| Editorial Preface | | BIB | PDF | 5-6 | |
| Luciano Gamberini; Anna Spagnolli; Giuseppe Riva | |||
| Navigating Information Space: Web site design and lessons from the built environment | | BIBAK | PDF | 7-24 | |
| David Benyon | |||
| The Web is the archetypal information space but even on a well designed site
it can be difficult to find all the information you need. It is impossible to
design a site so that all the information needs of all the users of the site
are satisfied on a single screen. Accordingly people have to pick up
information from a variety of sources; they move through the information space
to gather all the information that is required. This is generally called
'navigation'. Navigation is concerned with finding out about, and moving
through, an environment. Of course there is a long history of designing for
navigation in physical spaces. Architects, urban planners, geographers and
others have studied navigation and learnt how to design physical spaces to help
people find the place they are looking for, to enjoy exploration for its own
sake, or to help find their way through a space to get somewhere else. The
question arises as to whether we can leverage any of this knowledge for the
design of information spaces such as Web sites. In this paper we review a
variety of views on navigation of physical space to see how this knowledge
might transfer to the design of information spaces. The example of using Gordon
Cullen's serial vision theory to design a Web site map is used to show the
transfer of knowledge from the design of urban space to the design of digital
space. Guidelines for good Web site design and examples of how social
navigation can be used within Web sites are provided. Keywords: Navigation, information space, urban planning, built environments,
environmental psychology, Web site design | |||
| Stereotypes and Gender Identity in Italian and Chilean Chat Line Rooms | | BIBAK | PDF | 25-52 | |
| Francesca Cilento Ibarra; Carlo Galimberti | |||
| This work is an attempt to analyzed how men and women communicate gender
identity using stereotypical traits in a chat line environment, through
quantitative and qualitative data. In the Study 1 (Coding & Counting Approach,
Herring, 2004), the 80 same-sex conversation (40 men and 40 women; 40 Italian
and 40 Chilean), reached in public chatrooms, were analyzed utilizing some
categories of Project H-Codebook and the X{sup:2}. Categories considered were:
Firstper, Opinion, Apology, Question, Emoticon, Emodevice, Coalition_1,
Coalition_2, Fact, Action, Challenge, Flame, Status, Style. Results show no
significant differences between women and men in the use of these categories,
except for Flame (p<0.001). In Study 2 we adopt the method of Conversational
Analysis to the study of conversational dynamics through which chatters
co-construct their identity. Qualitative results have underlined the presence
of specific gender related mechanism, and so the possibility to understand the
construction of online subjectivity through relationships. Our results or
suggest the opportunity to investigate communicative style both through
quantitative and qualitative differences. Keywords: Identity, CMC, Gender, Conversational Analysis, Language Style | |||
| Social Network Analysis: A brief theoretical review and further perspectives in the study of Information Technology | | BIBAK | PDF | 53-86 | |
| Francesco Martino; Andrea Spoto | |||
| Social Network Analysis is a widely used approach in psychology, as in
social science, economics and other fields. The peculiarity of this perspective
is that it focuses not on individuals or other social units, but on the
relationship between them. In this paper, our aim is to give a general review
of this perspective giving a description of resources and principal topics
covered by Social Network Analysis. In the first section, we will concentrate
on methodological and formal perspectives of analysis. In the last section, we
will introduce some recent studies about Social Network and its relationship
with Information Technologies, in particular on the Internet. Lastly, we will
show how this approach can be useful to study some aspects of the web. Keywords: blogosphere, social network indexes, social quantitative indexes,
hyperlinking networks, roles algebra, Computer Mediated Communication | |||
| Radiology Informatics and Work Flow Redesign | | BIBAK | PDF | 87-101 | |
| Guido Vaccari; Carlo Saccavini | |||
| The transformation from film-based to filmless operations has become more
and more challenging as medical imaging studies expand in size and complexity.
To adapt to these changes radiologists must actively develop new workflow
strategies to deal with increasing work demand. This article addresses the
evolutionary changes underway in the radiology interpretation process, reviews
shifts that have occurred in the past years and presents our departments
experience with an open source radiological information system based on IHE
(Integrating Healthcare Enterprise) directives. These undergoing changes
include a number of development in soft-copy interpretation, electronic
decision support and learning tools such as MIRC (Medical Imaging Resource
Center). Keywords: radiology informatics, radiological workflow, human computer interaction,
PACS, RIS, MIRC | |||
| The PASION Project: Psychologically Augmented Social Interaction Over Networks | | BIBAK | PDF | 103-116 | |
| Maria Cristina Brugnoli; Federico Morabito; Richard Walker; Fabrizio Davide | |||
| Ever more frequently, social and particularly group interactions, involve
mediated communication. Yet we know very little about the factors determining
the effectiveness of the interaction. How do participants in mediated
communication substitute the implicit, and non verbal signals which play such
an important role in traditional, face to face communication? What are the
equivalent signals in a mediated environment? The mechanisms involved in
traditional communication are well-known. By contrast, very little is known
about the forms of mediated communication. For instance, we do not know the
role of implicit and non-verbal communication when the communication takes
place in a mediated environment. PASION's working hypothesis is that in
mediated environments these messages will take completely new forms and that
these forms are due to group interactions in technology-mediated environments.
