Anne M. Faber

Bio: Anne M. Faber is an academic researcher from Indiana University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Persuasive technology & Web API. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 4 publications receiving 504 citations.

Chick clique: persuasive technology to motivate teenage girls to exercise

Abstract: We are developing a preventative health cell phone application that helps motivate teenage girls to exercise by exploiting their social desire to stay connected with their peers. We targeted girls because they are more likely to become less active throughout adolescence and are more likely to use dangerous techniques for losing weight. The intent of Chick Clique is to provide information at opportune times in order to modify the behaviors of girls and ultimately lead to improved health habits. Our study investigated how collecting, sharing and comparing personal fitness information impacts activity level and health awareness.

Encouraging physical activity in teens Can technology help reduce barriers to physical activity in adolescent girls

Abstract: Physical activity levels of girls decline dramatically during adolescence and may be a contributor to the increasing number of obese teens in the United States. Research has shown that social support is positively correlated with physical activity levels in adolescents, particularly girls. We present the findings from a three week field study of a mobile phone application designed to create a support group for physical activity within an existing social network of adolescent girls. Our findings suggest design considerations for technologies that encourage physical activity for this user group.

Mobile applications that empower people to monitor their personal health

Abstract: Researchers have an opportunity to develop assistive applications that empower people to change unhealthy habits through monitoring their behavior. Mobile applications can enhance self-monitoring by providing real-time feedback and employing persuasive technology. The projects presented demonstrate the potential of persuasive, assistive applications for both chronically ill and healthy individuals.

Revisiting web server workload invariants in the context of scientific web sites

Abstract: The Web has evolved much from when Arlitt and Williamson proposed the ten Web workload invariants more than a decade ago. Many diverse communities now depend on the Web in their day-to-day lives. A current knowledge of the invariants for the Web is useful for performance enhancement and for synthetic Web workload generation. Invariants can also serve as a useful tool for detecting anomaly and misuse, a new dimension of Web usage arising from the change in trust assumptions in the Internet in the recent years. Focusing on scientific Web servers, we revisit the Web server workload invariants and find that only three out of the ten invariants hold as-is. We investigate appropriate revisions to the invariants that do not hold and also propose three new invariants for scientific Web servers.

Persuasive Systems Design: Key Issues, Process Model, and System Features

Abstract: A growing number of information technology systems and services are being developed to change users’ attitudes or behavior or both. Despite the fact that attitudinal theories from social psychology have been quite extensively applied to the study of user intentions and behavior, these theories have been developed for predicting user acceptance of the information technology rather than for providing systematic analysis and design methods for developing persuasive software solutions. This article is conceptual and theory-creating by its nature, suggesting a framework for Persuasive Systems Design (PSD). It discusses the process of designing and evaluating persuasive systems and describes what kind of content and software functionality may be found in the final product. It also highlights seven underlying postulates behind persuasive systems and ways to analyze the persuasion context (the intent, the event, and the strategy). The article further lists 28 design principles for persuasive system content and functionality, describing example software requirements and implementations. Some of the design principles are novel. Moreover, a new categorization of these principles is proposed, consisting of the primary task, dialogue, system credibility, and social support categories.

Activity sensing in the wild: a field trial of ubifit garden

Abstract: Recent advances in small inexpensive sensors, low-power processing, and activity modeling have enabled applications that use on-body sensing and machine learning to infer people's activities throughout everyday life. To address the growing rate of sedentary lifestyles, we have developed a system, UbiFit Garden, which uses these technologies and a personal, mobile display to encourage physical activity. We conducted a 3-week field trial in which 12 participants used the system and report findings focusing on their experiences with the sensing and activity inference. We discuss key implications for systems that use on-body sensing and activity inference to encourage physical activity.

Persuasive System Design Does Matter: A Systematic Review of Adherence to Web-Based Interventions

