by Andrea Paricio Hernares -

[Data Safety #5] Dark Patterns. Practical Examples

Good afternoon! I guess it was time for this series of two posts in which I finally show examples of what a good design and a bad design of the cookie window is. In this first post I have tried to select some cases that seem to me evidently malpractice, since they guide the user towards a specific option, biasing their choice when selecting their privacy policy.

These types of design are known as Dark Patterns, I will not go into further detail with them because my classmate Ana Mitterhauser is doing her research specifically about them. So, we go directly to show some of these applied to our specific topic:

Misdirection/Aesthetic Manipulation

This is the most common, it is a type of manipulation in which the design put the visual focus in the button “Accept all”, forgetting the rest of the options given. This can be done either by the use of color, size, font…

Examples:

  • Fandom: In this case the “OK” option is more prominent and guides the user’s eyes. In addition, shading the rest of the page inclines the user to that option since they believe that if they do not accept they will not be able to access the content.
  • The guardian: As in the previous case, the background darkens and blurs slanting the user. In this case the option of not accepting cookies differs more clearly with a different font (in lower case), without color highlight and placed in a corner of the page while the other option is in the center.

Privacy Zuckering

Perhaps the best known, it is directly the design that takes care of deceiving users to share all their personal data. Despite being regulated by law in this type of patterns there is no clear output for the user to not accept or modify the data policy.

Example:

  • Twitter: Informs you that cookies are used, but there is no option to adjust preferences, nor to give your explicit consent. Closing the cookie window on the top right button will be interpreted by the website as having accepted your policy.

  • AvePDF: informs you that the website uses cookies, however, does not give the option to accept or reject but directly from “okey”. The user is not informed that there is another alternative, believes that the only way to avoid giving their data is not to use the web.

Laberynth

Even in spite of all the examples above, once you pass the “first phase” in case you have chosen the options relating to setting cookies or reviewing the privacy policy another page will open in which you will be shown your options. Sometimes they have a more intuitive design and other times it’s a complete maze from which you don’t know how to get out or what you’re doing.

Example:

  • Speisekarte: In this case it is not only an initial aesthetic manipulation, but if the user clicks “Learn more” hundreds of different selection options appear in which he has to cycle one by one. It doesn’t sound a very interesting plan. Furthermore, the “reject all” button is virtually invisible for the user to continue with their initial decision.
  • NHS: In this other example, in case the user wants to customize their privacy policy, they are presented with a list of options that are already selected as “on”, in addition to not presenting a “reject all” button to make the implementation of the user’s decision more efficient.

Conclusions:

Once you have the habit of rejecting cookies by default, you are more receptive to finding many cases of questionable practices on the internet that do not seem to make life easier for the user but for the business behind the page. In fact, they succeed, and for many users, trading privacy is an acceptable cost for all the wonderful benefits that all those giants provide for nothing. However, not everything is negative, we can do something to change it and improve people’s lives, not only with regulations that protect the user but with UX/UI designers who design with the user in mind and create a relationship of security and trust between the brand and the user. We have in our hand the possibility of generating a more ethical and transparent design. In the next post I will give you examples and tips of how to do it.

That’s all for today, have you found any of these examples in your day to day?  I’m sure now that you know you won’t be able to stop seeing them!

See you!

References and literature:

by Antoine Dessaint -

MS Teams Interview

I create a survey for the IDK students about the experience of teams according to my last research about a usability review of MS Team. For this survey, I wrote qualitative questions to answer. First I asked them if they had ever used MS Teams at work or university, and to tell me about their difficulties and apprehensions. Then, I asked them about the different categories of tasks they perform within this software. And finally, I asked them a series of questions about the usability of this software, if it respects the usability criteria of Jacob Nielsen (effectiveness, efficiency, safety, learnability, memorability, satisfaction).

