Experience Sampling and Programmed Intervention Method and System for Planning, Authoring, and Deploying Mobile Health Interventions: Design and Case Reports.

BACKGROUND: Health professionals initiating mobile health (mHealth) interventions may choose to adapt apps designed for other activities (eg, peer-to-peer communication) or to employ purpose-built apps specialized in the required intervention, or to exploit apps based on methods such as the experience sampling method (ESM). An alternative approach for professionals would be to create their own apps. While ESM-based methods offer important guidance, current systems do not expose their design at a level that promotes replicating, specializing, or extending their contributions. Thus, a twofold solution is required: a method that directs specialists in planning intervention programs themselves, and a model that guides specialists in adopting existing solutions and advises software developers on building new ones. OBJECTIVE: The main objectives of this study are to design the Experience Sampling and Programmed Intervention Method (ESPIM), formulated toward supporting specialists in deploying mHealth interventions, and the ESPIM model, which guides health specialists in adopting existing solutions and advises software developers on how to build new ones. Another goal is to conceive and implement a software platform allowing specialists to be users who actually plan, create, and deploy interventions (ESPIM system). METHODS: We conducted the design and evaluation of the ESPIM method and model alongside a software system comprising integrated web and mobile apps. A participatory design approach with stakeholders included early software prototype, predesign interviews with 12 health specialists, iterative design sustained by the software as an instance of the method's conceptual model, support to 8 real case studies, and postdesign interviews. RESULTS: The ESPIM comprises (1) a list of requirements for mHealth experience sampling and intervention-based methods and systems, (2) a 4-dimension planning framework, (3) a 7-step-based process, and (4) an ontology-based conceptual model. The ESPIM system encompasses web and mobile apps. Eight long-term case studies, involving professionals in psychology, gerontology, computer science, speech therapy, and occupational therapy, show that the method allowed specialists to be actual users who plan, create, and deploy interventions via the associated system. Specialists' target users were parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, older persons, graduate and undergraduate students, children (age 8-12), and caregivers of older persons. The specialists reported being able to create and conduct their own studies without modifying their original design. A qualitative evaluation of the ontology-based conceptual model showed its compliance to the functional requirements elicited. CONCLUSIONS: The ESPIM method succeeds in supporting specialists in planning, authoring, and deploying mobile-based intervention programs when employed via a software system designed and implemented according to its conceptual model. The ESPIM ontology-based conceptual model exposes the design of systems involving active or passive sampling interventions. Such exposure supports the evaluation, implementation, adaptation, or extension of new or existing systems.

Promoting Social Connection and Deepening Relations Among Older Adults: Design and Qualitative Evaluation of Media Parcels.

BACKGROUND: Being socially connected is related to well-being, and one way of avoiding social isolation is to deepen existing relationships. Even though existing relationships can be reinforced by regular and meaningful communication, state-of-the-art communication technologies alone do not increase the quality of social connections. Thus, there is a need for the involvement of a trained human facilitator in a network of older adults, preferably for a short period, to promote the deepening of their relationships. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the hypothesis that a human-facilitated, media-sharing social networking system can improve social connection in a small group of older people, who are more vulnerable to social isolation than most, and deepen their relationships over a period of a few weeks. METHODS: We conducted the design and evaluation of Media Parcels, a novel human-facilitated social networking system. Media Parcels is based on the metaphor of a facilitator collecting and delivering parcels in the physical mail. Extending the metaphor, the system supports a facilitator in designing time-based dialogue requesting parcels from participants that bring out their memories and feelings, in collecting the parcels, wrapping them in annotations that communicate the corresponding requests, and delivering the wrapped parcel to a target person. Qualitative evaluation was carried out in two trials with a group of three people each, one with family members (children and father; aged 55, 56, and 82 years old) and the other with a group of friends (aged 72, 72, and 74 years old), over two weeks. In each trial, data were collected in three interviews (pre-, mid-, and posttrial) and via system logging. RESULTS: Collected data indicate positive social effects for deepening and developing relationships. The parcel metaphor was easily understood and the computational system was readily adopted. Preferences with regard to media production or consumption varied among participants. In the family group, children preferred receiving media parcels (because of their sentimental value) to producing them, whereas the father enjoyed both. In the friendship group, preferences varied: one friend enjoyed both producing and receiving, while the other two preferred one over the other. In general, participants reported a preference for the production of items of a certain type depending on the associated content. Apart from having a strong engagement with the system, participants reported feeling closer to each other than usual. CONCLUSIONS: For both groups, Media Parcels was effective in promoting media sharing and social connections, resulting in the deepening of existing relationships. Its design informs researchers who are attempting to promote social connection in older adults.

