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Demand characteristics refer to cues that can inform participants in experiments about the hypothesis and influence their behavior. They lead researchers to erroneously infer non-existing effects, undermining the experimental integrity of empirical studies. Despite a widespread acknowledgment of their confounding influence in experimental psychology, experiments involving humans and computers to a lesser extent consider effects of demand characteristics, as computerized protocols are thought to be immune to some experimenter biases. Furthermore, demand characteristics are considered to mainly effect subjective measures. As a result, demand characteristics often remain uncontrolled in studies involving computers, and in particular for objective measures such as performance. In this paper, we present two experiments that underline the importance of demand characteristics in human–computer interaction experiments. In a text-entry study, we made participants believe they were evaluating a research-based keyboard. This belief led to increased performance and self-reported user experience. In a second study, we conducted a thought experiment on the illusion of body ownership in virtual reality, where the experimental design indicated the study hypothesis. We found hypothesis-compliant responses from participants, even when they did not experience the illusion. We conclude that demand characteristics pose a significant challenge to the interpretation and validity of human–computer experiments, even when they are fully automated. We discuss the implications and offer guidelines to mitigate effects of demand characteristics. • Demand characteristics are cues that can inform participants about the hypothesis. • Demand characteristics can influence participant's behavior. • Demand characteristics often go uncontrolled, especially for objective measures. • Demand characteristics affect experiment outcomes even when experimenter is absent. • Demand characteristics may confound both objective and subjective measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mid-air interaction and device-assisted interactions were assessed in vibration conditions. • Mid-air interaction yielded poorer task performance and worse user perceptions. • Mid-air interaction led to larger muscle activities in the upper limb and shoulder. • The detrimental effects of vibration were more substantial for mid-air interaction. • Mid-air interaction presents a higher ergonomic risk in vibration conditions. Mid-air interaction has been increasingly introduced for human-computer interaction (HCI) tasks in vibration environments, but it has seldom been assessed from ergonomic aspects, especially in comparison with device-assisted interactions. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive ergonomic assessment of mid-air interaction and device-assisted interactions under vibration environments based on task performance, muscle activity in the upper limb and shoulder, and user perceptions. A within-subjects design was implemented in this study, where participants were required to perform basic pointing and dragging tasks with four interaction modes (i.e., one mid-air interaction and three device-assisted interactions) under static, low and high vibration environments, respectively. Both small and large target sizes were examined. Muscle activity was recorded with surface electromyography for five muscles from participants' dominant arm. Results showed that mid-air interaction yielded longer task completion time, more errors, higher perceived workload, lower usability ratings, and larger muscle activities in the forearm, upper arm and shoulder compared with device-assisted interactions. There were significant interaction effects between vibration and interaction mode. Specifically, compared with device-assisted interactions, mid-air interaction was associated with greater susceptibility to the detrimental effects of vibration (poorer task performance and larger muscle activities). Target size significantly affected task performance, but the effects varied by tasks. Overall, our results suggest that mid-air interaction presents a higher ergonomic risk compared with device-assisted interactions, especially in vibration environments. These findings provide implications for better use, configuration and ergonomic assessment of interaction tools in vibration environments, and are useful in developing evidence-based interventions to control ergonomic risk in HCI tasks in vibration environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel augmented reality (AR) based choreographing interface is presented. • It is tested against a virtual reality (VR), PC and mobile based interfaces. • We evaluate the user experience and usability of different interactive techniques. • Augmented Reality is effective in training and education applications. Choreography is a creative art of defining sequences of movement. The choreographing process benefits a lot from the use of digital applications. In this study, we investigate the effects of different interactive techniques on user experience for a choreography generator interface. We develop a virtual reality-based and an augmented reality-based interface and compare them with 1) a personal computer-based choreography generator interface and 2) a touch-based mobile application for choreography generation. We evaluate user performance and user experience on the interfaces in terms of task completion time, as well as subjective criteria, like mental stress, physical stress, and pleasure. Our research contributes to the study of how different interaction methods of the same application affect user experience. This research also contributes to the study of virtual and augmented reality in education and training applications. The results verify the effectiveness of augmented reality in developing training and design applications, particularly choreography. The augmented reality interface emerged as the preferred choice for users. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the effectiveness of natural user interaction approaches in interface design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Designers encode their biases into artifacts. Beauty apps have been found to embed a "programmed masculinity" that is binary, stereotypical, and immutable, leading to a "gender panopticon" that monitors and disciplines men's gender expressions. • Beauty apps' design has a discrepancy between what they offer and the needs of male users who have diverse masculinity perceptions. • Beauty apps majorly reflect feminized design, thus stereotyping gender roles and expressions. The limited features for men further this stereotype. • Technology can marginalize and exclude certain users, particularly those from socially disadvantaged groups. Beauty apps perpetuate strict beauty standards, which can marginalize those whose appearance doesn't fit certain ideals. • For equitable design, apps should allow users to define their gender, ensuring a wide representation in terms of icons, marketing, labels, and functionality. AI-powered face-editing technologies, such as face filters and beauty apps, are widely used for appearance enhancement. However, such tools often perpetuate rigid beauty standards, thereby risking the reinforcement of harmful gender norms. While prior research primarily focuses on the experiences of female users of face-editing technologies, this study scrutinizes their impact on male users. We examine the gendered design of face-editing tools through a feature analysis of a set of Chinese beauty apps (Study 1), followed by interviews with 30 male users to understand their perceptions and experiences regarding these apps (Study 2). Our findings reveal that beauty apps potentially obstruct male users' efforts in appearance enhancement and embody hegemonic masculinity. To overcome the disaffordances of beauty apps, male users employed various strategies, including manual editing, self-censorship, and social validation. Drawing on these findings, we propose recommendations for more inclusive, gender-sensitive design in face-editing technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Stakeholder input is critical when developing technology for unique population groups. • We held six focus groups with parkinson's disease patients and their family members. • The most frequently raised pain point was motor-related difficulties. • We identified several differences in the perspectives of the two stakeholder groups. • Concerns regarding autonomy loss and impact on social connections were raised. