Technology-based interventions for promoting health behavior-change frequently leverage multiplayer game mechanics such as group-based competitions. However, health interventions successful for groups writ large may not always translate to successful behavior change at the individual level. In this paper, we explore the tension between group and individual success, based on an empirical study on a long-term real-world deployment of a pervasive health game for youth. We report five distinctive player types along the dimensions of motivation, behavior, and influence on others. Based on the findings, we provide design suggestions to help game designers integrate group-based mechanisms that maximize intervention effectiveness.

Technology-based health behavior change interventions involving passive on-body sensing and feedback interfaces show promise for increasing participation in physical activity. However, the majority of prior studies are small-scale interventions that heavily rely on research teams for programmatic support. In larger-scale deployments, participants may have to take over setup and maintenance tasks. In this paper, we examine the "hidden work" involved with the large-scale deployment of a behavior change application in American schools. We offer insight into the coordination required to maintain such deployments, and identify unique challenges that arise when schoolchildren are the target of a behavior change intervention. Our findings highlight the behind-the-scenes coordination and management work required of adult facilitators in order to support pervasive health interventions for children in school environments. We offer advice to researchers and project managers attempting integration of technology-based health behavior change applications for children.

In this paper, we present an entry for the 2011 MobileHCI design competition. Our aim is to define the "essence" of mobile communication and connectivity, and illustrate it via a design example called Spaces Without Faces, an application to locate quiet study spaces on a university campus. We argue that the essence of mobile communication and connectivity, no matter the form factor of the phone, comes not from the ability to make text and voice calls, but rather to use the phone as a device for obtaining information about resources in nearby physical environments.