Partcipants

I made sure that the participants were part of my target audience that I had defined just before the survey. So I created it for IDK students. And these participants were between 23 and 24 years old following the Interaction Design, Media Design, and Information Design programs

Before using MS Teams

They have never used MS Teams before the FH Joanneum. This has led to some problems such as problems joining a team, uploading assignments to the platform, or even getting the wrong menus.

While using MS Teams

What kind of tasks are you mostly achieving?

What are the most useful tasks from the list (or not) perform?

Participating to lectures (5X), uploading assignement (2X), screen sharing (2X), easy to collaborate, creating meeting through the call, creating a meeting through the Calendar, download/upload folder.

What are the les useful tasks from the list (or not) perform?

linking application(3X), Creating a meeting through calendar, commenting during lecture, participate to online evaluation, upload folders.

What are the easiest tasks from the list (or not) you perform?

participate to lectures(3X), submitting assignement(2X), Sharing screen(2X), starting a meeting, adding people inside the lecture, writing a comment during a lecture.

What are the most difficult tasks from the list (or not) you perform?

Creating a meeting through the call(2X), Creating a meeting, Sharing screen, writing a message to a specific person, download recent folder.

It appears that the majority of students use the software to participate in classes, upload files and submit assignments. During online classes or other meetings, participants share their screens a lot and have the possibility to write comments. When it comes to the possibility of linking applications within MS Teams, their responses were nil.

Do you use other platforms beside of MS Teams ? Which one ?

So I imagined that if they had the ability to link applications, which ones would be more useful. So I asked them what kind of applications they use next to MS Teams?

After using MS Teams

Is the software perform the tasks you wants to achieve ? and why ?

Mostly yes, The users can perform easily the most basics task like attending a lecture.

Did you get some latency to learn the system and to achieve tasks ?

For some, they got a bit time to learn the system. They had several weeks to get the hang on it.

Did you encountered some problems or errors by navigating inside the system ?

Sometimes the system is a bit confusing (finding the right team for exemple) the user put some efforts to perform one specific task. And some of the errors are due to disfunction of the software.

Can the features make the tasks achievable without time and any effort ?

The answers are a bit middle, they somewhat spend time to realize tasks. Even they memorize the system, time and effort will persist.

Once the system learned, did you memorized how can you perform most of the tasks ?

Yes. After several weeks, they memorize how to perform tasks.

Are you satisfied by using this software ? ( Once using it, also about the visual design..)

They are all satisfied of the software, It is practical to follow course and interact with other people. The fact is that they are some design issues which leads to confusion. Fortunately, they can learn and memorize, but still resides with time and effort. about the design, once like the custom-able part, while the other doesn’t like it very much.

Conclusion

The results of this survey showed that MS Teams is practical and useful for attending online lecture or delivering assignments. All of the participants answered that they didn’t experienced this software, most of them took their time to accomplish task on it. Also, the problem of this software will still residing on time spent and the effort to perform one specific task. After all, the system is still learnable, the users can memorize the tasks they had experienced for a while to perform them. They all said satisfied about this software, it is able to perform tasks and to categorize an amount of information inside. Among the alternative solutions for online course continuity, it would seem that MS Teams meets the essential needs of academics.

by Raphaëlle Garnier -

Do nature feels ?

What similarities could be between us and nature ? Not the physical aspect for sure, maybe that we both breath, but what about communication and feelings ? Can nature also transmit messages and feel ? Or… even more !

A way of communication between plants – Internet of the forest

Do you know the “wood-wide-web” ? When you go in the forest, hidden under your feet, stands millions of mushrooms connections : the mycellium. Those thread-like strands connects the different mushrooms together, ut also have some connections with the tiniest roots of trees. This type of connection is called mychorrizal network and let the mushrooms trade some nutrients to the tree and receive sugar from it (1).

In addition to that role of symbiosis, mychorrizal networks also allow between different trees about drought, imminent insect attack, weather and so on. Some researchers as Peter Wohlleben (2) go even further and conclude that trees use the communications network to support each other, sharing carbon and “loaning” sugars between tree species, such as between conifers (fir) and deciduous trees (birch).

