Empathic Accuracy and Mental Effort During Remote Assessments of Emotions

Observing users in remote settings is unfavorable because it adds filters altering the information that underlie judgement. Still, the COVID pandemic led to an unprecedented popularity of remote user experience tests. In this work, we revisited the question, which information is most important for evaluators to assess users' emotions successfully and efficiently. In an online study, we asked N=55 participants to assess users' emotions from short videos of 30 interaction situations. As independent variable, we manipulated the combination of the information channels video of users, video of the interactive technology, and audio within subjects. Our findings indicate that empathic accuracy is highest and mental effort is lowest when all stimuli are present. Surprisingly, empathic accuracy was lowest and mental effort highest, when only video of users was available. We discuss these findings in the light of emotion literature focusing on persons' facial expressions and derive practical implications for remote observations. © 2023 ACM.

Remote autism assessments - lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic: a service evaluation

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in health services adapting the delivery of routine assessments, with many operating remotely. This paper aims to explore the lived experiences of individuals undertaking remote autism assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods service evaluation was completed in an adult autism and neurodevelopmental service based in the north of England. A total of 24 participants, who had undergone remote autism assessments between March 2020 and July 2020, completed a questionnaire about their experiences. Thematic analysis was performed, and additional quantitative data were analysed descriptively to allow contextual information to be included. FindingsThe evaluation identified three main themes. The first, practical and sensory issues of remote assessment, indicated that internet connectivity problems were common and sometimes impeded a successful assessment. Additionally, participants identified some elements of the videocall impacted their sensory sensitivities. The second theme, emotional responses to remote assessment, demonstrated relief and exhaustion to be common following sessions. The ability to complete assessments from a safe space were favoured by most. The final theme, pros and cons of different assessment methods, highlighted the preference for video assessments above telephone and in person sessions. Originality/valueThis study provides an original contribution to the literature by gathering autistic adults' perspectives on remote autism assessments. The findings suggest that video assessments were the most preferable, over face-to-face and then telephone. Services should offer video and face-to-face assessments while keeping telephone assessments to a minimum.

Feasibility, Reliability, and Safety of Remote Five Times Sit to Stand Test in Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer.

Background: To determine the feasibility, reliability, and safety of the remote five times sit to stand test (5STS) test in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Methods: Consecutive adult patients undergoing surgical treatment for lower gastrointestinal cancer at a major referral hospital in Sydney between July and November 2022 were included. Participants completed the 5STS test both face-to-face and remotely, with the order randomised. Outcomes included measures of feasibility, reliability, and safety. Results: Of fifty-five patients identified, seventeen (30.9%) were not interested, one (1.8%) had no internet coverage, and thirty-seven (67.3%) consented and completed both 5STS tests. The mean (SD) time taken to complete the face-to-face and remote 5STS tests was 9.1 (2.4) and 9.5 (2.3) seconds, respectively. Remote collection by telehealth was feasible, with only two participants (5.4%) having connectivity issues at the start of the remote assessment, but not interfering with the tests. The remote 5STS test showed excellent reliability (ICC = 0.957), with limits of agreement within acceptable ranges and no significant systematic errors observed. No adverse events were observed within either test environment. Conclusions: Remote 5STS for the assessment of functional lower extremity strength in gastrointestinal cancer patients is feasible, reliable, and safe, and can be used in clinical and research settings.

Distance evaluation in translation: synchronous exam proposal

This article presents a methodological proposal for online assessments undertaken working from home during lockdown and the health emergency arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. This proposal consisted in designing and implementing an online and synchronous format for a final written assessment, based on the following three factors: enablers, deterrents and supervision criteria. The model was applied to two subjects of the undergraduate degree in translation and interpreting from the Universitat Jaume I (Spain), in particular in German to Spanish I and II translation classes. The results of the pilot test allow us to draw conclusions about the pros and cons of remote assessment in translation and could be applied to other translation courses or subjects in other disciplines.

The Assessment of Intelligence: What is Behind Us, Before Us and Ahead of Us

Scholars struggle to define intelligence, despite over a century of research on this topic. The definition of intelligence, and consequently its utility, depends on the theoretical orientation of the clinician or researcher. In this chapter, we briefly review the origins and development of intelligence testing and current theories of intelligence. We adopt a clinical neuropsychological perspective and explore the clinical applications of intellectual assessment today, as guided by the extant literature. We challenge the notion that intelligence exists as a unified construct that can be defined by a single score, and we explore the implications and limitations through a cultural lens. Finally, we discuss the future of intellectual assessment in the COVID-era and beyond. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Diagnostic Accuracy of Online Visual Acuity Testing of Paediatric Patients.

