Music is one of the most popular activities while driving. Previous research on music while driving has been mixed, with some researchers finding music to be a distractor and some research finding music to be facilitative to driving performance. The current study was designed to determine if familiarity with the music might explain the difference found between self-selected and experimenter-selected music, and whether the difficulty of the driving conditions affected music’s relationship to driving performance. One hundred and sixty-five University students participated in a driving simulation both with music and without music. Under the “with music” condition, participants were randomly assigned to three music conditions: self-selected music, experimenter-selected familiar music, and experimenter-selected unfamiliar music. In the simulation drive, participants first drove under a simple, low-mental workload condition (car following task in a simulated suburban road) and then drove under a complex, high-mental workload condition (city/urban road). The results showed that whether music was self- or experimenter-selected did not affect driving performance. Whether the music was familiar or unfamiliar did not affect performance either. However, self-selected music appeared to improve driving performance under low-workload conditions, leading to less car-following delay and less standard deviation in steering, but also caused participants to drive faster, leading to faster mean speed and higher car-following modulus, but not more speed limit violations. Self-selected music did not have any significant effect in high-mental workload conditions.

Background: An intermediate step towards fully autonomous construction equipment is “assisted tele-remote operation”. These sorts of operations imply that an operator remotely supports machines that has encountered a situation that autonomous systems onboard the construction machines (CM) cannot solve. Considering teleoperators are not required to continuously monitor the CM in an assisted tele-remote environment, multiple construction machines can be teleoperated simultaneously. For simplification, “assisted tele-remote operation” will now be referred to as “teleoperations”. Volvo Construction Equipment is currently exploring the possibility to teleoperate wheel loaders, articulated haulers, and excavators from a single platform. To do this, primary controls adapted for operating these machines are needed. The primary controls should be designed with the needs of a teleoperator in mind while taking functionality into account, which is needed when CM are both operated conventionally and in tele-remote applications. This procedure will be referred to as relevant primary controls. As the primary controls from three different CM-types are destined to be combined into one platform, the teleoperations platform will be referred to as “3-1 CM teleoperations platform”. The purpose of this thesis project was to propose a relevant solution to primary controls for a 3-1 CM teleoperations platform. To fulfil this purpose, the following two research questions (RQ) where formulated: • RQ1: What are the challenges for teleoperating construction equipment? • RQ2: What defines primary controls in a 3-1 CM teleoperations platform and how can the layout be improved? Method: Using interviews, observations, and literature as qualitative data collection methods, several insights where gained. A scenario for the CM was defined to define the situation in which the quantitative data collection method would be performed. Needs of current CM operators combined with teleoperators have been analysed and listed. Quantitative data has been collected and analysed to design the layout of the primary controls using the objective data as a basis. Result: The research questions were answered with the following results: • RQ1: Insights that resulted in several themes describing how teleoperations can be developed by looking at different challenges it can face. • RQ2: Specifications of the functions included in the new ‘primary controls’ based on CM functions from the company and from teleoperating experiences from several industries. An analysis on how often the functions for the new ‘primary controls’ were used, was carried out. The answers to the research questions were used as a basis to fulfil the purpose of this thesis project by proposing a conceptual solution for primary controls to a teleoperation’s platform for operating multiple CM. Conclusions: It was established that a 3-1 CM teleoperations platform can be developed towards certain CE-machine types. Moreover, additional analysis with experienced operators of each machine type are needed to improve and verify the most optimal layout of the primary controls and platform. Further research is still required to validate the answers to RQ1 and RQ2.

