The benefits obtained from home automation are promising and will become more pronounced as smart home technologies continue to develop. To achieve benefits, users require operational, data, and strategic skills to control and automate smart devices, retrieve and understand collected data, and make informed decisions. These skills were tested by providing assignments in a virtual test environment to 100 Dutch adult participants. The assignments were designed to measure different facets of all skills by using the functions, data, and automations of smart home devices. The results suggest that the Dutch adult population is not sufficiently skilled in using the smart home to its full potential; several skills related problems occurred in the tests. Furthermore, in terms of gender, age, and education, home automation further reinforces existing social-digital inequalities. Thus, earlier digital inequalities will remain present for some time, despite increasing device autonomy.

Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) is a multifaceted condition that arises from prolonged stays in an intensive care unit (ICU). While preventing PICS among ICU patients is becoming increasingly important, interventions remain limited. Building on evidence supporting the effectiveness of art exposure in addressing the psychological aspects of PICS, we propose a novel art therapy solution through a collaborative Human-AI approach that enhances personalized therapeutic interventions using state-of-the-art Visual Art Recommendation Systems. We developed two Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) personalization methods and assessed their impact through a large-scale user study (N = 150). Our findings demonstrate that this Human-AI collaboration not only enhances the personalization and effectiveness of art therapy but also supports therapists by streamlining their workload. While our study centres on PICS intervention, the results suggest that human-AI collaborative Art therapy could potentially benefit other areas where emotional support is critical, such as cases of anxiety and depression.

Nature experiences, especially the visual aspects of nature, have been widely used to facilitate relaxation. Fueled by digital technology, simulated visual nature experiences have gained popularity in creating healing environments that induce relaxation. However, while easily applicable, not all nature-imitating visuals lead to relaxation. How to effectively design relaxing visual nature experiences remains largely unexplored. This paper investigates how different nature qualities facilitate relaxing visual experiences and the roles of two personal characteristics (mood and nature-relatedness) play. Through an online survey and interviews, we assessed 16 nature video clips, representing eight distinctive nature qualities, and compared perceived experiences while considering the influence of personal characteristics. The results indicate four types of visual qualities (engaging, instinctive, ambient, and derivative) underlying nature-induced relaxation, and show that nature relatedness influences the degree to which nature video clips elicit relaxation. We discuss design implications for creating personalized digital nature.

This study examined data and strategic skill-related problems that activity tracker users experience and the extent to which these problems vary by gender, age and educational attainment. A performance test (N = 100) was conducted to study problems experienced during actual use of activity trackers. Video data of participants’ screen actions were analyzed by coding for skill-related problems regarding data retrieval and interpretation, and goal setting and decision making. The results revealed that both data and strategic skill-related problems are experienced by all users, but are particularly prominent amongst elderly and less educated users. Problems were mostly related to retrieving the correct data. Additionally, substantial problems were experienced in every facet of strategic use. Altogether, data and strategic skills are underdeveloped for the beneficial use of activity trackers. Moreover, the differences in the problems experienced among users cause widening digital inequalities.

This paper focuses on congruence among associations with banner advertisements and their host websites. Based on processing fluency theory we argued that congruence, as opposed to incongruence, increases processing fluency, which subsequently influences trust in the organization behind the banner. To test this prediction, an experimental study was conducted in which participants were asked to evaluate a mobile website, in which the product class of a banner advertisement and its host website were manipulated to be either congruent or incongruent. In conformance with expectations, congruence proved to affect trust behind the banner, and this effect was mediated by the ease with which they were able to reconcile banner and website (i.e., processing fluency). Alternative ways in which congruence may affect trust are discussed.