End-user Groups Research Articles

A semantic-based approach for querying linked data using natural language

The semantic Web aims to provide to Web information with a well-defined meaning and make it understandable not only by humans but also by computers, thus allowing the automation, integration and reuse of high-quality information across different applications. However, current information retrieval mechanisms for semantic knowledge bases are intended to be only used by expert users. In this work, we propose a natural language interface that allows non-expert users the access to this kind of information through formulating queries in natural language. The present approach uses a domain-independent ontology model to represent the question’s structure and context. Also, this model allows determination of the answer type expected by the user based on a proposed question classification. To prove the effectiveness of our approach, we have conducted an evaluation in the music domain using LinkedBrainz, an effort to provide the MusicBrainz information as structured data on the Web by means of Semantic Web technologies. Our proposal obtained encouraging results based on the F-measure metric, ranging from 0.74 to 0.82 for a corpus of questions generated by a group of real-world end users.

User centred design and validation during the development of domestic brain computer interface applications for people with acquired brain injury and therapists: a multi-stakeholder approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the application of user centred design (UCD) within a research project to support the design, development and evaluation of a brain computer interface (BCI) with associated home-based services and remote therapy station for people with acquired brain injury (ABI). Design/methodology/approach – A multi- stakeholder UCD approach was adopted to include people living with ABI, their caregivers and therapists providing rehabilitation. A three-phased iterative approach was implemented: Phase 1 was to gather user requirements, Phase 2 an iterative design phase with end user (EU) groups and therapists and finally the verification and implementation phase. The final phase had two strands of a home-based BCI evaluation with target EUs and their caregivers, alongside this, therapists evaluated the final therapist station that supports the use of the BCI at home. Ethical governance, inline with Ulster University, was awarded. Findings – UCD enabled the co-creation and validation of a home-based BCI system for social inclusion and rehabilitation. Originality/value – This was the first BCI project to adopt UCD to design and validation a novel home-based BCI system and migrate this from the lab to home. It highlights the importance of UCD to bridge the gap between the technical developers and those whom the technology is aimed at. This complex design process is essential to increase usability and reduce device abandonment.

Knowledge translation of an online tool to determine candidacy for epilepsy surgery evaluation.

Guidelines recommend that surgery be considered in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, yet delays to epilepsy surgery still exist. A Web-based, evidence-informed clinical decision tool (www.toolsforepilepsy.com) was developed to help physicians determine which patients are appropriate for an epilepsy surgery evaluation. We evaluated the usability and feasibility of the tool with the intended end users in order to improve implementation into practice. Usability testing was conducted with relevant end users. After the tool was modified based on usability results, another group of end users trialed the tool in their clinical practice. This latter group of end users then participated in focus groups and semi-structured interviews to address barriers and facilitators to tool implementation. Finally, a stakeholder meeting was held with domain experts and end users to discuss further changes to the tool and implementation strategies. Six overall themes were identified through usability testing, and an additional 11 themes were identified through the focus groups and interviews. The tool was modified based on these findings, which were then presented at the stakeholder meeting of experts and end users for further refinement. The findings were also used to guide discussions of potential implementation strategies at the meeting. This study provides guidance on how to improve the usability of clinical decision tools by engaging end users, experts, and other key stakeholders. The modifications to the tool should facilitate its implementation in clinical practice and ultimately enhance the quality of care persons with epilepsy receive.

Comparative Analysis of Prominent Middleware Platforms in the Domain of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) for an Older Adults with Dementia (OAwD) Scenario

Diversification of application areas, technologies, and computational techniques in the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) domain alongside the need for a balance between reproducibility and customizability for the heterogeneous end-user groups has led towards the development of domain-specific middleware platforms, which are software frameworks that facilitate integration and communication amongst heterogeneous hardware and software components, so they can operate synergistically within a shared environment. Recent efforts that study such platforms have emphasized the need for improved evaluation methods, particularly feature-focused scenario-based evaluations. Thus, the objective of this work was to perform a comparative analysis of two prominent AAL middleware platforms and their programmability for Older Adults with Dementia (OAwD) to ultimately derive guidelines for the development of AAL systems. Mapping of a platform-independence use-case scenario to both platforms, hinted towards the need for graphical-user interfaces over text-based interfaces and application area-specific modules.

