Marcela D. Rodríguez | Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (original) (raw)

Papers by Marcela D. Rodríguez

IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, 2004

Hospitals are convenient settings for deployment of ubiquitous computing technology. Not only are... more Hospitals are convenient settings for deployment of ubiquitous computing technology. Not only are they technologyrich environments, but their workers experience a high level of mobility resulting in information infrastructures with artifacts distributed throughout the premises. Hospital information systems (HISs) that provide access to electronic patient records are a step in the direction of providing accurate and timely information to hospital staff in support of adequate decision-making. This has motivated the introduction of mobile computing technology in hospitals based on designs which respond to their particular conditions and demands. Among those conditions is the fact that worker mobility does not exclude the need for having shared information artifacts at particular locations. In this paper, we extend a handheld-based mobile HIS with ubiquitous computing technology and describe how public displays are integrated with handheld and the services offered by these devices. Public displays become aware of the presence of physicians and nurses in their vicinity and adapt to provide users with personalized, relevant information. An agent-based architecture allows the integration of proactive components that offer information relevant to the case at hand, either from medical guidelines or previous similar cases.

Hospitals are characterized by a high degree of collaborative work, mobility, and information acc... more Hospitals are characterized by a high degree of collaborative work, mobility, and information access from many devices or artifacts. Healthcare environments are becoming ideal test-beds for pervasive and mobile communication technologies. In this paper we present the development of an agent-based mobile collaborative system to support the intensive and distributed nature which characterizes information management and collaboration in a hospital setting. We describe the methodology that was followed to conceive, design, implement and evaluate the prototype. The design is based on a grounded understanding of user needs and the identification of validated scenarios of use, which illustrate that collaboration in the hospital is highly based on a set of contextual elements, such as the location of people and devices and the timing of messages to be delivered. To facilitate the development of the system, we used the SALSA agent middleware which enables to easily integrate autonomous agents to pervasive applications. Finally, we present the results of a preliminary evaluation of the system.

Healthcare environments are characterized by the need for coordination and collaboration among sp... more Healthcare environments are characterized by the need for coordination and collaboration among specialists with different areas of expertise, the integration of data from many devices or artifacts and the mobility of hospital staff, patients, documents, and equipment. Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) enable us to meet these characteristics of medical environment. Ubiquitous computing environments are spaces where computational artifacts are invisible, become present whenever we need them, are adaptive to mobile users, can be enabled by simple and effortless interactions, and act autonomously to support users’ activities. We have proposed using software agents to implement these characteristics of a ubiquitous computing system with the aim of enhancing medical activities. Then, we created the SALSA middleware to facilitate the implementation of these agents for ubiquitous computing systems for healthcare environments. In our approach, autonomous agents can represent users, act as proxies to devices and information resources, or wrap a complex system functionality. The SALSA middleware enables developers to create autonomous agents that react to the contextual elements of the medical environment and that communicate with other agents, users and services available in the environment. We used the SALSA middleware for creating the Context-aware Hospital Information System. This chapter presents the SALSA middleware and how it facilitates the development of ubiquitous computing system for healthcare, in which the main systems components were conceived as autonomous agents.

The aging of the population is a phenomenon faced by most nations, such as Mexico, where 7.5% of ... more The aging of the population is a phenomenon faced by most nations, such as Mexico, where 7.5% of the population is older than 60 years, a significant proportion of whom live alone (10%). This fact is related with the ever increasing migration of one or more of their relatives, mostly to the USA. Our work aims to provide a technological solution that eases the isolation of elder people living alone in Mexico while their families are abroad. To envision and inform our design we interviewed independent old persons living alone. We propose an electronic family newspaper, through which elders and their families share information, personal reminiscences and cultural stories, and occasionally interact with each other. Through its functionality, the electronic newspaper enables elders not only to maintain close social ties, but ameliorate cognitive decline.

IEEE Expert / IEEE Intelligent Systems, 2011

The aging of the population is a phenomenon faced by most nations. Growing old is often accompani... more The aging of the population is a phenomenon faced by most nations. Growing old is often accompanied of a loss of close companionship which has been shown may aggravate the cognitive impairment of elders. From a qualitative study, key issues emerged regarding unmet needs of elders communication that we propose to address with web-based technology. We decided to create an electronic family newspaper to incorporate elders to the current social networks created by their younger relatives who already communicate through Internet applications, such as IM and e-mail. The system uses web-based technology to make it accessible from any web browser for those users living abroad. To serve the needs of elders and make the input of information easier, several autonomous agents help the user to interact with the system that can be accessed by any electronic display with a touch screen, such as a Tablet PC.

IEEE Expert / IEEE Intelligent Systems, 2006

Page 1. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 1541-1672/06/$20.00 © 2006 IEEE 55 Published by the IEEE Computer ... more Page 1. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 1541-1672/06/$20.00 © 2006 IEEE 55 Published by the IEEE Computer Society A gentsin H ealthcare Privacy-Aware Autonomous Agents for Pervasive Healthcare Monica Tentori and Jesus Favela, CICESE ...

