Obtain User Feedback Research Articles

Responding to women's needs and preferences in an online program to prevent postpartum depression

PurposeGlobal access to adequate resources to address postpartum depression (PPD) are limited and, at times, not reflective of the needs of pregnant women and new mothers. Gathering information about the preferences and needs of women when designing and implementing Internet-based programs is warranted, especially given the diversity of experiences related to childbirth. Thus, the aim of this study was to obtain user feedback on the content, structural, and cultural factors associated with a fully automated online PPD prevention intervention that, like similar programs, suffered from poor adherence and engagement. MethodsFollowing the completion of the Mothers and Babies Internet Course (eMB), an online prevention of PPD trial, a convenience sampling method was used to invite consenting participants to return to the site. Participants provided anonymous feedback on how to improve and adapt the eMB based on screenshots and video content from the Internet intervention. Demographic information and engagement in the online trial were examined as factors influencing participant responses. ResultsOne hundred nineteen English and Spanish speaking women from 27 countries and territories provided feedback about the eMB. Content-based feedback included requesting additional detail in explanations and simplifying recommended exercises. Structure-based feedback included requests for more visual representations of the materials. In general, participants did not explicitly suggest culturally specific feedback that differed by geographic region, but instead reported similar themes related to motherhood and childrearing. An unexpected finding that only emerged among English-speaking participants was the need for the eMB to address perfectionism and introspection as factors that impact motherhood. Relative to those who did not access the eMB in the parent study, women who did thought the intervention content was acceptable (i.e., no suggested changes) and provided feedback that referenced maternal stress and pregnancy experiences. Age, education, pregnancy status and number of children were not significant factors associated with participants' use of the eMB. ConclusionsFindings from this study offer preliminary information about the needs and preferences of an international sample of childrearing women who access automated Internet interventions to manage mood changes during the perinatal period.

An innovative user feedback system for sustainable buildings

A lot of research is currently focused on studying user behavior indirectly by analyzing sensor data. However, only little attention has been given to the systematic acquisition of immediate user feedback to study user behavior in buildings. In this paper, we present a novel user feedback system which allows building users to provide feedback on the perceived sense of personal comfort in a room. To this end, a dedicated easy-to-use mobile app has been developed; it is complemented by a supporting infrastructure, including a web page for an at-a-glance overview. The obtained user feedback is compared with sensor data to assess whether building services (e.g., heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems) are operated in accordance with user requirements. This serves as a basis to develop algorithms capable of optimizing building operation by providing recommendations to facility management staff or by automatic adjustment of operating points of building services. In this paper, we present the basic concept of the novel feedback system for building users and first results from an initial test phase. The results show that building users utilize the developed app to provide both, positive and negative feedback on room conditions. They also show that it is possible to identify rooms with non-ideal operating conditions and that reasonable measures to improve building operation can be derived from the gathered information. The results highlight the potential of the proposed system.

Development of a Technology-Assisted Food Frequency Questionnaire for Elementary and Middle School Children: Findings from a Pilot Study.

Background: This pilot study collected preliminary data for the modification of the VioScreen Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), an adult-validated, self-administered, web-based dietary assessment tool for use in older children. Methods: A convenience sample of 55 children, aged 6–14 years, completed the VioScreen FFQ and 3-day diet record (reference standard). Caregivers completed a short sociodemographic questionnaire. Reported dietary intakes from the VioScreen FFQ and 3-day diet record were calculated using standard nutrient databases, and descriptive statistics were used to examine differences in food/beverage items and portion sizes between the two methods. Informal focus groups obtained user feedback and identified components of the VioScreen FFQ that required modifications. Results: The highest de-attenuated Pearson correlation coefficients between the VioScreen FFQ and 3-day diet record were observed for iron (r = 0.69), saturated fat (r = 0.59), and vegetables (r = 0.56), and the lowest were for whole grains (r = 0.11) and vitamin C (r = 0.16). Qualitative feedback was overall positive, and six technological modifications were identified. Conclusion: Findings from this pilot study provided valuable information on the process of evaluating the use of the VioScreen FFQ among older children, and will inform the future development of a modified version for this population.

