An electronic government (e-government), can be simply defined as an effort of employing information and communication technology (ICT) tools to provide services to citizens. Regardless of the synergies, it creates and the remarkable benefits it offers to governments and societies, e-government faces several challenges and obstacles. Therefore, this study highlights some of these obstacles and challenges; it critically investigates the key factors that influence the adoption of e-government services. This study aims to identify the key factors that affect the adoption of e-government in developing countries, particularly in Rwanda. Furthermore, it assesses the barriers and challenges that such countries should be able to overcome to implement e-government successfully. To gather data, the study utilized semi-structured in-depth interviews. Besides, a Design-Reality gap model was applied as a framework to thoroughly understand the nature and origin of the challenges. The outcome of this study indicates that the most prominent challenges and factors influencing the implementation of e-government in Rwanda are related to budget and financial constraints, skills and human expertise, social issues, technical issues, lack of awareness, resistance of public employees, data privacy and security, the appropriate technology, lack of leadership skills, and trust or belief in e-government. At the end of the paper, conclusions, recommendations, and future work are proposed.

With the growing role the smartphone technology is gaining in our daily life the concerned voices about its negative impacts on human social skills, social interactions and mental health are getting louder. Smartphone use has become a habit not at least due to high access to different kind of rewards provided by this technology. In this thesis, a qualitative explorative study analyses two approaches, an application based and a non-application based, in their ability to deal with the subjectively perceived smartphone overuse in order to find weaknesses and advantages behind those approaches. The study design is based on behaviour change theories such as the Goal-Setting Theory, the Social Cognitive Theory, and the Cognitive Dissonance Theory and on the persuasive design strategies. The results of the five weeks long intervention study, during which eight participants tried both approaches in a within-group design setup, suggests that a combination of an application based and a non-application based intervention could be more beneficial than relying on technology alone in order to support the user with means to reduce the smartphone overuse. The results furthermore suggest that the application based approach functioned well as an eye opener and as an incentive to prepare participants to take own actions.

Twitch.tv är en växande livestreaming-plattform, främst inriktad på spel. Streamers presenterar sig själva framför en livepublik. Detta leder till nya och intressanta interaktioner. I denna studie studerar jag två Twitch.tv livestreamers för att undersöka skillnaderna i beteende baserat på den interaktion som förekommer mellan dem och deras publik. Streamers publikstorlek varierade. För att undersöka skillnaderna användes följande forskningsfråga: Hur använder två livestreamers Twitch.tv för att interagera med sin respektive publik när publikstorleken skiljer sig? För att undersöka detta utfördes över 60 timmar videoanalys samt en intervju med en av deltagarna. Den insamlade datan analyserades med Erving Goffman’s (1990) Dramaturgical-teori. Resultaten visar på skillnader i beteende (Dramatisering samt Idealisering) samt skillnader mellan de båda streaminggränssnitten (Scen och kulisser). Båda deltagarna påverkades av förväntningar från deras respektive publiker samt skapade framsidor (fronts) för att leva upp till dessa förväntningar till uppträdandets fördel. / Twitch.tv is a growing platform for game related live streaming. Streamers present themselves live in front of a live audience, where innovative interactions take place. In this study, I looked at two Twitch.tv live streamers with varying audience sizes. The study was conducted to better understand the differences in behavior based on their interaction with their audiences. The research question was as follows: How do two live streamers, one big and one small, interact with their audiences through the use of different features of Twitch.tv? To do this I conducted video analyses of over 60 hours worth of streaming data as well as one interview with one of the live streaming participants. The gathered data was analyzed using Erving Goffman’s (1990) Dramaturgical theory for studying the behaviors during the streamers performances. The results show differences in both performance behavior (Dramatization and Idealization) as well as differences in their streaming interface (Stage and Set pieces). Both streamers where affected by expectations from the audience while creating fronts to maintain these expectations for the benefit of the performance.