Assessing the Usability of Six Data Entry Mobile Interfaces for Caregivers: A Randomized Trial.

BackgroundThere is an increased demand in hospitals for tools, such as dedicated mobile device apps, that enable the recording of clinical information in an electronic format at the patient’s bedside. Although the human-machine interface design on mobile devices strongly influences the accuracy and effectiveness of data recording, there is still a lack of evidence as to which interface design offers the best guarantee for ease of use and quality of recording. Therefore, interfaces need to be assessed both for usability and reliability because recording errors can seriously impact the overall level of quality of the data and affect the care provided.ObjectiveIn this randomized crossover trial, we formally compared 6 handheld device interfaces for both speed of data entry and accuracy of recorded information. Three types of numerical data commonly recorded at the patient’s bedside were used to evaluate the interfaces.MethodsIn total, 150 health care professionals from the University Hospitals of Geneva volunteered to record a series of randomly generated data on each of the 6 interfaces provided on a smartphone. The interfaces were presented in a randomized order as part of fully automated data entry scenarios. During the data entry process, accuracy and effectiveness were automatically recorded by the software.ResultsVarious types of errors occurred, which ranged from 0.7% for the most reliable design to 18.5% for the least reliable one. The length of time needed for data recording ranged from 2.81 sec to 14.68 sec, depending on the interface. The numeric keyboard interface delivered the best performance for pulse data entry with a mean time of 3.08 sec (SD 0.06) and an accuracy of 99.3%.ConclusionsOur study highlights the critical impact the choice of an interface can have on the quality of recorded data. Selecting an interface should be driven less by the needs of specific end-user groups or the necessity to facilitate the developer’s task (eg, by opting for default solutions provided by commercial platforms) than by the level of speed and accuracy an interface can provide for recording information. An important effort must be made to properly validate mobile device interfaces intended for use in the clinical setting. In this regard, our study identified the numeric keyboard, among the proposed designs, as the most accurate interface for entering specific numerical values. This is an important step toward providing clearer guidelines on which interface to choose for the appropriate use of handheld device interfaces in the health care setting.

Integrating Social Power and Political Influence into Models of Social–Ecological Systems

Shaping policy for environmental sustainability depends upon decision-makers conceptualizing problems in ways that are either shared or similar enough to communicate about, diagnose, and act. The quality of this shared mental model of a social–ecological system (SES) is paramount to its effectiveness. Fundamentally, the mental model must integrate multiple kinds of knowledge about the system. If the decision-making body's assumptions about, description of, and solution for a problem do not to reflect the many ways stakeholders know a system, then the products of that decision-making process are viewed as illegitimate. Sustainability policy must fit the often subtle social order of the communities expected to implement it. In this essay, we discuss how a systems-based perspective can be a versatile tool for tackling these challenges of knowledge integration and decision-making in the context of a complex SES. Using social theory of Pierre Bourdieu, we construct a conceptual model that illustrates a route for integrating locally known social complexities (power, influence) gleaned from stakeholder interviews (N = 57). Stakeholders and end-user groups may dismiss any model that they perceive fails to satisfactorily account for specific, locally salient social nuances. Our approach leverages the overlapping notion of “capital” in social and ecological theory to demonstrate how reciprocal interactions between human and ecological systems can be adopted into tools for reaching viable solutions to SES problems.

