Future End-users Research Articles

Alignment of Patient Information Leaflets with the Health Literacy Skills of Future End-Users: Are We on the Same Page?

ABSTRACT Effective health communication will not be possible if the messages directed to patients do not adapt to their health literacy skills. In this sense, if the Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) are not understood properly, they will not fulfill their purpose. Secondary education aims to develop students’ fundamental skills, including reading comprehension, which should align with future patients. This study assesses reading comprehension of commonly used PILs among secondary education students. An observational cross-sectional study involved 590 Spanish secondary school students from March to June 2022. They read 3 original PILs and completed a questionnaire about medication use information. The European health literacy survey questionnaire (short version) and sociodemographic data were collected. The average correct answer rate was only 51%, with just 14.58% understanding when to take ibuprofen, results that fell significantly below the minimum 80% threshold required by the European Union. Age, gender, and cultural background didn’t significantly impact comprehension. In conclusion, health literacy skills acquired in secondary education are insufficient for understanding current PILs. Educational reform is necessary to improve students’ ability to comprehend medication instructions and enhance PILs for effective communication. At the same time, our work highlights that current PILs need to be redesigned to reduce the cognitive burden imposed on patients.

Optimizing placebo and minimizing nocebo effects through communication: e-learning and virtual reality training development

BackgroundThe effects of many treatments in healthcare are determined by factors other than the treatment itself. Patients’ expectations and the relationship with their healthcare provider can significantly affect treatment outcomes and thereby play a major role in eliciting placebo and nocebo effects. We aim to develop and evaluate an innovative communication training, consisting of an e-learning and virtual reality (VR) training, for healthcare providers across all disciplines, to optimize placebo and minimize nocebo effects through healthcare provider-patient communication. The current paper describes the development, mid-term evaluation, optimization, and final evaluation of the communication training, conducted in The Netherlands.MethodsThe development of both the e-learning and the VR training consisted of four phases: 1) content and technical development, 2) mid-term evaluation by healthcare providers and placebo/communication researchers, 3) optimization of the training, and 4) final evaluation by healthcare providers. To ensure the success, applicability, authenticity, and user-friendliness of the communication training, there was ongoing structural collaboration with healthcare providers as future end users, experts in the field of placebo/communication research, and educational experts in all phases.ResultsPlacebo/communication researchers and healthcare providers evaluated the e-learning positively (overall 7.9 on 0–10 scale) and the content was perceived as useful, accessible, and interesting. The VR training was assessed with an overall 6.9 (0–10 scale) and was evaluated as user-friendly and a safe method for practicing communication skills. Although there were some concerns regarding the authenticity of the VR training (i.e. to what extent the virtual patient reacts like a real patient), placebo and communication researchers, as well as healthcare providers, recognized the significant potential of the VR training for the future.ConclusionsWe have developed an innovative and user-friendly communication training, consisting of an e-learning and VR training (2D and 3D), that can be used to teach healthcare providers how to optimize placebo effects and minimize nocebo effects through healthcare provider-patient communication. Future studies can work on improved authenticity, translate the training into other languages and cultures, expand with additional VR cases, and measure the expected effects on providers communication skills and subsequently patient outcomes.

Design and Perceived Value of a Novel Solution for Asynchronous Communication in Radiology

