Pragmatic Attributes Research Articles

Relational, Emotional, and Pragmatic Attributes of Ethics Consultations at a Children's Hospital.

Pediatric ethics consultations are important but understudied, with little known about consultations' contextual attributes, which may influence how ethically problematic situations are perceived and addressed. We analyzed data regarding 245 pediatric clinical ethics consultations performed between 2013 and 2018 at a large children's hospital. Prespecified data elements included 17 core problematic issues that initiate consultations, 9 ethical considerations identified by the consultation service, and 7 relational, emotional, and pragmatic contextual attributes of the consultation. The main process measure was the cumulative consultation process, ranging from one-on-one discussions with the requestor, to meeting with the clinical team, separate meetings with the patient or family and the clinical team, or combined meeting with the patient or family and the clinical team. The most-prevalent core problematic issues were intensity or limitation of treatment (38.8%) and treatment adherence and refusal (31%). Common pertinent ethical considerations were best interest (79.2%), benefits versus harms of treatment (51%), and autonomy and decision-making (46.5%). A total of 39.2% of consults culminated with a meeting with the clinical team, 9.4% with separate meetings, and 8.2% with a meeting with all parties. Common contextual attributes were discord (43.3%), acknowledged dilemma (33.5%), and articulate disagreement (29.8%). In exploratory analyses, specific contextual attributes were associated with the core problematic issue that initiated the consultation and with how the consultative process culminated. Pediatric ethics consultations have contextual attributes that in exploratory analyses are associated with specific types of problems and, to a lesser degree, with the cumulative ethics consultation process.

Patients' User Experience of a Blended Face-to-Face and Web-Based Smoking Cessation Treatment: Qualitative Study.

BackgroundBlended web-based and face-to-face (F2F) treatment is a promising electronic health service because the strengths of one mode of delivery should compensate for the weaknesses of the other.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore this compensation by examining patients’ user experience (UX) in a blended smoking cessation treatment (BSCT) in routine care.MethodsData on patients’ UX were collected through in-depth interviews (n=10) at an outpatient smoking cessation clinic in the Netherlands. A content analysis of the semantic domains was used to analyze patients’ UX. To describe the UX, the Hassenzahl UX model was applied, examining 4 of the 5 key elements of UX from a user’s perspective: (1) patients’ standards and expectations, (2) apparent character (pragmatic and hedonic attributes), (3) usage situation, and (4) consequences (appeal, emotions, and behavior).ResultsBSCT appeared to be a mostly positively experienced service. Patients had a positive-pragmatic standard and neutral-open expectation toward BSCT at the treatment start. The pragmatic attributes of the F2F sessions were mostly perceived as positive, whereas the pragmatic attributes of the web sessions were perceived as both positive and negative. For the hedonic attributes, there seemed to be a difference between the F2F and web sessions. Specifically, the hedonic attributes of the web sessions were experienced as mostly negative, whereas those of the F2F sessions were experienced as mostly positive. For the usage situation, the physical and social contexts were experienced positively, whereas the task and technical contexts were experienced negatively. Nevertheless, the consequential appeal of BSCT was positive. However, the consequential emotions and behavior varied, ultimately resulting in diverse combinations of consequential appeal, emotions, and behavior (positive, negative, and mixed).ConclusionsThis study provided insights into the UX of a blended treatment, and the results support the expectation that in a blended treatment, the strengths of one mode of delivery may compensate for the weaknesses of the other. However, in this certain setting, this is mainly achieved in only one way: F2F sessions compensated for the weaknesses of the web sessions. As a practical conclusion, this may mean that the web sessions, supported by the strengths of the F2F sessions, offer an interesting approach for further improving the blended treatment. Our theoretical findings reflect the relevance of the aspects of hedonism, such as fun, joy, or happiness in the UX, which were not mentioned in relation to the web sessions and were only scarcely mentioned in relation to the F2F sessions. Future research should further investigate the role of hedonistic aspects in a blended treatment and whether increased enjoyment of a blended treatment could increase treatment adherence and, ultimately, effectiveness.

