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The apps for drawing are present in our children's life. Nevertheless, little is known about the impact of mobile technology on the freehand drawing educational activity. There are few works which are contextualised within short periods of time, with teachers who are not theirs and, in some cases, outside the children's classroom. In this paper, we are focussed on the use of technology on freehand drawing activity. Thus, we have compared the graphics produced by 4- and 5-year-old children with paper&crayon in comparison with those with tablet-finger. Children made the drawings during a planned free-drawing activity, in their ordinary classrooms, with their teachers and during five sessions. Assessment of drawings has evidenced tablet feasibility for making graphics. Nevertheless, with the passing of time, quality of graphics (tablet-finger vs paper&crayons), are nearly matched, demonstrating the low impact level technology has on this activity. In addition, if drawings are analysed specifically according to ages, results have shown that both groups have to develop adaptation strategies of visual perceptual skills and fine motor skills for the touch screen in order to obtain the same quality in the drawings made on both support types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to explore the potentialities of an end-user personalisation platform in industrial settings. In such a context, stakeholders with different roles and competencies collaborate to manage and control an environment where legacy machines coexist and interact with newer ones. Our goal is to provide a rule-based tool that allows end-users to build personalised solutions to respond quickly to the dynamic needs of factories. We report on a case study in the paper factory domain, in which the industrial aspects identified with expert stakeholders through interviews have been simulated and addressed through an extension of a personalisation platform. A first user test of the resulting environment has been carried out with a representative set of users, and has provided useful and encouraging feedback in terms of the potentialities of the proposed approach in industrial contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine the effects that reading on screens (using digital devices with different screen sizes) and on paper have on reading time and comprehension. The study group was comprised of126 secondary students from a private school. To ensure balance, the participants were assigned into test groups, formed according to the size of the reading device, based on class levels, gender, and average school grade. In the data collection process, a narrative text was transferred to both print and electronic media. Access to the text was provided on paper and three digital devices. There were no time limitations. After reading, participants were given comprehension tests that consisted of twenty multiple-choice questions. Female participants' on-screen comprehension scores were found to be relatively higher compared to their paper comprehension scores. They also acquired better scores as the screen size increased. Conversely, male participants had higher comprehension scores on tablets and smart phones. Participants who read the text on smart phones and tablets completed the tasks in less time compared to other groups. However, the effects of reading modality on comprehension and reading time were not found to be statistically significant in either the male or female groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of computer-based tests (CBTs) has spread rapidly in recent years, as such tests offer real-time scoring and immediate feedback, facilitate the use of individualised testing methods, improve test administration and reduce test expenses. Thus, most previous studies have tended to focus on the technical advantages of CBTs and on implementation issues. However, objections to the use of CBTs have begun to surface, and the primary concern is whether the scores of CBTs and those of paper-based tests (PBTs) are equivalent. The aim of this article is to compare the scores of Korean students on computer-based and paper-based versions of the same test. We focus on the differences between the scores of male and female participants and between scores on tests examining different subject matter. Surprisingly, even though the Korean students who participated in this study had more exposure to advanced information technologies such as computers, the Internet and multimedia than did students in other countries, they did not achieve higher CBT scores than PBT scores. This finding shows that familiarity with information technology and adaptation to CBTs are distinct. We also identified a fundamental reason for low CBT scores. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An increasing proportion of information technology (IT)/information system adoption research collects data using online surveys. However, a paucity of research assesses the equivalence of paper-based versus Internet-based surveys in collectivistic cultures. Furthermore, no theoretical or empirical research investigates how cultural differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures influence the measurement equivalence (ME) of these survey modes. To explore these issues, online and paper-based surveys with comparable samples were carried out in both an individualistic (the USA) and a collectivistic culture (China). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the ME across both survey modes in these different cultures. Results indicate that the relatively larger satisficing discrepancy between paper and online surveys causes respondents in collectivistic cultures to have an increased likelihood of providing responses that vary as compared to respondents in individualistic cultures. The disparate responses, in turn, result in increased measurement variance between the two survey modes. The findings of this study bridge a gap in the literature and address the question of how culture influences online satisficing behaviour and how that behaviour causes measurement invariance across survey modes. This study also explains the possible underlying mechanisms by which different national cultures exert their influence on survey results. The findings provide important implications for IT researchers, especially those in collectivistic cultures or those who need to collect data in collectivistic cultures using online surveys or mixed-mode surveys that include an online survey mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. The reading of music text from a computer screen was compared to paper in a laboratory controlled study. Computer-based animated score tracking devices of three types were tested, as well as a static screen representation of the music text and its paper-based counterpart. A proof-reading exercise was given to subjects, which involved them listening to pieces of music and identifying intentional errors in the score. Their subjective views were also recorded. No significant difference between the five presentation styles were apparent in the proofreading study. However, subjects showed a significant preference for animation over paper and static representation. The most popular style of animation was where each note on the score was marked in time to the music. The medium of paper performed better overall than the static screen representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bespoke electronic system, now being