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About

About

Hugo Paredes (M) received B.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Minho (2000 and 2008), and the Habilitation title from the University of Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro - UTAD (2016). He was software engineer at SiBS, S.A. and software consultant at Novabase Outsoursing, S.A. Since 2003, he has been at UTAD, where he is currently Full Professor. In 2017 he co-founded Robocode Generation, Lda, a start-up company, UTAD spin off, where he is scientific consultant. During 2017 he was a visiting faculty at Human Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. He was Pro-Rector for Digital Transition and Administrative Transformation at UTAD from May 2021 to September 2023.

He is a Researcher Coordinator at the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC), he is Coordinator of the Centre for Human-Centered Computing and Information Science (HumanISE). His main research interests are in the domain of Human-Computer Interaction, namely the topic of Human-AI applied to climate change, accessibility, health and active and healthy ageing. He is a member of the J.UCS board of editors, was guest editor of four Special Issues in journals indexed by the Journal Citation Reports and collaborates with the organization of several international conferences. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 refereed journal, book chapters and conference papers. He is one of the inventors of a granted patent and a patent pending request. He participated and lead several projects, including national and international projects, with public and private funding.

Details

Details

  • Name

    Hugo Paredes
  • Role

    Centre Coordinator
  • Since

    01st June 2012
018
Publications

2025

Adherence, acceptability, and usability of a smartphone app to promote physical exercise in patients with peripheral arterial disease and intermittent claudication

Authors
Oliveira, R; Pedras, S; Veiga, C; Moreira, L; Santarem, D; Guedes, D; Paredes, H; Silva, I;

Publication
INFORMATICS FOR HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE

Abstract
This study presents the development and assessment of a mobile application - the WalkingPAD app - aimed at promoting adherence to physical exercise among patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). The assessment of adherence, acceptability, and usability was performed using mixed methods. Thirty-eight patients participated in the study with a mean age of 63.4 years (SD = 6.8). Thirty patients used the application for three months, responded to a semi-structured interview, and completed a task test and the System Usability Scale (SUS, ranging from 0 to 100). The application's adherence rate was 73%. When patients were asked about their reasons for using the app, the main themes that emerged were motivation, self-monitoring, and support in fulfilling a commitment. The average SUS score was 82.82 (SD = 18.4), indicating high usability. An upcoming version of the WalkingPAD app is expected to redesign both tasks - opening the app and looking up the walking history - which were rated as the most difficult tasks to accomplish. The new version of the WalkingPAD app will incorporate participants' comments and suggestions to enhance usability for this population.

2025

Virtual reality solution to promote adapted physical activity in older adults: outcomes from VR2Care project exploratory study

Authors
De Luca, V; Qbilat, M; Cuomo, A; Bianco, A; Cesaroni, F; Lanari, C; van Berlo, A; Mota, T; Pannese, L; Brandstötter, M; Arendse, M; Mota, V; van Staalduinen, W; Paredes, H; Iaccarino, G; Illario, M;

Publication
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Abstract
Background Insufficient physical activity is one of the leading risk factors for death worldwide. Regular exercise can improve physical performance and quality of life, reduce the risks of falls and depressive symptoms, and reduce the likelihood of cognitive decline in older adults. Virtual reality (VR) and serious games (SG) are promising tools to improve physical and cognitive functioning. As part of the VR2Care project activities, four pilot sites explored the capabilities of the VR environment in a remote psychomotor training with SG and a hybrid approach with local groups of older adults performing physical activity.Objective The present study aimed to explore and measure the impact on older adults' quality of life and physical activity of using VR2Care solution and the level of usability, satisfaction and acceptance.Methods The study is a mixed method study, using qualitative and quantitative surveys to evaluate quality of life and physical activity of older users, and usability, satisfaction and acceptance of the solution. The data collection is a mix of investigator site data entry and users' self-reported data through the solutions or through online and paper-based means. Data were collected at baseline and after a follow-up of 6 weeks. Data are expressed as mean +/- standard deviation (SD) unless otherwise stated. Within the group, baseline to end of observation differences were assessed by paired sample t-test. A p = 0.05 was considered significant.Results No significant improvements in quality of life and physical activity were found. Little improvement, although not significant, in physical activity was found, comparing the Total MET average value of users who participated in phase I and II, therefore using SmartAL and Rehability. Little improvement, although not significant, in physical activity applies in >= 76 population. Users' feedback on usability, satisfaction and acceptance of VR2Care is generally positive. VR2Care was appreciated mostly for its usefulness in managing physical activity and the capacity to influence the consistency of attending physical activity sessions as prescribed by doctors.Conclusion Our results suggest that randomized controlled trial will be needed to assess correlations between specific features of the solution and health outcomes.

