Touchscreen Devices Research Articles

Influence of maternal and infant technology use and other family factors on infant development

BackgroundDigital technology is ubiquitous in the lives of many children and parents. To better understand any influence of technology use by infants, and mothers, on child development, technology use should be considered within the broader family system context in which children develop. This study aimed to investigate associations between infant and maternal technology use and infant 12-month development, taking into consideration other family factors.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used data from ORIGINS participants, collected at 12-months of age: maternal and child technology use (TechU-Q), sociodemographic factors (e.g. child sex, household income), parental mental health (DASS-21), and child development (Ages and Stages Questionnaire). Linear regression was used for analyses.ResultsWhen family factors were considered, higher infant mobile touchscreen device (MTSD) use was associated with poorer infant development for gross motor, problem-solving, and total ASQ-3 scores. In contrast there were no associations between infant television (TV) watching or maternal technology use and total ASQ-3 scores. Higher maternal technology use was associated with higher infant technology use. Poorer maternal and paternal mental health were associated with poorer infant development. Poorer maternal mental health was also associated with higher infant TV watching and higher maternal MTSD use.ConclusionThere is a complex relationship between technology use, parental mental health and other family factors that together influence infant development. To improve infant development outcomes, less focus should be on infant or maternal technology use, and more on supporting the family as a whole, and parental mental health in particular.

Development of a touchscreen-based nutrition learning tool to promote healthy eating practices among early elderly Thai people

Introduction: In Thailand, rapid demographic ageing is closely linked to an increased incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Effective nutritional management is essential to mitigate NCD risks and delay progression. Given the widespread use of touchscreen devices among older adults, this study focused on developing a nutrition app tailored to enhance knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding healthy eating among Thai elderly people. Methods: The project consisted of two main phases, namely content preparation and application development. Initial drafts and storyboards were refined through consultations with experts and discussions. The use of healthy menus was approved by a professional chef and nutritionists. The app prototype underwent comprehensive evaluations in terms of content accuracy, design, usability, and acceptability by experts. It was also field tested by elderly volunteers for four weeks. Results: The developed “YoungYou” app features tools such as body mass index assessment, updates on elderly health, and dietary recommendations tailored to Thai elderly individuals based on the nutrition flag system. It includes 60 healthy recipes, 30 cooking tutorials, and an interactive community board. The app allows users to modify and recalibrate the nutritional content of recipes, which can then be saved or shared. Evaluations of the app showed high levels of agreement on its effectiveness across all metrics. The use of rice, vegetables, and meat by 41 elderly volunteers led to increased healthy eating behaviours. Conclusion: The “YoungYou” app has demonstrated potential as a viable tool for promoting healthier eating habits among Thai elderly people, thereby addressing critical public health issues related to ageing and disease prevention.

Voter management devices in South Africa’s elections, 2021-2024

This paper tracks the performance of Voter Management Devices (VMDs) in South Africa from their piloting in the 2021 local government election to their adoption in the 2024 general elections. It seeks to unpack what this performance means for further modernising electoral processes in the country, and especially for the introduction of e-voting. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) argues that hand-held touch-screen electronic devices ushered in a new era for election management in South Africa. Procured for millions of rand, VMDs replaced the old Zip-Zip barcode machines used since 1998 which could not capture real-time information. They were introduced at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic posed a threat to electoral participation in the democratic world. While the IEC and some observers argue that VMDs strengthened tough health controls in the voting process during their piloting, as with most new technology they still experienced several challenges and technical glitches. Nevertheless, the IEC resolved to deploy the new devices in the 2024 general elections. Following further glitches in the general elections, two main research questions have emerged: is South Africa technologically ready to handle e-voting based on the performance of VMDs? and what can other African countries learn from South Africa regarding modernising their voting systems? Data for this study was collected using qualitative methods. This study found that political will alone is insufficient for the modernisation of voting systems. The performance of VMDs requires further scrutiny before e-voting can be successfully implemented in South Africa.

