Previous research has shown gender differences in the motivations to be physically active, in mobile phone gratifications, and social media usage, but so far these areas have not been studied together. Based on the uses and gratification approach and self-determination theory, we aimed to identify gender-specific gratifications and determinants of fitness app usage in combination with fitness-related Facebook groups. Results of an online survey (N = 171) and of a mobile experience sampling method (N = 31) revealed that the app Runtastic was primarily used for achieving goals and to improve enjoyment for physical activity, with men and older participants sharing results with others in Facebook groups more often than women and younger participants. Conclusions regarding genderspecific targeting strategies and user-centered design and content of mHealth features are presented.

Abstract Background: Social media is becoming more prominent each day. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram are amongst the top six social media platforms used by Generation Z and Millennials (Dixon, 2023; Ceci, 2023). From a business perspective, it entails that these platforms, as well as social media as a whole, are essential for attracting users’ attention when promoting a product or service. These platforms have changed how people communicate, share information, and behave as consumers. Understanding the factors that affect behaviors on social media platforms is crucial given the growth of niche dating apps that target the Muslim community, such as Muzz. This study intends to examine how TikTok and Instagram advertisements affect how viewers perceive Muzz, its features, expected advantages, and the probability of individuals using the app. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of social media on behaviors towards dating app. This is specified towards Generation Z and Millennials. Ultimately, this study aims to find how this target audience interacts with advertisements and what factors affect their behavior. The findings from this paper can be useful to marketing departments of various companies within the dating app industry as they can begin to improve their marketing strategy to appeal to a new and larger target audience.   Method: The findings from this thesis was conducted through qualitative research including interviews of 10 participants with ages between 19-30 years old. The analysis of these findings was done through a thematic analysis approaching grouping the findings in themes and similarities. Conclusion: The findings and analysis from this report indicate that social media and advertisements presented on social media significantly influence the behaviors of Generation Z and Millennials towards dating apps, specifically Muzz app. The way in which social media has an influence is in relation to three theories/models: Advertising Effectiveness, Consumer Behavior Models and Uses and Gratification Theory. Each of the said models and theories aid in the analysis of how behaviors shift depending on social media presence.

Aus der Studie und den Ergebnissen können wertvolle Impulse abgeleitet werden. Es darf nicht aus den Augen verloren werden, dass junge Menschen mit traumatisierenden Erfahrungen spezifische Perspektiven (Kenny, Dooley, & Fitzgerald, 2016) und Bedenken in Bezug auf die Vertrauenswürdigkeit von KI (Grasser, 2020) haben können. Demzufolge ist wichtig, die subjektive Sicherheit sowie andere Einflussgrößen auf die Nutzung von KI und E-Health Angeboten zu kennen und in Betracht zu ziehen. Ferner zeigen Studien, dass E-Health Literacy (E-Health-Kompetenz) bei minderjährigen Geflüchteten eher gering ist (Bergmann, Nilsson, Dahlberg, Jaensson, & Wångdahl, 2021) und Forschung zur Erhöhung des Uptake von qualitativ hochwertigen Angeboten dringend benötigt wird. Die Integration der Zielgruppe kann jedoch nur dann gelingen, wenn die E-Health-Apps als wichtig erkannt werden und bei ihrer Umsetzung darauf geachtet wird, dass sie praktikabel sind. [Aus: Zusammenfassung]

