>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The importance of mobile technology in improving the quality of life is not restricted to only a Hearing person, and the use of mobile devices among Deaf people is no longer limited, due to the advancements in technology Hearing loss cannot be seen but its effect is clearly visible to the persons suffering the loss. This results in a limited ability to communicate with the large world of hearing people. This research effort aims to design a SignSupport for emergency mobile application for Deaf people in Cape Town, empowering them with the same access to emergency service resources as hearing people. The proposed approach is to use a mobile application to contact standard emergency services on behalf of a Deaf person to a representative. The app will use a phone's GPS module to share the location of the victim and contact the nearest emergency service provider to attend to the Deaf victim; as well as keep the victim’s circle of family and friends informed. The app design is intuitive, simply requiring the Deaf victim to launch the app and choose an emergency type from the available options.

A successful mobile app monetization strategy is the foundation of any sustainable future business. App developers, in this regard, face the demanding challenge of building, maintaining and monetizing this strategy respectively. Factors, such as users' increasing unwillingness to pay for an app, impacts monetization methods negatively which makes current monetization strategies ever more challenging. Particularly for temporary apps, this phenomenon is ever influential. This research therefore addresses how companies can maximize the monetization of users if the usage of the app is limited by time. The researchers examined existing literature on app monetization and discovered that no research has been conducted on temporary apps yet, which highlights a specific research gap in a changing business environment. By conducting expert interviews on app monetization in combination with a multiple case study, investigating four temporary apps, this research found out that temporary apps do not monetize differently than non-temporary apps. This paper uncovered that there is a trend happening within the mobile app monetization industry that shifts from user-based monetization, where the user pays for the app, towards a partner-based monetization strategy. In this regard, external companies provide the revenue for the app. Particularly interesting is the potential of mobile data monetization, which is invisible for the user, thus providing a valuable strategy for the company. Comprising all executed research and insights gathered, the paper built the Mobile App Monetization Model. It examines the challenges and opportunities companies face during their monetization and which success and goal metrics are influential in their decision-making. It summarizes the current most important topics in the mobile app monetization field.

Thesis (M.Com. (Business Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The aim of the study was to determine the relationships between determinants of mobile commerce adoption and the actual adoption of mobile commerce by Small and Medium Enterprises in Polokwane Municipality. The study utilised the quantitative research approach with 146 SME owner respondents from population of 261 owners using a random sampling technique. The questionnaire was developed from the empirical literature review. The determinants of m-commerce were represented by technological, organisational and environmental contextual factors. M-commerce was measured using 11 questions against all other contextual factor variables . Data was cleaned to enhance its fitness for further analysis. To attain this, normality, mean and standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis were performed. The data was found to be fit for the purpose of the study. Furthermore, the data was tested for validity and reliability and it satisfied the requirements. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA and regression analysis were used to analyse the data. ANOVA was used to test for sub-hypotheses and to make a decision on whether to accept or reject the stated hypotheses based on the significance level. Regression analysis was used to test main hypotheses. ANOVA results showed that all technological factors (perceived benefits, perceived costs, perceived compatibility), organisational factors (technology readiness), environ mental factors (customer pressure, supplier pressure, competitor pressure) and technology acceptance model factors (perceived usefulness) significantly predicted m commerce adoption. On the other hand, factors such as gender, age, level of education and perceived ease of use were not significant predictors of m-commerce adoption. Based on the above results, SMEs should improve on their handling of determinants of m-commerce as they effectively influence the adoption of m-commerce. The government also needs to boost the SME sector by introducing several measures which can expose small businesses to enabling business environment.

This thesis looks to explore from a user-centered standpoint, which mobile application features are relevant in the social integration of new arrivals in Sweden. Mobiles are used by individuals who are moving away from home not only to stay connected to their close ones but also as a way for empowerment and adaption in their new homes. Access to information helps immigrants to face the new challenges new host societies present. Nowadays mobiles and more specifically smartphones are becoming the principal sources for new arrivals to obtain information. As mobiles become more common among immigration groups, governments and institutions are turning to them as new ways for addressing migration challenges such as integration. This thesis, through a participatory design study, explores possible mobile digital application features that could be relevant in the social integration of immigrants. The goal is to develop through a cooperative and co-design method a prototype of a mobile application that can fit better with the necessities of new arrivals and can also facilitate better ways for social integration. As a result, it could be determinate that features that provide users the ability to gather information from one source are the most important for immigrants. Additionally, users want to be able to have control over the information they are receiving according to what phase they are at the integration process. Also, digital features seem not to be enough and digital and offline cooperation are suggested. In the process, participants provided innovative ways on how integration challenges can be addressed.

