Welcome to the February 2019 SIGCHI edition of ACM TechNews.

ACM TechNews - SIGCHI Edition is a sponsored special edition of the ACM TechNews news-briefing service focused on issues in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). This service serves as a resource for ACM-SIGCHI Members to keep abreast of the latest news in areas related to HCI and is distributed to all ACM SIGCHI members the first Tuesday of every month. ACM TechNews is a benefit of ACM membership and is distributed three times per week on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays to over 100,000 ACM members from over 100 countries around the world. ACM TechNews provides timely coverage of established and emerging areas of computer science, the latest trends in information technology, and related science, society, and technology news. For more information on ACM TechNews and joining the ACM, please click. The Interactions mobile app is available for free on iOS, Android, and Kindle platforms. Download it today and flip through the full-color magazine pages on your tablet or view it in a simplified low-bandwidth text mode on your phone. And be sure to check out the Interactions website, where you can access current and past articles and read the latest entries in our ever-expanding collection of blogs.

Holocaust Survival Stories Preserved on Film to Be Projected as Holograms at Museums
The Daily Mail
Victoria Bell
January 12, 2019

The University of Southern California's Shoah Foundation is preserving the accounts of Holocaust survivors on film for holographic conversion as an interactive learning tool for future generations. The project combines high-definition holographic interview recordings and voice-recognition technology so survivors can recount their experiences and respond to audience questions. The Shoah Foundation's Stephen Smith said, "All that's happening is rather than you watching a linear testimony, all the bits of the testimony are broken up, and then when you ask it a question, it finds that piece of video and plays it for you." The foundation has recorded 18 interactive testimonies over the last several years, with participants speaking in English, Hebrew, and Spanish. The survivors' images are currently featured in a special theater at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, as well as in three other U.S. museums.

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Braille Technology Firm Builds 'Kindle for the Blind'
Reuters
Matthew Stock; Hugh Lawson
January 14, 2019

Researchers at the company Bristol Braille Technology in the U.K. are set to launch a Braille e-reader for the visually impaired. The Canute 360 device should greatly enhance their reading experience and spare them from carrying around heavy print volumes. The Canute 360 multi-line Braille e-reader displays nine lines of text at a time, or about a third of a page of regular print. Any text that has been translated into Braille format can be downloaded into the Canute. Said Claire Maxwell at the Royal National Institute of Blind People, "Innovations in the field of Braille technology make this a very exciting time for Braille readers."

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Nearly Three Quarters of the World Will Use Just Their Smartphones to Access the Internet by 2025
CNBC
Lucy Handley
January 24, 2019

A new report by the World Advertising Research Center (WARC) indicates that 72.6% percent of internet users, or nearly 3.7 billion people, will access the Web solely via smartphones by 2025, offering a significant opportunity for businesses to sell products via the mobile Internet. More than 1.3 billion will access the Internet via both smartphone and PC by that time, the report found, while only 69 million will access the Web via PC alone. According to WARC, about 2 billion people currently use only their smartphones to access the internet. China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan will account for most of the growth in smartphone use according to the report, which also found that about 2.4 billion people still will not own a mobile phone by 2025. These figures come as fifth-generation technology (5G) will begin to be rolled out this year, improving download speeds and making it easier to watch videos via smartphone.

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In VR, Boys Learn Best When the Teacher is a Drone; Girls Learn Better from Virtual Marie
University of Copenhagen
Janni Brixen
January 8, 2019

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have found that virtual reality (VR) learning environments, in which students practice certain skills via simulations, can be more effective than regular classroom teaching or learning via computers. In addition, VR learning motivates and engages students more, and heightens their self-reliance. The researchers also found that girls' and boys' learning differs greatly depending on the form and appearance of the virtual teacher, known as the pedagogical agent. The researchers conducted a study with 66 seventh and eighth grade students (half boys and half girls), and found the girls learned most in VR simulations when the pedagogical agent was a young female researcher; the boys learned more while being instructed by a flying robot in the form of a drone.

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Google, Amazon Seek Foothold in Electricity as Home Automation Grows
The Wall Street Journal
Bradley Olson; Laura Stevens
January 27, 2019

Google and Amazon aim to broaden their presence in the electricity business as home energy automation evolves into a new customer data channel. The companies are working to expand the capabilities of their smart speakers, Internet-connected thermostats, and other gadgets to tap information on consumers' personal energy use, which can be used to manage energy demand by providing incentives to consumers to use less electricity during peak (most expensive) hours. Google has forged partnerships with utilities and power providers in the U.K. and the Netherlands, and in three U.S. states. Said Google's Jeff Hamel, "If we can make, collectively, a lot of small changes across a large number of people, that has a large benefit to power providers, the grid, the environment, and the consumer." Meanwhile, Amazon is using its Amazon Home Services business to help consumers establish and manage a smart home; Amazon also is looking at partnering with companies that supply a bundle of home devices it makes or supports.