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, and its incidence is expected to rise due to the aging of the global population. Individuals with PD present with adverse motor and non-motor symptoms that affect their well-being, quality of life, and relationships with their caregivers. It is thus important to explore new technological interventions, such as social assistive robots (SARs), to support those with PD. This study aimed to understand the needs, expectations, and attitudes of individuals with PD and their family members toward SARs. Six focus groups (n = 46) were held, including three comprised of individuals with PD and three that included family members. Qualitative thematic analysis of the information obtained from these focus groups was applied to the following main themes: (1) Key difficulties of people living with PD; (2) Ideas for assistive technologies for individuals with PD; (3) Perceived advantages of SARs; (4) Suggestions regarding SAR design, operation, and interactive functionality; (5) Concerns regarding the use of SARs; and (6) Attitudes towards SARs. Importantly, we found points of agreement and disagreement between the two population groups based on their perspectives regarding the effects of PD on individuals. This study provides a participatory-design foundation for the creation of new technologies to benefit individuals with PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reviews studies on people-plant engagement in interaction design. • Offers a qualitative meta-analysis of design research critiquing plants in HCI. • Discusses ethical/societal implications of using plants with technological devices. • Distinguishes between indoor plants as proxy for nature, trigger, and interface. Plants and specifically indoor pot plants have featured as a prominent object in human-computer interaction (HCI) studies for more than two decades. Motivated by recent discourse in posthumanist and entanglement HCI, this paper seeks to contribute to the more-than-human turn in interaction design. It uses a twofold approach. We first engage in theoretically grounded inductive reasoning to postulate that the role and agency of plants in interaction design projects ought to change. This is backed up with a deductive approach based on a critical meta-analysis using a methodical review of human-plant interaction studies. The analysis identified a range of characteristics that we discuss in relation to study motives and outcomes. Our findings suggest that so far, plants-as-objects in interaction design are used as (i) a proxy for nature; (ii) a trigger for human experiences or; (iii) an interface for other actions. Our synthesis combining theory and meta-analysis contributes to ongoing design discourse on the ethical and societal implications of using plants in technologically mediated environments. We offer reflective remarks on how HCI can re-conceptualise plants from utilitarian objects towards recognising their value as living co-inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We explore how playing commercial video games impacts on how players manage and understand the COVID-19 pandemic considered in its temporal evolution. • We conducted a longitudinal qualitative study by interviewing 16 participants during the first Italian lockdown and a subsample of them (N = 10) after one year and a half. • We show that playing not only supported "escapism", but also encouraged reflection and sense-making. • We emphasize that the role that video games had in the crisis changed as the pandemic unfolded over time. • We present a preliminary model of the functions of video game technologies during moments of crisis. The outbreak of the COVID-19 has made apparent the importance of gaming technologies during crises and difficult life moments. However, studies exploring the role of commercial off-the-shelf video games during the pandemic are still limited. Moreover, research often focuses on a specific moment of the crisis. In this article, we investigate how playing commercial video games impacts on how players manage and understand the COVID-19 pandemic considered in its temporal evolution. We conducted a one-year-and-a-half longitudinal qualitative study by interviewing 16 participants who were living in Italy during the first pandemic lockdown, then involving a subgroup of them (N = 10) in a follow-up interview. Study findings show that playing not only supported escapism from a difficult reality, but also helped individuals counteract the sense of detachment from the "pandemic world", encouraging reflection and supporting sense-making. These functions of video games varied as the pandemic unfolded. Based on these findings, we present a preliminary model of the role of video game technologies during moments of crisis and suggest design considerations on how video games could support people experiencing extremely difficult life moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Genesis of research into online personalisation. • Drawing a bow from Machine Learning evaluation methodology to the theories of cognitive science. • Identification of emerging topics within the integrated research domain. • Future research agenda from the viewpoints of different disciplines. Research on understanding, developing and assessing personalisation systems is spread over multiple disciplines and builds on methodologies and findings from several different research fields and traditions, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), and User Modelling based on (applied) social and cognitive psychology. The fields of AI and ML primarily focus on the optimisation of personalisation applications, and concentrate on creating ever more accurate algorithmic decision makers and prediction models. In the fields of HCI and Information Systems, scholars are primarily interested in the phenomena around the use and interaction with personalisation systems, while Cognitive Science (partly) delivers the theoretical underpinnings for the observed effects. The aim and contribution of this work is to put together the pieces about the impact of personalisation and recommendation systems from these different backgrounds in order to formulate a research agenda and provide a perspective on future developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A data lifecycle highlights important complementary interactions with health data. • Challenges for HCI in health lie in the scale and complexity of health and care. • Highlights role of digital mediating between people and medical technologies. • To have impact at scale in health, HCI needs to complement other disciplines. • Health and wellbeing technologies need to fit individual and care contexts. In terms of Human–Computer Interaction, healthcare presents paradoxes: on the one hand, there is substantial investment in innovative health technologies, particularly around "big data" analytics and personal health technologies; on the other hand, most interactive health technologies that are currently deployed at scale are difficult to use and few innovative technologies have achieved significant market penetration. We live in a time of change, with a shift from care being delivered by professionals towards people being expected to be actively engaged and involved in shared decision making. Technically, this shift is supported by novel health technologies and information resources; culturally, the pace of change varies across contexts. In this paper, I present a "space" of interactive health technologies, users and uses, and interdependencies between them. Based on a review of the past and present, I highlight opportunities for and challenges to the application of HCI methods in the design and deployment of digital health technologies. These include threats to privacy, patient trust and experience, and opportunities to deliver healthcare and empower people to manage their health and wellbeing in ways that better fit their lives and values. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Interactive art and HCI have contributed to one another. • Interaction, creativity, embodiment, affect, and presence are common elements. • Machine intelligence will open new potentials in interactive art. • Challenges and opportunities for collaboration between the two were identified. The connection between art and technology is much tighter than is commonly recognized. The emergence of aesthetic computing in the early 2000s has brought renewed focus on this relationship. In this article, we articulate how art and Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) are compatible with each other and actually essential to advance each other in this era, by briefly addressing interconnected components in both areas—interaction, creativity, embodiment, affect, and presence. After briefly introducing the history of interactive art, we discuss how art and HCI can contribute to one another by illustrating contemporary examples of art in immersive environments, robotic art, and machine intelligence in art. Then, we identify challenges and opportunities for collaborative efforts between art and HCI. Finally, we reiterate important implications and pose future directions. This article is intended as a catalyst to facilitate discussions on the mutual benefits of working together in the art and HCI communities. It also aims to provide artists and researchers in this domain with suggestions about where to go next. