Human Technology

Ecological and secure electricity microgrids - monitoring and forecasting challenges

Wiktor Wojciechowski — 2025-12-30

Reliable, low-carbon power systems depend on high-granularity, short-horizon forecasting, especially within islandable microgrids where consumers and prosumers shape real-time balance. Ultra-short-term (15-minute) forecasts support storage scheduling, demand response, and secure operation amid renewable intermittency and growing cyber risk. Forecasting approaches are classified into black-box, gray-box, and white-box methods, highlighting trade-offs in accuracy, explainability, and deployability. Operational use-cases are aligned with forecasting time scales, and current literature shows notable gaps: limited 15-minute multi-step studies, inconsistent evaluation protocols, insufficient attention to explainability, and restricted access to representative datasets. Design principles are outlined for deployable forecasting and control: standardised metrics and horizons, privacy-preserving data pipelines, explainability-first modelling, and transferable domain-specific hyperparameters. Addressing these gaps can increase renewable penetration, lower imbalance costs, strengthen cybersecurity compliance, and enhance resilience, delivering cleaner energy at reduced cost with higher quality of service. Researchers who want to support effective energy management technologies with their research should be aware of the current challenges.

Neurosociological perspectives on video games: A narrative review

Franz Coelho — 2025-12-30

This research explores the neurosociological dimensions of video games, focusing on their evolution, social impact, and neurological effects. Using a narrative review, we first examine their progression from playful activities to digital and connected experiences. We assess potential risks such as youth vulnerability, excessive screen time, lack of physical presence, gaming disorder, and aggressiveness. Conversely, we highlight positive aspects, including self-expansion, social play, flow states, excitement and relaxation, neurophysiological and psychological effects, and mental health applications. We further analyze gaming’s role in socialization, high-stimulation environments, disembodied interactions, and as a source of fun in modern society. Finally, we synthesize these themes through three key perspectives: the allure of screen flow among youth; the balance between digital and physical play for healthy development; and the importance of understanding both the risks and benefits of video games. This study frames video games as a cultural and cognitive technological force shaping human development.

Unveiling scholarly narratives on human technology: A structural topic modeling approach

Wojciech Jarecki — 2025-12-30

This study systematically maps the thematic evolution of human–technology research from 2020 to 2025 using Structural Topic Modelling (STM) applied to over 2,000 abstracts from the Web of Science Core Collection. The analysis identifies six dominant themes: Industry, AI and Sustainability; Education and Human-Centred Design; Public Health, Community and Equity; Robotics, HRI and Ergonomics; Philosophy and Ethics of Technology; and Clinical mHealth and Usability. The results reveal a structural realignment from pandemic-driven experimentation to institutionalised, interdisciplinary research embedded in industrial, clinical, and community systems. Thematic inequality declined while diversity stabilised, indicating a mature and balanced research ecosystem. Methodologically, the study introduces a reproducible STM-based workflow integrating Gini and Shannon indices. Empirically, it provides a data-driven map of cross-disciplinary convergence. Conceptually, it demonstrates that human–technology inquiry increasingly operationalises ethics and sustainability through design, governance, and applied practice.

Does video game playing stimulate mindfulness?

Óscar Díaz-Chica — 2025-12-30

The video game industry is a thriving sector where the effects derived from its consumption are studied, among other aspects. This research analyzes the possible incidence of commercial video games on the mindfulness trait of players. To this end, a survey was carried out on a sample, mostly Spanish, of 225 people aged 17 to 66 years. The measure used to assess the mindfulness trait is the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Among the main results obtained, the length of time spent playing video games is slightly and directly associated with a higher mindfulness trait among non-meditating players. On the other hand, a positive association is also detected between the greater experience with video games, except for meditating players, with the FFMQ dimensions: not-judging inner experience dimension (particularly strong correlation in ADHD players), describing and non-reactivity to inner experience dimension.

How serious are serious game assessments of reading and reading-related skills?