Continuous Temperature-Monitoring Socks for Home Use in Patients With Diabetes: Observational Study.

BackgroundOver 30 million people in the United States (over 9%) have been diagnosed with diabetes. About 25% of people with diabetes will experience a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) in their lifetime. Unresolved DFUs may lead to sepsis and are the leading cause of lower-limb amputations. DFU rates can be reduced by screening patients with diabetes to enable risk-based interventions. Skin temperature assessment has been shown to reduce the risk of foot ulceration. While several tools have been developed to measure plantar temperatures, they only measure temperature once a day or are designed for clinic use only. In this report, wireless sensor-embedded socks designed for daily wear are introduced, which perform continuous temperature monitoring of the feet of persons with diabetes in the home environment. Combined with a mobile app, this wearable device informs the wearer about temperature increases in one foot relative to the other, to facilitate early detection of ulcers and timely intervention.ObjectiveA pilot study was conducted to assess the accuracy of sensors used in daily wear socks, obtain user feedback on how comfortable sensor-embedded socks were for home use, and examine whether observed temperatures correlated with clinical observations.MethodsTemperature accuracy of sensors was assessed both prior to incorporation in the socks, as well as in the completed design. The measured temperatures were compared to the reference standard, a high-precision thermostatic water bath in the range 20°C-40°C. A total of 35 patients, 18 years of age and older, with diabetic peripheral neuropathy were enrolled in a single-site study conducted under an Institutional Review Board–approved protocol. This study evaluated the usability of the sensor-embedded socks and correlated the observed temperatures with clinical findings.ResultsThe temperatures measured by the stand-alone sensors were within 0.2°C of the reference standard. In the sensor-embedded socks, across multiple measurements for each of the six sensors, a high agreement (R2=1) between temperatures measured and the reference standard was observed. Patients reported that the socks were easy to use and comfortable, ranking them at a median score of 9 or 10 for comfort and ease of use on a 10-point scale. Case studies are presented showing that the temperature differences observed between the feet were consistent with clinical observations.ConclusionsWe report the first use of wireless continuous temperature monitoring for daily wear and home use in patients with diabetes and neuropathy. The wearers found the socks to be no different from standard socks. The temperature studies conducted show that the sensors used in the socks are reliable and accurate at detecting temperature and the findings matched clinical observations. Continuous temperature monitoring is a promising approach as an early warning system for foot ulcers, Charcot foot, and reulceration.

Development of a 3D, networked multi-user virtual reality environment for home therapy after stroke

BackgroundImpairment of upper extremity function is a common outcome following stroke, to the detriment of lifestyle and employment opportunities. Yet, access to treatment may be limited due to geographical and transportation constraints, especially for those living in rural areas. While stroke rates are higher in these areas, stroke survivors in these regions of the country have substantially less access to clinical therapy. Home therapy could offer an important alternative to clinical treatment, but the inherent isolation and the monotony of self-directed training can greatly reduce compliance.MethodsWe developed a 3D, networked multi-user Virtual Environment for Rehabilitative Gaming Exercises (VERGE) system for home therapy. Within this environment, stroke survivors can interact with therapists and/or fellow stroke survivors in the same virtual space even though they may be physically remote. Each user’s own movement controls an avatar through kinematic measurements made with a low-cost, Kinect™ device. The system was explicitly designed to train movements important to rehabilitation and to provide real-time feedback of performance to users and clinicians. To obtain user feedback about the system, 15 stroke survivors with chronic upper extremity hemiparesis participated in a multisession pilot evaluation study, consisting of a three-week intervention in a laboratory setting. For each week, the participant performed three one-hour training sessions with one of three modalities: 1) VERGE system, 2) an existing virtual reality environment based on Alice in Wonderland (AWVR), or 3) a home exercise program (HEP).ResultsOver 85% of the subjects found the VERGE system to be an effective means of promoting repetitive practice of arm movement. Arm displacement averaged 350 m for each VERGE training session. Arm displacement was not significantly less when using VERGE than when using AWVR or HEP. Participants were split on preference for VERGE, AWVR or HEP. Importantly, almost all subjects indicated a willingness to perform the training for at least 2–3 days per week at home.ConclusionsMulti-user VR environments hold promise for home therapy, although the importance of reducing complexity of operation for the user in the VR system must be emphasized. A modified version of the VERGE system is currently being used in a home therapy study.