2024

Cognitive personalization for online microtask labor platforms: A systematic literature review

Authors
Paulino, D; Correia, A; Barroso, J; Paredes, H;

Publication
USER MODELING AND USER-ADAPTED INTERACTION

Abstract
Online microtask labor has increased its role in the last few years and has provided the possibility of people who were usually excluded from the labor market to work anytime and without geographical barriers. While this brings new opportunities for people to work remotely, it can also pose challenges regarding the difficulty of assigning tasks to workers according to their abilities. To this end, cognitive personalization can be used to assess the cognitive profile of each worker and subsequently match those workers to the most appropriate type of work that is available on the digital labor market. In this regard, we believe that the time is ripe for a review of the current state of research on cognitive personalization for digital labor. The present study was conducted by following the recommended guidelines for the software engineering domain through a systematic literature review that led to the analysis of 20 primary studies published from 2010 to 2020. The results report the application of several cognition theories derived from the field of psychology, which in turn revealed an apparent presence of studies indicating accurate levels of cognitive personalization in digital labor in addition to a potential increase in the worker's performance, most frequently investigated in crowdsourcing settings. In view of this, the present essay seeks to contribute to the identification of several gaps and opportunities for future research in order to enhance the personalization of online labor, which has the potential of increasing both worker motivation and the quality of digital work.

2024

A Gamification-Based Tool to Promote Accessible Design

Authors
Lorgat, MG; Paredes, H; Rocha, T;

Publication
Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems

Abstract
The human population with disability is rapidly expanding, more than 15% of people worldwide suffer from a disability and, despite the availability of accessibility guidelines, the websites are still inaccessible. Moreover, professionals with knowledge of accessibility and design abilities are hard to come by. Therefore, the current paper addresses the introduction of accessibility to the Software Engineering students through AccessCademy, a gamification-based tool, in a fun way. The activity is delivered via a Web-based learning environment, that presents bad accessibility scenarios or failures based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and then encourages the students to solve them. Furthermore, a case study will be presented that evaluated the learning effectiveness of the tool in the context of a university course. The results demonstrated the potential of AccessCademy which offers students a fun and engaging way to learn about accessibility, to understand the importance of accessible design with WCAG and gain accessible design skills as well. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.

2024

Modelling Aspects of Cognitive Personalization in Microtask Design: Feasibility and Reproducibility Study with Neurodivergent People

Authors
Paulino, D; Ferreira, J; Correia, A; Ribeiro, J; Netto, A; Barroso, J; Paredes, H;

Publication
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2024 27 TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER SUPPORTED COOPERATIVE WORK IN DESIGN, CSCWD 2024

Abstract
Accessibility in digital labor is a research line that has been trending over the last few years. The usage of crowdsourcing, especially in the form of microtasks, can become an inclusive solution to support accessible digital work. Integrating cognitive abilities tests and task fingerprinting has proven to be effective mechanisms for microtask personalization when considering neurotypical people. In this article, we report the elaboration of usability tests on microtask personalization with neurodivergent people. The preliminary study recruited six participants with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and dyslexia. The results obtained indicate that this solution can be inclusive and increase the accessibility of crowdsourcing tasks and platforms. One limitation of this study is that it is essential to evaluate this solution on a large scale to ensure the identification of errors and/or features of cognitive personalization in microtask crowdsourcing.

Supervised
thesis

2024

A model for the individual empowerment using intrinsic personalization of crowdsourcing tasks

Author
Dennis Lourenço Paulino

Institution
UTAD

2024

A model for the individual empowerment using intrinsic personalization of crowdsourcing tasks

Author
Dennis Lourenço Paulino

Institution
UTAD

2023

Long-term effects of supervised exercise in peripheral artery disease, associated risk factors, and physical fitness

Author
Isabel Maria Luís Machado

Institution
UTAD

2023

Long-term effects of supervised exercise in peripheral artery disease, associated risk factors, and physical fitness

Author
Isabel Maria Luís Machado

Institution
UTAD

2023

Modelo de referência para arquiteturas IoT para melhoria da aceitabilidade do monitoramento inteligente de idosos com doenças crônicas

Author
Hércules Sant’Ana da Silva José

Institution
UTAD