Ontology for Task and Quality Management in Crowdsourcing

This paper suggests an ontology for task and quality control mechanisms representation in crowdsourcing systems. The ontology is built to provide reasoning about tasks and quality control mechanisms to improve tasks and quality management in crowdsourcing. The ontology is formalized in OWL (Web Ontology Language) and implemented using Protégé. The developed ontology consists of 19 classes, 7 object properties, and 32 data properties. The development methodology of the ontology involves three phases including Specification (identifying scope, purpose and competency questions), Conceptualization (data dictionary, UML, and instance creation), and finally Implementation and Evaluation

Leveraging IoT to Address Separation Anxiety in Preschoolers: A Techno-Psychological Approach

Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent psychological disorder among preschoolers, characterized by excessive fear or anxiety related to separation from a primary attachment figure. The COVID-19 pandemic likely exacerbated the problem due to the transition to online schooling. While some attention has been given to treating SAD, most current solutions are non-technical and based on behavior analytic research which can be costly and time-consuming. Mediated social touch, which uses technology to simulate physical touch and deliver it remotely, has been extensively studied for its potential to promote wellbeing, enhance social connectedness, and improve affective experiences in various contexts. However, no research has focused on the use of such technology to manage SAD in preschoolers. To address this gap, this work presents the design, development, and evaluation of a novel mediated social touch system aimed at managing separation anxiety in preschoolers. Specifically, the study investigates the effectiveness of using IoT in huggable interfaces and game-based applications in improving children’s emotional state and adaptation to the kindergarten environment. Through experiments conducted on a sample of nearly 30 preschoolers, the results have shown that the system is effective in helping preschoolers adapt to kindergarten, with the best results achieved when using the huggable interface and the developed game together. The implications of this study may be beneficial to parents, educators, and mental health professionals who work with preschoolers who experience SAD

An Interactive Augmented and Virtual Reality System for Managing Dental Anxiety among Young Patients: A Pilot Study

Dental anxiety is a common health problem among children. It creates major issues for patients, parents, and dental professionals. Children who cancel or otherwise miss their dental appointments generally do so due to fear of the unknown and lack of understanding of what they can expect from the environment and treatment when they arrive there. Some distraction interventions are already used by dental professionals, such as using clown doctors, watching cartoons, and utilizing the tell–show–do (TSD) technique. Still, the problem is common, and the fail to attend (FTA) rates at clinics are high. Familiarizing children with the dental setting and procedures in advance may help to manage their anxiety. This paper aims to help in managing children’s dental anxiety in a simple, attractive, and age-appropriate way through the use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. The developed system is named “Dr. Barea”. It targets Arabic-speaking children aged from 7 to 10 years old. It uses model–view–control (MVC) as its architectural design pattern. The proposed solution consists of three main sections: a 360° VR video that simulates a dental clinic environment, an educational description on dental tools using AR technology, and interactive educational stories that educate children about dental hygiene. The system performance was evaluated using unit, integration, performance, and user acceptance testing. The results demonstrate that the proposed solution, which performed reasonably, achieved the usability requirements and was engaging for learning information about dental hygiene. A feasibility study with 16 children was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed system. The Child Fear Survey Schedule—Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) was used to measure children’s dental anxiety level. The T test was used to evaluate the differences between groups, and Fisher’s exact test was used to compare the distributions of gender and age between the groups. The CFSS-DS index in the VR group decreased after dental consultation (35.04 ± 9.14 before consultation and 32.32 ± 8.32 after consultation, p = 0.041). The implications of this study shall be beneficial to patients, parents, and dental professionals