Context Spyware is “computer software that obtains information from a user's computer without the user's knowledge or consent” [25]. Spyware is often embedded in another application and is usually stated in End User License Agreement (EULA) [20]. However it is quite common to accept the EULA without even reading it. Therefore beside the traditional spyware analysis techniques, automated EULA analysis can be helpful for common users in order to identify the spyware [18]. Objectives The techniques of automated EULA analysis do exist however the process of taking a binary application, analyze it, and prepare it in order to extract the EULA has not been studied in existing research. There is a need for such a tool that can extract and analyze the EULA text from an installer binary without executing it. Objectives of this research are to investigate the techniques to unpack the binary file, extract the EULA, analyze it and present the analysis results to the end user. Methods In order to establish basic understanding of the related concepts preliminary study is done. In this study a number of article sources are used, including ACM Digital Library, Compendex, Inspec, IEEE Xplore, and Springer Link. Material has been selected after reading titles and summaries. Prototype of an open source tool is designed and developed. This tool extracts the EULA from executable binary installers, analyzes the extracted text and gives suggestions about legitimate level of the software. Results To evaluate our application we downloaded 150 executables from different web sites, which were already classified as bad or good by [23]. We used our tool to extract EULA text from executables. We were able to extract EULA from 48 percent of selected binary files. Analysis of extracted EULAs was also done to classify the software as good or bad. This analysis assists the user to make a decision to accept or reject the installation of software without reading even a single word of EULA. During the extraction and analysis process there was no significant impact on performance of the host system. Conclusion We conclude that EULA can be extracted from a binary file without executing it. However because of limited time it was not possible to extract EULA from all installer binaries. The rate of EULA extraction can be improved in future research.

Många författare har skrivit hur viktigt det är att ha med användarna i systemutvecklingsprocessen. För att användarna ska kunna vara med, krävs det att de först identifieras. En grupp av användare som är väldigt viktiga att ha med för hur bra funktionaliteten på systemet kommer att bli är slutanvändarna. Det är denna grupp som måste identifieras. Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka vilka riktlinjer som finns för att identifiera slutanvändarna i början av utvecklingsprocessen, samt vilka fördelar och nackdelar det finns med att använda riktlinjerna. Denna undersökning har genomförts mestadels med intervjuer och litteraturstudie. Resultatet som erhållits, visar att identifiering av slutanvändarna i början på utvecklingsprocessen görs genom att använda tre generella riktlinjer. Dessa riktlinjer är intervjuer, brainstorming och observationer. Fördelen med dessa är att de flesta kan bli hörda och nackdelen med dessa är att de tar ganska lång tid att genomföra.

[pt] Tecnologia Assistiva (TA) visa compensar limitações funcionais motoras, sensoriais ou cognitivas de seus usuários. Uma das razões pela qual TA é difícil de projetar e transformar em um produto é a variabilidade dos tipos e graus de deficiência e das características individuais dos seus os usuários (físicas, psicológicas, culturais e ambientais). Esta variabilidade pode ser tratada por meio de configurações. Este trabalho tem como ponto de partida a premissa de que a capacidade para o usuário final de adaptar a TA pode ter o potencial para melhorar a experiência de uso e a qualidade dos produtos. No entanto, antes de empreender tal esforço, devemos responder a perguntas como: o que é configuração no domínio da TA? O que significa a TA para os seus usuários (e para as pessoas ao redor deles)? O que pode, deve ou não deve ser configurado e como? Neste trabalho, foi realizado um estudo de caso que mistura etnografia e pesquisa-ação com um único participante tetraplégico que veio ao nosso laboratório em busca de tecnologia para ajudá-lo em sua vida cotidiana. Primeiro, nós o entrevistamos e observamos suas necessidades e atividades diárias e, em seguida, desenvolvemos uma plataforma protótipo de TA que controla alguns dispositivos, operada simultaneamente por gesto e interação de voz em sua casa inteligente. Ao longo de dois ciclos de pesquisa-ação, investigamos questões de interação e tecnológicas em relação à configuração e ao uso do nosso protótipo. Com base em nossos resultados, propomos um conjunto de dimensões e um framework colaborativo para a configuração de TA. Nossa principal contribuição é propor uma estrutura conceitual para organizar o espaço do problema de configuração de TA que pode apoiar a criação de tecnologias semelhantes. / [en] Assistive Technology (AT) aims at compensating for motor, sensory or cognitive functional limitations of its users. One of the reasons AT is hard to design and turn into a product is the variability of kinds and degrees of disabilities and individual characteristics among users (physical, psychological, cultural and environmental). This variability can be addressed by means of configurations. This work takes as a starting point the premise that the ability for the end-user to adapt AT may have the potential to improve user s experience and the quality of the products. However, before engaging in such endeavor we must answer questions like: what is configuration in the AT domain? What does AT mean to users (and stakeholders)? What could, should or should not be configured and how? In this work, we conducted a case study mixing ethnography and actionresearch with a single tetraplegic participant who came to our lab seeking for technology that could help him in his daily life. First, we interviewed him and observed his daily needs and activities and then we developed an AT platform prototype that controls some devices to be operated simultaneously by gesture and voice interaction in his smart home. Throughout two action-research cycles, we investigated interaction and technological issues regarding our prototype configuration and use. Based on our findings, we propose a set of dimensions and a collaborative framework for AT configuration. Our main contribution is to propose a conceptual structure for organizing the AT configuration problem space to support the design of similar technologies.