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We present a comprehensive scientometric analysis of IJHCS (1969–2018) and CHI (1982–2018). • We performed a geopolitical analysis and found a static landscape dominated by few countries. • Several countries show interest in them, but are unable to have a significant publishing presence. • We analysed the evolution of research topics over time by adopting the Computer Science Ontology. • We detected several research trends emerging in the last ten years. In this paper we focus on the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS) as a domain of analysis, to gain insights about its evolution in the past 50 years and what this evolution tells us about the research landscape associated with the journal. To this purpose we use techniques from the field of Science of Science and analyse the relevant scholarly data to identify a variety of phenomena, including significant geopolitical patterns, the key trends that emerge from a topic-centric analysis, and the insights that can be drawn from an analysis of citation data. Because the area of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has always been a central focus for IJHCS, we also include in the analysis the CHI conference, which is the premiere scientific venue in HCI. Analysing both venues provides more data points to our study and allows us to consider two alternative viewpoints on the evolution of HCI research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There are disagreements in HCI over what is meant by 'interaction' and whether 'interaction' is a useful concept going forward. • We review two diverging perspectives on 'interaction': seeking its definition, or dispensing with it. • We chart a third way: 'interaction' has use as a promiscuous concept that helps glue together HCI communities, therefore argue for its retention, but with a 'therapeutic' attitude. Recent research has exposed disagreements over the nature and usefulness of what may (or may not) be Human–Computer Interaction's fundamental phenomenon: 'interaction'. For some, HCI's theorising about interaction has been deficient, impacting its capacity to inform decisions in design, suggesting the need either to perform first-principles definition work or broader administrative clarification and formalisation of the multitude of formulations of the concepts of interaction and their particular uses. For others, there remain open questions over the continued relevance of certain 'versions' of interaction as a useful concept in HCI at all. We pursue a different perspective in this paper, reviewing how HCI treats interaction through examining its 'conceptual pragmatics' within HCI's discourse. We argue that articulations of the concepts of interaction can be a site of productive conflict for HCI that for many reasons may resist attempts of formalisation as well as attempts to dispense with them. The main contribution of this paper is in specifying how we might go about talking of interaction and the value of interaction language as promiscuous concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five decades ago advances in integrated circuits and time-sharing operating systems made interactive use of computers economically feasible. Visions of man-computer symbiosis and the augmentation of man's intellect became realistic research objectives. The initial focus was on facilitating interactivity through improved interface technology, and supporting its application through good practices based on experience and psychological principles. Within a decade technology advances made low cost personal computers commonly available in the home, office and industry, and these were rapidly enhanced with software that made them attractive in a wide range of applications from games to office automation and industrial process control. Within three decades the Internet enabled human–computer interaction to extend across local, national and international networks, and, within four, smartphones and tablets had made access to computers and networks almost ubiquitous to any person, at any time and any place. Banking, commerce, institutional and company operations, utility and government infrastructures, took advantage of, and became dependent on, interactive computer and networking capabilities to such an extent that they have now been assimilated in our society and are taken for granted. This hyperconnectivity has been a major economic driver in the current millennium, but it has also raised new problems as malevolent users anywhere in the world have become able to access and interfere with critical personal, commercial and national resources. A major issue for human–computer studies now is to maintain and enhance functionality, usability and likeability for legitimate users whilst protecting them from malevolent users. Understanding the issues involved requires a far broader consideration of socio-economic issues than was required five decades ago. This article reviews various models of the role of technology in human civilization that can provide insights into our current problématique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems (ACPS) require "Human-in-the-loop" to collaborate in the execution of certain tasks that cannot be performed autonomously. • A trust-based relationship must be built between humans and machines so they can work together and achieve effective human-machine integration. • Human integration into the ACPS must be natural, robust, and non-intrusive. • The goal of our framework is to provide a design theory to analyze and design the involvement of humans in ACPSs in order to improve system performance and understandability and to avoid developing intrusive and annoying systems. • Our proposal is instantiated to design and develop a functional prototype of an autonomous car with HiL-ACPS capabilities. Even though full autonomy in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS s) is a challenge that has been confronted in different application domains and industrial sectors, the current scenario still requires human intervention in these autonomous systems in order to accomplish tasks that are better performed with human-in-the-loop. Humans, machines, and software systems are required to interact and understand each other in order to work together in an effective and robust way. This human integration introduces an important number of challenges and problems to be solved in order to achieve seamless and solid participation. To manage this complexity, appropriate techniques and methods must be used to help CPS developers analyze and design this kind of human-in-the-loop integration. The goal of this paper is to identify the technological challenges and limitations of integrating humans into the CPS s autonomy loop and to break new ground for design solutions in order to develop what we call HiL-ACPS systems. This work defines a conceptual framework to characterize the cooperation between humans and autonomous CPS s and provides techniques for applying the framework in order to design proper human integration. The emergent autonomous car domain is considered as a running example. It covers some of the current limitations of involving drivers into the autonomous functionalities. Finally, to validate the proposal, an autonomous car prototype was built applying the conceptual framework. This prototype was evaluated to check whether the human integration implemented behaves as defined in its specification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two types of hand gestures—surface vs. motion gesture are investigated. • Effects of gestures on enjoyment of marketing games are contingent on object visual presentation and reward setting. • Surface gesture fits better with product picture and affects the enjoyment through mental simulation. • Motion gesture interacts with reward uncertainty to impact the enjoyment through perceived control. With the rapid development of mobile technologies, gamification has been deployed pervasively on mobile platforms as an effective marketing tool. In this study, we focus on how mobile gesture technology influences consumer enjoyment of mobile marketing games by examining two types of hand gestures: surface and motion gestures. Considering the characteristics of hand gestures and embodied cognition theories, we propose that hand gestures influence the enjoyment of mobile marketing games with two other game elements: object visual presentation and reward setting. Specifically, the interaction between surface gesture (vs. motion gesture) and the object visual presentation of a real product picture (vs. symbolic brand logo image) leads to greater enjoyment of marketing games through mental simulation. Similarly, the interaction between motion gesture (vs. surface gesture) and reward setting of uncertainty (vs. certainty) leads to greater enjoyment of marketing games through perceived control. Three online experiments are conducted to support the proposed hypotheses. Results provide implications for marketing practitioners that hand gesture design should be aligned with congruent object visual presentation and reward setting in order to enhance consumer enjoyment of mobile marketing games. This study contributes to the extant literature of gamification, as well as human-computer interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We tested the reliability of the Gamification User Types Hexad scale. • Empirical evidence supports the structural validity of the scale in both English and Spanish. • Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the proposed factor structure adequately fitted the data. • 'Philanthropist', 'Free Spirit', and 'Achiever' are the prevalent user types, whereas 'Disruptor' is the least common user type. • Results suggest that a person's user type is correlated with their gender and age. Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game systems, is now established as a relevant research field in human-computer interaction (HCI). Several empirical studies have shown that gameful interventions can increase engagement and generate desired behavioral outcomes in HCI applications. However, some inconclusive results indicate that we need a fuller understanding of the mechanisms and effects of gamification. The Gamification User Types Hexad scale allows us to parse different user motivations in participants' interactions with gameful applications, which are measured using a self-report questionnaire. Each user type represents a style of interaction with gameful applications, for example, if the interactions are more focused on achievements, socialization, or rewards. Thus, by scoring an individual in each one of the user types of the Hexad model, we can establish a profile of user preferences for gameful interactions. However, we still lack a substantial empirical validation of this scale. Therefore, we set out to validate the factor structure of the scale, in both English and Spanish, by conducting three studies, which also investigated the distribution of the Hexad's user types in the sample. Our findings support the structural validity of the scale, as well as suggesting opportunities for improvement. Furthermore, we demonstrate that some user types are more common than others and that gender and age correlate with a person's user types. Our work contributes to HCI research by further validating the utility of the Gamification User Types Hexad scale, potentially affording researchers a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and effects of gameful interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamification is now a well-established technique in Human-Computer Interaction. However, research on gamification still faces a variety of empirical and theoretical challenges. Firstly, studies of gamified systems typically focus narrowly on understanding individuals. short-term interactions with the system, ignoring more difficult to measure outcomes. Secondly, academic research on gamification has been slow to improve the techniques through which gamified applications are designed. Third, current gamification research lacks a critical lens capable of exploring unintended consequences of designs. The 14 articles published in this special issue face these challenges with great methodological rigor. We summarize them by identifying three main themes: the determination to improve the quality and usefulness of theory in the field of gamification, the improvements in design practice, and the adoption of a critical gaze to uncover side-effects of gamification designs. We conclude by providing an overview of the questions that we feel must be addressed by future work in gamification. Gamification studies would benefit from a wider use of theories to account for the complexity of human behavior, a more thorough exploration of the many opportunities coming from the world of games, and an ethical reflection on the use of game design elements in serious domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multilevel process theory of gameful experience is developed and presented. • The term gamefulness is replaced with three more precisely defined constructs. • Gameful design, gameful systems, and gameful experiences are carefully defined. • This theory links these constructs causally whereas previously they were confounded. • This theory thus serves as a unifying foundation for future work on gamification. Gamefulness is commonly cited as the primary goal of gamification, a family of approaches employed in education, business, healthcare, government, and elsewhere. However, gamefulness is defined imprecisely across the literature. To address this, we present a theory of gamefulness that splits gamefulness into more specific constructs and outlines their effects in a process model. We integrate extant literature from psychology, human-computer interaction, and other fields to define gameful design, systems, and experiences. Most critically, we argue that gameful experience is the core focal construct of this theory and define it as an interactive state occurring when a person perceives non-trivial achievable goals created externally, is motivated to pursue them under an arbitrary set of behavioral rules, and evaluates that motivation as voluntary. We present six resulting propositions: (1) gameful systems lead to gameful experiences, (2) gameful systems impact psychological characteristics, (3) effective gameful design leads to gameful systems, (4) effective gameful systems lead to behavioral change, (5) appropriate behavioral change causes the distal outcomes gamification designers target, and (6) individual differences moderate the effectiveness of gameful systems. Gameful experience theory provides researchers with a unified foundation to study gamification from any social scientific lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • An adaptation of the popular ITC - Sense of Presence Inventory questionnaire to the Portuguese Language. • A theoretical model of the ITC-SOPI that allows to measure presence in virtual reality research projects with samples of Portuguese language. • A validation of the adapted to Portuguese version of the ITC - Sense of Presence Inventory that is equivalent to the original version as well as the validity of the contents and concepts, to ascertain the psychometric properties of the instrument. Abstract This investigation concerns the translation and validation of the ITC - Sense of Presence Inventory (ITC-SOPI) for the Portuguese-speaking population (in Europe), estimating the validity of the content and concepts and the maintenance of an equivalent semantics. It also sought to verify its psychometric properties, namely its factorial validity and internal consistency. The sample consisted of 459 individuals, 274 males and 185 females. The fidelity of the subscales varied between 0.67 and 0.89. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a theoretical model of 35 items, divided by four factors. After fixing some of the residual errors between items, the following adjustment indexes were calculated: χ 2/ df = 2.301; goodness fit index = 0.860; comparative fitness index = 0.889; root mean square error of approximation = 0.053; Akaike's information criterion = 1420. Based on the observed results and the robustness of the sample size used, the obtained theoretical model shows that the ITC-SOPI is recommended to measure presence in virtual reality research projects with samples of Portuguese language speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A Holographic mobile-based application is used to practice the pronunciation of basic English vocabulary words. • A funny 3D holographic robot interacts as virtual teacher in charge of practicing. • An experiment with 70 Spanish pre-school children has been carried out. • Results shown a significant impact on the children's motivation and performance. Abstract This paper describes a holographic mobile-based application designed to help Spanish-speaking children to practice the pronunciation of basic English vocabulary words. The mastery of vocabulary is a fundamental step when learning a language but is often perceived as boring. Producing the correct pronunciation is frequently regarded as the most difficult and complex skill for new learners of English. In order to address these problems this research takes advantage of the power of multi-channel stimuli (sound, image and interaction) in a mobile-based hologram application in order to motivate students and improve their experience of practicing. We adapted the prize-winning HolograFX game and developed a new mobile application to help practice English pronunciation. A 3D holographic robot that acts as a virtual teacher interacts via voice with the children. To test the tool we carried out an experiment with 70 Spanish pre-school children divided into three classes, the control group using traditional methods such as images in books and on the blackboard, and two experimental groups using our drills and practice software. One experimental group used the mobile application without the holographic game and the other experimental group used the application with the holographic game. We performed pre-test and post-test performance assessments, a satisfaction survey and emotion analysis. The results are very promising. They show that the use of the holographic mobile-based application had a significant impact on the children's motivation. It also improved their performance compared to traditional methods used in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Analysis of the interaction of children under 3 with apps for drawing and coloring. • Intentional use of tools for coloring on a tablet was not seen before 24 months of age. • Contradictions between the interaction design of apps and the actions of children. Abstract Children