Olika spel har olika val för spelare vad gäller spelkaraktärer. I en del spel får spelare välja mellan karaktärer med definierade utseenden, egenskaper och roller. En typ av dessa spelkaraktärer kallas hjältar, vilka är skapade speciellt för ett spel eller också är de redan kända från annan media så som filmer. Online multiplayer skjutspel är en kategori av spel som kan innehålla hjältar, där spelare tävlar mot andra spelare. Detta projekt har utforskat hur olika hjältar från olika online multiplayer karaktärsbaserade skjutspel spelas. Målet var att undersöka hur expertspelare väljer och spelar olika hjältar i dessa spel genom att titta på varför spelare valde olika hjältar, deras beteende med dem och vilka strategier de använde. I projektet utfördes två speltest på två olika karaktärsbaserade online multiplayer skjutspel, en studie inkluderade intervjuer.    Studierna resulterade i olika aspekter som visades påverka deltagarnas val av hjälte och val av strategier. Dessa aspekter inkluderade interna aspekter så som deltagarnas preferenser och förväntningar, och externa aspekter så som speldesignerna och andra spelare. Det visade sig att för att göra meningsfulla beslut i spelen så krävdes en viss kunskap av spelen och dess hjältar. Strategier var också beroende av hur hjältarna var designade och deras funktioner. Det visades också att deltagarna tog olika beslutsvägar. Antingen så valde deltagarna först en hjälte att spela med och anpassade därefter strategierna till den valda hjälten, eller så valde deltagarna en hjälte med en strategi i åtanke. De olika beslutsvägarna markerade olika behov hos spelarna angående speldesign. Om valet av hjälte var det första så var kraven på speldesign att få en bild utav hjältens karaktär, om istället valet av strategi var det första så var kraven på speldesign mer om att få information om funktionaliteten hos hjältarna. / Heroes are a category of game characters that have a defined set of abilities and predefined roles. Depending on game, the heroes have different functionalities and roles, and are either created for the game and its lore, or are already known from other medias. Heroes occur in different types of games, including online multiplayer shooter games where players compete online in teams against other players. The following project has focused on exploring how different kinds of heroes, in different online multiplayer character-based shooter games, are played. The aim of the project was to investigate how expert players chose and played heroes in online multiplayer shooter games by looking at reasons behind hero choices, player behavior and used strategies when playing different heroes. Two playtest studies have been carried out on two different online multiplayer character-based shooter games, one study including interviews.  The result of the studies demonstrated that hero choice and strategy choice was affected by different aspects including internal factors such as player preferences and expectations, as well as external factors such as game design and other players. It was found knowledge of the game and its heroes to some extent were needed to make meaningful decisions in the game. Strategies used and behaviors with the heroes were dependent on the design of the heroes. Furthermore, it was found that participants took different decision paths, either first choosing hero and thereafter adjusting the strategy to the chosen hero, or choosing a hero with a strategy already in mind. Choosing hero first, participants were affected by internal and external factors. Choosing strategy first, the influencing aspect were only internal. These paths highlighted different player needs in game design. If choosing hero first the player needs concerned understanding the hero as a character, and if choosing strategy first the player needs concerned getting information about the functionality of the heroes.

