information service.
Conceptual Challenges for Advancing the Socio-Technical Underpinnings of Health Informatics
This discussion paper considers the adoption of socio-technical perspectives and their theoretical and practical influence within the discipline of health informatics. The paper highlights the paucity of discussion of the philosophy, theory and concepts of socio-technical perspectives within health informatics. Instead of a solid theoretical base from which to describe, study and understand human-information technology interactions we continue to have fragmented, unelaborated understandings. This has resulted in a continuing focus on technical system performance and increasingly managerial outputs to the detriment of social and technical systems analysis. It has also limited critical analyses and the adaptation of socio-technical approaches beyond the immediate environment to the broader social systems of contemporary society, an expansion which is increasingly mandated in today’s complex health environment
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