Background/Objectives: Remote assessment of children's visual acuity became necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess the extent of agreement between hospital-based clinical testing and clinician-led home-based testing. Subjects/Methods: 50 children aged 2-16 (median 8) years attending hospital eye services at two UK hospitals had routine hospital-based acuities compared with subsequent online, orthoptist-supervised home visual acuities. Agreement was assessed using intra-class correlation and Bland-Altman plots, as was test-retest (TRT) agreement of two, repeated home acuity tests. Results: Monocular acuities tested at hospital and at home were obtained from all 50 children; 33 also had binocular acuities in both settings and 35 had acuities retested immediately at home. Most children were tested at home using a computer or tablet; two were tested with a smartphone. No mean test differences were found for hospital vs home testing (-0.004 (95% CI -0.06-0.05) and -0.008 (95% CI -0.04-0.03) for binocular and monocular testing, respectively). Limits of agreement (LOAs) were ±0.32 and ±0.35 logMAR for binocular and monocular testing, respectively. LOAs for inter-ocular acuity differences (hospital vs home) were -0.15-0.25 logMAR. TRT monocular acuity agreement was excellent, with an LOA of ±0.14 logMAR. Conclusions: We found good (binocular) and excellent (monocular) agreement between hospital and home acuity testing. LOAs were in keeping with multiple changes between measures (test; setting; time; tester) and a cohort including patients as young as two years old. Even smartphone testing proved feasible. Inability of the supervising orthoptist to check test distance or device calibration/orientation was a limitation, likely contributing to the breadth of LOAs. Home vision testing is feasible and accurate, but its precision, acceptability, health economic impact and carbon impact require more attention.

The Concurrent Validity and Test-Retest Reliability of Possible Remote Assessments for Measuring Countermovement Jump: My Jump 2, HomeCourt & Takei Vertical Jump Meter

Featured ApplicationThe same tool could be used repeatedly to track the changes in CMJ performance. Average jump heights should be analyzed. Practitioners and sports professionals without extensive knowledge of assessment could self-administer CMJ tests using these devices.Mobile applications and portable assessments make remote self-assessment of the countermovement jump (CMJ) test possible. This study aimed to investigate the concurrent validity and test–retest reliability of three portable measurement systems for CMJ. Thirty physically active college students visited the laboratory twice, with two days in between, and performed three jumps each day. All jumps were recorded by My Jump 2, HomeCourt, and the Takei Vertical Jump Meter (TVJM) simultaneously. Results indicated significant differences among the three systems (p < 0.01). HomeCourt tended to present the highest jump height mean value (46.10 ± 7.57 cm) compared with TVJM (42.02 ± 8.11 cm) and My Jump 2 (40.85 ± 7.86 cm). High concurrent validities among assessments were found (r = 0.85–0.93). Good to excellent reliability of jump assessments was demonstrated (ICC3,1 = 0.80–0.96). Reliable coefficients of variation were shown in all measurements (2.58–5.92%). Significant differences were revealed among the three apparatuses while they demonstrated high intra-device test–retest reliability. TVJM was the most reliable, and average jump heights were recommended for analysis.

Stress-Coping Tweets Acquisition: A Two-phase Bootstrapping Method on Patterns and Semantic Features

Stress is integral to biological survival. However, without an appropriate coping response, high stress levels and long-term stressful situations may lead to negative mental health outcomes. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, remote assessment of mental health has become imperative. The majority of past studies focused on detecting users' stress levels rather than coping responses using social media. Because of the diversity of human expression and because people do not usually express stress and the corresponding coping response simultaneously, it is challenging to extract users' tweets about their coping responses to stressful events from their daily tweets. Consequently, there are two goals being pursued in this study: to anchor users' stress statuses and to detect their stress responses based on the existing stressful conditions. In order to accomplish these goals, we propose a framework that consists of two phases: the construction of stress dataset and the extraction of coping responses. Since the stressed users' data are lacking, the first phase is to construct a stress dataset based on stress-related hashtags, personal pronouns, and emotion recognition. In addition, to ensure the collection of enough tweets to observe the coping responses of stressed users, we broadened the survey's scope by collecting all tweets from the same user. In the second phase, stress-coping tweets were extracted by utilizing bootstrapping-based patterns and semantic features. The bootstrapping method was used to enrich word patterns for text expression and the semantic feature to assess the meaning of sentences. The collected data included the tweets of the stressed users identified in Phase 1 and the various coping responses from Phase 2 can contribute to developing a tool for the remote assessment of mental health. The experimental results show that our two-phase method outperforms the baseline and can help improve the efficiency of extracting stress-coping tweets. © 2022 IEEE.

