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Google’s Instant Apps and Apple’s App Clips are technologies that enable small segments of full scale apps to run on a mobile device, without needing to have the app installed. By restricting the size of these segments, they are able to download and run almost instantly. Marketed as an effective way to order food, rent bikes, and pay for parking, the technology has not been widely adopted. Furthermore, publicly available research on the topic is very limited. In this study, attitudes towards Instant Apps and App Clips found in user submitted posts on Reddit were examined. By conducting a sentiment analysis, the aim is to gain insight into how the opinions on these technologies have changed over time since their introduction. The results show that the sentiment has become slightly more positive over time. Additionally, differences in sentiment between the two technologies were found, but the limited number of data rows prevent the possibility of drawing reliable conclusions on this. / Googles Instant Apps och Apples App Clips är teknologier som möjliggör att små segment av mobilapplikationer i fullstorlek kan köras på en enhet utan att enheten behöver ha applikationen installerad. Genom att storleken på dessa segment begränsas kan de laddas ned och köras nästan omedelbart. Tekniken marknadsförs som ett smidigt och effektivt sätt att t.ex. beställa mat, hyra cyklar eller betala för parkering. Dock har den adopterats i låg grad. Mängden tillgänglig forskning på dessa teknologier är mycket begränsad. I denna studie undersöks attityder gentemot Instant Apps och App Clips så som de representeras i användarinlägg på Reddit. Genom sentimentanalys ämnas att få insikt om hur åsikterna kring dessa teknologier förändrats sedan de offentliggjordes på marknaden. Resultatet visar att sentimentet blivit något mer positivt över tid. Skillnader mellan sentimentet för de olika teknologierna hittades också, men tillförlitliga slutsatser om detta kan dock inte dras på grund av den begränsade datamängden.

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Innovative mobile Endgeräte und Applikationen durchdringen nicht mehr nur das Berufs- und Privatleben, sondern finden auch zunehmend Einsatz in der Aus- und Fortbildung. Dies gilt sowohl in Hinblick auf das „Lifelong Learning“ als auch in der schulischen und universitären Ausbildung. Neue Regelungen zu Bachelor- und Masterprogrammen, Lehrformen wie Gruppenarbeiten und die zunehmende Mobilität der Studierenden verlangen nach neuen Lernmedien und Lehrkonzepten, die es ermöglichen, bisherige Lehrlaufzeiten im Studium sinnvoll zu nutzen. (...)

Les applications de suivi du cycle menstruel sont aujourd’hui utilisées par des millions de personnes dans le monde. Elles permettent de soutenir et d’aider le suivi des menstruations, de garder des traces des cycles précédents, et de rapporter une variété de symptômes reliés. Les usager·ère·s de ces applications partagent avec les entreprises propriétaires des données sensibles et personnelles sur leur corps et sur leurs ressentis. Cependant, certaines de ces applications partagent ces données avec des tiers. En utilisant ces outils numériques, les usager·ère·s composent donc entre deux éléments en tension : d’un côté, l’utilité de ces applications, et de l’autre, des risques d’atteinte à leur vie privée à travers l’usage de leurs données. Ce mémoire analyse les pratiques et les discours permettant aux usager·ère·s de composer avec cette tension ainsi que les préoccupations qui y sont reliées au prisme des théories féministes sur les données, et sur la surveillance. Pour ce faire, j’ai réalisé plusieurs entrevues semi-dirigées collectives, des focus groups de 2 à 3 participant·e·s, avec des personnes menstruées, qui utilisent une application de suivi menstruel. La recherche fait ressortir que les usager·ère·s ne considèrent pas forcément les données sur les menstruations qu’elles partagent comme des données intimes et personnelles, et que certain·e·s ne savent pas vraiment à quels usages peuvent servir ces données, ce qui soulève des questions quant au consentement éclairé et valide lors de l’usage de ces applications. La plupart des personnes, bien que dérangées par la surveillance de leurs données de suivi menstruel, l’acceptent dans leurs pratiques quotidiennes, au même titre que la surveillance numérique générale. Selon les personnes interrogées, ces applications sont utiles et pratiques au niveau individuel, mais elles peuvent aussi avoir une utilité à un niveau collectif, dans ce qu’elles peuvent accomplir pour la recherche sur les menstruations, la valorisation du ressenti des femmes et de leur bien-être, des éléments que la discussion collective a permis de mettre de l’avant. / Period tracking applications are now used by millions of people around the world. They support and assist in tracking menstrual cycles, keeping track of previous cycles, and reporting a variety of related symptoms. Users of these applications share sensitive and personal data about their bodies and feelings with the companies that own them. However, some of these applications share their users’ data with third parties. By using these digital tools, users need therefore to deal with two elements in tension: on the one hand, the usefulness of these applications, and on the other, the risks of invasion of their privacy through the use of their data. This thesis analyzes the practices and discourses that allow users to deal with this tension and the concerns related to it using the perspective of data feminism theory and feminist surveillance studies. I conducted several semi-structured group interviews, focus groups of 2-3 participants, with menstruating individuals who use a menstrual tracking application. The research highlights that users do not necessarily consider the menstrual data they share as intimate and personal, and that some of them do not really know how these data can be used, which raises questions about informed and valid consent to use these applications. Most people, while bothered by the monitoring of their menstrual data, accept it as part of their daily practices, along with general digital monitoring. According to the interviewees, these applications are useful and practical on an individual level, but they can also be useful on a collective level, in what they can accomplish for research on menstruation, valuing women's feelings and well-being, issues that the collective discussion brought forward.

