Communication Challenges Research Articles

Sketchar: Supporting Character Design and Illustration Prototyping Using Generative AI

Character design in games involves interdisciplinary collaborations, typically between designers who create the narrative content, and illustrators who realize the design vision. However, traditional workflows face challenges in communication due to the differing backgrounds of illustrators and designers, the latter with limited artistic abilities. To overcome these challenges, we created Sketchar, a Generative AI (GenAI) tool that allows designers to prototype game characters and generate images based on conceptual input, providing visual outcomes that can give immediate feedback and enhance communication with illustrators' next step in the design cycle. We conducted a mixed-method study to evaluate the interaction between game designers and Sketchar. We showed that the reference images generated in co-creating with Sketchar fostered refinement of design details and can be incorporated into real-world workflows. Moreover, designers without artistic backgrounds found the Sketchar workflow to be more expressive and worthwhile. This research demonstrates the potential of GenAI in enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration in the game industry, enabling designers to interact beyond their own limited expertise.

Interpersonal communication in the motor insurance sector during the claims stage

Orientation: The South African short-term motor insurance industry is highly competitive, offering clients many choices. Therefore, the long-term retention of clients is crucial for an insurance company’s sustainability.Research purpose: The study aims to report on the context-specific communication challenges during the claims stage and to propose recommendations to mitigate them from an interpersonal communication perspective.Motivation for the study: Studies on client retention have been conducted from a marketing or corporate communication perspective, but it is not known how interpersonal communication during the claims phase could impact long-term relationships.Research design, approach and method: We followed a qualitative approach, with a single case study design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior management and claims administrators in the motor insurance department of a large South African insurer. The data were inductively analysed through qualitative content analysis from which the challenges were identified.Main findings: A lack of mutual understanding, ineffective conflict management, a lack of trust and one-way communication were identified as the main challenges experienced by claims administrators in their communication with clients during the claims stage.Practical/managerial implications: Practical principles such as sympathy and empathy, listening, feedback, respect, providing and clarifying information and providing access to resources, together with ethical and transparent communication, two-way symmetrical communication and dialogue should be included in claims administrators’ training to enable them to understand and adapt to the client’s needs.Contribution/value-add: A framework for training claims administrators operating in this context is presented, offering a theoretical and practical contribution.

Social Mobile Learning with 21st Century Learning for Thailand Education 4.0

The Thailand 4.0 initiative aims to transform the country into a digital economy, with education reform being a crucial component. Social mobile learning has the potential to support this transformation. However, engagement with social mobile learning varies among different groups. This paper examines the relationship between education reform, the Thailand 4.0 initiative, and social mobile learning. It explores the challenges of communication for sustainability, the importance of reflection in understanding complexity, the role of design thinking in teaching sustainability, and examples of teaching for sustainable development within the context of Thailand 4.0 and social mobile learning. The study's findings suggest that while social mobile learning can support education reform and the Thailand 4.0 initiative, effective engagement varies. Incorporating sustainable development teaching into Thailand 4.0's education system can help promote a culture of sustainability.

Development of telemedicine in Poland – organizational, ethical and communication challenges

Development of telemedicine in Poland – organizational, ethical and communication challenges

Vaccine hesitancy and the challenge of successful scientific communication

Vaccine hesitancy and the challenge of successful scientific communication Drawing on personal experiences and public discourse, Dr. Klaus Eyer, an Associate Professor at Aarhus University, explores the challenges of communicating about vaccine science to address vaccine hesitancy. Various hurdles need to be overcome by a vaccine to protect against a disease. It needs to be proven safe and effective in clinical studies. It also needs to be widely accepted and used by the public. This article examines the difficulties of communicating about vaccine science based on personal experiences and public discussions. My background is rooted in continental Europe, and my perspective may differ from those with other cultural or personal backgrounds. I have been actively involved in public outreach to promote vaccination, driven by my conviction in scientific evidence that shows current vaccines offer a net benefit to both individuals and communities, despite the challenges they present in terms of safety and efficacy in very rare cases, as I discussed in the previous article for this publication.(1) To offer a broader view, I’ve included insights from colleagues gathered through discussions in recent years, but we will still only be able to scratch the surface.