Rationale and ObjectivesCommunication with and within the Radiology Department is typically initiated over phone, face-to-face or general-purpose chat, causing frequent interruptions, additional mental workload, workflow inefficiencies and diagnostic errors. We developed and evaluated a new communication solution that aims to reduce avoidable interruptions caused by technologist-radiologist communication. Materials and MethodsFollowing an iterative design process with future end users, a scalable web-based software solution, RadConnect, was developed enabling a chat-based communication workflow between a technologist and a radiologist. As a first experimental implementation, technologists can send categorized tickets to a radiology section account. Radiologists receive the tickets in a worklist that is prioritized by urgency. Consented radiologists and technologists performed scripted tasks in 2 hr sessions and completed a structured questionnaire on perceived value and comparison to standard communication modes. ResultsOf 17 participants from three academic European institutes, 65% (11/17) believed they would use RadConnect frequently; 53% (9/17) believed that it reduces phone calls >80%; and 88% (15/17) believed it adds value compared to general-purpose enterprise chat applications. DiscussionParticipants recognized the value of RadConnect especially its categorized tickets, prioritized worklist and role-based interaction model. Inter-institute differences in perceived value of RadConnect may have been caused by technologist-radiologist proximity and communication alternatives in the institutions. ConclusionChat-based role-based communication might be a viable mode of communication between technologists and radiologists to reduce avoidable interruptions. Tailoring the chat solution to the needs of and tightly integrated with the radiology workflow is valued by future end users after exposure to the tool in a simulated environment.

The ‘Other Talk’: a co-design study of board games for cross-generational communication of life-and-death issues

ABSTRACT This study presents the collaborative design experience of developing a cross-generational communication game about life-and-death issues. The research activities involved two groups of end-users from different generations, who were tasked with working together to build tools that would encourage a deeper communication between them. To overcome limited knowledge on serious game design and encourage participation, this study utilises an experimental approach that involves a series of workshop activities following a design circle. The results indicate that engagement among cross-generational participants can be enhanced by involving a small, mixed group and utilising structural design materials in the co-design process. The groups developed a collaborative mode of task-oriented and ability-based division of labour to develop the game. This approach also stimulated individuals to take on multiple roles, that is, users, testers, informants, and design partners, and shift between roles as the group dynamic, supporting materials, and design stages evolve. Additionally, this collaborative process encourages participants to reflect on their role as future end-users when communicating sensitive issues to others.

Co-Design of a Voice-Based Digital Health Solution to Monitor Persisting Symptoms Related to COVID-19 (UpcomingVoice Study): Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

Between 10% and 20% of people with a COVID-19 infection will develop the so-called long COVID syndrome, which is characterized by fluctuating symptoms. Long COVID has a high impact on the quality of life of affected people, who often feel abandoned by the health care system and are demanding new tools to help them manage their symptoms. New digital monitoring solutions could allow them to visualize the evolution of their symptoms and could be tools to communicate with health care professionals (HCPs). The use of voice and vocal biomarkers could facilitate the accurate and objective monitoring of persisting and fluctuating symptoms. However, to assess the needs and ensure acceptance of this innovative approach by its potential users-people with persisting COVID-19-related symptoms, with or without a long COVID diagnosis, and HCPs involved in long COVID care-it is crucial to include them in the entire development process. In the UpcomingVoice study, we aimed to define the most relevant aspects of daily life that people with long COVID would like to be improved, assess how the use of voice and vocal biomarkers could be a potential solution to help them, and determine the general specifications and specific items of a digital health solution to monitor long COVID symptoms using vocal biomarkers with its end users. UpcomingVoice is a cross-sectional mixed methods study and consists of a quantitative web-based survey followed by a qualitative phase based on semistructured individual interviews and focus groups. People with long COVID and HCPs in charge of patients with long COVID will be invited to participate in this fully web-based study. The quantitative data collected from the survey will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data from the individual interviews and the focus groups will be transcribed and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The study was approved by the National Research Ethics Committee of Luxembourg (number 202208/04) in August 2022 and started in October 2022 with the launch of the web-based survey. Data collection will be completed in September 2023, and the results will be published in 2024. This mixed methods study will identify the needs of people affected by long COVID in their daily lives and describe the main symptoms or problems that would need to be monitored and improved. We will determine how using voice and vocal biomarkers could meet these needs and codevelop a tailored voice-based digital health solution with its future end users. This project will contribute to improving the quality of life and care of people with long COVID. The potential transferability to other diseases will be explored, which will contribute to the deployment of vocal biomarkers in general. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05546918; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05546918. DERR1-10.2196/46103.