Exclusion performance and learning by exclusion in dogs.

Responding by exclusion is a type of emergent repertoire in which an individual chooses an alternative by the apparent exclusion of other available alternatives. In this case it is possible to respond appropriately to an undefined stimulus (one that has not previously acquired discriminative functions) by excluding the defined alternatives. There is evidence of exclusion in humans and nonhuman animals, although learning as an outcome of exclusion does not always occur. This study aimed to investigate exclusion in visual simple discriminations and learning of new simple discriminations resulting from exclusion in four border collies. Subjects were trained to perform simple simultaneous discriminations between pairs of tridimensional objects, and were then tested for exclusion, novelty control and learning of new simple discriminations. All dogs successfully responded by exclusion, choosing an undefined stimulus displayed with an S-. For three dogs, it was possible to conclude that these previously undefined stimuli acquired S+ functions, documenting learning of new simple discriminations. However, this required up to four exposures to exclusion trials with each pair of stimuli.

The ontogeny of human point following in dogs: When younger dogs outperform older.

We investigated puppies' responsiveness to hand points differing in salience. Experiment 1 compared performance of younger (8 weeks old) and older (12 weeks) shelter pups in following pointing gestures. We hypothesized that older puppies would show better performance. Both groups followed the easy and moderate but not the difficult pointing cues. Surprisingly, the younger pups outperformed the older ones in following the moderate and difficult points. Investigation of subjects' backgrounds revealed that significantly more younger pups had experience living in human homes than did the older pups. Thus, we conducted a second experiment to isolate the variable experience. We collected additional data from older pet pups living in human homes on the same three point types and compared their performance with the shelter pups from Experiment 1. The pups living in homes accurately followed all three pointing cues. When comparing both experienced groups, the older pet pups outperformed the younger shelter ones, as predicted. When comparing the two same-age groups differing in background experience, the pups living in homes outperformed the shelter pups. A significant correlation between experience with humans and success in following less salient cues was found. The importance of ontogenetic learning in puppies' responsiveness to certain human social cues is discussed.

Idosos on-line: tecnologia como recurso para a aprendizagem ao longo da vida / Online elderly: technology as a resource for lifelong learning

As tecnologias digitais de informação e comunicação geram benefícios na vida pessoal e coletiva. Para as pessoas idosas, os recursos tecnológicos promovem saúde, conforto nas atividades diárias, bem-estar social e engajamento no próprio percurso de aprendi- zagem. No entanto, evidenciam-se dificuldades na utilização de dispositivos móveis pelos idosos, bem como na análise crítica das informações disponibilizadas. Observam-se poucas pesquisas direcionadas ao processo de ensino-aprendizagem no contexto de alfabetização e letramento digital de idosos. Este trabalho apresenta uma intervenção educativa sobre dispositivos móveis para idosos, utilizando-se da tecnologia como forma de apoio personalizado e remoto à aprendizagem de práticas com smartphones e tablets. Um sistema computacional de multiplataforma capaz de coletar e armazenar dados, cadastrar intervenções programadas e executá-las de maneira interativa por meio de um aplicativo foi adotado como recurso pedagógico. No total de 155 idosos participantes, houve um aumento significativo na frequência de uso de 79% dos recursos do smartphone (Wilcoxon, p< 0,05) no pré e pós-teste. Houve diferenças quanto à autoeficácia geral e alcance de metas via smartphone (0,18 < r > 0,66), e ainda, quanto à escolaridade e à idade na utilização de recursos do smartphone (de 58% para 16% e de 47% para 21%, respectivamente) no pré e pós-teste. Os resultados preliminares da intervenção apontam possibilidades de desenvolvimento de um modelo educativo de letramento digital para a pessoa idosa.(AU)

