35 research outputs found
Finally a Case for Collaborative VR?: The Need to Design for Remote Multi-Party Conversations
Amid current social distancing measures requiring people to work from home,
there has been renewed interest on how to effectively converse and collaborate
remotely utilizing currently available technologies. On the surface, VR
provides a perfect platform for effective remote communication. It can transfer
contextual and environmental cues and facilitate a shared perspective while
also allowing people to be virtually co-located. Yet we argue that currently VR
is not adequately designed for such a communicative purpose. In this paper, we
outline three key barriers to using VR for conversational activity : (1)
variability of social immersion, (2) unclear user roles, and (3) the need for
effective shared visual reference. Based on this outline, key design topics are
discussed through a user experience design perspective for considerations in a
future collaborative design framework
Mental Workload and Language Production in Non-Native Speaker IPA Interaction
Through proliferation on smartphones and smart speakers, intel- ligent personal assistants (IPAs) have made speech a common in- teraction modality. Yet, due to linguistic coverage and varying lev- els of functionality, many speakers engage with IPAs using a non- native language. This may impact the mental workload and pat- tern of language production displayed by non-native speakers. We present a mixed-design experiment, wherein native (L1) and non- native (L2) English speakers completed tasks with IPAs through smartphones and smart speakers. We found significantly higher mental workload for L2 speakers during IPA interactions. Contrary to our hypotheses, we found no significant differences between L1 and L2 speakers in terms of number of turns, lexical complexity, diversity, or lexical adaptation when encountering errors. These findings are discussed in relation to language production and pro- cessing load increases for L2 speakers in IPA interaction
See What I’m Saying? Comparing Intelligent Personal Assistant Use for Native and Non-Native Language Speakers
Limited linguistic coverage for Intelligent Personal Assistants (IPAs) means that many interact in a non-native language. Yet we know little about how IPAs currently support or hinder these users. Through native (L1) and non-native (L2) English speakers interacting with Google Assistant on a smartphone and smart speaker, we aim to understand this more deeply. Interviews revealed that L2 speakers prioritised utterance planning around perceived linguistic limitations, as opposed to L1 speakers prioritising succinctness because of system limitations. L2 speakers see IPAs as insensitive to linguistic needs resulting in failed interaction. L2 speakers clearly preferred using smartphones, as visual feedback supported diagnoses of communication breakdowns whilst allowing time to process query results. Conversely, L1 speakers preferred smart speakers, with audio feedback being seen as sufficient. We discuss the need to tailor the IPA experience for L2 users, emphasising visual feedback whilst reducing the burden of language production
The Partner Modelling Questionnaire: A validated self-report measure of perceptions toward machines as dialogue partners
Recent work has looked to understand user perceptions of speech agent
capabilities as dialogue partners (termed partner models), and how this affects
user interaction. Yet, currently partner model effects are inferred from
language production as no metrics are available to quantify these subjective
perceptions more directly. Through three studies, we develop and validate the
Partner Modelling Questionnaire (PMQ): an 18-item self-report semantic
differential scale designed to reliably measure people's partner models of
non-embodied speech interfaces. Through principal component analysis and
confirmatory factor analysis, we show that the PMQ scale consists of three
factors: communicative competence and dependability, human-likeness in
communication, and communicative flexibility. Our studies show that the measure
consistently demonstrates good internal reliability, strong test-retest
reliability over 12 and 4-week intervals, and predictable convergent/divergent
validity. Based on our findings we discuss the multidimensional nature of
partner models, whilst identifying key future research avenues that the
development of the PMQ facilitates. Notably, this includes the need to identify
the activation, sensitivity, and dynamism of partner models in speech interface
interaction.Comment: Submitted (TOCHI
Identity change and the human dissection experience over the first year of medical training
The aim of this study is to explore identity change in medical students over their first year of medical training, particularly in relation to their experience of human dissection. Each of our four participants completed two repertory grids at the end of term one and, again, towards the end of term three. One grid tapped their identity construction, and the other, their experience of human dissection. Our participants were optimistic about becoming similar to a doctor they admired and, towards the end of term three, began to develop a stable identity as a medical student. Their identity constructs involved three common themes: dedication, competence, and responsibility. However, the data also revealed negative reactions to the demands of training, such as feeling driven and stressed. Three major themes were apparent in their experience of human dissection: involvement, emotional coping, and ability. Our participants’ dedication to their studies was reflected in their appreciation of the need to become involved actively in the process of dissection but some experienced an erosion of their self-confidence and perceived some of their colleagues to have lost much of their enthusiasm for learning. Emotional coping could be an additional challenge within this context and their reaction tended to reflect distancing processes previously identified in the literature. In all, we see a development of a vulnerable sense of professionalism alongside a frustration of losing out potentially on wider aspects of personal development due to the high work demands
The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe
The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the
dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for
life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront
of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early
evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The
Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed
plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE
is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity
neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream
of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed
as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research
Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in
Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at
Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino
charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet
cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can
accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional
combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and
potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility
for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around
the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program
of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of
LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics
worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will
possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for
LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a
comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the
landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate
and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure
Associations between depressive symptoms and disease progression in older patients with chronic kidney disease: results of the EQUAL study
Background Depressive symptoms are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with end-stage kidney disease; however, few small studies have examined this association in patients with earlier phases of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We studied associations between baseline depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes in older patients with advanced CKD and examined whether these associations differed depending on sex. Methods CKD patients (>= 65 years; estimated glomerular filtration rate <= 20 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) were included from a European multicentre prospective cohort between 2012 and 2019. Depressive symptoms were measured by the five-item Mental Health Inventory (cut-off <= 70; 0-100 scale). Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to study associations between depressive symptoms and time to dialysis initiation, all-cause mortality and these outcomes combined. A joint model was used to study the association between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time. Analyses were adjusted for potential baseline confounders. Results Overall kidney function decline in 1326 patients was -0.12 mL/min/1.73 m(2)/month. A total of 515 patients showed depressive symptoms. No significant association was found between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time (P = 0.08). Unlike women, men with depressive symptoms had an increased mortality rate compared with those without symptoms [adjusted hazard ratio 1.41 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.93)]. Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with a higher hazard of dialysis initiation, or with the combined outcome (i.e. dialysis initiation and all-cause mortality). Conclusions There was no significant association between depressive symptoms at baseline and decline in kidney function over time in older patients with advanced CKD. Depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with a higher mortality rate in men
Report from the Annual Conference of the British Society of Echocardiography, November 2017, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh
No abstract available