Promoting multistep requesting through systematic instruction and facilitated iPad-based intervention with children with intellectual disability

A lack of multistep requesting among children with intellectual disability can be an indicator of complex communication and social challenges. This study aims to determine the effect of a systematic instruction (differential reinforcement, progressive time delay, and least-to-most prompting) using an iPad with the “GoTalk Now” app on the acquisition and maintenance of multistep requesting. Using a multiple-probe across-participants design, three children between the ages of nine and 10 diagnosed with intellectual disability participated in this study. The findings revealed that the intervention was effective in both the intervention and maintenance phases. In two participants, the change in performance occurred immediately, while in the other participant, it took more sessions to reach the acquisition criteria. Social validity data were obtained from participants’ teachers. Implications and future directions are discussed according to the findings.

Exploring cultural competence barriers in the primary care sexual and reproductive health centres in Catalonia, Spain: perspectives from immigrant women and healthcare providers

BackgroundImmigrant populations, especially women, continue facing challenges in accessing quality healthcare, particularly sexual and reproductive health services (SRH). Poor cultural competent health systems contribute to communication challenges between immigrant women and healthcare providers perpetuating health disparities. This exploratory study describes these communication barriers from the perspective of Moroccan and Pakistani immigrant women and healthcare providers within the Catalan health system and its implications to ensure an equitable provision of SRH services.MethodsAn exploratory-descriptive qualitative study was conducted in various municipalities of Barcelona with high concentration of immigrants. Eight focus groups (N = 51) and semi-structured interviews (N = 22) with Moroccan and Pakistani immigrant women were combined with key informant interviews (N = 13) with healthcare professionals. Thematic analysis and data triangulation were performed primarily using an inductive approach.ResultsLanguage barriers and cultural differences in health needs, expectations, care-seeking behaviours and understanding of quality healthcare provision hindered the ability of immigrant women and providers to interact effectively. Limited availability of intercultural mediators and inadequate cultural competence training opportunities for health staff were also identified. Findings suggest a lack of minority representation in the Catalan health workforce and leadership roles.ConclusionThis study reinforces the evidence of persistent inequities in accessing healthcare among immigrant populations by focusing on the cultural competence barriers of the Catalan health system in the provision and access to SRH services. The regularization of adequately trained intercultural mediators, quality training in cultural competence for health staff and a commitment to increase workforce diversity would contribute to improve intercultural communication between immigrant patients and providers. An urgent call to action in this direction is needed to ensure an equitable access to SRH services among immigrant women.

Sensor-Aware Data Imputation for Time-Series Machine Learning on Low-Power Wearable Devices

Wearable devices that have low-power sensors, processors, and communication capabilities are gaining wide adoption in several health applications. The machine learning algorithms on these devices assume that data from all sensors are available during runtime. However, data from one or more sensors may be unavailable due to energy or communication challenges. This loss of sensor data can result in accuracy degradation of the application. Prior approaches to handle missing data, such as generative models or training multiple classifiers for each combination of missing sensors are not suitable for low-energy wearable devices due to their high overhead at runtime. In contrast to prior approaches, we present an energy-efficient approach, referred to as Sensor-Aware iMputation (SAM), to accurately impute missing data at runtime and recover application accuracy. SAM first uses unsupervised clustering to obtain clusters of similar sensor data patterns. Next, it learns inter-relationship between clusters to obtain imputation patterns for each combination of clusters using a principled sensor-aware search algorithm. Using sensor data for clustering before choosing imputation patterns ensures that the imputation is aware of sensor data observations. Experiments on seven diverse wearable sensor based time-series datasets demonstrate that SAM is able to maintain accuracy within 5% of the baseline with no missing data when one sensor is missing. We also compare SAM against generative adversarial imputation networks (GAIN), transformers, and k-nearest neighbor methods. Results show that SAM outperforms all three approaches on average by more than 25% when two sensors are missing with negligible overhead compared to the baseline.