Personer som prokrastinerar på akademiska uppgifter tenderar att göra detta via sociala nätverkssidor, främst i en smartphone. Grunden i att förändra ett beteende är att vara medveten om det och förstå vad som behöver förändras, vilket är möjligt med hjälp av självmonitorering. Att därefter förändra beteendet kräver engagemang från individen för att skapa nya rutiner, detta med hjälp av övningar som ofta används inom kognitiv beteendeterapi. Denna studie syftar till att identifiera vilka designprinciper som bör vägleda utformningen av en mobilapplikation med syfte att stävja akademisk prokrastinering via sociala nätverkssidor. I denna studie har en designbaserad forskningsansats tillämpats där målgruppens tankar och behov har identifierats. Studien genomfördes med välkända metoder för User Experience Design där fokus genomsyras av att designa för en god användarupplevelse. Arbetsprocessen bestod av litteraturgenomgång, enkät, intervju, digital lo-fi prototyp, konceptutforskning, framtagning av designprinciper samt en digital hi-fi prototyp. Arbetets främsta bidrag är de itererade designprinciperna: 1. Stöd till uppsättning av mål och aktiviteter, 2. Motivera till slutförandet av mål, 3. Låt användare hjälpa varandra, 4. Ge belöningar för framsteg mot mål, 5. Låt användaren samla in data dagligen, 6. Presentera insamlad data på ett intuitivt sätt, 7. Främja för ett bättre studiefokus, 8. Använd restriktioner och minska den sociala pressen, 9. Ge värdefulla påminnelser och förslag, 10. Skapa en förståelse och trygghet samt 11. Anpassa applikationen till individen. Dessa designprinciper är ämnade att användas vid design av mobilapplikationer för stävjande av akademisk prokrastinering via sociala nätverkssidor där en god användarupplevelse upprätthålls. / People procrastinating on academic work tend to do this through social networking sites, primarily on their smartphones. To be able to change a behavior it is vital to be aware of it and understand what needs to be changed, which is possible with the help of self-monitoring. Subsequently, changing a behavior requires commitment from the individual to create new routines using exercises from the field of cognitive behavioral therapy. This study aims to identify which design principles should guide the design of a mobile application with the aim of reducing academic procrastination through social networking sites. In this study, a design-based research approach was applied with an emphasis on the target group's own thoughts and needs. Studies were conducted using well-known methods within User Experience Design where the focus is permeated by designing for a good user experience. The work process consisted of a literature survey, interview, digital lo-fi prototype, concept research, development of design principles and a digital hi-fi prototype. The main contribution of the work are the extracted design principles: 1. Support for goal setting and activities, 2. Motivate to the completion of tasks, 3. Let users help each other, 4. Provide rewards for progress toward the goal, 5. Allow the user to collect data daily, 6. Present the collected data in an intuitive way, 7. Promote a better study focus, 8. Use restrictions and reduce social pressures, 9. Provide valuable reminders and suggestions, 10. Create an understanding and security and 11. Customize the application to the individual. These design principles are intended to be used in the design of mobile applications for combating academic procrastination through social networking sites where a good user experience is maintained.

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One of the more recent innovations in the field of AI is ChatGPT. It has caused a discourse in the world of academia. While there is research based on the use of ChatGPT concerning ethics and exams, there are not nearly enough studies conducted on the use of ChatGPT from the perspective of students and how it can be used for self-studies. This study focuses on the student's perspective and their usage of ChatGPT for their self-studies or learning within the context of education, by conducting an ethnographic study complimentary with a survey and interviews with students and educational consult in pedagogy at a university. The results suggest that students are interested in using ChatGPT for self-studies and that it can be a useful tool and generate a good user experience compared to traditional methods.  The knowledge gained from our studies resulted in a prototype that was made to support students’ needs and bridge the gap between students and the university.

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Serious game applications offer a more accessible and enjoyable way of enhancing cognitive abilities. Several studies have explored the possibility of using serious games as stimulation for patients with dementia, but only a few studies have provided valuable insights about the design of serious game applications with the purpose of preventing cognitive impairments. By pursuing a qualitative study with a co-design approach and an iterative design process, three prototypes were designed based on insights from expert interviews and evaluated by the intended user group by using visual walkthroughs, wizard of oz, and semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that social features are found to be the most engaging, that co-design is an important aspect of design for the user group, and that serious games are more suitable for preventing instead of treating cognitive impairments. Our study contributes to research by providing valuable insights on how to design a serious game application to cater to the needs of the user group as well as how to keep the user engaged through meaningful interactions.