under 3 are enthusiastic users of mobile devices and have the ability to emulate a number of the gestures adults use on touch screens, according to the literature on Child-Computer Interaction (CCI). Nevertheless, relatively few studies have focused on the spontaneous interaction of children with screens. The objective of this empirical research is to study unstructured interactions of children under 3 with two apps that permit free drawing and coloring. Observation includes the first gesture used for interaction and the use of on-screen tools (e.g. color palette). Twenty-one participants aged 14 to 33 months (average of 24 months) were recorded playing with free drawing and coloring apps on a tablet using a non-invasive method in a natural context (two nursery schools, one in London and one in Barcelona). Analysis of the data gathered showed that children under 3 adapt their gestures to the content of the apps and suggests that the use of tools may begin from 24 months. Based on those results, the content of an additional 32 apps for drawing and coloring aimed at children from zero, one or two years old were then reviewed. The analysis highlighted the need for more studies on the interaction of young children with apps to foster the development of interactive resources appropriate to a child's age and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Music and a robot can increase children's motivation to participate in exercises. • Effects were found in children with and without an oncological disorder. • Children under 6 years prefer interaction with a human over the robot. • Boys were less motivated in performing exercises with a therapist than girls. Abstract Background: It can be difficult to motivate children to participate in physical exercises, especially when they have oncological disorders. Purpose: examine the effect of a humanoid robot and music on motivation to participate in physical activity in typically developing children (TDC) and children with oncological disorders (COD). Methods: Two cohort studies were conducted; in an elementary school in Belgium (N = 75TDC, 4–13years) and pediatric cancer ward of Ghent University Hospital (N = 13COD, 3–15years). Participants completed four gross motor exercise conditions; with a human or humanoid robot instructor and with or without music. Motivation was assessed using the Smileyometer (amount of fun), Again score (amount of chosen repetitions) and Fun Sorter (which condition was most fun). Results: TDC indicated higher Smileyometer-scores in the two conditions with music. The Again score revealed no preference in either group. In TDC and COD, the results of the Fun Sorter indicated that conditions with music or the robot were more fun than without music or with the human instructor. The combination of the robot and music was most preferred. Conclusions: Music or a humanoid robot seemed to increase children's initial motivation to participate in physical activity, also in hospitalized COD. Further research should evaluate the long-term effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The user expects webpages of specific categories to have a look-and-feel specific to that category. For example, unlike university homepages, online-shop webpages typically feature relatively little text, a long grid-like structure listing products, and numerous functional elements for product search, filtering, and recommendation. Ensuring that a webpage meets user expectations makes it highly prototypical and improves the user impression of the webpage. Despite the potential impact on users, the concept of webpage prototypicality has not been fully explored or extensively employed in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). This paper addresses this gap by conducting a user study with 1530 participants to investigate webpage prototypicality. The study revealed a strong correlation between prototypicality and webpage visual aesthetics, perceived pre-use usability, and trustworthiness. Notably, the direct effect of prototypicality on trustworthiness outweighed the indirect effects through aesthetics and usability. Overall, prototypicality, aesthetics, and usability collectively accounted for 29% to 68% of the variance in trustworthiness, depending on a webpage category. These findings underscore the importance of embracing prototypicality within the field of HCI, encouraging its wider adoption. • The study involved 1530 participants and over three thousand webpages. • Webpage prototypicality strongly affected perceived trustworthiness. • Aesthetics partially mediated the effect of prototypicality on trustworthiness. • Perceived usability was not a strong predictor of trustworthiness. • Prototypicality correlated with both visual aesthetics and perceived usability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Deepfake personas carry uncanniness that lower their usability in design tasks. • Persona modality has a great effect on persona perception in design tasks. • Classic persona profile is perceived more natural in design tasks than deepfakes. • Deepfakes are a potential future media for personas in design tasks. Deepfakes, realistic portrayals of people that do not exist, have garnered interest in research and industry. Yet, the contributions of deepfake technology to human-computer interaction remain unclear. One possible value of deepfake technology is to create more immersive user personas. To test this premise, we use a commercial-grade service to generate three deepfake personas (DFs). We also create counterparts of the same persona in two traditional modalities: classic and narrative personas. We then investigate how persona modality affects the perceptions and task performance of the persona user. Our findings show that the DFs were perceived as less empathetic, credible, complete, clear, and immersive than other modalities. Participants also indicated less willingness to use the DFs and less sense of control, but there were no differences in task performance. We also found a strong correlation between the uncanny valley effect and other user perceptions, implying that the tested deepfake technology might lack maturity for personas, negatively affecting user experience. Designers might also be accustomed to using traditional persona profiles. Further research is needed to investigate the potential and downsides of DFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), affective computation extends parameterization by including implicit user information, e.g. galvanic skin responses or heart rate variability. Physiological responses are generally involuntary and measurements primarily derive emotional features to differentiate cognitive and affective states. Biofeedback applications externalize covert physiological responses and allow interference by means of simple cognitive techniques. Here, signal responses do not necessarily indicate cognitive or affective dispositions but depict a user's intention. As demonstrated recently, even pupil diameter is subject to explicit control, albeit with individually varying degrees of success. The current study explores to what extent users can transfer implicit events (here: pupil size changes) into explicit input requests. In Experiment 1 we carried out biofeedback sessions to determine individual strategies to achieve cognitive control on pupil dilation. In Experiment 2 we applied explicit pupil dilations as input commands in a visual search-and-select task. Implementation of varying thresholds ensured the involvement of different levels of cognitive effort to exceed selection criteria. Results show that a short period of freely exploring the mechanisms of action enabled most subjects to achieve cognitive control on pupil dilation, even during increased tonic activation provoked by high task load. Hence, the associated dynamics no longer define automatic events but indicate the degree of explicitness to be imposed upon implicit processing. During pupil-based object selection, a strict criterion was associated with a high cognitive load, prolonged selection times and a notable number of time-outs, whereas a soft criterion correlated with fast selections and low cognitive demands. Together with the outcome of a user survey, the current findings suggest explicit pupil size changes constitute an appropriate selection mechanism for HCI even in the context of high cognitive workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a vibrant debate about consequences of mobile devices on our cognitive capabilities. Use of technology guided navigation has been linked with poor spatial knowledge and wayfinding in both virtual and real world experiments. Our goal was to investigate how the attention people pay to the GPS aid influences their navigation performance. We developed navigation tasks in a virtual city environment and during the experiment, we measured participants’ eye movements. We also tested their cognitive traits and interviewed them about their navigation confidence and experience. Our results show that the more time participants spend with the GPS-like map, the less accurate spatial knowledge they manifest and the longer paths they travel without GPS guidance. This poor performance cannot be explained by