Passenger Perceptions, Information Preferences, and Usability of Crowding Visualizations on Public Displays in Transit Stations and Vehicles

Large crowds in public transit stations and vehicles introduce obstacles for wayfinding, hygiene, and physical distancing. Public displays that currently provide on-site transit information could also provide critical crowdedness information. Therefore, we examined people's crowd perceptions and information preferences before and during the pandemic, and designs for visualizing crowdedness to passengers. We first report survey results with public transit users (n = 303), including the usability results of three crowdedness visualization concepts. Then, we present two animated crowd simulations on public displays that we evaluated in a field study (n = 44). We found that passengers react very positively to crowding information, especially before boarding a vehicle. Visualizing the exact physical spaces occupied on transit vehicles was most useful for avoiding crowded areas. However, visualizing the overall fullness of vehicles was the easiest to understand. We discuss design implications for communicating crowding information to support decision-making and promote a sense of safety. © 2023 ACM.

Effect of Distant Education on Children's Academic Achievement in Primary Schools During Corona Pandemic in Dubai Emirate- Field Study

This study aimed to examine the effect of distance education on the level of educational achievement of children during the Corona period in ten primary schools in the Emirate of Dubai. To achieve the objectives of the study the researchers adopted the descriptive analytical approach. The quantitative method of data collection had been applied using the electronic questionnaire tool consisted of four main axes for data collection and had been distributed to the study sample consisted of 190 students' parents and administrators selected by using simple random techniques. The results of the study indicated that the participation of students in the educational process, and in the establishment of appropriate educational programs and applications for the transmission to distance learning have contributed to reducing the negative effects of the process of shifting from traditional education / face-to-face education classroom teaching to virtual classroom (ZOOM).The study recommended the need for strengthening distance education mechanisms, which contribute in developing the student's interests, tendencies, attitudes, concentrating on the study material, and using of safe and secured electronic devices to increase the search for additional information to reach the correct knowledge. Also, the school administration should have good e-learning plan ahead with required financial credits that will help in overcoming the crisis and mange distance learning processes to reach future objectives successfully. © 2022 Owner/Author.

The Reordering of Everyday Life through Digital technologies During the Covid-19 Pandemic

This paper offers an exploration of everyday life during the Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh with a focus on how it has been reordered through commonplace digital technologies and services. We present findings from a qualitative field study. Themes emerging from the findings suggest that digital technologies have been important to the reordering of everyday life during the pandemic: videoconferencing have been instrumental in allowing urban residents to work from home, digital money has enabled workers in rural areas to continue financial transactions, and social media has been a source of news and rumours during the pandemic. However, the benefits of the digital reordering of everyday life are unevenly distributed. The themes emerging are used to frame a discussion of the notion of reordering compared to the concept of resilience within ICTD. © 2022 ACM.

Under Pandemic: Assessment of Ventilation in Secondary Schools in The Netherlands

To investigate the sufficiency of ventilation during the COVID-19 pandemic for school children, a field study was conducted in 37 classrooms of 11 Dutch secondary schools between October 2020 and June 2021. All the classrooms were visited twice, before and after a three-month national lockdown, when different measures against COVID-19 were taken by the schools. For each visit, both CO2 concentrations and air temperature were measured during school hours, and detailed information on building/classroom characteristics, occupancy, and COVID-19 measures was collected. Results show that before the lockdown, CO2 concentrations in most classrooms exceeded the threshold levels of the Dutch Fresh Schools guidelines. The significantly lower CO2 concentrations measured after the lockdown, however, were mainly due to the decreased occupancy. Moreover, with windows and doors always being opened on purpose, the performance of different ventilation regimes could not be compared, while such behaviour may also lead to thermal discomfort for school children. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.

Can't Touch This: Rethinking Public Technology in a COVID-19 Era

What do pedestrian crossings, ATMs, elevators and ticket machines have in common? These are just a few of the ubiquitous yet essential elements of public-space infrastructure that rely on physical buttons or touchscreens;common interactions that, until recently, were considered perfectly safe to perform. This work investigates how we might integrate touchless technologies into public-space infrastructure in order to minimise physical interaction with shared devices in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on an ethnographic exploration into how public utilities are being used, adapted or avoided, we developed and evaluated a suite of technology probes that can be either retrofitted into, or replace, these services. In-situ community deployments of our probes demonstrate strong uptake and provide insight into how hands-free technologies can be adapted and utilised for the public domain;and, in turn, used to inform the future of walk-up-and use public technologies.