Technology is becoming more central to people’s lives than ever before, and the most widely embraced technological device on the consumer market are mobile phones. This creates an ever-increasing market place for mobile apps, which during 2016 had revenues amounted to 88.3 billion U.S. dollars. The number is expected to increase, and together is estimated to generate 188.9 billion U.S. dollars in revenues 2020. One of the industries affected by this strong online presence is direct selling, where branded mobile apps have started to be used as a sales tool for sales representatives. The apps aim to facilitate the sales representatives’ daily work and bring new opportunities to engage with the end customers in a more convenient way. However, limited research exists about how the sales representatives experience the branded mobile apps in the industry. The purpose of this paper is to explore the sales representatives’ behavior and attitude towards using branded mobile apps within the direct selling industry. This study has been conducted by a quantitative descriptive and exploratory study using a survey. Sales representatives that placed an order exceeding 100 Euros during the last three weeks in five Western culture countries for one direct selling company were targeted. In total, 460 responses were gathered. The result gave some valuable insights although the initial hypothesized benefits could not be confirmed. The findings instead suggest separate items that contributed the most to sales representatives’ satisfaction and purchase intentions. In order to increase satisfaction among sales representatives, branded mobile apps used in direct sales should 1) facilitate the interaction with the company, 2) be easy to navigate with, 3) provide relevant information, 4) be convenient to shop from, and finally 5) work as a good conversation topic in a social context. Further on, the item identified to have the greatest contribution to purchase intentions is how convenient the app is to shop from, i.e. the same as number 4) above. The future challenge for the direct selling industry and its managers is thus to take advantage of these insights and further study how the attributes more practically can be implemented for their business. By focusing on these actions in the creation and development of branded mobile apps, the direct selling industry can expect to achieve higher satisfaction among their sales representatives and also increase their purchase intentions. / Dagens teknik har blivit en allt mer central del i människors liv, och den vanligaste enheten på konsumentmarknaden idag är mobiltelefoner. Detta har skapat en ständigt ökande marknad för mobilappar, som år 2016 genererade 88.3 miljarder U.S. dollar. Antalet appanvändare framöver förväntas att öka, och tillsammans generera 188.9 miljarder U.S. dollar i intäkter år 2020. En av de branscher som påverkats av denna starka närvaro online är direktförsäljning, där appar har börjat användas som försäljningsverktyg för konsulenterna. Apparna syftar till att underlätta konsulenternas dagliga arbete och ge nya möjligheter att engagera sig med slutkunderna på ett lättare och mer fördelaktigt sätt. Dock existerar det lite forskning och kännedom om hur konsulenterna upplever användandet av appar i branschen. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka försäljningsrepresentanternas beteende och attityd gentemot att använda appar inom direktförsäljningsbranschen. Studien har varit både beskrivande och undersökande, och har genomförts genom en samla in kvantitativ data med hjälp av en enkätundersökning. Kunder som har lagt en order över 100 Euros de tre senaste veckorna i fem västeuropeiska länder för ett direktförsäljningsföretag har studerats. Totalt erhölls 460 svar. Resultatet gav flertalet värdefulla insikter, även om de initiala hypoteserna syftade till att undersöka olika fördelar inte kunde bekräftas. Resultaten föreslår istället separata aspekter med störst påverkan på hur nöjda konsulenterna är, samt deras köpintentioner. För att öka nöjdheten bland konsulenter bör appar som används i direktförsäljning 1) underlätta samspelet med företaget, 2) vara lätta att navigera med, 3) tillhandahålla relevant information, 4) vara bekväm att handla från och slutligen 5) fungera som ett bra samtalsämne i ett socialt sammanhang. Vidare kunde det ses att den identifierade aspekten som bidrar mest till konsultenternas köpintentioner är hur bekvämt appen är att handla från, det vill säga samma aspekt som identifierades för konsulenters tillfredställelse under nummer 4) ovan. Den framtida utmaningen för direktförsäljningsindustrin och dess chefer är således att utnyttja dessa insikter och studera vidare hur dessa aspekter kan lämpas mer i praktiken för deras företag. Genom att fokusera på dessa åtgärder vid skapandet och utvecklingen av appar kan direktförsäljningsindustrin räkna med att erhålla högre tillfredsställelse bland sina konsulenter, samt att även öka deras köpintentioner.

Aplicativos simples e utilizados durante um curto período de tempo são cada vez mais comuns nos dispositivos móveis. Eles perdem a utilidade uma vez que seu objetivo específico é atingido. Porém, consomem memória e processamento do dispositivo, além de seu desenvolvimento consumir recursos humanos e tecnológicos. Para minimizar esses problemas, este trabalho apresenta uma nova abordagem para geração e controle desse tipo de aplicativo por meio de uma nova arquitetura e modelo de ciclo de vida para aplicações de curta duração. A abordagem permite que os aplicativos sejam gerados automaticamente e possam ser excluídos ou gerenciados de acordo com a vontade do usuário ou por outros critérios pré-estabelecidos (e.g., por tempo transcorrido ou por localização). A arquitetura e modelos desenvolvidos foram utilizados em três aplicativos típicos com funcionalidades básicas, layout trivial e processamento leve. Essa validação demonstrou que a abordagem atende às necessidades de aplicativos em diferentes domínios (restaurantes, shoppings e eventos) e pode ser aplicado em situações com diferentes restrições de tempo e localização / Simple applications that are used over a short period of time are becoming increasingly popular on mobile devices. They lose their usefulness once their specific goal is achieved. However, they consume memory and processing of the device; furthermore, its development consume human and technological resources. To minimize these problems, this work presents a new approach for generation and control of this type of application by means of a new architecture and life cycle model for short lived applications. The approach allows applications to be automatically generated, excluded or managed according to the user\'s wishes or other pre-established criteria (e.g., by time elapsed or by location). The architecture and models developed were used in three typical applications with basic functionalities, trivial layout and light-weight processing. This validation demonstrated that the approach addresses the needs of applications in different domains (restaurants, malls and events) and can be applied in situations with different time and location constraints

