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BackgroundSedentary behavior (SB) is associated with various adverse health outcomes. The prevalence of prolonged sitting at work among office workers makes a case for SB interventions to target this setting and population. Everyday mundane objects with embedded microelectronics and ubiquitous computing represent a novel mode of delivering health behavior change interventions enabled by internet of things (IoTs). However, little is known about how to develop interventions involving IoT technologies. ObjectiveThis paper reports the design and development of an IoT-enabled SB intervention targeting office workers. MethodsThe process was guided by the behavior change wheel (BCW), a systematic framework for theory-informed and evidence-based development of behavior change interventions, complemented by the human-centered design (HCD) approach. Intervention design was shaped by findings from a diary-probed interview study (n=20), a stakeholder design workshop (n=8), and a series of theoretical mapping and collaborative technical design activities. ResultsThe resulting intervention named WorkMyWay targets a reduction in office workers’ prolonged stationary behaviors at work and an increase in regular breaks by modifying behavioral determinants in 11 theoretical domains with 17 behavior change techniques. The delivery technology consists of a wearable activity tracker, a light-emitting diode reminder device attached to a vessel (ie, water bottle or cup), and a companion Android app connected to both devices over Bluetooth. The delivery plan consists of a 2-week baseline assessment, a 30-min face-to-face action planning session, and 6-week self-directed use of the delivery technology. ConclusionsThis is the first study to demonstrate that it is possible to develop a complex IoT-enabled intervention by applying a combination of the BCW and HCD approaches. The next step is to assess the feasibility of WorkMyWay prior to testing intervention efficacy in a full-scale trial. The intervention mapping table that links individual intervention components with hypothesized mechanisms of action can serve as the basis for testing and clarifying theory-based mechanisms of action in future studies on WorkMyWay.

We explore how augmenting musical instruments with digital identities can enhance their provenance, utility during creative practice, and personal meaning. A literature review reveals the importance of object identities in general and instrument identities in particular, how the identities of things can be digitally augmented, but also that this idea has not been widely applied to musical instruments. A first case study draws on interviews to illuminate the current practice of physically relicing guitars to enhance their identities. A second case study of augmenting a guitar to capture and retell its life story illuminates potential digital identity practices. Reflecting on both case studies, we reconsider musical instruments as product-service systems in which physical instruments come bundled with digital services that forge, perform, and share their identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a historical overview of the classification of contemporary artworks that either have utilized artificial intelligence as a tool in their creation or focus on AI as their central theme or subject matter. The authors analyze artworks and descriptions, focusing on artists' motivations and AI's role in their practice, identifying five distinct tropes in AI art. The authors compare artworks with respect to key questions, creating a useful tool for art historians, curators, researchers, and artists. This historical classification provides a structured approach to understanding AI art's creative significance and attributes as it has developed over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we tested the effect of a nostalgic storytelling virtual reality (VR) experience (vs. a text-reading neutral VR experience as the comparison condition) on state-level eudaimonic well-being and explored the underlying mediating mechanisms. In a within-subject experimental design, all 31 participants experienced both versions of the VR in pseudorandomized and counterbalanced order. Compared with the text-reading VR experience, the nostalgic storytelling VR resulted in significantly higher hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment media gratifications (aka. media enjoyment and media appreciation, respectively), social connectedness, and state-level well-being. Moreover, the relationship between VR and well-being was serially mediated by the level of state nostalgia and eudaimonic media gratifications. That is, the nostalgic storytelling VR was found to evoke state nostalgia, which led to a greater appreciation of the VR experience; this appreciation, in turn, contributed to increased state-level well-being. Implications of the study findings for future research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper emerges from an interdisciplinary collaboration between prosthesis-using disabled dance artists, computer scientists, dance researchers and engineers to explore the transformative potential of digital technologies to co-create aesthetically personalised prosthetics from dance movements. Beginning with the dancers performing improvised movement sequences in motion capture suits, which drove a computational design algorithm, an 'aesthetic seed' for each dancer was generated: a kind of personal signature from their movement. These seeds were then algorithmically mapped onto the shapes of prosthetic limb covers that could be 3D printed in a variety of materials. The paper will share some of the reflections from the dancers on how the process generated questions about agency, appropriation, ownership and the political implications of disability as a site of resistance. It will suggest some ways in which digital methods can offer disabled artists different routes towards making and sharing work, whilst foregrounding the importance of inclusion to challenge normative thinking around what 'connection' and 'access' means in the context of digital innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The home is becoming a key location for healthcare delivery, including the use of technology driven by autonomous systems (AS) to monitor and support healthcare plans. Using the example of a smart mirror, this paper describes the outcomes of focus groups with people with multiple sclerosis (MS; n = 6) and people who have had a stroke (n = 15) to understand their attitudes towards the use of AS for healthcare in the home. Qualitative data were analysed using a thematic analysis. The results indicate that the use of such technology depends on the level of adaptability and responsiveness to users' specific circumstances, including their relationships with the healthcare system. A smart mirror would need to support manual entry, responsive goal setting, the effective aggregation of data sources and integration with other technology, have a range of input methods, be supportive rather than prescriptive in messaging, and give the user full control of their data. The barriers to its adoption include a perceived lack of portability and practicality, a lack of accessibility and inclusivity, a sense of redundancy, feeling overwhelmed by multiple technological devices, and a lack of trust in data sharing. These results inform the development and deployment of future health technologies based on the lived experiences of people with health conditions who require ongoing care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to explore the role of physical representations in young children's numerical learning then identify the benefits of using a graphical interface in order to understand the potential for developing interactive technologies in this domain. Three studies are reported that examined the effect of using physical representations (blocks) on children's (aged 4-8 years) strategies in a numerical partitioning task. The first study describes the role of certain perceptual and manipulative properties of the physical materials, comparing performance with paper and no materials conditions. The study demonstrated an advantage for physical materials and identified a key property reflecting strategies: whether blocks were moved individually or as a group. This finding was investigated in the second study by comparing strategies when children were asked to constrain movements to one block at a time. Significant differences were found in strategies used although differences were reduced by children moving individual blocks quickly in succession using both hands. The final study examined the effect of constraining manipulation using a graphical user interface, where on screen squares could only be moved individually. As predicted, significant differences were found for strategies used between physical and virtual conditions. The findings suggest that differences in the manipulative properties of interfaces may affect children's numerical strategies and are discussed with respect to the design of effective interactive technologies in this domain. (Contains 3 tables and 15 figures.)