Towards a Marine Accident Frame

This paper presents the results of a study that combines information extraction by means of word sketches with corpus-based analysis. In the analysis, terminological information was extracted from a corpus of investigation reports by retrieving the word sketches of the selected verbs. The aim of the study is to demonstrate how to identify predicate-argument structures in a specific domain corpus by adopting the principles of Frame-based Terminology (FBT). Thus, this research shows how FBT can be applied to different scenarios such as a marine accident event, which is the object of this study. The long-term goal is to build a marine accident frame by utilising the predicate-argument structures identified in this study. The predicate-argument structures and the evolving frames can be used to enhance the representation and understanding of marine accident events. Thus, the predicate-argument structures are presented for consultation to future end users of the results, namely the stakeholders in the field of maritime safety, including maritime English teachers, as well as LSP teachers and terminologists.

Developing OurSleepKit: A Couple-focused mHealth Tool to Support Adherence to Positive Airway Pressure Treatment

ABSTRACT Background and Aim Existing interventions promoting positive airway pressure (PAP) adherence focus only on the diagnosed individual, despite the fact that partners are often the most impacted by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and are delivered mostly by health professionals, with limited success. The goal of this work is to develop a prototype of OurSleepKit, a couple-focused mobile health (mHealth) tool to coach mutual engagement and promote adherence to PAP treatment. Methods We used an iterative participatory approach working with future end users of OurSleepKit to support the development of this prototype. We conducted a total of 14 semi-structured in-depth open-ended dyadic interviews with OSA patients and their partners. Phase 1 of the development was to inform key functions of an engaging tool. Phase 2 focused on developing functions to engage positive conversation in the dyad and obtained feedback for this initial prototype. Results The OurSleepKit prototype was developed and demonstrated high acceptability and engagement. Three key functions included periodic assessments based on developmental stages of PAP treatment, a Coaching Board which provides customized and dynamically updated support content – primarily brief story-telling videos featuring real-life couples’ experiences – and timely tailored prompts (for action, learning, and conversation) through push notifications in the evening to facilitate positive conversation in the dyad and offer in-the-moment support for PAP use. Conclusions Going beyond the traditional and prevailing view of PAP use as an individual phenomenon, OurSleepKit is a novel mHealth intervention engaging both the patient and partner holding great promise to promote PAP adherence.

Warehouse Management Models Using Artificial Intelligence Technology with Application at Receiving Stage – A Review

This paper reviewed recent literature on inventory management technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. The classical Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models and computer vision technology applications for object classification were reviewed in particularly. The challenges of AI technologies in industrial warehouse management, particularly the ANN for solving object classification and counting are discussed. Some researchers reported the use of face recognition, moving vehicle classification and counting, which are easy to recognise objects on the floor or the ground. Other researchers explored the object counting technologies which are used to identify the visible objects on the ground or in images. Although several studies focused on industrial component identification and counting problems, a study on the warehouse receiving stage remains a blank canvas. This paper reviews and analyses current industrial warehouse management developments around AI applications in this field, which may provide a reference for future researchers and end-users for the best modelling approach to this specific problem at the warehouse receiving stage.

A participatory framework proposal for guiding researchers through an educational mobile app development

The research work reported in this article is part of a wider study aimed at developing a mobile application (app) for Science Education in primary school. For that, we designed a participatory framework proposal nested within the larger framework of Educational Design Research. This framework emerged from the authors’ need to organise the different phases of the mobile apps development and to arrange the expected products that arise from them. Our framework suggests a grounded, participatory and user-centred approach, relating literature contributions with data collected among future end-users. In this study, we exemplify the implementation of the proposed framework by presenting the outcomes of a specific moment of the preliminary research: students’ stories and drawing analysis, to define the mobile app concept. For that, we (1) present and describe the participatory framework proposal, (2) identify and characterise the research method adopted to define the mobile app concept, (3) reveal and analyse data collected from the implementation of a creative writing and drawing activity performed by fourth grade primary-school students, and (4) describe the implications of data analysis in the mobile app concept definition. Our intention is to share with other educational researchers an approach that can be used to develop educational mobile apps grounded on future end-users’ perceptions and ideas. We also aim to contribute to deepen the Educational Design Research apps by proposing and exemplifying the implementation of a framework that brings together researchers, students, teachers and experts.