Incorporating a psychological contract perspective into information technology projects, this study intends to explore the elements of the software publisher-reseller-end user psychological contract in the context of IT projects and contribute to existing literature in the field of IT psychological contracts. The data for this study was collected via 10 interviews conducted across 5 different cases. Interviewees were asked to describe IT projects they were recently involved in and outline what they perceived to be their obligations towards the other stakeholders and likewise, the obligations of the other stakeholders upon them. Interviews were transcribed and coded in accordance with existing IT project psychological contract elements derived from literature. The results of this study provided support to all psychological contract elements of the existing model and suggest refinements to better capture the perceived obligations of stakeholders in IT Projects. Furthermore, we observe that while the resellers’ and software publishers’ psychological contracts with end users conformed to the obligations expected under the model of supplier-customer relationships, the software reseller-software publisher psychological contracts reciprocally contained elements of both supplier and customer obligations. Finally, the findings of this study revealed that critical to the success of IT projects are the elements of transparency, accuracy, dedication, knowledge and responsibility.

This thesis contributes to the knowledge of how computer-mediated communication and information sharing works in large groups and networks. In more detail, the research question put forward is: in large sharing networks, what concerns do end-users have regarding to whom to provide material? A theoretical framework of gift-giving was applied to identify, label and classify qualitative end-user concerns with provision. The data collection was performed through online ethnographical research methods in two large sharing networks, one music-oriented and one photo-oriented. The methods included forum message elicitation, online interviews, application use and observation. The result of the data collection was a total of 1360 relevant forum messages. A part from this there are also 27 informal interview logs, field notes and samples of user profiles and sharing policies. The qualitative analysis led up to a model of relationships based on the observation that many users experienced conflicts of interest between various groups of receivers and that these conflicts, or social dilemmas, evoked concerns regarding public and non-public provision of material. The groups of potential recipients were often at different relationship levels. The levels ranged from the individual (ego), to the small group of close peers (micro), to a larger network of acquaintances (meso) to the anonymous larger network (macro). It is argued that an important focal point for analysis of cooperation and conflict is situated in the relations between these levels. Deepened studies and analysis also revealed needs to address dynamic recipient groupings, the need to control the level of publicness of both digital material and its metadata (tags, contacts, comments and links to other networks) and that users often refrained from providing material unless they felt able to control its direction. A central conclusion is that public and non-public gifting need to co-emerge in large sharing networks and that non-public gifting might be an important factor for the support of continued provision of goods in sustainable networks and communities.

Thesis (M.A) - RAU, 1995 / Refer to document

Protection of Computer Games and Video Games Abstract The topic of this thesis is the legal protection of computer games and video games. Its main goal is to analyse the Czech law of video game protection and to figure out if the current state of legislation is sufficient enough considering the quick growth of the gaming industry by comparing it to the legislation in other countries and pondering de lege ferenda possibilities. The secondary goal of this study is to serve as a brief and practical guide for game creators who are having a hard time with regards to legal protection of their own creations. The thesis does not only revolve around the Czech national law, but it also deals with international law and Community law upon which the Czech law is based. The thesis is divided into six parts. The first part lays down the main goals of the study and possible ways of achieving them. The second part goes through the most important theoretical concepts, terminology and video game history, through which it introduces the reader to video games. The third part focuses on international treaties potentially applicable to video game protection, on the US law, and finally on the European Union law and the law in a few specific European countries. The fourth part introduces in detail all the possible legal forms of...

