In this Bachelor thesis I explore sound and room as elements in design of user interfaces, both theoretical and practical in a specific application domain, to identify some of the advantages and disadvantage associated with these elements. As application domain I studied email clients and their usage at home amongst students at Blekinge Institute of Technology. In the study I found an activity, which seems to be highly distributed in the physical room where the user is located. The activity was notification of email and could take place in an arbitrary location of the home. I then augmented this activity with ideas from my theoretical assumption about room and sound. The result was a rule-based agent for notification of email, which primarily uses sound as interaction style. / I fokus för mitt arbete står två begrepp, ljud och rummet samt att skapa en fusion mellan dem i ett gränssnitt. Båda är områden som med tiden har fått ökad betydelse för IT design.

Context represents any information regarding the situation of entities, being these a person, place or object that is considered relevant to the interaction between a user and an application. The results obtained permits an user to save context information attached to a picture in a database, as well as retrieve pictures from that database and show it in a web interface with its context information associated. The web interface also allows the user to perform searches by using different criteria, so only the pictures that matches with that criteria will be shown. / Final Degree Project - Thesis

This work describes a design of a multimedia content delivery system based on context, to provide multimedia information and other services according to the user location and his preferences. It focuses on mobility and the problem of different coherent and cohesive presentations depending on the available resources of the presentation environment.

This essay does a theoretical comparison of the intricate social production in digital and real spaces, proposing a model for the non-technical exploration of the social production of spaces relating to human digital technology. The ‘social space’ proposed by Henri Lefebvre (1974) - responsible for producing material space - and the holistic model of ‘cybernetic space’ proposed by Ananda Mitra and Rae Lynn Schwartz (2001) - responsible for supporting the production of real and digital spaces - are argued as collaboratively producing cybernetic social spaces, serving as the definition of a unified model for the production of spaces in contemporary society. The digital spaces are argued as being a similar analogue to classical ‘social space’. Two native cybernetic spaces are presented and discussed, argued as being responsible for the transitive production of digital and real spaces as they survey and situate the production of cybernetic social space. Finally, two case studies exemplifying the aesthetics and politics of cybernetic space are presented, analyzed and discussed in accordance with the proposed model of cybernetic social space.

In modern societies the activity of driving has become almost an essential routine. Vehicles are considered by many as indispensable tools for accomplishing their daily tasks and they are the main form of transportation for millions of people. The average driver spends, voluntarily, considerable amounts of time on the road, using their vehicle to transport himself even for small distances and knowing that its use presents him with some form of comfort and convenience; yet, drivers frequently regard their road experience as tiring and fastidious, but their persistence in using their vehicle at every opportunity serves as proof of a pleasurable experience. So far car manufacturers, traffic authorities and designers of technology have been mainly concerned with aspects of the road that ensure drivers safety, increase power engine, provide more comfort, and maintain better streets, etc; however, the actual feelings of the driver as he travels through the streets has not yet been taken into a great account by the developers of the road environment. For this reason this thesis tries to create awareness on the existence and constant presence of people’s emotions as they drive, which have the mutual power to influence their action on the road and their driving patterns. In order to capture a drivers’ emotional experience this study uses three main methods. One of them is Cultural Probes, consisting of common objects specifically Postcards, Pictures, and Web-logs, to measure unknown factors about the users. The second is the use of Ethnographic studies on the driving activities through the use of observations, the popular talk-aloud-protocol and the shadow method. Finally, the Experience Sampling Method is used, which tries to captures the experience of an individual as it unfolds in its natural context. With the combined used of these three methods some of the main factors of the road’s environment that are commonly able to influence the driver’s emotions in negative or positive ways were discovered, which include the intensity and type of light, the different types and sources of sound, the perceivable landscapes and surrounding architectures and the different kinds of continuously occurring interactions. These are just some of the many factors that can influence emotions on the road, and hopefully this study will open the curiosity for a deeper study of these and other aspects of the emotional driving experience. / Julio Angulo djjupra@gmail.com Reforma #60, Col. Atlantida, 04370 Mexico City, Mexico 66 - 3433 E. 49th Ave V5S 1M1 Vancouver, BC Canada