Anticipation – What if nature could have more senses than us ?

During the 60’s, the american scientist Cleve Backster waas known for his polygraph machine, that was a way of detecting lies by pulse, respiration and galvanic skin response. One day when alone at night in the office, he saw on his desk a plant, and he wanted to test on it the lie-detection machine. In order to get a response from the machine, Backster wanted to cause anxiety to the plant, to get the same state as an human lying. Then he thought about burning one of the leaves. But before he burns it, the machine registered a big response coming from the plant ! Backster was sure : not only had the plant demonstrated fear — it had also read his mind (3).

This can be a bit hard to believe, but some people tried to do the experiment on themselves and had similar results (4). So maybe plants are actually able of more than humans and can anticipate thoughts in a way.

Sources :

  1. The Mushrooming internet of trees, Jack Savage, Forest Society.org, 2018
  2. La vie secrète des arbres, Peter Wohlleben, 2017
  3. Cleve Backster. He talked to plants and they talked back, The New York Times Magazine, Josh Eels
  4. Plants have feelings (primary perception), video from Mythbusters
by Raphaëlle Garnier -

What is your relationship to nature ?

What is nature ? But, what is nature for you ? How do you interact with it ?

Those are some questions I was asking to myself, but moreover I wanted to have different answers than mine about it. So I did a few interviews to have some other opinions about the perception of nature.

I asked three friends : Andrea (24yo, Spain), Julien (23yo, France) and Ina (23yo, Taïwan) to tell me more about their relationship to nature.

I asked them the following questions :

  1. Can you draw/explain in your own words what is nature for you ?
  2. What is the strongest memory you have of you with nature ? What emotions did you feel ?
  3. How would describe your relationship to nature ? How do you perceive it ?
  4. How often are you in contact with it ? In what ways ?
  5. Do you miss its contact ?
  6. What do you think about how we treat nature nowadays ?

From those interviews, some common answers emerged.

Here are two drawings I got.

In none of them there are humans. The interviewees explained to me that for them, nature didn’t really includes humans. One of the reason is that everything that has been built by humans is not nature. Another answer was that nature was everything that is without human beings.

So only with this first question, I was able to see how in people’s mind, nature was a concept in opposition to the human society.

To the question about the memories, I got two stories talking about volcanos (in Iceland and Italy) and one was about the first time smelling odors of nature. It was the first hike she was doing with her family, and her father taught her that the things she could smell were things of the nature. This story was really cute because it shows how genuine children are and are curious about nature. As adults, we don’t really notice anymore the smell of nature.

Interviewees also agreed that nature was out of the cities. They were all urban people and contact with nature was really rare for them, or with “organised” nature as parks, flowerbeds, pets… But for them, it is also true that we couldn’t live entirely in the nature as past ages because it is too wild for us nowadays.

To the question What do you think about how we treat nature nowadays ?, they all tell me about ecological problems, and they were not satisfied about the current state.

Those interviews confirmed that I was right about the separation we make today between us and nature. It’s perceived as something appart from us. But unfortunately for me, none of them seemed to be really interested in being close to nature again. Why ? Maybe because nature is so excluded from our lives that we forgot it ? Or that we’ve freed ourselves from its boundaries ? There is something to explore about that question of the benefits nature is offering to us, or why we should be close to it again.

To go further, I should continue to do interviews, maybe with people form different ages (grand parents, children) or people that lives out of cities, or people that have really special relationship to nature.

Mindmap of the interviews
by Lucia Perez Diego -

“A very long Wait”

#The Topic

“One month after my episode I finally got the device, I wore it for 2 days, and then I gave it back. My doctor called me 10 days after, I will have to go through the process again because she needed more data. So… almost two months will be passed by the time I get a diagnosis. It’s a very long wait”.

This is one comment I got from one of the patients I interviewed. The feeling of being involved in a process that takes a lot of time to give a result back creates a feeling of uncertainty in the patient while waiting for a diagnosis. This can lead either to anxiousness or tedium depending on the patient’s personality.


