A Gamification Approach to Improving Interpersonal Situational Awareness in Cyber Defense

In cyber threat situations, the establishment of a shared situational awareness as a basis for cyber defense decision-making results from adequate communication of a Recognized Cyber Picture (RCP). RCPs consist of actively selected information and have the goal of accurately presenting the severity and potential consequences of the situation. RCPs must be communicated between individuals, but also between organizations, and often from technical to non-/less technical personnel. The communication of RCPs is subject to many challenges that may affect the transfer of critical information between individuals. There are currently no common best practices for training communication for shared situational awareness among cyber defense personnel. The Orient, Locate, Bridge (OLB) model is a pedagogic tool to improve communication between individuals during a cyber threat situation. According to the model, an individual must apply meta-cognitive awareness (O), perspective taking (L), and communication skills (B) to successfully communicate the RCP. Gamification (applying game elements to non-game contexts) has shown promise as an approach to learning. We propose a novel OLB-based Gamification design to improve dyadic communication for shared situational awareness among (technical and non-technical) individuals during a cyber threat situation. The design includes the Gamification elements of narrative, scoring, feedback, and judgment of self. The proposed concept contributes to the educational development of cyber operators from both military and civilian organizations responsible for defending and securing digital infrastructure. This is achieved by combining the elements of a novel communication model with gamification in a context in urgent need for educational input.

Psychometric Properties of Instruments Measuring Dyadic Communication and Environment in Dementia Care: A Systematic Review

Background and Objectives A valid and reliable assessment of dementia dyadic communication and environment is essential to understand and facilitate social interaction and quality care. This review described the characteristics and evaluated psychometric properties of instruments that assess dyadic communication and environment between persons living with dementia and their caregivers. Research Design and Methods A systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Guideline. Literature published until June 30 th, 2021, was searched. Ten psychometric properties and the ratio of sample size to the number of items were evaluated using the Psychometric Assessment for Self-report and Observational Tool. Results A total of 3,708 scholarly records was identified, and 24 eligible instruments from 48 scholarly records were evaluated. Twenty-two instruments assessed dyadic communication, and two assessed both dyadic communication and environment. Eighteen instruments were developed to assess task-related communication and fifteen for paid (professional) caregivers. All instruments were scored as low psychometric quality (score range = 0 - 7). Behavioral Observation Scoring System was scored the highest (total score = 7), followed by Dyadic Dementia Coding System, Grid for observation of physical and verbal behaviors of caregiver and resident, and Trouble-Indicating Behaviors and Repair (total score = 6, respectively). These instruments had low psychometric evidence for internal consistency, content validity, and structural validity. Discussion and Implications Existing instruments are in the early stages of development and validation in dementia population. Further testing is needed in diverse communication types in paid and unpaid dementia caregiver populations.

We Should Have Talked About Hospice: Transforming Communication With Bereaved LGB Aging Women

Because of historical discrimination, discomfort disclosing information, and differing definitions of family, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults with serious illness need both improved palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care communication with clinicians and recognized inclusion of spouses/partners. Communicating about palliative and EOL care may improve the care goals and emotional trajectory for patients and significant others. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, this study’s aim was to analyze the communication experiences during a spouse’s/partner’s EOL care for bereaved LGB women (n=16) 60 and older. Drawing on queer gerontology, issues relating to access to resources and information and the systemic silencing of older LGB women illuminate areas where policy and practice may be improved. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were used to provide deep and meaningful information about palliative and EOL care communication between participants, their spouse or partner, and clinicians. While results reflect certain outcomes found in prior studies with non-LGBT adults, thematic analysis revealed three main findings with evidence specific to this population: 1) avoiding deep discussions about EOL; 2) lack of understanding about palliative or EOL care; and 3) limited communication with clinicians. Findings illuminate the need for better understanding among clinicians regarding palliative and EOL communication with LGBT dyads as well as communication strategies based on recognition and acceptance. Further dyadic communication research may improve care goals for LGBT older adults. Understanding couples’ interactions and examining different communication behaviors may lead to improved palliative and EOL care goals for older LGBT adults with serious illness and their spouses/partners.

A Recipe for Success: The Effect of Dyadic Communication and Cooperative Gameplay on Subsequent Non-gaming Task Performance

Cooperative game play has been associated with a growing list of prosocial benefits. However, less research has examined its constituent parts to determine their contribution to subsequent positive outcomes. The current study examined partners’ communication as a common and even imperative aspect of cooperative play that may largely account for its positive effects on cooperative behaviors and effective teamwork. Partners played a cooperative game (Overcooked 2) alone or with a partner, and in the latter case with or without the ability to communicate, before engaging in two puzzle-solving tasks that required effective and efficient communication for successful performances. Results suggest communication is unnecessary, and may even be detrimental to, subsequent team performances on non-gaming tasks, and that it seems unlikely to account for the cooperative norms proposed to be the theoretical mechanism behind cooperative play’s positive effects. The conclusion discusses theoretical implications and potential future research.