Our work, which this master thesis is based upon, has been committed to analysing the settings of large-scale events, proposing, and designing an IT-artefact that can be adapted to different contexts depending on the event. In order to give examples of the contexts of which the IT-artefact could be used, it was developed tailored to two temporary large-scale events. Throughout the thesis we have been struggling with the question of how it is possible to facilitate the co-ordination during large-scale events through visualising tasks and resources. Our aim has been that the design proposal shall support the sharing of tasks and resources to facilitate the cooperation among volunteers during the realisation of temporary large-scale events. We conclude that our design proposal of the IT-artefact should be investigated further in the settings presented in this thesis and others, as we see prospects to develop and adapt the design proposal to various large-scale events in the nearby future. / Vårt fokus är ett tekniskt stöd för funktionärer under storskaliga arrangemang. Våra samarbetspartners är Hultsfredsfestivalen och Vasaloppet. Vi sätter användning av teknik i fokus och utgår från behov hos användarna i den studerade kontexten. Detta har vi åstadkommit med stöd av etnografiska undersökningar, workshops, analys av materialet samt framtagande av en designlösning. Vår frågeställning om huruvida det är möjligt att underlätta koordinationen under storskaliga evenemang med hjälp av visualisering av arbetsuppgifter och resurser har lett till att vi har föreslagit en designlösning. Denna ska stödja och underlätta funktionärers arbete genom att tillhandahålla olika funktioner och stöd beroende på behoven hos funktionärerna vid respektive evenemang. Vårt syfte är att designlösningen ska stödja fördelningen av uppdrag och ett gemensamt utnyttjande av resurser för att underlätta samarbetet mellan funktionärer.

Abstract This thesis explores the sociocultural processes shaping the design, adoption and use of new urban technology in the city of Oulu in northern Finland. The exploration is conducted at experiential level focusing on people’s personal perspectives which allows uncovering underlying cultural meanings, social structures and historically formed practices and discourses. The unique case for the thesis is provided by the recent technological development in Oulu that has been shaped by agendas such as ubiquitous computing and smart cities. The thesis first investigates in-depth the design process of the new urban technology, and also compares the visions of the designers and decision-makers with the practices and perspectives of the city inhabitants. Then, the adoption process of public urban technologies is studied in detail by constructing a conceptual appropriation model. Finally, the effects of the northern location of Oulu on the design and use of the urban technology are scrutinized. The research is based on empirical, qualitative research materials comparing the experiences of young adult and elderly city inhabitants; in addition, quantitative use data of urban technologies is utilized to provide an overview on the use trends. The key findings indicate that the design and decisions concerning novel technologies and the outcome are shaped by complex sociomaterial practices based on experiences from previous similar projects, and on certain preconceptions about the city inhabitants and technology’s role in the cityscape. Different people have differing power positions in relation to the development of the urban public places, and technology implementation can marginalize some segments of city inhabitants. Further, the adoption of novel urban technologies is found to depend heavily on the norms of public places and people’s long-term experiences of technology use. Finally, climate, ICT use and sociocultural context are shown to be profoundly interconnected, and thus, urban computing design must reconsider the situatedness of technology. These findings call for further sociocultural studies on future smart cities. / Tiivistelmä Väitöskirja tarkastelee sosiokulttuurisia tekijöitä, jotka ovat vaikuttaneet uuden kaupunkiteknologian suunnitteluun, omaksumiseen ja käyttöön Pohjois-Suomessa Oulussa. Tutkimus keskittyy ihmisten kokemukselliseen tasoon, jonka kautta on mahdollista hahmottaa kulttuurisia merkityksiä, sosiaalisia rakenteita sekä historiallisesti muotoutuneita käytäntöjä ja diskursseja. Tutkimuksen taustalla on Oulun viime vuosien teknologinen kehitys, joka osaltaan perustuu visioihin älykaupungista ja kaupunkitilaan sulautetusta jokapaikan tietotekniikasta. Tutkimus tarkastelee aluksi uuden kaupunkiteknologian suunnitteluprosessia, ja peilaa lisäksi suunnittelijoiden ja päättäjien visioita kaupunkilaisten käytäntöihin ja näkökulmiin. Seuraavaksi julkisten kaupunkiteknologioiden käyttöönottoa jäljitetään rakentamalla malli, joka kuvaa omaksumisprosesseja. Lopuksi selvitetään Oulun pohjoisen sijainnin vaikutusta teknologian suunnitteluun ja käyttöön. Tutkimus perustuu empiirisiin, laadullisiin tutkimusaineistoihin, joiden avulla tutkitaan ja vertaillaan nuorten aikuisten ja ikääntyneiden kaupunkilaisten kokemuksia. Lisäksi käytetään määrällistä aineistoa kuvaamaan kaupunkiteknologioiden käytön kehityssuuntia. Väitöskirjan mukaan kaupunkiteknologioita koskevat päätökset ja lopputulos ovat monimutkaisten sosiaalis-materiaalisten käytäntöjen muovaavia. Käytäntöjen taustalla ovat kokemukset samankaltaisista projekteista sekä ennakkokäsitykset kaupunkilaisista ja teknologian roolista kaupunkitilassa. Tutkimus valottaa ihmisten erilaisia valta-asemia kaupunkien kehityksessä ja tuo esiin, miten teknologia voi marginalisoida joitakin ihmisryhmiä. Tutkimus osoittaa, miten julkisten paikkojen normit ja pitkän ajan kuluessa muovautuneet teknologiakokemukset vaikuttavat uusien kaupunkiteknologioiden omaksumiseen. Lisäksi todetaan ilmaston, tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käytön ja sosiokulttuurisen kontekstin vahva yhteys, jonka vuoksi alan tutkimuksen tulisi arvioida uudelleen teknologian paikkasidonnaisuutta. Tulokset osoittavat, että sosiokulttuurista tutkimusta älykaupungeista tarvitaan lisää.