Exploring modalities and functions of social interaction initiated by toddlers in the U.S. during touchscreen play

ABSTRACT As technology becomes ubiquitous in the homes of many families, children learn to incorporate touchscreen devices into their everyday activities. The present study explored young children’s role in shaping their gaming experience to maintain social interactivity. Twenty-nine children at 2.5 years old in the U.S. played a non-educational game on a touchscreen in the presence of a researcher. We examined the temporal distribution and functions of toddlers’ active initiation of verbal and nonverbal social interactions. The results indicated modality differences. The toddlers tended to initiate verbal interactions in the middle segment of gaming and nonverbal interactions at the beginning. Moreover, toddlers who initiated a greater proportion of verbal (as opposed to nonverbal) interactions tended to amass more social interactions overall. Finally, the child-initiated interactions served functions of sharing success, seeking assistance, requesting a change, and inviting others to participate. Together, these findings provide insight into the social aspects of touchscreen gaming as toddlers navigate this new form of play.

Concurrent and longitudinal associations between touchscreen use and executive functions at preschool-age

IntroductionThe prevalence of touchscreen devices has recently risen amongst young children. Some evidence suggests that increased touchscreen use may be negatively related to preschool-age children's executive functions (EFs). However, it has been argued that actively interacting with touchscreen devices (e.g., via creative apps for drawing) could better support EF development compared to passive use (e.g., watching videos). There is a pressing need to understand whether the type of use can explain potential associations between touchscreen use and EF.MethodsBy following up longitudinally on an infant sample, now aged 42-months (N = 101), the current study investigates the relative contributions of passive and active touchscreen use, measured concurrently at 42-months and longitudinally from 10-to-42-months, on parent-reported EFs.ResultsA multivariate multiple regression found no significant negative associations between touchscreen use and preschool EF. There was a significant positive association between active touchscreen use at 42-months and the BRIEF-P Flexibility Index.DiscussionThe lack of significant negative associations found is consistent with an earlier study's findings in the same sample at infancy, suggesting that the moderate levels of early touchscreen use in this sample are not significantly associated with poorer EF, at least up to preschool-age.

A jsPsych touchscreen extension for behavioral research on touch-enabled interfaces

Online experiments are increasingly gaining traction in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, behavioral researchers have largely continued to use keyboards as the primary input devices for such online studies, overlooking the ubiquity of touchscreens in everyday use. This paper presents an open-source touchscreen extension for jsPsych, a JavaScript framework designed for conducting online experiments. We additionally evaluated the touchscreen extension assessing whether typical behavioral findings from two distinct perceptual decision-making tasks – the random-dot kinematogram and the Stroop task – can similarly be observed when administered via touchscreen devices compared to keyboard devices. Our findings indicate similar performance metrics for each paradigm between the touchscreen and keyboard versions of the experiments. Specifically, we observe similar psychometric curves in the random-dot kinematogram across the touchscreen and keyboard versions. Similarly, in the Stroop task, we detect significant task, congruency, and sequential congruency effects in both experiment versions. We conclude that our open-source touchscreen extension serves as a promising tool for data collection in online behavioral experiments on forced-choice tasks.

Wear + Touch: An Exploration of Wearables for Vibrotactile Feedback During Touchscreen Input

Vibrotactile feedback is known to have a positive impact on the user performance and experience of touchscreen input. Unfortunately, not all touchscreen devices have built-in haptics capabilities, public displays being a notable example, while the design options for vibrotactile feedback on conventional mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, are still limited. In this work, we propose leveraging commodity wearable devices, such as smartwatches, rings, and armbands, to enable vibrotactile feedback as closely as possible to the touch point when the touchscreen does not natively support haptics, and to complement existing haptics capabilities when the touchscreen already features them. To this end, we introduce Wear + Touch, a set of four interaction techniques designed to augment touchscreen input with vibrations delivered through wearable devices, from substituting to complementing, extending, and expanding on-screen vibrotactile feedback. We demonstrate Wear + Touch with several practical implementations involving a large touchscreen display, smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, smart ring, and armband as well as a custom wearable device that we designed for vibrations delivered simultaneously on the user’s index finger, wrist, and forearm. We also report empirical results from two controlled experiments involving a total of 40 participants, conducted to understand the multi-faceted user experience of vibrotactile feedback delivered through the Wear + Touch techniques. In the first experiment, we reveal a favorable user experience of vibrations delivered on the index finger, wrist, and forearm, in this order, when the touchscreen lacks haptics capabilities. In the second experiment, we reveal benefits of reinforcing and expanding on-screen vibrations with vibrotactile feedback on the index finger, wrist, and arm, respectively. We use our findings to suggest future work opportunities for combined vibrotactile feedback involving both touchscreens and wearable devices.