Digital information and communication technologies generate benefits in personal and collective life. For the elderly, technological resources promote health, comfort in daily activities, social well-being and engagement in the learning path itself. However, difficulties are shown in the use of mobile devices by the elderly, as well as in the critical analysis of the information available. There is little research directed to the teaching-learning process in the context of digital literacy of the elderly. This paper presents an educational intervention on mobile devices for the elderly, using technology as a form of personalized and remote support for learning practices with smartphones and tablets. The research adopted a multiplatform computational system capable of collecting and storing data, registering scheduled interventions and executing them interactively through an application. In a total of 155 elderly participants, there was a significant increase in the frequency of use of 79% of smartphone resources (Wilcoxon, p <0.05) in the pre- and post-test. There were differences in overall self-efficacy and goal range via smartphone (0.18 < r > 0.66), and also, regarding schooling and age in the use of smartphone resources (from 58% to 16% and from 47% to 21%, respectively) in the pre and post-test. The preliminary results of the intervention indicate possibilities for the development of an educational model of digital literacy for the elderly.(AU)

Um estudo sobre letramento digital para idosos com o apoio de um aplicativo móvel personalizável / A study about alphabetization and digital literacy for older adults with the support of a customizable mobile apllication

O uso de sistemas computacionais para cuidados com a saúde de idosos é cada vez mais comum. No campo da educação, no entanto, as investigações enfocam mais em questões técnicas de desenvolvimento ou em adaptação de tecnologias, e não no processo de ensino-aprendizagem e aplicabilidade do uso de dispositivos móveis. Este trabalho buscou estimular, monitorar e avaliar o uso desses dispositivos no ambiente natural por idosos participantes de cursos de alfabetização e letramento digital. Também buscou promover novas metodologias para práticas de alfabetização e letramento digital para idosos. Foi realizado um estudo de viabilidade explorando o uso de um sistema denominado ESPIM, como um novo recurso pedagógico em cursos como este. O ESPIM permite a profissionais de diferentes áreas construírem programas de intervenção para realizar coletas de dados de forma remota com suas populações de interesse. Essa população responde a perguntas programadas pelos profissionais usando um aplicativo móvel. As perguntas planejadas podem ser questões abertas, de múltipla escolha, de escolha única, solicitação do envio de mídias como áudio, vídeo ou imagens. Neste estudo qualitativo, por duas semanas consecutivas, os participantes receberam alertas e instruções, por meio desse aplicativo, para realizar atividades práticas em casa sobre o conteúdo aprendido em sala de aula. Os resultados obtidos descrevem um comportamento positivo dos participantes em termos de engajamento na execução das atividades de casa, e também descrevem feedbacks sobre o aplicativo, tais como facilidades e dificuldades, autonomia no uso e adesão ao recurso tecnológico como forma de apoio a cursos como o supracitado.(AU)

The use of computer systems for health care for older people is increasingly common. In the field of education, however, investigations focus more on technical issues of development or adaptation of technologies, rather than on the teaching-learning process and the applicability of using mobile devices. This work aimed to stimulate, monitor and evaluate the use of these devices in the natural environment by older participants in literacy and digital literacy courses. It also sought to promote new methodologies for alphabetization and digital literacy practices for older adults. A feasibility study was carried out exploring the use of a system called ESPIM, as a new educational resource in courses like this. ESPIM allows professionals from different domains to plan intervention programs to carry out data collections remotely with their populations of interest. This population answers questions programmed by professionals using a mobile application. Planned questions can be open questions, multiple choice, single choice, request to send media such as audio, video or images. In this qualitative study, for two consecutive weeks, participants received alerts and instructions, through this application, to carry out practical activities at home on the content learned in the classroom. The results obtained describe a positive behavior of the participants in terms of engagement in the execution of home activities, and also describe feedbacks about the application, such as facilities and difficulties, autonomy in the use and adherence to the technological resource as a way of supporting courses such as above citied.(AU)

Simple and Conditional Discrimination and Specific Reinforcement in Teaching Reading: An Intervention Package.