La combinaison de l'internet des objets et des nouvelles technologies liées à l'énergie transforme le paysage de l'énergie dans la maison. Les installations de micro générateurs, dominées par les panneaux solaires photovoltaïques, sont en constante progression. C'est une opportunité pour la création et l'altération des comportements énergétiques. Cependant, ces transformations créent également un nouveau challenge que l'on appelle le « différentiel énergétique » à l'échelle de la maison : la consommation et la génération d'électricité des ménages sont désynchronisées. En effet, la génération locale est majoritairement incontrôlable et dépendante des conditions météorologiques alors que la consommation des ménages à tendance à se concentrer en soirée. Cette thèse vise à comprendre et supporter les pratiques de déplacement des consommations émergentes dans les ménages équipés de panneaux solaires photovoltaïques. En particulier, nous observons « Comment les outils numériques peuvent-ils tirer parti des pratiques de déplacement des consommations dans le contexte de micro génération domestique ? ». Pour adresser cette question nous avons combiné des approches empiriques et d'ingénierie, se renforçant et s'informant mutuellement les unes et les autres pour fournir une solution générale. Cela inclut la collection de données qualitatives et quantitatives, des analyses en collaboration avec les participants, des études longitudinales, des interviews, du co-design, des simulations et des tests en condition réelles. Tout au long de cette thèse, nous avons utilisé une méthodologie centrée sur l'utilisateur à chaque étape pour informer et valider la recherche en collaboration avec 38 ménages. A travers une investigation approfondi des routines telles que faire la lessive et se déplacer en voiture électrique, nous soulignons l'engagement naturel des ménages pour le déplacement des consommations. Cependant, cette activité se révèle complexe et fastidieuse. Nous révélons cette complexité à l'aide d'une analyse de donnée participative, une méthode élaborée afin d'analyser les données en collaboration avec les participants. Nous construisons une compréhension détaillée de la relation entre la génération d'électricité domestique et les routines du quotidien. Enfin, nous soulignons le besoin d'un support contextuel à travers le déploiement d'interventions sur le terrain. En perspective de la littérature, nous proposons un modèle conceptuel pour le support interactif de déplacement des consommations. / The combination of ubiquitous computing and emerging energy technologies is radically changing the home energy landscape. Domestic micro-generation, dominated by solar photovoltaic, is increasing at a rapid pace. This represents an opportunity for creating and altering energy behaviours. However, these transformations generate new challenges that we call the domestic energy gap: domestic electricity consumption and micro-generation are out of sync. Micro-generation is mainly uncontrollable production relying on weather while domestic energy consumption tends to happen mostly during the evening. This thesis focuses on understanding and supporting new domestic practices in the context of domestic solar electricity generation, looking at ‘Demand-Shifting’. Specifically, we look at how can digital tools leverage Demand-Shifting practices in the context of domestic micro-generation? Relying on a mixed-method approach, we provide a qualitative and quantitative answer with the collaboration of 38 participating households in several field studies including two spanning more than eight months. Through a deep investigation of laundry and electric mobility routines in the context of domestic micro-generation, we emphasised a natural engagement into Demand-Shifting which appeared as a complex and time-consuming task for participants which was not visible when we analysed their quantitative data. We revealed this complexity through Participatory Data Analyses, a method we designed to analyse the data in collaboration with the participating householders. This provided us with a comprehensive view of the relationship between domestic micro-generation and daily routines. Finally, we highlight the need for timely and contextual support through the deployment of interventions in-the-wild. Building on discussions of our findings in perspective of the literature, we propose a conceptual framework to support domestic interactive Demand-Shifting (iDS).