Enabling Self-Practice of Digital Audio–Tactile Maps for Visually Impaired People by Large Language Models

Digital audio–tactile maps (DATMs) on touchscreen devices provide valuable opportunities for people who are visually impaired (PVIs) to explore the spatial environment for engaging in travel activities. Existing solutions for DATMs usually require extensive training for the PVIs to understand the feedback mechanism. Due to the shortage of human resources for training specialists, as well as PVIs’ desire for frequent practice to maintain their usage skills, it has become challenging to widely adopt DATMs in real life. This paper discusses the use of large language models (LLMs) to provide a verbal evaluation of the PVIs’ perception, which is crucial for the independent practice of DATM usage. A smartphone-based prototype providing DATMs of simple floor plans was developed for a preliminary investigation. The evaluation results have proven that the interaction with the LLM could help the participants better understand the DATMs’ content and could vividly replicate them by drawings.

SwivelTouch: Boosting Touchscreen Input with 3D Finger Rotation Gesture

Today, touchscreens stand as the most prevalent input devices of mobile computing devices (smartphones, tablets, smartwatches). Yet, compared with desktop or laptop computers, the limited shortcut keys and physical buttons on touchscreen devices, coupled with the fat finger problem, often lead to slower and more error-prone input and navigation, especially when dealing with text editing and other complex interaction tasks. We introduce an innovative gesture set based on finger rotations in the yaw, pitch, and roll directions on a touchscreen, diverging significantly from traditional two-dimensional interactions and promising to expand the gesture library. Despite active research in estimation of finger angles, however, the previous work faces substantial challenges, including significant estimation errors and unstable sequential outputs. Variability in user behavior further complicates the isolation of movements to a single rotational axis, leading to accidental disturbances and screen coordinate shifts that interfere with the existing sliding gestures. Consequently, the direct application of finger angle estimation algorithms for recognizing three-dimensional rotational gestures is impractical. SwivelTouch leverages the analysis of finger movement characteristics on the touchscreen captured through original capacitive image sequences, which aims to rapidly and accurately identify these advanced 3D gestures, clearly differentiating them from conventional touch interactions like tapping and sliding, thus enhancing user interaction with touch devices and meanwhile compatible with existing 2D gestures. User study further confirms that the implementation of SwivelTouch significantly enhances the efficiency of text editing on smartphones.

Association between the use of mobile touchscreen devices and the quality of parent-child interaction in preschoolers

The early use of mobile touchscreen devices (MTSDs), including smartphones and tablets, may reduce the frequency and quality of social interactions between children and parents, which could impact their relationship and have negative consequences on children's socio-cognitive development. In this study, we applied a parental questionnaire and a behavioral observational method in a laboratory setting (free and structured play sessions) to examine the association between preschool MTSD use and the quantity and quality of parent–child relationships. Our findings revealed that preschoolers who regularly use MTSDs (n = 47, aged 4–7 years, engaging in MTSD use for at least 2 h per week) are spending less time with their parents and exhibited lower quality interactions compared to non-users (n = 25). However, shared offline leisure time with parents serves as a protective factor among MTSD-users. Furthermore, our study demonstrated a positive association between parents' and children's media use. The results suggest that preschool MTSD use may have unfavorable effects on parent–child interactions, both in terms of quantity and quality. Alternatively, lower quantity and quality of parent–child interaction may lead to higher MTSD use in the child. Based on the results, the importance of engaging in sufficient offline family interactions besides digital media use should be emphasized to parents of preschoolers, and health organizations and governments should include this in their recommendations and policies concerning childhood digital media use.