End-user and clinician perspectives on the viability of wearable functional electrical stimulation garments after stroke and spinal cord injury

Purpose Functional electrical stimulation (FES), through repetitive training (FES-therapy) or continuous assistance (neuro-prosthesis), can restore motor function after paralysis due to spinal cord injury or stroke. With current technology, patients are often incapable of independently applying FES, thereby limiting its use. Novel FES-garments with embedded stimulation electrodes were developed in collaboration with Myant, Canada, to address this problem. The purpose of this study was to collect the views of future end-users to inform the refinement of the device design and to obtain insights on subsequent commercialization of this rehabilitation and assistive technology. Methods A qualitative study was undertaken to determine the needs of potential users (patients and clinicians; n = 19). Participant took part in interviews or focus groups after a presentation of the garments. An inductive content analysis was used to generate the themes from the data and identify data saturation. Results The identified themes and sub-themes were: (1) User Perspectives: users' characteristics (needs, limitations), expected benefits (beliefs), and anticipated problems (fears); (2) Device Design: technical features, usability, and disadvantages of the garment, cables, stimulator, software, and interface; (3) Acquisition Process: organizational procedures (acquisition and adoption steps); and (4) Business Model: financial and strategic aspects to facilitate commercialization and support users. Conclusions The insights obtained from end-users and clinicians provide guidelines to optimize the development of novel FES-garments, and strategies for bringing the device to the market. The themes identified can serve to inform other rehabilitation and assistive technology developers with processes and ideas on how to meet these groups’ needs. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Participants with neurological paralysis have interest and critical views on new rehabilitation and assistive technology, and the repercussions of using new technologies to address their function, health and wellbeing. The FES-garment design presented appeared acceptable to the end-users, pending resolution of certain shortcomings (wiring, operating duration, robustness, easiness to don and doff). End-users and clinicians had specific views regarding the acquisition process of new technologies (training, customization, and follow-up/support), which are important to take into consideration to ensure broad stakeholders uptake.

End-users’ opinion on living in multi-family nearly zero-energy buildings

The paper presents the findings on end-users’ experiences and expectations about living in multi-family Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEBs). The survey in four European countries (Slovenia, Italy, Denmark and Germany) was part of EU Horizon 2020 project CoNZEBs (2017-2019) and addressed end-users living or thinking about living in multi-family NZEBs. Targeted end-users were living (as tenants or owners) in either ordinary buildings or in high performance buildings such as NZEBs (mandatory after 2020 according to Directive 2010/31/EU). In the survey, the following topics were addressed: the level of end-user’s understanding of the NZEB concept, the source and quality of information on NZEB from the end-users’ perspective, the importance of various apartment features for the end-users, perception of NZEB characterizing technologies, and decision triggers for living in NZEB. Concerns, doubts and eventual fears about living in NZEBs were studied to enable a tailored information for future end-users, to increase the demand for NZEB and beyond NZEB buildings and to improve their acceptability. To facilitate the living in NZEBs a guide for end-users was developed, explaining the “Myths” about NZEBs as well as presenting testimonials of current NZEB users in four participating countries.

Rotary manifold for automating a paper-based Salmonella immunoassay.

