Motivating Users to Manage Privacy Concerns in Cyber-Physical Settings—A Design Science Approach Considering Self-Determination Theory

Connectivity is key to the latest technologies propagating into everyday life. Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications enable users, machines, and technologically enriched objects (‘Things’) to sense, communicate, and interact with their environment. Albeit making human beings’ lives more comfortable, these systems collect huge quantities of data that may affect human privacy and their digital sovereignty. Engaging in control over individuals by digital means, the data and the artefacts that process privacy-relevant data can be addressed by Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and its established instruments. In this paper, we discuss how the theory and its methodological knowledge can be considered for user-centric privacy management. We set the stage for studying motivational factors to improve user engagement in identifying privacy needs and preserving privacy when utilizing or aiming to adapt CPS or IoT applications according to their privacy needs. SDT considers user autonomy, self-perceived competence, and social relatedness relevant for human engagement. Embodying these factors into a Design Science-based CPS development framework could help to motivate users to articulate privacy needs and adopt cyber-physical technologies for personal task accomplishment.

Prácticas evaluativas en la clase de Educación Física: un asunto de desconocimiento (Evaluation practices in the Physical Education Class: An issue of lack of knowledge)

Objetivo: el artículo se enfoca en la evaluación que se desarrolla en la clase de educación física teniendo en cuenta las técnicas e instrumentos que en dicho escenario se llevan a cabo. El proyecto se tituló: “Prácticas evaluativas en la clase de Educación Física en la ciudad de Manizales y Villamaría, Colombia” y tuvo como propósito develar las tendencias que se dan en los procesos formativos, a partir de la identificación e interpretación de estas. Metodología desarrollada: la investigación se asumió desde el paradigma cualitativo con enfoque complementario, en el cual se realizaron observaciones de clase, entrevistas a estudiantes y docentes de básica primaria, secundaria y media, las cuales fueron categorizadas mediante una codificación abierta, axial y selectiva. Resultados: se encontró que la evaluación en la clase de Educación Física tiende a ser comprendida de forma polisémica, es decir, dicho acto origina prácticas en las cuales se privilegie el desempeño físico o los aspectos actitudinales, que finalmente terminan opacando los contenidos conceptuales. Conclusiones y discusiones: es por esto, por lo que la evaluación se reduce meramente a una simple herramienta, la cual se enfoca a la verificación del aprendizaje y cumplimiento de tareas, desconociendo entonces la importancia que tienen la autoevaluación y los procesos metacognitivos. Abstract. Objective: the article focuses on the evaluation that take place in the physical education class, considering the techniques and instruments that are carried out in this scenario. The project was titled: "Evaluative practices in the Physical Education class in the city of Manizales and Villamaría, Colombia" and its purpose was to unveil the tendencies that occur in the formative processes, based on the identification and interpretation of these. Methodology developed: the research was undertaken from the qualitative paradigm with a complementarity approach, in which class observations, interviews with students and teachers of elementary school, high school and middle school were conducted, which were categorized by means of an open, axial and selective coding. Results: it was found that the evaluation in the Physical Education class tends to be understood in a polysemic way, that is, this act originates practices in which physical performance and/or attitudinal aspects are privileged, which finally end up obscuring the conceptual contents. Conclusions and discussions: this is why evaluation is merely a simple tool, which focuses on the verification of learning and task accomplishment, thus ignoring the importance of self-evaluation and metacognitive processes.

Navigating the complex social ecology of screen-based activity in video-mediated interaction

Task-oriented video-mediated interaction takes place within a complex digital-social ecology which presents, to participants, a practical problem of social coordination: How to navigate, in mutually accountable ways, between interacting with the remote co-participants and scrutinizing one’s own screen –which suspends interaction–, for instance when searching for information on a search engine. Using conversation analysis for the examination of screen-recorded dyadic interactions, this study identifies a range of practices participants draw on to alert co-participants to incipient suspensions of talk. By accounting for such suspensions as being task-related through verbal alerts, typically in the form let me/let’s X, participants successfully ‘buy time’, which allows them to fully concentrate on their screen activity and thereby ensure the progression of task accomplishment. We discuss how these findings contribute to our understanding of the complex ecologies of technology-mediated interactions.