Uncovering the effects of pandemic conditions on hearing aid experiences: a dual perspective from audiologists and hearing aid users

Purpose: This study examines the effects of the pandemic on hearing aid experiences from the perspectives of audiologists and patients, as well as communication challenges faced by both users and non-users of hearing aids. Materials and Methods: The study consisted of two phases: a longitudinal study examining the services provided by audiologists during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and after the first vaccination dose. The second phase involved a survey of 120 elderly individuals with hearing loss, divided into hearing aid users and non-users for assessing communication challenges. Data was collected from comprehensive audiology clinics using a series of checklists. Results: Analysis of the frequency of services related to hearing aids revealed that during the peak period, the majority of visits were for acquiring batteries and hearing aids, while fewer visits were for fitting and fine-tuning the devices. After vaccination the pattern was changed. In the second phase, significant differences were observed between the hearing aid users and non-users with regards to their ability to comprehend speech while wearing mask, communicating at a safe distance, and following TV news. Conclusions: The distribution of requested services differed during the peak period and the post-vaccination period. There was a noticeable increase in the purchase and fitting of hearing aids after vaccination. However, patients encountered difficulties due to the limited availability of tele-audiology services and delayed services from hearing aid companies. The benefits of hearing aids were impacted by the pandemic as many people did not seek adjustments for their devices.

Applications of Augmented and Virtual Reality in Enhancing Communication for Individuals Who Are Hard of Hearing: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review examines the role of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in enhancing communication for individuals who are hard of hearing. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive search across databases including PubMed, WoS, EMBASE, and IEEE. Of the 5,981 records initially identified, 22 studies met our inclusion criteria after screening. Most of these studies (68%) focused on nonverbal communication modalities using tools such as sign language and visual cues, while the remainder focused on verbal communication. A descriptive synthesis was used due to the expected diversity in study characteristics. Our assessment showed a substantial emphasis on educational impacts, speech perception, and cognitive skills development through AR and VR. The reviewed articles provide preliminary evidence on the efficacy of these technologies in teaching sign language, enhancing cognitive skills such as reasoning, and improving speech perception among the deaf or hard of hearing individuals. This review underscores the transformative potential of AR and VR in addressing communication challenges faced by individuals who are hard of hearing, emphasizing the need for further research with diverse, larger sample sizes to investigate these technologies for broader communication support.

Diversity’s Double-Edged Sword: Analyzing Race’s Effect on Remote Pair Programming Interactions

Remote pair programming is widely used in software development, but no research has examined how race affects these interactions between developers. We embarked on this study due to the historical under representation of Black developers in the tech industry, with White developers comprising the majority. Our study involved 24 experienced developers, forming 12 gender-balanced same- and mixed-race pairs. Pairs collaborated on a programming task using the think-aloud method, followed by individual retrospective interviews. Our findings revealed elevated productivity scores for mixed-race pairs, with no differences in code quality between same- and mixed-race pairs. Mixed-race pairs excelled in task distribution, shared decision-making, and role-exchange but encountered communication challenges, discomfort, and anxiety, shedding light on the complexity of diversity dynamics. Our study emphasizes race’s impact on remote pair programming and underscores the need for diverse tools and methods to address racial disparities for collaboration.

Delivering Culturally Competent Care to Migrants by Healthcare Personnel: A Crucial Aspect of Delivering Culturally Sensitive Care

The increasing cultural and ethnic diversity within global migrant populations necessitates the provision of culturally competent care by healthcare personnel. This narrative literature review critically analyzes existing literature on the delivery of culturally competent care to migrants, highlighting key theoretical frameworks, empirical findings, and practical strategies to enhance cultural competence in healthcare settings. The review identifies significant health disparities faced by migrants, including barriers to accessing healthcare, communication challenges, and systemic issues within healthcare institutions. It emphasizes the importance of comprehensive training programs, supportive organizational policies, community engagement, and the innovative use of technology and telemedicine. Furthermore, it addresses the future directions and research gaps, calling for longitudinal studies, the development of robust metrics, and targeted strategies to overcome the digital divide and ensure data privacy. By addressing these areas, healthcare providers, educators, and policymakers can improve healthcare delivery, reduce health disparities, and ensure equitable access to care for migrant populations.