User experience improvement of japanese language mobile learning application through mental model and A/B testing

Advances in smartphone technology have led to the strong emergence of mobile learning (m-learning) on the market to support foreign language learning purposes, especially for the Japanese language. No matter what kind of m-learning application, their goal should help learners to learn the Japanese language independently. However, popular Japanese m-learning applications only accommodate on enhancing reading, vocabulary and writing ability so that user experience issues are still prevalent and may affect the learning outcome. In the context of user experience, usability is one of the essential factors in mobile application development to determine the level of the application’s user experience. In this paper, we advocate for a user experience improvement by using the mental model and A/B testing. The mental model is used to reflect the user’s inner thinking mode. A comparative approach was used to investigate the performance of 20 high-grade students with homogenous backgrounds and coursework. User experience level was measured based on the usability approach on pragmatic quality and hedonic quality like effectiveness (success rate of task completion), efficiency (task completion time) and satisfaction. The results then compared with an existing Japanese m-learning to gather the insight of improvement of our proposed method. Experimental results show that both m-learning versions proved can enhance learner performance in pragmatic attributes. Nevertheless, the study also reveals that an m-learning that employs the conversational mental model in the learning process is more valued by participants in hedonic qualities. Mean that the proposed m-learning which is developed with the mental model consideration and designed using A/B testing is able to provide conversational learning experience intuitively.

Users' experiences with chatbots: findings from a questionnaire study

For chatbots to be broadly adopted by users, it is critical that they are experienced as useful and pleasurable. While there is an emerging body of research concerning user uptake and use of chatbots, there is a lack of theoretically grounded studies detailing what constitutes good or poor chatbot user experiences. In this paper, we present findings from a questionnaire study involving more than 200 chatbot users who reported on episodes of chatbot use that they found particularly satisfactory or frustrating. The user reports were analysed with basis in theory on user experience, with particular concern for pragmatic and hedonic attributes. We found that pragmatic attributes such as efficient assistance (positive) and problems with interpretation (negative) were important elements in user reports of satisfactory and frustrating episodes. Hedonic attributes such as entertainment value (positive) and strange and rude responses (negative) were also frequently mentioned. Older participants tended to report on pragmatic attributes more often, whereas younger participants tended to report on hedonic attributes more often. Drawing on the findings, we propose four high-level lessons learnt that may benefit chatbot service providers, and we suggest relevant future research.

Sentential Names in Tiv1

AbstractThis article explores and analyses Tiv personal names which are composed of sentences. The structural, semantic and pragmatic characteristics of these sentence names are described, and simplex sentence names with their unique grammatical peculiarities and propositional contents are identified. Ethnographic data for this research was obtained through interviews, metalinguistic conversations and participant observations in two Tiv speaking communities: Gboko and Makurdi in Benue State, North‐central Nigeria. In this article, Tiv sentential names are presented and it is argued that they are not mere referential expressions but also provide a reflection of the grammatical structure of the Tiv language. We conclude that the structure of Tiv sentential names is not constrained to any particular set of expressions; as they have semantic and pragmatic attributes which denote some extralinguistic realities that also contribute to the organization of Tiv grammar and the mental representation of the native speakers’ linguistic competence.

Comparative study of user experience on mobile pedestrian navigation between digital map interface and location-based augmented reality

Fast-paced mobile technology development has permitted augmented reality experiences to be delivered on mobile pedestrian navigation context. The fact that the more prevalent of this technology commonly will substituting the digital map visualization to present the geo-location information is still debatable. This paper comprises a report on a field study comparing about user experience when interacting with different modes of mobile electronic assistance in the context of pedestrian navigation interfaces which utilize location-based augmented reality (AR) and two-dimensional digital map to visualize the points of interest (POIs) location in the vicinity of the user. The study was conducted with two subsequent experiments in the Zhongli District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. The study involved 10 participants aged between 22 and 28 years with different experiences in using smartphones and navigation systems. Navigation performance was measured based on a usability approach on pragmatic quality and hedonic quality like effectiveness (success rate of task completion), efficiency (task completion time) and satisfaction in real outdoor conditions. The evaluation findings have been cross-checked with the user’s personal comments. We aim at eliciting knowledge about user requirements related to mobile pedestrian interfaces and evaluating user experience from pragmatic and hedonic viewpoints. Results show that in the context of pedestrian navigation, digital map interfaces lead to significantly better navigation performance in pragmatic attributes in comparison to AR interfaces. Nevertheless, the study also reveals that location-based AR is more valued by participants in hedonic qualities and overall performance.