This study evaluated an intervention package combining simple and conditional discrimination training and specific reinforcement for each stimulus class in teaching reading of simple words to individuals with intellectual disabilities. In conditional discrimination training, participants matched printed words and pictures to the recorded sounds made by the pictured objects and animals. Fourteen children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities were assigned to an experimental and a control group. The two groups' performance did not differ in the pretest. The experimental group demonstrated equivalence class formation and read the words that participated in the equivalence classes, whereas the control group did not.

Exclusion performance in visual simple discrimination in dogs (Canis familiaris)

Choices based on exclusion have been investigated in different species because of its emergent nature, leading to evidence of rudimentary symbolic behavior in non-verbal organisms. Simple discrimination procedures provide a simple method to investigate exclusion performance, in which each trial consists of the simultaneous presentation of two stimuli, one with a positive function (S+) and one with a negative function (S-). In exclusion probe trials, an undefined stimulus (UnS) is presented with a familiar S-, and choices based on exclusion may lead to choosing the UnS, excluding the previously known S-. Novelty control trials (S+/UnS) are also conducted to assess the possible preference for the UnS. In this case, if performance is not controlled by novelty, then the subjects must choose the S+ and not the UnS. The present study investigated exclusion performance in visual simple simultaneous discrimination tasks in eight dogs. The results indicated that seven of eight dogs showed evidence of exclusion performance (p < .05). These findings corroborate the literature that shows that dogs are capable of responding by exclusion, suggesting that potentially symbolic behavior may rely on basic behavioral learning and conditioning principles...

Comportamentos de bullying e conflito com a lei / Bullying behavior and conflict with the law

Bullying define-se como uma forma de agressão física, psicológica ou sexual de caráter persecutório e repetitivo, geralmente envolvendo pares. Este estudo investigou comportamentos de bullying em 16 adolescentes do sexo masculino em conflito com a lei, que cumpriam medidas socioeducativas em regime de semiliberdade e liberdade assistida. Os dados foram coletados individualmente por meio de um questionário adaptado de conflitos na escola. Todos os participantes relataram terem sido vítimas ou autores de bullying ao menos uma vez no último ano. Observou-se maior incidência de autoria de bullying do que de intimidação por colegas, mostrando-se estatisticamente significativa (p<0,022). Participantes em semiliberdade relataram haver sido tanto alvo quanto autores de bullying em maior proporção do que os da liberdade assistida (p<0,038). A intimidação não se restringia somente a colegas, mas generalizava-se a adultos. Resultados apontam a necessidade da investigação sobre a relação entre o comportamento de bullying e indivíduos infratores.

Bullying is defined as a form of physical, psychological or sexual aggression which happens repeatedly and generally involves ones' peers. The present study investigated the occurrence of bullying behavior in 16 male young offenders attending a specialized institution (semi-detention and monitoredliberty). Data was collected individually by way of an adapted questionnaire about conflicts in school. All participants admitted to having been either a victim or perpetrator of bullying at least once during the last year. There was a greater incidence of bullying behavior as perpetrators than intimidation by colleagues, that was statistically significant (p<0.022). Subjects under semi-detention have been shown to be perpetrators or targets of bullying in a greater proportion than those under monitored liberty (p<0.038). Intimidation was not restricted to peers, but it was generalized towards adults. The results indicated the necessity for research into the relationship between bullying behavior and the behavior of criminal offenders.