Sexuality and Gender Issues in Autistic Youth: A Series of 6 Cases and a Literature Review

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) involves challenges in social communication and repetitive behaviors, impacting daily functioning. Individuals with ASD face unique difficulties regarding sexuality, often experiencing mismatches between sexual development and social maturity, leading to potential inappropriate behaviors. Social competence deficits may limit their understanding of sexuality, increasing risks of offending or victimization. Gender differences in sexual behavior are evident, with males showing earlier and more frequent sexual activity, while females demonstrate greater flexibility in sexual orientation. This paper presents six clinical cases highlighting the diverse experiences of sexuality and gender identity in autistic individuals, offering insights into the complex interactions between ASD, gender, and sexual behavior.

DMPC-based control solution for mobile robots platoon based on ZigBee communication

The integration of mobile robots into various applications, operating collaboratively in groups known as platoons, presents challenges in communication, control, and synchronization. This paper introduces a control solution for mobile robot platoons based on a DMPC algorithm and the ZigBee protocol for V2V communication. This communication standard was selected for its low power consumption, cost-effectiveness, and reliable data transmission over short distances. Furthermore, a testbed and methodology for the experimental evaluation of the proposed control solution were developed. The results demonstrate the efficacy and feasibility of the proposed control and communication solutions.

Symbolic Representation of Young Children in Science: Insights into Preschoolers’ Drawings of Change of State of Matter

Research in early childhood education acknowledges the multimodal nature of learning, and the need to equip young learners with the abilities to encounter future communication and learning challenges is imperative. Drawing can play a crucial role in children’s learning in general and contribute to science learning in particular. In this paper, we study the drawings that young children (aged 4–6) produce during a teaching intervention about the change of state of matter. The research adopts a sociocultural perspective, considering drawing as a mediating tool to support children’s meaning-making and learning process. The objective is to understand better the type of drawing situations that can be proposed to young children in science and the scaffold these drawing tasks might provide to support meaning-making in science. Results show that children use iconic as well as symbolic modes of representation depending on the situation and that the resources available can have an impact on how children use different symbols.

Parent-Child Communication Dynamics in Muhammadiyah Pagesangan Orphanage

Background: Effective communication is essential for nurturing children's moral development, particularly in orphanages. Specific Background: This qualitative study investigates communication dynamics between four caregivers and 19 children at the Muhammadiyah Pagesangan Orphanage in Surabaya. Knowledge Gap: Limited research exists on communication methods used in orphanages, especially for children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Aims: The study aims to analyze communication patterns in moral guidance within the orphanage. Results: Findings indicate that children employ both primary and secondary communication methods to connect with distant parents, facing challenges such as limited phone access and socio-economic barriers. Novelty: This research highlights unique communication challenges in orphanages and proposes that effective communication fosters a nurturing environment. Implications: By promoting a loving communication atmosphere, caregivers can enhance children's emotional well-being and moral development, suggesting that communication is crucial for effective caregiving practices in orphanage settings. Highlights : Communication Patterns: Emphasizes the need for understanding how caregivers interact with children. Challenges: Identifies barriers faced by children in maintaining contact with parents. Nurturing Environment: Highlights the role of effective communication in promoting emotional well-being. Keywords: communication, orphanage, moral development, caregivers, qualitative research

Crisis preparedness exercise on food and feed safety for IPA beneficiaries 2024.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) within the framework of the Preparatory measures for the participation of IPA beneficiaries in the European Food Safety Authority 2023-2026 will organize a total of 3 crisis preparedness training events for the IPA countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo,* Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye). For 2024, EFSA requested to organise a simulation exercise focused on a multi-country incident related to biological risks in products of animal origin. The overall objectives of the training were: 1) to increase IPA countries' knowledge and understanding of crisis handling concepts and of EFSA's crisis handling procedures; 2) to improve preparedness and response planning for crisis situations in the domain of biological hazards; 3) to improve coherence, interoperability and coordination, to be prepared for communication and decision-making challenges in crisis situations. Working with the contractor Opera srl, EFSA organised a 2-day training on 26-27 June 2024 in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), attended by 24 participants (3 online) from 7 IPA countries, 2 representatives from EFSA and 1 representative from the hosting competent authority from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants were briefed on the IPA crisis preparedness training scheme, EFSA's crisis handling procedures, principles of crisis communication (remote mode), EFSA - ECDC Rapid Outbreak Assessment (remote mode), food safety risk assessment structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Most of the workshop was dedicated to the simulation exercise, that was organized in a tabletop format, with injects describing an evolving food safety incident and a debriefing after each inject. During the exercise, 1 audio-conference meeting and a TV debate were simulated. The exercise was concluded with a brainstorming session between the tutors and participants. Three recommendations were done to improve the organization of future events. Six recommendations were given for the improvement of risk assessment, risk management and risk communication in IPA countries. The objectives were achieved, based on the results of the knowledge test and on the feedback provided by participants in the course evaluation questionnaire.

