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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of global deaths and an increasing economic burden. Adherence to treatment among NCD patients is generally low due to the demanding treatment plans (i.e., lifestyle changes). Persuasive systems are a promising approach to complement traditional NCD care to support patients in behavior change and increase long-term adherence. However, we ask ourselves: To what extent does current persuasive systems research address the need for continuous, comprehensive, and adaptive NCD care? And where are the blind spots that need to be addressed by developers and researchers of more comprehensive persuasive systems? To answer these questions, we analyzed 57 articles on persuasive systems for NCD care in a systematic literature review. Our results show clear gaps in research and design of persuasive systems. We conceptualize comprehensive persuasive systems in the Fogg-PDSA matrix combining social (e.g., medical professionals) and technical aspects (i.e., persuasive applications) of persuasion.

Background: Though pedagogical artificial agents are expected to play a crucial role in the years to come, earlier studies provide inconsistent results regarding their effect on learning. This might be because their potential for exhibiting subtle nonverbal behaviours we know from human teachers has been untapped. What is more, there is little evidence of the processes underlying the effect of nonverbal behaviours of teachers (either human or artificial) on learning, so as to better guide their practical application. Objectives: The aims of the current research were threefold: firstly, to examine the effect of an artificial agent's vocal expressiveness on non-verbal immediacy (teachers' ability to increase psychological closeness through nonverbal communication). Secondly, to test whether an artificial agent showing strong vocal expressiveness will enhance affective and cognitive learning (perceived and actual), as compared to an artificial agent that shows weak vocal expressiveness. Thirdly, to examine whether the underlying mechanisms of motivation and attention explain the effect of immediacy (and thereby also of vocal expressiveness) on the two learning outcomes. Methods: The study used a between-participants design, with the participants being randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions: artificial modelling with strong expressiveness and artificial modelling with weak vocal expressiveness. Results and conclusions: Results showed that an artificial agent with strong vocal expressiveness increased affective and perceived cognitive learning. Partial support was found for actual cognitive learning. What is more, our findings revealed that vocal expressiveness is related to affective and perceived cognitive learning because it promotes nonverbal immediacy. Finally, results provided evidence of motivation as a mediator of the path from immediacy to affective learning. Major takeaways: The current findings verify the important role of nonverbal imm

In many recycling systems around the world, waste is separated at the source. Their success therefore depends on an active participation of households. However, especially young people have been found to not consistently follow their local recycling schemes. A promising approach to tackle such suboptimal household recycling behavior (HRB) is the use of persuasive technology. While existing studies have highlighted its potential, they also commonly relied on waste container augmentation. To better understand the requirements of augmentation-independent HRB-related persuasive technology, a two-phase study was carried out with young adults in Sweden. First, an online survey (N = 50) was used to establish the target users' recycling-related problems, attitudes and interests. Then, based on the survey results, a mobile phone application was designed and evaluated in an iterative manner. This led to the following design recommendations: (1) easy access to information about optimal household recycling behavior, (2) employment of several motivational strategies, (3) recognition of recycling scheme differences, (4) regard of users as equals and (5) use of a readily accessible technology channel. The technological format of persuasive technology interventions was found to spark the users' curiosity. Within a well-functioning recycling system and along with engaging content, it could encourage repeated use and elicit reflection to help break unsustainable household recycling habits.

Anthropomorphism is generally defined as the attribution of human-like characteristics to social robots and other non-human objects. We argue that different researchers have different interpretations of this concept, leading to measuring instruments that focus on different subsets of human-like characteristics. In the current paper, we discuss these different interpretations and explore a new method for measuring anthropomorphism, based on the Rasch model. The aim of the current work is to map anthropomorphism as a range of human-like characteristics on a one-dimensional scale. The scale’s validity and sensitivity were tested by comparing it with two available measuring instruments and by comparing people’s responses to different types of agents. In three studies, we explored whether the Rasch model is suitable for measuring anthropomorphism. Despite some limitations, results showed that the Rasch model can successfully be applied to the measurement of anthropomorphism. Implications for future work on anthropomorphism of social robots are discussed.