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-09-03T12:58:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Carolina Simões de Freitas Cabral.pdf: 4968546 bytes, checksum: 97741efc0c80619790afca2e2ea661c2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-03T12:58:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Carolina Simões de Freitas Cabral.pdf: 4968546 bytes, checksum: 97741efc0c80619790afca2e2ea661c2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-02 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Not everyone has the ease and pleasure to learn new languages. However, learning languages is increasingly important. With regard to entry into the labor market, for example, 91% of executives from different countries interviewed in the Global English Corporation survey believe that English is the main language of business. In the search for a solution to this issue, combining learning, translation and gamification, the Duolingo application was able to facilitate this task for users of the platform, who got involved and learned languages with the help of it. However, although widely used and well-evaluated in digital stores, under an academic view, many articles criticize its methodology (SANTANA, 2016; MOTA et al., 2016; DUARTE et al., 2016; BOGDAN, 2016; VALADARES et al., 2016; Gavarri, 2016), believing that it is inappropriate for this teaching. But if the methodology used is said to be ineffective, what corroborated for the application to reach so many users? This research aimed to evaluate heuristically (NIELSEN AND MOLICH, 1990; DESURVIRE et al., 2004; MALONE, 1980; PINELLI et al, 2008) the design of Duolingo interface and the way you interact directly with your users by playful aspects, in order to understand the relevance of these in the popularization of the application. In this way, we evaluated the role of user experience in the use of the application, the involvement with the learning offered there and the return to the use of the interface. It was inferred from the obtained results that, in the search for applications that can aid in the learning of foreign languages, it is not only the educational aspects and the contents presented that govern the choice of the users, they also look for easily understandable interfaces and personally satisfying experiences, apt to add intrinsic motivation to learning / Nem todos tem facilidade e prazer em aprender novas línguas. Contudo, aprender idiomas se demonstra cada vez mais importante. No que diz respeito à entrada no mercado de trabalho, por exemplo, 91% dos executivos de países distintos entrevistados na pesquisa da Global English Corporation acredita ser o inglês o principal idioma dos negócios. Na busca de uma solução para essa questão, unindo aprendizado, tradução e gamificação, o aplicativo Duolingo conseguiu facilitar esta tarefa aos usuários da plataforma, que se envolveram e aprenderam idiomas com a ajuda da mesma. Entretanto, apesar de muito utilizado e bem avaliado em lojas digitais, sob um olhar acadêmico, muitos artigos criticam sua metodologia (SANTANA, 2016; MOTA et al., 2016; DUARTE et al., 2016; BOGDAN, 2016; VALADARES et al., 2016; GAVARRI, 2016), acreditando que a mesma seja inadequada para este ensino. Mas se a metodologia utilizada é dita como ineficaz, o que corroborou para que o aplicativo alcançasse tantos usuários? A presente pesquisa buscou avaliar heuristicamente (NIELSEN E MOLICH, 1990; DESURVIRE et al., 2004; MALONE, 1980; PINELLI et al., 2008) o design da interface do Duolingo e a forma como interage diretamente com seus usuários mediante aspectos lúdicos, a fim de compreender a relevância destes na popularização do aplicativo. Desta forma, foi avaliado o papel da experiência do usuário no uso do aplicativo, no envolvimento com o aprendizado ali oferecido e no retorno ao uso da interface. Inferiu-se a partir dos resultados obtidos que, na busca por aplicativos que possam auxiliar no aprendizado de línguas estrangeiras, não são apenas os aspectos educacionais e os conteúdos apresentados que regem a escolha dos usuários, estes buscam também interfaces facilmente compreensíveis e experiências pessoalmente satisfatórias, aptas a adicionar motivação intrínseca ao aprendizado