The old-school Holter devices method of data transmission relies on the patient returning the device, downloading the data to the hospital, and analyzing it by the doctor. In addition to time, the effectiveness of the collected data is questionable due to the fact that these devices record information for two days in which there may or may not be heart rhythm disturbances.

New devices are testing the use of advanced algorithms that allow data to be recorded 24/7, offering clear advantages when it comes to making a proper diagnosis. In addition to this, they allow the possibility of comparing with other data already recorded from patients with similar indications, which can facilitate the analysis process.

The use of this new technology is not yet fully widespread, but it is obvious that this is the way that must be taken to increase the speed of diagnosis, facilitate the doctors’ work, and care about the patient’s mental health. Maybe the use of this type of new generation holters, which can be easily used by patients at home, combined with specific and occasional medical tests (if necessary) carried out in the hospital by more complex devices that can record more interesting data, is the recipe that offers both better results and better user experiences. But, could domestic use devices reach the complexity of hospital devices without leaving aside their comfort of use for the patient? Probably, but when? Is it going to be a very long wait?

Pocket ECG Holter Monitor | New Generation of Holter Monitors

by Alicia Martinez Lopez -

Kids and Interaction (VII): 125 Universal Principles of Design. Part 3. Another principles to have in mind.

As discussed in the previous post, it is again intended to mention principles that may be important for the design and organisation of children’s exhibitions. Although it is true that they all have a certain importance when designing a new project at any point. I will mention those that have caught my attention.

In this case, we will mention those principles that may be important, but are difficult to analyse, so they cannot be added to the data included in the database mentioned in post number III.

These principles are taken from the book Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design. Listed below are those that may be important to keep in mind when making interfaces for children, they will be organised in alphabetical order.

Garbage in – garbage out

This principle aims to explain the importance of getting the right input in order to get the right output. For this purpose, the use of warnings and confirmations when pressing buttons is recommended.

In the case of children this can be a way to avoid errors, as it may be easier for them to misinterpret the content.

Gutenberg diagram

A diagram that describes the general pattern followed by the eyes when looking to information. It will be important to keep this in mind in order to place the little information in an organised and understandable way.

3 Design Layouts: Gutenberg Diagram, Z-Pattern, And F-Pattern - Vanseo Design
Gutenberg diagram

Okham’s Razor

Implicit in Ockham’s razor is the idea that unnecessary elements decrease a design’s efficiency and increase the probability of unanticipated consequences. Adding unnecessary content can be distracting, especially in interfaces aimed at children. Children tend to click on everything (as we studied in post II), so avoid adding content that could be clicked on by mistake.

Readability

It is important to target the content of an interface to our audience. In this case, the idea is to target children (to reduce, children between 6 and 8 years old), so the ease of reading is very important, especially because of the amount of vocabulary that is understood by children at this age.

There are many formulas to check that a text is easy to read, in this case the Fry graph is presented, in which certain calculations must be made from a piece of text of about 100 words to determine the complexity of the text. In our case, we should focus on fitting levels 1, 2, 3 for children between 6 and 8 years old.

Fry's Graph
Fry’s readability graph.

REFERENCES

Fry, E. B. (1969). The readability graph validated at primary levels. The reading teacher, 22(6), 534-538.

Hernandez, A., & Resnick, M. L. (2013, September). Placement of call to action buttons for higher website conversion and acquisition: An eye tracking study. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 1042-1046). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., Butler, J., & Elam, K. (2010). Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design. Rockport Publishers. https://books.google.at/books?id=3RFyaF7jCZsC

by Alicia Martinez Lopez -

Kids and Interaction (VI): 125 Universal Principles of Design. Part 2.

This second part is a continuation of the previous analysis of the 125 Universal Design Principles. In this case, I will mention the principles that are easy enough to analyse so they can be included in the database generated previously in the post III. This ones were found in between the last 95 principles of the book Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design.