We are in the “breakout room.” Now what? An e-portfolio study of virtual team processes involving undergraduate online learners

The COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in unprecedented campus closures and social distancing, has reinforced the value of learning using a virtual teamwork format. While a large body of research focuses on the inputs (members’ skills, motivation, technology, and virtuality) and outcomes (satisfaction, performance, and learning) of virtual teamwork, to date, only a limited number of studies have explored virtual teamwork processes involving university students. By drawing on the team processes model ( Marks et al., 2001 ), in this qualitative study, we extend the scope of virtual team processes to a university online course. In addition, we explore transition, action, and interpersonal processes that undergraduate students experience when learning in virtual teams. The study participants included Japanese and international students ( N = 20) from three universities in Japan taking a synchronous online course in international organizations during the summer of 2020; 15 combinations of virtual teams were created. The study is based on the inductive content analysis of e-portfolios created and managed by students taking the online course. The findings show that virtual teams are multitasking entities that transition through multiple processes simultaneously and consequentially to achieve team goals. From the analyzed e-portfolios, it can be observed that across all themes, systems monitoring (action processes), affect management (interpersonal processes), and strategy formulation and planning (transition processes) have been crucial in invigorating virtual teams toward task accomplishment. Finally, the study discusses both theoretical and practical implications.

Topographic maps of the north-western Black sea region of the 17th to mid – 18th centuries

Systematization of cartographic sources and their comparative analysis is a challenging scientific task, accomplishment of which enables creating a more objective picture of the past. The geographical approach is inseparable from the historical one, and historic-geographical studies are an integral factor in a comprehensive scientific research. Many cartographic sources on the North-Western Black Sea Region are far from being studied and even systematized, some of them remain hardly known, and many of those that have been studied need to be adequately explained and rethought. The most noteworthy geographical features located within the borders of modern Moldavia, neighboring Romania and Ukraine, are depicted on some of the oldest maps. In the period of the 16th–18th centuries, the foundation for detailed mapping of the territory and creating large-scale overview maps was laid, including the works by G. L. Beauplan, V. M. Coronelli, D. K. Cantemir. G. A. B. Rizzi-Zannoni. A comprehensive topographic study of the North-Western Black Sea Region began only at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, when the first survey and topographic maps were compiled, which enabled not only getting a general idea of the geography of the region, but also navigating the area quite confidently.

Model Predictive Control for Cooperative Transportation with Feasibility-Aware Policy

The transportation of large payloads can be made possible with Multi-Robot Systems (MRS) implementing cooperative strategies. In this work, we focus on the coordinated MRS trajectory planning task exploiting a Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework addressing both the acting robots and the transported load. In this context, the main challenge is the possible occurrence of a temporary mismatch among agents’ actions with consequent formation errors that can cause severe damage to the carried load. To mitigate this risk, the coordination scheme may leverage a leader–follower approach, in which a hierarchical strategy is in place to trade-off between the task accomplishment and the dynamics and environment constraints. Nonetheless, particularly in narrow spaces or cluttered environments, the leader’s optimal choice may lead to trajectories that are infeasible for the follower and the load. To this aim, we propose a feasibility-aware leader–follower strategy, where the leader computes a reference trajectory, and the follower accounts for its own and the load constraints; moreover, the follower is able to communicate the trajectory infeasibility to the leader, which reacts by temporarily switching to a conservative policy. The consistent MRS co-design is allowed by the MPC formulation, for both the leader and the follower: here, the prediction capability of MPC is key to guarantee a correct and efficient execution of the leader–follower coordinated action. The approach is formally stated and discussed, and a numerical campaign is conducted to validate and assess the proposed scheme, with respect to different scenarios with growing complexity.