P022: The revised METRIQ Score: an international, social-media based usability analysis of a quality evaluation instrument for medical education blogs

Introduction: Online medical education resources are widely used in emergency medicine (EM), but strategies to assess quality remain elusive. We previously derived the Medical Education Translational Resources: Impact and Quality (METRIQ) 8 instrument to evaluate quality in medical education blog posts. Methods: As part of a subsequent validation study (The METRIQ Blog Study), a mixed-methods usability analysis was performed to obtain user feedback on the quality assessment instrument in order to improve its clarity and reliability. Participants in the METRIQ Study were first asked to rate five blog posts using the METRIQ-8 Score. They then evaluated the METRIQ-8 instruments ease of use and likelihood of being recommended to others using a 7-point Likert scale and free text comments. Participants were also asked to flag and comment on items within the score that they felt were unclear. Global usability ratings were summarized using median scores or percent rated unclear. We used ANOVA to test associations between ease of use and demographic factors. A thematic analysis was performed on the comments. Results: 309 EM medical students, residents, and attendings completed the survey. Global ratings were generally very favorable (median 2 [IQR 2-3], with 7 being the lowest score) for ease of use and likelihood of recommendation, and did not vary by participants country of origin, frequency of blog use, or learner level. Participants stated that the score was structured, systematic, and straightforward. They found it useful for junior learners and for guiding blog creation. Four questions in the score (questions 2, 4, 5, and 7) were identified by 10% of subjects to be unclear. Thematic analysis of comments identified suggested four main themes for improving the score: adding clearer definitions with marking rubrics; shortening the 7-point scale; adding items evaluating blog post presentation and utility; and, rephrasing the wording of certain questions for clarity. Conclusion: A mixed methods usability analysis of the METRIQ-8 instrument for assessing blog quality was globally well received by EM medical students, residents, and attendings. Qualitative analyses revealed multiple areas to improve the instruments clarity and usability. The METRIQ score is a promising instrument for evaluating the quality of blogs; further development and testing is needed to improve its utility.

Quality Improvement and The Veterans Health Administration’s Palliative Care National Clinical Template (QI812)

•Identify opportunities to use existing process level EHR data in their practice settings for quality assessment.•Identify approaches to optimize quality efforts using process level data. Process measures provide evidence of care delivered at the bedside. The Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Palliative Care National Clinical Template (PC-NCT), writes process-level data from palliative care (PC) consultations to the Electronic Health Record (EHR) that are aggregated and used for quality improvement (QI). To describe experience using the PC-NCT across facilities for QI. Process-level data generated during PC-NCT consults (7/1/2014 – 6/30/2017) were extracted from the EHR. We obtained user feedback and descriptively analyzed patterns of use for QI. The PC-NCT was used 32,566 times (34% of palliative care consultations) at 82 facilities (67% of facilities) to document care. At the domain level, Clinical Presentation was used in 97%, Social History 84%, Symptom Review 78%, Psychological Assessment 17%, Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) 77%, Care Planning 79%, Spiritual Concerns 57%, Physical Examination 87%, and Assessment and Recommendations 94% of PC-NCT consults. Facility culture, preferential use of locally developed tools, and challenges with note formatting are reported as reasons for non-use. PC-NCT data identify clinical questions for teams that are reviewed during twice yearly QI calls. Sites with low PPS scores are prompted with, “How are you collaborating with other services to promote earlier PC consultation?” Those with large numbers of patients reporting dyspnea are asked to consider how opioids are used in dyspnea management, and sites with sparse documentation of spiritual concerns are asked to consider what questions clinicians ask about spiritual concerns and whether they are comfortable addressing those needs. In addition to template use for quality assessment, it is used to educate new PC trainees on salient content for comprehensive consults and reduce inter-provider variability in PC delivery. Competition for scarce resources in healthcare necessitates optimizing use of existing data. Process-level data from a standardized PC note template can be used for QI, training, and standardization among staff.