individual differences in cognitive skills. We also show that the amount of time spent with the GPS is related to participant’s subjective evaluation of their own navigation skills, with less confident navigators using GPS more intensively. We therefore suggest that despite an extensive use of navigation aids may have a detrimental effect on person’s spatial learning, its general use is modulated by a perception of one’s own navigation abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both robotic and virtual agents could one day be equipped with social abilities necessary for effective and natural interaction with human beings. Although virtual agents are relatively inexpensive and flexible, they lack the physical embodiment present in robotic agents. Surprisingly, the role of embodiment and physical presence for enriching human-robot-interaction is still unclear. This paper explores how these unique features of robotic agents influence three major elements of human-robot face-to-face communication, namely the perception of visual speech, facial expression, and eye-gaze. We used a quantitative approach to disentangle the role of embodiment from the physical presence of a social robot, called Ryan, with three different agents (robot, telepresent robot, and virtual agent), as well as with an actual human. We used a robot with a retro-projected face for this study, since the same animation from a virtual agent could be projected to this robotic face, thus allowing comparison of the virtual agent’s animation behaviors with both telepresent and the physically present robotic agents. The results of our studies indicate that the eye gaze and certain facial expressions are perceived more accurately when the embodied agent is physically present than when it is displayed on a 2D screen either as a telepresent or a virtual agent. Conversely, we find no evidence that either the embodiment or the presence of the robot improves the perception of visual speech, regardless of syntactic or semantic cues. Comparison of our findings with previous studies also indicates that the role of embodiment and presence should not be generalized without considering the limitations of the embodied agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work introduces a formal methods approach to semiotic engineering: Browser-Integrated Guidance for Specifying Interface Signifiers (BIGSIS). Drawing from the semiotic engineering and formal methods literature, BIGSIS facilitates logical reasoning about human-system interface signifiers with respect to measures of effective and efficient designer-to-user communication. Signifiers that communicate correct functions or meanings are effective, and signifiers that convey nonconflicting functions or meanings are efficient. The BIGSIS approach incorporates a five-step process, an XML syntax, a Z notation formalism, an XML-to-Symbolic-Analysis-Laboratory (SAL) translator, and three signifier specifications: internal consistency, inter-channel consistency, and completeness. These elements of the approach support two analyses: BIGSIS-XML and model checking. The BIGSIS-XML analysis addresses one interface component, one sensory channel (visual, audio, or haptic), and one target-system configuration at a time. Using SAL, the model checking analysis considers all interface components including documentation, sensory channels, and a broad range of target-system configurations. We demonstrate an application of BIGSIS with a medical device case study. The analysis considers four components on the system’s controller, three sensory channels, and signified information from U.S. cultural context and explanations within an accompanying patient handbook. The BIGSIS-XML analysis aids in identifying 12 potential designer-to-user communication problems: ten involving effectiveness and two involving efficiency. The model checking analysis aids in identifying six potential designer-to-user communication problems: four involving effectiveness and two involving efficiency. Case study results indicate that BIGSIS shows promise for identifying potential instances of ineffective and inefficient designer-to-user communication in the design of a complex, safety-critical system interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

User interfaces that display dynamic information have the ability to influence decision makers in networked settings where many individuals collaborate. To understand how varying levels of information support affects behavior (cooperation vs. defection) in a social dilemma, a user interface (UI) was developed and an online experiment ( N =901) was conducted based on the iterated Diner’s Dilemma, a version of the n-player Prisoner’s Dilemma. There were 3 main findings: (1) as more UI support was given, participants became more likely to retaliate against defection than they were to initiate defection; (2) participant situation awareness (SA) increased as more UI support was given but decreased in the presence of forgiving co-actors; and (3) the need for UI support to make good decisions was diminished as co-actors became more likely to exploit. These results can inform the design of information support tools for collaborative settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

User engagement (UE) and its measurement have been of increasing interest in human-computer interaction (HCI). The User Engagement Scale (UES) is one tool developed to measure UE, and has been used in a variety of digital domains. The original UES consisted of 31-items and purported to measure six dimensions of engagement: aesthetic appeal, focused attention, novelty, perceived usability, felt involvement, and endurability. A recent synthesis of the literature questioned the original six-factors. Further, the ways in which the UES has been implemented in studies suggests there may be a need for a briefer version of the questionnaire and more effective documentation to guide its use and analysis. This research investigated and verified a four-factor structure of the UES and proposed a Short Form (SF). We employed contemporary statistical tools that were unavailable during the UES’ development to re-analyze the original data, consisting of 427 and 779 valid responses across two studies, and examined new data ( N =344) gathered as part of a three-year digital library project. In this paper we detail our analyses, present a revised long and short form (SF) version of the UES, and offer guidance for researchers interested in adopting the UES and UES-SF in their own studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A head-tracking interface using a mobile device’s front camera was evaluated using two interaction methods: moving the head vs. moving the device. The evaluation used an Apple iPad Air and the multi-directional (MD) target selection test described in ISO 9241-411. Throughput was higher at 1.42 bits per second (bps) using head movement compared to 1.20 bps using device movement. Users also expressed a preference for the head input method in an assessment of comfort questionnaire. In a second user study, input using head movements was tested using a new multi-directional corner (MDC) task with an iPad Air and an Apple iPhone 6 . The MDC task has two advantages over the MD task: a wider range of task difficulties is used and target selection is tested over the entire display surface, including corners. Throughputs were similar to those measured in the first user study, thus confirming the utility of the MDC task for evaluations on devices with small displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pointing task is the process of pointing to an object on a computer monitor using a pointing device, or physically touching an object with the hand or finger. It is an important element for users when manipulating visual computer interfaces such as traditional screens and touch-screens. In this context, Fitts’ Law remains one of the central studies that have mathematically modeled the pointing method, and was found to be a good predictor of the average time needed to perform a pointing task. Yet, in our modern computerized society, accessing visual information becomes a central need for all kinds of users, namely users who are blind or visually impaired. Hence, the goal of our study is to evaluate whether Fitts’ Law can be applied for blind candidates using the vibration modality on a touch-screen. To achieve this, we first review the literature on Fitts’ Law and visual data accessibility solutions for blind users. Then, we introduce an experimental framework titled FittsEVAL studying the ability of blind users to tap specific shapes on a touch-screen, while varying different parameters, namely: target distance, target size, and the angle of attack of the pointing task. Experiments on blindfolded and blind candidates show that Fitts’ Law can be effectively applied for blind users using a vibrating touch-screen under certain parameters (i.e., when varying target distance and size), while it is not verified under others (i.e., when varying the angle of attack). This can be considered as a first step toward a more complete experimental evaluation of vibrating touch-screen accessibility, toward designing more adapted