This study looks at the usability of mobile Twitter applications running on Android and Blackberry operating systems. Usability is important for mobile Twitter applications, as 55% of active Twitter users access the social network service through their mobile devices. This study gathers empirical data that determines which mobile Twitter application is superior in terms of usability. The mobile Twitter applications evaluated and compared in this study are the official Twitter applications for Android and Blackberry and the third-party Twitter application: TweetCaster for Android and Blackberry. Data is gathered using the System Usability Scale and notes regarding time spent on tasks and the accuracy of task completion are kept, in order to measure satisfaction, efficiency, and effectiveness respectively. The findings of this study show that there is need for further studies and highlights further areas for improvement on mobile Twitter applications.

"Sedentary lifestyles are ubiquitous in modern societies. Sitting, watching television and using the computer are examples of sedentary behaviors that are currently common worldwide. Many research results show that the length of time that a person is sedentary is linked with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. Determining how best to motivate people to become more active is not only necessary but also imperative. The electronic pedometer, as a proven device to increase physical activity, has been widely accepted by consumers for decades. As smartphones are functionally able to run accurate pedometer apps, we explore the potential of leveraging context-aware (e.g. location, identity, activity and time) smartphone application—more advanced pedometer—to help people mitigate sedentary lifestyle. The smartphone application we developed, “On11”, intelligently tracks people’s physical activities and identifies sedentary behaviors. With the knowledge it learns from the users, On11 provides recommendations based on users’ geographic patterns. Our study consists of four steps: (1) a pre-survey that helps us comprehend people’s views on physical activity, how people use their smartphones, and how smartphone applications may help them to be more active, (2) a large scale Twitter study (over 3 months, analyzed 929,825 running-related tweets) that determines how difficult it is for people to keep performing the most popular exercise—running, (3) a 2-week trial of our smartphone app which promotes an easier exercise—walking, and (4) a post-survey for subjects who participated in the app trial to validate if the app works as expected."

The development in wireless technology, mobile smart devices and Internet of Things has gave birth to a booming era or the wireless indoor geolocation. This technology have been increasingly used within our daily life and help people to build up the tracking system which could be used by fulfillment centers and grocery stores. To achieve higher localization accuracy with wireless geolocation, we need a higher density of deployment which involves high deployment and maintenance cost. To balance the accuracy and the cost, people have begun using wireless localization employing inertial navigation system (INS) which provide speed and direction of movement. When we combine Radio Frequency (RF) localization with INS, we have a hybrid INS/RF localization system which can achieve high localization accuracy with low cost. In this thesis, we use accelerometers and magnetometers in an Android smart phone to build a hybrid INS/RF system and use two different technologies for RF localization: Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) and Wi-Fi. Using this system, we conducted measurements of the hybrid localization system and evaluate its performance. The specific contributions of the thesis are: (1)Empirical performance evaluation of the INS/RFID localization system. It relates the localization error to the number and position of RFID tags. (2)Model the effect of metallic objects on accuracy of magnetometer. The model shows the relation between direction error and distance to metallic component. (3)Model shadow fading in close proximity of RF transmitter. It builds a distance dependent shadow fading model. (4)Model based performance evaluation of hybrid localization. The test bench uses our models to simulate the hybrid localization data.