Una proposta multimodale per il marketing premozionale dell’Apulianluxury: la Puglia come espressione del turismo di lusso responsabile

Abstract – This study introduces an innovative ‘premotional’ marketing strategy for the emotional promotion of responsible luxury tourism in Apulia, labelled as “#Apulianluxury”, which has been developed for this specific research to increase the appeal of the region by focusing on its natural, social, and cultural properties. In particular, this paper will illustrate the cognitive and linguistic grounds of a number of premotional messages that aim at attracting potential receivers by activating in them an alternative perception of the holiday as an experience of cultural and personal growth. Such perception is stimulated by the interaction between the ‘luxury tourism’ and ‘responsible tourism’ schemata, which leads to the ‘expected’/‘unexpected’ cognitive oppositions in the examined advertisements. The analysis of the selected corpus of multimodal texts will enquire into the extent to which the lexical, structural and pragmatic attributes of English as a lingua franca interact with the visual features of the messages so as to provide the alternative view of the holiday, and increase the cross-cultural accessibility of this premotional campaign. In fact, the connection between the lexical and syntactic simplification strategies and the visual representations allow tourists to trigger the pragmatic inferences that determine the appropriate identification and interpretation of the illocutionary force and perlocutionary effects pursued by the Apulian characterization of responsible luxury tourism under discussion

Attributes driving the selection of trucking services and the quantification of the shipper’s willingness to pay

This paper investigates the selection of trucking services by shippers that require the movement of truck shipments. A set of pragmatic attributes are postulated to describe trucking services. They are used in a stated choice experiment that collects data and preferences from shippers. A mixed logit model is estimated in order to test the attributes and quantifying the shipper willingness to pay for them. The results are used to provide meaningful negotiation guidance for truck-related shippers and carriers, a significant contribution to literature in transportation, logistics, and supply chain management. A numerical example illustrates the use of the model.

The dilemma of the hedonic – Appreciated, but hard to justify

With the experiential turn in Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), academics and practitioners broaden their focus from mere task-fulfillment (i.e., the pragmatic) to a holistic view, encompassing universal human needs such as relatedness or popularity (i.e., the hedonic). Accordingly, many theoretical models of User Experience (UX) acknowledge the hedonic as an important aspect of a product’s appeal. In choice situations, however, people (i.e., users, consumers) overemphasize the pragmatic, but fail to acknowledge the hedonic. The present research explores the reasons for this phenomenon. We suggest that people attend to the justifiability of hedonic and pragmatic attributes rather than to their impact on experience. In other words, they choose what is easy to justify and not what they enjoy the most. Since providing justifications is easier for pragmatic than hedonic attributes, people arrive at a primarily pragmatic choice, even if they would feel better with the hedonic. We explored this assumption, called the Hedonic Dilemma, in four empirical studies. Study 1 ( N = 118) revealed a positive correlation between the need for justification and pragmatic choice. Study 2 ( N = 125) explored affective consequences and justifications provided for hedonic and pragmatic choices. We further explored two different ways to reduce the Hedonic Dilemma. Study 3 ( N = 178) enhanced the justifiability of hedonic choice through product information which suggested hedonic attributes as legitimate. In consequence, hedonic choice increased. Study 4 ( N = 133) manipulated the need for justification through framing the choice context. A significant positive effect of a “low need for justification” frame on purchase rates occurred for a hedonic but not for a pragmatic product. Our research has a number of implications, reaching from how to elicit requirements to general strategic considerations when designing (for) experiences.