Foodborne pathogens are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world each year. Rapid screening of agricultural products for these pathogens is essential to reduce and/or prevent outbreaks and pinpoint contamination sources. Unfortunately, current detection methods are laborious, expensive, time-consuming and require a central laboratory. Therefore, a rapid, sensitive, and field-deployable pathogen-detection assay is needed. We previously developed a colorimetric sandwich immunoassay utilizing immuno-magnetic separation (IMS) and chlorophenol red-β-d-galactopyranoside for Salmonella detection on a paper-based analytical device (μPAD); however, the assay required many sample preparation steps prior to the μPAD as well as laboratory equipment, which decreased user-friendliness for future end-users. As a step towards overcoming these limitations in resource-limited settings, we demonstrate a reusable 3D-printed rotational manifold that couples with disposable μPAD layers for semi-automated reagent delivery, washing, and detection in 65 minutes. After IMS to clean the sample, the manifold performs pipette-free reagent delivery and washing steps in a sequential order with controlled volumes, followed by enzymatic amplification and colorimetric detection using automated image processing to quantify color change. Salmonella was used as the target pathogen in this project and was detected with the manifold in growth media and milk with detection limits of 4.4 × 102 and 6.4 × 102 CFU mL−1 respectively. The manifold increases user friendliness and simplifies immunoassays resulting in a practical product for in-field use and commercialization.

End-users’ voice in procurement process of an integrated health and social care information system

Introduction: Lack of the end-user’s voice in electronic health record system EHR implementations has been regarded as one of the key issues behind failures of large-scale implementation projects REF. Procurement process of an information system can be considered as the first phase in the implementation process where the acceptance of end-users is crucial to be considered as a part of change management. We present how future end-users were involved in the procurement process of a fully integrated information system for specialized and primary health care and social care. Method/results: At the beginning of the procurement we formed a matrix of central IT functionalities needed in health and social care and future end-user roles. We involved 400 future end-users to take part in 22 workshops arranged around functionalities and various working environments they are used. In addition to taking part to the defining the requirements for the procurement nurses, physicians and social workers were chosen for the key end-user role in the selection process of the procurement. Selection process included e.g. a product evaluation with user scenarios. Results: Key end users formed the majority xx% of the participants of the selection process. Of the final selection criteria in the two-phased process, xx% and yy% of the points came from the assessments of the future end-users. As a conclusion, it is possible to say that health and social care professionals of various specialties were well represented especially in defining requirements. This proved to be a basis for a strong insight of clinical and social care content in the procurement process and helped to form an end-user’s perspective also to other modalities e.g. in technical issues Conclusions: We succeeded in recruiting the end-users and there were representatives from all the key specialties of social and health care. It is important to see participation of the end-users as a key element of the successful procurement process of electronic social and health care information system and to consider this phase as preparing to the actual implementation- and deployment of the system. Currently we are in the phase of implementation and the first deployment is in November 2018. We have continued the same emphasis off having a strong involvement of nurses, physicians and social care workers and until now found it a promising way of developing the content needed by the end-users and as a part of change management.

DOCpass: A tool to assess readiness for work in surgeons and anaesthetists to improve and ensure the safety of surgical patients

BackgroundTo protect patient safety it is important that surgeons and anaesthetists are aware of work readiness and its influence on their performance before each operation The purpose of the study was to design a tool to promote such awareness, DOCpass, to study its feasibility in operating room practice and redesign it. Material and methodsThe content of the prototype DOCpass was selected on the basis of literature on aspects of health and work that can affect performance. A suitable platform was subsequently chosen to meet such requirements as ease of use and accessibility. Feasibility in the operating room practice was determined through post-task walkthroughs with seven surgeons and anaesthetists at a university medical centre in the Netherlands. ResultsDOCpass was developed as a webpage in JavaScript and HTML. It screens for personal aspects (e.g. fatigue and mood states) and work-related aspects (e.g. shift and sleeping time duration) that have been found to affect performance and patient safety. The prototype was adjusted according to 13 improvement points suggested by future end users. Their points concerned the content of the introduction and the relevance of screening methods. ConclusionDOCpass assesses and provides feedback on work readiness through the digital screening of work and personal health aspects. The participating surgeons and anaesthetists reported that the tool could be useful were the content improved to add more practical value to work by providing feedback that can easily be acted upon.