Submitted by FERNANDA DA SILVA VON PORSTER (fdsvporster@univates.br) on 2017-11-24T22:17:50Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) 2017AndreGerstberger.pdf: 5460627 bytes, checksum: 3da78cb05a77af96d4f4dde550ff70ac (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Lisboa Monteiro (monteiro@univates.br) on 2017-12-04T13:00:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) 2017AndreGerstberger.pdf: 5460627 bytes, checksum: 3da78cb05a77af96d4f4dde550ff70ac (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-04T13:00:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) 2017AndreGerstberger.pdf: 5460627 bytes, checksum: 3da78cb05a77af96d4f4dde550ff70ac (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11 / A presente dissertação tem por objetivo examinar, em uma turma de nono ano do Ensino Fundamental, as implicações pedagógicas para o ensino de Matemática advindas com a integração do smartphone. Os aportes teóricos escolhidos para sustentar a investigação estão em consonância com estudos do campo da Etnomatemática em seus entrecruzamentos com ideias de autores que apontam a necessidade de integrar e inserir as tecnologias digitais, em especial os smartphones, nas aulas de Matemática da Escola Básica. De cunho qualitativo, descritiva e inspirações etnográficas, a pesquisa/intervenção foi realizada de outubro a dezembro de dois mil e quinze em uma escola pública localizada no Vale do Taquari, RS. Os materiais de pesquisa foram constituídos pelo diário de campo do professor/pesquisador, gravação em áudio de todos os encontros, fotografias e filmagens de situações vivenciadas em sala de aula, bem como o material produzido pelos alunos durante a investigação. Por meio desses instrumentos, emergiram duas unidades de análise descritivas, a saber: i) “Etnocelular”: a identificação e emergência de aspectos relacionados à cultura advinda da utilização de aparelhos celulares inteligentes; ii) Possibilidades e limitações dos aplicativos e funções do smartphone: explorando conteúdos da matemática escolar. Na primeira unidade trago alguns dos resultados emergentes, entre eles, que todos os alunos possuem um smartphone, e que independentemente da classe social, este artefato tecnológico têm-se feito presente na vida dos pesquisados. Outro resultado importante, está relacionado as funções e aplicativos que estes alunos mais utilizam e que constantemente são acionados, entre eles estão a câmera fotográfica, e as redes sociais, bem como a internet. Nesta unidade podemos ainda aferir que os smartphones tem alterado as formas de comunicação e de relacionamentos, diferentemente de anos atrás. Já na segunda unidade de análise, temos os conteúdos e funções utilizados voltados as práticas de ensino, entre as quais destaco a utilização da câmera fotográfica como ferramenta que potencializa e facilita o ensino do conteúdo de regra de três, bem como a razão e proporção. Por meio de Aplicativos foi possível construção de gráficos em duas e três dimensões, bem como a abordagem do conteúdo de estatística, em especial, aos conceitos de média, moda e mediana. Em geral destacamos a importância da inserção e integração dos smartphones como ferramenta que auxilia nos processos de ensino e de aprendizagem, em especial na disciplina de matemática. / The purpose of this dissertation is to examine, in a ninth grade class of Elementary School, the pedagogical implications for the teaching of Mathematics due to the integration of the smartphone. The theoretical contributions chosen to support the research are in line with studies in the field of Ethnomathematics in their intersections with ideas from authors that point out the need to integrate and insert digital technologies, especially smartphones, in Basic Mathematics classes. It is of qualitative nature, descriptive and ethnographic inspirations, the research/intervention was carried out from October to December of two thousand and fifteen in a public school located in Vale do Taquari, RS. The research materials consisted of the teacher's/researcher's field diary, audio recording of all meeting, photographs and filming of situations experienced in the classroom, as well as the material produced by the students during the investigation. Through these instruments, two descriptive units of analysis emerged, namely: i) “Etnophones”: the identification and emergence of aspects related to the culture coming from the usage of smartphones; ii) Possibilities and limitations of applications and functions of smartphones: exploring subjects from Basic Math. In the first unit I bring some of the results, amongst them the fact that all the students had a smartphone and that, independently of their social class, this technological device has been present in the researched students’ lives. Another important result is related to the functions and applications these students mostly use and that are constantly downloaded, amongst them are camera, social network and internet apps. In this unit we can also estimate that smartphones have been changing communication and relationship manners, unlike in the past years. In the second unit of analysis, we have subjects and functions used in the teaching practices, amongs which I highlight the usage of the camera as a tool that potentializes and eases the teaching process of the subject known as “rule of three”, and also of others such as ratio and proportion. By means of the applications it was possible to build graphics in two and three dimensions, as well as to approach the statistics subject, especially the concepts of mean, median and mode. In general we highlight the importance of inserting and integrating smartphons as a tool to subsidiate the processes of teaching and learning, especially in Math classes.