Riikka Heikkilä — 2025-12-30

Purpose: This study examined the validity of serious game–based assessments (SGAs) for measuring Finnish primary school children’s (Grades 1–4; n = 735) reading, spelling, and related cognitive skills. Methods: Performance in the digital SGAs was compared with corresponding paper-and-pencil tasks assessing word and pseudoword reading, sentence reading fluency, spelling, and underlying skills including phonological processing, rapid automatized naming, short-term memory, receptive vocabulary, and associative learning. Results: The SGAs showed good concurrent and construct validity for reading fluency, reading accuracy, spelling, rapid automatized naming, and vocabulary. The SGA tasks explained 72–80% of the variance in traditional reading fluency measures and 51–66% in reading accuracy. Conclusions: The findings indicate that serious game–based assessments provide a valid and engaging alternative to traditional literacy assessment tools. Implications for digital assessment and intervention in reading development are discussed.

Student satisfaction as a mediator between administrative e-system quality and university reputation: An empirical analysis from Poland

Waldemar Rydzak — 2025-12-30

This study examines how administrative e-system quality influences student satisfaction and university reputation, addressing a research gap: most studies analyse the reverse relationship, where reputation drives satisfaction, and rarely consider administrative e-systems. Drawing on survey data from nearly 7,500 students at Polish universities collected in 2019 and 2020, eight features were evaluated - functionality, implementation, intuitiveness, interface layout, responsiveness/speed, reliability and availability, security and data protection, and mobile accessibility - using regression and Structural Equation Modelling. In 2019, satisfaction mediated the relationship between e-system quality and reputation. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this mediation weakened, while direct effects of functionality and reliability on reputation strengthened, reflecting a shift from satisfaction-based to performance-based evaluations. Security also influenced reputation more strongly than satisfaction. Factor analysis grouped the eight indicators into three latent dimensions. Findings demonstrate that administrative e-systems, often overlooked, play a strategic role in shaping both satisfaction and reputation.

Human factors in PropTech adoption: Professional readiness and organisational challenges in Baltic real estate

Nerija Banaitiene — 2025-12-30

This study examines the human and organisational factors influencing the adoption of property technology (PropTech) among real estate professionals in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia). Adopting a Human-Technology-Organisation (HTO) perspective, the research explores how professionals integrate digital tools into their daily work. Data collected via a questionnaire survey of 20 Baltic real estate executives was analysed using the Relative Importance Index (RII). The findings reveal that PropTech is primarily utilised for people-intensive functions, such as marketing, customer relations and contract administration. It serves to augment human interaction rather than replace it. The most significant barriers to adoption were found to be primarily human- and knowledge-based, including insufficient investment capital, legal ambiguity and, critically, low PropTech knowledge among employees. This knowledge deficit creates uncertainty among staff regarding the proper use of digital tools. Theoretically, the study emphasises that adoption of advanced technologies is strongly moderated by personnel availability, professional knowledge and learning processes rather than technology level itself. In practice, the results highlight the urgent need for real estate industry HR and training departments to address this knowledge gap through targeted training, knowledge transfer and dissemination of best practice. Furthermore, policy should prioritise aligning PropTech investment with human capital development.

The impact of artificial intelligence on task performance and decision-making: Empirical evidence on generation Z

Adam P. Balcerzak — 2025-12-30

This study examines how generative artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes task performance, decision-making, and evaluative judgement in higher education assessments, with a focus on emerging human-AI assemblages among Generation Z university students. A controlled three-stage scenario-based experiment was conducted with the same cohort of students of business and economics, comparing a baseline session (no AI), independent reasoning (no AI), and identical AI-assisted conditions. Participants completed tasks involving situational judgment, quantitative reasoning, and short written responses. Results reveal that AI access increased average performance but markedly compressed score variance and reduced internal reliability, undermining the assessment’s diagnostic capacity to differentiate independent abilities. Qualitative findings indicate that students perceived non-AI conditions as more cognitively effortful and educationally valuable, with AI shifting agency toward tool management and oversight. Together, these results highlight how AI redistributes agency in assessment, raising questions about responsibility and validity in sociotechnical contexts. Based on these insights, the study recommends hybrid assessment designs that separately evaluate independent reasoning and AI-augmented performance, incorporating reflective components to render distributed agency visible and preserve evaluative judgement.