Mobile applications tend to access data beyond their intended functionality and share this data with third parties for various purposes including marketing, profiling and advertisement. This data also includes user’s personal information and access to this personal information without user’s consent put user’s privacy at risk. User’s Inability to easily find privacy friendly apps and befuddling permission requests paves the way for malicious apps to get access to user’s personal information. Keeping in mind the different level of privacy aware users, we have presented a privacy enforcement framework in this thesis. This framework not only helps user to find alternative privacy friendly apps but also encourage users to review their privacy settings on the smartphone. An app discovery tool is developed to search privacy friendly apps amongst the group with similar functionality. The search results are sorted by privacy friendly score which is calculated using simplified version of risk assessment method known as EBIOS. Threat posed to personal information by various apps are then highlighted and presented to user in an easy-to-understand way before installing the app. We have validated the results of our discovery tool by comparing them to the manual inspection of various functional groups i.e., group of applications with similar functionality. Two list of permissions, one created by subjective and manual analysis of abstract functionality of functional group called expert opinion and other created by our tool based on permissions requested by functional group are compared. Our tool has correctly identified the permissions which are similar to expert opinion. / Mobila applikationer tenderar att ta del av data utanför deras tilltänkta funktionalitet och delar den här datan med tredjehands parter för olika syften som marknadsföring, profilering och reklam. Datan inkluderar även personlig information och tillgång till den personliga informationen utan användarens medvetande sätter användarens integritet i risk. Användares oförmåga att enkelt hitta integritetsvänliga appar och förvirrande godkännande förfrågningar öppnar vägen för illvilliga appar att få tillgång till användarens personliga information. Med tanke på hur olika användare uppmärksammar integritetnivåer presenterar vi ett integritetsupprätthållande ramverk i den här uppsatsen. Ramverket hjälper inte bara användare att hitta integritetsvänliga appar utan uppmuntrar även användaren att granska integritetsinställningarna i sin telefon. Ett applikationsupptäckarverktyg utvecklades för att söka efter integritetsvänliga appar inom samma funktionsområde. Sökresultatet är sorterat efter en integritetsvänlighetspoäng beräknad med en förenklad version av riskbedömningsmetoden känd som EBIOS. Hot mot personlig information från olika appar uppmärksammas och presenteras på ett användarvänligt sätt innan appen installeras. Vi har validerat resultatet från vårt applikationsupptäckarverktyg genom att jämföra det med en manuell inspektion av appar inom samma funktionsområde, exempelvist grupper av applikationer med liknande funktion. Två listor togs fram, en framtagen genom subjektiv och manuell analys av normal funktionalitet kallad expertutlåtande och en framtagen av vårt applikationsupptäckarverktyg baserat på funktionsområde. Vårt verktyg har korrekt identifierat godkännande i likhet med expertutlåtandet.