BACKGROUND: Seven out of every 10 adults in the United States can benefit from weight loss. Overweight and obesity have emerged at the forefront of public health concerns and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Primary care providers have the opportunity to identify overweight/obese patients and initiate weight loss efforts with an efficacious treatment plan that addresses individual challenges and barriers. Modest weight loss of 5-10% can be achieved with referral to a high-intensity, on-site, comprehensive lifestyle intervention program. However, most overweight/obese patients do not enroll in these programs; thus, there is a significant demand for alternative weight loss strategies. Providers can help patients individualize and apply the 3 evidence-based components of lifestyle intervention (reduced calorie diet, increased physical activity, and behavior modification) to create a plan that defines weight loss goals, dietary and physical activity targets, and behavior change strategies. LITERATURE REVIEW: mHealth applications show promise for augmenting weight loss efforts, likely by facilitating behavior change strategies such as self-monitoring. High-quality data is lacking to define the precise role of mHealth apps in weight loss, but a limited number of studies report significant app features and average frequency of use associated with weight loss. PROPOSED PROJECT: Preliminary evidence-based recommendations advise patients to use an mHealth app to log dinner and 1 other meal every day, log all minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and log body weight 2-3 times per week. Wearable sensors can be used to enhance user experience, but should not substitute for manually logging physical activity. Patients should monitor their caloric intake, minutes of physical activity, and body weight frequently with reference to their goals and prescribed recommendations. CONCLUSION & SIGNIFICANCE: Overweight/obesity is a disease that demands attention from the medical profession due to the high prevalence and associated morbidity and mortality. Primary care providers can begin to address the obesity epidemic by propagating patient weight loss efforts. Clinically significant weight loss can be accomplished with lifestyle modification, so providers should be encouraged to prescribe evidence-based lifestyle recommendations for reduced caloric intake, increased physical activity, and behavior change strategies. Patients can actively engage with these recommendations by using an mHealth app with guidance from their providers. Employing pragmatic lifestyle interventions that incorporate evidence-based strategies and encourage longevity may decrease the prevalence of overweight/obesity and its’ associated chronic conditions.

Internet har kommit att bli en stor del av människans liv. 5,3 miljoner svenskar använder Internet varje dag. Användandet växer ständigt och detta är något som kan betraktas i uppkomsten av nya tjänster. Den ålderskategorin som använder Internet i mobilen i störst utsträckning är 20-29 år, där 18 procent av denna grupp surfar i mobilen dagligen. Syftet med studien är att undersöka unga vuxnas, i åldern 20-25 år, tankar och attityder kring hur tillgängligheten av en ökad Internetuppkoppling påverkar det fysiska mötet. Även attityder om mobiltelefonens uppkoppling till Internet och dess påverkan studeras. Respondenterna i undersökningen är studenter vid Högskolan i Jönköping. I denna studie har en kvalitativ metod i form av fokusgruppsintervjuer använts för att få fram ett empiriskt material. Det insamlade materialet har sedan analyserats utifrån teoretiska ramverk såsom det socialpsykologiska begreppet attityd, Maslows behovshierarki, Uses and gratifications samt mediekonvergens. Om det fysiska mötet påverkas av Internets tillgänglighet råder det delade meningar om. En syn är att Internet underlättar att bestämma träff för ett fysiskt möte och att man genom det träffas i större utsträckning. En annan syn är att människor hade träffats mer om Internet inte funnits. En tendens som kan ses är svårigheten att definiera begreppet fysiskt möte, gränser suddas ut mellan ett möte online och en fysisk interaktion. Studien visar att mobiltelefonen har större inverkan på det fysiska mötet än datorn, då den är lättare att bära med sig.

