17 research outputs found
Quality of Privacy (QoP) for the Design of Ubiquitous Healthcare Applications
Privacy is a complex social process that will persist in one form or another as a fundamental feature of the substrate into which ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) is threaded. Hospitals are natural candidates for the deployment of ubicomp technology while at the same time face significant privacy requirements. To better understand the privacy issues related to the use of ubicomp we place our efforts in understanding the contextual information relevant to privacy and how its interplay shapes the perception of privacy in a hospital. The results indicate that hospital workers tend to manage privacy by assessing the value of the services provided by a ubicomp application and the amount of privacy they are willing to concede. For ubicomp applications to better deal with this issue we introduce the concept of Quality of Privacy (QoP) which allows balancing this trade-off in a similar way as that of Quality of Service (QoS) does for networking applications. We propose an architecture that allows designers to identify different levels of QoP based on the user's context. Finally, we identify the main privacy risks of a location-aware application and we extend its architecture exemplifying the use of QoP to manage those risks
BendableSound: a fabric-based interactive surface to promote free play in children with autism
Children with autism found free play difficult. Free play is important for children with autism to help them develop social, communication, and expression skills. Interactive surfaces (IS) offer a casual and natural collaborative and engaging experience adequate to promote free play for children with autism. In this poster, we present the design and development of BendableSound, a fabric-based IS that allows children play music when tapping and touching on digital elements appearing on top of the fabric. To design BendableSound, we followed a user-centered design process involving interviewing, observation, and design sessions with caregivers. We close discussing directions for future work
PaU: Dise帽o de un exergame en una superficie el谩stica para ni帽os con autismo severo
Los ni帽os con autismo severo tienen dificultades para controlar su fuerza al empujar objetos. Existe evidencia de que la repetici贸n de movimientos de empuje usando diferentes niveles de fuerza pudiera mejorar el control de fuerza de ni帽os con autismo. En este art铆culo se presentan el dise帽o de PaU (Push and Up) 鈥搖n exergame en una superficie el谩stica para la pr谩ctica de movimientos de empuje de ni帽os con autismo severo. Para dise帽ar PaU se sigui贸 una metodolog铆a de dise帽o centrada en el usuario. Reflexionando en el proceso de dise帽o se propusieron tres implicaciones de dise帽o que pudieran ser de utilidad para otros investigadores interesados en dise帽ar exergames y superficies el谩sticas para ni帽os con autismo severo. Se cierra este art铆culo discutiendo el trabajo a futuro y conclusiones
Multimedia Tools and Applications
BCI video games are making brain training increasingly popular and available; yet scientific
evidence to support its efficacy is lacking. Real-life descriptions of BCI video games deploy-
ments in concrete scenarios are urgently needed. In this paper, we report a use case of the
development and pilot-testing of a BCI video game designed to support children with autism
when attending to Neurofeedback training sessions, called FarmerKeeper. Caring for children
with autism may impose new cognitive, motor, behavioral, and attention challenges that
current solutions targeted for other populations may not address. The goal of the game is to
maintain children鈥檚 attention above a threshold to control a runner who is seeking for lost farm
animals. FarmerKeeper uses a consumer-grade BCI headset to read user鈥檚 attention. We
evaluated FarmerKeeper鈥檚 usability and user experience through a 4-weeks deployment study
with 12 children with autism. Our quantitative results show FarmerKeeper outperforms a
commercial BCI video game used for neurofeedback training, and qualitatively, FarmerKeeper
could successfully support children with autism when attending to neurofeedback training
sessions by possibly improving their attention and reducing their anxiety. We close reflecting
on our design aspects and discussing directions for future work.Multimedia Tools and Applicationshttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11042-018-6916-
Research in developmental disabilities
Aim
To evaluate the efficacy of Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) using a traditional and a technological intervention (elastic touch-display) in improving the coordination of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as a primary outcome, and the timing and strength control of their movements as secondary outcomes.
Methods
Twenty-two children with ASD completed 8 NMT sessions, as a part of a 2-month intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to either use an elastic touch-display (experimental group) or tambourines (control group). We conducted pre- and post- assessment evaluations, including the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) and motor assessments related to the control of strength and timing of movements.
Outcomes and results
All participants improved their coordination, according to the DCDQ scores, and exhibited better control of their movements according to the strength and timing assessments after the intervention. Participants who used the elastic touch-display scored higher on the DCDQ.
Conclusions and implications
NMT is an efficacious treatment to improve the coordination skills of children with ASD. Elastic touch-displays provide more benefits than the use of tambourines.Research in developmental disabilitieshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020.10374