David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 1

Class Research - Layar Twitter Findings

Throughout the semester, we collected and coded 264 unique tweets from Layar.

Based on the coding of the Layar Tweets from the class, I have determined the

frequency of the Tweet attributes that we coded for, and represented them in the charts

on the next page. Some of the most popular attributes were Tweets containing an

Instagram link (73.86% of Tweets), ones that named a location (70.45%), and Tweets

made by a Twitter handle that appeared multiple times in our research (56.82%). Some

of the least frequent attributes were Tweets about family (0.76%), weather (0.38%), and

illegal activities (0.38%).

The pie charts show comparative attributes. For “Time of Day Tweeted”, the time

frames are as follows: Morning (5am-12pm), Afternoon (12:01pm-6pm), Evening

(6:01pm-12am), and Night (12:01am-4:59am). Interestingly, the number of tweets made

by each gender was about equal (40% female, 38% male) from Tweets where gender

could be determined. The subject of most Tweets were about the present (73%), were

Tweeted during the afternoon (43%), and were Tweeted more than 500m from our

classroom (57%).

I also cross-referenced Tweet attributes to determine which attributes tended to

appear together. Of Tweets that named other people, 51.43% were Tweeted by

females, while 34.29% were by males. This relationship also held true for tweets about

health and sleep (54.55% female, 45.45% male). Tweets advertising a company had

several interesting results: 65.08% of ads named an event/time, 71.43% named a

location, 63.49% used a Hashtag and/or Emoji, and 63.49% were by a Twitter handle

that posted multiple tweets in our research. Most of the ad tweets were about
 Frequency
David Luria

0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%

Instagram
Named Event/Time

Female
Romantic Relationship

57%

38%
Near (<500m)
Pride/School Spirit

Male
Named Other People

22% 40%
43%
Health/Sleep
Illegal Activity

Tweeter Gender
Unkown
Annoyance

Far (>500m)
Full Name

Distance of Tweet from Classroom

Ad/Promo
Weather
Named Location
Reference to School
Mismatch between Handle…
Memory / Sentimentality
Sports
Tweet Attribute

Morning
Positive Emotion
Tweet Attribute Frequencies

Business

Past
COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research

Food/Drink

22%
Music

43%
3%
Afternoon
Hashtag/Emoji

Present

73%
14% 13%
32%
Multiple Tweets same Handle
Discussion of alcohol,…
Evening

Future
Photography/Art
Time of Day Tweeted

Tag of any Twitter Handle

Timeframe of Tweet Subject

Greek Life
Night

Family
Love
2
David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 3

the future (50.79%), which is the only category with more than one tweet where this is

true. For twitter handles that are not related to their name, 62.03% tweeted multiple

times. Tweets that used Hashtags and Emojis tended to be about positive emotions

(52.29%) and were by users that posted multiple tweets (55.96%).

One of the most prominent conclusions of this data is that Layar tended to pick

up multiple Tweets by the same Twitter handle over the course of the research. In fact,

this is true for most of the Tweets we collected. This is likely since Layar only displays

Tweets by public profiles, which likely biases towards users that Tweet regularly.

Tweets also tended to contain a location in the subject. This could be due to Layar

selecting Tweets that it can easily link with a location, or possibly that public profiles will

tend share location in their Tweet body. Most Tweets collected were more than 500m

away from the classroom, which suggests that the median distance of Tweets that

Layar collects is slightly farther than this.

From the cross-reference data, there are not many clear differences between

Tweets made by males and females. The ones that stuck out most, however, were

tweets about other people and health/sleep, which both biased towards females. The

use of Emojis and Hashtags was linked to positive emotions and advertisements. This

suggests that they are generally used to express positive emotions, which advertisers

could use to influence the emotions of their market. Also, most advertisement Tweets

were ads for events, which shows that companies use Twitter to advertise these, rather

than products or services alone. This suggests that Layar tends to be used by Twitter

handles that post regularly and can be useful for location-based advertisement, like

events.
David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 4

Individual Research – Research Questions

1. What effects does AR have on childhood development? What psychological

benefits/drawbacks does it present for children? The effect of technology on

children is something that has been studied for technologies like computers,

video games, and smartphones. Technology changes how children learn about

the world—for better or worse—so it is very important to study the effects that

new technology has on childhood development. That way, these technologies

can be used to help children, and their harmful effects can be minimized. AR can

be a great tool for children and open ways of experiencing the world to them.

2. What are the potential uses and limits of AR for advertisement? How can ads be

implemented in AR non-intrusively? Advertising is very important to the

development of AR because it will allow companies and content creators to

generate revenue easily, allowing the market for AR to grow. Intrusive ads can

make for a poor user experience though, so it is important to study the effects of

advertising tools on AR users. Advertisement must also consider laws such as

those separating private and public spaces and distractions (i.e. driving). I would

like to know how advertising has been used in AR in the past and potential uses

for it in the future.