Trends of Human-Robot Collaboration in Industry Contexts: Handover, Learning, and Metrics

Repetitive industrial tasks can be easily performed by traditional robotic systems. However, many other works require cognitive knowledge that only humans can provide. Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) emerges as an ideal concept of co-working between a human operator and a robot, representing one of the most significant subjects for human-life improvement.The ultimate goal is to achieve physical interaction, where handing over an object plays a crucial role for an effective task accomplishment. Considerable research work had been developed in this particular field in recent years, where several solutions were already proposed. Nonetheless, some particular issues regarding Human-Robot Collaboration still hold an open path to truly important research improvements. This paper provides a literature overview, defining the HRC concept, enumerating the distinct human-robot communication channels, and discussing the physical interaction that this collaboration entails. Moreover, future challenges for a natural and intuitive collaboration are exposed: the machine must behave like a human especially in the pre-grasping/grasping phases and the handover procedure should be fluent and bidirectional, for an articulated function development. These are the focus of the near future investigation aiming to shed light on the complex combination of predictive and reactive control mechanisms promoting coordination and understanding. Following recent progress in artificial intelligence, learning exploration stand as the key element to allow the generation of coordinated actions and their shaping by experience.

Using a Back Exoskeleton During Industrial and Functional Tasks—Effects on Muscle Activity, Posture, Performance, Usability, and Wearer Discomfort in a Laboratory Trial

Objective To investigate the effect of using a passive back-support exoskeleton (Laevo V2.56) on muscle activity, posture, heart rate, performance, usability, and wearer comfort during a course of three industrial tasks (COU; exoskeleton worn, turned-on), stair climbing test (SCT; exoskeleton worn, turned-off), timed-up-and-go test (TUG; exoskeleton worn, turned-off) compared to no exoskeleton. Background Back-support exoskeletons have the potential to reduce work-related physical demands. Methods Thirty-six men participated. Activity of erector spinae (ES), biceps femoris (BF), rectus abdominis (RA), vastus lateralis (VL), gastrocnemius medialis (GM), trapezius descendens (TD) was recorded by electromyography; posture by trunk, hip, knee flexion angles; heart rate by electrocardiography; performance by time-to-task accomplishment (s) and perceived task difficulty (100-mm visual analogue scale; VAS); usability by the System Usability Scale (SUS) and all items belonging to domains skepticism and user-friendliness of the Technology Usage Inventory; wearer comfort by the 100-mm VAS. Results During parts of COU, using the exoskeleton decreased ES and BF activity and trunk flexion, and increased RA, GM, and TD activity, knee and hip flexion. Wearing the exoskeleton increased time-to-task accomplishment of SCT, TUG, and COU and perceived difficulty of SCT and TUG. Average SUS was 75.4, skepticism 11.5/28.0, user-friendliness 18.0/21.0, wearer comfort 31.1 mm. Conclusion Using the exoskeleton modified muscle activity and posture depending on the task applied, slightly impaired performance, and was evaluated mildly uncomfortable. Application These outcomes require investigating the effects of this passive back-supporting exoskeleton in longitudinal studies with longer operating times, providing better insights for guiding their application in real work settings.

Holistic Leadership: The Islamic Characteristic of Malaysian Gifted Learners inPusat Genius

Leadership is a crucial characteristic that empowers Gifted Learners (GL) to understand responsibility. This study is a qualitative study which aims to explore the Islamic leadership characteristics' levels among Malaysian GL during the presentation of their assignment by grouping. Researchers selected 10 participants to lead a group and, conducted an interview session after they have done their presentation. This article is aimed to distinguish the component of Islamic leadership outlines amongst Malaysian GL and how they show their responsibility in their task accomplishment of Islamic Education. This study contributes by helping GL to build confidence and nurture their leadership potential as future leaders.