Mind and matter correlated in a matrix. New replication using an online game

The study investigates the interaction between mind and matter by exploring correlations between psychological behaviour with a physical system. Psychological data, acquired during task performance, and physical variables from a random number generator are combined into matrices for joint analysis. The research aims to examine the statistical distribution of matrices generated in experimental sessions compared to control sessions. A total of 726 participants from over 50 countries engaged in an online game via touchscreen device (mobile or tablet), yielding data from 10.964 studies. Random number generators Random.org (5.330 studies) and Mersenne twister (5.634 studies) were utilized, resulting in the analysis of 10.525.440 psychological variables and 21.050.880 random values as physical variables. Random number generator data were analysed separately. The analysis using Random.org indicated statistically significant differences between experimental and control sessions when employing a matrix with 4096 cells (64x64). The Welch’s T-test yielded a value of 3,811, with a corresponding p-value of 0,0001. The achieved power was high at 94%, while the effect size reached 0,084, above the required minimum meaningful effect size of 0,071. The analysis using Mersenne Twister did not exhibit statistically significant differences concerning the same matrix (64x64). The Welch’s T-test resulted in a value of 1,813, with a corresponding p-value of 0,069. The achieved power stood at 67%, while the effect size attained was 0,040, falling short of the minimum meaningful effect size required which was 0,071.

The Power of a Human Bridge: Motivating Older Adults to Long-Term Engagement with Touchscreen Devices in a SDT-Based Learning Session

The rapid development of digital technology and its pervasiveness in everyday life requires everybody to develop the skills necessary to engage with such technology for one’s mundane tasks and communication needs. The first steps towards developing these skills can be particularly challenging for older adults, who might need to fundamentally adapt their learned and long-practiced routines. Maintaining motivation in these initial steps is crucial for sustained engagement. The present study examines factors that can contribute to promote motivation in a facilitated learning session based on Self-Determination-Theory. We conducted a longitudinal qualitative study in which we examined people’s motivation to engage with digital technology, based on observational data as well as interviews with 33 older adults before and immediately after participating in a facilitated learning session. To investigate sustained effects on motivation, further interviews were conducted 3 months after participation. We found that satisfying the need for relatedness by learning together with peers and receiving support from facilitators was a prerequisite for this target group to develop a sense of competence and autonomy, which can lead to sustained motivation. Long-term motivational effects could not only be explained by the immediate effects of the learning intervention, but were identified to be dependent also on individual needs and predispositions. These findings were aggregated in a typology that identifies relevant influence factors and explains the potential motivational effects for different parts of the target group. It supports learning and technology designers to adapt to the addressed user group.

PalmSpace: Leveraging the palm for touchless interaction on public touch screen devices

Touchscreen is the primary solution to interact with public devices such as Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). However, the touch modality raises health concerns since users have to touch the screens, and therefore risking the spread of contagious diseases. We design PalmSpace, an alternate input technique leveraging users’ hand palms to interact with public devices. With Palmspace, UI elements are mapped onto the users’ palms and can be accessed by touching various locations directly on the palm. We conduct a series of user studies to evaluate several design options, such as interface layout, item size, preferred item location, and suitable feedback for items. Based on the results, we design PalmSpace and compare its performance with mid-air input. We show that PalmSpace is a potential solution to interact with public devices without using their touchscreen. We conclude with design guidelines for using the palm as an alternative input space for touchscreen devices.