Individually adapted imagery improves brain-computer interface performance in end-users with disability.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) translate oscillatory electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns into action. Different mental activities modulate spontaneous EEG rhythms in various ways. Non-stationarity and inherent variability of EEG signals, however, make reliable recognition of modulated EEG patterns challenging. Able-bodied individuals who use a BCI for the first time achieve - on average - binary classification performance of about 75%. Performance in users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage is typically lower. User training generally enhances reliability of EEG pattern generation and thus also robustness of pattern recognition. In this study, we investigated the impact of mental tasks on binary classification performance in BCI users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage such as persons with stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI). Motor imagery (MI), that is the kinesthetic imagination of movement (e.g. squeezing a rubber ball with the right hand), is the "gold standard" and mainly used to modulate EEG patterns. Based on our recent results in able-bodied users, we hypothesized that pair-wise combination of "brain-teaser" (e.g. mental subtraction and mental word association) and "dynamic imagery" (e.g. hand and feet MI) tasks significantly increases classification performance of induced EEG patterns in the selected end-user group. Within-day (How stable is the classification within a day?) and between-day (How well does a model trained on day one perform on unseen data of day two?) analysis of variability of mental task pair classification in nine individuals confirmed the hypothesis. We found that the use of the classical MI task pair hand vs. feed leads to significantly lower classification accuracy - in average up to 15% less - in most users with stroke or SCI. User-specific selection of task pairs was again essential to enhance performance. We expect that the gained evidence will significantly contribute to make imagery-based BCI technology become accessible to a larger population of users including individuals with special needs due to CNS damage.

Paediatricians' opinions of microneedle-mediated monitoring: a key stage in the translation of microneedle technology from laboratory into clinical practice.

Microneedle (MN) arrays could offer an alternative method to traditional drug delivery and blood sampling methods. However, acceptance among key end-users is critical for new technologies to succeed. MNs have been advocated for use in children and so, paediatricians are key potential end-users. However, the opinions of paediatricians on MN use have been previously unexplored. The aim of this study was to investigate the views of UK paediatricians on the use of MN technology within neonatal and paediatric care. An online survey was developed and distributed among UK paediatricians to gain their opinions of MN technology and its use in the neonatal and paediatric care settings, particularly for MN-mediated monitoring. A total of 145 responses were obtained, with a completion response rate of 13.7%. Respondents believed an alternative monitoring technique to blood sampling in children was required. Furthermore, 83% of paediatricians believed there was a particular need in premature neonates. Overall, this potential end-user group approved of the MN technology and a MN-mediated monitoring approach. Minimal pain and the perceived ease of use were important elements in gaining favour. Concerns included the need for confirmation of correct application and the potential for skin irritation. The findings of this study provide an initial indication of MN acceptability among a key potential end-user group. Furthermore, the concerns identified present a challenge to those working within the MN field to provide solutions to further improve this technology. The work strengthens the rationale behind MN technology and facilitates the translation of MN technology from lab bench into the clinical setting.

A Tool Supporting End-User Development of Access Control in Web Applications

End-user development (EUD) is drawing an increasing attention due to the necessity of users to frequently extend and personalize their applications. In particular, EUD in the context of Web (EUDWeb) is focusing on technologies capable of supporting development tasks that the end-user feels more complex. However, although the specification and implementation of access control is perceived as a particularly complex task, little efforts have been made to support it within current EUDWeb environments. Thus, in this paper we propose an EUDWeb framework and tool for the specification and the generation of web applications embedding access control mechanisms. We extended a previous mockup-based EUDWeb approach, by introducing visual assistance mechanisms enabling the specification of role-based access control policies, and their integration within the application logic. The usability of the proposed framework has been evaluated by means of a user study, in which we have shown that a group of heterogeneous end-users could proficiently use the proposed framework to develop meaningful web applications, some of which including access control functionalities.

Development of a structured diabetes self-management education program specific to the cultural and ethnic population of New Zealand.

To develop and pilot a diabetes self-management education (DSME) program specific to the needs of New Zealanders with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). There were two parts in the present study. The first was the development of the program. This involved a literature review, consultation with end-user groups and drafting the content of the program. In the second part, the program was tested and modified according to feedback provided by both participants and facilitators. The present study achieved its primary goal of developing, piloting and modifying a DSME program specific to the New Zealand population. The DSME program was developed using concepts and content of international DSME programs. The content and concept was extensively tested via discussion groups with 71 individuals with T2DM and practice nurses to ensure the program met the unique cultural needs of New Zealanders with T2DM. Twenty-seven participants with T2DM were recruited into the pilot, of which 13 attended four of six sessions. Feedback from participants, observing nurses and facilitators was incorporated into the final program. DSME programs are an effective vehicle for providing individuals with T2DM the initial information and support to start self-managing their diabetes. However, to ensure DSME programs help individuals with the highest rates of diabetes and diabetes-related complications, it is important end-users participate in the development of the program. This DSME program now requires longitudinal trial to determine if in the New Zealand context it is able generate the same improvements in both clinical and qualitative outcomes as seen in similar international programs.

