Multi-display environments (such as the pairing of a digital tabletop computer with a set of handheld tablet computers) can support collocated interaction in groups by providing individuals with private workspaces that can be used alongside shared interaction surfaces. However, such a configuration necessitates the inclusion of intuitive and seamless interactions to move digital objects between displays. While existing research has suggested numerous methods to bridge devices in this manner, these methods often require highly specialized equipment and are seldom examined using real-world tasks. This thesis investigates the use of two cross-device object transfer methods as adapted for use with commonly-available hardware and applied for use in a realistic task, a familiar tabletop card game. A digital tabletop and tablet implementation of the tabletop card game Dominion is developed to support each of the two cross-device object transfer methods (as well as two different turn-taking methods to support user identification). An observational user study is then performed to examine the effect of the transfer methods on groups’ behaviour, examining player preferences and the strategies which players applied to pursue their varied goals within the game. The study reveals that players’ choices and use of the methods is shaped greatly by the way in which each player personally defines the Dominion task, not simply by the objectives outlined in its rulebook. Design considerations for the design of cross-device object transfer methods and lessons-learned for system and experimental design as applied to the gaming domain are also offered.

Desktop-based Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers (WIMP) interfaces have changed very little in the last 30 years, and are still limited by a lack of powerful and expressive input devices and interactions. In order to make desktop interactions more expressive and controllable, expressive input mechanisms like pressure input must be made available to desktop users. One way to provide pressure input to these users is through a pressure-augmented computer mouse; however, before pressure-augmented mice can be developed, design information must be provided to mouse developers. The problem we address in this thesis is that there is a lack of ergonomics and performance information for the design of pressure-augmented mice. Our solution was to provide empirical performance and ergonomics information for pressure-augmented mice by performing five experiments. With the results of our experiments we were able to identify the optimal design parameters for pressure-augmented mice and provide a set of recommendations for future pressure-augmented mouse designs.

Digital Immortality or Not?The aim of this thesis was to explore how we might be stewards for our post-life digital self after physical death, and to provide a new interaction experience in the form of a tangible, digital, or service design solution. Prior to the project kick-off secondary research, including academic research papers, analogous services, and existing projects, was distilled to form topical questions. These questions were then presented in many casual topical conversations and revealed that although post-life digital asset management awareness is increasing, little consideration exists on how to reflect legacies into the future long after death. A second stage of primary research included multiple on-site investigations, paired with in-person interviews and a quantitative online survey. Insights and understandings then lead to initial concepts that were tested to address distinctive qualities between tangible and digital design solutions. The main findings included that although people want to be remembered long after they die, current methods of tangible and digital content management can not sufficiently support the reflection of legacies long into the future. In conclusion, this thesis argues that to become part of an everlasting legacy, the interaction experience can leverage commonalities and shared moments from life events captured in digital media. These points of connections rely on associated metadata (i.e. keyword tags, date stamps, geolocation) to align relevant moments that transcend time and generations. The solution proposed here harnesses the benefits that both digital and tangible media afford and are presented as a tablet interface with an associated tangible token used as a connection key.

There are a vast number of research and studies undertaken within the domain of user-centered design concerning the design process of an artifact, but still there are questions being raised of the relatively new and successful field of mobile design. During recent years mobile technology have surpassed the standardized thoughts of how to prototype and evaluate such a ubiquitous device. The paper addresses this predicament by discussing aspects of fidelity differences in an early design process of a mobile design. The example being presented refers to a design study of an iPhone-application, where two different types of prototypes were created and user tested, a low-fidelity paper prototype and a mixed-fidelity interactive prototype. The paper sets focus on the various differences between these fidelities closely related to the case. It also reflects on how mobile design approaches can mature during the early stages of a design process.

This field study examined how elderly and cognitively disabled people used and experienced a social companion robot. The following pages explores the questions: Which are the physical, social and affective qualities during the interaction? The aim was to through observations see how qualities of interaction could activate different forms of behavior. The results show that motion, sound and the eyes together created communicative and emotional changes for users who felt joy and were willing to share the activity with others. The robot stimulated to some extent users to create their own imaginative experiences but often failed to involve user or group for a long time and was also considered too large and heavy to handle. / Denna fältstudie undersökte hur äldre och kognitivt funktionsnedsatta personer använde och upplevde en social robot. Följande sidor utforskar frågorna: Vilka fysiska, sociala och affektiva kvaliteter finns i interaktionen? Målet var att genom observationer se hur kvaliteterna i interaktionen kunde aktivera olika typer av beteenden. Resultatet visar att rörelse, ljud och ögon tillsammans skapade kommunikativa och känslomässiga förändringar hos användarna som visade glädje och som gärna delade upplevelsen med andra. Roboten stimulerade till viss del användarna att skapa egna fantasifulla upplevelser men lyckades inte ofta involvera användare eller grupp under någon längre tid och ansågs även vara för stor och tung att hantera.