As current communication technologies are ineffective in conveying the social,
non-verbal and contextual information required for effective communication,
PASION will deliver an innovative shared virtual environment where a pioneering
mediated social communication will take place. Keywords: social presence, mediated social interaction, shared virtual environments,
non-verbal and contextual information. | |||
| Emerging Trends in CyberTherapy. Introduction to the Special Issue | | BIBAK | PDF | 121-128 | |
| Giuseppe Riva; Brenda K. Wiederhold | |||
| According to the recent reports presented by IST Advisory Group (ISTAG) the
evolutionary technology scenarios in support of the Knowledge Society of the
2010s will be rooted within three dominant trends: (a) Ambient Intelligence,
the pervasive diffusion of intelligence in the space around us; (b) B3G,
"Beyond 3rd Generation" mobile communication system; (c) Shared Virtual
Reality, with the increase of the range, accessibility and comprehensiveness of
communications.
The convergence of these trends manifests itself as the next frontier of Information Communication Technologies. This convergence stimulates a change in the way health care is carried out making it an embodied experiential process in which communication and collaboration of geographically dispersed users may also play a key role. In this special issue we will try to outline this process and its potential for the future of cybertherapy. We suggest that a key role will be played by the attainment of "Immersive Virtual Telepresence" (IVT). In IVT tools, distributed virtual reality systems are combined with wireless multimedia facilities -- real-time video -- and innovative input devices -- tracking sensors, biosensors, brain-computer interfaces. Keywords: Cybertherapy, Ambient Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Mobile Communication,
Biosensors | |||
| Using a Flexible Virtual Environment for Treating a Storm Phobia | | BIBAK | PDF | 129-144 | |
| Cristina Botella; Rosa M. Baños; Belén Guerrero; Azucena García-Palacios; Soledad Quero; Mariano Alcañíz | |||
| Most of the Virtual Environments (VE) currently available in the field of
psychological treatments are designed to solve a specific problem (acrophobia,
flying phobia, claustrophobia, etc.). Our research group has developed a
versatile Virtual Reality (VR) system (an adaptive display) that could be
useful for different problems. In previous studies, a VR application called
"EMMA's world" was developed for the treatment of PTSD and pathological grief.
The aim of the present work is to show the utility of this system for the
treatment of a storm phobia. The patient was a 70 year-old woman, who was not
familiar at all with computer technologies. As the patient was not able to
confront even a virtual storm, the treatment was applied in two phases: In vivo
exposure (exploding balloons), and exposure to VE simulating storms, rain,
thunders and lightings. Results showed changes in the expected direction and
were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Keywords: virtual reality exposure, adaptive display, psychological treatment,
specific phobia | |||
| The Application of a Sensory Integration Treatment Based on Virtual Reality-Tangible Interaction for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder | | BIBAK | PDF | 145-159 | |
| Ko-Eun Jung; Hyun-Jhin Lee; Young-Sik Lee; Seong-Shim Cheong; Min-Young Choi; Dong-Soo Suh; Dongsoo Suh; Shezeen Oah; Sookhee Lee; Jang-Han Lee | |||
| Children with autistic spectrum disorders have difficulties integrating
motor and sensory experiences. It is important to address therapeutic
interventions for these children. However, there are some limitations of the
sensory integration therapy and the application of virtual reality for autistic
children. SIT based on VR-TIS (VR-SIT) has three components: measurement of
coordination ability, social skills training, sensory integration therapy.
