Towards Sustainable Use of Machine Translation: Usability and Perceived Quality from the End-User Perspective

Artificial intelligence-grounded machine translation has fundamentally changed public awareness and attitudes towards multilingual communication. In some language pairs, the accuracy, quality and efficiency of machine-translated texts of certain types can be quite high. Hence, the end-user acceptability and reliance on machine-translated content could be justified. However, machine translation in small and/or low-resource languages might yield significantly lower quality, which in turn may lead to potentially negative consequences and risks if machine translation is used in high-risk contexts without awareness of the drawbacks, critical assessment and modifications to the raw output. The current study, which is part of a more extensive project focusing on the societal impact of machine translation, is aimed at revealing the attitudes towards usability and quality as perceived from the end-user perspective. The research questions addressed revolve around the machine translation types used, purposes of using machine translation, perceived quality of the generated output, and actions taken to improve the quality by users with various backgrounds. The research findings rely on a survey of the population (N = 402) conducted in 2021 in Lithuania. The study reveals the frequent use of machine translation for a diversity of purposes. The most common uses include work, research and studies, and household environments. A higher level of education correlates with user dissatisfaction with the generated quality and actions taken to improve it. The findings also reveal that age correlates with the use of machine translation. Sustainable measures to reduce machine translation related risks have to be established based on the perceptions of different social groups in different societies and cultures.

Electrification of Compact Off-Highway Vehicles—Overview of the Current State of the Art and Trends

Electrified vehicles have undergone great evolution during the last decade because of the increasing attention paid on environmental sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Emission regulations are becoming increasingly tight, and governments have been allocating multiple funds to facilitate the spreading of the so-called green mobility. In this context, steering towards electrified solutions not only for passenger vehicles, but also for compact off-highway vehicles extensively employed, for instance, on construction sites located in urban areas, warehouses, and greenhouses, is essential even if seldom considered. Moreover, the electrification of compact off-highway machinery may allow manufacturers to increase their expertise in and lower the costs of these alternative solutions, while gathering useful data to be applied in bigger and more remunerative off-highway vehicles. In fact, while electric automobiles are as of now real alternatives for buyers, off-highway vehicles, regardless of the application, are mostly in the research and experimental phase, with few of them already on the market. This delay, in comparison with the passenger automotive industry, is caused by different factors, mostly related to the different tasks of off-highway vehicles in terms of duty cycles, productivity performance parameters and user acceptability. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the many aspects of the electrification of compact off-highway vehicles, to highlight the key differences between on-highway and off-highway vehicles and to summarize in a single source of information the multiple solutions investigated by researchers and manufacturers.

My-Wakaf: A Waqf of Property Management Application

In almost every Islamic country, the number of waqf properties is increasing at an exponential rate. As a result, managing such abundant amount of waqf properties can be very tedious and challenging. In Malaysia, waqf properties is managed by respective State Islamic Religious Council and are still using traditional method of recording all waqf asset. As a result, the My-Wakaf prototype mobile application was created to aid with the workload of managing waqf assets or properties. The methodology used for the project is the Waterfall model that is based on the original System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) that have 5 phases which are Planning, Design, Development, Testing and Documentation phase. My-Wakaf application is developed using Android Studio and it is integrated with Firebase Cloud database to help store waqf assets information securely to be accessed anywhere, reducing the human errors and cost of managing such properties. According to a user acceptability test conducted on numerous responders, the majority of them were highly happy with the My-Wakaf application's general functionality. Finally, it is intended that My-Wakaf would help the Muslim community as a whole by increasing awareness of waqf knowledge and stimulating economic growth.

Behavioral Theory-Based Framework for Prediabetes Self-Care System—Design Perspectives and Validation Results

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic condition that can lead to many life-threatening diseases. Prediabetes is defined as a state in which blood glucose levels are elevated but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. This stage can be reversible with appropriate lifestyle and dietary modifications. Existing solutions are mostly developed to deal with T2D instead of preventing it in the first place. In this study, we propose a framework to aid in the development of self-care systems to prevent T2D, which integrates behavioral change theories and techniques and offers features, such as goal setting, activity planning, and health monitoring. We then assessed the feasibility of a prediabetes self-care system designed based on the proposed framework. Quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted in evaluating i-PreventDiabetes, a prototype. Numerous aspects of the prototype were evaluated, including (1) its effectiveness in assisting individuals with prediabetes in improving their health management behaviors, (2) its effect on users’ attitudes toward diabetes prevention, (3) users’ motivation levels, (4) user acceptability of the system, and (5) user experience. Users viewed i-PreventDiabetes positively and experienced a positive change in their attitude toward their health. Diabetes prevention systems, such as i-PreventDiabetes, have the potential to increase self-care behaviors among individuals with prediabetes, enabling them to manage their lifestyle and nutrition more effectively to avert a variety of potentially fatal conditions.