Child Protection Staff Perspectives of the SOFT Program: Touch, Textures, Weights, and Pressures

ABSTRACT Aboriginal children are overrepresented in Australia’s child protection system, and limited tools are available to assist with connecting these children to their culture. The Stitching Our Future Together (SOFT) Program, developed in consultation with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, services, and other specialists, is used within the Department of Communities’ Child Protection and Family Support (CPFS) Division in Western Australia to address big emotions and safe behaviours with Aboriginal children in care. This study used phenomenology and social constructivism to explore CPFS staff’s perspectives and experiences of the SOFT Program. Seven semistructured in-depth interviews took place with CPFS staff. Five themes were identified: the SOFT Program and its use, culturally responsive practice, facilitating relationships, communication, and recommendations and implementation challenges. Participants expressed that the SOFT Program fostered an understanding of, and communication about, pertinent issues such as family and domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction, mental health, and child neglect and abuse. The findings show how staff described the program’s capacity to help them navigate complex situations, highlighting the need to incorporate more culturally centred and creative-based work into child protection practice. IMPLICATIONS The SOFT Program positively supports culturally responsive practice and facilitates relationships and communication for child protection workers and children in care. The integration of creative and legislated practices assists with personalising and enhancing the effectiveness of child protection work with children in care.

Does Delivery Format Matter? A Pilot Study Comparing Telehealth Versus Face-to-Face Movement Interventions for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have motor, social communication, and behavioral challenges. During the pandemic, children lost access to face-to-face (F2F) services and had to revert to telehealth (TH) options. We compared the efficacy, fidelity, acceptability, and feasibility of a general motor (GM) intervention using an F2F or telehealth (TH) format. Fifteen children with ASD participated in an 8-week program involving gross motor games to promote motor and social communication skills. Differences across TH and F2F formats for motor and socially directed verbalization as well as stakeholder feedback on formats were collected. Gross motor and socially directed verbalization did not differ between the F2F and TH subgroups, and parents and trainers were satisfied with either format. However, TH interventions were longer, had more technological challenges, and required more parental effort. The findings of this study support the use of TH as a comparable and viable substitute for F2F interactions for children with ASD.

A lightweight network-based sign language robot with facial mirroring and speech system

Human–robot interaction is an essential capability for humanoid robots to enter the physical world and become companions in people’s lives, learning, and work. While the majority of current research focuses on the voice-based interactions of robots, yet over 60% of communication occurs through nonverbal behaviors, such as facial expressions and hand gestures. Endowing robots with the ability to communicate through nonverbal behavior not only enhances the interactive experience with robots but also provides a potential communication tool for individuals with hearing or speech impairments. Here, we develop a humanoid robot capable of adjusting facial movements by driving servos, and design a novel framework for the robot to integrate sign language recognition and facial landmark detection algorithms. This framework facilitates the robot recognize sign language and translate it into spoken language, while also imitating the facial expressions of the signers. To achieve this, we also propose a lightweight deep learning network called RealTimeSignNet for real-time sign language recognition. Leveraging lightweight 3D convolution modules and time-dependent constraints, this model adapts to various time scales, ensuring efficient processing of sign language recognition tasks. Experimental results demonstrate the outstanding performance of the RealTimeSignNet model on mainstream sign language datasets, achieving an accuracy of 88.1% on the large continuous sign language dataset (continuous SLR), 98.2% on the isolated sign language dataset (SLR 500), and 91.50% on the English sign language dataset (WLAS). The overall assessment demonstrates that our humanoid robot is capable of recognizing sign language and translating it into spoken language, while imitating the facial emotions, providing a comprehensive solution to the communication challenges faced by individuals with hearing and speech impairments.