The objective of the current study is to evaluate the use of virtual reality (VR) headsets to measure driving performance. This is desirable because they are several orders of magnitude less expensive and, if validated, could greatly extend the powers of simulation. Out of several possible measures of performance that could be considered for evaluating VR headsets, the current study specifically examines drivers’ latent hazard anticipation behavior both because it has been linked to crashes and because it has been shown to be significantly poorer in young drivers compared to their experienced counterparts in traditional driving simulators and in open road studies. The total time middle-aged drivers spend glancing at a latent hazard and the average duration of each glance was also compared to these same times for younger drivers using a VR headset and fixed-based driving simulator. In a between-subject design, forty-eight participants were equally and randomly assigned to one out of four experimental conditions – two young driver cohorts (18 – 21 years) and two middle-aged driver cohorts (30 – 55 years) navigating either a fixed-based driving simulator or a VR-headset-based simulator. All participants navigated six unique scenarios while their eyes were continually tracked. The proportion of latent hazards anticipated by participants which constituted the primary dependent measure was found to be greater for middle-aged drivers than young drivers across both platforms. Results also indicate that the middle-aged participants glanced longer than their younger counterparts on both platforms at latent hazards, as measured by the total glance duration but had no difference when measured by the average glance duration. Moreover, the difference in the magnitude of performance between middle-aged and younger drivers was the same across the two platforms. There were also no significant differences found for the severity of simulator sickness symptoms across the two platforms. The study provides some justification for the use of virtual reality headsets as a way of understanding drivers’ hazard anticipation behavior.

Organisationer står idag inför flera olika hot mot deras IT-säkerhet där ett av de vanligaste hoten är skadliga användarbeteenden som främst orsakas av interna användare. Det kan vara svårt att veta för organisationer vad för användarbeteenden som kan utgöra ett hot samt vilka orsaker som kan bidrar till dessa beteenden. Det är i dagens samhälle viktigt för organisationer att förbereda sig samt vara medvetna om de hot en användare utgör för att kunna vidta de rätta åtgärderna om det skulle uppstå. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka orsaker till användarnas beteenden som utgör ett hot för en organisations IT-säkerhet och vilka åtgärder som har vidtagits. En kvalitativ metod i form av fem olika intervjuer har valts där en intervjuguide låg som grund till intervjufrågorna. En individuell intervju hölls med en användare av Högskolan i Borås samt en gruppintervju med IT-avdelningen från Högskolan i Borås. Studien resulterade i att 10 användarbeteenden, 25 orsaker och 22 vidtagna åtgärder framkom samt att det finns relationer mellan dem. Det kan vara svårt för organisationer att vara helt förberedda på hot men det är enligt vår studie möjligt att identifiera användarbeteenden, orsaker samt åtgärder. Med utbildning kan organisationer göra sina användare mer säkerhetsmedvetna och därmed minska riskerna för de skador användarbeteenden kan utgöra. / Organizations today are facing several different threats to their IT security where one of the most common threats is malicious user behaviors that are mainly caused by internal users. It can be difficult for organizations to know what user behaviors can pose a threat and what causes can contribute to these behaviors. In today's society, it is important for organizations to prepare and be aware of the threats a user poses in order to be able to take the right measures if they should arise. The language of this study is written in swedish and the purpose of this study is to investigate what causes in users' behavior constitute a threat to an organization's IT security and what measures have been taken. A qualitative method in the form of five different interviews has been chosen where an interview guide was the basis for the interview questions. An individual interview was held with a user of the University of Borås and a group interview with the IT department from the University of Borås. The study resulted in 10 user behaviors, 25 causes and 22 measures taken and that there are connections and relationships between them. It can be difficult for organizations to be fully prepared for threats, but according to our study it is possible to identify user behaviors, causes and measures. With education, organizations can make their users more security-conscious and thus reduce the risks of the damage that user behavior can cause.

Sedentary behavior and an inactive lifestyle are a risk factor for chronic diseases and an increasing number of people are affected. Technologies and smartphone applications can help to support and increase awareness of sedentary behavior and thus, help users change their lifestyle and create a balance between sedentary time and physically active time. Based on Self-Determination Theory, this study aimed to identify user preferences and design features in technologies to support the awareness of sedentary behavior and explored the influence of design implementations towards motivation on sedentary behavior change. Data was collected and analyzed via a survey that was made available online. Participants were drawn from social media platforms and company email addresses. The survey was distributed to 97 people through a web-based tool which resulted in complete data from 84 responses. Results of the survey based on Self-Determination Theory indicated a positive influence of competition among users in screen-based sedentary behavior applications. These findings contribute to our understanding of how individuals can be motivated to use awareness-based sedentary behavior technologies by the implementation of design features.

