Attention, An Interactive Display Is Running! Integrating Interactive Public Display Within Urban Dis(At)tractors

Display or interaction blindness is a known problem for interactive public displays where passers-by simply ignore or pay little attention to them. While previous research created interventions that tried to address this problem or reported on differences between experiences in the lab and in the real world, little attention has been given to examining different attractors surrounding the interactive public display, i.e., people, artifacts, and stimuli that compete for people’s attention in the urban settings and distract them from interacting with public displays. This paper reports on a systematic examination of attractors around a case study of an interactive urban display in London. We outline the initial spatial exploration with the aim to identify suitable locations for the placement of the interactive public display within the urban setting, followed by a two-hour observation of attractors and stimuli around the urban display. We highlight the main attractors that compete for people’s attention and distract them from potentially interacting with the public display. We also note our attempt to reflect the environment and integrate the public display within its setting

An “in the wild” longitudinal cross-site study of networked public displays user communities through situated snapshots

Networked public displays are a new medium, and as such they can improve the quality and experience of urban spaces by providing new means to engage members of place-based communities. As they are located in different public spaces understanding commonalities and differences between their user communities helps in building a solid foundation for knowledge on how networked public displays operate. In this paper we describe findings from a 12 weeks deployment of the Moment Machine application that allows posting and viewing situated snapshots across 4 displays placed in urban settings of the Screens in the Wild Network. We describe similarities/differences between the four user communities in terms of the photos taken, returning users behavior, interaction session properties etc. Overall, our findings contribute to the buildup of knowledge on general engagement patterns of networked public displays’ user communities. We also suggest that situated snapshots and their analysis as described in this paper can be used as a research tool and methodology for capturing and uncovering the part of a place-based community interested in interacting with public displays

A Climatological and Synoptic Analysis of Winter Cold Spells over the Balkan Peninsula

An extensive climatological and synoptic analysis of the winter cold spells that occurred in the Balkan Peninsula over a 59-year study period (1961–2019) is the aim of the present study. Winter cold spells (WCSPs hereafter) are defined as periods of at least three consecutive days when the daily minimum temperature is below the 5% of the empirical winter distributions. This diagnostic index is used to detect the occurrence of cold events during the study period, while the duration, frequency, and intensity of these extreme climate events are further analyzed. Moreover, in order to investigate the relation of the WCSPs with the atmospheric circulation, two daily circulation type calendars, derived from an advanced automatic flexible classification, were utilized. The automatic daily circulation type calendars were used, aiming at identifying the atmospheric conditions that prevail before or during WCSPs. The climatological analysis showed that the spatial distribution of the extreme minimum temperatures in the Balkan Peninsula presents a positive gradient from north to south, whereas coastal areas present more moderate minimum temperatures than inland areas of the region. In terms of WCSPs, the winter of 1962–1963 was the one with the longest WCSPs, for most of the stations under study. In general, a decreasing trend in the frequency of WCSP occurrence has been found towards the end of the study period. The circulation type investigation revealed that, during WCSPs in the Balkan region, the associated circulation at the 500 hPa is the Cne (cyclonic northeastern) and at the 1000 hPa is the Anw (anticyclonic northwest)

Networked architectural interfaces: exploring the effect of spatial configuration on urban screen placement

This paper explores the placement of an exemplar digitally connected urban screen, installed in the real world. It describes on-going work of implementation and evaluation of networked interactive screens in Urban Space. Our approach is inherently cross-disciplinary bringing together methods from Architecture, and Interaction Design to integrate placement, local interactivity and distributed connectivity of four screen nodes connecting Nottingham with London. In this paper, we focus on one of our sites in London. Our analysis draws upon the spatial methods used to detect target positions for the screen placement. It is motivated by the assumption that visual and spatial configurations might raise potentials for human interaction with digital screens. We then reflect on how actual pedestrian activity measured by systematic observation techniques corresponds to the spatial measures and may support our assumptions before and after the screen implementation. The methodological tasks were designed to understand how spatial and visual properties of the targeted layouts correspond to the social usability, co-presence and movement activity. This understanding would enable a more sensible judgment over what makes the ideal location for a touch screen in the urban setting. We suggest that the properties of the spatial configuration may play an important role in influencing the nature of the interactions with the screens. However, we highlight in particular the dynamic and interconnected nature of this mediation, defined through the spatial layout, people, type of social activities, and time of the day

Capture the Moment: “In the Wild” Longitudinal Case Study of Situated Snapshots Captured Through an Urban Screen in a Community Setting

Urban screens are becoming a common element of our city landscape. As such they offer new ways of connecting people that occupy public space, e.g., by taking situated snapshots through a display-attached camera. In this paper we present a first longitudinal case study of 12 weeks of such an application – Moment Machine – deployed “in the wild” on an urban screen facing the street. We report findings from 1189 photos taken, 13 interviews, and 3 weeks of observations that show engagement stimulated by situated snapshots within a place-based community where the screen is located. We also analyze interaction log files to describe how often users interacted, what type of interactions they had and how long they lasted, and overall engagement on a weekly basis and throughout the week. Based on our experience, we provide three take-away snippets for designers of similar urban screen experiences

Body-Size Misperception among Overweight Children and Adolescents in Greece: A Cross-Sectional Study

Childhood obesity can affect both physical and mental health. Body-size misperception may lead to a lack of motivation to make healthy changes or to engage in unhealthy weight loss behaviors, increasing the possibility for obese children to become obese adults. To estimate the frequency of body-size misperception among children and adolescents, we conducted a cross-sectional study within another study on eating disorders in youth in Greece (National Institute of Educational Policy, act no. 04/2018). Between January and December 2019, two trained assistants visited 83 primary and secondary schools of the Region of Western Greece and interviewed 3504 children aged 10–16 years (CL 99%) and performed anthropometric measurements. Among the 3504 surveyed children, 1097 were overweight, including 424 obese, and 51 were underweight. The “perceived” BMI was not computed in 875 children (25%), who did not state their weight or height and were classified as non-responders. Weight bias was inversely related to BMI, the obese and overweight non-obese children underestimated their weight, while the underweight children overestimated it. Conversely, height bias was positively related to BMI bias. BMI bias was not related to sex, age, parental education, or place of residence. In conclusion, our study lends robust support to the existing evidence on unrealistic body images among overweight children and adolescents. Prompt recognition of such misperceptions may help in increasing motivation towards healthier eating habits, systematic physical activity, and weight-control interventions

Considering communities, diversity and the production of locality in the design of networked urban screens

Highly diverse settings such as London (with people from ~179 countries speaking ~300 languages) are unique in that ethnic or socio-cultural backgrounds are no longer sufficient to generate a sense of place, belonging and community. Instead, residents actively perform place building activities on an ongoing basis, which we believe is of great importance when deploying interactive situated technologies in public spaces. This paper investigates community and place building within a complex multicultural context. We approached this using ethnography, complemented with workshops in the wild. By studying the relationships arising between different segments of the community and two networked screen nodes, we examine the place building activities of residents, and how screen nodes are incorporated into them. Our research suggests that urban screens will be framed (and eventually used) as part of this continuing process of social, spatial and cultural construction. This highlights the importance of enabling socially meaningful relations between the people mediated by these technologies