Developing an index for the orthodontic treatment need in paediatric patients with obstructive sleep apnoea: a protocol for a novel communication tool between physicians and orthodontists

IntroductionSleep disordered breathing in the paediatric population can manifest as an array of different systemic symptoms; among them is a distinct malocclusion and craniofacial phenotype. Emerging research suggests that the...

Direct Electricity Trading in Smart Grid: A Coalitional Game Analysis

Integration of distributed generation based on renewable energy sources into the power system has gained popularity in recent years. Many small-scale electricity suppliers (SESs) have recently entered the electricity market, which has been traditionally dominated by a few large-scale electricity suppliers. The emergence of SESs enables direct trading (DT) of electricity between SESs and end-users (EUs), without going through retailers, and promotes the possibility of improving the benefits to both parties. In this paper, the cooperation between SESs and EUs in DT is analyzed based on coalitional game theory. In particular, an electricity pricing scheme that achieves a fair division of revenue between SESs and EUs is analytically derived by using the asymptotic Shapley value. The asymptotic Shapley value is shown to be in the core of the coalitional game such that no group of SESs and EUs has an incentive to abandon the coalition, which implies the stable operation of DT for the proposed pricing scheme. Unlike the existing pricing schemes that typically require multiple stages of calculations and real time information about each participant, the electricity price for the proposed scheme can be determined instantaneously based on the number of participants in DT and statistical information about electricity supply and demand. Therefore, the proposed pricing scheme is suitable for practical implementation. Using computer simulations, the price of electricity for the proposed DT scheme is examined in various environments, and the numerical results validate the asymptotic analysis. Moreover, the revenues of the SESs and EUs are evaluated for various types of SESs and different numbers of participants in DT. The optimal ratio of different types of SESs is also investigated.

A smart phone application for cannabis-related problems

Aims:Despite theprevalenceonceagain increasing, fewof those with cannabis usedisorder seek specialist addiction treatment. This project aimed to develop and evaluate a smart phone application prior to its evaluation in a randomised controlled trial. Methods: The methodology included 3 phases. The first was an internet survey of cannabis users, the second phase was an intensively engaged reference group as the app was developed. At the completion of this stage a third group of current cannabis users (n=10), in addition to the reference group, beta tested the app for usability. Results: The survey of 142 cannabis users (59%male)were aged 12–50 years, with the 25–34 year olds making up 36% of the sample. Themajoritywere iPhone users (52%)with 82% having internet connectivity. The majority of these non-treatment seekers (55.6%) found the idea of an app that assists people to monitor and reduce their cannabis use very appealing. The reference group provided feed-back on the evolution of the app and the phases of assessing their cannabis use; developing a plan of change; tracking their cannabis use; and tips on coping strategies. The end-user group (60% female) with a mean age of 27 years had never sought treatment for their cannabis use. The majority (71%) enjoyed using the app somewhat or very much and found it very helpful (57%) for evaluating their cannabis use. Conclusions: The three phase development and testing project demonstrated that cannabis users have access to the required technology and are interested in using an app that would assist them to manage their cannabis use. The next phase of the project will be a small pilot test of the patterns of app use and the impact on cannabis use and related problems to inform the design of a randomised controlled trial. A smart phoneapp is apromisingplatform for the delivery of a public health intervention to reduce cannabis use. Financial support: The Australian Government Department of Health & Ageing.