A user-centred approach to developing bWell, a mobile app for arm and shoulder exercises after breast cancer treatment

PurposeThe study aim was to develop a mobile application (app) supported by user preferences to optimise self-management of arm and shoulder exercises for upper-limb dysfunction (ULD) after breast cancer treatment.MethodsFocus groups with breast cancer patients were held to identify user needs and requirements. Behaviour change techniques were explored by researchers and discussed during the focus groups. Concepts for content were identified by thematic analysis. A rapid review was conducted to inform the exercise programme. Preliminary testing was carried out to obtain user feedback from breast cancer patients who used the app for 8 weeks post surgery.ResultsBreast cancer patients’ experiences with ULD and exercise advice and routines varied widely. They identified and prioritised several app features: tailored information, video demonstrations of the exercises, push notifications, and tracking and progress features. An evidence-based programme was developed with a physiotherapist with progressive exercises for passive and active mobilisation, stretching and strengthening. The exercise demonstration videos were filmed with a breast cancer patient. Early user testing demonstrated ease of use, and clear and motivating app content.ConclusionsbWell, a novel app for arm and shoulder exercises, was developed by breast cancer patients, health care professionals and academics. Further research is warranted to confirm its clinical effectiveness.Implications for cancer survivorsMobile health has great potential to provide patients with information specific to their needs. bWell is a promising way to support breast cancer patients with exercise routines after treatment and may improve future self-management of clinical care.

Improving video event retrieval by user feedback

In content based video retrieval videos are often indexed with semantic labels (concepts) using pre-trained classifiers. These pre-trained classifiers (concept detectors), are not perfect, and thus the labels are noisy. Additionally, the amount of pre-trained classifiers is limited. Often automatic methods cannot represent the query adequately in terms of the concepts available. This problem is also apparent in the retrieval of events, such as bike trick or birthday party. Our solution is to obtain user feedback. This user feedback can be provided on two levels: concept level and video level. We introduce the method Adaptive Relevance Feedback (ARF) on video level feedback. ARF is based on the classical Rocchio relevance feedback method from Information Retrieval. Furthermore, we explore methods on concept level feedback, such as the re-weighting and Query Point Modification (QPM) methods as well as a method that changes the semantic space the concepts are represented in. Methods on both concept level and video level are evaluated on the international benchmark TRECVID Multimedia Event Detection (MED) and compared to state of the art methods. Results show that relevance feedback on both concept and video level improves performance compared to using no relevance feedback; relevance feedback on video level obtains higher performance compared to relevance feedback on concept level; our proposed ARF method on video level outperforms a state of the art k-NN method, all methods on concept level and even manually selected concepts.

Analysis of geostationary satellite-derived cloud parameters associated with environments with high ice water content