Background: The public sector in South Africa has long been concerned with poor performance in financial management in municipalities. The Auditor-General who has a constitutional mandate to audit government departments highlighted challenges in financial management facing the municipalities. The challenges include lack of compliance with the legislation of municipal financial management, weak audit outcomes, financially unqualified financial statements, mismatch in produced financial statements, missing reports regarding performance, incomplete disclosure in financial authorisation and unauthorised and waste expenditure. To overcome these challenges, the government introduced the Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) to municipalities in South Africa to support budget preparation and implementation, accounting and reporting, performance monitoring and auditing and evaluation. However, FMIS have not reached widespread use and in the majority of municipalities required re-implementation. Employees are concerned that FMIS are not aligned with their work processes. Lack of sense of ownership towards FMIS is the contributing factor to end-users being reluctant to use FMIS. It was noted that end-users of FMIS were not given a chance to take control and contribute to the development of FMIS for their municipalities. Objective: Previous research posits that the degree of end-user's sense of ownership towards a system that they use in the workplace positively correlates to their level of involvement in the development process of the system. Employees in government departments such as municipalities are not usually involved or participate in the system development process. Sense of ownership towards the system is expected to arise when end-users participate in the system development process of the system. End-users may perceive that they have influence and control during the development of the system and thereby develop a sense of ownership about the system when it is ready for use. The study, therefore, investigated how end-user participation in system development engenders a sense of ownership among end-users of FMIS in municipalities. Method: The study was qualitative, deductive, followed the interpretive research epistemology and drew on a theory of psychological ownership as a theoretical lens, to analyse how end-user participation in FMIS development engenders a sense of ownership. A case study of the Western Cape Province focusing on two local and two district municipalities was considered as a representation of a South African context. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observations of end-users during co-design sessions of FMIS development and document analysis. Thematic data analysis was appropriate for the study. Findings: Findings showed that end-users were excluded through the waterfall system development model used for FMIS development. The FMIS development was a top-down approach in which strategic decisions regarding the implementation of FMIS were made from the executive top management of the National and Provincial Treasury departments. The communication about the development was between National Treasury, Provincial Treasury and the system development team. Although end-users were provided training before using the system, they were concerned that the systems were not aligned with their work processes. It was evident that end-user participation in project initiation, system requirements specifications and system design specifications phases could enable end-users to gain a sense of ownership in the form of a sense of responsibility through problem-solving and decision-making, meaningfulness through collective learning during participation and locus of control through shared leadership. End-users revealed that the more they contribute to the development, they learn new skills, feel psychologically empowered and boost their confidence towards FMIS. End-users emphasised that shared leadership during end-user participation is likely to have an influence on how the system is developed to suit work processes. However, findings showed that end-user participation in organisations with complex structures such as municipalities could be hindered by a myriad of factors. Standardisation and lack of stakeholder collaboration, complex job-design and leadership-style approach across tiers of government have been stated by end-users as factors that may hinder the effectiveness of end-user participation in system development in municipalities. Originality/contribution: The theoretical contribution of the research emerges from the use of the theory of psychological ownership to investigate end-user participation to engender an end-user's sense of ownership towards FMIS. There is a lack of evidence-based studies in developing countries focusing on the end-user perspectives regarding factors affecting poor uptake of information systems in the public sector. To address this gap, this study made a descriptive contribution to the concept of a sense of ownership. There is a dearth of studies examining how end users of information systems in government departments in developing countries can be empowered through a sense of ownership to enhance the use and acceptance. In response to this research gap, this study focuses on the concept of end-user participation and contributes to the body of IS knowledge by examining the end-user participation approach as a systems development strategy to engender a sense of ownership to end-users of information systems in government departments.