A retrospective cohort study of telephone versus face-to-face clinics for the management of new otology referrals.

PURPOSE: To compare outcomes of telephone and face-to-face consultations for new otology referrals and discuss the wider use of telemedicine in otology. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study including new adult otology referrals to our unit, sampled consecutively between March 2021 and May 2021, seen in either a face-to-face or telephone clinic. Primary outcome measure was the proportion of patients with a definitive management outcome (discharged or added to waiting list for treatment) versus the proportion of patients requiring follow-up for further assessment or review. RESULTS: 150 new patients referred for a routine otology consultation (75 telephone, 75 face-to-face) were included. 53/75 patients (71%) undergoing a face-to-face consultation received a definitive outcome following initial review, versus 22/75 (29%) telephone patients (χ2 < 0.001, OR 5.8). 52/75 (69%) telephone patients were followed up face-to-face for examination. The mean (SD) number of appointments required to reach a definitive outcome was 1.22 (0.58) and 1.75 (0.73) in the face-to-face and telephone cohorts, respectively (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Telephone clinics in otology have played an important role as part of the COVID19 response. However, they are currently limited by a lack of clinical examination and audiometry. Remote assessment pathways in otology that incorporate asynchronous review of recorded examinations alongside audiometry, either conventional or boothless, may mitigate this problem; however, further research is required.

Remote assessment of ADHD in children and adolescents: recommendations from the European ADHD Guidelines Group following the clinical experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic led ADHD services to modify the clinical practice to reduce in-person contact as much as possible to minimise viral spread. This had far-reaching effects on day-to-day clinical practice as remote assessments were widely adopted. Despite the attenuation of the acute threat from COVID, many clinical services are retaining some remote practices. The lack of clear evidence-based guidance about the most appropriate way to conduct remote assessments meant that these changes were typically implemented in a localised, ad hoc, and un-coordinated way. Here, the European ADHD Guidelines Group (EAGG) discusses the strengths and weaknesses of remote assessment methods of children and adolescents with ADHD in a narrative review based on available data and expert opinions to highlight key recommendations for future studies and clinical practice. We conclude that going forward, despite remote working in clinical services functioning adequately during the pandemic, all required components of ADHD assessment should still be completed following national/international guidelines; however, the process may need adaptation. Social restrictions, including changes in education provision, can either mask or exacerbate features associated with ADHD and therefore assessment should carefully chart symptom profile and impairment prior to, as well as during an ongoing pandemic. While remote assessments are valuable in allowing clinical services to continue despite restrictions and may have benefits for routine care in the post-pandemic world, particular attention must be paid to those who may be at high risk but not be able to use/access remote technologies and prioritize these groups for conventional face-to-face assessments.

Contribution of Live Video to Physicians' Remote Assessment of Suspected COVID-19 Patients in an Emergency Medical Communication Centre: A Retrospective Study and Web-Based Survey.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on emergency medical communication centres (EMCC). A live video facility was made available to second-line physicians in an EMCC with a first-line paramedic to receive emergency calls. The objective of this study was to measure the contribution of live video to remote medical triage. The single-centre retrospective study included all telephone assessments of patients with suspected COVID-19 symptoms from 01.04.2020 to 30.04.2021 in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation of the EMCC and the characteristics of patients who called the two emergency lines (official emergency number and COVID-19 number) with suspected COVID-19 symptoms were described. A prospective web-based survey of physicians was conducted during the same period to measure the indications, limitations and impact of live video on their decisions. A total of 8957 patients were included, and 2157 (48.0%) of the 4493 patients assessed on the official emergency number had dyspnoea, 4045 (90.6%) of 4464 patients assessed on the COVID-19 number had flu-like symptoms and 1798 (20.1%) patients were reassessed remotely by a physician, including 405 (22.5%) with live video, successfully in 315 (77.8%) attempts. The web-based survey (107 forms) showed that physicians used live video to assess mainly the breathing (81.3%) and general condition (78.5%) of patients. They felt that their decision was modified in 75.7% (n = 81) of cases and caught 7 (7.7%) patients in a life-threatening emergency. Medical triage decisions for suspected COVID-19 patients are strongly influenced by the use of live video.