These components all originated from sensory integration therapy. A total of 12
autistic children and 20 healthy controls, all aged between five and six years,
participated in this study. There are significant differences in autistic
children and healthy controls for coordination ability measurement and social
skill training. We found that it is possible to apply our system to the
assessment of, and the therapy for, autistic children. Keywords: Autism, Virtual reality, Sensory integration, Virtual reality tangible
interaction | |||
| The development of an integrated psychosocial approach to effective usability of 3D Virtual Environments for Cybertherapy | | BIBAK | PDF | 161-180 | |
| Carlo Galimberti; Gloria Belloni; Matteo Cantamesse; Alberto Cattaneo; Fabiana Gatti; Maddalena Grassi; Luca Menti | |||
| The aim of the paper is to describe a possible direction of development and
theoretical model for ergonomic research in the Virtual Reality (VR) field
dedicated to psychotherapy applications. Through considerations on the strong
points and limitations encountered during two different projects dedicated to
the creation of virtual reality environments (VRE) for use in psychotherapy, it
comments on the concepts of ecology and context of use. The theoretical
perspective proposed intends to highlight the evolution from an ecology of
state to an ecology of process. Given the considerable obstacles connected
primarily to the lack of accepted standards for the ergonomic evaluation of 3D
environments and the specific nature of the applications and user type in
question, ergonomic research will represent an increasingly highly strategic
aspect of clinical protocol design and upgrades: a number of closing
considerations are dedicated to the operative aspects of ergonomic research and
the role of the researcher. Keywords: VR Ergonomics, VR usability, Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy | |||
| Grasping Virtual Objects: a Feasibility Study for an Enactive Interface Application in Stroke | | BIBAK | PDF | 181-197 | |
| Francesca Morganti; Karine Goulene; Andrea Gaggioli; Marco Stramba-Badiale; Giuseppe Riva | |||
| Recent studies show that 30% to 66% of patients who suffered a stroke are
unable to recover the upper limb functionality and that most patients present
motor disability five years after the acute event. Despite a general motor
recovery the incapability to reach and grasp objects in the usual environment
remains one of the most common disabilities after stroke. At the present time
treatments for such impairments have been based on movement repetition of
targeted tasks as part of training activities. Clinicians, however, are still
looking for the possibility to provide a rehabilitation procedure that could
match the natural and intuitive mode of interaction with objects that humans
generally have in reaching and grasping in the daily contexts. In the last
years the evolution of technologies appears to meet this request, notably with
the growing of enactive interfaces. Such interfaces support the
perception-action interactions with an environment allowing users to learn how
to perform a useful action in a particular context. The expertise gained
through the interaction with this multimodal interfaces results, in fact, in
the acquisition of intuitive movements that is essentially based on subjective
experience and on the perceptual consequences of their motor acts. The main aim
of this work is to investigate the technical and clinical feasibility of using
an enactive interface in the rehabilitation of reaching and grasping movements
of upper-limb hemiparesis that occurred after stroke. In this study ischemic
stroke patients will be requested to perform technology-enhanced grasping task
at our rehabilitation center, in addition to usual physical therapy. Keywords: Motor skill, Rehabilitation, Enactive interfaces, Stroke, Reaching and
grasping functions | |||
| Editorial Preface: Special Issue: Designing Technology to Meet the Needs of the Older User | | BIB | PDF | 203-204 | |
| A Review of Memory Aid Devices for an Ageing Population | | BIBAK | PDF | 205-243 | |
| Niamh Caprani; John Greaney; Nicola Porter | |||
| The trend for designing memory aids for cognitively impaired elderly
individuals is fast growing. In an effort to assist elderly people to carry out
tasks of everyday living and to relieve caregivers, several memory aid
technologies have recently been introduced. These devices range from everyday
technologies such as handheld PDA's to integrated sensory cueing devices. Based
on the published literature describing these devices, this review will look at
how these memory aids are designed to assist the user and whether they meet the
needs and requirements of the older user. From the evaluations of these
devices, it was shown that participant performances with the support of the
memory systems were significantly improved compared to performances where the
participants used internal strategies for remembering. These results show that
electronic memory aids do have the potential to support memory in older
individuals. This review will provide an insight into prospective memory and
ageing, and the compensation devices which are designed to support memory
decline due to ageing. There are three goals for the present review: (1) to
outline the needs of older adults, (2) to review current memory aid devices,
and (3) to consider how these devices meet the users needs. Keywords: compensatory memory device, older adult, cognitively impaired, dementia | |||
| An investigation into Older People's Browsing Activities | | BIBAK | PDF | 245-265 | |
| Prush Sa-nga-ngam; Sri Kurniawan | |||
| This paper presents quantitative data on browsing activities with 63
respondents aged 55 years old and over from three countries. The questionnaire
explored frequently browsed topics, browser's functions used, browsing tasks
performed, problems with standard browsers and features to add to a standard