When reading the rest of the principles, I realised that a lot of them are useful, although difficult to analyse on site, especially without being able to access the exhibits in person and having to rely on texts, videos and images. Therefore, another post will be dedicated to mention interesting principles for children’s interface design.

The principles and the reasons why they might be interesting are listed below. Some of them will be grouped together because of their similarities.

Important for the exhibition organisation (physical space)

Entry point

The Entry Point principle aims to explain the best ways to give a good first impression of the exhibition. For this, both Points of Prospect and Progressive Lures should be taken into account. The aim is to achieve a good navigation of the space, so that it is not only easy, but also attractive.

The clear example shown in the book is the queues at theme parks, where not only the long queue is hidden, but on the way to the attraction there are various distractions (televisions, stories…).

Prospect-Refuge

Similar to the previous principle, the aim is to organise the space in the best possible way. To this end, what are called unobstructed views (prospects) and areas of concealment and retreat (refuges) are taken into account. A good space is one in which people will be able to see what is there without needing to be seen. It is about giving some privacy in a shared space.

In the case of children’s exhibits, you could create walls that resemble mazes.

Wayfinding

In this principle, many points are taken into account, such as orientation and decision making.

For a children’s exhibition, it may be interesting to allow them freedom of play and discovery, but there may be other installations that seek order, so a navigation map could be included to give the children a sense of adventure (immersion).

Immersion

In order to get the user to concentrate on the installation, it is necessary to distract them from the real world. That’s why the installations that provide the most fun and satisfaction are those that get the user out of the real world and into the adventure.

As previously mentioned in the Wayfinding principle, it can be interesting for the child to experience his or her own adventure with a map of the room included.

Storytelling

In order to attract users, it often helps to use storytelling, i.e. a story that brings the user closer to the content of the exhibition.

This detail can help the child’s immersion much more, as having a story that guides them through the different points could be a favourable detail.

Savana Preference

Related to the principle of Biophilia Effect (seen in the previous post), this indicates that savannah landscapes are usually preferred over other landscapes.

The book itself explains that this is a very common detail in the perception of children, who prefer more park-like spaces.

Important for the way of showing information

Highlighting

It is important how much text we want to highlight using highlighting methods such as bold, italics or underlining. However, it is important not to overuse this concept.

You can use methods such as colours, typeface or even the blinking effect (which is used more in lights than in text).

Legibility

In the same way, the text sizes as well as the contrast of the background with the text have to be taken into account.

This can be a difficult principle to analyse from photos or videos alone, but it can be reduced to questions posed in post III such as:
Is the text size large?
How much text is there?

Iconic Representation

This was an important point mentioned in previous posts, since when looking at interfaces aimed at children, they tend to take everything they see seriously. That is why special attention should be paid to the type of icon displayed. The most appropriate for children would be similarity (images that are visually analogous) and examples (commonly associated).

Picture Superiority Effect

This principle seems obvious, but it becomes even more important when addressing children. As discussed in post II, it is important to reduce the amount of text in interfaces aimed at children and increase the amount of images. In the end, images are remembered much more than text.

REFERENCES

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., Butler, J., & Elam, K. (2010). Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design. Rockport Publishers. https://books.google.at/books?id=3RFyaF7jCZsC

by Marlene Dirnberger -

#6 — WCAG

Howdy! This blog post provides a short and crisp overview of accessibility (design) particularly as it applies to web standards.  Accessibility is a topic that has been mentioned many times in recent entries, so it’s time to dig a bit deeper. The purpose of the entry is mainly to refer to existing standards, to have the possibility to retrieve direct links at any time. So let’s start.

As we heard before accessibility refers to the design of the environment so that it can also be used and perceived by people with impairments without additional assistance. Accessible design focuses on the outcome or end result of a design project. It’s based on accessibility guidelines published by various governmental and industry groups, which aim to make sure people with disabilities can access websites and other digital products effectively.