interfaces for the blind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication technology is an essential part of virtual teams in working life. This article presents a qualitative study on the meanings of communication technology in virtual team meetings. The study was conducted by examining frames of technology-related virtual team interaction. Observational data was gathered from six expert team meetings. Technology-related communication episodes (N = 88) were identified from team interaction and then analyzed by means of frame analysis. Four frame categories were found: the practical frame, work frame, user frame, and relational frame. Team members talked about technological properties and functions as well as giving and receiving technological guidance. They also discussed technology in relation to work tasks, contemplated technology users’ attributes, and built and maintained relationships with technology. The results indicate that virtual team members give meanings to communication technology while interacting. Communication technology has several meanings—it is seen as a tool for work, a reason for uncertainty, a useful benefit, a challenge, an object of competence, an entity of technical properties, a subject of guidance, a way to express closeness, and a shared space. The results presented in this article deepen our understanding of the role communication technology plays in the day-to-day interaction of virtual teams. The results recommend developing both technological systems and team members’ ways of using them, as well as providing opportunities to negotiate the meanings of technology and thus avoid frame disputes. In addition, ensuring that virtual teams use technological systems that support their unique communicational needs is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approaching a high degree of realism, android robots, and virtual humans may evoke uncomfortable feelings. Due to technologies that increase the realism of human replicas, this phenomenon, which is known as the uncanny valley , has been frequently highlighted in recent years by researchers from various fields. Although virtual animals play an important role in video games and entertainment, the question whether there is also an uncanny valley for virtual animals has been little investigated. This paper examines whether very realistic virtual pets tend to cause a similar aversion as humanlike characters. We conducted two empirical studies using cat renderings to investigate the effects of realism, stylization, and facial expressions of virtual cats on human perception. Through qualitative feedback, we gained deeper insight into the perception of realistic computer-generated animals. Our results indicate that depicting virtual animal-like characters at realism levels used in current video games causes negative reactions just as the uncanny valley predicts for humanlike characters. We conclude design implication to avoid that sensation and suggest that virtual animals should either be given a completely natural or a stylized appearance. We propose to further examine the uncanny valley by the inclusion of artificial animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design is driven by our understanding of users’ experiences. This understanding rests primarily upon users’ reports of their experiences, in the moment, after the fact, or ahead of time. In this paper we ask how the study of and design for experience might be better informed by attending more carefully to differences between these reports. Based on a broad and interdisciplinary literature review, we develop a conceptual framework of multiple selves, each representing a stage in the consolidation of experience accessed by self-report. We explore the use of this framework to support the interpretation of user experience, provide insight into users’ evaluations of their own experiences, and emphasise the importance of design for experience as lived and reflected upon. We discuss the implications of this framing of experience for design, particularly in the case of systems to support self-knowledge, wellbeing, behaviour change, reflection, and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous findings have shown that users with intellectual disabilities navigate the Web more easily and with greater interest when images are used to represent hyperlinks (Rocha, 2008; 2014; Rocha et al., 2012). Although images can be better for navigation purposes, there is a need to understand how these images should be designed to enhance users’ interaction with digital content for this particular group of people. The purpose of this study is to measure the user's preference for image-type representation (Object, Action and Universe), within four different categories (music, movies, sports, games). The sample consisted of 20 individuals with intellectual disabilities, their ages ranging from 22 to 49 years old. The results showed that they preferred less complex images, namely object representative images, and that categories had no effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a ranking approach which considers visual similarities among web pages by using structure and vision-based features. Throughout the study, we aim to understand and represent the web page visual structure as in the way people do by focusing on the layout similarity through the wireframe design. The conducted study is composed of two parts. In the first part, structural similarities are analyzed with the proposed concept of “layout components” along with visual inspection of DOM trees. In this way, five types of structural layout components are proposed and revealed. Moreover, whitespaces are also utilized since they are important visual cues in the visual perception of web pages. In the second part, a computer-vision based method named histogram of oriented gradients (HOG) is employed to reveal local visual cues in terms of edge orientations. Following the feature extraction phases, extracted feature histograms are mapped on spatial information preserving multilevel and multi-resolution bag of features representation method named spatial pyramid matching. In this way, three goals were achieved: (1) the visual layout of web pages were mapped and compared in a multi-resolution schema; (2) the intermediate process of visual segmentation was removed; and (3) efficient and easily comparable web page layout signatures were generated. We also conducted a questionnaire study covering 312 subjects. This helped us to create a benchmark dataset involving similarity scores collected from individuals. So far, there exists no web page layout similarity ranking oriented corpus in the literature. Our suggested approach achieved a remarkable ranking performance at top-5 and top-10 retrieval results. According to the findings of the comparative study, our approach outperforms some structure and vision-based studies in the literature. With this achievement, web pages could be employed as a query item to find other, similar web pages by taking into consideration that they are web pages, instead of images or anything else. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive, perceptual and motor skill changes may prevent older adults from successfully using modern technology. Google Glass possesses only a few buttons and seems to be overall intuitive. The present study aimed to assess the usability and acceptance of Google Glass with 30 older adults aged 65 years and over. The participants were asked to perform several standardized tasks and rate the usability. They experienced severe problems solving the tasks. Although Google Glass received only a marginal usability rating with an SUS score of 64.2 points, 60% of the participants rated the design as attractive, the handling as rather good and the complexity of the system as low. With a short training, even older adults with sensory and cognitive disabilities are able to use Google Glass. Recommendations for developers were derived from the study and are presented at the end of the article. They should be taken into account for the development of mobile applications for older adults using Google Glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessing visual information becomes a central need for all kinds of tasks and users (from accessing graphics and charts in news articles, to viewing images of items on sale on e-commerce sites), especially for blind users. In this context, digital tools of assistance, using adapted software (screen readers, talking browsers, etc.), hardware (force feedback mouse, piezo-electric pins, etc.), and more recently touch-screen technology (using smart phones or smart tablets) have been increasingly helping blind persons access and manipulate information. While effective with textual information, yet existing solutions remain limited when handling visual information. In this context, the goal of our study is to shed light on how the vibration modality can be perceived by blind users when accessing simple contour-based images and visual graphics on a touch-screen. In this paper, we target the vibration-only modality, compared with audio-kinesthetic or multimodal vibro-audio solutions. Our main motivation is that the potentials and limitations