Towards the right assistance at the right time for using complex interfaces

Many users struggle when they have to use complex interfaces to complete everyday computing tasks. Offering intelligent, proactive assistance is becoming commonplace yet determining the right time to provide help is still difficult. We conducted an empirical study that aimed to uncover what user factors influenced following advice. Our results describe a user's background and expectations that appear to play a role in heeding assistance. Our work is a step towards understanding how to provide the right assistance at the right time and build proactive assistance systems that are personalized for individual users

Feedback Authoring for Exploratory Activities: The Case of a Logo-Based 3D Microworld

This paper presents AuthELO an authoring environment that can be used for the configuration of logging and authoring of automated feedback for exploratory learning objects (ELOs). ELOs are web components (widgets) that can be integrated with learning platforms to synthesise highly interactive learning environments. AuthELO has been developed in the context of the MCSquared project that is developing a platform for authoring interactive educational e-books. This platform comprises an extendable set of diverse widgets that can be used to generate instances of exploratory activities that can be employed in various learning scenarios. AuthELO was designed and developed to provide a simple, common and efficient authoring interface that can normalise the diversity of these widgets and give the ability to non-experts to easily develop or customise the feedback that is provided to students using a data-driven approach. In this paper we describe the architecture and design characteristics of AuthELO and a small-scale evaluation with activities in a logo-based 3D microworld called Malt+. We reflect on both the challenges of the authoring process and the pedagogical potential of the feedback when these activities are used by students

External validity of the well-being related to food questionnaire (Well-Bfq©): variations according to the subjects' nutritional status

International audienceObjectives To document the external validation of the Well-Being related to Food Questionnaire (Well-BFQ) by studying variations of scores according to subjects’ nutritional status. The Well-BFQ was developed after conducting interviews with healthy subjects and subjects with digestive, joint or immunity complaints. Its structure was determined using principal component analyses and confirmed using factor analyses with multi-trait analyses. Methods The Well-BFQ has a modular backbone with sub-dimensions measuring pleasure, security, relaxation, digestion and satiety, energy and psychology, health (ageing, bowel movement, immunity and mobility) and food behaviour. Each sub-dimension is rated from 0 to 100; distributions were compared according to the nutritional status of the subjects using variance analyses. Nutritional status was evaluated according to the PNNS questionnaire (French National Health Nutritional Program). Results Subjects (N=444) were aged 42±15 years and 71.6% women; 18.1% had a balanced diet (BD), 14.7% a non-balanced diet (NBD) and 67.1% a standard diet (SD). The majority of the dimensions assessed with the Well-BFQ were significantly higher (i.e. better food-related well-being) in subjects with a BD than in those with a NBD; even the dimensions assessing commensality (eating as a group) and behavioural attitudes toward buying and cooking food. In particular, the security dimension was rated 67.9±19.5 in BD compared with 56.9±25.2 in NBD and 61.1±21.3 in SD (pConclusions This study contributes to the external validity of Well-BFQ by demonstrating the expected positive correlation of the well-being it measures and the quality of the diet of the subjects. Its ability to measure well-being differences according eating habits makes it a promising tool for epidemiological surveys and experimental trials

How french subjects describe well-being from food and eating habits? Development, and scoring definition of the well-being related to food questionnaire (Well-Bfq)

International audienceObjectives To develop and validate an instrument assessing well-being associated with food and eating habits in a general healthy population, suitable for future food allegation support. Providing well-being and maintaining good health are two main objectives subjects seek from their diet. To date validated questionnaires measuring well-being in the specific context of food in general population do not exist. Methods Thorough standardized methodology was followed. Qualitative data from 24 discussion groups conducted with healthy subjects (n=102) and subjects with digestive, joint or immunity complaints (n=96) served to develop the core of the Well-Being related to Food Questionnaire (Well-BFQ). Preliminary validation was conducted with 444 subjects with balanced diet (n=81), non-balanced diet (n=65), or standard diet (n=298). Principal component analyses (PCA) and exploratory factor analyses were performed sequentially to reduce the number of items and determine the questionnaire structure. Confirmatory factor analyses with multi-trait analyses were carried out to confirm its structure. Results The validated structure of the Well-BFQ has a modular backbone composed of “Grocery shopping”, “Cooking”, “Dining places”, “Commensality”, “Eating and drinking” and “Eating habits and health”. Each module is measured in terms of food behaviour and benefits: immediate, (Pleasure, Security, and Relaxation); direct and short term (Digestion and Satiety, Energy and Psychology); deferred (Metabolism, Mood and energy, Ageing, Bowel movement, Immunity and Mobility). PCA defined 33 interpretable subscales and 15 single items. Internal consistency reliability of dimensions was very good (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.75-0.95). Item convergent validity and divergent validity were moderate to excellent. Conclusions The Well-BFQ is unique to assess the full picture of well-being related to food and eating habits in terms of immediate, direct and short and deferred benefits in general population. Its modular structure allows interdisciplinary users to address their specific research (including experimental, cross-cultural comparison studies) needs by selecting the module(s) relevant to their objectives

Table_1_Neural correlates of subjective cognitive decline in adults at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease.DOCX

IntroductionRecently, interest has emerged in subjective cognitive decline (SCD) as a potential precursor to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia. Whether individuals with SCD harbor brain alterations in midlife, when AD-related pathology begins, is yet to be elucidated. Furthermore, the role of apolipoprotein ε4 (APOE ε4) allele, a robust AD risk factor, in the relationship between SCD and brain alterations is unknown. We examined whether APOE genotype modulates the association of SCD with brain measures in individuals at high AD risk.MethodsMiddle-aged adults with parental history of AD dementia underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the Memory Functioning Questionnaire. Regression analysis tested the extent to which SCD was associated with activation during an functional MRI (fMRI) working-memory task, and white-matter microstructure. APOE ε4 genotype was tested as a moderator.ResultsAmong APOE ε4 carriers, but not among non-carriers, SCD was associated with higher activation in the anterior cingulate (p = 0.003), inferior, middle, and superior frontal cortices (p = 0.041, p = 0.048, p = 0.037, respectively); and with lower fractional anisotropy in the uncinate fasciculus (p = 0.002), adjusting for age, sex, and education.ConclusionIn middle aged, cognitively normal individuals at high AD risk, higher SCD was associated with greater brain alterations possibly reflecting incipient AD pathology. When accompanied by a family history of AD and an APOE ε4 allele, SCD may have important clinical value, allowing a window for early intervention and for participants’ stratification in AD prevention clinical trials.</p

Motivating Students to Enhance Their Knowledge Levels Through Personalized and Scrutable Visual Narratives

Continuous learning and development have been shown to be directly impacted by poor engagement. With the issue of poor engagement of learners with their course content when using Online Learning Environments (OLEs) still at large, this research aims to analyze the influence that visual narratives could have on encouraging students to study and improve their knowledge levels, and thereby support their continuous learning and development. Interactive and explorable visualizations have been commonly used in OLEs to support students’ continuous learning, development and engagement by highlighting their coverage of course content, presenting the tasks completed and their performance, displaying the students learning model and showing peer comparisons. However, personalized visual narratives that present student knowledge levels which can be scrutinized and challenged have not been used in OLEs to date. The research discussed in this paper shows how personalized and scrutable visual narratives encouraged students, enrolled into an adaptive OLE as part of their undergraduate degree program, to study their course content and subsequently improve their knowledge levels