Abstract. We present an evaluation of the ability of passive broadband geostationary satellite measurements to detect high ice water content (IWC > 1 g m−3) as part of the European High Altitude Ice Crystals (HAIC) project for detection of upper-atmospheric high IWC, which can be a hazard for aviation. We developed a high IWC mask based on measurements of cloud properties using the Cloud Physical Properties (CPP) algorithm applied to the geostationary Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI). Evaluation of the high IWC mask with satellite measurements of active remote sensors of cloud properties (CLOUDSAT/CALIPSO combined in the DARDAR (raDAR–liDAR) product) reveals that the high IWC mask is capable of detecting high IWC values > 1 g m−3 in the DARDAR profiles with a probability of detection of 60–80 %. The best CPP predictors of high IWC were the condensed water path, cloud optical thickness, cloud phase, and cloud top height. The evaluation of the high IWC mask against DARDAR provided indications that the MSG-CPP high IWC mask is more sensitive to cloud ice or cloud water in the upper part of the cloud, which is relevant for aviation purposes. Biases in the CPP results were also identified, in particular a solar zenith angle (SZA) dependence that reduces the performance of the high IWC mask for SZAs > 60°. Verification statistics show that for the detection of high IWC a trade-off has to be made between better detection of high IWC scenes and more false detections, i.e., scenes identified by the high IWC mask that do not contain IWC > 1 g m−3. However, the large majority of these detections still contain IWC values between 0.1 and 1 g m−3. Comparison of the high IWC mask against results from the Rapidly Developing Thunderstorm (RDT) algorithm applied to the same geostationary SEVIRI data showed that there are similarities and differences with the high IWC mask: the RDT algorithm is very capable of detecting young/new convective cells and areas, whereas the high IWC mask appears to be better capable of detecting more mature and ageing convection as well as cirrus remnants. The lack of detailed understanding of what causes aviation hazards related to high IWC, as well as the lack of clearly defined user requirements, hampers further tuning of the high IWC mask. Future evaluation of the high IWC mask against field campaign data, as well as obtaining user feedback and user requirements from the aviation industry, should provide more information on the performance of the MSG-CPP high IWC mask and contribute to improving the practical use of the high IWC mask.

Qualitative assessment of user experiences of a novel smart phone application designed to support flexible intensive insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes.

BackgroundModern flexible multiple daily injection (MDI) therapy requires people with diabetes to manage complex mathematical calculations to determine insulin doses on a day to day basis. Automated bolus calculators assist with these calculations, add additional functionality to protect against hypoglycaemia and enhance the record keeping process, however uptake and use depends on the devices meeting the needs of the user. We aimed to obtain user feedback on the usability of a mobile phone bolus calculator application in adults with T1DM to inform future development of mobile phone diabetes support applications.MethodsAdults with T1DM who had previously received education in flexible MDI therapy were invited to participate. Eligible respondents attended app education and one month later participated in a focus group to provide feedback on the features of the app in relation to usability for patient-based flexible MDI and future app development.ResultsSeven adults participated in the app training and follow up interview. App features that support dose adjustment to reduce hypoglycaemia risk and features that enable greater efficiency in dose calculation, record keeping and report generation were highly valued.ConclusionsAdults who are self managing flexible MDI found the Rapidcalc mobile phone app to be a useful self-management tool and additional features to further improve usability, such as connectivity with BG meter and food databases, shortcut options to economise data entry and web based storage of data, were identified. Further work is needed to ascertain specific features and benefit for those with lower health literacy.

A recommendation system based on mining human portfolio for museum navigation

In most developed countries, people now increasingly focus on leisure activities such as going to concerts, visiting museums, or sporting events. Because we live in an era of information technology, this technology can help us in leisure activities. While people enjoy attending exhibitions or visiting museums, many visitors go without a specific purpose or interest, thus making it difficult for them to retrieve useful information to efficiently guide them through a museum for example. In this paper, a system that integrates wireless Internet, RFID technology, and mobile devices is built to guide visitors through navigating museums with personal and adaptive content. The mobile guide system can classify visitors based on exhibition information, personal information, and visitor history; this allows it to provide more suitable information for users. The system also utilizes semantic web technology to connect with data such as user type or properties to create human portfolios, and uses a metadata method to provide user information automatically and appropriately. Obtaining user feedback in this system results in a more useful guide to the colorful content of a museum and gives users a more personal experience to fit their needs.