In terms of web accessibility, an important metric is the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards by W3C. WCAG are developed through the W3C process in collaboration with individuals and organizations around the world. The goal is to create a single common standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally.

WCAG documents explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities.

‘Web content’ generally refers to the information on a web page or in a web application, including: Natural information (text / images / sounds) and Code or markup (defining structure, presentation, etc.)

There are two editions of the specifications, each of which extends over several pages and describes individual cases in detail. Since it makes little sense to copy the content to this blog post, I hereby refer to the two versions for further readings:

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0; W3C Recommendation 11 December 2008: 
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1; W3C Recommendation 05 June 2018:
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/

Another useful guide is provided by WUHCAG — Web accessibility for developers, which also builds on the WCAG standards. However it is structures as a checklist with different accessibility criteria levels. Thus it makes a good starting point to adapt or start accessibility on websites.
https://www.wuhcag.com/wcag-checklist/

Nevertheless, I want to provide the most important points from the Guideline 2.1. which are divided into four basic principles for accessible web content.

Perceivable

  • Provide text alternatives for non-text content.
  • Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia.
  • Create content that can be presented in different ways, including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning.
  • Make it easier for users to see and hear content.

Operable

  • Make all functionality available from a keyboard.
  • Give users enough time to read and use content.
  • Do not use content that causes seizures or physical reactions.
  • Help users navigate and find content.
  • Make it easier to use inputs other than keyboard.

Understandable

  • Make text readable and understandable.
  • Make content appear and operate in predictable ways.
  • Help users avoid and correct mistakes.

Robust

  • Maximize compatibility with current and future user tools.

Each of these different principles have a success rating of either A, AA, or AAA. An A rating is the minimum requirement for having an accessible site and AAA is the gold standard of accessibility.

The Web-Zugänglichkeit-Gesetz (WZG) is the country-specific accessibility law in Austria, which builds on the WCAG standards. 

https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20010727

Accessibility is a team effort between designers, developers, copywriters, and content creators. To create an accessible end product, everyone must work together and design with the guidelines in mind. Thus to establish an holistic approach of UX, accessibility needs to be one of the pillars on which it is built.
Especially the discipline of Interaction Design indicates potential for creative design approaches of accessible products. Be it high-tech glasses that you wear to see or navigate, be it a smart way to hide your hearing aid, be it a flexible interface design for different user groups, etc.

Sources:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/134331461/Accessibility-Redesign-Maxim?tracking_source=search_projects_recommended%7Caccessibility%20ux
https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20010727
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrierefreiheit
https://siteimprove.com/de-de/barrierefreiheit/checker-fuer-digitale-barrierefreiheit-wcag/?utm_campaign=dach_fy20_ppc_accessibility&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_content=wcag&utm_term=wcag%20w3c&campaign_id=11124962525&ad_group_id=110140008158&ad_id=524505898076&match_type=e&target=kwd-635041431331&gclid=CjwKCAiAlrSPBhBaEiwAuLSDUAPZv0S-5s0rebzzUH8GkRadA1ETVrYNc7EFOTty8epQ2xeClh9evxoChIEQAvD_BwE
https://uxplanet.org/a-primer-to-web-accessibility-for-designers-2c548448c612
https://www.behance.net/gallery/102184455/Teman-Netra-%28ver-10%29-App-for-the-Visually-Impaired?tracking_source=search_projects_recommended%7Caccessibility%20ux
https://www.behance.net/gallery/79659409/LIBRANDO?tracking_source=search_projects_recommended%7Caccessibility%20design
https://www.behance.net/gallery/132043961/Axces-Accessible-Door-Handle?tracking_source=search_projects_recommended%7Caccessibility%20design

by Alexandra Samandarova -

Digital Activism / #1 / Introduction

Die Entwicklungen im technologischen Bereich haben in der Vergangenheit zunehmend an Umfang und Geschwindigkeit gewonnen und unser aller Leben in den letzten Jahrzehnten fundamental verändert. Die durch Technologie verursachten Veränderungen erfassen viele Bereiche, unter anderem auch das soziale Leben. Besonders die heute weit verbreitete Internetnutzung und das Potenzial der Web 3.0-Technologie führten dazu, dass soziale Bewegungen nicht nur an Bedeutung gewinnen, sondern auch erheblich größere Massen erreichen. Diese Entwicklung ließ auch auch neue Formen der Beteiligung an sozialen Bewegungen entstehen, welche zunehmend an politischer und sozialer Bedeutung gewinnen.

