ABSTRACT
Socially assistive robots (SARs) are becoming more prevalent in everyday life, emphasizing the need to make them socially acceptable and aligned with users' expectations. Robots' appearance impacts users' behaviors and attitudes towards them. Therefore, product designers choose visual qualities to give the robot a character and to imply its functionality and personality. In this work, we sought to investigate the effect of cultural differences on Israeli and German designers' perceptions and preferences regarding the suitable visual qualities of SARs in four different contexts: a service robot for an assisted living/retirement residence facility, a medical assistant robot for a hospital environment, a COVID-19 officer robot, and a personal assistant robot for domestic use. Our results indicate that Israeli and German designers share similar perceptions of visual qualities and most of the robotics roles. However, we found differences in the perception of the COVID-19 officer robot's role and, by that, its most suitable visual design. This work indicates that context and culture play a role in users' perceptions and expectations; therefore, they should be taken into account when designing new SARs for diverse contexts.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Vision DisordersABSTRACT
Robots' visual qualities (VQs) impact people's perception of their characteristics and affect users' behaviors and attitudes toward the robot. Recent years point toward a growing need for Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) in various contexts and functions, interacting with various users. Since SAR types have functional differences, the user experience must vary by the context of use, functionality, user characteristics, and environmental conditions. Still, SAR manufacturers often design and deploy the same robotic embodiment for diverse contexts. We argue that the visual design of SARs requires a more scientific approach considering their multiple evolving roles in future society. In this work, we define four contextual layers: the domain in which the SAR exists, the physical environment, its intended users, and the robot's role. Via an online questionnaire, we collected potential users' expectations regarding the desired characteristics and visual qualities of four different SARs: a service robot for an assisted living/retirement residence facility, a medical assistant robot for a hospital environment, a COVID-19 officer robot, and a personal assistant robot for domestic use. Results indicated that users' expectations differ regarding the robot's desired characteristics and the anticipated visual qualities for each context and use case.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Vision DisordersABSTRACT
The aim of our study is to analyse the participation indicators of colorectal cancer screening between 2008-2021. Data derived from the nationwide financing database of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Management. We analysed both diagnostic and screening examinations. According to our results, the screening rate was low, varying between 5.1-6.8% in the years examined. Between 2008 and 2019, the number of participating patients increased slightly. The highest number of patients can be observed in 2019 (178,568 people). In 2020 and 2021, we see a significant decrease, which is a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the number of patients of the entire examined period (2,233,963 people, 938,223 men, 1,295,740 women), the largest proportion was fecal blood detection by immunochemical method (OENO code: 22631). In 2021, at the county level, the highest number of patients can be seen in Csongrad-Csanad county (994 patients/10,000 people), and the least in Bekes county (218 patients/10,000 people). The participation rate of women is higher than that of men in all counties. Participation in colorectal screening is very low. In order to prevent colorectal cancer death, it is necessary to increase the participation rate.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Morbidity and mortality rates show different patterns in European countries. The aim of the study was to map geographical inequalities in mortality caused by coronavirus (Sars-COV-2) infection in Europe in 2020. Methods: In our research the ’COVID deaths by week, 2020 and 2021’ indicator from ’OECD Health Statistics’ online database was analysed. Mortality data reported for weeks were aggregated, and calculated for 1,000,000 population using the Eurostat database on the population number for 2020. European countries were classified and compared according to their geographical location: Western-European, Eastern-European, Mediterranean and Nordic countries. After a preliminary normality test (Shapiro-Wilk test) single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for comparison. Our analysis was carried out at a 95% probability level (p<0.05). SPSS 25.0 software was used for calculations. Results: In Western Europe, an overall 886, Eastern Europe 826, in Mediterranean region 1,083 and in Northern Europe 463 COVID deaths per 1,000,000 population were reported in 2020. In Europe, Belgium (1,725 deaths/1,000,000 population), Slovenia (1,379 deaths/1,000,000 population) and the United Kingdom (1,331 deaths/1,000,000 population) had the highest registered number of death cases, whereas the lowest numbers recorded were in Norway (84/1,000,000), Finland (102/1,000,000) and Estonia (189/1,000,000). Single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) did not show significant differences among country groups (p=0.119). Conclusions: Our study revealed that overall, the lowest death rates resulting from the coronavirus infection were reported in Northern Europe in proportion to the population. There were no significant differences between the mortality rates of the geographical areas examined.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The occurrence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) showed different patterns in different countries. The aim of our study is to analyse the geographical inequalities in the occurrence of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus in member states of the European Union (EU). Methods: Data derived from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) of European Union. Member states of the European Union were classified according to their geographical location: Western-European (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands), Eastern-European (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia), Mediterranean (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain) and Nordic (Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden) countries. Total number of COVID-19 cases per 1 million population and standard deviation (SD) was calculated with weighted averages. Period up to 7 July 2020 was covered. Single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed. Results: Up to 07.07.2020 in the European Union 1,313,317 COVID-19 cases were identified resulting in an incidence of 2.950 cases/1 million population. We found the highest occurrence in Luxembourg (7,352 cases/1 million population), Sweden (7,262), Spain (6,400), Belgium (5,354), Ireland (5,171), while the lowest occurrence was observed in Lithuania (678), Latvia (601), Hungary (435), Greece (344), Slovakia (324). We found 19.8-fold differences in the incidence of COVID-19 cases among EU countries with the lowest (Slovakia: 324) and highest (Luxembourg: 7,352) occurrence. Mediterranean countries had the highest incidence 4,563 (SD:+/-2,378), followed by Nordic: 4,514 (SD:+/-2,732), Western-European: 2.683 (SD:+/-2,114) and Eastern-European: 986 (SD:+/-395) countries. The relative risk of COVID-19 occurrence was 4.63-times higher in Mediterranean, 4.58-times higher in Nordic and 2.72-times higher in Western-European countries compared to Eastern-European countries. Single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences among country groups (P<0.008). Conclusions: Eastern-European countries had significantly lower incidence of COVID-19 cases compared to Western-European, Mediterranean and Nordic countries in the European Union.