Moving together - benefits of an online dance program on physical and mental health for older women: an exploratory mixed-method study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies show that in-person dance training is a beneficial form of physical activity that involves mental, social, and physical dimensions. This exploratory study investigated the benefits of a 12-week online dance training intervention on mental and physical health outcomes for older women. METHODS: A convergent parallel mixed-method design was used. Forty-five older adults (74.0 ± 5.3 yrs old, 44 women) were recruited through advertisements at activity and rehabilitation centers in the North Denmark region. The intervention consisted of two weekly 60-min classes of improvisation and salsa delivered online through video call applications. Changes in physical health outcomes (body mass and composition, resting blood pressure, Senior Fitness Test battery) and self-rated health and wellbeing (health-related quality of life (HRQOL), feelings of loneliness) were assessed prior to and after 12 weeks of dancing. Focus group interviews were conducted post-intervention to further explore the benefits as well as the participant's experience of the intervention. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data was conducted. RESULTS: Thirty-two participants (all women) completed the study. Significant improvements in fitness were found for the number of arm curls performed (baseline: 12.3 ± 3.0; post-intervention: 13.7 ± 3.0, P = 0.005), 2-min step test performance (baseline: 66.5 ± 20.0 reps.; post-intervention: 73.8 ± 22.6 reps., P = 0.016), and chair sit-and-reach (baseline: 0.4 ± 11.3 cm; post-intervention: 5.5 ± 10.1 cm, P < 0.001). There was a significant increase in body mass from baseline to post-intervention (P < 0.015). The themes from the focus groups included (1) Participation, (2) Challenges, (3) Progression, (4) Motivation, (5) Perceived health and wellbeing, and (6) Online dance instruction. No significant changes were reported in HRQOL and loneliness from the quantitative data, although the qualitative data did reveal improved feelings of physical health and wellbeing. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention improved several aspects of fitness in older women and improved the participants' perceptions of their own physical abilities and wellbeing. While most participants found the online intervention enjoyable, several participants missed the feedback from the instructors that naturally occurs with in-person instruction.

The Robot is Present: Creative Approaches for Artistic Expression With Robots.

There is growing interest in developing creative applications for robots, specifically robots that provide entertainment, companionship, or motivation. Identifying the hallmarks of human creativity and discerning how these processes might be replicated or assisted by robots remain open questions. Transdisciplinary collaborations between artists and engineers can offer insights into how robots might foster creativity for human artists and open up new pathways for designing interactive systems. This paper presents an exploratory research project centered on drawing with robots. Using an arts-led, practice-based methodology, we developed custom hardware and software tools to support collaborative drawing with an industrial robot. A team of artists and engineers collaborated over a 6-month period to investigate the creative potential of collaborative drawing with a robot. The exploratory project focused on identifying creative and collaborative processes in the visual arts, and later on developing tools and features that would allow robots to participate meaningfully in these processes. The outcomes include a custom interface for controlling and programming robot motion (EMCAR) and custom tools for replicating experimental techniques used in visual art. We report on the artistic and technical outcomes and identify key features of process-led (as opposed to outcome-led) approaches for designing collaborative and creative systems. We also consider the value of embodied and tangible interaction for artists working collaboratively with computational systems. Transdisciplinary research can help researchers uncover new approaches for designing interfaces for interacting with machines.