Abstract: Background: Although web-based interventions for promoting health and health-related behavior can be effective, poor adherence is a common issue that needs to be addressed Technology as a means to communicate the content in web-based interventions has been neglected in research Indeed, technology is often seen as a black-box, a mere tool that has no effect or value and serves only as a vehicle to deliver intervention content In this paper we examine technology from a holistic perspective We see it as a vital and inseparable aspect of web-based interventions to help explain and understand adherence Objective: This study aims to review the literature on web-based health interventions to investigate whether intervention characteristics and persuasive design affect adherence to a web-based intervention Methods: We conducted a systematic review of studies into web-based health interventions Per intervention, intervention characteristics, persuasive technology elements and adherence were coded We performed a multiple regression analysis to investigate whether these variables could predict adherence Results: We included 101 articles on 83 interventions The typical web-based intervention is meant to be used once a week, is modular in set-up, is updated once a week, lasts for 10 weeks, includes interaction with the system and a counselor and peers on the web, includes some persuasive technology elements, and about 50% of the participants adhere to the intervention Regarding persuasive technology, we see that primary task support elements are most commonly employed (mean 29 out of a possible 70) Dialogue support and social support are less commonly employed (mean 15 and 12 out of a possible 70, respectively) When comparing the interventions of the different health care areas, we find significant differences in intended usage (p = 004), setup (p < 001), updates (p < 001), frequency of interaction with a counselor (p < 001), the system (p = 003) and peers (p = 017), duration (F = 6068, p = 004), adherence (F = 4833, p = 010) and the number of primary task support elements (F = 5631, p = 005) Our final regression model explained 55% of the variance in adherence In this model, a RCT study as opposed to an observational study, increased interaction with a counselor, more frequent intended usage, more frequent updates and more extensive employment of dialogue support significantly predicted better adherence Conclusions: Using intervention characteristics and persuasive technology elements, a substantial amount of variance in adherence can be explained Although there are differences between health care areas on intervention characteristics, health care area per se does not predict adherence Rather, the differences in technology and interaction predict adherence The results of this study can be used to make an informed decision about how to design a web-based intervention to which patients are more likely to adhere

Theory-driven design strategies for technologies that support behavior change in everyday life

Abstract: In this paper, we propose design strategies for persuasive technologies that help people who want to change their everyday behaviors. Our strategies use theory and prior work to substantially extend a set of existing design goals. Our extensions specifically account for social characteristics and other tactics that should be supported by persuasive technologies that target long-term discretionary use throughout everyday life. We used these strategies to design and build a system that encourages people to lead a physically active lifestyle. Results from two field studies of the system - a three-week trial and a three-month experiment - have shown that the system was successful at helping people maintain a more physically active lifestyle and validate the usefulness of the strategies.

Measuring and Influencing Physical Activity with Smartphone Technology: A Systematic Review

Abstract: Rapid developments in technology have encouraged the use of smartphones in physical activity research, although little is known regarding their effectiveness as measurement and intervention tools. This study systematically reviewed evidence on smartphones and their viability for measuring and influencing physical activity. Research articles were identified in September 2013 by literature searches in Web of Knowledge, PubMed, PsycINFO, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect. The search was restricted using the terms (physical activity OR exercise OR fitness) AND (smartphone* OR mobile phone* OR cell phone*) AND (measurement OR intervention). Reviewed articles were required to be published in international academic peer-reviewed journals, or in full text from international scientific conferences, and focused on measuring physical activity through smartphone processing data and influencing people to be more active through smartphone applications. Two reviewers independently performed the selection of articles and examined titles and abstracts to exclude those out of scope. Data on study characteristics, technologies used to objectively measure physical activity, strategies applied to influence activity; and the main study findings were extracted and reported. A total of 26 articles (with the first published in 2007) met inclusion criteria. All studies were conducted in highly economically advantaged countries; 12 articles focused on special populations (e.g. obese patients). Studies measured physical activity using native mobile features, and/or an external device linked to an application. Measurement accuracy ranged from 52 to 100 % (n = 10 studies). A total of 17 articles implemented and evaluated an intervention. Smartphone strategies to influence physical activity tended to be ad hoc, rather than theory-based approaches; physical activity profiles, goal setting, real-time feedback, social support networking, and online expert consultation were identified as the most useful strategies to encourage physical activity change. Only five studies assessed physical activity intervention effects; all used step counts as the outcome measure. Four studies (three pre–post and one comparative) reported physical activity increases (12–42 participants, 800–1,104 steps/day, 2 weeks–6 months), and one case-control study reported physical activity maintenance (n = 200 participants; >10,000 steps/day) over 3 months. Smartphone use is a relatively new field of study in physical activity research, and consequently the evidence base is emerging. Few studies identified in this review considered the validity of phone-based assessment of physical activity. Those that did report on measurement properties found average-to-excellent levels of accuracy for different behaviors. The range of novel and engaging intervention strategies used by smartphones, and user perceptions on their usefulness and viability, highlights the potential such technology has for physical activity promotion. However, intervention effects reported in the extant literature are modest at best, and future studies need to utilize randomized controlled trial research designs, larger sample sizes, and longer study periods to better explore the physical activity measurement and intervention capabilities of smartphones.