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Study: Collaborative Video Games Could Increase Office Productivity
BYU News (UT)
Todd Hollingshead
January 25, 2019

Researchers at Brigham Young University (BYU) found that newly formed work teams saw a 20% boost in productivity on subsequent tasks after playing video games together for only 45 minutes, indicating that team video gaming may be a viable alternative for team building. The study involved 352 individuals randomly organized into 80 teams, with no participants with pre-existing relationships on the same team. After playing a round of a geocaching competition called Findamine, the teams were randomly assigned to participate in team video gaming (using either the game Rock Bank or Halo 4), quiet homework time, or a "goal training" discussion on improving their geocaching results. Although the goal-training teams saw a higher increase in team cohesion than the video-gaming teams, the video gamers significantly increased actual performance on their second round of Findamine. Said BYU’s Greg Anderson, "Companies are spending thousands and thousands of dollars on team-building activities, and I'm thinking, go buy an Xbox."

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These Parenting Moves Make the Difference for Kids' Screen Time
The Toronto Star (Canada)
Brandie Weikle
January 9, 2019

University of Guelph researchers in Canada have uncovered a strong link between parents' behavior and how much time their children spend watching onscreen content. The researchers explored children's use of mobile media devices and TV, and accounted for their fathers' role in media parenting. Both parents' screen habits reflected their children's time watching screens, with that screen time increasing when mothers used devices in front of children. Guelph's Jess Haines said, "Similarly, if parents allow screens to be used during mealtimes, it is linked to children having more screen time overall." The researchers determined several effective parental practices for managing children's screen time, including keeping screens away during mealtime, not using screen time (or its denial) as a reward or punishment for behavior, and having both parents in agreement on the screen time approach.

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'Physical Computing' Connects Computer Science With Hands-On Learning
Education Week
Lauraine Genota
January 23, 2019

Across the U.S., teachers are using so-called "physical computing," an emerging instructional strategy that aims to teach students about computer science and computational thinking through physical tools and hands-on activity. The goal is to encourage interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial thinking and to foster student creativity. In addition, the hands-on approach to teaching computational thinking is an effective way to "check off" the competencies that students should learn as part of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) K-12 Computer Science Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Some of the expectations enumerated in the CSTA and NGSS standards that connect to physical computing include problem decomposition, developing models, creating and testing computational products, solving computational problems, collaboration, and communication. Said Anna Otto, the computer-science and online learning coordinator for Adams 12 Five Star Schools in Colorado, "For kids, physical computing is an engagement piece. Seeing their projects come to life is exciting for them. It helps them understand the power of computer science and how things work in the real world."

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The HabitLab Browser Extension Curbs Time Wasted on the Web
Wired
Arielle Pardes
January 1, 2019

Stanford University researchers have created HabitLab, a browser extension equipped with myriad techniques to trigger interventions designed to curb bad online habits. Some methods are platform-specific, such as a tool that blocks YouTube's recommended video sidebar, or an algorithm-driven tool that hides clickbait on Facebook. Others can be enabled for any website, including a clock that measures the time a user spends on that site each day. The HabitLab experience is extensively individualized, inviting users to select which sites they want to spend less time on and set their own objectives; users who can code in JavaScript can write custom interventions in a separate "nudge editor." Interventions are rotated to expose users to a wide range of screen-time-reducing approaches.

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Using Vibration to Curb Digital Addiction
Cornell Chronicle (NY)
Melanie Lefkowitz
January 2, 2019

Researchers at Cornell Tech used theories of behavioral economics and psychology to develop an app that uses negative reinforcement, in the form of persistent smartphone vibration, to remind users they have exceeded a predetermined time limit for phone use. Since smartphones already have a vibration feature, the new system does not require any additional hardware, making it simple and cost-effective. The researchers recruited 50 participants who already had the Facebook app installed on their phones. The participants were divided into a group that received interventions, and a control group that did not. Once a preset time limit was exceeded, the study participants' phones vibrated every five seconds until they closed out the targeted app. Over the duration of the study, participants reduced their time on Facebook by an average of 20%. Going forward, the team wants to examine larger-scale studies, and hopes to develop the tool into a publicly available app.

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Robot Helps Those with Memory Impairment
Daily Evergreen (WA)
Cheryl Aarnio
January 23, 2019

Washington State University (WSU) researchers have developed a robotic system to help older adults suffering memory impairment. The Robot Activity Support (RAS) is designed to help older adults perform daily activities like taking medication. The system uses data from a "smart" apartment's sensors and video footage, as well as the robot's own sensors and video footage, to complete tasks. Interestingly, young adults who tested the robot said it did not move fast enough for them, while older adults, who are the target users of the system, said they appreciated the robot's current speed. Said WSU researcher Bryan Minor, "The goal here is to help people live in their homes longer and more independently."

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Brain Training App Improves Users’ Concentration, Study Shows
University of Cambridge
Craig Brierley
January 21, 2019

Researchers at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. have developed and tested a new game designed to help users improve their attention and concentration. The researchers divided a group of 75 healthy young adult test-subjects into three, with one group receiving the new Decoder game, a control group playing Bingo for the same amount of time, and a second control group receiving no game. Participants in the first two groups were invited to attend eight one-hour sessions over the course of a month, during which they played either Decoder or Bingo under supervision. The researchers found study participants who played the Decoder game were better at maintaining attention than those who played Bingo and those who played no game. Said University of Cambridge researcher Barbara Sahakian, "In addition to healthy people, we hope that the game will be beneficial for patients who have impairments in attention, including those with ADHD or traumatic brain injury."

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