Analysis of Multimedia Touch Screen Visual Needs of Pre-School Children in the Digital Era

In the advent of the intelligent digital era, numerous industrial products' operations and functionalities have been replaced by digital multimedia touch screens. This shift signifies the gradual integration of digital intelligence visualization into people's lives, work, and learning. Intelligent touch screen devices have replaced mechanically complex office, learning, and entertainment equipment, entering people's lives. This study initially collected relevant domestic and international equipment and research situations, finding that China holds the highest proportion in this category of products and research direction, with considerable accumulated experience. Considering this phenomenon and existing related research, this study focused on pre-school children as the research subjects, investigating the tactile visual and reminder aspects of children's digitized multimedia intelligent touch screen devices. The study revealed that the ownership and usage of such products are significantly influenced by the children's age and their family-related circumstances. Although the elements during usage show minimal differences, combining relevant data highlights pre-school children's visual and interactive requirements during usage. This research conducted surveys and analysis on 102 pre-school children's parents in relatively developed and open areas in China, regarding pre-school children's multimedia touch screen needs and usage, analyzing and discussing related factors, relationships, and patterns of these needs. It has collected and organized preliminary data accurately and in-depth, laying a solid foundation for subsequent related research.

Capturing Movement: A Tablet App, Geometry Touch, for Recording Onscreen Finger-Based Gesture Data

This paper presents a novel digital method of capturing finger-based gestures on touchscreen devices for the purposes of exploring tracing gestures in educational research. Given that tracing has been found to support cognition, learning and problem-solving in educational settings, data related to the performance of these gestures is increasingly of interest to researchers. Most educational research methods exploring the use of hand gestures rely on in-person data collection, whether through direct observation, or video recording of participants' behaviour for later analysis. These methods, while effective for observing gross movements, may not provide researchers with detailed insights into how learners interact with learning materials. Using custom tools to record touchscreen engagement on tablet computing devices can address this limitation, while also providing the means to visually represent touch-based interactions with these devices. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Geometry Touch</i> is an iPad app developed and tested by the primary author as part of a pilot study. The research study, theoretically grounded in Cognitive Load Theory, demonstrated that <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Geometry Touch</i> could efficiently collect data on touchscreen interactions, while also providing potential avenues to quantify touchscreen interactions through computational means. The purpose of this paper is to report on the development and testing of this app, while providing an explanation of how it was used as a method of data collection by leveraging touchscreen technology. The paper concludes by discussing how this digital method of capturing movement can provide further insight into how finger-based gestures can influence learning and as such, could increase the reach of gesture-based research.

Nerve conduction study: A reliable approach to assess the effect of electromagnetic waves on median nerve

Background: Mobile phones and other touchscreen devices emit dangerous electromagnetic radiation that negatively affect nerve function, with the median nerve being the most vulnerable because it is mostly utilized for mobile phone typing. Nerve conduction studies (NCSs) can be used to successfully diagnose this change in nerve function NCS. Aims and Objectives: The goal of the study was to ascertain the impact of electromagnetic waves from mobile phones on the median nerve’s nerve conduction velocity (NCV). Materials and Methods: 150 young, healthy medical students participated in a cross-sectional (observational) study, and they were split into two groups based on how long they used their mobile phones: Group 1 (&lt;30 min usage) and Group 2 (&gt;30 min usage). The median nerves in both upper limbs were measured for their NCV, and the results were statistically analyzed using the student “t” test for equal variance for various parameters. Results: The research found that Group 1 participants, who use cell phones more frequently and for longer periods of time, had significantly reduced (impaired) sensory NCV of the median nerve. Conclusion: Smartphones and other touchscreen gadgets, depending on time of exposure and usage frequency, can negatively impact nerve function, resulting in a decrease in the median nerve’s conduction velocity, and this can be very efficiently diagnosed with the use of NCSs.

Orientarsi nel digitale e comprendere i social media, tra percezioni e uso reale. Una ricerca-azione nel savonese per l’educazione digitale nelle scuole secondarie di secondo grado

The article describes the outcomes of an action-research conducted with adolescents to investigate their perceptions and actual uses of digital technologies and social networks. The course, carried out with 450 pupils of a secondary school, involved the administration of a questionnaire to collect data and obtain material to proceed to critical reflections and useful workshop activities to improve the perception of the time spent with touchscreen devices and especially with the smartphone and to encourage a more conscious and more critical use of these tools. In the second phase of the research, in fact, through a problematizing attitude, the data were examined and analyzed by both learners and teachers, detecting a desire on the part of adolescents to improve their modes of use and a need on the part of teachers to explore these issues in greater depth.