Abstract P075: Oncologists’ Perceptions of the Usability of SPHERE: an Electronic Health Record Application Based on Life’s Simple 7™

Background: We developed SPHERE, an electronic health record (EHR) data visualization application, to automatically populate with EHR data on the American Heart Association’s cardiovascular health (CVH) behaviors and factors. SPHERE was designed to increase patient-provider communication around Life’s Simple 7™, and utilized a stoplight color scheme as part of the visualization to indicate “ideal” (green), “intermediate” (yellow), and “poor” (red) CVH. Results from the SPHERE Study showed improvements in body mass index and diabetes status among eligible patients seen in the intervention clinic as compared to the control clinic. It remains unknown whether the use of SPHERE would be acceptable to oncologists in the survivorship care setting, even though cancer survivors are at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Methods: We conducted one-on-one interviews, using a think-aloud protocol, with 14 oncologists (10 community practice, 4 academic) who were practicing in the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP). During the 30-minute interview period, we asked each oncologist to use SPHERE and we obtained user feedback on the SPHERE application. Results: Half of the oncologists were male, and most (78%) were medical oncologists; 2 were gynecologic oncologists, and 1 was a radiation oncologist. When asked about discussing CVH with post-treatment, good-prognosis patients, no oncologists indicated that they “never” talked to patients about CVH or initiated those discussions. Eleven oncologists responded that discussing CVH was either “somewhat important” or “very important”, and 9 oncologists indicated they were “somewhat comfortable” or “very comfortable” discussing CVH with patients. Themes identified from transcripts of the 7 hours of interviews suggest 1) strong interest in the tool, 2) high perceived importance of discussing CVH with patients who had a good prognosis, 3) high usability, and 4) a belief that the tool would be helpful and not overly burdensome in practice. Duplication of preventative health efforts with the primary care provider as well as workflow and time constraints were identified as barriers by several oncology providers. Conclusions: Overall, these preliminary data demonstrate acceptability and feasibility of implementing the SPHERE application tool within NCORP community oncology practices. These qualitative data suggest great potential for automated EHR-based applications such as SPHERE to impact the CVH of cancer patients in survivorship care.

Experience with Quality Assurance in Two Store-and-Forward Telemedicine Networks.

Despite the increasing use of telemedicine around the world, little has been done to incorporate quality assurance (QA) into these operations. The purpose of the present study was to examine the feasibility of QA in store-and-forward teleconsulting using a previously published framework. During a 2-year study period, we examined the feasibility of using QA tools in two mature telemedicine networks [Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and New Zealand Teledermatology (NZT)]. The tools included performance reporting to assess trends, automated follow-up of patients to obtain outcomes data, automated surveying of referrers to obtain user feedback, and retrospective assessment of randomly selected cases to assess quality. In addition, the senior case coordinators in each network were responsible for identifying potential adverse events from email reports received from users. During the study period, there were 149 responses to the patient follow-up questions relating to the 1241 MSF cases (i.e., 12% of cases), and there were 271 responses to the follow-up questions relating to the 639 NZT cases (i.e., 42% of cases). The collection of user feedback reports was combined with the collection of patient follow-up data, thus producing the same response rates. The outcomes data suggested that the telemedicine advice proved useful for the referring doctor in the majority of cases and was likely to benefit the patient. The user feedback was overwhelmingly positive, over 90% of referrers in the two networks finding the advice received to be of educational benefit. The feedback also suggested that the teleconsultation had provided cost savings in about 20% of cases, either to the patient/family, or to the hospital/clinic treating the patient. Various problems were detected by regular monitoring, and certain adverse events were identified from email reports by the users. A single aberrant quality reading was detected by using a process control chart. The present study demonstrates that a QA program is feasible in store-and-forward telemedicine, and shows that it was useful in two different networks, because certain problems were detected (and then solved) that would not have been identified until much later. It seems likely that QA could be used much more widely in telemedicine generally to benefit patient care.