This paper reports the development of a context-aware messaging system to support the intensive a... more This paper reports the development of a context-aware messaging system to support the intensive and distributed nature which characterizes information management and collaboration in a hospital setting. Our design was based on a set of findings gathered during a workplace study conducted in a hospital. We identified that collaboration in the hospital is highly based on a set of contextual elements: (1) the location of people and devices, (2) the timing of messages to be delivered, (3) the role-oriented nature of the work and (4) the artifact-mediate nature of information gathering. Those elements were validated and their support analyzed with hospital’s staff through a session where scenarios of use where created, refined, and evaluated. The results of this study allowed us to inform the design process of a context-aware architecture to support collaboration in a hospital setting. The architecture allows for the implementation of applications that respond in accordance to the context surrounding the activities performed at the hospital, thus enhancing information exchange, collaboration, and ultimately, decision making. In particular, we focus our attention on a context-aware messaging system developed on top of this architecture, and which allows health care workers to exchange messages that depend, for their delivery, on the status of people, resources and/or devices.

Page 1. Supporting Quality of Privacy (QoP) in Pervasive Computing Mónica Tentori 1 , Jesús Favel... more Page 1. Supporting Quality of Privacy (QoP) in Pervasive Computing Mónica Tentori 1 , Jesús Favela 1 , Victor M. Gonzalez 2 and Marcela D. Rodríguez 1 1 Departamento de Ciencias de la Computación, CICESE, Ensenada ...

Ai Communications, 2005

Healthcare professionals, working in hospitals experience a high level of mobility due to their n... more Healthcare professionals, working in hospitals experience a high level of mobility due to their need for accessing patients' clinical records, medical devices distributed throughout the premises, and colleagues with whom they collaborate. In this paper, we present how autonomous agents provide capabilities of intelligence and proactivity to healthcare environments furnished with ubiquitous computing and medical devices, resulting thus, in an ambient intelligence (AmI) system. Autonomous agents enable ubiquitous technology to respond to users' particular conditions and demands. To support the building of this type of intelligent systems, we created the SALSA development framework. SALSA is a middleware designed to support the development of AmI environments based on autonomous agents. We illustrate the facilities provided by SALSA and its flexibility to iteratively implement an AmI system for a healthcare application scenario.

Los ambientes de cómputo ubico se caracterizan por la diversidad de dispositivos a través de los ... more Los ambientes de cómputo ubico se caracterizan por la diversidad de dispositivos a través de los cuales los usuarios móviles pueden acceder a información y servicios. Los usuarios de estos ambientes requieren transferir información de su PDA a cualquier otro dispositivo, o viceversa. Para facilitar la implementación de esta característica en los sistemas de cómputo ubicuo, decidimos crear un componente de migración. La base para el desarrollo de este componente es el middleware SALSA, el cual permite crear sistemas de cómputo ubicuo mediante agentes autónomos. Para la implementación de la versión de escritorio de dicho componente, se utilizó la versión de SALSA basada en Java. Para la versión móvil del componente, se extendió la funcionalidad de SALSA, implementándole un subconjunto de clases desarrollado en el lenguaje de programación C# denominándole mSALSA (micro SALSA). En este articulo, presentamos cómo mSALSA facilitó la implementación del componente de migración e ilustramos su funcionalidad.

The proliferation of different computing devices such as handhelds and wall-size whiteboards, as ... more The proliferation of different computing devices such as handhelds and wall-size whiteboards, as well as Internetbased distributed information systems are creating ubiquitous computing environments that provide constant access to information regardless of the user's location. Handheld computers are being transformed from personal electronic agendas into mobile communication devices with intermittent network connectivity. Thus, these devices are becoming a natural medium to tap into an ubiquitous computing infrastructure. Not only do they store much of the user's personal information (contacts list, meeting schedule, to-do list, etc.), but they are always at hand, in sharp contrast with desktop computers. Handhelds, however, most often operate disconnected from the network reducing the opportunities for computer-mediated collaboration with other peers or computational resources. In this paper we propose the extension of an Instant Messaging and Presence Awareness (IM&PA) application running on a handheld device to interact with devices that come within reach of the user as he moves within a pervasive computing environment. Agents are used to represent the devices and appear as first class objects in the IM&PA system, which provides a consistent interface for the user to be aware of the status, and be able to interact with, both people and devices.

Page 19. Preliminary Evaluation of Ubicomp in Real Working Scenarios Pedro C. Santana 1, Luis A. ... more Page 19. Preliminary Evaluation of Ubicomp in Real Working Scenarios Pedro C. Santana 1, Luis A. Castro 1, Alfredo Preciado 1, Victor M. Gonzalez 2, Marcela D. Rodríguez 1, and Jesus Favela 1 1 Departamento de Ciencias ...