Using a non-inferiority trial approach to test the holistic health for HIV (3H+) intervention among HIV+ drug users in treatment

Aims:Despite theprevalenceonceagain increasing, fewof those with cannabis usedisorder seek specialist addiction treatment. This project aimed to develop and evaluate a smart phone application prior to its evaluation in a randomised controlled trial. Methods: The methodology included 3 phases. The first was an internet survey of cannabis users, the second phase was an intensively engaged reference group as the app was developed. At the completion of this stage a third group of current cannabis users (n=10), in addition to the reference group, beta tested the app for usability. Results: The survey of 142 cannabis users (59%male)were aged 12–50 years, with the 25–34 year olds making up 36% of the sample. Themajoritywere iPhone users (52%)with 82% having internet connectivity. The majority of these non-treatment seekers (55.6%) found the idea of an app that assists people to monitor and reduce their cannabis use very appealing. The reference group provided feed-back on the evolution of the app and the phases of assessing their cannabis use; developing a plan of change; tracking their cannabis use; and tips on coping strategies. The end-user group (60% female) with a mean age of 27 years had never sought treatment for their cannabis use. The majority (71%) enjoyed using the app somewhat or very much and found it very helpful (57%) for evaluating their cannabis use. Conclusions: The three phase development and testing project demonstrated that cannabis users have access to the required technology and are interested in using an app that would assist them to manage their cannabis use. The next phase of the project will be a small pilot test of the patterns of app use and the impact on cannabis use and related problems to inform the design of a randomised controlled trial. A smart phoneapp is apromisingplatform for the delivery of a public health intervention to reduce cannabis use. Financial support: The Australian Government Department of Health & Ageing.

FROM CONTENT TO CONTEXT: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOOTYFIRST PROGRAM TO PREVENT LOWER LIMB INJURIES IN COMMUNITY AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL

BackgroundDeveloping injury prevention programs for community sport is challenging. The injury issues and interventions must be grounded in science and be both meaningful to, and implementable by, those involved in...

Children&s views on microneedle use as an alternative to blood sampling for patient monitoring

To explore children's views on microneedle use for this population, particularly as an alternative approach to blood sampling, in monitoring applications, and so, examine the acceptability of this approach to children. Focus groups were conducted with children (aged 10-14 years) in a range of schools across Northern Ireland. Convenience sampling was employed, i.e. children involved in a university-directed community-outreach project (Pharmacists in Schools) were recruited. A total of 86 children participated in 13 focus groups across seven schools in Northern Ireland. A widespread disapproval for blood sampling was evident, with pain, blood and traditional needle visualisation particularly unpopular aspects. In general, microneedles had greater visual acceptability and caused less fear. A patch-based design enabled minimal patient awareness of the monitoring procedure, with personalised designs, e.g. cartoon themes, favoured. Children's concerns included possible allergy and potential inaccuracies with this novel approach; however, many had confidence in the judgement of healthcare professionals if deeming this technique appropriate. They considered paediatric patient education critical for acceptance of this new approach and called for an alternative name, without any reference to 'needles'. The findings presented here support the development of blood-free, minimally invasive techniques and provide an initial indication of microneedle acceptability in children, particularly for monitoring purposes. A proactive response to these unique insights should enable microneedle array design to better meet the needs of this end-user group. Further work in this area is recommended to ascertain the perspectives of a purposive sample of children with chronic conditions who require regular monitoring.

Open-source intelligence and privacy by design

As demonstrated by other papers on this issue, open-source intelligence (OSINT) by state authorities poses challenges for privacy protection and intellectual-property enforcement. A possible strategy to address these challenges is to adapt the design of OSINT tools to embed normative requirements, in particular legal requirements. The experience of the VIRTUOSO platform will be used to illustrate this strategy. Ideally, the technical development process of OSINT tools is combined with legal and ethical safeguards in such a way that the resulting products have a legally compliant design, are acceptable within society (social embedding), and at the same time meet in a sufficiently flexible way the varying requirements of different end-user groups. This paper uses the analytic framework of privacy design strategies (minimise, separate, aggregate, hide, inform, control, enforce, and demonstrate), arguing that two approaches for embedding legal compliance seem promising to explore in particular. One approach is the concept of revocable privacy with spread responsibility. The other approach uses a policy mark-up language to define Enterprise Privacy Policies, which determine appropriate data handling.Both approaches are tested against three requirements that seem particularly suitable for a ‘compliance by design’ approach in OSINT: purpose specification; collection and use limitation and data minimisation; and data quality (up-to-dateness). For each requirement, the paper analyses whether and to what extent the approach could work to build in the requirement in the system. The paper concludes that legal requirements cannot be embedded fully in OSINT systems. However, it is possible to embed functionalities that facilitate compliance in allowing end-users to determine to what extent they adopt a ‘privacy-by-design’ approach when procuring an OSINT platform, extending it with plug-ins, and fine-tuning it to their needs. The paper argues that developers of OSINT platforms and networks have a responsibility to make sure that end-users are enabled to use privacy by design, by allowing functionalities such as revocable privacy and a policy-enforcement language.

