Special Session: The Role of Behavior Measurement in Persuasive Settings

Date: Wednesday 29 August

Time: 14:00 - 15:40

Location: 42

Organiser: Robbert Jan Beun. Utrecht University, Dpt. of Information and Computing Sciences, BBL 477, Princetonplein 5, De Uithof, 3584 CC Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Abstract:

Currently, an interest emerges in developing automated systems that provide behavior  changing support to patients and consumers without human interference. In these  systems, methods from so-called persuasive technology are applied to implement effective  communication strategies that support self-care, adherence to prescribed exercises  and sustainable behavior change. These systems provide for anonymous and frequent  monitoring, feedback and counseling that would otherwise be impossible. 
The goal of this special session is to investigate the role of automated sensor and behavior  measurement in persuasive systems, in particular systems that are aimed at sustainable  behavior change of humans, such as virtual coaching and training systems. Automated  measuring of behavior by sensor information may have important advantages over  symbolic messages. First, data can be collected in a more objective and reliable way than  when intentionally entered by human individuals; second, the individuals need not to  focus on the measurement process and can, therefore, avoid the tedium of tracking their  own performance and do not have to worry about the timing of the measurement; third, it  enables individuals to become aware of otherwise unobservable behavior; fourth, frequent  feedback of a device often provides motivation to perform the desired activity. As a result,  the process may give the persuaded individual, the system and third parties relevant  information for diagnosis, understanding and exercise performance and so substantially  improve the quality of the interaction. 
This special session is intended to bring together a group of researchers in the field of  automated coaching and other behavior changing applications. Questions concentrate  on, but will not be restricted to, sensor types and behavioral measurements in well- known persuasive settings, the reliability of behavioral measurement, the influence of the  behavioral information on the interaction (in particular the timing, modality and content  of messages), and the integration of symbolic input and sensor data. In this session, various  persuasive applications will be discussed, ranging from automated sleep therapy to activity  coaching.

Program:

14:00   Inter-usability and the Presentation of Multi-modal Feedback for Physical  Activity and Diabetic Type II Patients
  Randy Klaassen, and Rieks op den Akker  
  University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.

14:20  A Context-Aware Adaptive Feedback Agent for Activity Monitoring and Coaching
  H. op den Akker (1,2), V.M. Jones (2), L.S. Moualed (1,3), and H.J. Hermens (1,2) 
  1 Roessingh Research and Development, Enschede, The Netherlands.
  2 University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.   
  3 University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.

14:40   It’s LiFe!: A Monitoring- and Feedback Tool to Stimulate Physical Activity, embedded in Primary Care
  S. van der Weegen, R. Verwey, M.D. Spreeuwenberg, H.J. Tange, T. van der Weijden, and L.P. de Witte
  Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

15:00  Unobtrusive Sleep Monitoring
  Reinder Haakma, and Robbert-Jan Beun   
  Philips Research, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.  
  Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

15:20   Unobtrusively Measuring Stress and Workload of Knowledge Workers
  S.J. Koldijk (1,2), M.A. Neerincx (2), and W. Kraaij (1,2)
  1 ICIS, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.  
  2 TNO, The Netherlands.

15:40  End of session