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Design for Story Sharing: Connect Seniors with their Children

PhD Thesis by Cun Li

The world is graying. The worldwide population over age 65 is expected to more than double from 357 million in 1990 to 761 million in 2025. Within the context of the ageing society, social isolation is widespread among older adults. Among all their social relationships, the older adults rank connections with family members second only to health, as the most important area of their lives. Given that one of the most precious characteristics of older adults is their memory of events, people, and places, storytelling could act as an effective way to keep them stay in touch with their children. However, while younger seniors are embracing online social technologies, their parents, many of whom are still living, are neglected in this trend; these non-tech-savvy elders are targeted in this research. Based on the situation described above, the research presented in this thesis attempts to answer the research question: How can interactive technology facilitate intergenerational storytelling, specifically for non-tech-savvy older adults?

C. Li, Design for Story Sharing: Connect Seniors with their Children, PhD Thesis, Department of Industrial Design, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, 2021. FULLTEXT: PDF REFERENCE: BibTeX EndNote

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A Review of CBT-i Apps

A Review of Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I Apps): Are They Designed for Engagement?

There are different ways to deliver Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), of which in-person (face to face) is the traditional delivery method. However, the scalability of in-person therapy is low. Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (dCBT-I) is an alternative and there are tools on the market that are validated in clinical studies. In this paper, we provide a review of the existing evidence-based CBT-I apps and a summary of the published usability-oriented studies of these apps. The goal is to explore the range of interaction methods commonly applied in dCBT-I platforms, the potential impact for the users, and the design elements applied to achieve engagement. Six commercially available CBT-I apps tested by scientifically valid methods were accessed and reviewed. Commonalities were identified and categorized into interactive elements, CBT-I-related components, managerial features, and supportive motivational features. The dCBT-I apps were effectively assisting the users, and the type of interactions promoted engagement. The apps’ features were based on design principles from interactive product design, experience design, online social media, and serious gaming. This study contributes to the field by providing a critical summary of the existing dCBT-I apps that could guide future developers in the field to achieve a high engagement.

B. Erten Uyumaz, L. Feijs, and J. Hu, “A Review of Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I Apps): Are They Designed for Engagement?,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 2929, 2021. FULLTEXT: PDF REFERENCE: BibTeX EndNote DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18062929
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ViBreathe

ViBreathe: Heart Rate Variability Enhanced Respiration Training for Workaday Stress
Management via an Eyes-free Tangible Interface

Slow breathing guiding applications increasingly emerge, showing promise for helping knowledge workers to better cope with workaday stress. However, standard breathing guidance is non-interactive, with rigid paces. Despite their effects being proved, they could cause respiratory fatigue, or lack of training motivation, especially for novice users. To explore new design possibilities, we investigate using heart rate variability (HRV) data to mediate breathing guidance, which results in two HRV-enhanced guidance modes: (i) responsive breathing guidance and (ii) adaptive breathing guidance. These guidance modes are implemented on a soft haptic interface named “ViBreathe”. We conducted a user test (N = 24), and a one-week field deployment (N = 4) with knowledge workers, to understand the user experience of our design. The HRV-enhanced modes were generally experienced to reduce tiresome and improve engagement and comfort. And Vibreathe showed great potential for seamlessly weaving slow breathing practice into work routines. We thereby summarize related design insights and opportunities.

B. Yu, P. An, S. Hendriks, N. Zhang, L. Feijs, M. Li, and J. Hu, “ViBreathe: Heart Rate Variability Enhanced Respiration Training for Workaday Stress Management via an Eyes-free Tangible Interface,” International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, pp. 1-20, 2021.
FULLTEXT: PDF REFERENCE: BibTeX EndNote
DOI: 10.1080/10447318.2021.1898827