Smart homes, private homes? An empirical study of technology researchers\u2019 perceptions of ethical issues in developing smart-home health technologies

BackgroundSmart-home technologies, comprising environmental sensors, wearables and video are attracting interest in home healthcare delivery. Development of such technology is usually justified on the basis of the technology’s potential to increase the autonomy of people living with long-term conditions. Studies of the ethics of smart-homes raise concerns about privacy, consent, social isolation and equity of access. Few studies have investigated the ethical perspectives of smart-home engineers themselves. By exploring the views of engineering researchers in a large smart-home project, we sought to contribute to dialogue between ethics and the engineering community.MethodsEither face-to-face or using Skype, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 early- and mid-career smart-home researchers from a multi-centre smart-home project, who were asked to describe their own experience and to reflect more broadly about ethical considerations that relate to smart-home design. With participants’ consent, interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using a thematic approach.ResultsTwo overarching themes emerged: in ‘Privacy’, researchers indicated that they paid close attention to negative consequences of potential unauthorised information sharing in their current work. However, when discussing broader issues in smart-home design beyond the confines of their immediate project, researchers considered physical privacy to a lesser extent, even though physical privacy may manifest in emotive concerns about being watched or monitored. In ‘Choice’, researchers indicated they often saw provision of choice to end-users as a solution to ethical dilemmas. While researchers indicated that choices of end-users may need to be restricted for technological reasons, ethical standpoints that restrict choice were usually assumed and embedded in design.ConclusionsThe tractability of informational privacy may explain the greater attention that is paid to it. However, concerns about physical privacy may reduce acceptability of smart-home technologies to future end-users. While attention to choice suggests links with privacy, this may misidentify the sources of privacy and risk unjustly burdening end-users with problems that they cannot resolve. Separating considerations of choice and privacy may result in more satisfactory treatment of both. Finally, through our engagement with researchers as participants this study demonstrates the relevance of (bio)ethics as a critical partner to smart-home engineering.

The Citizen Funding: An Alternative to Finance Renewable Energy Projects

Nowadays, energy transition is a crucial issue to achieve sustainability. Emergent works emphasize the need to shift from a centralized energy production, based on large-scale production unit, to a more distributed one, based on small-scale and flexible production units. Therefore, energy projects cannot be longer dissociated from territories in order to better fit with local specificities. Moreover, such projects do not only focus on energy supply but also provide a variety of services, being closer to the end-user / citizen than traditional energy companies.The implementation of these territorial energy projects addresses a triple technical, legal and financial challenge, in order to create sustainable value on territories. Indeed, as Product/Service-Systems (PSS), these projects require high investments and the involvement of the future end-user as much as possible. An efficient way to involve the end-user is to allow its participation as a finance provider. This paper focuses on financial challenges and on alternative models to finance renewable energy projects through citizen funding. To do so, we analysed five alternative funding models both on an economic and “end-user/citizen” points of view. Our study underlines the heterogeneity of models in terms of value proposal, citizen involvement, governance or implantation on the territories, and proposes a new classification of these models.

Critical Incident Reporting System - CIRS mobile – record critical incidents on location

Critical incidents happen in 2%‒8% of hospitalisations. The number of deaths by preventable adverse events is greater than those of flu, AIDS and traffic accidents combined. To reduce those preventable adverse events and to increase the patient’s safety, it is important to not only react when a preventable adverse event happened but also to be aware of the near misses. One possible way to detect near misses is to introduce a Critical Incident Reporting System (CIRS). The goal of this project was to develop a CIRS for mobile devices. Although mobile devices are not suitable for text input, they could possibly close a gap in the recording of critical incidents due to the fact that you can take these mobile devices with you as easily as a notepad and record your CI’s where you want (e.g. in a cafeteria). Therefore, the usability was one of the key elements in this project. To reach this goal the authors created a clickable mock-up, which was used to test the functionality with future end-users. On the basis of the results of the mock-up and the usability tests, the authors developed a final prototype based on the web technology HTML5.