Attributes and descriptors for building performance evaluation

The feedback obtained from users/occupants would become the primary data set to evaluate performance of any built facility. Meeting user needs, expectations and aspirations are the prime objectives of a facility provider. It becomes necessary to evaluate the built facility with respect to meeting user needs/expectations, in order to obtain right feedback during building performance evaluation. Among various methods being used to obtain user feedback, questionnaire remains the foremost and most commonly used tool. The quality of feedback and its subsequent analysis entirely depend on the robustness of the questionnaire which in turn depends on its content. Such survey instrument comprises of questions framed on various attributes of a built facility. The purpose of survey dictates the nature of questions and the attributes about which the data are collected. These attributes can be categorized into functional attributes, maintenance attributes, and societal attributes.In order to obtain the right feedback in levels of satisfaction with respect to these attributes, there is a need to have appropriate descriptors for incorporation in a survey instrument. This paper identifies attributes that indicate building performance and provides simple description of these attributes based on which items can be generated for a questionnaire. Such items can enable any user/occupant to easily understand the characteristics of these attributes and offer an objective feedback during questionnaire survey.

Query‐dependent metric learning for adaptive, content‐based image browsing and retrieval

Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems often incorporate a relevance feedback mechanism in which retrieval is adapted based on users identifying images as relevant or irrelevant. Such relevance decisions are often assumed to be category-based. However, forcing a user to decide upon category membership of an image, even when unfamiliar with a database and irrespective of context, is restrictive. An alternative is to obtain user feedback in the form of relative similarity judgments. The ability of a user to provide meaningful feedback depends on the interface that displays retrieved images and facilitates the feedback. Similarity-based 2D layouts provide context and can enable more efficient visual search. Motivated by these observations, this study describes and evaluates an interactive image browsing and retrieval approach based on relative similarity feedback obtained from 2D image layouts. It incorporates online maximal-margin learning to adapt the image similarity metric used to perform retrieval. A user starts a session by browsing a collection of images displayed in a 2D layout. He/she may choose a query image perceived to be similar to the envisioned target image. A set of images similar to the query are then returned. The user can then provide relational feedback and/or update the query image to obtain a new set of images. Algorithms for CBIR are often characterised empirically by simulating usage based on pre-defined, fixed category labels, deeming retrieved results as relevant if they share a category label with the query. In contrast, the purpose of the system in this study is to enable browsing and retrieval without predefined categories. Therefore evaluation is performed in a target-based setting by quantifying the efficiency with which target images are retrieved given initial queries.

Design of a new non-sterile glove-dispensing unit to reduce touch-based

Despite best efforts by healthcare providers to sterilise their hands through hand washing prior to touching medical equipment and patients, bacteria are still present and can be spread through physical contact. We aimed to reduce the spread of touch-induced and airborne bacteria and virus spreading by using a touch-free glove-dispensing system that minimally exposes gloves in the box to air. The team met multiple times to undertake early prototyping and present ideas for the design. We experimented with folding gloves in varying patterns, similar to facial tissuedispensing boxes, and tried several methods of opening/closing the glove box to determine the most effective way to access gloves with the least amount of physical contact. We considered the user experience and obtained user feedback after each design iteration. Ultimately, we decided on a vertically oriented box with optional holes for dispensing a glove on the side of the box or on the bottom by means of the pull-down drawer mechanism. This system will dispense a single glove at a time to the user with the option of using a pull-down drawer trigger to decrease the likelihood of physical contact with unused gloves. Both methods dispense a single glove. By reducing physical contact between the healthcare practitioner and the gloves, we are potentially reducing the spread of bacteria. This glove box design ensures that gloves are not exposed to the air in the clinic or hospital setting, thereby further reducing spread of airborne germs. This could assist in decreasing the risk of nosocomial infections in healthcare settings.