The Feasibility and Acceptability of Remote Videoconference Use of the Brief Developmental Assessment Tool for Young Children with Congenital Heart Disease.

Background: Young children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at heightened risk of developmental delay. The outbreak of COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns presented an opportunity to test the feasibility of using a short neurodevelopmental assessment tool-the Brief Developmental Assessment (BDA)-remotely via new technologies. Methods: We tested the feasibility and acceptability of remote testing of the tool's 6 domains of development with 30 children younger than 5 years with CHD and 10 healthy controls. Results: Despite some technical issues, parents largely responded positively to the use of the remote assessment as opposed to traditional face-to-face appointments, citing the beneficial saving of time, money, and childcare. Conclusions: The acceptability of the remote use of the BDA for the developmental screening of children with CHD will allow for the possibility of increased screening for more children and earlier identification of developmental problems, both during and after COVID-19 restrictions.

Digital Technologies in Orientation and Mobility Instruction for People Who are Blind or Have Low Vision

This paper investigates the tools and practices used by Orientation and Mobility (O&M) specialists in instructing people who are blind or have low vision in concepts, skills, and techniques for safe and independent travel. Based on interviews with experienced instructors who practice in different O&M settings we find that a shortage of qualified specialists and restrictions on in-person activities during COVID-19 has accelerated interest in remote instruction and assessment, while widespread adoption of smartphones with accessibility support has driven interest in assistive apps. This presents both opportunities and challenges for a practice that is traditionally conducted in-person and assessed through qualitative observations. In response we identify multiple opportunities for HCI research in service of O&M, including: supporting a 'physician's assistant' model of remote O&M instruction and assessment, matching O&M instructors' clients with guide dogs, highlighting clients' progress towards O&M goals, and collaboratively planning routes and monitoring clients' independent travel progress. © 2022 ACM.

Remote assessment: case study from Ukrainian higher education institutions

This study narrates the implementation of remote assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic education in Ukrainian higher education institutions, based on exploring the reflections of 600 students and 150 educators. A wide range of student and faculty members experiences from Ukrainian higher education institutions were aggregated and analyzed. The data were collected through the Google Forms survey. The research focuses on the challenges of remote e-learning assessment during the COVID-19 crisis encountered by Ukrainian educators and learners and the approaches adopted to overcome them: learning designs, technological solutions, evaluation systems, and academic integrity measures. The current study also looks at the currently used platforms and applications that can assist in enhancing academic integrity and reinforcing education during pandemics and the various technological interventions to teaching, learning, and assessing that have been introduced or continued in higher education institutions around the world, and how they may have helped reduce the likelihood of students committing misconduct during the pandemic's emergency distance learning. The major outcome implies that addressing the issues of online assessment, cheating, and plagiarism on multiple levels is necessary, including boosting student knowledge and ethics;overcoming the resistance of the conservative part of the participants in the educational process to educational innovations due to the relatively low level of their mastery of modern educational technologies;training teachers to detect cheating methods;and applying severe sanctions on those who engage in such practices.

Dr. Proctor: A Multi-modal AI-Based Platform for Remote Proctoring in Education

Technological advancements have enabled remote exams as a viable alternative to in-person proctoring. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions relied heavily on remote operation. The sudden shift exposed the weaknesses in available proctoring solutions, as pertains to fairness, economic viability, data privacy, network issues and usability. Moreover, whether they are equal in function to physical proctoring is questionable. Based on extensive research, we establish the system requirements and design for Dr. Proctor, a non-commercial solution that addresses many of the exposed concerns about remote proctoring.

Pros and cons of telemedicine: implications in cardiology and cardiovascular medicine.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vitalness of telehealth in our medical world, where considering a restructuring of healthcare services has become paramount. Indeed, in the context of this still ongoing pandemic, medical institutions must strive to improve telehealth technologies and implement solid future research directions in this growing field - to be able to persevere in meeting the needs of the patients. As long as no conclusive evidence exists regarding the fields where telemedicine is most worthwhile, healthcare systems will always keep the dread of wasting resources on developing ineffective programs. We gathered that telemedicine has been attributed a considerable attention in managing cardiac/cardiovascular conditions; nevertheless, further studies with solid designs are still needed to confirm its validity/utility within these specialties.