How motivational orientation influences the evaluation and choice of hedonic and pragmatic interactive products: The role of regulatory focus

The perceived quality of interactive products can be roughly divided into instrumental, task-related, pragmatic attributes (e.g., usefulness, usability) and non-instrumental, self-referential, hedonic attributes (e.g., novelty, beauty). Recent studies suggest that the weighting of both aspects in forming an overall evaluation of an interactive product heavily depends on features of the actual situation, such as whether an individual has to perform a specific task or not. The present paper extends these findings by assuming that a match between an individual’s motivational orientation and particular product attributes (i.e., pragmatic, hedonic) moderates the perceived value of interactive products. Specifically, it shows how differences in regulatory foci (promotion or prevention focus), that is, differences in the way goal-directed behavior is regulated, influence product evaluation and choice. Participants were either set in a prevention focus (concern for safety and the avoidance of negative outcomes) or promotion focus (concern for personal growth and the attainment of positive outcomes). Subsequently, they were asked to evaluate and choose between a primarily pragmatic and a primarily hedonic mp3-player. The results revealed the expected effect of the activated regulatory focus on evaluation and choice. Individuals in a promotion focus rated the hedonic player as more appealing and chose it more frequently compared to individuals in a prevention focus. Reverse results, albeit not as strong, were found for the evaluation and choice of the pragmatic player. Our findings support the idea that product appeal and choice is strongly context-dependent. It further extends previous findings by showing that not only major differences in the situation, such as providing a specific task or not, impact product appreciation but that more subtle, motivational orientations can have similar effects.

A Comparison of the Clinical Utility of Pain Assessment Tools for Children with Cognitive Impairment

Difficulty assessing pain has been cited as one of the primary reasons for infrequent and inadequate assessment and analgesia for children with cognitive impairment (CI). Several behavioral observational pain tools have been shown to have good psychometric properties for pain assessment in this population; however, routine clinical use may depend largely on their pragmatic qualities. We designed this study to evaluate pragmatic attributes or clinical utility properties of three recently developed pain assessment tools for children with CI. A sample of clinicians from three medical centers were asked to review 15 videotaped observations of children with CI, recorded during their first three postoperative days during participation in a previous study. Participants scored pain using the revised-Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (r-FLACC) tool (individualized for the child during the previous study) for five observations, the noncommunicative Non-Communicating Children's Pain Checklist-Postoperative Version (NCCPC-PV) for five, and the Nursing Assessment of Pain Intensity (NAPI) for five observations. After their review of all segments, participants completed the Clinical Utility Attributes Questionnaire (CUAQ) ranking three attributes of clinical utility; complexity, compatibility, and relative advantage. Five physicians and 15 nurses comprised the sample. There was excellent agreement between the coded pain scores (i.e., mild, moderate, severe pain) assigned using all tools and r-FLACC scores assigned by original observers (88%-98% exact agreement; kappa 0.71-0.96). The internal consistency or reliability of the CUAQ was supported by high alpha values for each of the subscales (alpha = 0.84-0.93). Subscale and total CUAQ scores were higher for the r-FLACC and NAPI compared with the NCCPC-PV. The r-FLACC had similar scores for complexity, but slightly higher scores for compatibility, relative advantage, and total utility compared with the NAPI. We found that clinicians rated the complexity, compatibility, relative advantage, and overall clinical utility higher for the r-FLACC and NAPI compared with the NCCPC-PV, suggesting that these tools may be more readily adopted into clinical practice.

Using reflective argument to design human systems

This paper presents an argument centered approach to defining new large projects which focuses on the fundamental of human social activity, thinking and dialogue. Specifically, the approach makes explicit certain pragmatic attributes of both argumentation theory and reflective thinking; it can therefore be seen as an extension of Ulrich's boundary critique and Mason and Mitroff's surfacing strategic assumptions approaches. The paper identifies these attributes of argumentation theory and reflective thinking which are then used to enhance small and large group project development discussions. This is done to support the argument that these attributes are pragmatic. The dialectic of argument and the a priori of participants are seen as significant resources which allow avoidance of the pretence of an idealistic search and quantitative evaluation of all issues and options when designing large organizational projects.