Transparency of Public Information on the Websites of Municipalities as a Tool for Civic Auditing During COVID-19 of 2020

Access to public information is the basis for effective citizen participation and the strengthening of democracy. This research was conducted using a quantitative approach at an exploratory level, using a mixed documentary and field study strategy with the aim of presenting the transparency levels of public information in the municipal websites of different capitals of Ecuador during COVID-19. During July 2021, a questionnaire of 13 questions was applied, which consisted on two open and 11 closed questions, the latter with dichotomous and Likert scales. The sample consisted of 343 individuals. Among the most relevant results, the interest of citizens (62.10%) in using the municipalities' webpages to obtain information stands out;however, they express the limited availability of information as well as its quality (clarity and reliability), especially during the health crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the needs of the population (95.30%) for having means and tools that allow the different social groups and actors to have access to public information, in order to exercise effective participation and civic auditing of public affairs. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Does the social distancing measures impact collaboration in software processes?

Context: Social distancing measures to reduce the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic bring challenges for several organizations and their Information Systems (IS). Problem: Social distancing were suddenly implemented, with no adequate planning. Furthermore, there is not a clear understanding of the impacts of social distancing measures on the software development teams' work. Solution: This study aims to identify the presence and impacts of social distancing on collaboration between people, as well as on activities and technologies used in software development, from the perspective of professionals who work in software development teams. IS Theory: The research was developed under the aegis of the Team Resilience Theory. Method: A field study was conducted based on structured interviews and qualitative analysis. Results: In general, it was observed no impact on the software processes activities, although their performance was affected. It was also observed that the impact on the collaboration dynamics in software development was perceived in different ways, by several team members. This study identified the most common tools used by organizations, as well as the benefits and challenges of collaboration in software development after social distancing measures. Contribution: The impacts of social distancing on collaboration in software development were identified, reinforcing the Team Resilience Theory and similar study conducted in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study contributes to the Grand Research Challenge "Systemic and Socially Aware Perspective for Information Systems". © 2022 ACM.

Field Evidence of the Effects of Privacy, Data Transparency, and Pro-social Appeals on COVID-19 App Attractiveness

COVID-19 exposure-notification apps have struggled to gain adoption. Existing literature posits as potential causes of this low adoption: privacy concerns, insufficient data transparency, and the type of appeal - collective- vs. individual-good - used to frame the app. As policy guidance suggests using tailored advertising to evaluate the effects of these factors, we present the first field study of COVID-19 contact tracing apps with a randomized, control trial of 14 different advertisements for CovidDefense, Louisiana's COVID-19 exposure-notification app. We find that all three hypothesized factors - privacy, data transparency, and appeals framing - relate to app adoption, even when controlling for age, gender, and community density. Our results offer (1) the first field evidence supporting the use of collective-good appeals, (2) nuanced findings regarding the efficacy of data and privacy transparency, the effects of which are moderated by appeal framing and potential users' demographics, and (3) field-evidence-based guidance for future efforts to encourage pro-social health technology adoption. © 2022 ACM.

What do students need during Covid-19? A need analysis of augmented reality with STEAM worksheet (AR-STEAM) in electromagnetic induction

This study aims to collect initial information in designing Augmented Reality-based Physics worksheet with a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematical (AR-STEAM) approach. The research method used descriptive qualitative by collecting some field research information was carried out by sharing the viewpoints of 26 students (male N=3 and female N=23) who had studied the material of Electromagnetic Induction. Based on field studies using questionnaires, it is known that 69.2% of respondents enjoy learning by using visual media, 66.3% consider the concept of type induction to be very and difficult to apply in real life, 80.8% of respondents say they are happy if physics learning is explained in the form of three-dimensional animation. Therefore, it can be said that the STEAM-AR worksheet is needed in learning physics on the topic of Electromagnetic Induction. © 2021 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.