Customer feedback is essential for improving a company's products or services and increasing customer satisfaction. Despite its value, user involvement faces many challenges, such as low user motivation and feedback with missing context information. To increase the chance of collecting user feedback, the process must be fast, easy, and well-integrated into the system or product.  In this thesis, a suitable way of designing a high-fidelity (Hi-Fi) prototype of a reactive feedback feature that improves the ease of submitting end-user feedback and enriching it with sufficient information to streamline the interpretation and handling process has been investigated. This was done by following the Design Thinking method and its five phases. In the first phase of the process, Empathize, information about the end-users' and the product teams' pain points, wants, and needs regarding the current feedback process were gathered through interviews. A literature study and research of existing feedback tools were also conducted to build a broader knowledge about the subject. The collected data was organized and analyzed during the second phase, Define, through affinity diagramming, a customer journey map, and defining user need statements. In the third phase, Ideate, a wide range of design solutions to the identified problems and user need statements were generated during a Crazy 8 workshop and initial sketching. The two final phases, Prototype and Test, consisted of three iterations of creating and evaluating prototypes through an expert review, a usability test, a heuristic evaluation, and a final usability test.  The two major identified pain points were the product team expressed that customer feedback is often difficult to interpret due to missing context information, and that end users have to go through a long and laborious procedure to provide feedback. End-users wanted an easy and fast way to submit a wide range of feedback to have some impact on the product's future improvement, and the product team wanted to collect as much sufficient information as possible to facilitate the interpretation and handling process. The study explores the challenges of including predefined feedback options and a prioritization feature to enhance the interpretation and management of feedback while maintaining ease of use. The prototype includes the possibility to attach annotated screenshots and screen recordings and automatically collects contextual data to address the lack of information and simplify and speed up the feedback process for end-users. The final usability test resulted in positive feedback and showed that the suggested feedback feature enables end-users to provide feedback quickly and easily while providing the product team with the most necessary information. The result also gives a first indication that the feedback feature will increase the end-user involvement in the product's future development.

The growth of connected, or so called smart home appliances, leads to the search for interaction methods for IoT devices including various forms of smartphone app solutions. Previous research has investigated how complex systems, with multiple options and configurations, can be set up through end-user programming and how app widgets can be an interactive solution. This approach has been adopted by few providers, however, there is little feedback from users on their experiences, in particular on the ease of configuration and customization of app widgets, the ease of use and expectations. To address these questions, I developed a novel app widget as a complement to an existing IoT smartphone app, along with three evaluations: one in-volving 8 experts including designers, developers and product managers; followed by a test session with 10 end users; and finally a field trial in which 3 users lived with the ability to use the widget for two weeks. Feedback and insights about how app widgets affected the user experience were gathered during the process confirming that widgets is a promising solution for controlling smart devices and, depending on the scenario and type of users, there are considerations that could limit or enhance their functionality. / Framväxten av sammankopplade hushållsapparater, eller så kallade ”smart home appliances”,aktualiserar sökandet efter interaktionsmetoder för IoT-produkter, t.ex. smartphone-appar. Tidigare forskning har undersökt hur komplexa system, med flera alternativ och konfigurationer, kan anpassas genom ”end-user-programmering”, och hur app-widgetar kan möjliggöra interaktiva lösningar. Ett fåtal leverantörer har annamat dessa tillvägagångssätt, men det saknas fortfarandefeedback fån användare, särskilt gällande konfigurering och specialanpassning av app-widgetar, lättanvändhet, och förväntningar. För att ta itu med dessa frågor utvecklade jag en ny app-widget som komplement till en etablerad IoT-app för smartphones, samt tre utvärderingar: en med åtta experter, inklusive designers, produktutvecklare, och produktchefer; följt av ett test med tio slutanvändare; och slutligen ett fältförsök där tre anvädare kunda använda app-widgeten i hemmet under två veckor. Under processen samlades feedback och insikter om app-widgetars inverkan på användarupplevelsen, vilka bekräftade att app-widgetar är en lovande metod för att kontrollera ”smart home appliances” och att det, beroende på scenario och användartyp, finns säskilda punkter som kan begränsa eller förhöja deras användbarhet. Framväxten av samman-kopplade hushållsapparater, eller så kallade ”smart home appliances”, aktualiserar sökandet efterinteraktionsmetoder för IoT-produkter, t.ex. smartphone-appar. Tidigare forskning har undersökt hur komplexa system, med flera alternativ och konfigurationer, kan anpassas genom ”end-user-programmering”, och hur app-widgetar kan möjliggöra interaktiva lösningar. Ett fåtal leverantörer har annamat dessa tillvägagångssätt, men det saknas fortfarande feedback från användare, särskilt gällande konfigurering och specialanpassning av app-widgetar, lättanvändhet, och förväntningar. För att ta itu med dessa frågor utvecklade jag en ny app-widget som komplement till en etablerad IoT-app för smartphones, samt tre utvärderingar: en med åtta experter, inklusive designers ,produktutvecklare, och produktchefer; följt av ett test med tio slutanvändare; och slutligen ett fältförsök där tre anvädare kunde använda app-widgeten i hemmet under två veckor. Under processen samlades feedback och insikter om app-widgetars inverkan på användarupplevelsen, vilka bekräftade att app-widgetar är en lovande metod för att kontrollera ”smart home appliances” och att det, beroende på scenario och användartyp, finns säskilda punkter som kan begränsa eller förhöja deras användbarhet.