Child-agent interaction research has largely focused on automated voice agents, although privacy concerns and quality of interactions serve as a rationale for using teleoperated agents in some settings. Research on neurodivergent children's interactions with voice agents has largely focused on therapy and classroom contexts as opposed to home contexts. We conducted a remote case study via Zoom observing six families with neurodivergent children playing with a tangible, parent-operated voice agent at home for up to eight weeks. We used quantitative measures of agent utilization, qualitative analysis of video recordings, and parent survey responses to identify implications for teleoperation interface design for playful voice agents. Based on our analysis, we argue joint media engagement principles are applicable to a broader set of play activities, and teleoperated agents present affordances and challenges distinct from those of automated agents.

Pain is difficult to manage in older adults. Pain management in older adults has been recommended to include both nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic strategies. Unfortunately, nonadherence to pain medication is more prevalent than any other chronic disease treatment. Technology-based reminders have some benefit for medication adherence but is biased because behavior has been verified by self-report. The purpose of this study was to describe objective medication adherence and latency of medication use in a subsample of older adults that used a voice assistant reminder to take scheduled pain medications. This observational feasibility study was conducted in the homes of community-dwelling older adults. Of the 15 older adults using voice assistant reminders for pain medications, we randomly selected a subsample of participants to use a medication event monitoring system to observe medication adherence. We collected demographics, self-reported health history, and pain medication name, dose, and dose frequency. Baseline data were collected on pain severity and interference using the Brief Pain Inventory-SF; concern and necessity beliefs about pain medications using the Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire; self-confidence in managing pain with the PROMIS Self-Efficacy for Managing Symptoms and medication adherence with a Medication Event Monitoring System. Participants used pain medications to alleviate pain severity ranging from moderate to severe. Each participant had varying beliefs about pain medicines and self-efficacy in managing pain symptoms. Overall latency was 55 minutes. The absolute latency (before or after reminder) varied among the participants; the shortest average time was 17 minutes and the longest was 4.5 hours. Our results found that 15% of the pain medications were taken within 5 minutes over 60% were taken within 30 minutes. Voice assistant reminders may help cue patients to take medications, but the timing of use may vary. It may be helpful to monitor the absolute timing of scheduled medication use as a part of medication adherence behaviors in older adults especially when frequent dosing is prescribed. Adherence, Pain Medications, Older Adults, Reminders, mHealth, Voice Assistants

At the University of Washington, the RFID ecosystem creates a microcosm for the Internet of Things. The authors developed a suite of Web-based, user-level tools and applications designed to empower users by facilitating their understanding, management, and control of personal RFID data and privacy settings. They deployed these applications in the RFID ecosystem and conducted a four-week user study to measure trends in adoption and utilization of the tools and applications as well as users' qualitative reactions.

T he rapid proliferation of passive RFID tags in the past decade has given rise to various concepts that integrate the physical world with the virtual one. One of the most popular is the Internet of Things (IoT), a vision in which the Internet extends into our everyday lives through a wireless network of uniquely identifiable objects. Given numerous predictions that we’ll have hundreds of billions of RFID-tagged objects at approximately five cents per tag by 2015,1 we’re not only approaching such a world, we’re on its doorstep. In this type of RFID system, each physical object is accompanied by a rich, globally accessible virtual object that contains both current and historical information on that object’s physical properties, origin, ownership, and sensory context (for example, the temperature at which a milk carton is being stored). When ubiquitous and available in real time, this information can dramatically streamline how we manufacture, distribute, manage, and recycle our goods. It can also transform the way we perform everyday activities by giving applications current and detailed knowledge about physical events. This “real-life” context can unlock the door to various business, environmental, personal, and social contexts hitherto inaccessible to Internet applications. The incredible amount of information captured by a trillion RFID tags will have a tremendous impact on our lives. However, questions remain if we At the University of Washington, the RFID Ecosystem creates a microcosm