The Interplay of Beauty, Goodness, and Usability in Interactive Products

Two studies considered the interplay between user-perceived usability (i.e., pragmatic attributes), hedonic attributes (e.g., stimulation, identification), goodness (i.e., satisfaction), and beauty of 4 different MP3-player skins. As long as beauty and goodness stress the subjective valuation of a product, both were related to each other. However, the nature of goodness and beauty was found to differ. Goodness depended on both perceived usability and hedonic attributes. Especially after using the skins, perceived usability became a strong determinant of goodness. In contrast, beauty largely depended on identification; a hedonic attribute group, which captures the product's ability to communicate important personal values to relevant others. Perceived usability as well as goodness was affected by experience (i.e., actual usability, usability problems), whereas hedonic attributes and beauty remained stable over time. All in all, the nature of beauty is rather self-oriented than goal-oriented, whereas goodness relates to both.

Dynamic patterns make the premotor cortex interested in objects: influence of stimulus and task revealed by fMRI

Research in monkey and man indicates that the ventrolateral premotor cortex (PMv) underlies not only the preparation of manual movements, but also the perceptual representation of pragmatic object properties. However, visual stimuli without any pragmatic meaning were recently found to elicit selective PMv responses if they were subjected to a perceivable pattern of change. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate if perceptual representations in the PMv might apply not only to pragmatic, but also to dynamic stimulus properties. To this end, a sequential figure matching task that required the processing of dynamic features was contrasted with a non-figure control task (Experiment 1) and an individual figure matching task (Experiment 2). In order to control for potential influences of stimulus properties that might be associated with pragmatic attributes, different types of abstract visual stimuli were employed. The experiments yielded two major findings: if their dynamic properties are attended, then abstract 2D visual figures are sufficient to trigger activation within premotor areas involved in hand-object interaction. Moreover, these premotor activations are independent from stimulus properties that might relate to pragmatic features. The results imply that the PMv is engaged in the processing of stimuli that are usually or actually embedded within either a pragmatic or a dynamic context.

Generating prosodic attitudes in French: Data, model and evaluation

A corpus of 322 syntactically balanced sentences uttered by one speaker with six different prosodic attitudes is analysed. The syntactic and phonotactic structure of the sentences are systematically varied in order to understand how two functions can be carried out in parallel in the prosodic continuum: (1) enunciative: demarcation of constituents; (2) illocutory: speaker’s attitude. The statistical analysis of the corpus demonstrates that global prototypical prosodic contours characterise each attitude. Such a global encoding is consistent with gating experiments showing that attitudes can be discriminated very early in utterances. These results are discussed in relation to a morphological and superpositional model of intonation. This model proposes that the information specific to each linguistic level (structure, hierarchy of constituents, semantic and pragmatic attributes) is encoded via superposed multiparametric contours. An implementation of this model is described that automatically captures and generates these prototypical prosodic contours. This implementation consists of parallel Recurrent Neural Networks each responsible for the encoding of one linguistic level. The identification rates of attitudes for both training and test synthetic utterances are similar to those for natural stimuli. We conclude that the study of discourse-level linguistic attributes such as prosodic attitudes is a valuable paradigm for comparing intonation models.

Semantics versus pragmatics in colour categorization

We argue that the confusing pattern of evidence concerning colour categorization reported by Saunders & van Brakel is unsurprising. On a perspectival view, categorization may follow semantic or pragmatic attributes. Colour lacks clear semantic attributes; as a result categorization is necessarily pragmatic and context-sensitive. This view of colour categorization helps explain the developmental delay in colour naming.

The end of an era

This paper investigates the selection of trucking services by shippers that require the movement of truck shipments. A set of pragmatic attributes are postulated to describe trucking services. They are used in a stated choice experiment that collects data and preferences from shippers. A mixed logit model is estimated in order to test the attributes and quantifying the shipper willingness to pay for them. The results are used to provide meaningful negotiation guidance for truck-related shippers and carriers, a significant contribution to literature in transportation, logistics, and supply chain management. A numerical example illustrates the use of the model.