Outcomes of Clinicians, Caregivers, Family Members and Adults with Spina Bifida Regarding Receptivity to use of the iMHere mHealth Solution to Promote Wellness.

The purpose of this study was to gather information regarding the receptivity of clinicians, caregivers and family members, and adults with spina bifida (SB) to the use of a mHealth application, iMobile Health and Rehabilitation (iMHere) system. Surveys were administered to end user groups in conjunction with a conference presentation at the Spina Bifida Association’s 38th Annual Conference. The survey results were obtained from a total of 107 respondents. Likert scale and qualitative results are provided in consideration of future application of the iMHere system in clinical practice. The results of this survey indicate respondents were receptive and supportive with regard to adopting such a system for personal and professional use. Challenges likely to be encountered in the introduction of the iMHere system are also revealed and discussed.

A Solutions based approach to MBSE architectures with UPDM

AbstractUPDM is the Unified Profile for DoDAF and MODAF. The UPDM specification was developed by a diverse group of tool vendors, end users, academia, and government representatives. UPDM enjoys the full support of the DOD and MOD and is a DoD mandated standard. The UML/SysML foundation improves the integration between architectural framework modeling and system modeling to support post acquisition life‐cycle design and implementation. This tutorial provides an overview of SysML, a brief introduction to how UPDM will provide a standard means of expressing DoDAF and MODAF using SysML and UML, an overview of the UPDM views and viewpoints and language concepts, and selected sample problems to demonstrate how the language can be used. Following this, the course will proceed to demonstrate how the MBSE foundation of UPDM can provide the answers to problems found in projects: How to avoid the problems of stovepipe development? How to ensure that systems deployment is in line with capability deployment requirements? How to effectively use MBSE to provide trade‐off analysis? How to transition from a system of systems to systems development? How to ensure system interfaces are compatible? How to communicate with non‐experts? How to reuse architectures? How to integrate requirements management into modeling? Rather than proceed in a mechanistic fashion through the different UPDM views, the course instead concentrates on the benefits of the framework using a solutions‐based approach.

Analysis of a statistically initialized fuzzy logic scheme for classifying the severity of convective storms in Finland

This paper proposes a method for classifying the severity of individual convective storms with real-time weather radar and lightning location data. The algorithm is based on a statistically initialized fuzzy logic model with human-oriented linguistic inference rules. When combined with an object-oriented convective storm tracking algorithm, the severity classification uses the past severity values in addition to the current state of the storm. Furthermore, the proposed method can be customized to correspond to the user-specific needs of different end user groups. The membership functions of the fuzzy logic model are initialized using the statistical analysis of various storm attributes derived from radar and lightning data, which potentially allows the adaptation of the model to different climates. The statistically initialized severity classification is also stable with respect to systematic errors in the measurements. To adjust the model to the Finnish climate, approximately 40 000 storms were tracked with a weather radar-based object-oriented convective storm tracking algorithm. The tracking was performed over a relatively large study area, with the composite of eight C-band weather radars, enabling also the analysis of relatively long-lived intense storms, such as mesoscale convective systems. In addition, the presented work illustrates the statistical characteristics of convective storms in Finland. The study also discusses the importance of careful data quality control when conducting a statistical analysis with an object-oriented storm tracking algorithm. Copyright © 2013 Royal Meteorological Society