Eva Petersson Brooks

Women with fibromyalgia's experience with three motion-controlled video game consoles and indicators of symptom severity and performance of activities of daily living.

Abstract Purpose: Little is known of Motion-Controlled Video Games (MCVGs) as an intervention for people with chronic pain. The aim of this study was to explore the experience women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) had, using commercially available MCVGs; and to investigate indicators of symptom severity and performance of activities of daily living (ADL). Method: Of 15 female participants diagnosed with FMS, 7 completed a program of five sessions with Nintendo Wii (Wii), five sessions with PlayStation 3 Move (PS3 Move) and five sessions with Microsoft Xbox Kinect (Xbox Kinect). Interviews were conducted at baseline and post-intervention and were supported by data from observation and self-reported assessment. Results: Participants experienced play with MCVGs as a way to get distraction from pain symptoms while doing fun and manageable exercise. They enjoyed the slow pace and familiarity of Wii, while some considered PS3 Move to be too fast paced. Xbox Kinect was reported as the best console for exercise. There were no indication of general improvement in symptom severity or performance of ADL. Conclusion: This study demonstrated MCVG as an effective healthcare intervention for the women with FMS who completed the program, with regards to temporary pain relief and enjoyable low impact exercise. Implications for Rehabilitation Exercise is recommended in the management of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). People with FMS often find it counterintuitive to exercise because of pain exacerbation, which may influence adherence to an exercise program. Motion-controlled video games may offer temporary pain relief and fun low impact exercise for women with FMS.

Designing Ludic Engagement in an interactive Virtual Dressing Room system: A comparative study

The phenomenon of creating virtual dressing room (VDR) environments has currently been widely recognized. Most of the existing VDR systems are of a goal-oriented, rather than open-ended, nature. This study is comparative and investigated two VDR solutions: LazyLazy and a new VDR user interface (UI). The systems were tested by 426 participants. The study applies a qualitative approach including video observations, questionnaires and interviews. The comparison targeted an investigation of the users’ experience and behaviour when interacting with the two VDR systems. The results showed that ludic activities can be enhanced without interfering with goal-oriented desires of the user.

Ludic engagement designs: creating spaces for playful learning

The learning within and the design of a learning (or therapeutic) situation constitutes a situated activity with inherent actions and interventions. The participant profile influences the facilitators decisions on how to set up the attributes of the environment relative to the desired learning process and the expected outcome of that process. This paper presents a model which was developed relative to the development, use and evaluation of interactive spaces for playful learning. However, the model has a more generic value as it has been used in learning situations where other forms of resources and/or methods have been used. Thus, the general results upon which the present model is created, indicate that a playful learning tool may be construed by an open-ended design, in the sense that its (im)material affordances should in a flexible way support inclusion of different forms of emergent interaction and forms of play.

Playfulness and Openness: Reflections on the Design of Learning Technologies

What does it mean to design a playful learning tool? What is needed for a learning tool to be perceived by potential users as playful? These questions emerged reflecting on a Participatory Design process aimed at enhancing museum-learning practice from the perspective of primary school children. Different forms of emergent interactions were evident, both during museum visits and while testing a low-fidelity prototype. Deeper reflections on the meaning of enhancing learning through play from a user’s individual perspective was assessed. In this respect, openness and multimodality were evaluated intertwined with design of playful learning tools to enrich non-formal learning and to allow support for individual needs.

Digital Creativity: Children’s Playful Mastery of Technology

This paper reports on a study exploring the outcomes from children’s play with technology in early childhood learning practices. The paper addresses questions related to how digital technology can foster creativity in early childhood learning environments. It consists of an analysis of children’s interaction with the KidSmart furniture focusing on digital creativity potentials and play values suggested by the technology. The study applied a qualitative approach and included 125 children (aged three to five), 10 pedagogues, and two librarians. The results suggests that educators should sensitively consider intervening when children are interacting with technology, and rather put emphasize into the integration of the technology into the environment and to the curriculum in order to shape playful structures for children’s digital creativity.