Beyond-screen Interface for Interactive Television

Background: The electronic device trend of “being smart” has revolutionized personal hand-held devices, leading to the emergence of smart phones and tablet PCs. The trend has now spread to home entertainment media, resulting in the emergence of interactive TVs (ITVs). The information systems of interactive television are becoming increasingly interactive and complex, and the information is often presented in a highly distracting and inconvenient manner with insufficient display space. In this study, we developed a Beyond-Screen Interface (BSI) wherein the display system extends the physical space of the graphical user interface (GUI) in ITVs using projectors. Methods : We implemented the BSI prototype by devising a projector and TV set and compared the usability and quality of user experience of BSI with those of ITV user interfaces of conventional styles. For the evaluation, not only the overall usability but also the hedonic/pragmatic quality of user experience and the degree of lean-back experience were measured with subject scale. Observation and user interview were followed to obtain user feedback and insights. Results and Conclusion: Our user evaluation implies that BSI can provide a novel experience for using interactive functions in ITV while maintaining user engagement with TV contents like a traditional TV. The extended display system also evoked a wow response. Such positive user experiences of display extension can facilitate the access to various applications and complex information in an ITV viewing context.

Mobile phone-based asthma self-management aid for adolescents (mASMAA): a feasibility study.

PurposeAdolescents report high asthma-related morbidity that can be prevented by adequate self-management of the disease. Therefore, there is a need for a developmentally appropriate strategy to promote effective asthma self-management. Mobile phone-based technology is portable, commonly accessible, and well received by adolescents. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a comprehensive mobile phone-based asthma self-management aid for adolescents (mASMAA) that was designed to facilitate symptom monitoring, treatment adherence, and adolescent–parent partnership. The system used state-of-the-art natural language-understanding technology that allowed teens to use unconstrained English in their texts, and to self-initiate interactions with the system.Materials and methodsmASMAA was developed based on an existing natural dialogue system that supports broad coverage of everyday natural conversation in English. Fifteen adolescent–parent dyads participated in a 2-week trial that involved adolescents’ daily scheduled and unscheduled interactions with mASMAA and parents responding to daily reports on adolescents’ asthma condition automatically generated by mASMAA. Subsequently, four focus groups were conducted to systematically obtain user feedback on the system. Frequency data on the daily usage of mASMAA over the 2-week period were tabulated, and content analysis was conducted for focus group interview data.ResultsResponse rates for daily text messages were 81%–97% in adolescents. The average number of self-initiated messages to mASMAA was 19 per adolescent. Symptoms were the most common topic of teen-initiated messages. Participants concurred that use of mASMAA improved awareness of symptoms and triggers, promoted treatment adherence and sense of control, and facilitated adolescent–parent partnerships.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the utility and user acceptability of mASMAA as a potential asthma self-management tool in a selective group of adolescents. Further research is needed to replicate the findings in a large group of adolescents from sociodemographically diverse backgrounds to validate the findings.

Evaluating Design Patterns of Commercial Web Applications using Net Easy Score

Web interface design patterns provide solutions to recurring design problems. Many design patterns use various techniques, which have been proven to be significantly different, to solve the same design problem. Normally, web designers do not know whether users would be satisfied with their chosen choice until near or at the end of the web development process. To obtain user feedback, users are usually asked to interact with a web prototype or the finished web and give their opinion through standardized questionnaires. Net Promoter Score is one of such questionnaires. This scale categorizes users' responses into promoters and detractors, which makes it easier for companies to understand user satisfaction towards their web. To enable the designers to obtain user feedback early in the design stage, Net Easy Score, a new metric based on Net Promoter Score, was proposed. With Net Easy Score (NES), ease-of-use scores on different design patterns will be divided into a positive and a negative group. The NES is a difference between percentages of positive responses and negative ones. This study examined ease-of-use scores on design patterns for five common tasks in commercial web applications. Results showed that NES and mean ease- of-use score were significantly correlated with an r of 0.965 (p < .000). Also, ranking the average ease-of-use scores and NES revealed the same design patterns identified as the best and the worst ones, which was consistent with the easiest-to-use design patterns voted by participants.