browser to make it more ageing-friendly. The study revealed various aspects of
Internet uses, including the topics accessed and places of access, browsing
tasks, problems and assistive features required. This study makes several
contributions to the field. First, it provides comprehensive account of older
persons' browsing activities. Second, it uses Exploratory Factor Analysis to
unravel the underlying factors beneath older persons' browsing tasks. Finally,
this is a cross-country study, which arguably makes the findings less
susceptible to cultural bias. Keywords: Ageing, web browsers, elderly, older adults, human computer interaction | |||
| Inclusive Design and Human Factors: Designing Mobile Phones for Older Users | | BIBAK | PDF | 267-284 | |
| Matthew Pattison; Alex Stedmon | |||
| This paper reviews the human factors requirements of mobile phones in order
to facilitate inclusive design and provide older users with technological
support that enhances their day-to-day lives. Particular emphasis is placed on
whether human factors requirements are fully considered and meet the needs of
older users. The scope of this review is necessarily wide including: human
factors, gerontology, inclusive design, technology and design research
methodologies. Initial consideration is given to understanding what it means to
be an older user and the changes that occur with the aging process. Older user
requirements are examined in relation to achieving inclusive design solutions
and the way in which human factors methodology can be used to support inclusive
design goals. From this standpoint, attention is given to the design of mobile
phones, considering how human factors issues are reflected in product design
and context of use beyond the phone handset to the wider interaction
environment. This paper does not propose specific direction from primary
research findings but argues for a 'state of the union' with regard to the
current approaches designers and manufacturers adopt and the effects that
design decisions have on potential end users. This paper argues that when
effective and flexible human factors methodology and inclusive design ethos is
integrated into the product development process global benefits to a wide user
population can maximise inclusion as opposed to exclusion via technological
advances. Keywords: Human factors, inclusive design, older users, mobile phones, cell of
exclusion | |||
| Cognition, technology and games for the elderly: An introduction to ELDERGAMES Project | | BIBAK | PDF | 285-308 | |
| Luciano Gamberini; Mariano Alcaniz; Giacinto Barresi; Malena Fabregat; Francisco Ibanez; Lisa Prontu | |||
| Eldergames is a EU funded project to develop games using advanced
visualisation and interaction interfaces to improve the cognitive, functional
and social skills of older users. The project merges two major areas to which
technology for the elderly people is applied, health and social engagement. Its
platform will allow to improve the users' cognitive skill and individual
well-being by playing on a mixed reality platform; on the other hand, it will
offer the unusual experience of communicating with people located on other
countries without the need to share the same language. After introducing the
field of gerontology and the project, the paper describes the main cognitive
abilities that change with aging (perception, attention, memory, and other more
specific processes such as decision making), and that have to be taken into
account while designing a technology for the elderly people. Some guidelines
that are specifically meant to ensure usability of these products are listed in
the conclusions. Keywords: successful aging; cognitive aging; gerontechnology; playing | |||
| The "Augmented itineraries": Mobile services differentiating what museum has to offer | | BIBAK | PDF | 311-335 | |
| Maria Cristina Brugnoli; Federico Morabito; Giancarlo Bo; Elena Murelli; Richard Walker; Fabrizio Davide | |||
| Museums are the mechanism through which we research, interpret and present
our insights into the natural and cultural worlds. They represent our belief
systems concerning cultural inter-relationships, our relationship with the
environment and of our place in the Universe. They are windows on the
"dream-time" of humanity. Wireless technology is becoming a part of the museum
experience. In an effort to bring art and science to life for a new generation
of technically sophisticated patrons, an increasing number of museums are
experimenting with advanced mobile technologies to make museum going more
interactive, more educational -- and more fun. An ideal electronic guide to a
museum is one that you take at the entrance, put in your pocket and forget you
have. It should fully support a free, natural visit providing the most
appropriate information at the right time and place. The only activity required
of visitors is to enjoy the exhibition: the interaction is with the (augmented)
museum, no longer with the guide; the guide analyses the context and composes
presentations adapted to the current situation. In this paper we present the
results of an experimentation conducted in the Florence's Uffizi Gallery with
groups of user using the MOBILearn systems a novel application based on
innovative mobile-learning services specifically designed to improve the Museum
"experience". The main objective of this paper is to describe the results of
qualitative research into the behavior of users during the trial. In particular
the paper will present the participants' overall experience, responses and
needs; the participants' responses to, and perceptions of, specific system
capabilities (including responses relevant to the particular device they used
in the trial), pointing to comments and suggestions that may serve to improve
the system; and will finally identify "key findings" and provide general
observations on how the MOBILearn system can change users' experience of a
museum. Keywords: mobile learning, interactive services for museums, user experience,
augmented itineraries | |||