Conditions for the acceptance of advertising content generated by generative artificial intelligence

Łukasz Sułkowski — 2025-12-30

The dynamic development of GenAI tools and their growing availability suggest that this technology will play an increasingly important role in marketing, particularly in advertising. It redefines not only the way advertising materials are created, but also their visual, linguistic and narrative form, which is important for how they are perceived, evaluated and accepted by consumers. Furthermore, despite its numerous benefits, it is associated with a number of challenges that may be of significant importance to consumers. This article aims to identify the factors that determine the level of social acceptance of advertising materials generated using GenAI tools. The research process utilised the meta-UTAUT model, expanded with additional variables: hedonistic motivation, trust and habit, which in the context of advertising materials may play a significant role in the process of forming attitudes and behavioural intentions towards the use of generative AI. The results obtained are important both in the context of further research on the acceptance of this technology and the effects of its work, including in the advertising sector, as well as for practitioners operating in this market.

The role of government AI readiness in shaping renewable electricity capacity and output

Serhiy Lyeonov — 2025-12-30

The accelerating energy transition increasingly depends on human–AI interaction in government, how public agencies, regulators, and system operators use AI to plan, permit, and manage renewable integration while maintaining reliability. This study examines whether Government AI Readiness is associated with renewable electricity development, distinguishing between installed capacity and total generation. An unbalanced panel of 179–183 countries (2020–2024) combines Government AI Readiness Index scores with renewable capacity and generation data and GDP per capita (IRENA/World Bank), analysed using transformed variables, diagnostics, and fixed/random effects panel models in R. Government AI Readiness is positively and significantly linked to total installed renewable capacity; in the FE model, a one-point increase in AI readiness is associated with ~0.017 higher log installed capacity (p < 0.001). No significant association is found for total renewable generation, implying that AI-ready governance may accelerate infrastructure rollout without automatically increasing output due to operational, infrastructural, or climatic constraints.

Digital technologies supporting predictive healthcare: Review of research trends

George Lăzăroiu — 2025-12-30

This study examines research trends in digital technologies supporting predictive healthcare, with particular attention to the role of digital twins. A structured bibliometric analysis combined with qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using publications indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases from 2015 to 2025. The results indicate a clear shift towards integrated, data-driven healthcare solutions, in which digital twins function as central frameworks linking artificial intelligence, machine learning and Internet of Medical Things technologies. Three emerging thematic areas were identified: integrated patient data ecosystems, predictive and preventive digital twins, and digital twin–based treatment planning and patient response simulation. The findings highlight increasing interest in personalised, predictive and simulation-oriented healthcare models. At the same time, the analysis reveals a gap between technological development and routine clinical implementation. The study contributes to a clearer understanding of the evolving structure of this research field and outlines directions for future research and application in predictive healthcare.

Social influence as a determinant of mobile application acceptance across generations: A Polish perspective

Magdalena Kowalska — 2025-12-30

The widespread diffusion of mobile devices has made mobile applications an integral part of everyday life across age groups. Although prior research has consistently identified social influence (SI) as an important determinant of technology acceptance, its role across different generations remains insufficiently examined in the context of mobile applications. This study investigates the impact of social influence on behavioural intention to use mobile applications among four generational cohorts: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z. The analysis is based on data from a nationwide CAWI survey conducted in Poland (N = 2,400; 600 respondents per generation). Reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, linear regression, and comparative statistical tests were applied. The results show that social influence is a significant predictor of behavioural intention in all generational groups. However, no statistically significant differences are observed in the strength of the SI–BI relationship across generations. At the same time, significant differences emerge in perceived levels of social influence, with Baby Boomers reporting higher mean values than younger cohorts. The findings highlight generational differences in the perceived relevance of social influence rather than in its behavioural impact, contributing to research on human–technology interaction.