The ability of typically developing 2–3 year olds to infer the control mechanism for eye-gaze technology and the impact of causal language instruction

Purpose Little is known about how children learn to control eye-gaze technology, and clinicians lack information to guide decision-making. This paper examines whether typically developing 2–3 year olds can infer for themselves the causal mechanisms by which eye-gaze technology is controlled, whether a teaching intervention based on causal language improves performance and how their performance compares to the same task accessed via a touchscreen. Methods and materials: Typically developing children’s (n = 9, Mean Age 28.7 months) performance on a cause and effect game presented on eye-gaze and touchscreen devices was compared. The game was presented first with no specific instruction on how to control the devices. This was followed by a subsequent presentation with explicit instruction about how the access methods worked, using a causal language approach. A final presentation examined whether children had retained any learning. Results Performance in the eye-gaze condition without instruction (42.5% successful trials) was significantly below performance in the corresponding touchscreen condition (75%). However, when causal language instruction was added, performance with both access methods rose to comparable levels (90.7% eye-gaze and 94.6% touchscreen success). Performance gains were not retained post-intervention. Conclusions Although 2–3 years in the study could make use of eye-gaze technology with support, this study found no evidence that these children could infer the causal mechanisms of control independently or intuitively. The lack of spatial contiguity and the comparative lack of feedback from eye-gaze devices are discussed as possible contributory factors.

Working memory in young children: A pilot study on the gender-mediated effect of Touch Screen Device use

ObjectiveTo investigate a possible gender-mediated relation between the use of Touch Screen Devices (TSDs), such as smartphones and tablets, and the performance on a visuospatial working memory task in children aged 5–11. MethodsThirty-eight children from a Dutch primary school participated in the Corsi Block-Tapping Task and were systematically interviewed about their TSD use. Multilevel analyses and linear regression analyses were used to model effects on three outcomes: odds of reproducing a sequence correctly, Corsi Span, and cumulative score. ResultsModerate to high TSD use significantly decreases the odds of reproducing a sequence correctly for girls (OR = 0.21), but significantly increase the odds for boys (OR = 3.50). Additionally, there are strong indications that moderate to high TSD use is related to an increase in the Corsi Span (T = −1.978, p = .057) and the cumulative score (T = −2.985, p = .005) in boys, but not in girls. ConclusionDespite the small study sample, it seems to be justified to conclude that there is a gender-mediated relation between TSD use and working memory in young children. The practical relevance of these findings and the importance of more research in this field are discussed.

Three-Dimensional (3D) Microcatheter Shaping Using Touch Screen Devices for Cerebral Aneurysm Coil Embolization

In cerebral aneurysm coil embolization, proper microcatheter shaping is crucial to reduce complications and achieve sufficient embolization. Shaping a microcatheter in 3 dimensions (3D) is often required but can be challenging. We assessed the usefulness of a novel shaping on screen (SOS) method that displays real-size 3D rotational angiography (RA) images on a touch screen device during cerebral aneurysm embolization to facilitate 3D microcatheter shaping. In this study, 18 patients with cerebral aneurysm treated with this technique were included. Real-size 3D-RA images obtained during the embolization procedure were displayed on the touch screen device, which allowed for real-time manipulation. The shape of the microcatheter was adjusted to conform to the curvature of the vessel by swiping the touch screen device and bending the mandrel accordingly. We assessed the clinical and angiographic results, along with the accuracy and stability of the microcatheter. No procedure-related complications were observed. The mean packing density was 41%±12%. In all but 1 case, microcatheters were inserted into the aneurysms without guidewire assistance. After coiling, all microcatheter forms were stable. Three-dimensional (3D) microcatheter shaping using touch screen devices during cerebral aneurysm coil embolization may be simple and safe and can achieve high packing density of aneurysms.