The Terms of “You(s)”: How the Term of Address Used by Conversational Agents Influences User Evaluations in French and German Linguaculture

Background: Conversational agents (CAs) are a novel approach to delivering digital health interventions. In human interactions, terms of address often change depending on the context or relationship between interlocutors. In many languages, this encompasses T/V distinction—formal and informal forms of the second-person pronoun “You”—that conveys different levels of familiarity. Yet, few research articles have examined whether CAs' use of T/V distinction across language contexts affects users' evaluations of digital health applications.Methods: In an online experiment (N = 284), we manipulated a public health CA prototype to use either informal or formal T/V distinction forms in French (“tu” vs. “vous”) and German (“du” vs. “Sie”) language settings. A MANCOVA and post-hoc tests were performed to examine the effects of the independent variables (i.e., T/V distinction and Language) and the moderating role of users' demographic profile (i.e., Age and Gender) on eleven user evaluation variables. These were related to four themes: (i) Sociability, (ii) CA-User Collaboration, (iii) Service Evaluation, and (iv) Behavioral Intentions.Results: Results showed a four-way interaction between T/V Distinction, Language, Age, and Gender, influencing user evaluations across all outcome themes. For French speakers, when the informal “T form” (“Tu”) was used, higher user evaluation scores were generated for younger women and older men (e.g., the CA felt more humanlike or individuals were more likely to recommend the CA), whereas when the formal “V form” (“Vous”) was used, higher user evaluation scores were generated for younger men and older women. For German speakers, when the informal T form (“Du”) was used, younger users' evaluations were comparable regardless of Gender, however, as individuals' Age increased, the use of “Du” resulted in lower user evaluation scores, with this effect more pronounced in men. When using the formal V form (“Sie”), user evaluation scores were relatively stable, regardless of Gender, and only increasing slightly with Age.Conclusions: Results highlight how user CA evaluations vary based on the T/V distinction used and language setting, however, that even within a culturally homogenous language group, evaluations vary based on user demographics, thus highlighting the importance of personalizing CA language.

Comparing User Perceptions of Surgical Environments: Simulations in a High-Fidelity Physical Mock-Up Versus a Postoccupancy Evaluation

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions and behaviors of end users participating in simulations in a high-fidelity physical mock-up of an operating room (OR) prototype with the perceptions and behaviors of end users in the built out ORs postoccupancy. Background: Simulation-based evaluations of high-fidelity physical mock-ups of proposed layouts are increasingly being conducted during the facility design process to understand impacts on workflow and potential adverse patient safety outcomes. Nevertheless, it is unclear to what extent user experiences in these simulated healthcare spaces are similar to those in built and occupied healthcare environments. Methods: Using interviews, surveys, and observations, this study compared user evaluations in a high-fidelity physical mock-up of an OR with user evaluations of the built and occupied OR postoccupancy. Workflow disruptions were also analyzed using video recordings for a simulated pediatric surgery and five pediatric surgeries in the actual OR. Results: This study found that user perceptions and behavior in the two types of environments were mostly similar with regard to perceived support for the location of surgeon workstation, perceived space and task performance, perceived access to storage locations, boom setup, and OR cleanability. Participant’s ratings differed for supportiveness of the mobile Circulating Nurse (CN) workstation, maneuvering booms, and environmental disruptions. Conclusion: Simulation-based evaluations are extremely beneficial during the design process and can provide valuable input to design teams as well as clinical teams about workflow and safety issues that allow design issues to be addressed before construction.

A Hybrid Recommendation Approach for Viral Food Based on Online Reviews

Nowadays, there are many types of viral foods and consumers expect to be able to quickly find foods that meet their own tastes. Traditional recommendation systems make recommendations based on the popularity of viral foods or user ratings. However, because of the different sentimental levels of users, deviations occur and it is difficult to meet the user’s specific needs. Based on the characteristics of viral food, this paper constructs a hybrid recommendation approach based on viral food reviews and label attribute data. A user-based recommendation approach is combined with a content-based recommendation approach in a weighted combination. Compared with the traditional recommendation approaches, it is found that the hybrid recommendation approach performs more accurately in identifying the sentiments of user evaluations, and takes into account the similarities between users and foods. We can conclude that the proposed hybrid recommendation approach combined with the sentimental value of food reviews provides novel insights into improving the existing recommendation system used by e-commerce platforms.

User Responses to a Humanoid Robot Observed in Real Life, Virtual Reality, 3D and 2D

Humanoid robots (i.e., robots with a human-like body) are projected to be mass marketed in the future in several fields of application. Today, however, user evaluations of humanoid robots are often based on mediated depictions rather than actual observations or interactions with a robot, which holds true not least for scientific user studies. People can be confronted with robots in various modes of presentation, among them (1) 2D videos, (2) 3D, i.e., stereoscopic videos, (3) immersive Virtual Reality (VR), or (4) live on site. A systematic investigation into how such differential modes of presentation influence user perceptions of a robot is still lacking. Thus, the current study systematically compares the effects of different presentation modes with varying immersive potential on user evaluations of a humanoid service robot. Participants (N = 120) observed an interaction between a humanoid service robot and an actor either on 2D or 3D video, via a virtual reality headset (VR) or live. We found support for the expected effect of the presentation mode on perceived immediacy. Effects regarding the degree of human likeness that was attributed to the robot were mixed. The presentation mode had no influence on evaluations in terms of eeriness, likability, and purchase intentions. Implications for empirical research on humanoid robots and practice are discussed.

Dartanan: Prototype evaluations of a serious game to engage children in the calibration of their hearing aid functionalities

Introduction It is notoriously difficult to obtain a perfect fitting of hearing aids (HAs) for children as they often struggle to understand their hearing loss well enough to discuss the fitting adequately with their audiologist. Dartanan is an ‘edutainment’ game developed to help children understand the functions of their HA in different sound contexts. Dartanan also has elements of a leisure game for all children, in order to create an inclusive activity. Methods Game prototypes were evaluated during two formative evaluations and a summative evaluation. In total 106 children with and without hearing loss in Italy, Spain and the UK played Dartanan. A built-in virtual HA enabled children with hearing loss to use headphones to play. Results and conclusions: During the formative stages, feedback was discussed during focus groups on factors such as the audiological aspects, the extent to which children learned about HA functions, accessibility and usability, and this feedback was presented to the developers. After redevelopment, a summative evaluation was performed using an online survey. It was concluded that the game had met the goals of helping children understand their HA functionalities and providing an inclusive activity. User-evaluations were crucial in the development of the app into a useful and useable service.

IMPRO: IMMERSIVE PROTOTYPING IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) constitutes an important tool for industrial designers. Similarly, Virtual Reality (VR) has the capability to revolutionize how designers work with its increased sense of scale and perspective. However, existing VR CAD applications are limited in terms of functionality and intuitive control. Based on a comparison of VR CAD applications, ImPro, a new application for immersive prototyping for industrial designers was developed. The user evaluations and comparisons show that ImPro offers increased usability, functionality, and suitability for industrial designers.