Towards a next generation universally accessible ‘online shopping-for-apparel' system

This paper reports initial research findings from on-going longitudinal participatory design studies within a national (Danish) funded project to realize a gesture-controlled &Online shopping-for-apparel system --- A Virtual Dressing Room (VDR). A product that reduces customer purchase returns, reportedly up to 40%, which is a huge burden to the clothing industries as shopping percentile of sales online continues to increase, is targeted. Three studies are reported where results cumulate to highlight the need for continued research to realize a next-generation system to improve the user experience of online shopping for apparel where conclusions point to the need for adaptive user interface improvements. Unforeseen was that wheelchair-bound public especially responded positively to the potentials for the concept due to their limited mobility in shopping and this accessibility aspect can be a significant future market.

Designing with Young Children: Lessons Learned from a Co-creation of a Technology-Enhanced Playful Learning Environment

This paper reports on the lessons learned from working with creative visual methods with young children between the ages of 3 to 5 years-of-age in an early years educational setting in Southern Denmark as part of an 18-month project on Digital Playful Learning. The overarching goal of the study was to create a practice-based technology-enhanced playful learning environment. Collaboration was with the pedagogical education University College SydDanmark, the preschool teachers and the children. 55 children took part in the sessions. The study investigated a selection of methods developed for children, but not necessarily young children, such as the Bags of Stuff technique and the Mixing Ideas technique. This paper will discuss the advantages and challenges of these when applying them together with young children. The findings suggest that when working with younger children researchers should make efforts into understanding the children and their conceptual framework before engaging in design activities. In addition, young children need support in their creative expression.

The Performance of Self in the Context of Shopping in a Virtual Dressing Room System

This paper investigates the performance of self in a virtual dressing room based on a camera-based system reflecting a full body mirrored image of the self. The study was based on a qualitative research approach and a user-centered design methodology. 22 participants participated in design sessions, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire investigation. The results showed that the system facilitated self-recognition, self-perception, and shared experience, which afforded an enriched experience of the performing self.

The Resilience of Analog Tools in Creative Work Practices: A Case Study of LEGO Future Lab's Team in Billund

This paper discusses the use of digital and analog tools, respectively, in a creative industry. The research was done within the EU-funded research project IdeaGarden, which explores digital platforms for creative collaboration. The findings in a case study of LEGO® Future Lab, one of LEGO Groups largest innovation departments, show a preference for analog tools over digital in the creative process. This points towards a general need for tangible tools in the creative work process, a need that has consequences for the development of new digital tools for creative collaboration.

Towards an inclusive virtual dressing room for wheelchair-bound customers

This manuscript reports on a work-in-progress project evolving aside from a main undertaking; that of making a commercial `Internet of Things style product called “The Virtual Dressing Room (VDR)”. The project targets the process chain from designer and clothing manufacturer to retailer and end-user customers. The VDR has been subject of other publications, thus is introduced only briefly in this manuscript. VDR is a `non-groupware-based project funded under the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation. A main goal at conception was reducing returns of online purchased apparel, which, at a reported approximately 40% is crippling the clothing industry. Results from public response surveys (including at The Scandinavian Health & Rehab Messe) to a VDR simulation system clearly indicated how the wheelchair-bound community perceived benefits from the system. This was unexpected and aside from the original VDR project design requisite. Interviews highlighted problems of high street fitting rooms not being sized to accommodate wheelchairs, and often so minimally sized as to not enable a second helping person to be present to support the involved undressing and dressing procedures. Existing online purchasing systems were also considered problematic including a need to improve social networking to enable others Online to view clothes considered for purchase to assist decision making. The production suffered problematic cooperation, coordination, communication, and collaboration that prevented early product. This resulted in additional surveys and the evolution of this additional work-in-progress. Following introducing the VDR, key issues such as interface design, body measurement, and cloth representation in the VDR is discussed. The finding of wheelchair-bound-need is envisioned as a next-generation iteration and is thus the focus of this contribution to position the work-in-progress and invite like-minded interested parties to collaborate towards optimization of a system to realize potentials.