In citizen participation, a few representatives of the total citizen population participate in discussions with authorities regarding public decisions and policies. The present study examines a dual process model in which the representatives’ voice and similarity of values facilitate public acceptance through procedural fairness and trust in representatives, respectively. The results of an experiment employing a scenario method, which included participants from Japan (n = 211) and the Netherlands (n = 200), indicate that the representatives’ voice increased procedural fairness and public acceptance when the similarity of representatives was high. The effects of representatives’ voice on public acceptance via procedural fairness was supported in both nations, while other effects of representatives’ similarity on acceptance via trust were indicated only in Japan. These results suggest that the indirect voice of citizens, as conveyed by representatives, plays an important role in increasing perceptions of procedural fairness and public acceptance among citizens.

In citizen participation, a few representatives of the total citizen population participate in discussions with authorities regarding public decisions and policies. The present study examines a dual process model in which the representatives’ voice and similarity of values facilitate public acceptance through procedural fairness and trust in representatives, respectively. The results of an experiment employing a scenario method, which included participants from Japan (n = 211) and the Netherlands (n = 200), indicate that the representatives’ voice increased procedural fairness and public acceptance when the similarity of representatives was high. The effects of representatives’ voice on public acceptance via procedural fairness was supported in both nations, while other effects of representatives’ similarity on acceptance via trust were indicated only in Japan. These results suggest that the indirect voice of citizens, as conveyed by representatives, plays an important role in increasing perceptions of procedural fairness and public acceptance among citizens.

Mieke Kleppe,1,2 Joyca Lacroix,2 Jaap Ham,1 Cees Midden1 1Human Technology Interaction, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands; 2Behavior, Cognition and Perception, Philips Research, Eindhoven, the Netherlands Abstract: Current self-report medication adherence measures often provide heavily skewed results with limited variance, suggesting that most participants are highly adherent. This contrasts with findings from objective adherence measures. We argue that one of the main limitations of these self-report measures is the limited range covered by the behaviors assessed. That is, the items do not match the adherence behaviors that people perform, resulting in a ceiling effect. In this paper, we present a new self-reported medication adherence scale based on the Rasch model approach (the ProMAS), which covers a wide range of adherence behaviors. The ProMAS was tested with 370 elderly receiving medication for chronic conditions. The results indicated that the ProMAS provided adherence scores with sufficient fit to the Rasch model. Furthermore, the ProMAS covered a wider range of adherence behaviors compared to the widely used Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) instrument, resulting in more variance and less skewness in adherence scores. We conclude that the ProMAS is more capable of discriminating between people with different adherence rates than the MARS. Keywords: questionnaire design, probabilistic models, methodology

In evaluating complex new technologies, people are usually dependent on information provided by others, for example, experts or journalists, and have to determine whether theycan trust these information sources. This article focuses on similarity as the basis for trust.The first experiment (N = 261) confirmed that a journalist writing about genetically modified (GM) food was trusted more when his attitude was congruent with that of his readers. In addition, the experiment showed that this effect was mediated by the perceived similarity of thejournalist. The second experiment (N = 172) revealed that trust in a journalist writing aboutthe focal domain of GM food was even influenced by him expressing a congruent attitudein an unrelated domain. This result supports a general similarity account of the congruenceeffect on trust, as opposed to a confirmatory bias account. © 2009 Society for Risk Analysis.

The latest European sample survey of public perceptions of biotechnology reveals widespread opposition to genetically modified (GM) food in much of Europe, but public attitudes to medical and environmental applications remain positive.

The Eurobarometer on Biotechnology (46.1) was conducted during October and November 1996. The survey conducted in each EU (European Union) country used a multi-stage random sampling procedure and provided a statistically representative sample of national residents aged 15 and over. The total sample within the EU was 16,246 respondents (about 1,000 per EU country). The survey questionnaire was designed by the authors as part of a larger study involving the comparative analysis of public perceptions, media coverage and public policy in relation to biotechnology from 1973 to the present.