Desktop-based Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers (WIMP) interfaces have changed very little in the last 30 years, and are still limited by a lack of powerful and expressive input devices and interactions. In order to make desktop interactions more expressive and controllable, expressive input mechanisms like pressure input must be made available to desktop users. One way to provide pressure input to these users is through a pressure-augmented computer mouse; however, before pressure-augmented mice can be developed, design information must be provided to mouse developers. The problem we address in this thesis is that there is a lack of ergonomics and performance information for the design of pressure-augmented mice. Our solution was to provide empirical performance and ergonomics information for pressure-augmented mice by performing five experiments. With the results of our experiments we were able to identify the optimal design parameters for pressure-augmented mice and provide a set of recommendations for future pressure-augmented mouse designs.

Interactive television (iTV) is an umbrella term used to cover the convergence of television with digital media technologies such as computers, personal video recorders, game consoles, and mobile devices, enabling user interactivity. Increasingly, viewers are moving away from a "lean back" model of viewing to a more active "lean forward" one. When fully realized on a widespread scale in the United States, our current experience of watching television will be dramatically transformed. Because iTV is a new medium in its own right, however, standards for iTV programming and interaction in the United States remain undefined. This document identifies and articulates interaction design principles for interactive television programming in the United States. Chapter one presents a brief survey of the field as it stands in 2005. In chapters two and three, I categorize iTV by platforms and by persistent television genres, and present representative examples for each category. In chapter four, I provide an overview of existing design standards in related areas. Insights from chapters two, three, and four all serve to inform chapter five, in which I propose principles for iTV interaction design by looking closely at existing designs (both deployed and prototyped), conventions, and patterns of interaction. My analyses are rooted in visual culture and human-computer interaction design principles, and the design principles I offer are abstracted from the applications I analyze within this framework. Finally, in chapter six, I offer some conclusions and thoughts for future directions.

<p>Ma’at Solution är ett Österrikiskt företag beläget i Linz, som utvecklar affärssystem specialiserade på aktieportföljsoptimering och värdepappers hantering. Företaget önskar komplettera sin nuvarande produkt Ma’at Invest med en Internetversion som delvis ska fungera som substitut men också som komplement till huvudprogrammet.Projektet kallades Ma’at Online. Man vill använda sig av de fördelar som finns i och med det nuvarande Java-utvecklingsverktyget- Eclipse. Exempel på fördelar är möjligheten att förstora och förminska önskade fönster vid behov. Genom det nyutvecklade Adobe (förut Macromedia) Flex är detta nu möjligt även på Internet. Ur denna idé utvecklades ett övergripande mål:</p><p>- Skapa ett användarvänligt gränssnitt för Ma’at Online med hjälp av Adobe Flex.</p><p>Initialt analyserades arbetsflödet i det existerande programmet med hjälp av UMLnotation. På så sätt var det enklare att förstå hur programmet var uppbyggt och vilka funktioner som ansågs nödvändiga. Vidare definierades målgruppen för att förstå hur programmet ska användas och vilka krav som bör ställas. Dessa krav utarbetades ytterligare och användes sedan för att omforma arbetsflödet från den nuvarande applikationen. Därefter utvecklades en alternativ design som mötte de utsatta kraven. Slutligen testades programmet på användarna för att säkerställa användbarheten.</p><p>Ytterligare lades kraft på att skapa ett gränssnitt som tog vara på fördelarna med animation och användarmanipulation för att skapa ett bättre och enklare arbetsflöde som förhindrar frustration och misstag och som istället hjälper användaren vid behov.</p><p>Ur datateknisk synpunkt undersöktes vilka komponenter som borde användas och hur de kunde skapas i Adobe Flex med hjälp av programmeringsspråket ActionScript.</p><p>Projektet resulterade i ett användarvänligt och estetiskt gränssnitt baserad på ny revolutionerande teknik som talar till rätt målgrupp och uppfyller de för programmet uppsatta målen.</p><p>Av utvecklingsarbetet med Adobe Flex har slutsatsen dragits att tekniken fortfarande har komplikationer, men att inom ett par år kommer de funktioner som är vanligt förekommande i standardprogram användas på Internet.</p> / <p>Ma’at Solutions is an Austrian software company located in Linz. The company is specialized in financial business applications such as portfolio management systems.The company wishes to extend its existing product Ma’at Invest with an Internet version that will work as a substitute or complement to the main program. The project is named Ma’at Online. Ma’at Solutions would like to use the advantages in the present program developed in the Java development environment -Eclipse. An example of features that the company would like to transfer to the online version is that the user can enlarge or minimize windows on request. Through the newly released Adobe (former Macromedia) Flex this is possible even on the Internet. From this a general goal was established:</p><p>- Create the Ma’at Online interface with an optimal usability approach in Adobe Flex.</p><p>The workflow in the existing application was analyzed with UML-modeling notation. In this way it was easier to understand the purpose of the program and which functions were required. Furthermore the target user was defined to acquire the needs of the users. These requirements were then developed even more and were used in the remodeling of the workflow to better suit an Internet version. In addition to that, an alternative design was developed, that met the requirements stated in the prior stage. At last an evaluation was performed and a test study of the finished prototype was conducted to make sure that the program meets the requirements.</p><p>During the development process, time was spent on trying to use the advantages of animations and interaction manipulations to create a better and easier workflow that prevents the user from frustration and errors. Instead it is supposed to provide help to the user when needed. The components in the Adobe Flex were investigated and tested to see how they could be created in the scripting language Action Script and if they could fit into the application.</p><p>The result of the project was that the application is user-friendly and has an aesthetic interface based on an edge-cutting technology.</p><p>The conclusion of the development process in Adobe Flex is that the technology still has complications, however in a few years, the eatures used in standalone programs will be used on the Internet.</p>

