Human Technology

Rehabilitation in digital environments – biophysiologically motivated gamification

Adam Wojciechowski, Kristiina Korjonen-Kuusipuro — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Nowadays, the process of cognitive or motor rehabilitation is mostly implemented in a traditional form. Paper-pencil cognitive exercises or physical exercises with instruments still dominate over digital environments. However, they require constant supervision by professionals, whose availability is relatively decreasing in an ageing society. Lack of supervision, in turn, results in a loss of motivation to exercise or, at the very least, ineffective, sometimes incorrect, exercise. In addition, traditional rehabilitation mechanisms are often repetitive and tedious. Sometimes a lack of supervision or routine results in a failure to adapt the challenges to the user's current needs.

Digital environments and modern technology have much to offer in this regard. One aspect is gamification mechanisms, which work well in video games and allow players to be engaged for hours in challenges of modulated difficulty. Another aspect is the rapidly developing biosensors and tracking systems that allow the user's activity and biophysiological parameters to be monitored in real time. However, the combination of the benefits of technology and gamification stimulus mechanisms must be done in strict accordance with the user's capabilities in order to make the challenges constructive rather than destructive for the user's body and mental conditions. Ongoing monitoring of effort and mental workload and their synchronization with fatigue in the digital environment, supported by motivational gamification mechanisms, form the foundation of the correct and controlled exercises and rehabilitation.

Attracting members of Generation Z to companies via social media recruiting in Germany

Anna Wübbelt, Henning Tirrel — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0200

The aim of this paper is to analyze the importance of social media in the recruitment of Generation Z, with a focus on their expectations towards social media recruiting. In a qualitative analysis, nine interviews were conducted with members of Generation Z, as well as a focus group discussion with six HR managers. Based on our research sample, both members of Generation Z and recruiters attach great importance to social media recruiting. Members of Generation Z can be characterized by their willingness to use social media, active sourcing, and the talent pool to actively support their job search. The social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, XING, and LinkedIn are identified as potential contact points for the generation. However, a discrepancy was uncovered between what HR managers expect in relation to the usage of social media for job searches and the actual passive use of social media for this purpose by Generation Z. In addition, a positive candidate journey and attention to various (passive) touch points are important for successful recruitment of Generation Z members. Due to the open attitude of the generation towards social media recruiting, they need to be made aware of this topic during their candidate journey.

Technostress of students during COVID-19 - a sign of the time?

Konrad Kulikowski, Sylwia Przytuła, Łukasz Sułkowski, Martina Rašticová — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0200

University students are considered digital natives but they often have difficulties in the effective integration of information technology (IT) into their study routine. To unravel this puzzle we proposed a model of IT effects on students' well-being, based on the Job Demands-Resources theory, one of the most widely used models of human well-being in organizational contexts. We described three processes affecting students’ well-being. A techno-stress process generates strain via an increase in study demands. A techno-enrichment process sparks motivation through the creation of energizing study techno-resources. A dual-nature techno-challenge process sparks motivation but also creates strain. Our elaboration might help to reconcile conflicting findings on the role of IT in remote learning and contribute to a better understanding of the effect of IT on students. The proposed theoretical model might also spark further empirical research and provide guidelines for research on IT use in university learning.

Segmentation boundaries in accelerometer data of arm motion induced by music: Online computation and perceptual assessment

Juan Ignacio Mendoza Garay — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Segmentation is a cognitive process involved in the understanding of information perceived through the senses. Likewise, the automatic segmentation of data captured by sensors may be used for the identification of patterns. This study is concerned with the segmentation of dancing motion captured by accelerometry and its possible applications, such as pattern learning and recognition, or gestural control of devices. To that effect, an automatic segmentation system was formulated and tested. Two participants were asked to ‘dance with one arm’ while their motion was measured by an accelerometer. The performances were recorded on video, and manually segmented by six annotators later. The annotations were used to optimize the automatic segmentation system, maximizing a novel similarity score between computed and annotated segmentations. The computed segmentations with highest similarity to each annotation were then manually assessed by the annotators, resulting in Precision between 0.71 and 0.89, and Recall between 0.82 to 1.

Is the shopping list a guarantee for rational consumer behaviour?

Kamila Słupińska, Katarzyna Włodarczyk, Mariusz Borawski, Patryk Wlekły — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Consumers may undertake various steps in order to increase the rationality of their choices. One of the options involves drawing up a shopping list. The study presents an innovative method of analysing consumer behaviour during shopping. Modern technologies were used to set up a virtual environment within which a store was created. A combination of methods was employed to assess the subjective opinions expressed during in-depth interviews. Another step focused on analysing the internal stimuli of the research subjects with the use of neuroscientific tools to evaluate the behaviour of the research participants. The aim of the study was to verify the impact of a shopping list on consumer rationality. The research results presented constitute a part of a broader research project, within the scope of which research method triangulations enabled an in-depth analysis of conscious and unconscious aspects of the subjects’ behaviour (Borawski et al. 2021).

Is technology gender neutral? A systematic literature review on gender stereotypes attached to artificial intelligence

Miruna-Valeria Craiut, Ioana Iancu — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Artificial Intelligence implies computer systems capable of mimicking human-like intelligence and competencies. In the nowadays society it is an exciting topic, thus, technology’s gender features and roles are of great interest as well. As the literature is still scarce and inconsistent, the present paper aims to develop a systematic literature review on gender stereotypes attached to technology (virtual assistants and robots). The main goals are to emphasize the labels given to technology from a gender perspective, the perceived competencies of the gendered technology, the most relevant variables responsible for the way gender issues are perceived in connection with technology, and the proposed solutions for diminishing the technology gender stereotypes. Forty-five scientific papers have been selected and analyzed. Findings suggest that the most intelligent technologies are designed as females, male-gendered technology performs better in task-solving, and users’ age and technology’s visual representation are important variables in perception.