What does the climate and the body have to do with each other? In some ways, they are widely different. The body is local, individual, a lived experience; the climate is global, collectively felt, and hard to observe in everyday life. In other ways, the body and the climate are inextricably linked. The ways in which we feed, dress and transport our bodies impact the climate, and the climate impacts the ways in which it is possible to feed, dress and transport our bodies. In this thesis, I aim to explore the connections between the body and the climate through two types of digital technology: web tests and apps for assessing and tracking different kinds of metrics related to the body and the climate. I use a theoretical framework centered on how the individual is presented as an arena for constant improvement, and study the interfaces through their different affordances and uses of metaphor. In my analysis, I find that these interfaces position the user as someone who can, and should, do more for both the body and the climate. They also position the user as someone in control and with the power to actually change and/or make an impact. Finally, I discuss two different ways to interpret these results. On one hand, it could be interpreted as a way to empower individuals and encourage them to act for the good of themselves and the world as a whole. On the other hand, the emphasis on individual actions may underplay the need for collective action on a systemic level. I conclude that digital technology for measuring ourselves and our behavior may offer us insights that could strengthen support for collective action, but we need to contextualize data in order to interpret it properly and act accordingly.

The development of Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) as opposed to Native Applications (NAs) has experienced a significant shift in recent years in the mobile application market. PWAs are more and more common since they are affordable, simple to use, and cross-platform compatible. Even so, there is an ongoing discussion and lacking research about which application can deliver a better user experience, which is what this thesis aimed to research. This was accomplished by developing two identical applications, one PWA and one NA, and comparing them in terms of responsiveness. Responsiveness was quantified by measuring the complexity in terms of computational time for each functionality within each application. The applications were developed using the two React frameworks named React JS and React Native, for the PWA and NA, respectively. Thus, the main comparison was between these two frameworks, and not PWAs and NAs in general. The goal is to help developers decide which application out of the two is more suitable, depending on the possible functionalities that their application is considered to have. The functionalities that were chosen were all different but deemed to be relevant to the functionalities present in some of the largest mobile applications. Functionalities relevant to social media were chosen, such as image and tweet searching. Additional functionalities include geolocation and a word counter. The former was chosen for the prevalence of geolocation-based applications, while the latter was chosen as a means to compare the computational power of each application. The results showed that the PWA was considerably more capable when it came to executing the image search word counter, and tweet search functionality, as it was able to render and handle the data considerably faster than the NA. When it came to the geolocation functionality, however, the NA was the faster application. / Utvecklingen av Progressiva webbapplikationer (PWAs) jämfört med nativa applikationer (NAs) har genomgått en betydande förändring de senaste åren på mobilapplikationsmarknaden. PWAs blir allt vanligare eftersom de är prisvärda, enkla att använda och kompatibla över olika plattformar. Trots det pågår det en kontinuerlig diskussion och brist på forskning om vilken typ av applikation som kan leverera en bättre användarupplevelse, vilket är det forskningsämne som denna avhandling syftar till att undersöka. Detta åstadkoms genom att utveckla två identiska applikationer, en PWA och en NA, och jämföra dem med avseende på responsivitet. Responsivitet kvantifierades genom att mäta komplexiteten i form av beräkningstid för varje funktionalitet inom varje applikation. Applikationerna utvecklades med hjälp av de två React-ramverken React JS och React Native, för PWA respektive NA. Således var huvudjämförelsen mellan dessa två ramverk och inte generellt mellan PWAs och NAs. Målet är att hjälpa utvecklare att bestämma vilken av de två applikationerna som är mest lämplig, beroende på vilka funktionaliteter deras applikation förväntas ha. De valda funktionaliteterna var olika men ansågs vara relevanta för funktionaliteterna i några av de största mobilapplikationerna. Funktionaliteter relaterade till sociala medier valdes, såsom bild- och tweetsökning. Ytterligare funktionaliteter inkluderar geolokalisering och en ordräknare. Den förstnämnda valdes på grund av utbredningen av geolokaliseringsbaserade applikationer, medan den senare valdes som ett sätt att jämföra beräkningskraften hos varje applikation. Resultaten visade att PWA var betydligt mer kapabel när det gällde att utföra bildsökning, ordräknare och tweetsökning, eftersom den kunde rendera och hantera data betydligt snabbare än NA. När det kom till geolokalisering var dock NA den snabbare applikationen.

Dating apps are in growing popularity, with 48% of dating app users in the United States being adults under 30 (Pew Research Center, 2020, Figure 5). While dating apps can provide a faster and easier way to meet or message a potential partner, they are also a relatively new platform to experience sexual violence. This thesis aims to explore the frequency of sexual violence experienced via dating apps as well as the specific effects this subtype of sexual violence has on the mental health of college students. Technology facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) includes unwanted sexual advances, sexual harassment, gender/sexuality-based abuse, sexual coercion, and rape that a person may experience due to technology that connected the victim to the perpetrator (Henry & Powell, 2018). While there is limited research on the physical and mental health effects of TFSV, past research includes all forms of technology. By focusing on dating apps, a widely used online platform, this research hopes to fill a gap in the research. The study conducted was of 230 college students at the University of Central Florida. Of all study participants, 144 reported current or past use of dating apps, and 88.8% of users reported at least one instance of sexual violence via dating apps. Overall, greater frequency of TFSV on dating apps was associated with more symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, greater loneliness, less perceived self-control, and lower self-esteem.