Background: Encouraging office workers to break up prolonged sedentary behavior (SB) at work with regular microbreaks can be beneficial yet challenging. The Internet of Things (IoT) offers great promise for delivering more subtle and hence acceptable behavior change interventions in the workplace. We previously developed an IoT-enabled SB intervention, called WorkMyWay, by applying a combination of theory-informed and human-centered design approaches. According to the Medical Research Council's framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions such as WorkMyWay, process evaluation in the feasibility phase can help establish the viability of novel modes of delivery and identify facilitators and barriers to successful delivery. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the WorkMyWay intervention and its technological delivery system. Methods: A mixed methods approach was adopted. A sample of 15 office workers were recruited to use WorkMyWay during work hours for 6 weeks. Questionnaires were administered before and after the intervention period to assess self-report occupational sitting and physical activity (OSPA) and psychosocial variables theoretically aligned with prolonged occupational SB (eg, intention, perceived behavioral control, prospective memory and retrospective memory of breaks, and automaticity of regular break behaviors). Behavioral and interactional data were obtained through the system database to determine adherence, quality of delivery, compliance, and objective OSPA. Semistructured interviews were conducted at the end of the study, and a thematic analysis was performed on interview transcripts. Results: All 15 participants completed the study (attrition=0%) and on average used the system for 25 tracking days (out of a possible 30 days; adherence=83%). Although no significant change was observed in either objective or self-report OSPA, postintervention improvements were significant in the automaticity of regular break behaviors (t 14=2.606; P =.02), retrospective memory of breaks (t 14=7.926; P <.001), and prospective memory of breaks (t 14=–2.661; P =.02). The qualitative analysis identified 6 themes, which lent support to the high acceptability of WorkMyWay, though delivery was compromised by issues concerning Bluetooth connectivity and factors related to user behaviors. Fixing technical issues, tailoring to individual differences, soliciting organizational supports, and harnessing interpersonal influences could facilitate delivery and enhance acceptance. Conclusions: It is acceptable and feasible to deliver an SB intervention with an IoT system that involves a wearable activity tracking device, an app, and a digitally augmented everyday object (eg, cup). More industrial design and technological development work on WorkMyWay is warranted to improve delivery. Future research should seek to establish the broad acceptability of similar IoT-enabled interventions while expanding the range of digitally augmented objects as the modes of delivery to meet diverse needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guitarists struggle to play their instruments while simultaneously using additional computing devices (i.e., encumbered interaction). We explored designs with guitarists through co-design and somaesthetic design workshops, learning that they (unsurprisingly) preferred to focus on playing their guitars and keeping their instruments' material integrity intact. Subsequently, we devised an interactive guitar strap controller, which guitarists found promising for tackling encumbered interaction during instrumental transcription, learning and practice. Our design process highlights three strategies: considering postural interaction, applying somaesthetic design to interactive music technology development, and augmenting guitar accessories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Losing Her Voice is a new opera which highlights the challenges of subtly interweaving digital technologies into established cultural forms. Audience members were encouraged to use their own mobile phones to interact with on-stage projections before, during and after the performance. We chart the trajectories of participation that were designed into the premiere performances of this work, and how these unfolded in practice. We identify the strategies that were effective to: encourage the adoption of the mobile app; interweave use with the other elements of the opera performance; make it consistent with the content; and ensure it complemented but was not essential to the show. We highlight the way in which three canonical trajectories must be woven together in this experience: the standard trajectory of “a night at the opera”; the dramatic arc of the specific work, and the audience member’s use of their own device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]