<p>Many interactive products and services have made the move from stationary or desktop applications to dedicated mobile devices. Sonys Playstation has evolved into the PSP (playstation portable), Apples iPod is fully integrated with iTunes, Microsoft’s new media player is rumored to carry the Xbox brand and browsers like Internet Explorer and Opera can be used on pocket PCs, cell phones and Smart Phones. A very interesting example of this development is the global telephony company Skype that offers free calls over the Internet as well as instant messaging, video conferencing among many other things. Skype is making its way from the desktop to a wide array of devices, stressing the need for a unified brand experience. This thesis seeks to explore the different interactive aspects that constitute the user experience of a specific brand. Through listing the use qualities fulfilled by the services in the primary product and examining their requirements and dependencies in the user interface, this thesis proposes a method to foresee potential confinements in the brand experience when distributing an interactive product or service to a new platform. The thesis also aims at examining how the method can be used in the design process.</p>

This thesis is situated in a moment when the theory and practice of inclusive design appears to be significantly implicated in the social and economic response to demographic changes in Western Europe by addressing the need to reconnect older people with technology. In light of claims that cognitive ageing results in an increasing disconnection from novel digital media in old age, inclusive design is apparently trapped in a discourse in which digital media products and interfaces are designed as a response to a deterministic decline in abilities. The thesis proceeds from this context to ask what intellectual moves are required within the discourses of inclusive design so that its community of theorists and practitioners can both comprehend and afford the enaction of cognitive experience in old age? Whilst influential design scholarship actively disregards reductionist cognitive explanations of human and technological relationships, it appears that inclusive design still requires an explanation of temporal changes to human cognition in later life. Whilst there is a burgeoning area of design related research dealing with this issue—an area this thesis defines as ‘cognitively inclusive design’—the underlying assumptions and claims supporting this body of research suggests its theorists and practitioners are struggling to move beyond conceptualising older people as passive consumers suffering a deterioration in key cognitive abilities. The thesis argues that, by revisiting the cognitive sciences for alternative explanations for the basis of human cognition, it is possible to relieve this problem by opening up new spaces for designers to critically reflect upon the manner in which older people interact with digital media. In taking a position that design is required to support human cognitive enactment, the thesis develops a new approach to conceptualising temporal changes in human cognition, defined as ‘senescent cognition’. From this new critical lens, the thesis provides an alternative ‘senescentechnic’ explanation of cognitive disconnections between older people and digital media that eschews reductionism and moves beyond a deterministic process of deterioration. In reassessing what ageing cognition means, new strategies for the future of inclusive design are proposed that emphasise the role of creating space for older people to actively explore, reflect upon and enact their own cognitive couplings with technology.