The child–environment interaction type, which involves touching and handling part of collections and displays, is less common in art museums. In addition, art museums demand many behavioural rules from their visitors. The adult caregivers, therefore, prefer that their preschool children participate in child-friendly activity programmes. Children could nonetheless learn by interacting with network technology applications in art museums since the use of digital technologies and mobile devices has become widespread to assist visitors’ learning in museums in general. Therefore, this thesis can relate to Child-Computer Interaction (CCI). This thesis addresses the problem that children often have isolated or separate experiences rather than enjoy regular art exhibitions with accompanying adults. This problem could be tackled by exploring how the child–technology interaction type combined with the child–adults/peers interaction could be considered to better engage children in viewing art exhibitions together with adults. The main research question is ‘what needs adult caregivers have for their preschool children's experience at art museums, that may be met by mobile educational apps?’. The main question can be divided into three parts: what are adult caregivers’ views about 1) their preschool children’s use of mobile devices and 2) educational apps and 3) their experience at art museums? By investigating the research question, this thesis aims to explore the possibility of a mobile activity/guide app that could facilitate combined experiences and collaborative learning for preschool children and their adult caregivers together at art museums. For this thesis, a survey is adopted as a research strategy and a web-based questionnaire as a data collection method to explore the views of parents with preschool children between three and five years old. Non-probability sampling was chosen, and the questionnaire invitation was distributed physically to preschools, in playgrounds, and Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Sweden and online to Korean parents. For quantitative data analysis, statistical tests were employed. According to the results, despite the considerable period that preschool children have used mobile devices and the frequency, parents answered that their children always or sometimes need help navigating mobile devices. Parents recognise many benefits of children’s mobile device use but would not encourage the usage. Nevertheless, parents acknowledge the importance of conversational interactions but are unlikely to engage in shared activities. Parents like child-friendly programmes for being entertaining, engaging, age-appropriate, and stimulating for children. To enjoy regular exhibitions with children, parents want touchable objects, a children-friendly atmosphere, and open-to-all or free drop-in activities. It is because parents often struggle to have their children understand and follow the behavioural rules and keep their children interested in and focused on the exhibition. Overall, parents acknowledge the inevitable trend of using mobile devices for their preschool children, even though they are yet hesitant to proactively encourage the usage. Many parents experience difficulties engaging their young children in seeing regular art exhibitions and would like to have interactive elements that attract children’s attention. This thesis is valuable since museum professionals and educational app designers could use this thesis as a knowledge base to develop the app.

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Intima relationer sker nu ofta via mobila dejtingappar, vilket kräver att människor navigerar i ny teknologi, men det möjliggör även för utforskning av intimitet. Ett exempel på detta är hur Tinder, en av de mest populära applikationerna för dejting, har blivit en representation för nätdejting i vardagliga konversationer på 2000-talet. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur Tinders sociotekniska struktur ser ut och hur användare uppfattar applikationens struktur och design. Studien använder en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi i form av enkäter följt av en genomgångsmetod för att observera applikationens struktur, funktioner och design. Enkäten fick totalt 102 svar. Utifrån studiens resultat och analys kan det stora användandet av applikationen bero på två faktorer. Det första är hur applikationens struktur och design är uppbyggd. Tinder har (1) underlättat den sociala interaktionen med hjälp av dess kärnfunktioner, (2) använder färre element som leder till snabba beslutstagande och (3) anpassat applikationen utifrån spelliknande egenskaper. Utifrån resultatet av datainsamligen kan det indikera att Tinders anpassning till plattformisering och Web 2.0 haft en påverkan på hur användare upplever hur social interaktion ska ske och därigenom påverka hur interaktioner skapas och relationer byggs. / Intimate relationships take place on mobile dating apps, requiring people to navigate new technology, but also the opportunity for exploration of intimacy. An example of this is how Tinder, one of the most popular applications for dating, has become a representation for online dating in everyday conversations in the 21st century. The aim of this study is to investigate the sociotechnical structure of Tinder and how users perceive the structure and design of the application. The study uses a quantitative research strategy in the form of surveys followed by a walkthrough method to observe the application's structure, features and design. The survey received a total of 102 responses. Based on the results and analysis of the study, the high usage of the application may be due to two factors. The first is the structure and design of the application. Tinder has (1) facilitated social interaction through its core features, (2) used fewer elements that lead to quick decision-making, and (3) adapted the application based on game-like features. Based on the results of the data collection, it may indicate that Tinder's adaptation to platforming and Web 2.0 has had an impact on how users perceive social interaction to occur, thereby influencing how interactions are created and relationships are built.