IEEE Computer, 2003

A collaborative handheld system extends the instant messaging paradigm by adding context-awarenes... more A collaborative handheld system extends the instant messaging paradigm by adding context-awareness to support the intensive and distributed nature of information management within a hospital setting.

Computers in Human Behavior, 2009

As in many Latin–American countries, in Mexico many older adults live alone as a result of the mi... more As in many Latin–American countries, in Mexico many older adults live alone as a result of the migration of one or more of their relatives, mostly to the USA. Thus, not only do they live alone, but they might seldom see these relatives for long periods, even though they often depend on them financially. With the goal of designing appropriate communication technology for seniors and their relatives experiencing this situation, we conducted interviews and evaluated scenarios and prototypes to reveal the practical ways they maintain emotional ties despite the distance. Based on those findings, we envisioned a communication system through which seniors and their relatives can maintain close social ties by sharing information, personal reminiscences and stories. We found that older adults perceived the system as a richer, natural form of communication with their relatives that could facilitate their integration into the networks that currently connect members of their families.

The aging of the population is a phenomenon faced by most nations. From a qualitative study, key ... more The aging of the population is a phenomenon faced by most nations. From a qualitative study, key issues emerged regarding unmet needs of elder's communication that we propose to address with a web-agent based communication system.

IEEE Computer, 2003

A, collaborative handheld system extends the instant messaging paradigm by adding context-awarene... more A, collaborative handheld system extends the instant messaging paradigm by adding context-awareness to support the intensive and distributed nature of information management within a hospital setting.

The proliferation of different computing devices such as handhelds and wall-size whiteboards, as ... more The proliferation of different computing devices such as handhelds and wall-size whiteboards, as well as Internet-based distributed information systems are creating ubiquitous computing environments that provide constant access to information regardless of the user’s location. Handheld computers are being transformed from personal electronic agendas into mobile communication devices with intermittent network connectivity. Thus, these devices are becoming a natural medium to tap into an ubiquitous computing infrastructure. Not only do they store much of the user’s personal information (contacts list, meeting schedule, to-do list, etc.), but they are always at hand, in sharp contrast with desktop computers. Handhelds, however, most often operate disconnected from the network thus reducing the opportunities for computer-mediated collaboration with other peers or computational resources. In this paper we present an extension to the COMAL handheld collaborative development framework to support autonomous agents that can act on behalf of the user. We discuss scenarios that take advantage of such platform and the design decisions that were made to implement it. The use of the framework is illustrated with the development of an agent that recommends talks within a conference, based on the context and the user’s profile.

IEEE Pervasive Computing, 2006

Ubiquitous computing is the method of augmenting and improving work practices and knowledge shari... more Ubiquitous computing is the method of augmenting and improving work practices and knowledge sharing, by making computers of all scales, available but invisible throughout the physical environment, while amplifying human-to-human communication. Personal systems, such as PDAs and cell phones, give users access to computing resources regardless of their location. Handheld computers are being transformed from personal electronic agendas into mobile communication devices with intermittent network connectivity. Thus, they are becoming a natural medium to tap into an ubiquitous computing infrastructure. However, handhelds most often operate disconnected from the network thus reducing the opportunities for spontaneous interoperation with other peers or web services, which is a desirable feature of ubicomp environments. Autonomous agents can enable spontaneous collaboration by representing users, as well as devices or services available through the Web, which has become an ubiquitous medium for information sharing. An agent acts on behalf of the user while he is disconnected, and represents services added to the environment, thus allowing the physical integration and interoperability of these entities. We present the SALSA framework, which allows developers to implement simple agents for ubicomp systems. These agents use an expressive communication language based on XML, which provides protocols for locating and interacting with Web services even when the user is disconnected.

IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, 2004

IEEE Expert / IEEE Intelligent Systems, 2011

IEEE Expert / IEEE Intelligent Systems, 2006

Ai Communications, 2005

IEEE Computer, 2003

Computers in Human Behavior, 2009

IEEE Computer, 2003

The proliferation of different computing devices such as handhelds and wall-size whiteboards, as ... more The proliferation of different computing devices such as handhelds and wall-size whiteboards, as well as Internet-based distributed information systems are creating ubiquitous computing environments that provide constant access to information regardless of the user’s location. Handheld computers are being transformed from personal electronic agendas into mobile communication devices with intermittent network connectivity. Thus, these devices are becoming a natural medium to tap into an ubiquitous computing infrastructure. Not only do they store much of the user’s personal information (contacts list, meeting schedule, to-do list, etc.), but they are always at hand, in sharp contrast with desktop computers. Handhelds, however, most often operate disconnected from the network thus reducing the opportunities for computer-mediated collaboration with other peers or computational resources. In this paper we present an extension to the COMAL handheld collaborative development framework to support autonomous agents that can act on behalf of the user. We discuss scenarios that take advantage of such platform and the design decisions that were made to implement it. The use of the framework is illustrated with the development of an agent that recommends talks within a conference, based on the context and the user’s profile.

IEEE Pervasive Computing, 2006