[pt] A área da saúde precisa lidar com diversos problemas relacionados a questões de infraestrutura, falta de pessoal qualificado e grande número de pacientes. Como solução para problemas desta natureza surgiu o u-Healthcare, uma aplicação dos conceitos de Computação Ubíqua (UbiComp) na área da assistência médica. u-Healthcare permite a supervisão da saúde a qualquer tempo e a qualquer lugar, a partir de dispositivos eletrônicos conectados à internet. Entretanto, a ampliação da supervisão da saúde para o entorno ubíquo não pode ser feita com protocolos e procedimentos clínicos atualmente utilizados, já que essa abordagem aumentaria drasticamente o consumo de tempo e recursos. Por esse motivo, a construção de aplicações para fornecimento de serviços se saúde pode apoiar-se em áreas de pesquisa de Sistemas Multi-Agente (SMA) e Trabalho Cooperativo Auxiliado por Computador (TCAC). Nesse sentido, SMA é utilizado para automatização de processos, através do uso das propriedades dos agentes de software. Em contrapartida, TCAC permite estabelecer um modelo de cooperação entre os participantes de uma determinada aplicação. Com base nestes aspectos, neste trabalho propõese a modelagem e desenvolvimento de um framework que auxilie a construção de aplicações voltadas para u-Healthcare, baseadas em conceitos de SMA e TCAC. Para ilustrar a utilização do framework, são apresentados dois cenários de uso. O primeiro cenário corresponde a um sistema de monitoramento fetal, que realiza a detecção precoce de anormalidades no feto. O segundo cenário, por sua vez, consiste em um assistente de administração de medicamentos, que permite ajudar ao médico no controle de medicamentos que usam seus pacientes. / [en] The health area needs to deal with various problems related to issues of infrastructure, lack of qualified personnel and a large number of patients. As a solution to problems of this nature, u-Healthcare was created as an application of the concepts of Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp) in the area of health care. u- Healthcare allows health monitoring at any time and place from electronic devices connected to the Internet. However, the expansion of health monitoring for an ubiquitous environment cannot be performed with protocols and procedures currently used, since this approach would drastically increase the consumption of time and resources. For that reason, the development of tools to provide health services can be supported in research areas such as Multi-Agent System (MAS) and Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). In that sense, MAS can be used to automate processes through the properties of software agents. On the other hand CSCW gives the possibility of establishing a model of cooperation among the participants on the application. Based on these aspects, this work proposes the modeling and development of a framework capable of providing support and help on the construction of dedicated u- Healthcare applications which should be based on the concepts of MAS and CSCW. To illustrate the use of the framework, there are presented two scenarios of use. The first scenario corresponds to a fetal monitoring system, which allows early detection of fetal abnormalities. The second scenario consists of a drug administration assistant, which allows the doctor to control drug use by his patients.

Ubiquitous computing is already weaving itself around us and it is connecting everything to the network of networks. This interconnection of objects to the internet is new computing paradigm called the Internet of Things (IoT) networks. Many capacity and non-capacity constrained devices, such as sensors are connecting to the Internet. These devices interact with each other through the network and provide a new experience to its users. In order to make full use of this ubiquitous paradigm, security on IoT is important. There are problems with privacy concerns regarding certain algorithms that are on IoT, particularly in the area that relates to their avalanche effect means that a small change in the plaintext or key should create a significant change in the ciphertext. The higher the significant change, the higher the security if that algorithm. If the avalanche effect of an algorithm is less than 50% then that algorithm is weak and can create security undesirability in any network. In this, case IoT. In this study, we propose to do the following: (1) Search and select existing block cryptographic algorithms (maximum of ten) used for authentication and encryption from different devices used on IoT. (2) Analyse the avalanche effect of select cryptographic algorithms and determine if they give efficient authentication on IoT. (3) Improve their avalanche effect by designing a mathematical model that improves their robustness against attacks. This is done through the usage of the initial vector XORed with plaintext and final vector XORed with cipher tect. (4) Test the new mathematical model for any enhancement on the avalanche effect of each algorithm as stated in the preceding sentences. (5) Propose future work on how to enhance security on IoT. Results show that when using the proposed method with variation of key, the avalanche effect significantly improved for seven out of ten algorithms. This means that we have managed to improve 70% of algorithms tested. Therefore indicating a substantial success rate for the proposed method as far as the avalanche effect is concerned. We propose that the seven algorithms be replaced by our improved versions in each of their implementation on IoT whenever the plaintext is varied. / Electrical and Mining Engineering / M. Tech. (Electrical Engineering)