De tekniska system som tävlar om förarens uppmärksamhet i bilar och lastbilar ökar både i antal och komplexitet. Detta kanske inte är ett problem på en rak, lugn motorväg men minskar fokus på själva körningen och om något oväntat skulle hända kan konsekvenserna bli allvarliga eftersom föraren är distraherad och kan behöva ta in för mycket information på en gång. Syftet med projektet var att utveckla ett system för att presentera endast relevant och önskad information till förare av lastbilar och bussar i kritiska trafiksituationer. Detta för att göra det möjligt för föraren att fokusera mer på körningen och därigenom göra den säkrare och bekvämare. Å ena sidan ska systemet upptäcka vilken typ av trafiksituation lastbilen befinner sig i. Å andra sidan ska det avgöra vilken typ av information som skulle vara relevant för föraren i den situationen. Med en litteraturstudie, insamlad statistik, intervjuer och författarnas åsikter som grund identifierades ett antal händelser (som telefonsamtal och förekommande varningar) som kan inträffa i förarhytten på en lastbil och hur mycket de vardera skulle öka förarens arbetsbörda (workload). Detsamma gjordes för ett antal vanliga trafiksituationer som kan betraktas som kritiska och kräver mer uppmärksamhet än att bara köra rakt fram. Dessa händelser och situationer betygsattes därefter utifrån hur mycket de skulle öka belastningen på de sinnen som används mest i en körsituation, nämligen: synen, hörseln, motoriken och kognitionen. Matriser gjordes i vilka uppgifter och situationer ställdes mot varje sinne med betyg vilket senare användes som grund för de tre koncept som utvecklades för systemet. Koncepten hette Jigsaw, Fever och Three’s a crowd och utvärderades i en workshop på Scania. De två första realiserades i form av prototyper som gjordes i programmet GUIDE. Logiken som byggdes upp i programmet bestod av tillståndsmaskiner och med boolsk logik samt if- och while-slingor. / The technical systems that compete for drivers’ attention in cars and trucks are increasing both in numbers and complexity. This may not be a problem on a straight and sound highway but definitely decreases the focus on the actual driving and if something unexpected was to happen there could be dangerous consequences, due to too much distraction and information overload. The purpose of the project was to develop a system to present only relevant and desired information to drivers of trucks and busses in critical traffic situations, for the Swedish truck manufacturer Scania. This will enable the driver to focus more on the driving thus creating a safer and more comfortable driving situation. On one hand the system had to detect what type of traffic situation the truck is in. On the other hand it had to determine what type of information would be suitable for the driver in that situation. With a literature study, statistics, interviews and the authors’ judgments as a basis the project first identified a number of tasks (like phone calls and occurring warnings) that can take place in the cab of a truck and then assess how much they respectively would raise the workload of the driver. The same was done for a number of common traffic situations that were considered as critical and demanded more attention than just driving straight ahead. All these tasks and situations were graded on how much they would raise the load on the senses most used in a driving situation: visual, auditory, motor and cognitive. Matrices were made cross-referencing the tasks and situations with the grades on each modality and was used as the basis for the three concepts for the system that was developed. The concepts called Jigsaw, Fever and Three’s a crowd were evaluated in a workshop at Scania and the first two were realized in the form of prototypes which were made in the software GUIDE. The logic was made up of state machines and Boolean operators and if- and while-conditions.

Command and control (C2) environments are complex, dynamic and rich in information. Thus, measuring the performance of an agent in a C2-system, in this case a platoon commander, poses a challenging task for the researcher. To measure the performance of a platoon commander in this thesis, the OODA loop is used as a model for representing the four processes in which the platoon commander is engaged in during a military C2 mission. In accordance with these processes, performance measurements for the platoon commander are identified. The relevance of the performance measurements, to the C2 tasks and goals of the platoon commander, are tested through three studies conducted in a simulated warfare scenario, and two workshops, one with a platoon commander and one with two scientists. As a result of the studies and workshops, an assessment tool for measuring the C2 tasks and goals of the platoon commander, is developed. This assessment tool consists of modified versions of the Crew Awareness Rating Scale (CARS), the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT) and the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), as well as generic performance measurements measuring fratricide, deaths and completion of overarching goal.

