Subjective Quality Scale Research Articles

Quality Assessment of Interactive Mobile Application - Maternal and Infant Care for Tribal Birth Attendants.

Digital health interventions can overcome geographical barriers and prepare health-care providers for better health outcomes in rural and remote tribal areas, however, it has not been explored among traditional birth attendants (TBAs). A mobile application, "maternal and infant care" (MAI) for capacity building of tribal birth attendants was developed and its quality was evaluated using the Mobile Application Rating Scale for user's interest in and satisfaction with the esthetics, information, and functionality. Thirteen Android user TBAs with the MAI application were piloted with the MARS checklist. Engagement, functionality, esthetics, and information quality; and one subjective quality scale having 29 items were used. The application was found to be entertaining excellent rating (mean score ± standard deviation) (4.00 ± 0.58), and scored high on performance (3.77 ± 0.93); layout design (3.85 ± 0.90); subjective quality (4.23 ± 0.93), however, scored minimum on interest; gestural design; visual appeal, etc. MAI is a user-friendly, culturally acceptable Android app that can be used for the capacity building of frontline workers.

WHAT DO OLDER ADULTS THINK ABOUT ELECTRONIC PAIN APPS? USING A HEALTH LITERACY FRAMEWORK TO MEASURE QUALITY

Abstract Mobile pain applications (apps) may improve health communication. Mobile health apps do not always consider the needs of older adults. This project examines perceptions of pain apps on smartphones among older adults. The sample consisted of 23 older adults (M age = 64 years), with majority female (83%), predominantly Caucasian (91%), and majority some college education (65%). Respondents answered questions about 5 free pain apps using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS). The MARS assesses descriptive and technical aspects of an eHealth apps using five categories including four quality scales: engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information and one subjective quality scale. Participants currently had pain with range of 3 months to 12 years. The Single Item Health Literacy Screener identified 17 people have never asked for help reading health information; all participants scored 100% on the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine Short Form. Participants self-reported an average of 2.6 comorbidities on the Functional Comorbidity Scale. The participants overall MARS rating ranged from 1-5; 11 participants rated pain apps very high (4-5). Important app characteristics identified by the older adults as critical for useable app included: Clear instructions, good navigation, and easy functionality. The elders reported that difficulty with loading the app and slow times would deter their use of the app. In terms of frequency of use, participants felt using the app was important weekly only if they experienced pain. These are important considerations in designing age-friendly technology for use with the frequent condition of pain among older adults.

Studies on the effect of MegaPixel sensor resolution on displayed image quality and relevant metrics

This paper investigates camera phone image quality, namely the effect of sensor megapixel (MP) resolution on the perceived quality of images displayed at full size on high-quality desktop displays. For the purpose, we use images from simulated cameras with different sensor MP resolutions. We employ methods recommended in the IEEE 1858 Camera Phone Image Quality (CPIQ) standard, as well as other established psychophysical paradigms, to obtain subjective image quality ratings for systems with varying MP resolution from large numbers of observers. These are subsequently used to validate image quality metrics (IQMs) relating to sharpness and resolution, including those from the CPIQ standard. Further, we define acceptable levels of quality - when changing MP resolution - for mobile phone images in Subjective Quality Scale (SQS) units. Finally, we map SQS levels to categories obtained from star-rating experiments (commonly used to rate consumer experience). Our findings draw a relationship between the MP resolution of the camera sensor and the LCD device. The chosen metrics predict quality accurately, but only the metrics proposed by CPIQ return results in calibrated JNDs in quality. We close by discussing the appropriateness of star-rating experiments for the purpose of measuring subjective image quality and metric validation.

Simulation of Subjective Closed Captioning Quality Assessment Using Prediction Models

As a primary user group, Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HOH) audiences use Closed Captioning (CC) service to enjoy the TV programs with audio by reading text. However, the D/HOH communities are not completely satisfied with the quality of CC even though the government regulators entail certain rules in the CC quality factors. The measure of the CC quality is often interpreted as an accuracy on translation and regulators use the empirical models to assess. The need of a subjective quality scale comes from the gap in between current empirical assessment models and the audience perceived quality. It is possible to fill the gap by including the subjective assessment by D/HOH audiences. This research proposes a design of an automatic quality assessment system for CC which can predict the D/HOH audience subjective ratings. A simulated rater is implemented based on literature and the CC quality factor representative value extraction algorithm is developed. Three prediction models are trained with a set of CC quality values and corresponding rating scores, then they are compared to find the feasible prediction model.

Mobile app rating scale: a new tool for assessing the quality of health mobile apps.

BackgroundThe use of mobile apps for health and well being promotion has grown exponentially in recent years. Yet, there is currently no app-quality assessment tool beyond “star”-ratings.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to develop a reliable, multidimensional measure for trialling, classifying, and rating the quality of mobile health apps.MethodsA literature search was conducted to identify articles containing explicit Web or app quality rating criteria published between January 2000 and January 2013. Existing criteria for the assessment of app quality were categorized by an expert panel to develop the new Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) subscales, items, descriptors, and anchors. There were sixty well being apps that were randomly selected using an iTunes search for MARS rating. There were ten that were used to pilot the rating procedure, and the remaining 50 provided data on interrater reliability.ResultsThere were 372 explicit criteria for assessing Web or app quality that were extracted from 25 published papers, conference proceedings, and Internet resources. There were five broad categories of criteria that were identified including four objective quality scales: engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information quality; and one subjective quality scale; which were refined into the 23-item MARS. The MARS demonstrated excellent internal consistency (alpha = .90) and interrater reliability intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC = .79).ConclusionsThe MARS is a simple, objective, and reliable tool for classifying and assessing the quality of mobile health apps. It can also be used to provide a checklist for the design and development of new high quality health apps.

Objective and subjective evaluation of performance precision in piano chords

Analysis of timing precision and dynamic patterns in piano performances using sound recordings may not become a trivial task due to the influence of the recording technique, the room acoustics, and the need for a well-defined attack position for single tone events. During the last ten years the use of standardized registration and transmission of musical performance events makes it a lot easier to do performance analyses even if the present commercially available tools (MIDIized acoustical pianos) still are questioned concerning reliability and reproducibility. This paper discusses the use of a MIDIized piano for multiple recordings of piano performances by several professional artists. The results are based on statistical analyses of both precision and dynamics variation among the performers and deviation for each performer. Subjective listening tests have been used for evaluating musical variables on a subjective quality scale. [B. Repp, ‘‘Individual Differences in Shaping a Musical Phrase,’’ 5th ICMPC, Seoul (1998); J. Tro, ‘‘Micro Dynamics Deviation as a Measure of Musical Quality in Piano Performances?,’’ 5th ICMPC, Seoul (1998).]

A Comparison of Some Taste‐Test Methodsa

SUMMARYA long‐term investigation into the efficacy of different egg preservatives was used to compare different taste‐panel techniques. The main contrast is between rating, according to a specified subjective quality scale, and multiple pair comparison, according to flavor preference. A subsidiary contrast is between pair comparison with degrees of preference, and (on the same data) with straight binary preferences. All results are scored, presented graphically, and subjected to an analysis of variance. Pair comparison, especially with (three) degrees of freedom, proved to be more discriminatory than rating. Some aspects of the logic of the comparison of sensory scales are discussed.