The Urge for Empirically-informed Design of Social-Oriented AAL Applications – The Example of 2 AAL Projects

In this paper, we show that contrary to other AAL assistive technologies, which are somehow mandatory for an autonomous living at home, the use of social interaction services is not a necessity by itself, even if it contributes to a better quality of life. For this reason, the integration of the future end-users into the design process is all the more needed to get a continuous feedback and foster the usefulness and acceptability of the services. More generally, to ensure a higher acceptance and successful adoption of these AAL technologies, we claim that it is essential to adopt socio-technical approaches and methods, which take into account the needs of daily life and subtle aspects of the home into the design process. We therefore illustrate the Living Lab approach we have defined and applied within the framework of two projects from the second call of the AAL Joint Programme. These projects, FoSIBLE and PaeLife, aim at designing Information and Communication technologies to effectively enhance the social engagement of the elderly. We finally discuss how these insights can inform the design process.

A User-Centered Design Approach to Self-Service Ticket Vending Machines

Since their introduction, self-service ticket vending machines (TVMs) have become an increasingly important distribution channel in the public transport sector, progressively replacing the traditional ticket counter. In a public transport setting, where ticket counter closures have left different groups of people dependent on TVM to meet their mobility needs, a single, effective system is required. Research questions: (1) Which barriers do currently hinder the usage of TVM? (2) Which requirements should a barrier-free TVM fulfill? (3) How can we design a new self-service TVM for a nationwide public railway company? (4) How can we ensure that the usability and user experience (UX) is high for all users, especially for those with low levels of technological affinity? Situating the case: Most other studies on the use and usability of TVMs were conducted as post-hoc evaluations. In contrast, our case study presents a user-centered design (UCD) approach that takes the needs of the different target groups into account throughout the whole development process. Theories and concepts that guided the case included UCD, which involves alternating test and evaluation loops that actively involve users to create a usable product and UX, which describes the quality of the experience a person has when interacting with a specific computer system using a specific interaction technique. Methodology: More than 250 participants were involved in focus groups, observations, interviews, and experiments from the very first stages of development. Interface designs were presented to the future end users to obtain their feedback, with the results fed back into the design process. About the case: A prototype for a novel generation of TVM was developed in three phases: First, the context of use was analyzed. In the second phase, we conducted a requirements analysis. Third, different hardware and software interaction designs were iteratively tested and evaluated. The resulting prototype met the requirements of most user groups, though further adjustments are necessary. Conclusions: The UCD approach proved to be a valuable framework for the development and design of self-service systems.

Viewing experience of 3DTV: An exploration of the feeling of sickness and presence in a shopping mall

The adoption and deployment of 3DTV can be seen as a major step in the history of television, comparable to the transition from analogue to digital and standard to high definition TV. Although 3D is expected to emerge from the cinema to peoples’ home, there is still a lack of knowledge on how people (future end users) perceive 3DTV and how this influences their viewing experience as well as their acceptance of 3DTV. Within this paper, findings from a three-day field evaluation study on people’s 3DTV experiences, focusing on the feeling of sickness and presence, are presented. Contrary to the traditional controlled laboratory setting, the study was conducted in the public setting of a shopping center and involved 700 participants. The study revealed initial insights on users’ feeling of presence and sickness when watching 3DTV content. Results from this explorative study show that most of the participants reported symptoms of sickness after watching 3DTV with an effect of gender and age on the reported feeling of sickness. Our results further suggest that the users’ previous experience with 3D content has an influence on how realistic people rate the viewing experience and how involved they feel. The particularities of the study environment, a shopping mall, are reflected in our findings and future research directions and action points for investigating people’s viewing experiences of 3DTV are summarized.