<p>Makerspaces can support educational experiences in prototyping for young learners, while physical computing platforms enable high levels of creativity and expression. However, each of these have high barriers of entry, especially for youth without prior experience. Commercial microcontrollers have become a popular tool to use when designing both basic and complex electro-mechanical devices. Block-based programming interfaces are an ideal environment to program these microcontrollers, lowering the barrier of entry for young, novice programmers. Finally, incorporating physical computing devices alongside Augmented Reality (AR) presents opportunities for shared experiences between users, leading to more engagement, which creates opportunities for social interaction, ideation, and creativity. This thesis presents the MakAR project, which aims to empower youth to design, build, and play through interactions with AR, physical prototyping, and the Internet of Things (IoT). We sought to design an interactive system with which we can (1) explore novel interactions between physical and virtual content, (2) lower the barrier to entry for young makers to design, build, and play with DIY electro-mechanical devices, and (3) engage and collaborate with one another both virtually and physically in an AR-IoT environment. Our results provide evidence to how our system enables youth, with and without prior experience with physical computing, to both engage and struggle with designing AR-IoT interactions while using our system, helps reduce the barrier to entry for young users to create complex electro-mechanical devices, and provides unique shared AR-IoT experiences for both novices and expert users.</p>

Background. With the growing trend in using Agile development method in thesoftware industry, the importance of "people" in the software development processhas risen up. As much as the technical aspects contribute to a better software processand products, it is ultimately people that make the software. Hence, studying thehuman factors in the perspective of software development can be considered significant especially in studying the effect of these factors on performance of the teams intoday’s Agile based development scenario. Objectives. The objective of this thesis is to identify the individual based humanfactors that influence the software team performance.Methods. For this project, we use the methods systematic literature review(snowballingstudy) and survey to identify and understand the influence of the human aspects onteam performance and possibly arrive at an understanding of these factors tendingtowards high-performing Agile teams. Results. The results of the thesis indicate that there are 19 factors that impactthe team performance. The results show that personality, professional knowledge,formal education, leadership style, work experience etc., are all impacting factorsof the performance of a team. Though, personality was the most mentioned factorfollowed by communication and professional knowledge. These results when weretried to verify through a survey showed similarities as well as some aberrations tothe results obtained from SLR. According to survey, professional knowledge has thehighest importance while personality scored lower than expected in the practitioner’sperspective. Although, many factors had similar degree of importance as for the results from both methods. Conclusions. It is essential to study the impact of the individual based factors onteam performance and several factors can be indicated that show their effect on theperformance of a team. Essentially, the study of the factors can be used to buildprocesses and teams focused to better their performance which can ultimately leadto better softwares. Individuals contribute to the team and studying the factors thatrely on their characteristics helps understand the team as a whole in a better waywhich can in-turn aid in improvement.

Virginia's Smart Road, to be completed by early 2000, is a test bed for numerous research activities including snow and ice control, remote sensor testing, snow removal management, safety and human factors, and vehicle dynamics. An all-weather testing system will feature 75 automated snowmaking towers. In order to provide timely and repeatable weather scenarios, equipment operators will need to understand fully the limitations and capabilities of the snowmaking system. The research presented herein addresses the hydraulic and hydrologic variables and design methodology to implement efficient snowmaking at a transportation research facility. Design variables include nozzle configuration, water pressure and flowrate, compressed air pressure and flowrate, tower orientation, snow inducer concentration, water and compressed air temperature, and ambient weather conditions. Testing and data collection was performed at the Snow Economics, Inc. research and development site at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, PA. The results of this work will be used to guide the operators of the Smart Road on the most efficient use of the snowmaking equipment. / Master of Science