3. What are risks, legal barriers, and potential implications in using AR for

transportation? What is preventing the widespread adoption of in-car AR? There

are many potential applications for AR for cars and transportation. Augmented

navigation is usually brought up; others include driving assistance (e.g. blind spot

detection) and augmented dashboard controls. However, before the

David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 5

implementation of tools such as these is attempted, there are many risks to

assess, such as distracted driving and the danger of over-reliance on these

systems. I am interested in exploring the legal considerations of AR-assisted

driving and the risks involved in using AR for transportation—not just for cars, but

for other modes like air and water travel.

4. What are the challenges to designing AR headwear that is aesthetically pleasing

and functional? What are the technological and ergonomic challenges? We

learned in class that one of the challenges preventing head-worn AR devices is

aesthetics. AR headwear does not look “normal” enough for widespread adoption

and I would like to explore why that is from the perspectives of ergonomics and

technology. This is important for the development of AR headwear because for it

to be widely adopted it must look good and be easy to use.

5. What technology is currently being developed for AR for senses other than sight?

In what ways can these senses be used? A lot of AR focuses on sight due to

many factors, such as consumer AR being mostly used on smartphones and

sight being the “primary” sense for most people. However, there can be a lot of

application for other senses in AR. Sound has been implemented in AR,

especially headwear such as the Hololens, but other senses could come into

play, like tactile AR or virtual taste. I want to explore how these could be

implemented through technologies like haptics or ear implants. This is important

for conveying more information through AR than sight alone can and opening the

door to immersion in AR. Integrating all five senses into AR could be the only

way to make AR feel like a part of reality for users.

David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 6

Annotated Bibliography

Research Question: What effects does AR have on childhood development? What

psychological benefits/drawbacks does it present for children?

Chen, Chien-Hsu, et al. “Augmented Reality-Based Video-Modeling Storybook of

Nonverbal Facial Cues for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Improve

Their Perceptions and Judgments of Facial Expressions and

Emotions.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 55, Feb. 2016, pp. 477–485.,

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.033.

In class, we read about using AR to encourage pretend play for children with

autism. Another important part of autism therapy is recognition of social cues. This

study attempts to use an AR storybook (ARVMS) to emphasize and direct attention

to social cues using video modeling on a tablet. Six children aged 11-13 with

autism spectrum disorder worked with a therapist to use ARVMS. This consisted of

the therapist describing social cues to the participant, and then using ARVMS to

expose them to it. The study found that children with ASD greatly benefited from

this system. The AR attracted their attention, while the video modeling successfully

brought their attention to important social cue videos which were augmented into

the story. This shows that AR can attract the attention of children with ASD, which

can often be very difficult. However, AR alone cannot direct their attention to the

right place. Therefore, AR should be used in conjunction with a therapist to ensure

full effectiveness in children with ASD.

David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 7

Cheng, Kun-Hung, and Chin-Chung Tsai. “Children and Parents' Reading of an

Augmented Reality Picture Book: Analyses of Behavioral Patterns and Cognitive

Attainment.” Computers & Education, vol. 72, Mar. 2014, pp. 302–312.,

doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.12.003.

In this study, Cheng and Tsai examine the behavior of 33 parent and child (mean

child age 7.85) pairs reading an AR picture book to determine their behavioral

patterns and the cognitive outcomes of the children. They do this by giving all 33

test pairs the same book, which has been augmented with 3-D models and sounds

using a smartphone/tablet application. The researchers looked for specific

behavioral patterns to determine whether the level of communication between child

and parent and the child’s involvement in the reading. They found that children

who dominated the reading and communicated with the parent had higher

cognitive attainment of the story. Also, the children interacted with the AR

functionality much more than the adults. AR, overall, was a catalyst for imagination

for the children while interacting with the content of the book. This shows a large

benefit for AR in child development and parental communication.

Radu, Iulian, et al. “Comparing Children's Crosshair and Finger Interactions in Handheld

Augmented Reality.” Proceedings of the The 15th International Conference on

Interaction Design and Children - IDC '16, 24 June 2016, pp. 288–298.,

doi:10.1145/2930674.2930726.

AR games can be beneficial for children, but they must be made to aid and

develop their cognitive skills. Radu used AR games to test children’s performance

using crosshair and finger interaction games, and games that either require or do
David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 8

not require physical perspective change. Thirty-eight children, aged 5-10, were

selected as participants. First, they were introduced to the AR system in a tutorial.