Smartphone/tablet Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) integrate increasing number of components to offer more functionality. Capacity and efficiency of data communication between memory and other hardware blocks have become a major concern in the SoC design. To address this concern, we propose to use Network-on-Chip (NoC) architectures, to meet high bandwidth, and low power and area demands. We propose a Quality-of-Service (QoS) scheme to differentially provision network resources to cater to different performance requirements by different hardware blocks. Implementation and evaluation are performed on a simulation infrastructure we construct specifically for this type of SoCs. We demonstrate, via simulation results, that the proposed Dynamic QoS schemes can achieve better bandwidth provisioning, with good area and power efficiencies.

Smartphone/tablet Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) integrate increasing number of components to offer more functionality. Capacity and efficiency of data communication between memory and other hardware blocks have become a major concern in the SoC design. To address this concern, we propose to use Network-on-Chip (NoC) architectures, to meet high bandwidth, and low power and area demands. We propose a Quality-of-Service (QoS) scheme to differentially provision network resources to cater to different performance requirements by different hardware blocks. Implementation and evaluation are performed on a simulation infrastructure we construct specifically for this type of SoCs. We demonstrate, via simulation results, that the proposed Dynamic QoS schemes can achieve better bandwidth provisioning, with good area and power efficiencies.

The number of smartphones in use is overwhelmingly increasing every year. These devices rely on connectivity to the Internet for the majority of their applications. The ever-increasing number of deployed 802.11 wireless access points and the relatively high cost of other data services make the case for opportunistic communication using free WiFi hot-spots. However, this requires effective management of the WLAN interface, because by design the energy cost of WLAN scanning and interface idle operation is high and energy is a primary resource on mobile devices. This thesis studies the WLAN interface management problem on mobile devices. First, I consider the hypothetical scenario where future knowledge of wireless connectivity opportunities is available, and present a dynamic programming algorithm that finds the optimal schedule for the interface. In the absence of future knowledge, I propose several heuristic strategies for interface management, and use real-world user traces to evaluate and compare their performance against the optimal algorithm. Trace-based simulations show that simple static scanning with a suitable interval value is very effective for delay-tolerant, background applications. I attribute the good performance of static scanning to the power-law distribution of the length of the WiFi opportunities of mobile users, and provide guidelines for choosing the scanning interval based on the statistical properties of the traces. I improve the performance of static scanning, by 46% on average, using a local cache of previous scan results that takes advantage of the location hints provided by the set of visible GSM cell towers.

Malware in smartphones is growing at a significant rate. There are currently more than 250 million smartphone users in the world and this number is expected to grow in coming years.  In the past few years, smartphones have evolved from simple mobile phones into sophisticated computers. This evolution has enabled smartphone users to access and browse the Internet, to receive and send emails, SMS and MMS messages and to connect devices in order to exchange information. All of these features make the smartphone a useful tool in our daily lives, but at the same time they render it more vulnerable to attacks by malicious applications.  Given that most users store sensitive information on their mobile phones, such as phone numbers, SMS messages, emails, pictures and videos, smartphones are a very appealing target for attackers and malware developers. The need to maintain security and data confidentiality on the Android platform makes the analysis of malware on this platform an urgent issue.  We have based this report on previous approaches to the dynamic analysis of application behavior, and have adapted one approach in order to detect malware on the Android platform. The detector is embedded in a framework to collect traces from a number of real users and is based on crowdsourcing. Our framework has been tested by analyzing data collected at the central server using two types of data sets: data from artificial malware created for test purposes and data from real malware found in the wild. The method used is shown to be an effective means of isolating malware and alerting users of downloaded malware, which suggests that it has great potential for helping to stop the spread of detected malware to a larger community.  This thesis project shows that it is feasible to create an Android malware detection system with satisfactory results.