Making meaningful impacts: Centering breakdowns in dyadic communication processes in racial disparities in surgical pain care

Although pain care decisions unfold as a negotiation between patients and surgeons, previous research has identified patient-level and provider-level factors contributing to racial disparities in surgical pain care in isolation. We call for changes in the investigations of such racial disparities at the levels of conceptualization, research design, analysis, and research team composition.

Communicative Interaction with and without Eye-Gaze Technology between Children and Youths with Complex Needs and Their Communication Partners

Use of eye-gaze assistive technology (EGAT) provides children/youths with severe motor and speech impairments communication opportunities by using eyes to control a communication interface on a computer. However, knowledge about how using EGAT contributes to communication and influences dyadic interaction remains limited. Aim: By video-coding dyadic interaction sequences, this study investigates the impacts of employing EGAT, compared to the Non-EGAT condition on the dyadic communicative interaction. Method: Participants were six dyads with children/youths aged 4–19 years having severe physical disabilities and complex communication needs. A total of 12 film clips of dyadic communication activities with and without EGAT in natural contexts were included. Based on a systematic coding scheme, dyadic communication behaviors were coded to determine the interactional structure and communicative functions. Data were analyzed using a three-tiered method combining group and individual analysis. Results: When using EGAT, children/youths increased initiations in communicative interactions and tended to provide more information, while communication partners made fewer communicative turns, initiations, and requests compared to the Non-EGAT condition. Communication activities, eye-control skills, and communication abilities could influence dyadic interaction. Conclusion: Use of EGAT shows potential to support communicative interaction by increasing children’s initiations and intelligibility, and facilitating symmetrical communication between dyads.

The Role of Visibility in Silent Speech Tongue Movements: A Kinematic Study of Consonants

Purpose To better understand the role of tongue visibility in speech, this study compared the spatiotemporal patterns of silent versus audible speech for lingual consonants of American English. Kinematic data were obtained for articulatory features assumed to be visually salient, including tongue movement (anterior displacement and midsagittal area), lip aperture, and consonant duration. Method Electromagnetic articulography was used to measure 11 native speakers' productions of five consonants (/ɡ/, /w/, /ɹ/, /l/, and /ð/), selected to represent a continuum of tongue visibility. Nonword consonant–vowel syllables were elicited during a procedure designed to convey a dyadic communication environment. A method of kinematic-based consonant segmentation was developed for data processing, and results were analyzed with repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results Findings indicated increased consonant duration and lip aperture in the silent condition (vs. audible) for all five consonants. Tongue forward displacement was slightly greater in the silent condition, compared to audible, for all consonants except /ɡ/, the only consonant without a visible tongue component. In addition, the extent of tongue forwarding in silent speech corresponded with the degree of tongue visibility. Conclusion During silent speech, talkers increased their lip aperture and consonant duration and tended to shift their tongues forward for the most visible lingual consonants, suggesting that talkers may be aware at some level of the need to increase articulatory visibility of the tongue in the presence of an interlocutor during adverse speech conditions.

Analysing the Direction of Emotional Influence in Nonverbal Dyadic Communication: A Facial-Expression Study

Identifying the direction of emotional influence in a dyadic dialogue is of increasing interest in the psychological sciences with applicationsin psychotherapy, analysis of political interactions or interpersonal conflict behavior. Facial expressions are widely described as being automatic andthus hard to overtly influence. As such, they are a perfect measure for a better understanding of unintentional behavior cues about social-emotionalcognitive processes. With this view, this study is concerned with the analysis of the direction of emotional influence in dyadic dialogue based on facialexpressions only. We exploit computer vision capabilities along with causal inference theory for quantitative verification of hypotheses on the directionof emotional influence, i.e., causal effect relationships, in dyadic dialogues. We address two main issues. First, in a dyadic dialogue, emotionalinfluence occurs over transient time intervals and with intensity and direction that are variant over time. To this end, we propose a relevant intervalselection approach that we use prior to causal inference to identify those transient intervals where causal inference should be applied. Second, wepropose to use fine-grained facial expressions that are present when strong distinct facial emotions are not visible. To specify the direction ofinfluence, we apply the concept of Granger causality to the time series of facial expressions over selected relevant intervals. We tested our approachon newly, experimentally obtained data. Based on quantitative verification of hypotheses on the direction of emotional influence, we were able to showthat the proposed approach is most promising to reveal the causal effect pattern in various instructed interaction conditions.