Then they played four games, each testing a combination of crosshair/finger

controls, and perspective changing/non-changing games. In the games,

participants had to select the correct objects using finger or crosshair controls. In

perspective changing games, virtual “funnels” were used to require participants to

find objects at the correct angle. The study found that finger controls were easier

for the children to use, and they performed worse and more slowly when

perspective changes were required. Also, older children tended to do complete the

games faster. This shows that, if AR games are to aid developmental psychology,

games that use touch-based controls and limit physical perspective changes will

be most beneficial.

Yilmaz, Rabia M. “Educational Magic Toys Developed with Augmented Reality

Technology for Early Childhood Education.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol.

54, Jan. 2016, pp. 240–248., doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.040.

Toys are an important part of developmental psychology because they allow

children to interact with the world and toys are becoming increasingly digital.

Yilmaz developed augmented reality children’s toys called “Educational Magic

Toys” (EMT) to observe the impression of augmented reality toys on 33 children

(average age 5-6) and 30 teachers. Yilmaz also looked at the children’s behavioral

patterns and cognitive attainment while using the toys. The toys are puzzles, flash

cards, and match cards that are augmented with 3D objects and flash animations

using a tablet. The children interacted with the toys individually, while also
David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 9

interacting with the teachers. When interviewed, both the children and the teachers

said they liked the EMTs and the teachers would use them in their classrooms.

The children interacted with the AR elements a lot, but they did not have high

cognitive attainment from using them. This suggests that AR grabs children’s

interest, but outside help (i.e. adults) are needed to help with cognitive attainment.
David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 10

Study Proposal

Research Question: What effects does AR have on childhood development? What

psychological benefits/drawbacks does it present for children?

Based on my literature review, the best way to study my research question would

be to have children interact with an augmented reality application to augment a book. I

could then observe behavioral patterns in the children and their cognitive attainment

from using the augmentations. Since I want to study the benefits and drawbacks of AR

on developmental psychology, it would be beneficial to have a control group of children

that use a non-augmented version of the book and a test group with the same book, but

augmented. I could then compare the behaviors and cognitive attainment of the groups.

The studies I analyzed had adults help children use AR objects in some capacity. To

test the effectiveness of this, I could observe children first read the book alone, and then

introduce an adult, a teacher, to help. This would help me understand the effects of AR

both alone and with a teacher to facilitate development.

Hypothesis: Literature on the use of augmented reality as a tool for developmental

psychology shows apparent benefits in using AR for reading and play for children. Many

studies look at the behavioral patterns of children using augmented objects to learn,

however, these studies often do not compare these with a control group interacting with

the same object, non-augmented. Also, comparisons between children with and without

adult help are rarely studied with AR. I predict that AR will attract children’s attention,

but high cognitive attainment will only be possible by interacting with a teacher. Also, I

predict that without AR, the child will be less inclined to interact with the book.

Therefore, the control group will overall achieve lower cognitive attainment.
David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 11

Method: In this study, children will read a book, either using augmented reality or not,

first alone and then with a teacher. Two groups of children will be tested: a test group

that receives a book and a tablet to augment the book, and a control group that receives

the same book but without the tablet. The book will be augmented using the app HP

Reveal. The test group will be instructed on the use of the tablet and how to interact

with augmentations. First, each group will read the book without adult interaction (still

supervised, of course). Behavioral patterns will be observed, looking for interaction with

the book and AR (if applicable). Then, each group will receive a second book. Now, a

teacher will read the book with the child. The teacher will allow the child to read the

book aloud, and guide them in interaction. Again, behavioral patterns and interaction will

be observed. After this, the children and adults will be interviewed to assess cognitive

attainment and usefulness of the AR, if applicable. The results of each group in each

situation will be compared to determine the effectiveness in AR in these situations.

For the participants, both children and teachers are needed. Ideally, the children

are already be comfortable with the teacher. Therefore, an effective strategy to obtain

the participants is to test a classroom, or a whole school. This way, teachers and

students can be easily paired. The basic test supplies needed will be the augmented

books. Each child will read two books, and these two books will be controlled through

the whole test sample. The books will be augmented using HP reveal. Obtaining these

supplies and augmenting the books should be simple once a sample size is determined.

The sample size and ages will be based on the classroom/school selected for testing.

However, an ideal sample size is 30 or more children. The children must be able to read

alone, so elementary-aged children are ideal for this study. The study only needs to be
David Luria COMM3032 Assignment #3: Research 12

done in one session, so repeat sessions or follow-up need not be considered except in

extraordinary cases.

This study will be useful in determining the benefits of AR alone in developmental

psychology. It will also help determine the impact of adult help with AR reading. This will

allow me to determine if AR can be used effectively alone, or if adult facilitation is ideal.

The goal of this research is to find the highest possible cognitive attainment in children

using AR as a reading tool. This will answer the question of what effect AR has on

development and its benefits/drawbacks.