Definition of requirements for accessing multilingual information opinions

International audienceIn this paper, we will present a study concerning the understanding of the needs of people using Internet in order to access to multilingual information. In fact, in the framework of AMIS (Accessing Multilingual Information and opinionS), a Chist-Era project, we propose to develop a system which will help to understand the main idea of a video in a foreign language. In order to design a useful system, a survey allowing to specify the profile of potential users of AMIS has been conducted. The study concerned 170 people from different countries: Poland, Spain and France. The sample is composed of people of different ages and different culture and languages.The results, in terms of requirements, achieved from this study show differences depending on how often the people watch the news on TV or review them on the Internet, and on the age of the target group. These concrete results help us in several decisions concerning how to build a realistic architecture of AMIS

An iPad-Based Tool for Improving the Skills of Children with Attention Deficit Disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), with a worldwide prevalence of 5.29%–7.1%, is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders among children and adolescents. Apart from typical symptoms like inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness, patients also evidence attention deficit problems with reading comprehension. This in turn causes poor school performance and widens the gap with peers without ADHD. This paper presents a novel and interactive tool based on Serious Games for Health, whose aim is not only to improve comprehension, but also hold the user’s attention. This tool is geared towards assessing reading quality and is intended for iPad devices. Preliminary results obtained from the experiment performed to evaluate the game are included in this report. A group of six typically developing children from Colegio Vizcaya aged between 8 and 12 took part in the evaluation of motivation, satisfaction and usability of the same therapy in the new media. Results obtained by participants playing the game were analysed together with questionnaires concerning the usability of the system. Game evaluation resulted in relatively good statistics-average score was 3 points out of 4 and average time for completing the exercise was 59 seconds. A SUS questionnaire with an average score of 92.75 out of 100 indicates that the game presented is user-friendly and an effective tool. Moreover, based on the feedback obtained from participants, the game had been improved and additional functionality introduced. Older participants completed the first game faster than the younger ones, but age was not influential in subsequent games

Systematic Review of Nutritional Recommendation Systems

In recent years, the promotion of healthy habits, and especially diet-oriented habits, has been one of the priority interests of our society. There are many apps created to count calories based on what we eat, or to estimate calorie consumption according to the sport we do, or to recommend recipes, but very few are capable of giving personalized recommendations. This review tries to see what studies exist and what recommendation systems are used for this purpose, over the last 5 years in the main databases. Among the results obtained, it is observed that the existing works focus on the recommendation system (usually collaborative filtering), and not so much on the description of the data or the sample analyzed; the indices used for the calculation of calories or nutrients are not specified. Therefore, it is necessary to work with open data, or well-described data, which allows the experience to be reproduced by third parties, or at least to be comparable. In recent years, the promotion of healthy habits, and especially diet-oriented habits, has been one of the priority interests of our society

A Telemonitoring Tool based on Serious Games Addressing Money Management Skills for People with Intellectual Disability

This article presents a telemonitoring tool based on computer games, aimed at money management skill improvement for people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID). The presented tool is divided into two parts: on one hand, some training activities related to payments and currency discrimination based on Serious Games are proposed to the user using a multitouch device. On the other hand, the psychologists and specialist who work with them, can access to the Serious Games results using an online application in order to evaluate their evolution. The results are measured according to the number of errors they have during the proposed activities, the time they need to complete them and the score. The article show the results of an experiment made with a clinical sample of 12 users with ID between 12 and 15 years, taking into account that all of them are capable of correct oral communication and they do not have severe physical coordination problems. Only two users completed all the games without errors. Males obtained a mean of 28.25 errors, whereas females obtained a mean of 17.75. The results show significant difference between the selection of games 1, 2 or 3, because all of them prefer the game 1 related with “Payments” probably because it permits more interaction using the multitouch device. The authors also made a qualitative evaluation and the results have been very promising and satisfactory

Eye/Head Tracking Technology to Improve HCI with iPad Applications

In order to improve human computer interaction (HCI) for people with special needs, this paper presents an alternative form of interaction, which uses the iPad’s front camera and eye/head tracking technology. With this functional nature/capability operating in the background, the user can control already developed or new applications for the iPad by moving their eyes and/or head. There are many techniques, which are currently used to detect facial features, such as eyes or even the face itself. Open source bookstores exist for such purpose, such as OpenCV, which enable very reliable and accurate detection algorithms to be applied, such as Haar Cascade using very high-level programming. All processing is undertaken in real time, and it is therefore important to pay close attention to the use of limited resources (processing capacity) of devices, such as the iPad. The system was validated in tests involving 22 users of different ages and characteristics (people with dark and light-colored eyes and with/without glasses). These tests are performed to assess user/device interaction and to ascertain whether it works properly. The system obtained an accuracy of between 60% and 100% in the three test exercises taken into consideration. The results showed that the Haar Cascade had a significant effect by detecting faces in 100% of cases, unlike eyes and the pupil where interference (light and shade) evidenced less effectiveness. In addition to ascertaining the effectiveness of the system via these exercises, the demo application has also helped to show that user constraints need not affect the enjoyment and use of a particular type of technology. In short, the results obtained are encouraging and these systems may continue to be developed if extended and updated in the future

Recommendation Systems for Education: Systematic Review

Recommendation systems have emerged as a response to overload in terms of increased amounts of information online, which has become a problem for users regarding the time spent on their search and the amount of information retrieved by it. In the field of recommendation systems in education, the relevance of recommended educational resources will improve the student’s learning process, and hence the importance of being able to suitably and reliably ensure relevant, useful information. The purpose of this systematic review is to analyze the work undertaken on recommendation systems that support educational practices with a view to acquiring information related to the type of education and areas dealt with, the developmental approach used, and the elements recommended, as well as being able to detect any gaps in this area for future research work. A systematic review was carried out that included 98 articles from a total of 2937 found in main databases (IEEE, ACM, Scopus and WoS), about which it was able to be established that most are geared towards recommending educational resources for users of formal education, in which the main approaches used in recommendation systems are the collaborative approach, the content-based approach, and the hybrid approach, with a tendency to use machine learning in the last two years. Finally, possible future areas of research and development in this field are presented

Gait Analysis Methods: An Overview of Wearable and Non-Wearable Systems, Highlighting Clinical Applications

This article presents a review of the methods used in recognition and analysis of the human gait from three different approaches: image processing, floor sensors and sensors placed on the body. Progress in new technologies has led the development of a series of devices and techniques which allow for objective evaluation, making measurements more efficient and effective and providing specialists with reliable information. Firstly, an introduction of the key gait parameters and semi-subjective methods is presented. Secondly, technologies and studies on the different objective methods are reviewed. Finally, based on the latest research, the characteristics of each method are discussed. 40% of the reviewed articles published in late 2012 and 2013 were related to non-wearable systems, 37.5% presented inertial sensor-based systems, and the remaining 22.5% corresponded to other wearable systems. An increasing number of research works demonstrate that various parameters such as precision, conformability, usability or transportability have indicated that the portable systems based on body sensors are promising methods for gait analysis