Academic dishonesty and trustworthy assessment in online learning: A systematic literature review

Background Academic dishonesty (AD) and trustworthy assessment (TA) are fundamental issues in the context of an online assessment. However, little systematic work currently exists on how researchers have explored AD and TA issues in online assessment practice. Objectives Hence, this research aimed at investigating the latest findings regarding AD forms, factors affecting AD and TA, and solutions to reduce AD and increase TA to maintain the quality of online assessment. Methods We reviewed 52 articles in Scopus and Web of Science databases from January 2017 to April 2021 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses model as a guideline to perform a systematic literature review that included three stages, namely planning, conducting, and reporting. Results and conclusions Our review found that there were different forms of AD among students in online learning namely plagiarism, cheating, collusion, and using jockeys. Individual factors such as being lazy to learn, lack of ability, and poor awareness as well as situational factors including the influence of friends, the pressure of the courses, and ease of access to information were strongly associated with AD. A technology-based approach such as using plagiarism-checking software, multi-artificial intelligence (AI) in a learning management system, computer adaptive tests, and online proctoring as well as pedagogical-based approaches, such as implementing a research ethics course programme, and a re-design assessment form such as oral-based and dynamic assessment to reduce cheating behaviour and also sociocultural and sociotechnical adjustment related to the online assessment are reported to reduce AD and increase TA. Implications Educators should adjust the design of online learning and assessment methods as soon as possible. The identified gaps point towards unexplored study on AI, machine learning, learning analytics tools, and related issues of AD and TA in K12 education could motivated future work in the field.

Preliminary Findings from a Telephone-Based Cognitive Screening of an Adult HIV Research Cohort during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: Few publications have documented the utility of in-home telephone-based cognitive screeners during COVID-19. This manuscript describes the adaptation of select face-to-face (FTF) neuropsychological tests to telephonic administration in a longitudinal cohort of people with HIV (PWH). Using the cohort's pre-pandemic neuropsychological data, we explore the utility of telephonic administration in this population. METHODS: Of a longitudinal cohort of 170 adult PWH, 59 completed telephonic medical and cognitive screenings with comparable pre-pandemic FTF data. Telephone screeners and FTF evaluations were compared using repeated measures ANCOVAs to examine whether test performance differed between administration types and levels of pre-pandemic cognitive performance. Individuals with pre-pandemic test scores more than a standard deviation below the demographically-corrected mean were categorized as "below average" cognitive performance (n = 23), and the remainder as "average" (n = 36). RESULTS: Over 90% of participants gave positive feedback about the telephone encounter. The average cognitive performance group scored higher than the below average group on all measures across both administration types. Telephone and FTF test scores did not differ significantly for measures of category fluency, letter fluency, and verbal learning. However, the below average group scored higher on a verbal memory measure administered via telephone compared with FTF. CONCLUSIONS: Support for telephonic adaptation of select FTF measures in longitudinal research is mixed, with verbal fluency tasks showing the strongest equivalency. When employed carefully with a clear understanding of their limitations, telephone adaptations can provide an opportunity to continue study objectives, promote equity, and monitor participant well-being during times of duress.

User attitudes towards virtual home assessment technologies.

Telehealth has long been highlighted as a way to solve issues of efficiency and effectiveness in healthcare and to improve patients' care and has become fundamental to address patients' needs during the COVID-19 pandemic; however previous studies have shown mixed results in the user acceptance of such technologies. Whilst many previous studies have focussed on clinical application of telehealth, we focus on the adoption of telehealth for virtual assessments visits aimed to evaluate the suitability of a property where a patient is discharged, and eventual adaptations needed. We present a study of stakeholders' attitudes towards such virtual assessment visits. The study has been carried out with healthcare professionals and patients and allowed us to identify user attitudes, barriers and facilitators for the success of virtual assessment visits from the point of view of healthcare professionals and patients. Finally, we discuss implications for designers of telehealth services and guidelines that can be derived from our study.

Emergency assessment: rethinking classroom practices and priorities amid remote teaching

Systemic disruptions from COVID-19 have transformed the assessment landscape in Canada and across the world. Alongside repeated shifts to emergency remote teaching, large-scale assessments and summative evaluations were cancelled in many jurisdictions, and repeated concerns were raised about ensuring equity and access to quality education. This paper investigates the rapid–and in many cases innovative–responses teachers offered to these challenges at the height of the pandemic. Drawing on prolonged semi-structured interviews with 17 secondary school teachers in Ontario, Canada, the paper provides a detailed account of Ontario’s approach to assessment during COVID-19, exemplified by participants’ lived experiences. Results highlight the notion of emergency remote assessment, the vital role of assessment in stemming widening equity and well-being gaps, and emerging consequences from this period. These data offer critical insights into the future of our forever-changed education landscape, and position classroom assessment as a priority player in this work. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.