of touch-screen vibration-only feedback need to be fully studied and understood prior to integrating other modalities (such as sound, human speech, or other forms of haptic feedback). This could prove very useful in a range of applications: allowing blind people to access geographic maps, to navigate autonomously inside and outside buildings, as well as to access graphs and mathematical charts (for blind students). To achieve our goal, we develop a dedicated experimental protocol, titled EVIAC, testing a blind user's capacity in learning, distinguishing, identifying, and recognizing basic shapes and geometric objects presented on a vibrating touch-screen. Extensive tests were conducted on blindfolded and blind candidates, using a battery of evaluation metrics including: i) accuracy of shape recognition, ii) testers’ average response time, iii) number and duration of finger strokes, iv) surface area covered by the testers’ finger path trails, as well as iv) finger path correlation with the surface of the target shape. Results show that blind users are generally capable of accessing simple shapes and graphics presented on a vibrating touch-screen. However, results also underline various issues, ranging over: prolonged response time (e.g., blind users require 1 min and 22 s on average to recognize a basic shape), reduced touch-screen surface coverage, and low correlation between the surface of the target shape and the tester's vibration trails. The latter issues need to be further investigated to produce optimal recipes for using touch-screen technology to support image accessibility for blind users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas creativity tasks have traditionally been supported by conventional media and tools (such as paper, pens, scissors and glue); mobile phones, tablets and other devices based on interactive surfaces are increasingly been used as additional support. Large-sized multi-touch interactive surfaces appear as an interesting alternative for supporting creativity processes and for supporting synchronous collocated collaboration. However, they have mostly been used for visualization and navigation purposes. Their use as authoring means, which would be essential in creativity tasks, has only begun to be explored. Applications and platforms that have been developed in this area rely on low-level primitives for implementing representation of ideas and discussions. We have identified a significant gap between the level of development tools and the abstractions required by end-user applications that aim to support creativity processes using interactive surfaces. This gap makes it difficult for developers to build applications that provide richer, more flexible support for innovators working collaboratively around interactive surfaces. Based upon a thorough analysis of existing applications and user practices in the field, we have identified the key actions and interaction patterns that take place during collaborative creativity sessions. Thus, we propose ISCALI (Innovation Solutions Centered on Activities for Large-sized Interfaces), a model that can be used both for describing and for prescribing the role of multi-touch surfaces in collaborative creativity tasks. In accordance to Activity Centered Design, ISCALI comprises three major components: activities, actions and operations. The central activities within the processes of creativity comprise generation, organization and evaluation of ideas. Each of these activities encompasses sets of actions. Finally, several operation sets achieve the goal of each of the actions. Based upon our model, we designed a general architecture for collaborative creativity applications. This architecture addresses the development gap through a proposed set of building blocks. These building blocks implement the main interaction patterns needed for stimulating creativity tasks that rely on interactive surfaces. We have implemented prototypical versions of these building blocks, referred to as TOKAs (Touch Operations for Creative Activities), and have made them available to developers. Independent developers have implemented applications that facilitate the use of various methodologies that foster creativity and synchronous collocated collaboration. These developers have taken advantage of the availability of TOKAs. The implementation and use of TOKAs demonstrate ISCALI's expressivity for describing and guiding the development of applications that support collaborative creativity on top of interactive surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fitts’ law has been widely used in the human-computer interaction (HCI) field, especially for Graphical User Interface (GUI) design. However, most studies on Fitts’ law were performed with motion control tasks under visual feedback while only a few endeavor to measure human force control behavior. How quickly humans can exert a constant force with a required accuracy and whether this speed-accuracy tradeoff obeys Fitts’ law still needs to be explored. In this paper, human capabilities for controlling absolute magnitudes of fingertip force with discrete visual/audio/haptic feedback cues were observed and compared. Eighteen participants applied constant forces by pressing a force sensor with their index fingers in the three feedback modes respectively. Response time of 24 pairs (4 × 6) of Magnitude-Tolerance conditions were measured. The results showed that the response time obeyed Fitts’ law within a certain range of force accuracy in all the three feedback modes, while the Linear speed-accuracy tradeoff model was almost superior for the force control process than the Meyer formulation and the Shannon formulation. The response time in the audio feedback mode was the shortest among the three feedback conditions. The results may be used as guidelines for applications that rely on accurate and quick force control under different feedback conditions such as fast tapping tasks on a touch screen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate a 3-D virtual talking head on non-native Mandarin speaker pronunciation learning under three language presentation conditions – audio only (AU), human face video (HF) and audio-visual animation of a three-dimensional talking head (3-D). An auto language tutor (ALT) configured with AU, HF and 3-D is developed as the computer-aided pronunciation training system. We apply both subjective and objective methods to study user acceptance of the 3-D talking head, user comparative impressions and pronunciation performance under different conditions. The subjective ratings show that the 3-D talking head achieved a high level of user acceptance, and both 3-D and HF were preferred to AU. The objective pronunciation learning improvements show that 3-D was more beneficial than AU with respect to blade-alveolar, blade-palatal, lingua-palatal, open-mouth, open-mouth(-i) and round-mouth. Learning with 3-D was better than learning with HF with respect to blade-alveolar, lingua-palatal and round-mouth, and the tones of falling-rising and falling. Learning with AU was better than learning with HF with respect to the falling-rising tone. Neither HF nor AU was superior to 3-D with respect to any of the initials, finals and tones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

User Experience (UX) has emerged as a comprehensive concept which provides a holistic perspective on users’ interaction with technology. This concept can be characterized as a multidimensional phenomenon that comprises both, the perception of different product qualities as well as emotions that arise while using a product. The interrelations of these components are described in the ‘Component Model of User Experience’ (CUE model), which serves as the theoretical basis for our experiment. UX can be investigated in different phases of usage. In our experiment, we examined product perceptions and emotions in early phases and for short-time usage. Sixty participants employed different versions of mobile digital audio players which were systematically varied with respect to visual aesthetics and usability. Essential aspects of UX, i.e., perceptions of visual attractiveness and usability, as well as emotional responses were measured at three stages: Before interacting with the device, after an exploration (2 min) and after working with the system for a short time (15 min) to solve a given set of tasks. Data was analysed using a 2 × 2 × 3 mixed MANCOVA. The results of the experiment show that influences of visual aesthetics and of usability on quality perceptions as well as emotions change during these early stages. Moreover, evidence for two different halo effects was found: On the one hand, visual aesthetics influenced perceived usability in the beginning. On the other hand, the usability of the device impacted the perceived visual attractiveness and emotional responses at later stages. To account for these findings, we suggest to distinguish a hedonic halo effect from a pragmatic one. Based on the results for both effects, we propose that two mechanisms may be responsible for the effects during short-time usage, one of them being cognitive in nature, the other emotional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]