Preconception and Diabetes Information (PADI) App for Women with Pregestational Diabetes: a Feasibility and Acceptability Study

Diabetes mellitus increases the risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Preconception care is vital to minimise complications; however, preconception care service provision is hindered by inadequate knowledge, resources and care fragmentation. Mobile health technology, particularly smartphone apps, could improve preconception care and pregnancy outcomes for women with diabetes. The aim of this study is to co-create a preconception and diabetes information app with healthcare professionals and women with diabetes and explore the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of the app. A mixed-methods study design employing questionnaires and semi-structured interviews was used to assess preliminary outcome estimates (preconception care knowledge, attitudes and behaviours), and user acceptability. Data analysis included thematic analysis, descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Improvements were recorded in knowledge and attitudes to preconception care and patient activation measure following the 3-month app usage. Participants found the app acceptable (satisfaction rating was 72%), useful and informative. The app’s usability and usefulness facilitated usage while manual data input and competing priorities were barriers which participants felt could be overcome via personalisation, automation and use of daily reminders. This is the first study to explore the acceptability and feasibility of a preconception and diabetes information app for women with diabetes. Triangulated data suggest that the app has potential to improve preconception care knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. However, in order for women with DM to realise the full potential of the app intervention, particularly improved maternal and fetal outcomes, further development and evaluation is required.

Non-invasive hemoglobin measurement devices require refinement to match diagnostic performance with their high level of usability and acceptability

Anemia remains an important global health problem. Inexpensive, accurate, and noninvasive solutions are needed to monitor and evaluate anemia in resource-limited settings. We evaluated the performance of multiple point-of-care hemoglobin devices, including a novel noninvasive smartphone application tested on Apple® and Android® cell phones, Masimo Pronto®, and HemoCue® Hb-301 and Hb-801, against a gold-standard hematology analyzer (reference hemoglobin) using venous blood. We examined correlations between hemoglobin devices and reference hemoglobin, device accuracy (average bias, Bland-Altman plots, clinical performance) and classification bias (sensitivity, specificity) among 299 refugees (10mo-65y) in Atlanta, GA. Semi-structured interviews (n = 19) with participants and staff assessed usability and acceptability. Mean reference hemoglobin was 13.7 g/dL (SD:1.8) with 12.5% anemia. Noninvasive hemoglobin devices were not well correlated with reference hemoglobin (Apple® R2 = 0.08, Android® R2 = 0.11, Masimo Pronto® R2 = 0.29), but stronger correlations were reported with HemoCue® Hb-301 (R2 = 0.87) and Hb-801 (R2 = 0.88). Bias (SD) varied across each device: Apple®: -1.6 g/dL (2.0), Android®: -0.7 g/dL (2.0), Masimo Pronto®: -0.4 g/dL (1.6), HemoCue® Hb-301: +0.4 g/dL (0.7) and HemoCue® Hb-801: +0.2 g/dL (0.6). Clinically acceptable performance (within ± 1 g/dL of reference hemoglobin) was higher for the invasive devices (HemoCue® Hb-301: 90.3%; HemoCue® Hb-801: 93.4%) compared to noninvasive devices (Apple®: 31.5%; Android®: 34.6%; Masimo Pronto®: 49.5%). Sensitivity and specificity were 63.9% and 48.2% for Apple®, 36.1% and 67.6% for Android®, 45.7% and 85.3% for Masimo Pronto®, 54.3% and 97.6% for HemoCue® Hb-301, and 66.7% and 97.6% for HemoCue® Hb-801. Noninvasive devices were considered easy to use and were the preferred method by participants. Among the only studies to compare multiple point-of-care approaches to hemoglobin testing, the diagnostic ability of HemoCue® was comparable to reference hemoglobin, while noninvasive devices had high user acceptability but considerable biases. Improvements in noninvasive device performance and further testing in anemic populations are recommended before broader use.

Adequacy of measures of informed consent in medical practice: A systematic review

As a critical component of medical practice, it is alarming that patient informed consent does not always reflect (1) adequate information provision, (2) comprehension of provided information, and (3) a voluntary decision. Consequences of poor informed consent include low patient satisfaction, compromised treatment adherence, and litigation against medical practitioners. To ensure a well-informed, well-comprehended, and voluntary consent process, the objective and replicable measurement of these domains via psychometrically sound self-report measures is critical. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the adequacy of existing measures in terms of the extent to which they assess the three domains of informed consent, are psychometrically sound and acceptable for use by patients. Extensive searching of multiple databases (PsychINFO, PubMed, Sociological Abstracts, CINAHL, AMED) yielded 10,000 potential studies, with 16 relevant scales identified. No existing scale was found to measure all three consent domains, with most only narrowly assessing aspects of any one domain. Information provision was the most frequently assessed domain, followed by comprehension, and then voluntariness. None of the identified scales were found to have adequate evidence for either high quality psychometric properties or patient user acceptability. No existing scale is fit for purpose in comprehensively assessing all domains of informed consent. In the absence of any existing measure meeting the necessary criteria relating to information, comprehension and voluntariness, there is an urgent need for a new measure of medical consent to be developed that is psychometrically sound, spans all three domains and is acceptable to patients and clinicians alike. These findings provide the impetus and justification for the redesign of the informed consent process, with the aim to provide a robust, reliable and replicable process that will in turn improve the quality of the patient experience and care provided.