Submitted by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2017-04-20T17:05:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 SibeleGodinhoDissertacao2016.pdf: 2892754 bytes, checksum: 120efa914105d3a66799c41ade034ab0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2017-04-20T17:05:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 SibeleGodinhoDissertacao2016.pdf: 2892754 bytes, checksum: 120efa914105d3a66799c41ade034ab0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-20T17:05:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SibeleGodinhoDissertacao2016.pdf: 2892754 bytes, checksum: 120efa914105d3a66799c41ade034ab0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-28 / This research considers the potential motivations of using a social app for the realization of donations and probe the symbolic interactions that occur during solidarity exchanges mediated by technology. Smartphones and their applications are inseparable increasingly part of the daily lives of people who spend all their time with their devices: always on, always connected, as close as the shirt itself. Applications for mobile devices -apps- are the software installed in these smartphones that perform or assist in performing tasks for their users. Among the tools that the various types of apps present, there is a category of social apps, which are those facing a social cause. The conducted study noted when addressing the social application Solidarius, created for realization of donations to the group of welfare Sociedade S??o Vicente de Paulo, Vicentinos, which by enabling the realization of solidarity mediated by technology, materializes a new type of solidarity , anonymous, but allows the existence of a link, which excludes the direct involvement with people in common vulnerability in voluntary actions, but allows the user a sense of belonging, even if momentarily, to a larger institution or cause himself, and generate feelings of satisfaction and gratitude. These observations were made possible by the bibliography study published on the subject, the data analysis and information gathered during interviews with the developers of social application on screen and representatives of the institution that it will use, and the above discussion in focus group held with potential users of the application. As a result, to be detailed in subsequent research, it was realized that social applications allow its users an empowerment, regarding the perception that are interfering with reality and contributing to a cause, and that the technology of apps, for convenience, ease and closeness they have with the user, can be instruments of social change. / Esta pesquisa considera as potenciais motiva????es do uso de um aplicativo -app social para a realiza????o de doa????es e sonda as intera????es simb??licas que ocorrem durante as trocas solid??rias mediadas pela tecnologia. Os smartphones e seus indissoci??veis aplicativos fazem cada vez mais parte do cotidiano das pessoas, que passam todo o tempo com seus aparelhos: sempre ligados, sempre conectados, t??o pr??ximos como a pr??pria roupa do corpo. Os aplicativos para dispositivos m??veis -apps- s??o os softwares instalados nestes smartphones que realizam ou auxiliam a realiza????o de tarefas pelos seus usu??rios. Entre as ferramentas que os v??rios tipos de apps apresentam, existe a categoria de apps sociais, que s??o aqueles voltados para uma causa social. O estudo conduzido observou, ao abordar o aplicativo social SOLID??RIUS, criado para realiza????o de doa????es para o grupo de assist??ncia social Sociedade S??o Vicente de Paulo- Vicentinos, que ao possibilitar a realiza????o da solidariedade mediada pela tecnologia, materializa-se um novo tipo de solidariedade, an??nima, mas que possibilita a exist??ncia de um v??nculo, que exclui o envolvimento direto com as pessoas em situa????o de vulnerabilidade comum nas a????es de voluntariado, mas permite ao usu??rio um sentido de pertencimento, ainda que moment??neo, a uma institui????o ou causa maior que ele mesmo, al??m de gerar os sentimentos de satisfa????o e gratid??o. Estas observa????es foram possibilitadas pelo estudo de material bibliogr??fico publicado sobre o assunto, pela an??lise de dados e informa????es colhidas durante a realiza????o de entrevistas com os desenvolvedores do aplicativo social em tela e representantes da institui????o que dele far?? uso e pelo debate exposto em grupo focal realizado com potenciais usu??rios do aplicativo. Como resultados, a serem aprofundados em pesquisas posteriores, foi percebido que os aplicativos sociais permitem aos seus usu??rios um empoderamento, no tocante ?? percep????o que est??o interferindo na realidade e contribuindo com uma causa, e, que a tecnologia dos apps, pela praticidade, facilidade e proximidade que possuem com o usu??rio, podem ser instrumentos de transforma????es sociais.

Students with moderate/severe intellectual disabilities/autism have been underexposed to grade aligned ELA content. This session highlights research to guide participants practice in implementing meaningful grade aligned ELA content such as opinion writing, comprehension of fiction and nonfiction text, and student led research via technology for students with low incidence disabilities.

As mobile devices are nowadays used regularly and everywhere, their energy consumption has become a central concern for their users. However, mobile applications often do not consider energy requirements and users have to install and try them to reveal information on their energy behavior. In this paper, we compare mobile applications from two domains and show that applications reveal different energy consumption while providing similar services. We define microbenchmarks for emailing and web browsing and evaluate applications from these domains. We show that non-functional features such as web page caching can but not have to have a positive influence on applications' energy consumption.

This paper explores how known machine learning techniques can be applied in unique ways to simplify software and therefore dramatically increase its usability. As software has increased in popularity, its complexity has increased in lockstep, to a point where it has become burdensome. By shifting the focus from the software to the user, great advances can be achieved by way of simplification. The example problem used in this report is well known: suggest local dining choices tailored to a specific person based on known habits and those of similar people. By analyzing past choices and applying likely probabilities, assumptions can be made to reduce user interaction, allowing the user to realize the benefits of the software faster and more frequently. This is accomplished with Java Servlets, Apache Mahout machine learning libraries, and various third party resources to gather dimensions on each recommendation. / text