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Publications

Publications by HumanISE

2020

Assessment of wizards for eliciting users' accessibility preferences

Authors
Paulino, D; Pinheiro, P; Rocha, J; Martins, P; Rocha, T; Barroso, J; Paredes, H;

Publication
DSAI 2020: 9th International Conference on Software Development and Technologies for Enhancing Accessibility and Fighting Info-exclusion, Virtual Event, Portugal, December 2-4, 2020.

Abstract
Tailoring of the user experience to each individuals needs and preferences can lead to more accessible solutions. Adaptation has a key role on matching the systems characteristics with the user needs. This can be achieved with personalization (system-driven adaptation) or customization (user-driven adaptation). Personalization have good results on matching the user needs but raises concerns about privacy and how the information is retrieved. Customizations require that the user manually choose the preferences configuration. This article proposed two versions of a web wizard to elicit the accessibility preferences. One version was based on a quiz and the other one presented small interactive activities. The activities version was proposed to help reduce the burden of configuration by implicitly eliciting the user preferences through interactive small activities. The preliminary results with healthy participants suggest that both versions obtained a positive evaluation. However, there was no major difference between each wizard. The causes of these findings are discussed.

2020

Job Scheduling in Fog Paradigm - A Proposal of Context-aware Task Scheduling Algorithms

Authors
Barros, C; Rocio, V; Sousa, A; Paredes, H;

Publication
2020 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS AND INNOVATION (ICITSI)

Abstract
According to the author's knowledge task scheduling in fog paradigm is highly complex and in the literature there are still few studies on it. In the cloud architecture, it is widely studied and in many researches, it is approached from the perspective of service providers. Trying to bring innovative contributions in these areas, in this paper, we propose a solution to the context-aware task-scheduling problem for fog paradigm. In our proposal, different context parameters are normalized through Min Max normalization, requisition priorities are defined through the application of the Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) technique and scheduling is performed using Multi-Objective Non-Linear Programming Optimization (MONLIP) technique.

2020

Gait Pattern Analysis with Accelerometer Data From a Smartphone in PAD Patients

Authors
Renner, K; Filipe, V; Pereira, LT; Silva, I; Abrantes, C; Paredes, H;

Publication
2020 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON E-HEALTH AND BIOENGINEERING (EHB)

Abstract
Current research shows discrepancies in the gait pattern of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Some studies suggest a change in gait pattern after the manifestation of claudication pain while others found patients with PAD already show a pathological gait, even before the intermittent claudication arises, and no change once the pain manifests. This exploratory research examines what change in gait pattern can be detected once claudication pain arises with the help of an accelerometer embedded in a smartphone. This study aims to contribute to the development of a process to remotely collect accelerometer data in a mobile health application, which then can be used to analyze gait pattern in patients with PAD on a larger scale. The findings of this exploratory study show that processing and analyzing accelerometer data from smartphone for gait analysis is viable and establishes a methodology for collecting and analyzing PAD patients' data. The major limitation of this study is the small sample size that do not provide the necessary reliability of the findings, about gait pattern changes. Further gait data should be collected to help understanding the gait pattern of PAD patients and build an extended dataset to be analyzed at a larger scale.

2020

Non-verbal Aspects of Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: a CSCW Taxonomy-development Proposal Integrating the Presence Dimension

Authors
Cruz, A; Paredes, H; Morgado, L; Martins, P;

Publication
JOURNAL OF UNIVERSAL COMPUTER SCIENCE

Abstract
Virtual worlds, particularly those able to provide a three-dimensional physical space, have features that make them suitable to support collaborative activities. These features distinguish virtual worlds from other collaboration tools, but current taxonomies of the field of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work do not account for several distinctive features of virtual worlds, namely those related with non-verbal communication. We intended to find out how the use of an avatar, gestures, spatial sounds, etc., influence collaboration in order to be able to include non-verbal communication in taxonomies of the field Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Several cases of collaboration in virtual worlds are analysed, to find the impact of these non-verbal characteristics of virtual worlds. We proposed adding the concept of Presence to taxonomies of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and contribute with guidance for future taxonomy development that includes it as a new dimension. This new dimension of Presence is subdivided into "avatar" and "physical space" subdimensions. In turn, these are divided into "physical appearance", "gestures, sounds and animations" and "focus, nimbus and aura"; "environment" and "objects / artefacts". This new taxonomy-development proposal may contribute to inform better design of virtual worlds in support of cooperative work.

2020

A proposal for a 360 degrees information system model for private health care organizations

Authors
Magalhaes, D; Martins, J; Branco, F; Au Yong Oliveira, M; Goncalves, R; Moreira, F;

Publication
EXPERT SYSTEMS

Abstract
At a time when communication, new media, and digitalization are transversal to the whole of society, private health care organizations have the possibility of making their business processes evolve. The objective is thus to seize the benefits associated to the active use of patients' electronic health records (EHRs) as the basis for personalized health care. In order to initially validate the health care sector acceptance of a 360 degrees health care information system (HIS), focused on collecting patients' data to create the necessary knowledge for delivering personalized health care procedures and initiatives, a focus group involving a set of health-related professionals was performed. Despite recognizing the immense possibilities associated to EHR and its direct incorporation on a 360 degrees HIS, the referred professionals still highlighted their concerns relative to the maintenance of adequate security and privacy levels. With this in mind, a proposal for a 360 degrees HIS model is presented, and its main functional blocks are described with a focus on triggering patient/customer loyalty.

2020

BlockU: Extended usage control in and for Blockchain

Authors
Khan, Y; Ali, T; Fariz, M; Moreira, F; Branco, F; Martins, J; Goncalves, R;

Publication
EXPERT SYSTEMS

Abstract
An electronic business transaction among untrusted bodies without consulting a mutually trusted party has remained widely accepted problem. Blockchain resolves this problem by introducing peer-to-peer network with a consensus algorithm and trusted ledger. Blockchain originally introduced for cryptocurrency that came with proof-of-work consensus algorithm. Due to some performance issues, scientists brought concept of permissioned Blockchain. Hyperledger Fabric is a permissioned Blockchain targeting business-oriented problems for industry. It is designed for efficient transaction execution over Blockchain with pluggable consensus model; however, there is limitation of rapid application development. Hyperledger introduced a new layer called Hyperledger Composer on top of the Fabric layer, which provides an abstract layer to model the business application readily and quickly. Composer provides a smart contract to extend the functionality and flexibility of Fabric layer and provides a way of communication with other systems to meet business requirements. Hyperledger Composer uses role-based access control (RBAC) model to secure access to its valuable assets. However, RBAC is not enough because many business deals require continuous assets monitoring. Our proposed model, BlockU, covers all possible access control models required by a business. BlockU can monitor assets continuously during transactions and updates attributes accordingly. Moreover, we incorporate hooks in Hyperledger Composer to implement extended permission model that provides extensive permission management capability on an asset. Subsequently, our proposed enhanced access control model is implemented with a minimal change to existing Composer code base and is backward compatible with the current security mechanism.

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