used regularly across Northern Ireland to facilitate the multidisciplinary team process in its recording of the team decisions for cancer patients, is investigated. Over 80% of the expected targets for cancer waiting times are being achieved and clinical stage recording for lung cancers has increased from 67% in 2006 to 88% in 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are great interests of designing research metrics and indices to measure the research impacts in research institutes. Unfortunately, most of those indices ignore critical design issues, e.g. the disparity between domains, the impact of journals or conferences in which papers are published, normalising the range of the index values to certain intervals, and the scalability of using the index to rank different research entities. In this paper, a new normalised fuzzy index, (NFindex), is proposed as a fuzzy-based research impact metric. The proposed index is a scalable index whose values are normalised to the percentage levels. NFindex achieves both inter-discipline normalisation and intra-discipline consistency. The capability of NFindex to achieve the inter-discipline normalisation enables fair comparison between different research domains regardless their nature in terms of influence and contribution to other research areas, e.g. natural science. Therefore, NFindex gives a universal normalised single-number metric that can be used by research institutes to solve the problem of inter-discipline scholar ranking. Moreover, it can help universal ranking of universities and research institutes according to their research capabilities and impacts. The obtained results, on diverse research areas, prove the potential of NFindex in terms of both intra-discipline consistency and inter-discipline normalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workload is an important explanatory variable in human–computer interaction and commonly measured with the Task Load Index (TLX). Thus, it is important to understand the qualities of TLX and its relations to other variables. By reviewing 384 papers that apply TLX, this study analyzes how differences in TLX and its six subscales are associated with one another and with differences in performance, user experience, and situational characteristics. Six findings stand out. First, the TLX subscales measure associated, but somewhat independent, dimensions of workload. Second, people compensate for demanding conditions by putting in more effort and, as a result, sometimes avoid a drop in performance. Third, differences in workload are associated with differences in error rate, task completion time, and user experience but the strength of association is merely slight to fair. Fourth, differences in opposite directions between workload and either error rate, task completion time, or user experience are few but occur for all TLX subscales. Fifth, differences in workload dimensions are more often associated with differences in tasks and contexts than users and systems. Sixth, the TLX subscales – not just the composite TLX score – are widely used for testing cross-system differences in workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A smart bracelet that reacts to a person's heartbeat. A smart bench that invites passers-by to sit close. These and others are smart things, part of the Internet of Things (IoT) and people's lives. However, people are mainly IoT consumers and rarely given the possibility of becoming IoT creators. This paper presents a case study concerning the design of smart things for outdoor environments, with end users as the main creators. Ideas of smart things were collaboratively conceptualised by child end-users with a card-based board game. Their ideas were taken up in the form of inspiration cards within a bachelor's first-year course, by students coming from different high schools. Students started from children's ideas as inspiration triggers and collaboratively evolved some of them into interactive smart-thing prototypes. The paper concludes by reflecting on its results and drawing lessons for future editions of cross-generational workshops related to IoT design with end users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the stress coping theory, the present paper aims to investigate the influence of users' networking ability and profile control ability in mitigating the negativity of social media overload. This paper argues that in the social media context, instead of discontinuance, users tend to develop comprehensive strategies and practices to manage their social media usage. Via an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) study, five practices were identified, including continuous usage, reduced usage, setting adjustment, support seeking, and information avoidance. The results show that social media overload leads to both the perception of emotional exhaustion and disturbance handling while networking and profile control ability make users focus on disturbance handling. Besides, networking ability is found to weaken the relationship between social media overload and emotional exhaustion while profile control ability exaggerates that relationship. Finally, emotional exhaustion and disturbance handling both predict users' different social media management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in technologies (e.g. smartphones, wearables) have resulted in the concept of 'self-tracking', and the use of self-tracking technologies in physical activity (i.e. fitness tracking) is on the rise. For example, many people track and monitor their fitness-related metrics (e.g. steps walked, distance ran, and calories burned) to change their behaviours or keep themselves active. Despite the widespread application of self-tracking in fitness, relatively little is known about its drivers and outcomes. To address this gap, the current paper provides an overview of the literature (empirical papers) on self-tracking with a focus on the drivers and outcomes of fitness tracking behaviour and offers four important contributions. First, it identifies 19 drivers of fitness tracking technology usage. Second, it discusses four main outcomes of fitness tracking behaviour. Third, by drawing on the existing studies conducted across various fitness tracking technologies (e.g. fitness trackers, apps) and user groups (e.g. patients, seniors, and females), it provides valuable insights that can be generalisable to other settings (e.g. other types of users and fitness tracking products). Finally, the current paper provides important practical implications and addresses avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to highlight the role that perceived cost, computer self-efficacy and the technology acceptance model (TAM) constructs have in e-training adoption in the Nigerian civil service. With the use of the SmartPLS 2.0 M3 software, a framework that included perceived cost, computer self-efficacy and TAM constructs (perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU)) was tested on 450 heads of departments. Scales on perceived cost, computer self-efficacy, PU and PEOU developed by previous studies were modified accordingly and used. This paper found perceived cost to have a significant effect on e-training adoption. Computer self-efficacy was statistically insignificant through PEOU. In addition, PEOU had an indirect effect through PU. Therefore, only PU of the TAM constructs indicated strong predictive strength in e-training adoption. This paper showed that with e-training adoption, facilities such as computers can be put in place, which can improve the outlook of the civil service. In addition, the cost that is usually associated with traditional training can be reduced, increasing the opportunity to invest in other aspects of the civil service which can help in adding to the overall performance. Relationships were examined in this paper, which were shown to be favourable to e-training adoption in the Nigerian civil service. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports a study of the use of activity theory in human–computer interaction (HCI) research. We analyse activity theory in HCI since its first appearance about 25 years ago. Through an analysis and meta-synthesis of 109 selected HCI activity theory papers, we created a taxonomy of 5 different ways of using activity theory: (1) analysing unique features, principles, and problematic aspects of the theory; (2) identifying domain-specific requirements for new theoretical tools; (3) developing new conceptual accounts of issues in the field of HCI; (4) guiding and supporting empirical analyses of HCI phenomena; and (5) providing new design illustrations, claims, and guidelines. We conclude that HCI researchers are not only users of imported theory, but also theory-makers who adapt and develop theory for different purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agent-based training systems can enhance people's social skills. The effective development of these systems needs a comprehensive architecture that outlines their components and relationships. Such an architecture can pinpoint improvement areas and future outlooks. This paper presents ARTES: a general architecture illustrating how components of agent-based social training systems work together. We studied existing systems and architectures for training and tutoring to design ARTES and identify its essential components and interaction characteristics. ARTES comprises two core components: the agent simulation of social situations, and educational elements to provide guided learning. We link ARTES's crucial components to four primary learning theories (behaviourism, cognitivism, social cognitive theory, and constructivism) to illustrate the role of agent simulation and tutoring elements in establishing desired learning outcomes. Furthermore, we map ARTES's components against eight architectures, 43 systems and three tools to indicate the components' relevance, completeness, generalisation, and deployment potential across contexts. In addition to ARTES, the paper also contributes by identifying future improvements and research directions, such as the agent's thinking, tutoring methods, knowledge transfer, and ethical implications. We believe ARTES can help bridge the gap between virtual human simulations and impactful educational learning, offering training system developers desirable features like understandability and adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education in solving real-world problems is challenging. To tackle this challenge, a project-based learning approach that integrates robots with cost-effective self-made toys to problem-solving was adopted to assist rural primary school students to apply STEM skills. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the project-based learning approach which includes lecturing and hands-on activities on primary school students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes. An experiment was conducted with 25 primary school students who voluntarily participated in a STEM summer-camp programme. Students were asked to assemble a paper house equipped with an IoT control module and LED light switches, and write and edit robot scripts to produce a robot-based storytelling narrative using the paper house they made as a context. The results show that the project-based learning approach was an effective approach for cultivating primary school students' STEM knowledge and skills as evidenced from the post-written test. The relationships between the students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes were also confirmed by a clustering analysis. Students who had higher learning attitudes also achieved higher STEM learning outcomes; the findings are also supported by the feedback from the open-ended questionnaire items. This study suggests that integrating low-cost self-made toys and robots in project-based learning activities is an effective and practical approach to enhance primary school students' learning outcomes and learning attitudes in STEM education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilising User Generated Content (UGC) on social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook can establish genuine connections between content creators and their audience. However, managing and maintaining long-term brand development remains a significant challenge. Research on the mechanisms behind sustainable brand support attitudes towards UGC is limited. This paper explores whether a self-deprecating style of humour affects audiences’ sustained brand support attitudes towards social media content creators. Theoretically, this study combines Affective Events Theory (AET) and Intergroup Emotion Theory (IET) to explore how individual attitudes extend to group reactions and the sustainability of personal brands. It aims to thoroughly investigate, in the context of social media, the cognitive and emotional changes in individuals towards themselves and their groups under the stimulus of UGC self-deprecating humour, as well as the process of forming sustainable brand support attitudes. Methodologically, this study employs a covariance-based structural equation model to establish the path mechanism of self-deprecating humour expression on sustainable brand support attitudes at both individual psychology and group attitude levels. Additionally, it analyzes the limitations of self-deprecating humour in UGC, considering users with varying levels of need for cognition. Lastly, the paper discusses the theoretical contributions and practical implications of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systems designed with persuasive software features can influence users to adopt attitudes and/or behaviours that contribute to better health outcomes. Studies on Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) interventions have shown how they can be used to support lifestyle changes. Meta-analytic reviews of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to appraise, summarise, and show their effects on health. To this end, we investigated the effectiveness of digital health interventions (DHI) designed for CHD and examined the impact of persuasive features in the DHIs. We performed a systematic search using three academic databases for scientific papers on CHD and digital interventions from 2010 to 2020, yielding 1556 papers. The systematic review and meta-analysis included 12 RCTs after screening. Our findings show that digital health interventions had an impact on diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, glycated haemoglobin, glucose, triglyceride, heart rate, and depression but not body mass index. We present effective interventions and insights into persuasive software features that were associated with effective DHIs. More research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of persuasive features in other contexts and other factors that can impact the effectiveness of DHIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A foreword to "Behavioural and Information Technology" is presented.