Im Zuge meiner Recherche möchte ich die verschiedenen Formen des digitalen Aktivismus, deren Werkzeuge und Entstehungsgeschichte, die damit zusammenhängenden Theorien, sowie praktische Anwendungen untersuchen. Der Fokus soll hierbei auf soziale Bewegungen gerichtet sein, die aus der Basis der Bevölkerung entstehen.

In diesem Blogeintrag möchte ich mich mit der Begriffsdefinition und der Klassifizierung befassen.

Unter digitalem Aktivismus versteht man politisches Handeln, welches sich elektronischer Kommunikationstechnologien bedient, um Inhalte und Ideen effektiv und rasch zu verbreiten und/oder Bürgerbewegungen zu koordinieren. Als Synonyme sind Cyberaktivismus, Internet-Aktivismus, digitaler oder Web-Aktivismus und E-Aktivismus bekannt. Manchmal wird auch der Begriff Medienaktivismus in diesem Zusammenhang verwendet, dieser wird hier aber bewusst nicht als Synonym angeführt, da es unterschiedliche Interpretationen gibt. Die eine bezieht sich auf Kommunikationsmedien (online & offline Print-& Videojournalismus, Social Media), andere wiederum auf unterschiedlichste Formen der Medienkunst.

Sandor Vegh unterteilt digitalen Aktivismus in drei Hauptkategorien: Bewusstsein/Interessenvertretung, Organisation/Mobilisierung und Aktion/Reaktion. Es gibt auch weitere Arten der Klassifizierung der Formen, wie zum Beispiel der nach Vertrauen zum Internet bzw. der Abhängigkeit vom Internet. So ist Hacktivism beispielsweise eine Form, die gänzlich online passiert, wohingegen Bewegungen wie “Occupy-Wall-Street” oder der arabische Frühling nur zum Teil online abliefen. Diese unterschiedlichen Formen werden in den folgenden Artikeln detaillierter vorgestellt.

Quellen:

Alperstein, Neil (2021): Performing Media Activism in the Digital Age;

https://eplus.uni-salzburg.at/JKM/content/titleinfo/2026586/full.pdf;

https://digimed.phwien.ac.at/?p=2377;

Kırık, Ali Murat; Çetinkaya, Ahmet (2021): Digital Activism in the Context of Social Movements: the Case of Change.org

Van Laer, Jeroen; Van Aelst, Peter (2010 ): Cyber-protest and civil society: the Internet and action repertoires in social movements;

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graswurzelbewegung

by Lucia Perez Diego -

Improving medical interfaces for patients

#The Topic

The Holter Monitor Interface is quite dated, bulky, and unintelligible. Patients do not feel involved in the process and do not understand what parameters are being measured.

In a world where technology users are more educated and informed than ever before, leaving patients out of the loop feels paternalizing. Making users feel disconnected from their own condition poses risk to their own health.

In the case of the Holter Heart Monitor, it is a much more advanced and capable device than the health wearables available in the market for consumers (e.g. Apple Watch, Miliband, Fitbit). But the interface in these wearables is more user-friendly and clear to inexperienced eyes.

Marrying the accuracy and depth of the data from the Medical Grade device with a tad of UX from the consumer–ready devices can help the patient understand what is going on in their body and be proactive towards a solution.

A better interface is the start of a change: From “patient”, by definition, waiting and passive, to an active player in their health status.

Garmin/Apple Watch/Fitbit