This rapid ethnographic study explored how a 'mobile health education' app might impact preschool teachers and students, interact with organizational protocols and policies, and align with the preschool culture. The researcher evaluated the app's early Pre-K content and user experience. With a systems thinking approach, this study revealed the lived-experiences and processes in preschools around Austin, Texas. The outcomes of this study guided the client with more human-centered approaches to researching and designing their apps and services.

Transportation-network companies such as Uber and Lyft have permeated cities around the world. While they have been lauded for introducing a new mobility option, questions of equity have been raised, including in relation to people with disabilities. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against Uber and Lyft for lack of disabled accessibility of transportation service they facilitate, with some of the lawsuit focusing on wheelchair accessibility. These have been reported in the media while work on the topic is lacking in the academic literature. This doctoral research explores wheelchair accessibility in transportation hailed through Uber and Lyft in the U.S., with a partial focus on the phenomenon in Washington, DC. The study sought to gain insight into wheelchair-accessibility matters with respect to four main stakeholders - riders, companies, drivers, and regulators and other government agencies. The purpose was a) to deepen understanding on the topic based on a holistic approach to core issues and produce evidence-based knowledge and b) to provide policy recommendations where needed. A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate the research problem. The quantitative strand surveyed 341 wheelchair users in the U.S., while the qualitative strand consisted of three sets of 16 qualitative interviews with drivers on the Uber and Lyft apps, Uber and Lyft company representatives, and representatives of relevant government agencies in Washington, DC. The study finds the following: 1) The service might be filling a transportation gap for some wheelchair users even though it is a two-tiered system that disadvantages motorized-wheelchair users. 2) The challenges surrounding wheelchair accessibility are perceived differently by the stakeholders and as a result there are differing views of how to solve them. 3) Overcoming inaccessibility challenge needs to involve changes on both Uber and Lyft and government agencies. Uber and Lyft and government agencies will find this study of interest to help them appreciate other stakeholders' perspective and use the findings to support policy decisions. / Doctor of Philosophy / Transportation-network companies connect drivers who are interested in providing a ride to riders who are looking for transportation through smartphone apps. Uber and Lyft are the most common of these companies. Both companies operate in many cities around the world. They are praised for creating a transportation alternative, but there is a concern that they may not serve everyone equally. For example, people with disabilities, especially wheelchair users have complained that they are not receiving the same service as those who do not use wheelchair. In the US, there are numerous lawsuits have been filed against Uber and Lyft for lack of disabled accessibility. Some of the lawsuit focus on wheelchair accessibility. These issues are reported in the media mostly. This doctoral research looks at wheelchair accessibility in transportation hailed through Uber and Lyft in the U.S., with a partial focus on the phenomenon in Washington, DC. The study sought to gain insight into wheelchair-accessibility matters with respect to four main stakeholders - riders, companies, drivers, and regulators and other government agencies. The purpose was a) to deepen understanding on the topic based on a holistic approach to core issues and produce evidence-based knowledge and b) to provide policy recommendations where needed. A survey and a set of interviews were used to investigate the research problem. The study finds the following: 1) The service might be filling a transportation gap for some wheelchair users even though it is a two-tiered system that disadvantages motorized-wheelchair users. 2) The challenges surrounding wheelchair accessibility are perceived differently by the stakeholders and as a result there are differing views of how to solve them. 3) Overcoming inaccessibility challenge needs to involve changes on both Uber and Lyft and government agencies. Uber and Lyft and government agencies will find this study of interest to help them appreciate other stakeholders' perspective and use the findings to support policy decisions.

Mobile applications are growing in popularity and pose new problems in the area of software testing. In particular, mobile applications heavily depend upon user interactions and a dynamically changing environment of system events. In this thesis, we focus on user-driven events and use Q-learning, a reinforcement machine learning algorithm, to generate tests for Android applications under test (AUT). We implement a framework that automates the generation of GUI test cases by using our Q-learning approach and compare it to a uniform random (UR) implementation. A novel feature of our approach is that we generate user-driven event sequences through the GUI, without the source code or the model of the AUT. Hence, considerable amount of cost and time are saved by avoiding the need for model generation for generating the tests. Our results show that the systematic path exploration used by Q-learning results in higher average code coverage in comparison to the uniform random approach.